Most of the readers who visit this blog come with a question pertaining to Chicago's history. Many will get an answer or find links to appropriate information. But, no blog could provide information on everything so my job, as I see it, is to provide resources.WikiAnswers is the user-generated question & answer component of Answers.com, a collaborative project where visitors share what they know and ask about what they don't. I was delighted to find that there is a WikiAnswer for Chicago history and, as of today, has 744 questions covering Chicago's origin to questions on present day Chicago. Most of the questions have answers; some don't and provide you the opportunity to share your knowledge.
Here are some sample questions:
How did Chicago get its name?
What was the unemployment rate in Chicago in the 1930s?
What is info on Essanay Studios?
How many different ethnicities live in Chicago?
Where can you start your Chicago genealogy research?
Where can you find information about the Grace Lines cruise ship company?
What is info on the Chez Paree night club?
History and development of Boystown in Chicago?
Is there a list of victims of the Chicago fire?
What are the famous buildings in Chicago?
Check it out. You might find the answer to a quick question or started in the right direction for more research. A word of caution: In most cases the answers are not provided by history scholars. Always do some cross-referencing to verify the answer is accurate.
3 comments:
Okay, Sharon. It's time for a change here! I seriously think that you should remove the 'amateur' in your blog title. Not only do you have a remarkable sense of history, a passion for your topic, and a truly contributing online source of primary history on Chicago, you have an obvious following which grows daily. There is no room for 'amateur' in this profile!
The encouragement and support of The Pen and the Spindle is always greatly appreciated and, at times, has been the only thing keeping this blog going. Sadly, the numbers don't support a growing readership; it has gone down to almost nothing.
I am definitle an amateur. The more I research and read the clearer it is that I know very little. Wish I was 30 years younger...
Readership fluctuates for a number of reasons throughout the year. Right now there have been holidays, spring, weather to beat all weather, and an economic crisis that has most people glazed and staring at the wall. Just keep plugging away. It is what the individual reader takes away that makes its own path. As for the more you learn the more you know you don't know - that never changes and truthfully, that is the proof of a professionally tuned mind that is great enough to admit how little we all do know. Keep blogging. I love this site.
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