June 14 Illinois History Minute

It’s June 14, and singer and actor Burl Ives was born in Jasper County on this day in 1909.

Burl Ives dropped out of Eastern Illinois University to become a folksinger, eventually finding success with songs like this one. Ives shifted to country music in the 1950s, and also to acting.  His roles ranged from Big Daddy in the movie version of “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” to the voice of Sam the Snowman in TV’s animated “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer”.

The Chicagoan Magazine published its first issue on this day in 1926. During its nine years in print, The Chicagoan strived to be to the Windy City what The New Yorker Magazine was to Gotham. But The Chicagoan’s publisher, Martin J. Quigley, had greater success with trade journals for the movie industry.