Postcards from Chicago

Segway Tour on Lake Michigan

Chicago skyline

Hakka Chorus

Guardian of the Chicago Board of Trade

Chicago, Aug. 28 . . . A few glimpses of the city. . . .

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Reinvention & Innovation Make for Stimulating NFPW Conference

(l to r seated) Paulette Berner, Tom Berner, Kay Grant, Sharon Niederman; standing, Carol Clark, Kathy Cordova, Denise Tessier, Carol Kreis.

Chicago, Aug. 27. . .The New Mexico delegation assembled this evening to support our Communicator of Achievement nominee, Tom Berner, who did us proud in a stellar field of candidates. The day began with an exhilarating workshop on reinvention of the daily press through integration with digital and social media, headed by Jane Hirt, Managing Editor of the Chicago Tribune. Author and Northwestern Journalism instructor Michele Weldon presented a dual workshop on “Saving Yourself: Recreating your Life in Memoir Writing” that gave participants powerful inspiration to get home and write, write, write. Our past state president and Los Alamos Monitor managing editor, Carol Clark, in her role as NFPW secretary, presided over lunch with customary grace as she introduced speaker Victoria Lautman’s “Confessions of an Accidental Journalist.” Turns out the former NPR art commentator and widely published interviewer is a Santa Fe native. The sunny weather led many to explore the Lake Michigan shoreline, Art Institute and Millennium Park, only a short walk from our Union League Club base.

NFPW President Cynthia Price honors Tom Berner, NM Communicator of Achievement

NMPW past president Carol Clark (r) introduces lunch speaker Victoria Lautman.

NMPW founding member Peggy Ann Hutchinson.

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Press Women @ Union League Club = Welcome to Chicago

Chicago, Aug. 25. . . Chicago’s elegant Union League Club may still feel quite a bit like a sedate, posh, gorgeously retro men’s-only club, but today several hundred members of the National Federation of Press Women gathered here for its annual communications conference, titled “Face 2 Face.” Founded in Chicago in 1885, the Illinois Women’s Press Association is celebrating its 125th anniversary.  We promise to keep you updated on all the happenings with daily blogs.

The evening began with a stroll over to Giordano’s, a popular local spot for a pizza and salad buffet. On of the first people we  ran into was longtime press woman Kathy Cordova of Taos, now secretary of the NMPW Northern Chapter and national co-chair of student membership (in orange, below). Several went on to “Billy Elliot,” and the rest of us toured the Willis (formerly Sears) tower, arguably the world’s tallest building. Built in 1973, it is 103 stories high and attracts a million and a half visitors a year. The tour includes an exhibit of Chicago history and personages, from Abe Lincoln to Carl Sandberg  to John Belushi to President Obama. Talk about diverse! The city’s contributions to literature, music, architecture and commerce are immense. The University of Chicago has won 72 Nobel prizes, for example. Then there is the New Mexico connection, specifically, the genesis of the Manhattan Project leading to the development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos took place here.

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Beantown Blues: No Day to Walk the Freedom Trail

I’m blogging because I won’t go out in this Boston rain, continuing now on day four of my five day visit. I ventured forth yesterday,  got as far as Harvard Square, then backtracked to Chinatown for dim sum, but years of living in the New Mexico desert have ruined my tolerance for cold, wet, nasty Northeast weather. And the day before we went to the Witch Museum in Salem. But why go out if you don’t have to? Instead, I am staying in, cozy with another cup of tea, doing laundry, catching up on correspondence, packing for tomorrow’s flight to Chicago, being perfectly lazy.

It’s a strange season, certainly not summer and not yet fall. From Sigalit and David’s third-floor apartment, I can see a few leaves turning gold, but it’s too early to give up hope of more warm weather, although at this moment it feels like the Flood is coming on.

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Guest Blogger Thayla Wright: A Look at Local Authors

Thayla Wright, Director of the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library in Raton, offers a selection of local authors.

Books By Local Authors at the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library

The Arthur Johnson Memorial Library will have a copy of “New Mexico’s Tasty Traditions” by author Sharon Niederman on the shelves after the publication date of December 1, 2010.  Other non-fiction works by Ms. Niederman held by the library are,  “Hellish Relish”, “Living Treasures Celebration of the Human Spirit: A Legacy of New Mexico”, “A Quilt of Words: Women’s Diaries, Letters, and”, as well as “Return To Abo”, a novel of the southwest.  These do not represent all the printed works of Ms. Niederman, who lives in Raton, New Mexico, with her husband, Charles Henry.  Other works that can be borrowed through the interlibrary loan system include, “New Mexico: An Explorer’s Guide”, “Shaking Eve’s Tree”, and “The Santa Fe and Taos Book: A Complete Guide”.

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New Mexico’s Tasty Traditions Due Out 12/1/10

NEW MEXICO’S TASTY TRADITIONS: RECOLLECTIONS, RECIPES AND PHOTOS BY SHARON NIEDERMAN

published by NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE,  will be available Dec., 2010. The book is a compilation of essays, photos and recipes celebrating the rich and varied cuisine of the state – from homesteader fare to horno bread baking to Cowboy Dutch oven cooking to making  ethnic specialties such as potato latkes and potica bread. More of a food history and culture book than a “cookbook,” it directs you to the best of New Mexico’s fiestas and festivals. The author is a 30 year veteran food-travel writer – this is her tenth book, the fourth she has illustrated with her own photographs. The book was edited by Emily Drabanski and designed by Bette Brodsky, and is distributed by University of New Mexico Press. This softcover is priced at about $27.00 and may be ordered from Amazon or your favorite bookstore.

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Only in New Mexico & Another Monday Poem

Only in New Mexico

Last night I met Billy the Kid’s grandson
Serving beans and sopaipillas
To  hungry souls these past forty years
Driving north through Vegas, snow coming in
We parked the UHaul
At the only open place in town

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