Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told
"Flower in the River" podcast, inspired by my book of the same name, explores the 1915 Eastland Disaster in Chicago and its enduring impact, particularly on my family's history. We'll explore the intertwining narratives of others impacted by this tragedy as well, and we'll dive into writing and genealogy and uncover the surprising supernatural elements that surface in family history research. Come along with me on this journey of discovery.
Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told
Latest Episodes
“You’ll Spoil the Boat”: Elmer Nelson, the Torch, and the Evidence
What does a bad grade on a high-school term paper have to do with the 1915 Eastland disaster? This week is part history, part confession, and part detective story — and it starts with some genuinely good news.There is a new Eastland docu...
Mr. Eastland and the Night at the Museum
This week, I remember Dave Nelson, who passed away on July 10, 2026, just before the 111th anniversary of the Eastland disaster. And yet his name rarely surfaces in the retellings his own work made possible.Dave was the grand...
Ink Against Indifference: The Eastland Cartoonists
A capsized ship at a Chicago dock should not have happened. Except, it did.Today, we go looking for the people who translated that shock into a demand for justice while the city was still counting its dead: the editorial cartoonists. The...
Dwight Boyer: The Man Who Spoke for “the Little Feller”
As we get closer to the 111th anniversary of the Eastland Disaster (July 24, 1915) in the Chicago River, we learn what careful writers actually put on the page--and what modern revisions often leave out.We look at why poets and journali...
Olive Carruthers: Chain-Smoking, Gravel-Voiced Chronicler of the Eastland
Sometimes, a single newspaper article can pull lives back from the shadows. Today, I want to share the story behind one of my most treasured discoveries: writer and journalist Olive Carruthers. Her 1952 Evanston Review piece, “How Evanstonians ...
