Unearthed: Aunt Edith’s First Act

Drama teacher, world traveler, film actress, and single woman on the go.

This Unearthed post has been challenging and personal for me.

My blog avatar is a photo of my great-great aunt, Edith Mack. When I began this project, I wanted her to be the guiding spirit of my research. What I know of Edith is fantastic. I dearly want to do her justice and tell her story well.

1917 edith
Edith, aged 22

However, what I DON’T know of her life is also extensive. Putting her life in my usual chronological format has been like trying to climb a ladder with missing rungs. The gaps from event to event are long.

But as she might say: The show must go on. Instead of a timeline, this one will be more like a scrapbook.

This is not the last time I will write about her. I’m not done with her yet.

Continue reading “Unearthed: Aunt Edith’s First Act”

Unearthed: Four Faces

My husband noted this week that I’ve only posted about newspaper finds lately — no headstones, no graveyards.

“It IS Graveyard Snoop, after all,” he remarked (pretty bravely for a guy whose wife hangs out in cemeteries).

Continue reading “Unearthed: Four Faces”

Unearthed: Dorothy Eagles (Pt 2)

Must love dogs.

Dorothy Eagles Part 1


 

By the mid-1930s, Dorothy Eagles’ North Side Animal Shelter was thriving. The new location on Damen Avenue had a two-story brick building at its center. It featured offices, medical care, an annex housing 70 cats and dogs — even pet cremation services. Every year, hundreds of animals came in, were cared for, and found new owners.1

But care cannot save everything.

Dorothy’s husband, Lester Eagles, never got much mention in the newspapers. I know he built the first shelter’s cages, and that he would go out on calls to pick up strays. But beyond that, he’s a bit of a mystery.

Also a mystery is why their marriage ended. While I couldn’t find a divorce date, by 1936, Dorothy was vacationing in Palm Springs with a man named George Harz.2

Doctor George Harz, that is… a veterinarian.

Continue reading “Unearthed: Dorothy Eagles (Pt 2)”

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