Bellairsia

Friday, January 17, 2025

Happy Birthday, John Bellairs

Labels: birthday

The calendar rolls around again as we celebrate the 87th birthday of John Bellairs.

Friday, January 10, 2025

Memoriam: Melanie Lea Hayes

Labels: memoriam

Melanie Lea Alford Hayes of Carbondale passed away on Dec. 31, 2024. She was 48.

The Figure in the Shadows: 1975-2025

Labels: figure in the shadows

2025 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Dial Books publishing John Bellairs's The Figure in the Shadows, the second book in the long-running Lewis Barnavelt series.

Monday, October 21, 2024

Memoriam: Barbara Dane

Labels: memoriam, people - musicians, places - us - illinois, things - music

We're remembering American musician and activist Barbara Dane, who died Sunday, Oct. 20. She was 97.

A Century Since The Crime Of The Century

Labels: 20 century - 1920s, places - us - illinois

May 21 marks one hundred years since Chicago teenagers Nathan Leopold (1904-71) and Richard Loeb (1905-36) murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks as part of their plan to execute a "perfect crime". The two randomly chose Franks and picked him up a few blocks from his home. Following his death, the boys dumped the body near Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana, 25 miles south of Chicago. But it wasn't a perfect crime. Police found a pair of eyeglasses near Franks's body with a unique hinge purchased by only three customers in Chicago, one of whom was Leopold. Things escalated quickly, and their confessions were announced ten days later.