About a month before the Chicago reunion I had exchanged a couple of e-mails with Georgia Hammond. I had asked her if she was looking forward to the Chicago reunion, she wrote back and said, "Chuck, I can hardly wait and I'm so excited to go because I'm from Chicago"!

While working on the Chicago Reunion Cover page I got to thinking about what Georgia had said about Chicago and decided to contact Jack and ask him if he thought it would be ok to surprise Georgia by putting up a few pictures of her in her younger days. This was Jack's reply below and hopefully this will be a total surprise to Georgia when she sees them. "Georgia, hope Jack & I don't get in too much Hot Water because of our underhanded skulduggery".

-Chuck

Hi Chuck,

I'm sure she won't mind in fact this will make her day, and thank you. I will send you some early pictures and also the house she lived in for the first 7- 8 years of her life in Chicago, her dad had it built which is a very nice house next to a Catholic Church and I'm sure she went to school there as they were staunch Catholics, her great Uncle was Cardinal George Mundelein of Chicago. He performed the marriage ceremony for her parents when married, I should have some pictures of this someplace, also Georgia was named after him,

Jack

Mundelein was incorporated in 1909. Located in the center of Lake County, Mundelein provides over 11,000 full time jobs to the region. Major employers include: Medline Industries, Rexam Medical Packaging and MacLean-Fogg,
Washburn Guitar, and Motorola

Distance to the Chicago Loop: 35 miles
Distance to O'Hare Airport: 25 miles
Distance to Mitchell Field: 50 miles

CLICK FOR MUNDELEIN HISTORY

1917—47, American racehorse, by Fair Play out of Mahubah, bred by August Belmont near Lexington, Ky., and owned by Samuel D. Riddle after 1918. A large reddish-colored colt capable of tremendously long strides, he raced only as a two-year-old and three-year-old, but in this short time (1919—20) he won 20 out of 21 races and set five world records. His one loss was to a horse named Upset at Saratoga in 1919; he ran second. One of the most renowned stallions in the history of American thoroughbred racing, "Big Red," as Man o' War was often called, went on to become a leading sire.

Perhaps the most famous racehorse in history (and certainly the one with the best name) was Man o' War, undisputed king of the turf during the gambling-happy roaring twenties. He was a large and imposing horse, and even when he was alive he was a tourist attraction, drawing visitors from across the country to pay homage at his farm. Racing historians say that the only reason Man o' War never won the Triple Crown is because his owner refused to race him in Kentucky.

Man o' War is buried beneath a larger-than-life bronze statue of himself at Kentucky Horse Park, surrounded by the graves of several of his 379 children (he was a prolific stud, unlike today's limp champions). As a unique honor, Man o' War's entire body was embalmed and placed in a giant casket lined with his racing colors. Over 2,000 mourners attended the elaborate funeral.

Not only did Man o' War live nobly, he died nobly as well. His groom and pal, Will Harbut, died suddenly in October, 1947. Man o' War was so crestfallen that he pined away, and less than a month later he died of a broken heart.

The first horse to top $400,000 in winnings, this grandson of Man O' War was a hard-luck hero for Depression-era America. Despite his short legs, bent knees, and an odd gait, Seabiscuit was a winner and became a national celebrity. In 6 years of triumphs and disasters, Seabiscuit earned 33 wins, 15 second places, and 13 thirds in 89 amazing races. His winning match race with War Admiral in 1938 is considered the greatest sporting event in American history.