All posts by Dave Hoekstra
Most Recent
 
Read More
March 14, 2022

Designs on the American Dream

Yoshi Sekiguchi on stage in Japan, 1958 (Courtesy of Sekiguchi family.)

 

Like the best version of life, Yoshinobu “Yoshi”  Sekiguchi understood that good art is made without boundaries. The power of imagination can lead to freedom. Open your mind and you hear songs everywhere.

In Japan during the 1960s, Mr. Sekiguchi was known as “The Japanese Hank Williams.” He had a bit country singing role in the film “A Majority of One” (1962) with Rosalind Russell playing a Jewish woman who falls for a Japanese diplomat portrayed by Alec Guinness. In the 1970s, he became a Chicago designer and art director, working [...]

1250
 
Read More
March 11, 2022

The Les Grobstein Talking Bobblehead

 

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame & Museum in Milwaukee (Provided photo.)

Just when you think there’s nothing but bad news in this world along comes word that the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is releasing a talking Les Grobstein bobblehead.

The Grobber Bobble will be available starting today (March 11), which would have been the beloved Chicago sportscaster’s 70th birthday. The bobblehead is being produced by the Milwaukee-based museum in conjunction with Grobstein’s family and Autograph1. Grobstein died on January 16 in his Elk Grove Village home.

The bobblehead audio is a [...]

235
 
Read More
February 28, 2022

Buddy Holly & Roy Orbison Sort of Live in Des Plaines

The Des Plaines Theatre, circa 1936. Postcard image via Revitalized Des Plaines.

 

The newly remodeled Des Plaines Theatre is a heavenly addition to the Chicago area’s entertainment landscape. The theater opened in August 1925 as a vaudeville and movie house. The Des Plaines reopened late last year after an ambitious restoration that rolled through the pandemic. The historic theater had been empty since 2014.

The city of Des Plaines purchased the art deco theater for $1.3 million in May 2018. The city partnered with nearby Rivers Casino, which chipped in up to $ 2 million for renovations. The city [...]

209
 
Read More
November 30, 2021

Wish you were here: Missing my postcard pals

All postcards are from the author’s collection and not from the web.

 

I once knew of simple passages where I could find adventure.

The Antique Trove in Scottsdale, Az. and Antiques on Pierce in Milwaukee each contained booths filled with bright postcards busting at the seams in rows of white memory boxes. The backsides told of new horizons, unadorned pleasures, and a longing for the reader on the other end. The postcards were neatly organized by states, countries, and themes (Baseball, birds, Christmas, diners, etc.) I visited each antique store in the last couple of months.

The collection in [...]

302
Loop Sidebar Left
Loop Sidebar Right
Compare
Go