I was born (1937) in Chicago in the old Michael Reese hospital, when my parents lived in Back of the Yards and were organizing the United Packinghouse Workers of America (CIO). My earliest memories involve standing on the picket line. Our religion was the Union. We believed in justice and equality, in the dignity of every individual, in the importance of democracy, and the power of “black and white together.” Our hymns were “Which Side Are You On?” and “Solidarity Forever.” My family’s credo was the Golden Rule.

When I was six, we settled in Morgan Park where the public schools were integrated and within walking distance, the library close by, and the yards big. I sang in the children’s choir at the local Methodist church, learned some Bible stories and prayers, but refused to join. As a teenager I was introduced to the Quakers and the AFSC where I found the “light within” and the goal of world peace without the threat of nuclear war. In search of truth and meaning, I went to Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio where I discovered history as human story. Through the coop program I worked in Cleveland, New York, and Germany. After graduation I returned to Chicago for graduate work in the University of Chicago Master of Arts in Teaching program. However, I discovered that a career of teaching high school history was not for me. So, I moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. For the next 30 years, I held a variety of editorial/administrative/financial positions in non-profit organizations including Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum, the Farmington Valley Arts Center, Cambridge College, the Association for Retarded Citizens, and along the way I earned an MBA.

I returned to Chicago, to support my father in his final years as President of the Illinois Labor History Society and resident of Montgomery Place. I transferred my Unitarian membership to First Church where every Sunday I feel centered, nourished, my spirit renewed and part of a beloved community. In return, I have served the Church as Treasurer, worked on fundraising projects, participated in Soul Matters, and now volunteer in the church office.