Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 19, according to the Tribune’s archives.
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 101 degrees (1930)
- Low temperature: 50 degrees (1873)
- Precipitation: 1.96 inches (1963)
- Snowfall: None
President Harry Truman, third from left, stands with Shrine and Army leaders at a reception at the Stevens Hotel on July 19, 1949, in Chicago. Truman was in town for the Shriners convention, which included a stop at Medinah Temple. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
1949: President Harry Truman spoke at the Shriners convention, of which he was a member. It was one of the first televised events at the stadium.
“The formation of foreign policy on the part of the democratic nations may be a slow and painful process, but the results endure,” Truman told the crowd. “It is only in the totalitarian states, where all decisions are made by a few men at the top, that foreign policies can be reversed or radically altered in secrecy, or changed abruptly without warning.”
“The huge bowl of Soldiers’ field looked like a flower garden yesterday — blazing with the blue, red, gold, green, and white uniforms of the members of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Chicago to celebrate the diamond jubilee of their fraternity,” the Tribune reported.
Piping plover adults Rose, left, sits on the nest as Monty approaches to relieve her at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July 18, 2019. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
2019: Music festival Mamby on the Beach was canceled due to the arrival of a pair of federally endangered piping plover shorebirds on Montrose Beach. Nicknamed Monty and Rose, the pair continued to migrate to the area and hatch chicks for three consecutive summers. Their descendants carry on the tradition.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: How piping plovers have captured our hearts through the years
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