Lindblom History Project 2021 Update
Donation protected
JANUARY 1, 2021
by David Smallwood, Organizer
Greetings, fellow Eagles and Eagles supporters. I hope that the warm spirit of the holiday season is still upon you as we end this most trying and unnerving of years, 2020, and jump into 2021. Brighter days are just around the corner, right!
It's been a while, so I'm writing to update you on the status of the Lindblom History Project, which as you know has been an ongoing effort for the past decade or so to write the history of the first 100 years of our beloved high school.
Well, in short...we're still working on it! It's been going along in fits and starts. Some productive stretches of getting work done, interspersed with calamities (just like life). But we're plugging along.
The project was turned over to me in late 2018 with hopes of finishing in 2019 in time to celebrate Lindblom's centennial, but there have been a couple of things.
First, in the summer of 2019, my computer crashed with all the work on it locked up on the damaged hard drive. An Eagle classmate who is an IT specialist, Bradley Warner (Class of 1972), tried valiantly to help recover it, but we ended up needing to go to a professional retrieval specialist to get the documents restored.
That situation took months and went into 2020, where in the Spring, I came down with cancer - multiple myeloma, a rare blood and bone disorder, which landed me in the hospital and rehab for two months in August and September, unable to walk and with a broken left arm (fractures are common with the disease).
Bad as that sounds, I'm on the mend and rebounding nicely, thank God. But I haven't been able to work on anything since last summer, when the health situation really started getting bad. However, I'm pain-free now, walking again, and slowly working myself back into a workflow so that I can get back to the History Project.
The challenging part has been trying to work basically one-handed as as the broken arm completes recovery, but that's coming along nicely, as well, because I'm able to type this message with two hands (it's finding the angle to hold the left arm at that's the hard part!).
If I haven't communicated with some of you recently that volunteered, or I asked, to contribute your memoirs to the History, this partially explains why and I'll be back in touch with you as soon as I can.
In the meantime, rest assured that the Lindblom History Project will be completed and I will send out another status update by the summer to give you a firmer idea about a finish date. Thank you so much for your continuing support and if you have any concerns, please reach out to me directly.
Go Eagles! BOOM, BOOM! A happy and productive 2021 to you and your loved ones!
(See older updates)
Campaign Updated: November 27, 2018 by David Smallwood
Thanks to generous donations, the original goal of this campaign has been achieved – to raise at least $20,000 to pay for the completion of the researching and writing of the illustrious 100-year history of iconic Lindblom High School in Chicago, which celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2019.
Now the campaign and its goal have been expanded to cover the associated costs of hopefully producing, designing and publishing that history in book form as a fundraiser for the school in time to honor Lindblom’s 2019 Centennial.
Lindblom is one of Chicago’s 11 selective enrollment high schools, located in the heart of the Englewood neighborhood, and its population comes mainly from the city’s South Side.
Lindblom currently ranks Number 11 among Illinois high schools and Number 395 nationwide. The school has a 94 percent graduation rate and since its inception has consistently turned out some of Chicago’s and this country’s most productive citizens.
(For more detailed background on Lindblom High School, please read this article: Lindblom History Project Celebrates Famed School's Centennial )
For roughly the past 10 years, the Lindblom History Project (comprised of dozens of former and present Lindblom students, faculty and administrators) has taken on the responsibility of researching and writing Lindblom’s history, originally with no set timetable for completion. Now the aim is to complete and hopefully publish the history in physical form in 2019.
We hope that the completed history serves as an inspirational guide for future generations of untapped potential achievers and leaders to learn from and be motivated by.
The research and writing of the first 50 years of Lindblom’s history was completed early in 2018. However, circumstances caused it to become necessary for a GoFundMe campaign to be initiated in June of 2018 by Project Creator Roy Pearson (Class of 1968) to hire writer David Smallwood (Class of 1972) to complete the final 50 years of Lindblom’s history and ensure that the entire history is publication worthy.
Thanks to 47 generous donors, $23,310 was raised to cover the writing and research of the remaining 50 years of the school’s history. We thank the anonymous Lindblom alumnus who provided a $10,000 donation to match $10,000 in additional monies that were raised.
Now the GoFundMe campaign shifts to its next phase under David Smallwood, which is to hopefully secure an additional $30,000 to produce, design and print the completed history, when written, in book form and in a pdf version that can be viewed digitally, hopefully in time for the school’s centennial activities in the second half of 2019.
The goal is to completely cover the associated costs of publishing at least 500 physical copies of what is sure to be a highly coveted book, with proceeds from the sale of the book going to Lindblom High School. The school will also receive all sales from an e-book pdf digital version of the history.
Donations to this part of the GoFundMe campaign will be used to achieve as much of this goal as possible. Whatever funds remain after that will be donated to Lindblom High School.
Donations to produce Lindblom’s 100-year history in book and digital form are encouraged in any amount through the summer of 2019, (as of now) when the completed history should be ready to go to press. The printing and publication dates are subject to change depending on circumstances, so David Smallwood will provide occasional updates on this GoFundMe page as to the progress of this campaign.
When the project is completed, we believe that it will make Lindblom one of the only Chicago public high schools to record, and hopefully publish, its 100-year history.
So, in the great spirit of Lindblom achievement and Lindblom ingenuity, we are asking for your help in ensuring the success of this part of the GoFundMe campaign. Feel free to donate yourself and please share the link for this web page with any and all Lindblom alumni and other supporters of Lindblom’s past and future, as well as those who may not know Lindblom personally but believe that advanced education is the key to a successful future and a better society.
Contributions may be made anonymously. In addition, if you prefer to contribute by check rather than electronically, or simply need more information, please contact David Smallwood directly at: [email redacted].
Thank you all so much! SWOOP SWOOP! BOOM BOOM!! And Happy 100th Birthday, you old Lindblom High School, you!
by David Smallwood, Organizer
Greetings, fellow Eagles and Eagles supporters. I hope that the warm spirit of the holiday season is still upon you as we end this most trying and unnerving of years, 2020, and jump into 2021. Brighter days are just around the corner, right!
It's been a while, so I'm writing to update you on the status of the Lindblom History Project, which as you know has been an ongoing effort for the past decade or so to write the history of the first 100 years of our beloved high school.
Well, in short...we're still working on it! It's been going along in fits and starts. Some productive stretches of getting work done, interspersed with calamities (just like life). But we're plugging along.
The project was turned over to me in late 2018 with hopes of finishing in 2019 in time to celebrate Lindblom's centennial, but there have been a couple of things.
First, in the summer of 2019, my computer crashed with all the work on it locked up on the damaged hard drive. An Eagle classmate who is an IT specialist, Bradley Warner (Class of 1972), tried valiantly to help recover it, but we ended up needing to go to a professional retrieval specialist to get the documents restored.
That situation took months and went into 2020, where in the Spring, I came down with cancer - multiple myeloma, a rare blood and bone disorder, which landed me in the hospital and rehab for two months in August and September, unable to walk and with a broken left arm (fractures are common with the disease).
Bad as that sounds, I'm on the mend and rebounding nicely, thank God. But I haven't been able to work on anything since last summer, when the health situation really started getting bad. However, I'm pain-free now, walking again, and slowly working myself back into a workflow so that I can get back to the History Project.
The challenging part has been trying to work basically one-handed as as the broken arm completes recovery, but that's coming along nicely, as well, because I'm able to type this message with two hands (it's finding the angle to hold the left arm at that's the hard part!).
If I haven't communicated with some of you recently that volunteered, or I asked, to contribute your memoirs to the History, this partially explains why and I'll be back in touch with you as soon as I can.
In the meantime, rest assured that the Lindblom History Project will be completed and I will send out another status update by the summer to give you a firmer idea about a finish date. Thank you so much for your continuing support and if you have any concerns, please reach out to me directly.
Go Eagles! BOOM, BOOM! A happy and productive 2021 to you and your loved ones!
(See older updates)
Campaign Updated: November 27, 2018 by David Smallwood
Thanks to generous donations, the original goal of this campaign has been achieved – to raise at least $20,000 to pay for the completion of the researching and writing of the illustrious 100-year history of iconic Lindblom High School in Chicago, which celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2019.
Now the campaign and its goal have been expanded to cover the associated costs of hopefully producing, designing and publishing that history in book form as a fundraiser for the school in time to honor Lindblom’s 2019 Centennial.
Lindblom is one of Chicago’s 11 selective enrollment high schools, located in the heart of the Englewood neighborhood, and its population comes mainly from the city’s South Side.
Lindblom currently ranks Number 11 among Illinois high schools and Number 395 nationwide. The school has a 94 percent graduation rate and since its inception has consistently turned out some of Chicago’s and this country’s most productive citizens.
(For more detailed background on Lindblom High School, please read this article: Lindblom History Project Celebrates Famed School's Centennial )
For roughly the past 10 years, the Lindblom History Project (comprised of dozens of former and present Lindblom students, faculty and administrators) has taken on the responsibility of researching and writing Lindblom’s history, originally with no set timetable for completion. Now the aim is to complete and hopefully publish the history in physical form in 2019.
We hope that the completed history serves as an inspirational guide for future generations of untapped potential achievers and leaders to learn from and be motivated by.
The research and writing of the first 50 years of Lindblom’s history was completed early in 2018. However, circumstances caused it to become necessary for a GoFundMe campaign to be initiated in June of 2018 by Project Creator Roy Pearson (Class of 1968) to hire writer David Smallwood (Class of 1972) to complete the final 50 years of Lindblom’s history and ensure that the entire history is publication worthy.
Thanks to 47 generous donors, $23,310 was raised to cover the writing and research of the remaining 50 years of the school’s history. We thank the anonymous Lindblom alumnus who provided a $10,000 donation to match $10,000 in additional monies that were raised.
Now the GoFundMe campaign shifts to its next phase under David Smallwood, which is to hopefully secure an additional $30,000 to produce, design and print the completed history, when written, in book form and in a pdf version that can be viewed digitally, hopefully in time for the school’s centennial activities in the second half of 2019.
The goal is to completely cover the associated costs of publishing at least 500 physical copies of what is sure to be a highly coveted book, with proceeds from the sale of the book going to Lindblom High School. The school will also receive all sales from an e-book pdf digital version of the history.
Donations to this part of the GoFundMe campaign will be used to achieve as much of this goal as possible. Whatever funds remain after that will be donated to Lindblom High School.
Donations to produce Lindblom’s 100-year history in book and digital form are encouraged in any amount through the summer of 2019, (as of now) when the completed history should be ready to go to press. The printing and publication dates are subject to change depending on circumstances, so David Smallwood will provide occasional updates on this GoFundMe page as to the progress of this campaign.
When the project is completed, we believe that it will make Lindblom one of the only Chicago public high schools to record, and hopefully publish, its 100-year history.
So, in the great spirit of Lindblom achievement and Lindblom ingenuity, we are asking for your help in ensuring the success of this part of the GoFundMe campaign. Feel free to donate yourself and please share the link for this web page with any and all Lindblom alumni and other supporters of Lindblom’s past and future, as well as those who may not know Lindblom personally but believe that advanced education is the key to a successful future and a better society.
Contributions may be made anonymously. In addition, if you prefer to contribute by check rather than electronically, or simply need more information, please contact David Smallwood directly at: [email redacted].
Thank you all so much! SWOOP SWOOP! BOOM BOOM!! And Happy 100th Birthday, you old Lindblom High School, you!
Organizer
David Smallwood
Organizer
Chicago, IL