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The Red Socks Historian: Peter Alter and the Chicago History Museum
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Peter Alter—Chief Historian and Director of the Studs Terkel Center for Oral History at the Chicago History Museum—joins me for this episode, and what a conversation it turned out to be.
We nearly had to cancel. A massive Zoom outage hit just before we were set to record. But like all good historians and podcasters, we adapted. Zoom came back to life minutes before our scheduled time, and we hit record.
What followed was a rich, wide-ranging conversation about Chicago’s history, its immigrant communities, and the people who work behind the scenes to keep those stories alive.
Here are some highlights from our talk:
🧦 The Red Socks Connection
Peter wears red socks to work every day in honor of Studs Terkel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and broadcaster. He shared a great story about helping Studs with a FedEx package back in 1999—and getting a signed note in return.
🏛️ Museum History
Founded in 1856, the Chicago History Museum (still officially the Chicago Historical Society) is one of the city’s oldest cultural institutions—so old, Abraham Lincoln was one of its honorary members.
🖥️ Explore From Anywhere
Peter highlighted several ways to explore Chicago’s past without leaving home:
🌐 Chicago History Museum
📚 Encyclopedia of Chicago
🌍 Immigrant Communities & Shared Heritage
Peter’s knowledge of Serbian immigrant history in Chicago added real depth to the conversation. It reminded me of how rich and varied the city’s immigrant stories are—like those I’ve uncovered while researching the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and other Polish fraternal organizations.
We also discovered a shared connection to Carpatho-Rusyn heritage. I’m part Carpatho-Rusyn, and I didn’t expect Peter to know so much about that background. I mean, there are only about 1.5 million of us in the world! We ended up swapping family stories—including one about my aunt’s husband’s father, who worked as Al Capone’s upholsterer. And yes… there were blindfolds and mysterious car rides.
- Book website: https://www.flowerintheriver.com/
- LinkTree: @zettnatalie | Linktree
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-z-87092b15/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zettnatalie/
- YouTube: Flower in the River - A Family Tale Finally Told - YouTube
- Medium: Natalie Zett – Medium
- The opening/closing song is Twilight by 8opus
- Other music. Artlist
View all episodes
By Natalie ZettSend us a text
Peter Alter—Chief Historian and Director of the Studs Terkel Center for Oral History at the Chicago History Museum—joins me for this episode, and what a conversation it turned out to be.
We nearly had to cancel. A massive Zoom outage hit just before we were set to record. But like all good historians and podcasters, we adapted. Zoom came back to life minutes before our scheduled time, and we hit record.
What followed was a rich, wide-ranging conversation about Chicago’s history, its immigrant communities, and the people who work behind the scenes to keep those stories alive.
Here are some highlights from our talk:
🧦 The Red Socks Connection
Peter wears red socks to work every day in honor of Studs Terkel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and broadcaster. He shared a great story about helping Studs with a FedEx package back in 1999—and getting a signed note in return.
🏛️ Museum History
Founded in 1856, the Chicago History Museum (still officially the Chicago Historical Society) is one of the city’s oldest cultural institutions—so old, Abraham Lincoln was one of its honorary members.
🖥️ Explore From Anywhere
Peter highlighted several ways to explore Chicago’s past without leaving home:
🌐 Chicago History Museum
📚 Encyclopedia of Chicago
🌍 Immigrant Communities & Shared Heritage
Peter’s knowledge of Serbian immigrant history in Chicago added real depth to the conversation. It reminded me of how rich and varied the city’s immigrant stories are—like those I’ve uncovered while researching the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and other Polish fraternal organizations.
We also discovered a shared connection to Carpatho-Rusyn heritage. I’m part Carpatho-Rusyn, and I didn’t expect Peter to know so much about that background. I mean, there are only about 1.5 million of us in the world! We ended up swapping family stories—including one about my aunt’s husband’s father, who worked as Al Capone’s upholsterer. And yes… there were blindfolds and mysterious car rides.
- Book website: https://www.flowerintheriver.com/
- LinkTree: @zettnatalie | Linktree
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-z-87092b15/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zettnatalie/
- YouTube: Flower in the River - A Family Tale Finally Told - YouTube
- Medium: Natalie Zett – Medium
- The opening/closing song is Twilight by 8opus
- Other music. Artlist