Michael Kenna was born in the late 1850 's on DeKoven Street near the area the Great Chicago Fire would start . At age 10 he left school and began selling newspapers . At age 12 , by then an orphan , he had borrowed $ 50 from a barkeeper and purchased a newsstand at the corner of Monroe Street and Dearborn Street . He was so successful that he was able to pay back the loan within a month , and would sell newspapers at the stand until 1877 . According to legend , it was at this time that Kenna got the nickname " Hinky Dink " from '' Chicago Tribune '' publisher Joseph Medill due to his small stature . Kenna himself professed ignorance of the nickname 's origin . In 1879 he moved to Leadville , Colorado to work for a newspaper in the area , returning to Chicago in 1881
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Michael Kenna