During the 1960s, on the three blocks of Bryn Mawr Avenue (5600 North) between Kedzie (3200 West) and Bernard (approximately 3430 West) avenues there were two gas stations; an Orthodox synagogue, or shul; an elementary school (Peterson–kindergarten through eighth grade, and still there); Irv’s Barber Shop; a Grocerland and a Jewel Foods that later became a Certified owned by Morrie; a Kosher butcher; a bakery; a florist; a realtor; Miss Carol’s Dance Arts Studio; Lex’s Schwinn bike store; Klein’s Jewelry; a Chinese hand laundry; an electronic parts store; a hardware store owned by a different Morrie; a Jewish deli restaurant; a laundromat; Bon-Shar, a women’s clothing shop; the Hollywood Card shop, where the Peterson School 8th graders bought their autograph books; Beck’s Books and Follett’s Book Store, both (two!) college bookstores serving Northeastern Illinois University (3500 West), which started out as the Chicago Teachers College and changed names every couple years; Plotkin’s Pharmacy; Sandler’s Pharmacy; a Chinese restaurant called Tong’s Tea Garden; Hollywood Toys and Hobbies; Davis Imperial dry cleaners (also still there); Sherry’s Pizza; and C.V’s Snack Shop, which also changed names several times.
I could tell you stories about all these places, but to keep this post short I’ll tell you about the one that mattered most to me. It was called the Hollywood Bowl and it was owned by Joe and Helen. They served lunch and sold penny candy, but in the five hundred or more times I was inside the Hollywood Bowl, I never once ate lunch there.
Peterson School didn’t have a cafeteria. Most kids went home, a few brought lunchboxes, and some ate “out.” Starting around 12:30 p.m., a good number of us drifted towards the Hollywood Bowl and into the mob crowded around the display case. Not everyone got their orders in before Helen cut off candy sales. She must have had a deal with the principal to make sure kids made it across the street and in line by the first bell.
Does anything come in as many varieties as penny candy did? Bull’s eyes; flying saucers; red and black licorice records; giant jawbreakers; Sweet-Tarts, grape gumballs; sourballs; candy lipstick; wax teeth, lips and fangs; wax bottles and wax sticks; pixy stiks; lik-a-maid; marshmallow ice cream cones; Chowards violet candies; Mary Janes; Kits; Tootsie Rolls; Charm Pops; candy buttons; Slo-poks; shoe string licorice; El Bubble Bubble Gum cigars; candy cigarettes; Banana Splits taffy; BB Bats (also taffy); candy necklaces; Smarties; Sugar Daddy and Sugar Babies; Double Bubble, Bazooka and Swell; Topps trading cards–I was a fan of the Batman series; Switzer’s Licorice; Turkish Taffy; Necco wafers; Razzles; Atomic Fire Balls; Boston Baked Beans; Red Hots; Lemonheads; and Jaw Breakers–and that’s leaving out candy bars.
I’m sure my mother never set foot inside the Hollywood Bowl. Few parents did. Kids were on their own, debating their choices and dropping their sweaty pennies and nickels on top of the glass display case. Helen would place the pieces of candy in small brown paper bags, tops sharply folded down.
By the end of second grade I was walking to and from school without adult supervision. I lived eight blocks away, on the northern edge of the school’s boundary. By today’s standards my parents might be judged negligent, but I didn’t walk alone. A small group started out from my block and with each block we picked up more bodies. The trick was getting back in time for the Hollywood Bowl.
Our stretch of Bryn Mawr lies within city limits, but it was a small town Main Street. Some stores were owned by parents or relatives of our Peterson School classmates. I can clearly picture Certified Morrie: always talking, always moving, always carrying a box. And just as clearly, I can see hardware store Morrie looking for a rubber door stop or cutting a duplicate key. Every time we stopped in, my mother spent less than a buck and talked to Morrie for half an hour.
The short string of stores along Bryn Mawr Avenue was an extension of ourselves, not home but not away, either. We considered the major shopping street to the north, Devon Avenue in West Rogers Park, a good, if slightly better off, neighbor. The new suburban shopping mall, Old Orchard–a fair-weather friend. But we knew Bryn Mawr, and it knew us.
Sources: Thanks to Peterson School alums William Tong and Marshall Kravitz for contributing to the list of businesses formerly located on Bryn Mawr Avenue in Hollywood Park.
I don’t remember the Hollywood Bowl closing. Anyone else?
Not sure if it’s been asked before, but about the Hollywood Bowl…after it closed, (can’t recall the exact year) was it a temporary campaigning location for Senator Charles Percy? That’s what I remember anyway. I wonder if anyone else recalls that.
Thanks Lewis! I have to update my list with your additions. You know the saying that there is (maybe was) a bar on every corner in Chicago. But that wasn’t true so much for Hollywood Park. There were a couple bars I’ve heard of — the one you mentioned was opened up just a few years ago, though it was under a new name. And then Von alum Mary Hagberg told me of her father’s bar, on the west side of Kedzie south of Bryn Mawr. And there was a second story social club on Bryn Mawr, same block as Sandler’s. But other than that, the area did not have the usual number of corner bars. Any thoughts?
Richie: I had forgotten all about my father’s barbequed chicken so thanks for reminding me. You can reach me at feesimple1@yahoo.com for catch up stuff, and yes I am still practicing law in and around Chicago. Can see your Mom and Mine together in my mind right now. My sister is doing great.
Frances: Here are a couple of stores no one has mentioned ( I think): the shoe store with its x-ray machine, the liquor store next to Sandlers (I always felt bad going past there because my buddy Bobby would often see his dad sitting in there during the day drinking); there was also a tiny Mom and Pop grocery store two or three stores west of the Hollywood Bowl. They had a delivery man who rode a bike and his name was Max and he always had a big cigar in his mouth as he rode his bike; this is off the beaten path, further down on Bryn Mawr, but there was a little tailor shop a little east of Lex’s Bike shop and I think his name was Abe..
Hi Frances,
That block– between Ardmore and Hollywood on the west side of the street– includes Steve Korey’s brother Mel, Dave Sidell’s cousin, Richard Newman, and Richard Schultz, another of my classmates…
Thank you, Lewis, for this lively recollection of Bryn Mawr and your adventures. That TV repair shop has been very elusive to track down the name and exact location. It was especially fun for me to hear that you worked at the hardware store. I’ve written about how my mother enjoyed visiting the hardware because it reminded her of her father’s store. It looks like we have quite a representation of the Bernard block!
Hi Louie,
I still remember playing with you on your kitchen floor with your HO train set. As you know, your family and mine were close friends. My mother and your mother remained friends, and often visited together, until the end of their lives. I seem to remember your sister moving into an apartment on the south side of Bryn Mawr between Kimball and Bernard, and if I’m not mistaken, that you followed in your father’s footsteps becoming an attorney.
BTW, I became a lifelong lover of barbecued chicken from the barbecues your father had, when I discovered his chicken! This after you moved to Budlong Woods.
I’d love to hear about Merle and your whole family.
My wife and I live in Arizona where another kid on our Bernard block now lives– Steve Korey. It’s been awhile since we spoke on the phone, but Dave Sidell, another block member, now lives in L.A.
Best, Richie
Such a pleasure to have belatedly found your Blog; you have captured another long time lover of that wonderful street of memories. Lived on Bernard between Ardmore and Hollywood from 1947-1958.
During the spring and summers now, as a monthly routine, I return, via my trusty bike, to my early day stomping grounds of Bryn Mawr/Kimball, I love just riding in and out of the streets and sometimes just sitting in the school yard, or what’s left of it !!. I remember all the things all the other contributors to your blog remember about the street and Peterson, and a big smile comes cross my face. I remember Irv’s and got my haircuts there through college and when I married, my first apartment was at Bryn Mawr and St. Louis (my dad owned the building otherwise I could not afford to llive there) and my son got his first hair cut at Irv’s; my first job ever was at Mauries Hardware store moving the merchandise around and yes, making keys; my second job ever was at Ed’s Sinclair at the corner of Bryn Mawr and Kimball (no one has mentioned Ed’s). I was trying to remember the TV repair place being mentioned in prior blogs and then it dawned on me that what we were really talking about, back then, was, the “record shop” where you bought the 45’s. I remembered all the softball games, the scraped knees from sliding on the gravel, the fly balls that almost made it over the fence; I remember the contests on the chinning bar–I won a few; and I remember the evenings in the school yard during the summer with the girls and your club jackets, sometimes, but most of the time ending up with the poker games; I remember being chased out of the school yard by officer Mueller (a frequent memory on Bryn Mawr) on his three wheeler; and I remember the biggest indignity of all Larry Stork and I being pseudo arrested by CPD at the Greeks for attempting to buy liquor and then taken home by the police to face the music. A shout out to your frequent contributor Richard Cohen, my next door neighbor on Bernard. And who can forget Zaretsky and Benji. And a confession–when I did not have any money and she was not looking, I would reach around the glass counter and “borrow” candy at the Hollywood Bowl. Thanks for your Blog
I think you mean Bryn Mawr and Christiana not Catalpa. I also believe that my classmate, Judy Rosen’s father was the pharmacist at Plotkins. I lived at 5528 N Kimball for 13 years.
My Uncle Irv and And Aunt Bea owned Plotkin pharmacy at the corner of Christiana and Catalpa.They also lived in a really cute apartment behind the store. My other uncle was part owner of Milt and Morrie Shell on the corner of bryn Mawr and Kedzie. It was always the hang oout. My mom worked at Irene’s dress shop. So I wasn never allowed into Bon Bon Shar across the street because they thought we were trying to snoop prices. There was no comparison. Our clothes were much nicer. Another family member worked at the shoe store. It was all one big family on that block!
Rich and Frances, you have both captured my point well. Outward things may change but the ongoing sense of community is great to see and feel.
Hi, Andy — it’s been too long! I’ve forgotten about that tradition of picking up Sunday papers Saturday night. We always had home delivery, but when I was older, I loved doing that.
Len, not only has a close community evolved in the neighborhood, Peterson School is just awesome. I’ve met a number of the families over the years through this block and doing some history programs for the school and the HNPCA (Hollywood North Park Community Assocation) and it’s just wonderful to see how they’ve come together to create a thriving community.
Hi, MIchael. So many “Blocks” over the years at Peterson–I’m guessing you are related to Harry? So, I’ve already shared a lot with him in these pages. I know the Silvermans, related to the Plotkins, because Debbie was in my class and Ronda in my sister’s. And of course Harry told me about his ties to the family that owned the fabulous Hollywood Bowl. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Len
Your comment is well taken. The neighborhoods we speak about have continually changed through the decades. We tend to focus on the neighborhoods we remember within our lifetimes. It’s nice to know that the neighborhoods live on, being home to new generations and peoples, who form their own memories– may they always be nice ones.
My generation there was the 50’s.
I am on Bryn Mawr a couple times of times per week and while it does look a lot different, it appears to be serving the current neighbors just as well as it did our generation in the 60’s and 70’s.
thanks for the memories. Peterson and Von as well. Worked, like most of us, delivering drugs for Plotkins ( would be arrested today for drug distribution) and Doris and Sam’s (now arrested for peddling). Now in Colorado and neighbors with Freda Zapiler (now Miklin). Great memories of skinning knees sliding in Peterson’s softball diamond and every night at the Park.
Hi Andy,
Say hi to Larry for me.
While we’re remembering newsstands, let us not forget the stand on the northeast corner of Bryn Mawr and Spaulding, next to Tanya’s. It was there all through the fifties, disappearing in the early sixties.
Rich
Irv’s was on Kimball several doors north. I went by there about a month ago on a nostalgia drive. My grandparents lived at 5541 N. Christiana. My first branch of the Chicago Public Library was on a corner; Sawyer, I think. My mother used to take me there to load up on books. (I could read before I started school.)
Don’t go to Bryn Mawr now. The view would break your heart.
In the late fifties a guy named Sid Solomon worked the stand on Saturday nights. The cars would line up to get the Sunday papers and Sid would pay me a little something to run papers out to the cars. It was exciting work for a young kid. Anybody know if Sid is still around?
Hi, Marty, thanks for stopping by. Yes, that stand was so memorable! We’ve discussed here somewhere on the blog. I think Doris and Sam, and the person who commented had worked at that the stand. Doris wore bright outfits and they were very friendly to the kids crossing the street at that corner. The medical office is news to me, though. I’ll have to add it the Bryn Mawr list.
Two additional memories of Bryn Mawr was the paper stand on the NE corner of Bryn Mawr and Kimball. Married couple owned it. Wife was Doris, can’t remember husband. My cousin Dave Levy and I occasionally sold Sunday papers on Saturday night for them.
Also closer to Kedzie(Jersey) on the N side of Bryn Mawr near Lex’s was a small medical office. My first Dentist Dr. Greenberg was in there. I grew up in Lincolnwood but my cousins were all from Hollywood Park.
Would love to see the “W” photo. To my memory, Brynwoods had two sections, both going from front to back with set tables. The first section, which you encountered when entering the restaurant, was the narrower/smaller of the two. You entered the second section through an adjoining opening from the first, the second section having about ten or twelve large tables. My friend, Terry Bluver, who lived just south of BrynMawr on Sawyer, was addicted to the Brynwoods barbecue ribs.
Best, Rich
Hi, Richard. I wish I could have eated at Brynwoods — I’ve heard others remember it. There is still a “W” in the tiled entrance walkway where the Woodworth’s used to be. I took a photo of it, but not sure if I eer posted it on this blog. Will use next tiime I publish a list.
Hi Peppy,
My dad and I watched many of the Summer softball games that you played in. I still remember some of the long homeruns big hitters hit onto the roofs across BrynMawr.
Thanks for reminding me of the name of the restaurant on the north side of BrynMawr near Sawyer (Brynwoods). I’ve been trying to remember the name for a long time, but no one, until you, mentioned it– Brynwoods had great barbecue ribs!
I had a friend that lived in the big apartment building that Sandlers was part of; his name was Alan Kite. He was about my age, which is a year younger than you (my Bar Mitzvah at Shaare Tikva was in ’56). Sandlers and Tanya’s were two of my hangouts. I loved the hot turkey sandwich at Tanya’s. I bought many softback sci-fi books from the rotating book rack at Sandlers, and it was the place I bought most of my comic books.
Do you remember double-talking? We double-talked each other and even Von teachers to earn points– there was a double-talkers top 10 and a Hall of Fame. I think Mike Goodstein was a hall of famer. As you may know, the 5 and dime was later (c. 1961-2) turned into an electronic golf driving range by Mr. Zwirn, among other businesses that took over that spot after the Woolworth’s closed.
Thanks for sharing.
Rich Cohen
Shelby — love this! You’ve captured many of the people, places and events that made Hollywood Park so special.
Hi, I am Shelby Kanarish, also known as Peppy. I went to Peterson School and Von Steuben High School with David Criz and Eileen Fineberg. Your blog brings back some great fond memories.
1. I worked at Faders delivering food on my bike.
2. Worked at Gills Pharmacy at Bryn Mawr and Kimball as a soda jerk.. Made the best chocolate phosphates.
3. Lived at 5519 N. Spaulding from 1941 to 1959. Roberta Pines, Rickie Morris, Arnie Elman, Alan Myers, Mike Goodstein, Corky Fahlhaber(spelling?) and Chuckie Bosworth lived on the block. Barry Dermer lived on Sawyer. We would play ball on the street all the time. NO ONE EVER GOT HIT BY A CAR.
4. Loved the chocolate malts at Sandlers on Bryn Maw and Spaulding.
5. Had many meals at Tanyas on on north east side of Bryn Mawr and Spaulding.
6. Loved playing softball at Peterson School on the gravel.
7. Did dips and chin ups at Peterson School with Marshall Waldo and Howie Weinstein.
8. Played softball and football at Hollywood Park Had a great rock garden and pond.
9. Sat on steps with Roberta Rudy Kurtz on Christiana across from Peterson school. Great discussions and gossip
10. Took tap dancing at Charollete and Harry Robins studio on Bryn Mawr. I WAS A NERD.
11. Ate dinner at Brynwoods just west of Kedfzie on the north side of Bryn Mawr.
12. In the 40″s there was a trolly car on Kedzie
13. Went to Share Tikvah Hebrew School 4 afternoons a week.
14. Had Bar Mitzvah at Share Tikvah in 1955
15. In the summer I would play at Peterson School playground from 9-5. PARENTS WERE PROBABLY GUILTY OF CHILD ENDANGERMENT.
16. Had Miss Reed in kindergarten and Mrs. Bolonsky(spelling) for several semesters.
17. Ice skating on Peterson Ave. east of Kedzie and McDonalds.
18. Saturday movies at the Terminal Theater on Lawrence Ave. When we got older, we went on Friday night.
19. My Aunt Mary Kanarish and Pippy Feldman owned the Hollywood Smart Shop.
20. Hitch hiked to Von from Bryn Mawr and Kimball. MORE CHILD ENDANGERMENT.
21. My father, Ozzie Kanarish, was a member of the Hollywood Park Fellowship Club on Bryn Mawr east of Spaulding.
22. My mother, Irene Kanarish, shopped at the Kosher butcher shop near the Hollywood Park Fellowship Club.
23. Went to the Dime Store on Bryn Mawr a lot
Hi, I have a question if anyone remembers or has photos of Battiste Coiffers. I would imagine it would be in the later 60’s. If anyone has any memories about the salon I’d love to here them, it was owned by my father and my older brothers mother. Thanks
Mark, thanks for sharing this story. I’d like to write a post for the blog about him as so many have written in and mentioned the Gillis family. Thanks again for reminding me about them. I may send you an email to follow up on details.
Benji Gillis was a Von legend. I attended Von in the early 60’s and graduated in Jan. 65. Benji’s younger brother Artie was in my class and one of the few members of the basketball team who treated an average guy like me as an equal..Artie was a gifted athlete probably better suited to football but of course we didn’t have a team at Von. I remember when the American, the afternoon paper, did a full page spread on the basketball team and I had walked down to Zfaney’s drug store on Foster at lunch and picked up a copy. I brought it back to school, saw Artie and gave it to him as his picture was in the paper.
Artie quit the team his senior year for reasons unknown and it was a tradition for the graduating seniors to play the varsity every year. We only had 77 in our class and I tried out and made the team and practiced with Artie and was named to start. I couldn’t wait and 2 days before the game the principal walked into home room and told us he was canceling the game as it would break Illinois High School rules and the varsity would have to forfeit its games. The principal’s name was Dolnick and he had come over from Carver where Cazzie Russell played and was an Expert on rules. He had replaced Dr. Fink who I am sure will elicit some memories from this group.
I remember reading about Benji’s passing in the papers and it really hit me hard because i knew his brother. Also brought back many memories just like this group does.
Frances,
It’s easy to remember Irv’s sign– I’ve been sharing it with people for more than 50 years, always giving credit to where it originated. It’s brought a lot of smiles.
The Simons lived on the NW corner, one of the “mansions” as some of us referred to the corner houses. His address may have been on Thorndale because the front door faced Thorndale. Thanks for stopping by, Dennis.
Richard, thank you for sharing the bit about the barber shop — you have a good memory. And thank you for remembering Larry and Marshall here.
I don’t remember if I shared this here before, but in memory of Irv the barber i will share it here now. On the wall at the rear of the shop, toward the barber chair(s), there was framed sign that read:
Seville dere dago tausin buzis inaro.
Nojo demis trux. Vats inem, cowsin dux.
Irv would never say a thing about the sign unless someone asked. Then he would say,”what, you can’t read it?” The first time I asked, I asked him what language it was in, and he replied, very seriously, “I’ll read it for you: Seville (Say Willy) dere dago (there they go) tausin buzis inaro (thousand buses in a row). Nojo demis trux (No Joe, them is trucks). Vats inem (whats in them), cowsin dux (cows and ducks). Irv had a dry sense of humor. 🙂
Regarding Larry Zaretsky and Marshall Klein ( a close friend), both have passed away. They continue to live on in our memories, and now in this good blog.
Hi everyone,
Linda, I remember Larry Zaretsky well. I’m pretty sure he was in my class (class of Jan. 1961). For our 4A Dress-Up day, Larry went as Baby Huey, pushed around Von in a shopping cart by our classmate, Marshall Klein, who was a friend of Larry’s.
Boy, the name Benji Gillis brought back old memories. I had forgotten that name for many years. My dad and I were regular frequenters of the summer softball games in the Peterson School playground that Benji played in. I have spoken about those memories somewhere else in this blog. Thanks for refreshing my memory!
The name, Mrs. Atkinson, rings a bell in my memory. I was in 3rd grade at Peterson at the time you had her as a teacher. If it’s the same Korshak, he was a friend of my father’s, and a guest at my Bar Mitzvah reception– still have the pictures 🙂
Frances– Irv the Barber– may he rest in peace– died in 1986. I remember that date because we came back to Chicago from where we were living at the time with our newly born daughter, and were visited by our old friends (the Gergans) who owned the apartment building we had lived in at 5639 N. Christiana. When we asked about the old neighborhood, they told us that Irv had recently passed away.
Correction: Seymour Simon lived a block south of Peterson in a large house at the 5900 corner. Don’t recall if his address was N/S or E/W. His house would have been around the corner from Sherry, Arlene and Jeffery Abrams.
Irv’s barbershop was still open when I was at Peterson in the 60s.
Hi, Linda. I’ve been away from the blog for a few days so please excuse my late response. I love all the details you’ve added–especially knowing who the developer of your block was. I will be able to look up more of the neighborhood’s history knowing Korshak was the developer. Again, I’ve found that all of us from Hollywood Park have a lot of history in common — even if we attended school ten years apart. But I never knew Mr. Kaz had been at Von. That’s interesting. Somewhere I have the date when he started at Peterson, and I thought it was in the 50s. I’ll have to check. And yes, no one ever called him Mr. Kazmarek. Thanks for visiting.
Reading your blog on “Mom and Pop” brought back so many wonderful memories, some different from those of other people who commented.
@Danny – I remember the newstand on Kedzie very well. I used to drive there with my Dad frequently so he could buy a racing form! Then, we’d go out for ice cream at Loree’s and he’d teach me how to read it. I used that knowledge for years when I used to meet him at the track after school. He owned a business and left for work at 4:30 AM but by 2:00 he was ready to relax and go to the track.
@Frances – Mrs. Atkinson was my first grade teacher at Peterson School in 1951. I think she was one of the newer teachers then.
@Frances et. al. – I clearly remember Mr. Kazmarek at Von Steuben but I do not remember anyone calling him “Mr. Kazmarek”. When I was at Von, everyone called him “Mr. Kaz” and that’s what he told us to call him.
@Richard – The Simon family lived one block south of us on Christiana. We were on the 6100 N. block and they lived on the 6000 N. block. Seymour Simon was a judge. The son I remember from Von was Johnny Simon. I did not know any other siblings and only knew him in passing. I believe that he became a lawyer and a politician too.
**Although some of you mentioned the “Hollywood Fishery”, no one mentioned that Larry Zaretsky worked there for years. He was a sweet guy, a very large guy who loved to eat and who was nice to everyone. He always smelled like fish after he left work. Some reminded me that Larry had eating contests at Lerners where he could eat eight or ten hot dogs or more. He entered those “challenges” and took on the hamburger challengers at Cooper’s on Lawrence Avenue too.
**No one mentioned Benji Gillis. It’s difficult to recall softball games at Hollywood Park without thinking of Benji. He was a great looking, soft spoken, big hearted guy…really a special person. We had many long philosophic conversations…there was so much more to him than met the eye. He died young after leaving Von. I believe it was from a motorcycle accident out west. For years (is it still there?) there was a colorful, painted memorial bench on the northeast corner of Hollywood Park dedicated to his memory.
**When we moved into our Georgian home on the 6100 block of N. Christiana in 1948 we were the first house on the block. The alley was ‘paved’ with cinders, a few of which are still visible in my knee! We were surrounded by prairie and there was building going on all around us as the Korshak family developed the property which went north to Lincoln Avenue. We had to be very aware when walking our dog because hunters with rifles roamed freely throughout our yard and the surrounding “prairies” shooting pheasants. This continued until the block was finally completed with brand new homes.
**I graduated grammar school and entered Von in 1959, graduated in June, 1963.
Dennis,
I never saw him do that, but my memories of Irv are from the late ’40’s through the 1950’s, when he was fairly young. He must have kept in shape outside of the barber shop. During the week, at work, he spent most of the day standing in near place.
Did Irv ever skip rope or do pushups for you? He was very proud of his fitness level at his age.
Hi Dennis,
Yep, Irv’s barber shop, on Kimball, abutted the alley that ran behind the Bryn Mawr stores, from Kimball to Christiana. I spent many an hour after school awaiting my turn in the barber chair, sitting in the space in front of the front window, reading the multitude of comic books Irv kept replenished on the rear table.
I was usually the last customer of the day. Irv would then allow me the honor of sweeping up the accumulated hair, then burning it in the large trash barrel behind the store– almost as much an honor as when a teacher allowed one to clean the blackboard and dust the erasers outside. Ah, those were the days 🙂
Correction: Irv’s Barber Shop was not on Bryn Mawr but on Kimball a few doors north of it.
Hi, Bobby. Nice to hear from you. We overlapped — I moved into Hollywood Park in ’63.
This website is the greatest. I lived at 5711 N. Drake and attended Peterson from 55-63 and then went to Von for my Freshman year, before moving to Linclolnwood.
The Hollywood Bowl was one of my favorites, except I rarely had money to buy anything.
The green rivers and lick-a-maids were among my preferences.
I played Baseball at Thillens and at Von…..I have tried to hook-up with Harry Block who lives in Vegas.
I am retired for 12 years and live in Scottsdale, AZ.
Please keep this alive!!
Thanks, Richard, for providing so much detail. I can tell you it looked pretty much the same throughout the sixties. The toboggan was still there, though it was towards the end of the sixties when it was boarded up. Not sure when they removed it. I just happened to be at Peterson yesterday, and I couldn’t help thinking how small everything looked. I know that is a cliche about returning to remembered spots from childhood, but that place seemed to be enormous: the playground by the chimney and the engineering building or whatever that building was has been made divided up into to a parking lot. It always was a parking lot, but they put up some blocks to separate it from the playground. They cut the tower down to a lower height; apparently they do this because they begin to crumble. I know that the coal was delivered and unloaded down a chute in that area of the playground, and that manhole has been covered over with asphalt.
Thanks to all those who added to my picture of the area around Peterson School prior to 1948, when we moved in from the West Side, specifically the victory gardens across from Peterson School on Catalpa (buildings were there when we moved in); that Shaare Tikvah was once in a building on Bryn Mawr, before moving to Kimball and Ardmore (single building there in 1948, larger auditorium added a few years later, where I had my Bar Mitzvah in 1956).
For the record: chain-link fence that wasmentioned not being around Peterson School was sometime prior to 1948 (fence was there in 1948 with entrances through the fence on Bryn Mawr across from the Hollywood Bowl, another on Kimball about 50 feet south of Bryn Mawr, and another opening in the fence on Christiana at the north end of the building near the gym entrance (there were no fences, then, along Kimball south of the north end of the facilities building with the tall chimney). Fences were added along Catalpa around Kimball to the north in 1954 (we watched them build them when I was in Mr. Herman’s 6th grade class). I moved away in 1963, so I cannot speak to subsequent changes.
For the record: In 1949 the playground included a toboggan slide on the Kimball side with a ball diamond and backstop just north of the slide; along the Bryn Mawr fence, from the west, was a tall slide, tall swing sets, teeter-totter, merry-go-round, and more swing sets and tall slide at the Christiana end of the fence. Parallel bars were added near to the teeter-totter later. Closer to the gym entrance along Christiana was another ball diamond, and later a chinning bar. South of the toboggan slide, between the school building and Kimball, were two sets of small kids swings with security bars. a sand box, and monkey bars (the square arrangement type rising to a small square of bars at the top), and another merry-go-round just outside the 3rd grade school entrance. The ground was covered with small stones/gravel. In the late fifties, the area from the 3rd grade entrance across to near to the Kimball fence was asphalted and basketball backboards/nets were added. In the late 50’s/early 60’s we played fastball-pitching against the facilities building north wall (strike zone marked in a rectangle on the brick wall) using the hard, white rubber balls, usually bought at the Hollywood Bowl.
I remember that the Peterson School Principal, c. 1949, was Mr. Marsh (succeeded by Mr. Moore); the reference to an earlier female Principal named Marsh may be Mr. Marsh’s wife?
I hope that fills-in a small piece of the school history.
I didn’t know Ira Sutow but since he is in the business I checked him out on IMDB. That’s the site for all questions relating to film credits. It came up with three credits for him as a documentary producer.
48 Hours (TV series documentary) (producer – 3 episodes)
– A Fatal Attraction (2012) (producer)
– The Untold Story of Caylee Anthony (2009) (producer)
– Lottery Fever (1989) (producer)
It looks like he is currently a Producer at CBS News in NY. I wonder if he knows about this site.
Jerry, thanks for stopping by and contributing so many great memories. I am wondering about the Winegarten’s. I’ve been told that they owned the Hollywood Delicatessen, which was on the north side of Bryn Mawr and Spaulding. They had a daughter Phyllis who was in the Peterson class of ’67. So, I’m wondering whether they also owned the Hollywood Bowl, perhaps before Joe and Helen? Any ideas? I will ask Bill Tong whether he remembers Ira Sutow — Bill is the owner’s son, and would have been quite young at the time. Again, thanks for providing all these interesting connections.
OOps. I meant Judy Rosen’s father was, I belive, the pharacist at Plotkin’s. Also my neighbor who worked part time at Tongs was Ira Sutow. I remember seeing his name in the credits of several TV shows but I forget for what.
What wonderful memories. I lived directly across from Peterson School on Kimball from 1955 to 1969 until I got married. I graduated from Von in 1964. Looking at the picture of the Hollywood Bowl brings me back to my youth. About 13 years ago my youngest son was an under-graduate at Miami of Ohio and in a fraternity. His pledge brother was introduced to me. His name is Jason Winegarten. It turns out that his grandparents owned the Hollywood Bowl. I later met up with his father Shelly and we reminised. Since I lived across from the scholyard I played outside all summer from sunup to sunset.The pictures of Dennis Briskman brought back memories of shooting hoops when I was 12-14 with him and many others in the neighborhood. Those pictures on the Briskman site also show several of the people I went through school with including Larry Shapiro. We also ordered out from Tongs Tea garten and shopped at Morries etc. I believe Judy Rosen’s father was the pharmacist at Cranes. She was also a classmate of mine.
Howard,
The school for boys was called the Parental School, but we called it the bad boys school, and I’ve heard many others called it the same during earlier years. I remember seeing the boys working the farm and it seemed like something out of a horror movie.
It’s hard for me to imagine how the neighborhood looked with so many lots. Some of the other readers have described the empty lots, which many called prairies. The last one that I know of was on the north side of Peterson, west of St. Louis.
I’ve sent you an email so that you can send me your photo. Can’t send photos to the blog.
thanks.
Frances,
As an after thought, I believe that the drug store hangout on the southwest corner of bryn mawr & spaulding was named Braverman Pharmacy.
On the west of kimball ave and St. Louis that is now the college, was at that time a cemetery and next to it a “reform school.” I’m not sure of the name. I remember that
most of us didn’t like to go there, especially at night. It, the cemetery, was quite scary and at that time our area was almost out of the city; almost rural.
South of Peterson school on Catalpa were empty lots during the war and we, each different class, planted our own “victory gardens.”
Not sure if this is relevant, I’m enclosing a photo of our school guard group.
Take care,
Howard
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So glad to hear from you, Howard. You’ve got so much information to fill in the blanks. I’ll be updating my site with all you’ve added. Please feel free to send in more information that you recall.
Frances,
Stumbled upon your blog much to my delight and thought I might add some more color to it. It has pushed me back in time to when life seemed simpler and less complicated, although, as a youth I imagine each generation feels the same.
Some of my ramblings:
I lived on Kimball Ave. @ 5631 for awhile and then we moved across the street to 5648 for the rest of my youth.
I remember when Irv Plotkin opened his pharmacy and Mr. Feder’s delicatessen was the best. My mom shopped almost every day as freezers were a little way off and when opened the Jewel store it was a great deal for our small area.
My cousins Harold and Lorraine Kay were the first owners of the “The Hollywood Smart Shop”. first at a small store further east on Bryn Mawr closer to Kedzie, and then a few years later, to the larger store that was near the 5 and dime. They sold , moved to California, opened another store. I remember them living upstairs across the street from their store near the corner close to the “drug store,” that was our favorite hang out.
I was Bar Mitzvah @ Sharre Tikvah when it was in a small store on Bryn Mawr before they build the new, larger one on Kimball, north of me.
I also graduated from Peterson went to Von ( my sister graduated in 1946) for one year and the transferred to Lane Tech. As I recall, there wasn’t a chain link fence around the playground at the time.
Funny how I still remember a few names of the teachers from Peterson. Mrs. Masrh was the principle as well as my home room and history teacher. Miss Weiss, was the gym teacher, Mrs. Sullivan taught math and Mrs. Mizock (sp) I believe was art.
I have managed to find sand get in touch with a couple of my old friends from school. Lessing Gold went on to be a well known corporate lawyer in L.A., and Lawrence (Larry) Clapham graduated from Stanford and USC and an engineer, spending much of his time in the Navy; he live in California.
Thank you for this blog and all of the effort you put into it!
Howard
Frances,
The Simon son I remember was older than I– I can’t remember his name now. My mother took me to see Seymour Simon for the Summer job. We met in his office across Kimball Ave. from the Ravenswood depot on Lawrence and Kimball. I remember him asking me if I would vote democratic when it came time for me to vote, then, after my affirmation, giving me a letter to take to the Park District headquarters on the north end of Soldier Field (where Ceil Sidell worked).
That was the time when Mayor Daly ran a tight democratic ship in Chicago. My uncle worked in City Hall (where the Blues Brothers completed their “mission from God” in the climactic final scene of their movie), and was president of his union. As president, he, and other union presidents, were sometimes called into the Mayor’s office when he was promoting his bills.
Once, when I was home on leave from the Navy, my uncle invited me to lunch downtown; I was to meet him at City Hall. When I arrived, he asked me if I’d like to meet the Mayor, which I was happy to do. We rode one of the elevators to the Mayor’s floor (had the same elevator music played in the movie). Unfortunately, the Mayor was away, but I did get a tour of his office.
Richard,
I always knew where Seymour Simon lived, though I never knew he had sons who attended Von. I recall the evenings when the precinct captain came for a “visit.”
Yep. Cowboys and indians was a popular game of the time, complete with cap-guns, holsters and cowboy hats. Indian head-dresses were a bit harder to find, as I recall. Dave’s family and mine were friends. His mother, Ceil, checked me in when I got a job at the Chicago Park District the Summer of 1961, through our Precinct Captain, Seymour Simon (later an Illinois Supreme Court Justice). Seymour and his sons, who went to Von, lived on the N.W. corner of Thorndale and Christiana (across the street from Hollywood Park). I remember being invited into their home for a Young Democrats meeting, once.
When we moved from Bernard to Christiana in late 1951, Dave and his mom came to visit us. I remember the occasion because it was then that Dave showed me how to make a pompadour hairstyle, which I kept through my teenage years 🙂 .
Richard – No Rich Newman was not my cousin I have enough of my own. Three of them lived in the two flat with us. Counting my brother and I five boys in almost the same household. I only knew Rich and Dave as neighbors and did not know them well enough to know their story or stay in touch. I do think Dave helped up me one day when I fell on some ice and slid under the front of a car as I crossed the corner of Bernard and Ardmore going to or from temple. Next time you e-mail him say hello for me and see if he remembers me. Funny thing but I think we all played cowboys and indians in those days !!
Dave,
Steve Korey (one of the kids I grew up with) and his older brother Mel were instrumental in founding the merchandising of products through TV ads/demonstrations that are so prolific today. Dave Sidell, whom I played cowboys and indians with on Bernard street, after graduating the U. of I., became wealthy after opening Rathskellars in Old Town and then merchandising their unique decors.
I was in the Navy on a nuclear submarine (submerged two months at a time) when I picked up a copy of a Playboy magazine in our crew’s lounge, to find an interview with Dave Sidell, how he’d made his fortune and was then living in California raising Arabian horses! I exchanged emails with Dave about a year ago, forwarding a hello to his cousin (your cousin, too?) Rich Newman. Dave is living in the L.A. area.
Francis — What link ? None appears !
David, try this link: http://vonalum.com Then, you should see a series of photographs at the top of the page, for about 30 seconds. Then on the last photo, an arrow will pop up. Click on it to see the video. I hope that works.
Memory is such an individual thing — I remember Mama Cass but not Mr. Cass !! hehe Richard Newman and Dave Sidell were cousins I believe and I think slightly older than I was but I remember them both. Steve Korey and Louis Shapiro also sound familiar and I think were younger than I was. Not sure at what age I was allowed to cross streets.
Francis — Still haven’t found how to access the video. Which is ” the new site ” and not sure what you mean by ” rotate a few cycles ” ?
Richard, it’s funny that you’ve thought of him as Mr. Cass all these years. I will give your regards to the group.
Frances and David,
It’s funny how you can carry false ideas when you’re young that can carry throughout your lifetime, unless someone finally shows you the truth. Such is the case of Mr. Kazmarek, whom I always knew as Mr. Cass– the phonetic sound of his name to me, that I have always called him 🙂 .
I lived at my Bernard address when I was 5 to 8 years old, and I wasn’t allowed to cross the street– the kids I played with on my block– Steve Korey, Richard Newman, Dave Sidell, Louis Shapiro, and Richard Schultz– were all on my side of the street (even numbered addresses); Marty and David lived on the taboo side of the street, so we wouldn’t have been playmates.
Frances, say hi to Marshal, Ken Brown, Ken Kantor and other 1/61 graduates for me when you see them.
David– I remember the grocery store next to the Bowl you mentioned, and another around the corner near to Irv’s barber shop and the shoe repair store with the Kiwi shoe polish sign in the window. When the Jewel supermarket opened on Bryn Mawr and Christiana, the small grocers in the neighborhood were doomed, the beginning of the era of large chain-stores. Still, there were things that Feder’s carried that couldn’t be found at the Jewel (and later the National east of the Jewel on the same block), that helped keep Feder’s going.
David, on the new site. On the home page, after the photographs rotate a few cycles then there is an arrow to start the video.
Francis — How do we see these videos you are talking about ?
Richard — I didn’t know when you referred to a Coach Cass if you meant Coach Eugene Kazmarek or someone else. As far as Bernard St. I spent most of my life on that street. My parents owned a bungalow at 5334 N. Bernard St. when I was born in 1941 sold it during the war and later moved into a two flat at 5725 N. Bernard owned by my aunt, uncle and grandparents and subsequently by my parents until 1960 when they moved to 6424 N. Trumbull Ave. (actually also one block W of Kimball) in Lincolnwood.
Judy — I wasn’t sure if my memory had failed me on the patrol boy issue or not but I do remember Bob taking some tap dance lessons at the Robbin’s studio.
On another matter I remember the grocery store between the Hollywood Bowl and Hollywood Fisheries that I think was run by a Mr. and Mrs. Denker before being taken over by Charles Butler. He was an african-american delivery man named Banks (not Ernie as far as I know) who not only delivered the grocery orders but would sometimes drive my mother back home as well.
Judi, my graduating class at Peterson, 1970, was the last year girls weren’t able to wear pants to school. That fall, I do recall we could wear jeans to Von. It would be interesting to see if Barry would want to share any of his recollections of the dance studio.
David, Max says hi and that I made a mistake about Bob and the patrol boys. He wasn’t one. It was Glenn Mikell and Max.
Francis, we still had to be formally dressed in school when I attended so we had to change in the back dressing room that had wooden benches lining the walls with cubby holes underneath and with hooks above. The Robbin’s lived in Lincolnwood. I believe Barry is the only one still alive.
I started in an apartment building on the NE corner of Hamlin and LawrenceI and moved to 5654 N. St. Louis not far from David and Richard in 1952 until 1966.
Richard, that was the same block as where Marty Marcus lived. I’ve written about him several times. He wrote the novel and a lovely about our neighborhood. He lived at 5749 N. Bernard, among other buildings. There’s a photograph of the building on the page with his poem.
Do they still do the 40-yard dash. I remember that, as well as the broad jump. Our gym teacher was Mr. Kaz, short for Kazmarek, who I thought had been at Peterson a long time.
Richard, I ran into Marshall two days ago. He’ll be at the reunion. We’re planning to do another video.
Judi, we went through the same routine with Ms. Carole, except she had a record player, not a live piano player. As I recall, we didn’t use the rear changing room much because we wore leotards under our clothes and just got ready in the small area in front. I took the same classes: tumbling, tap, ballet, jazz and modern, but no toe. At one point I was taking classes four days a week, but was never very good, so I hid in the back row. Always had a hot dog, fries and orange pop at Whirly’s around the corner on Kimball after Saturday classes. No carpooling, no one drove us there. Recitals were at Mather High School.
Do you know if the Robbins family lived in the neighborhood?
Frances– I enjoy, and it’s my privilege, adding my memories to your website. I recently had the pleasure of watching your alumni video interviews. Marshall Waldo was one of my classmates; I enjoyed the updates of his athletic accomplishments described in your interview. Marshal was one of our best athletes as we grew up, especially his speed. I remember a gym class where Mr. Cass timed us in the forty yard dash– my time was 6.4 seconds (etched in my memory), Marshal’s was 5.2 seconds, the best in our class. One of my major, youthful athletic accomplishments was throwing a pass for a touchdown over Waldo’s head in Hollywood Park. A Californian named Gene was visiting next door to my house, and had tremendous speed. I got him into the touch football game– he got behind Marshal for the TD, a rare accomplishment.
David– I remember Mr. Cass being in charge of the patrol boys, a valuable honor of the times. I never became one, but sat-in once in the gym as Mr. Cass explained the responsibilities. Before we moved to Christiana in 1951, we lived for three years at 5746 N. Bernard, near to the corner of Ardmore and Bernard (west side of the street), around the corner from Shaare Tikvah. Did you live close to that location? We may have been kids that played together.
Hey Judy (Hi to Max too) I love both your postings. My mom did the lunch visit with me as well and I remember that part of the lunch hour was spent tagging along from store to store as she did her shopping. In those days I knew each store intimately.I remember Mr Feder would mark each individual item on the outside of the wax butcher paper in pencil then total them all up by hand on the side of a brown paper sack. Not all lunches were at the Hollywood Bowl however. I do remember some bag lunches too but that may have been in high school. I had forgotten that Bob was a patrol boy. How lucky we all were to have grown up at that time and place !!
David, I remember your mother meeting your brother Bob many times on the playground at lunchtime, where he played softball, and would take him to lunch at The Hollywood Bowl. My husband Max(who I did not know yet) and Bob were patrol boy captains together. Maybe they didn’t have enough time to get home and back to their street corners. (-: innocent, safe times!
Miss Carole’s Dance Studio was originally owned and run by Charolette and Harry Robbins. Their sons Barry and Bruce were also involved since their parents were there after school and evenings. Their son Bruce played the piano for us. Bruce became a well-known piano player at higher end restaurants in downtown Chicago. Myself and many friends spent hours their right after school and many times on Saturday mornings. Recitals were held on the stage of the auditorium at Von Steuben or Roosevelt High School. We took ballet, toe, tap, toe tap, gymnastic floor exercises etc. in the small hardwood floor studio. There was a small dressing room in the back of the store and a small entry with a desk and a few chairs for waiting mothers. Cynthia Horwitz’s mother was usually sitting in one of the chairs. I remember Cynthia was the star pupil and spent a lot of time there. We all walked there after school and when class was over, we all walked home, no carpooling. Bryn Mawr Ave was just an extension of home. I loved seeing the picture of the Hollywood Bowl! My 3-4 year old sister in 1954 and 1955 anxiously awaited her weekly Saturday ritual of walking with my Zayde to the Hollywood Bowl. I was in dance class and had to wait until class was over to take my quarter and get my lik a maid and buttons.
David and Richard, thank you both for your great comments that truly bring back the life of the those days. I can’t get over how we all have the same memories. Except you guys had more empty lots to explore. I’ll bet you collected lightning bugs in the weeds of those lots, as we did.
Richard – I graduated Peterson in June 1955 and Von in Jun 1959 and was not the athlete in my family so never really hung around the school that much after classes, I also attended Shaare Tikvah Hebrew School so not a lot of free time and when I did I played a lot in the front or backyard of our Bernard St two flat, at friends apartments or in the alley or vacant lots behind us just south of the temple. You might also be interested in my other recent posting under Mom and Pop, Part 2. As far as summer in Hollywood Park I think the whole time growing up there was something special !! They trully were “Happy Days” even without the “Fonz” !!
David, I just read your post where you mentioned me and Ron Futterman. Ronnie is a retired attorney now, at least according to his plans from an email we exchanged a few years ago. We were in the same grade school class until Ron went to Summer School and advanced a grade ahead. I graduated Von in Jan. 1961. What class were you in– to refresh my memory in case we knew each other.
Frances, I probably mentioned this before in one of your threads, but since you mention Tong’s Tea Garden again, I’ll reiterate for the record:
Before Tong built his new restaurant and home on Bryn Mawr west of Kimball, he had a smaller place for many years on Bryn Mawr and Christiana (then the North West corner next to an empty lot on the true corne). Later Plotkins was built on the empty lot, and Tongs moved to his new location..
David,
Thanks for furnishing Peppy’s real name, I always wondered about that. My Peterson School class graduated in Jan. 1957. Yours must have been a few years earlier. My dad and I used to go to the softball games that went on in the Summer evenings on the ball diamond facing north, adjoining Kimball Ave. Peppy was a regular player in those games. I remember some of the long home runs some of the big-hitters made, some of them going across Bryn Mawr Ave., a few even going onto the roofs of the stores there.
Summer vacations in Hollywood Park, the happiest times of my childhood.
Thank You for helping to keep alive all these wonderful memories! I did not know Ron Kanarish but “Peppy” Kanarish who was in my class for years was really Shelby ( don’t tell him I told you his real name ). I may be at the Von reunion with a cousin of mine who is 6 years my senior and also attended Peterson and Von. I keep forwarding various articles from your blog to him and he was a classmate of Marty Marcus.
David, thanks as always for visiting. Your recollections are a great example of the how stable and unchanging the neighborhood was for many years. One of the people who worked at The Lee, was Bill Tong’s father, who later opened his own restaurant, Tong’s Tea Garden, on Bryn Mawr west of Kimball. Bill was a couple years behind me at Peterson. And we had the same teacher, about 15 years apart. About the Kanarish family — I recently got a note from Ron Kanarish, who confirmed his father was one of the founders of the Hollywood Park Fellowship Club, in addition to being commander of the American Legion Post. And yes, his mother, Mary Kanarish, and her partner, Pauline Feldman, owned the Hollywood Smart Shop. The Smart Shop was east of Woolworth’s, as I’m sure you remember.
Are you coming to the all-years reunion at Von on October 12? I’ll be there.
WOW Each time I come back to read or re-read one of these pieces or the many comments people post some new memory or piece of information that might help fill in the web we are all weaving comes to mind.
1- The Lee ( always remembered it as Lee’s Chop Suey ) I think was just east of Glick’s Fruit and Vegetable store. I used to go in for an order of the chunkiest oiliest best tasting french fries on a cold winter day in a little white take out container after my Hollywood Bowl lunch stop.
2- I think the previous owner of the Hollywood Bowl before the Feinbergs (Eileen was my classmate) were an older couple named Minnie and Max Cohen.
3- Hollywood Fisheries Green (no e) family had a son Louis (as well as daughter Suzie) who was a classmate and good friend of my younger brother Bob Criz but my brother went to high school after my folks moved to Lincolnwood in 1960. Louis Green operated the fishery later on after he finished school.
4- Both Rich Cohen and Ron Futterman whom he mentions in one of his posts are familiar names from around Von and I think I remember their faces too as they were maybe one class behind me. Rich also mentions being impressed by Peppy Kanarish on the Peterson ballfield. Peppy was one of my classmates, is an attorney in the city and I saw him at our Oct 2009 50th Von Reunion. His mom and I believe an aunt were owners of the Hollywood Smart Shop where my mother was a frequent customer.
5- There were several military installations along the river east of Kedzie/Jersey from Devon to Foster.
6- Andy Romanoff sounds very familiar to me also and by his own account is the same age I am so could it be he went to Peterson but not to Von ?? Andy — Do you remember me ?
7- Across from the mini-golf and kiddieland on McCormick between Lincoln and Devon was a huge golf driving range on the site of the Home Depot (which was several discount retail chain stores before that and also a multi screen theater and supermarket.
8- I also had Mrs. Atkinson but I believe it was in first grade which would have been in the 1947-48 school year.
Gayle, what a fun project. I could talk about penny candy for a long time. BTW, many people mention Loree’s, your family’s former restaurant on Foster as one of their favorite spots in high school. Thanks for visiting.
I am participating in a paid focus group on “Candy in our Lifetimes”. I’ve been searching online for the nostalgic candies I loved throughout my life. BINGO….The Hollywood Bowl!!! I think the Bowl was a second home to me (aside from Loree’s Snack Shop). As I travel through my candy-filled childhood, I thank you for having this information at my fingertips. YOU ROCK!!!
Thanks for dating the photo. We weren’t sure. Sounds like nothing changed over the years as far as kids “exploring.”
Hello Frances,
Thanks for referring me to the playground site. You have pictures there of the ball field I referred to in my post– there are views down both baselines, including the Kimball Ave. side, with the new building on the southwest corner of Bryn Mawr/Kimball you referred to in your post. That building was built in 1960-61, where we used to hangout during Summer vacations. That building was under construction, without a roof and with ladders between floors. Some of my friends (Steve Korey, Larry Fisher, and Kenny Brown) arrived early one evening and set a trap for those arriving later– they hid behind one of the window openings on the first floor with a can of water, and when I arrived they surreptitiously got me into position, then doused me. Knowing I would retaliate, they moved away from the under-construction building to Gil’s Pharmacy next door, laughing and shouting at me.
But they underestimated my resolve to get justice– seeing a ladder on the highest floor, (no roof yet) I placed the ladder against the pharmacy building to the roof, and climbed up with a bucket of water, then moved to the front of the building. Directly below were Korey and Fisher. I poured down the water, watching its long trail as it fell, then looking away. Shortly, I heard Fisher laughing– a direct hit on Korey, who was very sore and came after me. When he caught up with me, I reminded him that justice had been served, and he accepted his dousing. I tried for many years to get even with Ken Brown, finally let letting him off-the-hook at our 42nd H.S. reunion that he helped organize 🙂
Hi, Richard. I’ve written about that crazy playground. As you’ll see, everyone remembers getting hurt, one way or another. This post has a couple of photos of softball games from the early 1960s– they are blurry but maybe you’ll recognize someone. One of the comments mentions the game “I got it,” which I didn’t remember, but apparently it was still played into the late 1960s on the playground. Amazing these playground games lasted more than 30 years, then disappeared. Also notice that in the background of one shot, the building on the southwest corner of Bryn Mawr and Kimball is under construction. Eventually that was home to a barber shop, C.V.’s Snack Shop and a second level, which either had offices or apartments, I’m not sure.
Don’s post in the Deborah blog, concerning softball games, brought to mind softball games played in the Peterson School playground. The playground then, and for many years thereafter, was dirt covered by a fine stone gravel.
The playground had two main softball diamonds. During the Summers, in the early 50s, there would be serious softball games in the diamond just north of the toboggan slide (where the cafeteria exists now), just east of the Kimball Ave. hurricane fence. There were benches along the 1st and 3rd base lines between home plate and 1st and 3rd. It was a long blast down the left field line to the Bryn Mawr Ave. fence, but I remember a few big hitters who hit the ball over Bryn Mawr Ave, and one or two that made it onto the roofs! My dad used to go with me to watch those games. A name of one of the players I still remember (because it was so cool) was Peppy Canarish.
Other games common to the period were Pinners, Points, and Spud. We also played a game off the walls in the niche near to the entrance now going into the cafeteria, and in the space (Pinners) between the wall just north of the Principals windows and the auxiliary power building with the tall chimney– occasionally the ball would go on the roof of that building, and we’d climb up to get it. Climbing on roofs– garages, houses, etc,– was a fun part of being young, at least for guys– remember :).
Rich
Hi Andy,
Sorry for the delay, but we’ve just made a move out west and are still setting up.
Regarding the shop you worked at: I know you’re a few years older than Larry and I, so the store you worked at probably predates the Davis Cleaners Frances mentioned, that has been in that spot ever since. I do remember that a farm and small military installation existed in the southeast corner of Kimball and Kedzie, down by the sanitary canal (before Lerners)– that would be in the late 40’s when we first moved from the West Side (I erroneously wrote we moved to Peterson Park– It was Hollywood Park, close to you).
Re the Lincoln Village blog, there was another miniature golf, I forgot to mention, that was located between Lincoln Village and the Kiddie Land along Kimball Ave.
I’ll write you separately at the address you left for getting in touch with Larry.
Best,
Rich
Andy, the name Geiss is familiar to me, so I’ll have to recall where I heard or read it.
first, Hi Richard, I spoke with Larry yesterday and he recalls you well. Please contact me and I’ll put you in touch with him. And then MY GOD, you remember the firecrackers going off in my hand. I had a black powder mark on my finger for at least forty years from that day but when I looked for it yesterday it was gone.
Second, more on the TV store.The shop was located on the South East corner of Bryn Mawr and Christiana Avenues. I believe the man who owned the business was named Geiss, possibly Bernard Geiss and he was also the designer of the tester. The storefront functioned as a normal TV repair shop but the back was big enough to hold four or five assembly tables in addition to the repair benches. At these tables women worked cutting wires, stripping them and making looms. The looms were attached to the sockets and then all the connections were soldered at another station. Finally there was a test and inspection station and assembly of the surface into a case. I was very interested in radio as a young man and my mother (who worked at Plotkin’s across the street) introduced me to the owner who gave me a job building the looms. After a few months he promoted me to be the test and QC person so I found myself as a sixteen or seventeen year old trouble shooting problems, repairing them then explaining to the much older workers what they were doing wrong.
By the time I was seventeen I was more interested in motorcycles so I drifted away from the store and started building bikes instead.
If anyone knows the name of this store or any more about it I’d love to know.
Thanks Frances. It’s nice to see that instance of continuity in our ever changing world 🙂
The cleaners you’re thinking of is Davis. Here’s a photo of it. According to their website it’s been in the same family since they opened.
Hi Andy,
Your brother Larry was in my class during our years at Peterson School, and I knew you as well– I was up in your apartment off Olive street on several occasions. I remember the accident you had with firecrackers, and hope you’ve managed okay ever since.
I believe that a dry cleaners has remained at the southeast corner of Bryn Mawr and Christiana to recent times. Ronny Futterman wrote me that he and his brother visited the old neighborhood a few years back, and that that dry cleaning business was the only business that remained at the same spot since the 50’s. There was a radio/tv shop, with a tube tester in the front area, located on Bryn Mawr, a couple of doors down from the Hollywood Bowl (I still have a scar from a broken tube from that shop)– could that be where you worked?
How is Larry doing? Say hi from me.
Best,
Rich Cohen
Hi Frances,
Levin’s doesn’t seem right to me. The store was on the southeast corner of Bryn Mawr and Christiana. In addition to fixing TVs the owner had invented a tube tester (remember those?) and in 1957 or 8 when I was sixteen or seventeen i worked there soldering looms of wire onto the tube sockets. I believe I have some pictures showing bits of neighborhood life in the forties and fifties and when I have a minute I’ll send them to you
Andy, thanks so much for visiting and sharing these memories. Lots of stuff I hadn’t heard of. Nick was the Greek who owned the tavern and newstand, and the drugstore that is on the corner is still owned by his family. The TV repair shop was Levin’s, if that’s the one you are thinking of. Did not know of the anti-aircraft guns, nor the bums. Of all places in the neighborhood, Hollywood Bowl seemed the most important when I was little. I can picture that glass counter holding the candy as if I had seen it yesterday. I know where the grape gumballs were, the shoelace licorice, the candy necklaces. Engraved on my memory.
Hollywood Bowl! i remember it well. I went to Peterson in the fifties and used to get bottles of Malted Milk tablets there after school. I also recall the had great Chocolate shakes. My mom worked at Plotkins and that was also the first place I ever worked getting 25 cents per delivery to deliver prescriptions on my bicycle. Later I worked across the street at a TV repair place (can’t remember the name, help!). I also remember the tavern down at the corner of Kedzie and Bryn Mawr, we called it The Greeks. In those days there were still homeless guys living along the river (we called them bums) who would wander into The Greeks for the first shot of the day. BTW, does anyone remember the anti aircraft guns the Army stationed along the river to defend us from god knows what attack? Along the window that faced onto Bryn Mawr there were nudist magazines for sale and I spent what seems like hours staring at them until the counter man would say “if you’re not gonna buy em quit looking at em”.
I lived at 5637 N Spaulding, a big brown courtyard building and I sometimes go to Google maps and street view so I can see the neighborhood. Thanks for the memories.
Hi, Lynda, thanks for visiting. I did have the Greene family listed under Hollywood Fisheries, but I didn’t have Suzie’s name, so thanks for that information. It’s helpful, the fact that most store owners lived in the neighborhood and their children went to Peterson.is probably one of the reasons the Hollywood Park community thrived. The businesses and the community were so closely connected and supported one another. I was in second grade in Mrs. Atkinson’s classroom at the time Kennedy’s assassination was announced, and the events of the day are still pretty clear in my mind. We were told to put our heads down on our desks.
The only place missing from your list is the fish shop owned by the Green family (I went to school with their daughter Suzie). I also remember the Hollywood Bowl very well, especially as that is where I was when word came that President Kennedy had been assassinated. When my friends and I got back to Peterson school there was an announcement and then I believe we were released early from our classes to be with our families. I also have vivid memories of my mom and I taking the metal grocery cart over to the certified and stopping at the bakery for a bear claw. Thanks for the memories!
Eileen, thanks so much for leaving a message. You must have been the envy of all the kids in your class. So many of us still remember and talk about the Hollywood Bowl after all these years. I’m hoping you have some photos to share.
My folks Helen and Joe owned the Hollywood Bowl. I have enjoyed reading all the postings and it’s nice to hear that so many have such fond memories of my parents and the Hollywood Bowl. I too graduated from Peterson School and Von and have manypleasant memories.
Renee,
thanks for visiting. If you remember any stories, please send them in. Hope to see you in person!
Frances, I wished you had written this stuff when my mom was alive because she would remember a lot of the stores from there. We used to have a charge account at CV’s because my mom went to school at Chicago Teachers College North (precursor to Northeastern Illinois University) to get her teaching degree and my sister and I went there for lunch. He just kept our checks off to the side and my mom would come in at the end of the week to pay up. Love your stories!!
Thanks, Steve. It’s on the list.
Dave and Frances,
Feder’s was on the north side of Bryn Mawr, near Sawyer. Definitely a “Mom and Pop”, run by Mr. and Mrs. Feder. I remember it as more of a deli than a grocery store. We went there for corned beef (made by Mrs. Feder herself) and rye bread almost every Sunday morning.
It had to have been around ’66-’71 when I was taken there. It was, I believe a small building right on the corner of a lot that bordered the 2 streets and the alley and a building on Kedzie across from Sherm’s Hut. I remember it became an empty lot with abandoned cars etc. Arcadia came in around maybe…’75-’76? with an apartment building on the other side of the alley? I know there was a video store below the apt. building. I also recall when they rebuilt the bridge on Bryn Mawr and riding my tricycle on the temporary bridge construction. There was a house(realtybusiness?) on the N.E. side of the same intersection and an apt. building was built there probably around ’69-’70.
Camelot, that was a preschool right across from Peterson, a double storefront. I would really like to know the name of the snack shop. It’s probably one of the ones on my list that I don’t have addresses for. I like that Aracadia drug store is owned by the grandchildren of Nick the Greek, who owned a newstand at the same spot. I’ve got to get over their one day and talk to them. Maybe they’ll have some photos of their grandfather at the newstand.
There was also a store called Rite-Way with a stop sign logo on the north side of Bryn Mawr between Spaulding and Christiana,we would go there to get pictures developed ( before the Fotomat on Foster). I remember Camelot, I think it was a pre school? There was also a snack shop I would go with my older brother and sister to,It was on the S.W. corner of Bryn Mawr and Kedzie. It became a drug store called Arcadia.(if it hasn’t changed)
I bought my first bicycle from Lex. It was used and he gave a great deal.
Morrie’s grocery was just off Christiana. they had a special counter there where they sold all the baked goods from Tel Aviv Bakery owned by the Mauer Family.
Thanks for reminding me of the name–the Hollywood Bowl. I can remember going there to buy pixie stix. I also remember when Mars Attacks cards came out and all the older kids got them at the Hollywood Bowl. I couldn’t afford them and they were too wierd for me anyway.
Dave, that doesn’t ring a bell but I know who to ask and will get back to you. I lived in Budlong Woods until I was six, but as far as I remember we always shopped at the Jewel or the A&P, the latter was located where Dominick’s currently is rebuilding.
Frances,
While online today I picked up the name of a 50s/60s grocery store named Feder’s on Bryn Mawr. Do you remember it as west of the canal in Hollywood Park? If not, I assume it was located in Budlong Woods between Cal and Lincoln Aves. Please let me know if you rememeber anything regarding the store.
Thanks
What a GREAT story! Boy does that take me back! We had Schillian’s and it was across from Madison School in Quincy, IL. Your detailed candy list nearly had me in tears as I have been a sugar lover since DAY ONE. Nibs, cattails, rounders, candy necklaces, Sprees, like you I could go on. It is interesting and wonderful that a big city like Chicago had a similar situation to my very, very small town. I like to hear things like that, thanks Frances!
Danny, I’ve got a bunch of notes I’ll post tomorrow. But You’re right about the child care place. It was a double storefront and was on the late end of the sixties. I don’t think there was any child care places around when we were tots.
Frances Archer Sent from my iPhone
I definitely remember the Camelot Nursery School, by the way. It came a little later than many of the other stores and in my memory was just to the left of the Hollywood Bowl (if you’re facing it). Someone must have pix of the Hollywood Bowl interior. Do we know who owned it? When it closed?
Sue, I’m going to post a followup either later today or tomorrow. You wouldn’t believe how many places people have written to me about.
I thought she finally got it.
Oops…..hahaha!! That listed me as “your mom” because that’s how I comment on Spencer’s blog! Oops!
Yes, for some reason that totally escapes me, I “worked” at the Hollywood Bowl for either one or two weeks in 4th grade. I wish I could remember why. My job consisted of helping to serve food at the counter. My “pay” was a hot dog lunch and 10 cents worth of candy which was an entire small brown bag filled with candy. Best. Job. Ever. I loved that place so much. Mmmm….red licorice records with that little candy thing in the middle. Wax lips and bottles. Candy necklaces!!
I love when you write these stories Frances! I wish we could find a picture of what it looked like then. Does anyone remember when we sat on the steps outside of school and had to draw Bryn Mawr with all the shops? Maybe it was just my class. I wish we had those drawings!!
Steve, I don’t remember but maybe someone else does. I’ll get back to you.
Do you remember the Camelot Nursery School? I’m trying to find the address where it was located. It was on the north side of Bryn Mawr, and I think that it was on a corner… perhaps by Spaulding. My interest is that in the early 1950’s my (and my cousin Bill Tong’s) grandfather operated a Chinese restaurant call The Lee, which subsequently became the nursery school.
Danny, I can’t believe I forgot the newstand. That is the Hollywood Bowl building in the photo, but it looks different with the big sign over the window. You know between us we could probably picture exactly where each kind of candy was located. Red records on the left side, grape gumballs also on the left, flying saucers far right.
The Hollywood Bowl was the BEST. I can see the glass display case like it was yesterday and for a single dime you could literally get a bag of candy. My favorite were the chocolate nonpareils. If memory serves, my underaged sister worked there for a while. I know the Hollywood Bowl is long gone but is the building itself still there?
I remember the two grocery stores being called Morrie’s and something like Kaye Brothers? I had my first black-and-white cookie at that wonderful Jewish bakery on the corner, near the deli where we went after 8th grade graduation and other special events. I remember “the Greek” who worked the news stand near Kedzie where we used to walk to get my mother cigarettes and the latest Playboy magazine (oy, we had to bring a note). I loved the hamburgers at CVs.
I walked to school alone from Kindergarten on. Today my dad is horrified that he let us.
Love that you’re unearthing these memories. Can you find any photos of Bryn Mawr from back in the day?
I pulled a similar trick my first year of high school. I’d get five dollars a week for bus fare and lunch. So, I walked to and from school, bought a 5-cent large cookie at the school cafeteria for lunch, and had enough money to buy a new album at Flip Side on Foster Ave. every week.
We had such a store in our neighborhood when I was growing up. Our school (Sumner) did have a cafeteria and when my mother returned to work when I was in the 2nd grade, I brought my lunch but at least once a week(more often if she was frazzled in the AM) I was allowed to buy my lunch there. But everytime she gave me that $.35 I went to Al’s, where for a quarter I could buy a hot dog and a pepsi and have a dime left over for what as I remember as being a ton of penny candy. I did this for about 3 months until Al told my father that he had been seeing a lot of me lately. (My father went to Al’s every night to buy his cigar and smoke it there with Al. No more lunch money for me! It does, in fact, take s village to raise a child properly…and part of that village in our time was the local mom & pop store.