I hoped seeing the pictures would jog my memory, but so far no soap. What they did do was remind me of what we looked like in the sixties, hanging out on the corner with attitude most of the time, but pretty conservative in the important moments.
Author Archive | Frances Archer
Event: A guided tour of the grounds of the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium
Recognize this building? If you’ve been to the North Park Village Nature Center, this building faces the parking lot. It’s been modified for its current use as a residential building, but like many of the buildings on the site, it is still recognizable from this photograph in a 1915 book.
Because it’s Earth Day
The history of gardening in Chicago’s North Park community goes back so far and has so many noteworthy characters and interesting stories it easily could fill a book.
You can go back
We came to Von Steuben Alumni Day with our memories and hindsight knowledge and expertise in an astonishing range of fields. Yet, it came down to this: the most popular question was, did the boys really have to swim naked?
Book Review: County
You could easily live a lifetime in Chicago and never see the impressive Beaux-Arts facade, let alone the overcrowded hallways of the old Cook County Hospital. If that’s true, consider yourself lucky. Much depends on economic level and zip code.
They were singing a different tune in Albany Park in the early 1950s
“Korea was a million miles away except for one of ours who was drafted and sent there. When he left it seemed the party was over. Nothing lasts forever.”
Long lost friends
This blog has helped several people find long lost friends. It has even helped long lost cousins find each other. It’s especially helped me make a lot of new friends. All of which I’m very thankful for. Now, I’d like to help one of the many people I’ve met through this blog find her long […]
This was how they rolled in Albany Park
“Back then there was a traffic law, you didn’t need a driver’s license if you were 14 years old and the bike was under 5 hp. Well, it was just a decal that gave the officer the hp. My bike was the exact same bike Marlon Brando rode in the movie The Wild One.”
Second Viewing: Chicago’s Lee Balterman
A reprint of an earlier post about my meeting with Chicago photographer Lee Balterman.
We all really are Irish
With St. Patrick’s Day fast approaching, this is a good time to discuss how Irish immigrants shaped our lives in Chicago. And it’s not just about seeing the Chicago River turn green.