The guys spent a lot of time on the corner of Lawrence and Albany, back in 1955. Jackie Leyden in the front row on the left, Artie Goldufsky next to him in the middle; and on the right, Wayne Wolff. In the second row on the left, Jerry Kerbis, unknown, Ronnie Kaplan, Rich Rehm, Chuck Flarhaty (sp?). Anyone look familiar to you?
Carl Goldufsky, Art’s younger brother, sent in these photos. That’s Carl, capturing the look of a whole generation, in the photo below.
I asked Carl to tell me a little about his times:
As for the photo of me on my 54 T110 Triumph, it was my second motorcycle. Started very young, I was probably around 15 or 16 in the photo.
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. I had it first. I never joined a club. My older brother rode with the Outlaws as I did a little, but never joined. I still ride.
There used to be a drive-in movie theater, the “Sunset,” on McCormick in Skokie where The Wild One played, very cool back then. But it’s another story, drive-ins, theaters and snack shops.
The photo of Carl on his Triumph was taken in his friend Paul Cohen‘s backyard. Paul lived on Bernard Street, right next to the river (canal) across from Von Steuben High School. The gate to his back yard had a magnetic lock for quick entries. Carl says you just had to bump it with your front wheel and you were well hidden inside the fenced-in yard. I imagine that came in handy.
Carl says he has really good memories of growing up in Albany Park.
“It was a good and safe neighborhood. You never felt threatened walking from place to place: Terminal Theater, Nick’s Pizza, other places. They were really innocent times.”
Credits: All photographs courtesy of Carl Goldufsky.
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Thanks for the correction! Bob Sirott has talked about his Albany Park youth in many articles, but it would be grand to get an interview with him for this blog.
In re Mike Georgas’ comment about Bob Sirott and Ronnie Kaplan, Bob and Ronnie would have been 6 years old when that picture was taken. That’s NOT Bob Sirott’s buddy Ronnie.
Mike
Mike, I’d love to see a photo of Bob Sirott back in the day on his bike. Anyone have one to share?
I’m surprised I didn’t see Bob Sirott in that Picture as he and Ronnie Kaplan were riding pals When the 750 Honda’s came out they both bought one Hid them both in the same garage away from mom’s eye’s. Then Ronnie’s Brother Jeff came up with a 750 Kawasaki 2 stroke Machine and Jeff was not afraid of that monster. You would hear him coming from blocks away because it sounded like a hornets nest on steroids as he wound out the gears. That Bike could do the Quarter Mile in under ten seconds that means about 120 MPH in two blocks! If you weren’t squeezing the bike with you’re legs when you took off fast you were just hanging on to the handle bars on your belly. He was full throttle all the time.
Chris, thanks for visiting. Yes, Albany Park has changed a lot, and that’s why we’re remembering what it used to be like.
well, i live on lawrence and avers and albany park has changes alot
Hi, Mike. Thanks! I followed your suggestion — you know what I mean?
Great story Francis. The comment about Nick’s Pizza. Wow, Nick had some great pizza!
Great memories. Thank you.
Jerry, the differences between generations fascinate me. Also the way the changes take place so slowly. Greasers were still around in 1970 in Albany Park, even as long-haired freaks were becoming the more dominant group.
Thanks, Harriet, for stopping by and your interest! I love hearing from readers.
This was the generation right after mine… the same streets. We had Schwinn’s,The photo looks like a movie promo .. It’s always interesting when change are going on and being part of it. At the time it was happening all around me, I didn’t notice the changes. I remember Mort Saul’s monologs homed in on the beatniks and the Beat Generation. He noticed “The non-conformist were becoming conformist, and the conformist became non-conformist”. I never considered myself a beatnik… however neighborhood friends thought so.
While a bit younger (we moved to Albany park in 1960 when I was 5) than those in the photo many of the places mentioned I remember going to. Saturday’s at the terminal, the Sunset Drive-In (what happen to those carefree places?). I lived on Kimball right across from Von Steuben. As always Frances I love reading about Albany Park.