Random things that I am interested in. The Irish canal diggers. The mix of eastern european ethnicities in the period between 1900 and 1940. The way the various waves of people advanced the life style and prosperity of McKinley Park. What would be a good example of women in the work force -- mail order clericals at Spiegel or factory workers during WW II? Were there workers living in McKinley Park who worked at the McCormick Reaper Works at Blue Island and Oakley -- they went on strike for the 8 hour day at the same time as the Haymarket movement. Four strikers were killed at the plant gates in 1886. The stockyards pretty much defined this area because it was such a major employer. Numerous spin off companies dealt with the supplies and after products of slaughter houses -- like Campbell Soup. Maybe we can somehow indicate the difficulty of our neighborhood by protraying the tear down of factories like Wrigley? We can learn a lot from Joe Trutin and Glen Young. Glen has been supplying hardware to industrial companies for 38 years. Joe has lots of knowledge of history -- He always talks of Mope Town which was across from where his Video Strip is now -- and then torn down for I 55. One ornament we might add to the mural -- in our theme of recreation might be of the increasing presence of Chinese people doing early morning exercise/meditation. We might think of making a reference to the hard working Latino immigrants with an ornament showing how these guys volunteer their time. They manage every team at this point in the parks history and are not too proud to grab a rake and shovel to prepare the field. We should also show the girls softball teams -- a huge breakthrough which did not happen until Omega Delta took over. With Bermele there were a few girls who played hard ball -- Frank Mrjans daughter and Sara Starr are the ones I remember. Dont forget the dear little boy Jaime Alaniz. Bob Tito, the park supervisor, loved him, visited him in the hospital, and named the field after him when he died of cancer. I looked up Ralph Bermele. He was born in 1894 and in 1940 he had 3 daughters and a 10 year old son. He lived at 31st and Racine (1215 W. 31st.) In 1922 he was a retail pharmacist with a drug store at 31st and Princeton. He played 18 games with the New York Giants in 1921 and was signed by the White Sox in 1922. There is no indication if he actually played in the big leagues. He was a World War I veteran. And he was a star pitcher for the University of Michigan. He died in 1951. I found reference to the 1962 Bermele team which was champion of Park District 15. Also we can remember some of the good 16 inch teams: Hoyne Hounds, Legion of Doom. Or some of the star players like -- Rica Ramirez, Tim Koronkowski, Richard Hernandez, Billy Starr. As well as coaches from the past like Mike Starr and Mr and Mrs Rybicki. (These things are only my memories. Not to undercut the glorious Omega Delta era which Im not as familiar with.) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Manzarek The text below is from examiner/article/ray-manzarek-s-chicago Ray made it easy to find. In his autobiography “Light My Fire”, he says “I went to a little grammar school called Everett School. I did eight years there. We lived right across the street 3358 S. Bell Avenue.” I drove out there and found 34th and Bell to still be a working class neighborhood with those uniquely Chicago old fashioned type houses that are separated from the sidewalk with a walkway or stairs to the house. The Everett school was more than across the street. The Manzarek’s house was kitty-corner from the school. Ray, or his brothers, could have run out of the school, tripped over the curb and they would have been home. The school didn’t have a playground, but Hoyne Playground (now renamed the Jaime Alaniz Memorial Field) was only three blocks away and it had a baseball field, basketball court, and swings. This was not much different from what Ray described in “Light My Fire”, “It had a baseball diamond-complete with lights for night games for the big guys - an outdoor basketball court and swings and teeter totters and a sand pit for the little kids.” I could imagine Ray jumping out of school across the street for lunch and bursting out the door to catch up with his friends at the playground, and run back to school at the end of the hour. The neighborhood hasn’t changed all that much since Ray and his friends ran the streets. Kids still burst out the Everett School heading for home or the playground, it’s still a working class neighborhood, Latino now rather than Polish. And at the end of the block stands a building that was undoubtedly the neighborhood tavern of Ray’s time. Somewhere in time, within memory, Ray still runs these streets and perhaps Ray is remembering that child today, on his 72nd birthday. I cant come to the meeting on Thurs because we are planning for a forum on Local School Councils.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 02:22:30 +0000
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