Forty years ago
Nearly, but not exactly, local news. Oak Park was originally purchased by Joseph Kettlestrings, its earliest settler, from the U.S. Government in 1835 for $215.98. If we were paying attention at school we’d all know that Peter Minuet (not Stuyvesant) purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians a lot earlier.
Unusual ad: FREE with Roofing or Siding. White Giant Steel 18′ Flag Pole … complete with gold colored vinyl plastisol ball and zinc-plated hardware in an attractive re-useable strong type carton.
Couple things wrong with the ad, though. Like who’s offering the flag pole, and how and where do you get in touch with them? And … what do you do with the carton it comes in?
From the June 1965 issues of the Forest Park Review.
Thirty years ago
Part II of last week’s Larry Kaercher column”remember that times change, and even come full circle. The former editor made this deathless statement about life in the U.S. circa 1975: “Many of us are aptly described as spending our lives doing things we detest, to make money we absolutely must have, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like.”
In Part II he puts forth the generality that young people of the ’70s (and ’60s) had had enough with materialism and all it didn’t bring”peace of mind and real satisfaction.
A garbage man becomes a sanitary engineer and an elevator operator is a transportation specialist, a stable boy at a race track is a pollution control expert, etc.
Young kids didn’t buy it back then, said Kaercher. What’s the cause and effect of Generation X today? Like it or not, we live in interesting times that keep changing (Thank you, Bob Dylan).
From the May/June 1975 issues of the Forest Park Review.
Twenty years ago
Joe Scolire. There’s a good Forest Park name for you. It almost leads one to say “Good Ol'” Joe Scolire.
A couple of weeks back we marked the departure after 13 years of School District 91 Superintendent Arthur Jones. Today, we remind you that Scolire, a favorite of many a parent, teacher and pupil, came on board as our new “super” in May, 1985.
He managed not to be born in Forest Park, but Chicago. Still, he spent the great majority of his years here while achieving a succession of educational goals. He went on to earn a B.S. in his chosen field at the University of Kansas, an M.S. in Education Administration from Northern Illinois University and an Advanced Certificate from the U. of I. in Champaign-Urbana. He retired from his superintendent post here in June, 2000.
Today, he travels quite often with his wife, and works as a consultant for the Cook County Regional Office School District, mostly in the area of life safety inspection. Scolire’s accomplishments, dedication and popularity are well remembered here.
Sad news can be bad in the extreme. And when a life is cut short at age four, we’re into tragedy. Mr. and Mrs. Huu Gia Tang of Forest Park had just attended services at the Chinese Bible Church in Oak Park. Their three children were playing briefly in a yard adjoining the church when one of the children, Sammy, 4, darted between parked cars on Jackson Boulevard and Cuyler Avenue. No charges were brought against the driver, who was not identified. The Tangs were associated with the China Night restaurants here and at the U. of I. Campus in Chicago.
From the May/June 1985 issues of the Forest Park Review.
Ten years ago
Big, bad Paramount Pictures, Corp. of Hollywood was challenging little old Starship Subs, 7618 Madison St. in Forest Park. This issue: After operating for 17 years under the corporate name, Starship Enterprises Inc., the owner of Starship Subs were being asked to take on a new moniker”or else. The La-La Land plaintiff filed a lawsuit charging that Henry Laskoswki and Paul McKenna, local sandwich makers, had to stop using the name Starship Enterprises Inc. because it infringed on the title of Paramount’s Star Trek TV series. The fact that the local sandwich shop had carried its name for 17 years seemed not to deter the movie corporation.
Said co-owner McKenna, slightly amused that a large corporation would be concerned with his business: “It’s not like I’m making money off them.” More to come.
Who Remembers? Bert Lahr … Lar Daly … Bill Bailey … Haley Mills … Beverly Sills … Crosby, Stills (Nash and Young) … Karl Jung … wine barrel bung … who got hung? … Movin’ right along … ping pong … King Kong … ding dong … Carl LaFong … a dynasty named Tong … Erica Jong … and (true) Mr. & Mrs. Wong Bong Fong of Hong Kong.
From the May/June 1995 issues of the Forest Park Review.
