Forty Years Ago

The following item was printed in the Review in 1965. Health advancements, priorities and concerns may have been a bit different then. Yet in some cases….

Forest Park resident Dorothy F. Scheu, a nursing director, was asked by the American Association of Doctors and Nurses to serve on its Decade of Health Committee. This body was created to remind people about the dangers of smoking, air pollution, drinking, failure to have check-ups or to recognize danger signals, etc. The story mentions that the first phase of the program, the plight of the second-hand smoke victims, had been the subject of a Reader’s Digest feature article. Ms. Scheu was quoted as saying that the country’s most important national problem was health. “This is an area,” she said, “where doctors and nurses can work together to help save many lives.”

Thirty Years Ago

Commissioner Santo Rizzo took the lead to initiate the Forest Park Paramedic Program. A new trauma unit would replace the Fire Department’s present Cadillac ambulance as the village’s primary medical emergency unit. Rizzo said acquiring the unit was the first step. Eight village firemen had already received emergency medical training (EMT) at Loyola Hospital. Such training was preliminary to lengthier, in-depth procedures.

Heart cockles. Whattheheck are they, anyway? Ever see one? Has anyone ever photographed such a cockle? All we know is that they tend to get warm. Especially after reading a “lost dog notice” like this: “To the person who may have found a brown male dachshund, 4 years old. Please return our beloved pet to us”he had a name tag”‘Fritz”‘ and phone number on his collar when he disappeared from our yard on north Marengo last Wednesday afternoon. If you choose not to return him then please be good to a loving dog. We miss him and want him back. Please phone __________.”

From the June/July 1975 issues of the Forest Park Review

Twenty Years Ago

“We may not know how much turmoil the human head can contain. Two instances from the Police Report-“

 A Dixon, Ill. man, apparently despondent over ill health, slashed his throat with a knife while a passenger on a Greyhound bus making a stop on DesPlaines Ave. Taken to the hospital, he was reported in stable condition.

 A 27 year-old River Forest man was charged with disorderly conduct on the complaint of a citizen. The man had removed two sewer covers from the intersection of DesPlaines and Randolph and thrown them into his yard.

The June 12, 1985 REVIEW carried an article on the Hope School in Springfield, Ill., a nonprofit residential institution where profoundly handicapped children are given a chance for a more independent life. The little one shown here is signing “love.” Most children at Hope are blind and nearly all have multiple handicaps. At times we feel sorry for ourselves. A reminder like this can jar us back to where we ought to be.

From the June/July 1985 issues of the Forest Park Review

Ten Years Ago

You may remember the razing of Xzotiks from two issues ago. It was a place of questionable reputation and a nightclub that virtually everybody was pleased to see go. Another establishment”one that’s still in business”was having its problems with nearby residents. The issue with the Oak Leaf/Pines Lounge on Harrison wasn’t sleaze; it was noise, very early in the morning – like 2 a.m. or so. For over half a year complaining neighbors balked to police about honking horns, raucous shouting and car alarms along with silent urination on some lawns.

Who Remembers? Dagmar … Dom deLuise … Del Close … spats … Jimmy Durante … Jimmy Durante’s nose … Martha Raye’s mouth … Sophia Loren’s eyes …

Cyd Charisse’s legs (both of them) … Ingrid Bergmans’s cheekbones … Jack Benny’s walk … the glitter in the eyes of flutist James Galway … Fred Astaire’s grace … George Burns’ Gracie”and George Burns’ great one liner, “I love to sing, and I love to drink scotch. Most people would rather hear me drink scotch.” Enjoy. (That’s what we’re here for.)

From the June 1995 issues of the Forest Park Review