Forty Years Ago
Ye Olde Editor Claude Walker Sr. was on a reminiscent rant. “There was a time when you didn’t need to make an appointment for almost any service,” wrote Walker. “When you needed a service performed you merely went to the doctor’s office, [Yes Virginia, there was even a time when doctors made house calls.] and waited your turn, just as you did at the dentist, hairdresser, fashionable restaurant or meat market.
Since then, time became the essence of our existence, people lost patience with waiting and delayed appointments. And a numbers system became popular when you shopped for food. The system still survives at the deli counters of today’s supermarkets.
The point? There’ll always be lines, and you’ll always be last when you join one. You’ll feel a bit better as the line inches forward.” (O petty pace).
See if this connects”dancer-actor Ben Vereen was asked why he chose his profession. “I was one of a family of 12 kids in an apartment with one bathroom,” he said. “You don’t have a choice but to tap dance.”
From the July 1965 issues of the Forest Park Review.
Thirty Years Ago
In an idle moment you may wonder why a certain store or building in town is no longer there. Or you might ask “what was there before that went up?” Happens every so often. You’ve had other stuff on your mind and maybe the old business was turned over to new ownership or the original owners may have put up new signage. Or”as sometimes can happen”a store or shop can get wiped out by fire, as happened July 17, 1975, when five enterprises were wiped out
At 3 a.m. local firefighters found the business complex at the 7500 block of Randolph engulfed in flame and smoke. Unable to contain certain areas of the fire, firemen positioned themselves on the roof of M.L. Ensminger Co. directing torrents of water into the blaze at Cesar’s Italian Restaurant for more than 2 ½ hours to little avail. Also put out of business were Phil’s Liquors, a laundromat and a sales agency. It could be that 5-6 years hence, some local might drive by and wonder “Whatever happened to ….”
From the July 1975 issues of the Forest Park Review.
Twenty Years Ago
Wayne Buidens, Joe Bass, Karen Skinner Spiker, a six month-old Himalayan “teenager,” got swept away”literally”by some high winds from the sixth floor balcony of the White House condo on Circle. He landed on a grassy patch surrounded by concrete. His owners, Mr. and Mrs. Willian Weinbrecht, said they watched helplessly as the buffeting breeze carried kitty up, up and away”’til gravity took over. Taken to the vet, the Spiker was reprieved. No serious problems were uncovered.
“Dear Sally: My fiancé is after me to dye my graying hair. I love her very much and try always to do things that make her happy, but I’m satisfied with my hair the way it is and I’ve been on the receiving end of many compliments on how “distinguished looking” the gray in my hair is. I would appreciate your comments on this.”Lenny.”
“Dear Lenny: If you’re happy with your hair as it is, stay with it. To put spin on an old bromide, you can love your woman but you don’t have to “dye” for her!”
From the July 1985 issues of the Forest Park Review.
Ten Years Ago
It’s been ten years since Courtesy Home Builders announced it would close its doors. Fifteen years earlier (1980), it signed on as a co-anchor to an optimistic mall enterprise that”like Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose”got off the ground, yet never flew far. Courtesy stood on the site of present-day Ultra Foods.
And here’s the Lovely-Item-of-the-Week winner: A man returned home after work to find his two pet ducks decapitated. The heads were never retrieved, and one of the ducks was cut open. How bored can you get? Does one wake up of a morning and say, “Gee, what’ll I do today? I know, I think I’ll ….” Enough. (No, too much.)
Who Remembers? Steve Wynn (the epitome of the “Filler” in this week’s column) … Jack Palance … Mindy Carson … Vince Edwards … Andy Kaufman … Chet Coppock … the Manifest Destiny … the results of your Wasserman Test … G. Gordon Liddy … Garth Brooks … key clubs … Geraldo Rivera (and his wonderful Al Capone secret hiding place) … CB radio … Buddy Rich … Standard & Poor.
From the July/Aug.1995 issues of the Forest Park Review.
