Forty Years Ago
Lest she be forgotten-Valery Percy. Her death was mentioned here in September in a piece on her father, the esteemed Charles Percy and his wife, who made frequent appearances at Republican rallies in nearby Miller Meadow and in Forest Park. Review editor Claude Walker observed the sad tragedy in his column of Sept. 22, 1966. Commenting that it was his privilege to travel the state with Sen. Percy and know his 21-year-old daughter. The young lady had gone to bed when a night intruder apparently entered, was possibly surprised by Valery and then killed her. The killer was never found.
Walker said he was unspeakably saddened and thought very highly of the Percy family, “especially Chuck,”-as did people and politicians the country over. Walker told of the senator’s many virtues-personal as well as political-and that his conduct and bearing were above reproach. He wondered that such a man should have this happen to him. He concluded with his heartfelt sympathy.
Charles Percy, now 86, is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
From the Sept. 22, 1966, Forest Park Review
Thirty Years Ago
Here’s a somewhat hilarious illustrated filler from a September, 1976 Review. I mean, what kind of table manners can a family have? Or maybe it’s “Always dip your meatballs in a glass of water before you eat them.”
Table manners? Meatballs won’t stick to your fingers if you dip them in water first.
Joan Rivers did a routine about the crudeness of her husband who came to the dinner table in his shorts and cutaway undershirt. “I was so embarrassed,” she said, “that I dropped my handful of mashed potatoes.”
From the Sept. 13, 1976, Forest Park Review
Twenty Years Ago
A schmooze, in case you don’t recognize Yiddish, is a nice, warm and fuzzy conversation. But not what two Chicago women had in the apartment of a third woman here. I imagine that tea, if it was served at all, came before rather than after the business at hand. The business at hand included a broken golf club wielded as a weapon. Police noted that in addition to an outright attack, there was another charge of property damage done to the door. A court date was set.
Probably no person in town, with the exception of Librarian Jo Austin, invested so much time, care and interest in the Forest Park Library than Orrin Thorsen. He retired as board president after 39 years of service and dedication in October, 1986. Many residents remember him as a quiet, white-haired gentleman of the old school. Under his direction, the board remained forward-looking, progressive and financially sound-the easier to make the transition from the old to the new library a few years after he stepped down. A room at the library is named after him.
Orrin and his wife, Nora, came to Forest Park in 1935 when he became principal of Grant-White and Garfield schools. The couple retired to Ottawa, Ill., in their 90s, during the ’90s. (I had the privilege of serving on the library board with him for a few years early in the 1970s.)
From the October 8, 1986, Forest Park Review
Ten Years Ago
Doug Deuchler did a piece on show biz glitches that took place in the theater, live and onstage, for everybody to see. The venues were the Circle Theater and the Village Playhouse. Some of the embarrassments were: During a production of “Lemon Sky,” Alena Murguria completely forgot she was in the next scene. When the call went out she was doing her nails in the dressing room. Another blooper was “performed” by Michael Termaine who was horsing around in the lobby of the Village Playhouse with friends when he was terror-stricken by the opening strains of “Brush up Your Shakespeare,” his big number. The spectacle of actor Termaine dashing down the aisle and vaulting the stage may have been more entertaining than “Kiss Me Kate” itself.
From the Oct. 16, 1996, Forest Park Review
