Forty Years Ago

“Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it.”-George Santayana

The following is paragraph one of a front page story in the July 27, 1967, Review:

“Forest Park finances face an austere program for the next few months, as a result of a study of the 1966 financial report and demands of department heads for more equipment and personnel. Commissioner of Finance, Mike Lambke told the council that night that he started the fiscal year $55,000 in the red and didn’t know where the money would be coming from to finance the village for the next three months.”

How does this stack up 40 years later with the 2006 fiscal report and our financial situation today? A visit to the village hall or a reading of the minutes ought to give an idea of this public information.

From the July 27, 1967, Forest Park Review

Thirty Years Ago

Well, if we can’t win the Big Kahuna in the Lotto could we settle for a mention in the Guinness Book of Records? This is what 11-year-old Ron Dalton of Beloit Avenue set out to do. The category was shoe skates-the longest anyone could wear them. He knew the record was 10 and one-half days and, being one who enjoyed challenges, made his decision.

Worn, yet confident that he held a world record, on the eleventh day he sat on a curb and undid his skates. His repelled mother, not keen from the start, claimed the aroma of his feet, socks and skates must have set a record of its own. Casting off the fragrant footgear, Ron ran around a little, and then it was off to the bathtub and a blister inspection, a soaking, followed by the application of some salve. After effects: tight shoes, a tingling sensation in the feet and a new mark of 11 days, two hours and one minute. While shoe skating for the record he spotted some kids in a playground and wondered what the mark was for teeter-tottering.

From the Aug. 3, 1977, Forest Park Review

Twenty Years Ago

“A Drink with Something in it.” That’s the title of the Ogden Nash poem promised last week. All the chocolate, strawberry and frou-frou martinis aside, Nash was writing about the real thing-a true ode to the noble silver bullet. Straight up, of course, and dry.

There’s something about a Martini,

A tingle remarkably pleasant;

A yellow, a mellow Martini –

I wish that I had one at present.

Yes, there’s something about a Martini

‘Ere the dining and dancing begin

To tell you the truth, it’s not the vermouth;

I think that perhaps it’s the gin.

From “Verses From 1929 On,” p. 94

Ten Years Ago

Doug Duechler regularly reviews Circle Theater productions. He’s a good reviewer and a good guy, because he said I could borrow from his 1997 article, “Forest Park Pop Quiz.” (answers below)

Q: What bar moved west from 7215 Madison St. to the former site of Olde Town West?

A:

Q: The gay bar at Franklin and Harlem (now closed) takes its name from the title of a raucous Tina Turner tune. What’s it called?

A:

Q: What street is named for a beloved old-time Forest Parker name Yubansky?

A:

Q: Until white settlers arrived in the 1830s a thriving Native American village existed at the site of Forest Home Cemetery. Name its tribe.

A:

Q: This hospital for treatment of psychiatric patients opened on the west bank of the Des Plaines River in 1963. Name it.

A:

From the July 9, 1997, Forest Park Review

Answers

Doc Ryan’s.
Nutbush City Limits.
Yuba.
The Pottawatomies.
River Edge.