Forty Years Ago
This newspaper carried a double-page ad announcing the opening of a James Discount Drugstore, in Broadview. Never heard of? – same here. Such prices you’ve never heard of, either. The following is neither fantasy nor science fiction.
Cigarettes, carton, $2.59 … Bic ball point pens, 6 cents … Adorn Hair Spray, 49 cents… Band Aid strips, box, 33 cents …Listerine Tooth Paste, three giant tubes, 69 cents … Ray O Vac batteries (D), two for 25 cents … 6-12 Insect Spray, 59 cents. Had enough? OK, go back to reality.
From the July 18, 1968, Forest Park Review
Thirty Years Ago
Got squeam? Then you got no business looking again at some squeamish flicks from the 1970s. A terrified boy understandably cries, “Why me?” when he’s chosen as the Anti-Christ to wreak havoc and horror upon the world. Damien: Omen II was playing at North Riverside’s Harlem-Cermak Theater. The original Omen starring Gregory Peck as an ambassador who, with his wife (a very recent mother), is a victim of the old switch and bait game, in this case, I got your baby and you’ve got the devil’s. Yikes!
And then there was Jaws – a mouthful right there. It seems that when you paid your $2 at the ticket booth back then, you really got your entertainment’s worth. So what if you left the theater and all your hair had turned white. Maybe they do make ’em like that anymore.
From the June 28, 1978, Forest Park Review
Twenty Years Ago
News-wise, how about we turn the tables with a happy letter to the editor? During a July 4 celebration in our lovely park, a woman lost her wallet. Didn’t notice it until later that night, and then got a case of the squeams. Assumed it and its contents were gone for good. Wrong. A call came from a Mrs. Stephens on Taylor Avenue. She found a wallet only minutes after the woman had lost hers. Happenstance the way it should happen.
From the July 20, 1988, Forest Park Review
Ten Years Ago
Every town has its colorful characters, and there’s no rule that this can’t be a cop. For three decades – the ’60s through the ’80s- Sgt. Richard Archambault was your man. Seldom has a policeman worked so steadily and earnestly carrying out his duties. In zealous pursuit, he was known to leap from his squad car, sprint after the lawbreaker and virtually never give up the chase. Such was his nature and dedication. Opinion was divided over his career. Like astronaut Alan Shepherd, who was described in The Right Stuff by author Tom Wolfe, as (alternately) “Mr. Nice Guy” and “the icy commander,” Archambault fit the double billing of a “great policeman” and a “piece of work.”
After his retirement, in what was only mildly surprising to some in town, came news that he was conducting a “private investigation” of village commissioners Timothy Gillian, Anthony Calderone and Village Administrator James Thomas. None of the three knew or approved of the inquiry. Thomas said his first knowledge of the investigation came out of the former officer’s work history inquiries in Utah – Thomas’ former home state. Gillian said he was troubled by the action, and Calderone was unavailable for comment.
It wasn’t known exactly what the retired police sergeant’s purpose was. When contacted by the Review, Archambault’s attorney, David Mejia, said he had never heard of Gillian, Calderone, or Thomas. Archambault was quoted as saying, “Anything I do, I like to go through him [Mejia] to keep myself clean.” Denying any involvement in the investigation, Mayor Lorraine Popelka said, “I’ve known Archambault all my life, and you can never guess what he’s doing. If nothing else, he does tell the truth.”
So go figure. That’s how it is with colorful characters. That’s how it was in Forest Park.
From the July 1, 1998, Forest Park Review
Bob was born in Yonkers, N.Y., in 1932. His family encouraged him to join the Air Force (ours) during the Korean War. There, he fell into the clutches of Barbara Miles. They still have two world-class daughters, Jill and Cara. “Each of the four of us likes the other three of us,” says Bob.
