Forty Years Ago

There’s nothing wrong with winning a $22 million Lotto jackpot. There just isn’t anything warm and fuzzy about it. It’s Big Bucks. Cold Cash. Period. And don’t forget the big bite in the behind courtesy of the Bureau of Infernal Revenue.

But go back to 1968 when Michael Rudd of 1034 Dunlop delivered copies of the erstwhile Chicago American newspaper. He and about 300 other carriers entered a citywide contest selling subscriptions. Unlike certain unnamed Chicago sports teams today (and then) he was a winner. Along with other area winners and chaperones, Mike won an all expenses paid four-day trip to New York. Leaving on his birthday, Aug. 6, he stayed at the New Yorker Hotel, toured the United Nations Building, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and the Statue of Liberty. After taking the leisurely three-hour Day Line cruise around Manhattan Island, the winners went bowling at Madison Square Garden.

Other largesse – a portable tape recorder, Instamatic camera, stopwatch, leather collectors billfold and a build-it-yourself model helicopter. You can imagine the impression such a trip, and the attendant prizes, made on the 12 year old.

From the Aug. 29, 1968, Forest Park Review

Thirty Years Ago

Why does the adjective “reckless” precede the noun “teenager” so often? Not all teens are always reckless. However, one of the two teen drivers involved in an accident here was. Had both been paying full attention, the right word might have been “wreckless.”

Police said a disastrous head-on collision was narrowly averted at 11:40 p.m. when Richard Konkowski, 18, of Forest Park, was traveling eastbound on Madison near Elgin Avenue. His car suddenly swerved, crossed the center line and struck an oncoming vehicle driven by Brian Remick, 19, of River Forest. At the last second, Konkowski managed to angle away from a direct head-on. Still, two teen passengers in Remik’s car were hospitalized – one with lacerations, the other with a broken rib cage. No mention of drugs or alcohol was made in the report.

From the Aug. 16, 1978, Forest Park Review

Twenty Years Ago

The Roos property on Circle and Harrison could furnish a capsule history all its own. In 1988, its glory days dimming, it still housed 25 business tenants and rated a feature story in this sheet. As always, the kinds of businesses were varied. In 1988, branch offices of communications giants Nextel and Sprint were there. Longtime renter Fischer Pen also called 7329 W. Harrison St. home, as did other concerns such as medical and kitchen supply firms, woodworking companies, binders, printers and the Forest Park Envelope Company. Throwbacks to the past were Euro-Tech, a cabinetry firm, and the Piano Restoration Services.

From the May 27, 1988, Forest Park Review

Ten Years Ago

Now that our hearts have again been broken by the Choke-cago Cubs, we can turn for solace to the memory of a class gentleman who loved our local variant of America’s game, 16-inch no glove softball. When our neat, trim double-diamond ballpark was what author Tom Wolfe termed “gumbo scrubland,” Dominic Carfagno, a true ball fan, would come out to the park to watch the games. At first, he loved the green grass-blue sky scene … the games and their easy tempos … and would even pick up trash on the way out. Later, he helped sponsor teams and supply uniforms. His involvement kept pace with the growth of the annual no glove tournaments.

Mr. Carfagno fell ill in 1997. A year later, he died at 93, just before that year’s national finals. There’s a too-small sign with his name on the east side of the concessions building next to the batting cage. Another sign might be even more fitting: “Angel in the outfield.”

From the July 29, 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.