40 years ago
Food. It was the subject of a 1970 Larry Kaercher editorial. Still around as a priority subject, it will remain so in the future. Actually, the theme was “Food … the price of.” Kaercher wrote his piece after reading a U.S. News & World Report interview with C.W. Cook, Chairman of General Foods. The Q’s and A’s still apply today.
Why do prices seem to rise so fast, so frequently?
Other purchases are occasional; homebuyers buy food daily or weekly so they notice.
Also, there are consumer demands for convenience in packaging, ready-to-eat formulas, freezing or processing considerations, etc. All are costly, and guess who pays?
Who buys a product that just gets quietly put on a shelf without fanfare?
Marketing gave birth to that old saw, “Doing business without advertising is like winking at a pretty girl in the dark – you’re the only one who knows it.”
Cook also pointed out ancillary factors of the economy, like rising wages, freight charges, raw materials costs, etc. These will always be accompanied by higher food prices. Remember when your mother sent you to the store with a dollar for a quart of milk? You probably had enough in change for a Tootsie Roll or a Bull’s Eye. Today your change might only net you a frozen egg roll or a lobster tail. Different times. Same principle.
From the Aug. 5, 1970 Forest Park Review.
30 years ago
Betty Reich was the wife of former Mayor Vernon Reich. Both are gone now but both names are inscribed on the Wall of Fame in our village hall. Popular and active as she was, she pursued with passion the fascinating hobby of amateur radio. During the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens she handled vital and critical messages. In December, 1979 she patched 15 phone messages when communications otherwise shut down at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Her “radio shack” walls were covered with a constellation of contact postcards from around the world.
From the July 16, 1980 Forest Park Review.
20 years ago
Good ideas stick around because they’re um … well … good! They make sense, they’re often simple, usually don’t cost much and can be people-friendly. Twenty years ago our village council approved the purchase of the “Are You Okay?” (RUOK) program – a telephone system that keeps tabs on community oldsters who may be infirm, or the chronically sick or handicapped. The program focuses on simplicity.
RUOK is still very much around. Here’s how to take advantage: Call the police department at 366-2425. Fill out a form at the Community Center with your name, home address, phone number, and that of a caretaking neighbor. A call will be made to you and others each morning between 6 and 10 a.m. If not home, or if you didn’t answer, a follow-up call is made. If still no answer, a village dispatcher will alert the police to check on you personally.
The RUOK program is a free service.
From the July 23, 1990 Forest Park Review.
10 years ago
A man and a woman. Oh, what stories have sprung from this combination. Lombard police notified their Forest Park counterparts that they had arrested a Forest Park man from the 900 block of Ferdinand for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill the woman’s husband. She and her intended-victim husband were married 10 years and had three children.
After hearing of the plot and its $2,000 payoff, Lombard officials planted an agent from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as the “hired gun.” The suspects were arrested and charged with murder solicitation. Each was held on a $1 million bond.
It was not disclosed how the Lombard police learned of the attempted hit.
From the July 5, 2000 Forest Park Review.
