“Stepping” down memory lane

Recently I was driving through the Beverly community when I saw this sign “CAUTION STAIRS AHEAD” on a light post over a sidewalk heading to Longwood Drive. The sidewalk heading downhill turned into steps to ease the downhill walk.

My mind immediately wandered back to when I was 7 years old. I recall walking down the sidewalk steps from Michigan Avenue to Edbrooke Avenue holding hands with my mother and grandmother. We were heading to the auditorium at St. Willibrord School for my kindergarten graduation because our St. Anthony School never had an auditorium or gymnasium.

As we were walking down the hill the thought occurred to me “We will never be in this place in time ever again.”

I must admit, it was quite the deep thought for a 7-year-old and the memory has stuck with me my entire life. Thoughts of that episode bring to mind that Roseland had many streets that had sidewalk steps.

Our Michigan Avenue shopping area was second only to downtown Chicago. It was the place to be seen and the place to shop. However, “The Ave,” as we called it, ran along the ridge of a hill. If you were heading east of Michigan Avenue, it meant that you were going downhill.

As a high school student at St. Willibrord, I often walked those same cement steps when I went to classes. There were a couple of times when I was possessed by the spirit of Evil Knievel and rode my bike down those steps. Thank God each one of those adventures was successful.

Through the years, I’ve received nostalgic stories of life in Roseland and a couple of those stories were about those sidewalk steps. In one story I recall, the author spoke about how their mother would take her and her brother in their Red Ryder Wagon to do grocery shopping at Gately’s People’s Store. They would really enjoy the ride, she recalled, until they got to the sidewalk steps where they had to dismount from the wagon and walk the rest of the way to the store.

Their mother would pull the wagon into the enclosed doorway on the 112th street side entrance and park it out of the way. They would then enter Gately’s and do their shopping in the grocery section before strolling for bargains throughout the store. The author also mentioned the donut machine and the Green River hot dog stand across from it.

The donut machine was a fascination for all of Roseland’s children. It was a train of grates that held two donuts each. The donut train cycle went like this: it dipped them in oil, flipped them over to do the opposite side, and continued on until the bakers removed donuts to decorate them and put them into the case for display and purchase.

One of the best parts of the bakery was that children were able to buy a bag of broken donuts for 15 cents. I recall my personal experience of buying a bag of broken donuts. When I asked for a bag of broken donuts, the baker informed me that they had none. However, when she saw the look of disappointment on my face, she told me to wait a moment while she checked in the back room. Soon she returned from with a bag of “broken donuts” to sell to me. I have never forgotten her kindness in breaking up donuts to create a bag just for me.

The author of the Red Ryder Wagon story told me that the best part of shopping was that they would get to stop by the Green River hot dog stand before heading home. She said they needed nourishment because she and her brother had to walk home as the wagon was full of groceries.

Pullman news . . .

If you haven’t been to visit Pullman and the Pullman National Historical Park during the summer months you have been missing out on some additions to Pullman.

Pullman is becoming the fast-food capital of Chicago’s South Side. Pullman is now home to a Chick-fil-A, a Baskin-Robbins Dunkin Donuts combination, and a Jimmy John’s. These are in addition to the Culver’s, Potbelly, Wingstop, and Lexington Betty’s Smokehouse establishments already in Pullman. Now, if we could only convince Portillo’s!

If you are familiar with the US Bank building, the tallest structure visible from the Bishop Ford I-94 at 111th Street, on your next drive by you will take note of construction going on across the street from it. That construction is the 100 room Marriott Hotel that will be an addition to Pullman National Historical Park / Pullman community.

The hotel will not only serve the national park visitors but will also serve those who want to visit Chicago without having to stay downtown. Pullman’s location is ideal for visitors who want the Chicago experience but do not want to deal with city congestion. They also have the convenience of shopping at our local businesses.

“Petals from Roseland: Fond Memories of Chicago’s Roseland, Pullman and Kensington Neighborhoods” is available from me for anyone interested in sharing or revisiting their life in Roseland at $20 + $5 s&h. Contact me at petalsfromroseland@gmail.com or 11403 S. St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60628; 773-710-3559. My book is also available at D & D Foods, 1023 S. Halsted, Chicago Heights, at Bookie’s New and Used Books, 10324 S. Western Ave, Chicago and at Miles Books,2819 Jewett Ave., Highland, Indiana.