UNBELIEVEABLE
A long time ago in a neighborhood far, far away two lone
figures were trudging through the crisp snow on a very cold and hawkish night. These young sidewalk warriors would rather
succumb to the hawk than retreat to the warmth and comfort of their homes. They found themselves on 92nd and Ellis in
front of a burnt out two-flat across from where the Filkins lived. They went inside and up to the second floor to seek
some relief from a bitterly cold night in January of 1971, They kicked a few empty bottles around and sat down on the
stained mattresses and started a small fire in a five gallon pale sitting centered in the room, which was lit by just a few
rays of lamp post light beaming in through voids in the plywood which loosely covered the windows. But wait, why were
there empty bottles and mattresses and a fire bucket? This humble ashcan of a building reluctantly served as the abode
for Burnside's imfamous retched refuse and resident winos, Wally the Wino and Al Wanda. Oh, the names of our two
young lads in this story... well let's just call them JDJ and BUZ C. Our two lads while attempting to get warm were
taking man-sized swigs from their newly opened bottle of Boone's Farm Apple wine. After drinking about half the bottle,
someone came up with a diabolical idea, and still to this day we do not know who it was. Anyway, they both thought it
would be hilarious to deposit another ingredient to the wine, and leave it for Wally and Al. Need I say more?
The dirty deed was done, the two anti-heroes walked out of the building, into the frozen night and Burnside lore forever.
Laughing at what may take place later, if things went their way.
Another pair of shadowy figures approached the building,
could they be Wally and Al? They entered the web, it was all but over.
An hour later two creatures of the night approached JDJ
and BUZ C. who were hanging tight against the kindergarten doors at the schoolyard trying to stay warm. Were they new
characters intertwined in the evening caper? It was BOBBY F. and BOBBY J., entering laughing. "What's so funny?"
Our new night crawlers mentioned that they just came from the burned out house on Ellis that Wally and Al crash at, and that
they found and drank a whole bottle of... "WHAT!?" Need I say more? And what really makes things UNBELIEVEABLE,
BOBBY J. and JDJ were brothers!
========================================
Dear Friends:
Once again. NO! I am not
getting any Burnside Bums T-shirts, nor any kind of Burnside stuff made up for sale. I ran into a guy on Father's Day,
he asked about the Bums T-shirts. NO! Get them yourself, you people are to difficult to satisfy, get money from,
and basically you are a pain in the ass to deal with. In 1974 I sold shirts for $5 a piece. Today, thirty years
later, people still want to pay the same $5 for the shirts.
What are ya Goofy!!??
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME.
Believe it or not, but there
is a church called the Burnside Congregation of Jehovah's Witness at 9320 Greenwood. Correct me if I'm wrong, but with
that address wouldn't the church be located in Cal Prairie? I'm sorry, Cal Prairie is now called Burnside Park.
It was nice of the Chicago Democrats to build a park there. After we all moved out.
WHY DON'T ITALIANS LIKE JEHOVAH
WITNESS'S?
*ITALIANS DON'T LIKE ANY WITNESS'S*
**********************
Here's an address:
What was located at 650 East 91st
Place?
+++++++++++++++++
SONS OF ITALY FOUNDATION
ORDER SONS OF ITALY IN AMERICA
219 E. STREET N.E.
WASHINGTON, DC 20002
++++++++++++++
THE TRIANGLE CIVIC
ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY AND THE 70TH YEAR OF THE FOUNDING OF THE COMMUNITY OF BURNSIDE
The following article was put
together with great assistance by Gloria 'Koleno' Nadey from notes from the Burnside Triangle Civic Association's first
anniversary on
September 13, 1959.
While echoes of the Civil War were still reverberating in the
minds and hearts of the people, Colonel William V. Jacobs, a pioneer Chicago street car magnate and civic leader, who served
under General Ambrose E. Burnside in the Civil War, purchased the land from the Calumet & Chicago Canal & Lock Company
in October, 1889 and named the subdivision "BURNSIDE".
The triangular shape of Burnside was largely due to the surrounding
railroad companies. At the north was 87th street, the south by the Chicago & Western Indiana Belt Railroad-94th
street, to the east by the New York, Chicago & St.Louis Railroad(Nickel Plate) and on the west by the Illinois Central
Railroad. These railroads brought the influx of people to the area. The Nickel Plate had shops at 88th and Chauncey, now Avalon
Avenue. The Illinois Central had shops at 95th and Cottage Grove, they also built the 'Fordham' switch yard which extended
from 87th to 90th, and from Greenwood to Drexel. There were cattle watering pens at the northwest corner of 91st and
Drexel.
The early settlers were mostly English, German, Irish
and Swedish, and a few Hungarians, Polish and Italians. Among them were the: Barbeauld,Benish,Berg,Boharski,Bukovitz,Brady,
Carlson,Carey,Crinion,Davis,Demkowicz,Dorocke,Fiedram,
Fieffer,Fox,Goodland,Gorchas,Hackett,Hacko,Hardy,Hass,
Holmblad,Johnson,Kane,Kenzal,Kelly,Koleno,Kirner, Leasure,Lizarski,Manthey,McKeague,Nordstrom,Patno,
Paulesh,Palm,Pilutski,Preece,Rodeghier,Ryan,Sabo,
Schulman,Stanton,Slumbrick,Wasko,Young and Zimmerman families.
The first building in the community, a four-flat frame, was
built in 1890, at the southeast corner of 92nd and Harrison Avenue, now Dobson Avenue, it is no longer there. The first electric
street cars came down 94th Street
between Cottage Grove and Stony Island in 1893.
At that time the neighborhhod had wooden and cinder sidewalks
and dirt streets. Concrete sidewalks were installed in 1909 and 1910. 93rd Street was paved with street brick in 1915. In
1903, Michael E. Martin became the first ticket agent for the Nickel Plate Railroad in Burnside. He was instrumental in the
immigration of large numbers of Hungarians who found employment in the many railroad shops in the area.
In 1905, the Hungarians founded and built the first Hungarian
Catholic Church in the City of Chicago, 'Our Lady of Hungary' at 9245 South Avalon. Father Farkus was the first pastor. Later
the church was moved to 93rd and Kimbark, where, in a few years, Right Reverend Monsignor Ernest Horvath became the pastor.
Also in 1905, Peter Slumbrick built the first saloon and dance
hall, called 'The House Of All Nations', at the northeast corner of 93rd and Woodlawn. Sound familiar? Years later Henry 'Hank'Stasiewicz
bought the saloon and named it 'Woodlawn Gardens'. Slumbrick sponsored a baseball team known as the Colts who won the Midwest
Semi-professional Baseball Championship in 1909. He also owned a prairie named Slumbrick's Prairie where his baseball field
was at. It extended from 93rd to 94th and from Woodlawn to Kimbark. He must have been some character, it was not uncommon
to see him traveling the neighborhood in his buggy pulled by a donkey.
In 1909, the Ukrainians built Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox
Church on the southeast corner of 92nd and Avalon. Nicholas Cwian, an original parishioner later became president of the church.
In 1912, the Rev.Joshua Smith, a Civil War veteran, with his
daughter, Miss Evelyn, founded the Burnside Settlement House at 1122 East 90th Street. It had an admirable influence in curbing
juvenile delinquency and in raising the cultural standard of the neighborhood.
continued on STORY TIME...
