It’s Raining Cousins

Last year I was contacted by a fellow Szczuldo genealogy researcher, Andrjez, in Poland.  While he has not found the connection between his line from Sejny about 40 km from my line in Raczki, he is still trying to find a link.  Meanwhile, he has put me in contact with a cousin Jerzy in Chicago.  Jerzy, grandson of Julius (born abt. 1881), has been in Chicago for 20 years.  I have Skyped with him and talked about a meeting.

This summer I have been contacted by three other cousins.  First cousin, Rosann, who I have been out of touch for 40+ years and two cousins--Sandra and Susan, both grand-daughters of my grandfather Josef’s (b1883) brother, Franciscous (b1886).  We hope to get as many  cousins together as we can in the Spring. 

Here are photos of the brothers.

 

Julius                                    Josef                          Franciscous

This has been a very difficult search as my Dad left very few links to his family.  My grandmother, Josef’s first wife , Marianna, died at a young age.   Josef remarried in short order as he was left with very young children.  Had three more children with second wife, Caroline.  Aunt Mary, my only living aunt, was the youngest of all the kids and can’t offer me any information. 

I am looking forward to exploring my Dad’s family more and hope to have a continued relationship with my newly found cousins.

Pepe LePew

Stayed at Rend Lake Gun Creek Campground last night.  This is a Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campground.  COE facilities always are associated with Dams.  We enjoy these campgrounds as they are inexpensive, in close proximity to water/wildlife, have decent facilities and are not commercialized.

Gun Creek is no exception.  Our campsite had a water view, the facilities were good and there was wildlife. 

As some you already know, Quark is a hunter.  If he sees a squirrel, you better have a good grip on the leash.  We don’t mind this as there is only a very remote chance he will actually get close enough to grab one.  Sometimes we find ourselves spelling S-Q-U so we don’t tip him off.

It seems to me that I read somewhere that dog’s eyesight was not not as good as human’s. Human’s being better able to spot small objects.  I guess I must take exception with that.

Last evening about dusk I took the boys out for their “constitutional” and quark spotted something walking in the grass about 1/2 a football field away.  I thought that was pretty good as I didn’t see it until I looked where he was looking.  We were going to get a closer look thinking it was a groundhog (we’d seen one earlier) or a raccoon or an opossum.  After looking a little more closely, I didn’t like the looks of what I saw.  I was sure it was a skunk.  So we headed back to the motorhome.

Right before bedtime we went out.  When it is dark out I don’t like to let the boys get too close to the woods and we didn’t.  They were taking their time and Quark was doing more sniffing than usual.  As we walked I saw a stump in the cut grass and thought that it was funny that I hadn’t see it earlier, but we continued heading in that direction anyway.  I don’t know what made me direct my flashlight that way, but to my surprise the stump not only moved but it was black with a white stripe.  I can’t tell you how relieved I was that I saw what it was before we got too close.  I can’t imagine what the motorhome would have been like if the three of us would have been sprayed. 

Chicago Area Amusement Parks

There was an article in today’s Chicago Tribune Kiddieland rides: Where Are They now?  This sparked memories of Kiddieland and other Chicago area amusement parks I remember.

Adventureland on Lake St. and Medinah Road in Addison operated from 1961 to 1977 and was the largest amusement park in Illinois from 1967 to 1976 and boasted parking for 3,000 cars. 

I remember one family outing to Adventureland. I must have been in junior high and I wanted to go on a Ferris Wheel-like ride that had a cage you could spin and hang upside down.  Well, sister, Sharon, didn’t ride with me.  Don’t know why—fear or height restrictions, I don’t know.  The operator couldn’t let a car go up with only one passenger so they loaded up a teenage boy.  As I remember he was a nice looking teenage boy.  So the ride started up and the car began to revolve.  At one point we were suspended upside down and screams commenced, from me.  My Dad, bless his heart, thought I was in distress and had the operator bring me down.  How embarrassing.  I don’t really remember any more of that little outing.  I was probably trying very hard not to bump into the nice looking teenage boy.

Another park we frequented was Kiddieland.  Kiddieland was located in Melrose Park.  The park opened in 1929 and had pony rides, Ferris wheel, “Little Auto Ride”,bumper cars, the “Roto Whip” and a beautiful German Carousel that was installed in 1940. There were two mini steam locomotives that offered train rides around the perimeter of the park.  Kiddieland closed in 2009. The rides were auctioned. It was a sad day. This was a park that my son, Joe, and nieces and nephews were able to enjoy as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hillcrest Park, Archer Ave., Lemont,  was an amusement park and picnic grounds.  Clark Equipment Company, where Tom worked, would have its company picnic there each year.  They would rent the entire park for a day.  Everything was free.  We attended a picnic there when Joe was just an infant but I didn’t go on any rides.

Hillcrest Park closed in 2003 because the land it was on became more valuable than the park itself. The Little Dipper roller coaster was sold to Little Americka Amusement Park in Marshall, WI. 

Playland Park was located in Willow Springs and Fairyland Park in Lyons. I am sure we went to both of these as they were close to home but don’t remember specifics.

Santa’s Village in Dundee. This was a bit more of a drive from home but I do remember the Christmas theme complete with Santa and Elves. Santa’s Village in Dundee was one of three. The others were located in Texas and California. They were the first theme park chain.

The three “worlds” of Santa’s Village were Coney Island, where you could find rides including the Tilt-a-Whirl (my all-time favorite ride). Old McDonald’s Farm was a petting zoo. As the name Santa’s Village implies, it was about Santa and Santa’s World was the main attraction. Santa’s World housed an ice rink, balloon ride, snowball ride, and Santa himself.

Santas Villiage was in continuous operation from 1959 to 2006. Then Had a reboot in 2011 with Paintball Explosion opening on April 30 and Santa’s Village Azoosmentpark opening on May 27.

Dispensa’s Castle of Toys and Kiddie Kingdom Amusement Park was located near Oakbrook Center shopping mall, in Oak Brook. The amusement park had a relatively short lifespan, 1975 to 1984. The park was a natural progression of the carnival business the Dispensa family owned.

Dispensa’s was great for a family on a budget.  The rides were a quarter or six for a dollar. I never went to the amusement park or toy store but I do remember the commercials.  Click here for a1979 commercial on YouTube.    Click here for a 1978 commercial for Dispensa’s Castle of Toys.

Old Chicago, Route 53, Bolingbrook was ahead of it’s time. 

Old Chicago was billed as “The world’s first indoor amusement park.”  Not only was Old Chicago an amusement park but it was also a shopping mall.  Sound familiar.  The mall had cobblestone streets and storefronts reminiscent of streets of years gone by. 

It opened in June of 1975 to huge crowds but from the very beginning there were financial problems resulting from construction cost overruns.  Additionally, there weren’t any large anchor stores such as Sears and the specialty shops couldn’t sustain customers.  By 1980 everything was shut down.  After efforts to find a use for the enormous building failed, it was demolished in 1986.  It was a shame.  I found the place fascinating but like many others, I was not a repeat customer in spite of living only a few miles away.

Riverview Park in Chicago is a legend.  For generations of Chicagoans, a trip to Riverview Park was must.

I remember our visit to the famous park.  Riding the Shoot the Chutes, the Wild Mouse, the Flying Turns, Tunnel of Love, and the Rotor.  Aladdin's Castle fun house was a hoot.  As you entered there was a large rotating barrel you would walk through, if you could.  Also there were distortion mirrors and a maze.  I also remember to enter  you walked up the steps and across a raised walkway where there was a spot that blew air up and if you had a skirt on . . . guess what?  That’s right.  I also remember the benches opposite this nifty feature were filled with men of all ages. 

Riverview park opened in 1904 and closed unexpectedly in 1967. 

It is sad that most of the old-style parks have closed and families must pay top dollar for this type of entertainment. 

Trips to Necedah to Visit Family

As a child we did not vacation often.  We did take the trip from Chicago’s western suburbs to Necedah, WI to visit family but I don’t know how many times we were actually there.  I do remember a few visits.

The first time I remember going to Necedah I may have been about 4 or 5.  We took Highway 12 as I-90 did not exist at that time. (The section of I-90 between the Madison, WI and the Wisconsin Dells was not dedicated until October 6, 1961.) Highway 12 was, back in the mid 50s, as it is today, the most direct route from the Chicago area to the Mauston then Necedah via Hwy Q. I can’t begin to imagine how long it would have taken us to traverse the many twists and turns and small towns along the way. On today’s roads, in a modern car and no stops it would take 5 hours.  The mileage is about the same via today’s Highway 12 and taking the I-90 route but time taking the “I” would be 3 hours 40 minutes.

I remember it was dark, but being aware of travelling through some very significant hills in the Baraboo area. It was at this point either I or my sister, Sharon, pulled the keys from the ignition of our late 1940s sedan causing the engine to quit.  As you can well imagine this caused a bit of a stir and must have caused my Dad’s heart to skip a few beats.  I’m sure Dad had it started in no time.

Petenwell Rock and Dam July 1963

The next visit I remember, must some years later.  Brother, Jim, was perhaps 5 years old.  I remember that the water was high was in the large ditches near Uncle Teddy’s farm and folks were shooting carp in those ditches.  I also remember going to a park near Petenwell Rock where Jim sat in poison ivy.  We toured the Petenwell Hydroelectric Dam on the Wisconsin River.  Petenwell Dam was built in the 1940s, creating the 2nd largest lake in Wisconsin.  Petenwell Rock is named for a star-crossed lover, who legend has it, leaped to his death from this spot with the local Indian Chief's daughter, Clinging Vine. It is said that the Indian gods returned Clinging Vine to the rock where she stands today, faithful to the memory of her lover, Peter Wells.  What also sticks in my mind is the water pump in the kitchen, the outhouse and the barn and various farming equipment which had seen better days. 

Friend Peggy, Me, Sharon

Friend Peggy, Cousin Phyllis, Me, Sharon

The most recent visit was some time after my uncle’s death in 1997.  I didn’t know where the farm was but we inquired at the post office and were given directions.  At the time of my uncle’s death he had already sold the farm and the new owners allowed him to keep a trailer on the land in perpetuity.   When we went by, the house was just a skeleton and the trailer sat there still with the many whirly-gigs and lawn ornaments that my uncle Teddy had placed there.

The Smith’s Have a New Baby

l to R: Allyson, Amy, Brandon, Jacob and Dave

We have a new Grandson, Jacob, born in the wee hours of July 29.  We have only seen pictures thus far, but can tell he is as cute as can be.  Little Jacob decided he couldn’t wait for the scheduled August 10 c-section.

We are looking forward to seeing him in person. 

False Start

I would have to say that we both were not excited about a long driving trip to Florida. We were excited to see the kids and of course new Grandbaby, Jacob. But the ride was not giving us happy thoughts.

Last fall we had a wonderful time on our 6-week adventure, but when we got home we were really glad. And I think we may have overdone our travels last year with several weeks over July 4th to meet up with the Florida kids in Greensboro, NC. The heat then was just about unbearable.

I remember years ago travelling through Nebraska or South Dakota in the summer with our other motorhomes without any air conditioning. We had the windows and roof vents open. We never had an awning on our older units, so if it was an open site were had no relief from the scorching sun. How we managed I just don’t know. We were a little younger then too.

Here, at home July, was super hot and we pretty much hunkered down in the air conditioned house only venturing out when we had to. So perhaps that was why we were dreading the long drive in the heat. Also there was no relief in site heading south as they have had oppressive heat this summer.

So when we headed out Wednesday morning it was not with our usual enthusiasm. We headed to our usual first stop, Corp of Engineers Campground in Carlyle, IL. Fridge troubles began not long after we left home. In our driveway it was down to 32 degrees and all seemed well but as we travelled the temperature rose and rose. The freezer was working fine but the refrigerator section definitely was not working properly. How were we going to continue without proper refrigeration.

The motorhome was running like a champ until we got off the Interstate. We had about 60 miles on a 2-lane, dotted with small burbs along the way. Well it was at this point things started to go bad with the motor. After we would stop the motor would bog, sputter and pop. As we went along the problem seemed to worsen. We continued on as we knew there was a Ford dealer just outside the park and we hoped we could get service.

Well we sputtered into the Ford lot and Tom talked to the service guy and he would not even be able to look at it until Monday! Now what. We could sit until Monday but really didn’t want to, but at this point we weren’t going to get far so we sputtered and popped our way the 1/2 mile or so to the park. At the office it died. We got it going for a little bit then it died again and we had to resort to our old trick—pushing our 14,000 motorhome with our Suzuki. (see 9-20-10 posting, Rocks-Painted, Wooden and Fallen)

After getting into our campsite, we had supper and then unhooked the car, took the laptop and went to McDonalds to use the Internet to find automotive services. We made a list and returned “home.” We turned in early as we were both exhausted from heat and stress.

In the morning we called the Ford dealer in Breeze about 10 miles away and were told if we could be there between 9:30 and 10 they could take a look. Of course we didn’t know if we would get there but we had to try. We decided not to hook the car up so we wouldn’t put additional strain on the motorhome’s engine. The motorhome ran like a champ. The service guy and Tom took it out to see if they could make it act up again. It ran perfectly. But the service guy poked around until he figured out what was wrong. He found a loose vacuum line. He removed the line, gave it the gas and it sputtered, popped and died just as it had for us. Apparently the already loose tube expanded in the extreme heat and lost vacuum causing the problem. While all this was going on I was waiting with the dogs in the hot shop. A very nice lady took pity on us and invited inside the showroom.

The total bill was $80 for diagnosing the problem, replacing the vacuum tube and air cleaner. Everyone at Breese Ford in Breese, IL were so wonderful.

We decided we couldn’t continue without a working refrigerator so we headed home postponing our trip till cooler weather and fridge replacement.

The Big Snow 2-2-2011

Be sure to have your sound on so you can hear the wind.

Note the snow in this area is nearly as high as the scoop of the snow blower. What you can't see in this picture is the part of this drift that is more than waist high.

View from front door before we went out to blow/shovel snow.

The entire front porch was drifted in. It was difficult to get the snow up and over the railing when shoveling.

As you can see after shoveling, the pile of snow next to the sidewalk is higher than the railing.