Remembering Whiskey Creek
As most of you know, George McGrath was the one who initiated the planning committee for our 50 year reunion. Even though he was several hundred miles away from here, he sat in on, and participated in, all of the planning committee's meetings, usually via Skype. After the reunion, George started publishing a class newsletter. It was weekly at first tapering off to monthly as his health started to deteriorate. In the March 2017 newsletter, George started reminiscing about growing up in Whiskey Creek. Unfortunately, George passed away in July but his Whiskey Creek memories live on below.
This page was reprinted from various issues of our class newsletters with the permission from the publisher and author, George McGrath. Thank you, George! These memories appear in chronological order as published.
This page was reprinted from various issues of our class newsletters with the permission from the publisher and author, George McGrath. Thank you, George! These memories appear in chronological order as published.
Note from the webmasters: We are currently searching for a picture of the old "Whiskey Creek" water tower to include on this page. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Class newsletter e-mailed to subscribers on March 7, 2017
Now, you might think Whiskey Creek was a pretend place. But it wasn't. It was a real place with trees and houses and everything. I should know, I lived there. It was a' ways out of town, though.
To get there, you would turn right out of Dog and Suds. That was a favorite hangout for us guys back then. I still remember the Pizza Burger. One bite and you knew you were at the right place. The mozzarella cheese just oozing out of the burger. The burgers had mozzarella cheese on the inside and not on top. I also remember their fries and that big, frosty mug of Dog and Suds root beer. Those were the days! You can't find that sort of thing any more.
Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. When you come out of Dog and Suds, turn right and go to the railroad bridge and turn left onto Hillview Ave. You would go out a' long ways. At least it seemed like a' long ways back then. The road would go around an "S" curve. Ilona Pinzke I believe lived out that way, on the second of these curves; across from Hamlin's Greenhouse.
And then - there it was. You could not see the area where I lived but you knew you had arrived. Right there, on the water tower, was the name "Whiskey Creek." The name had been painted on the water tower by some very brave kids. Just turn right, cross the Chicago and Northwestern rail road tracks and there it was; the ol' homeplace. You couldn't see it from the road. You had to know it was there. It sat on a small hill out of public view.
My sister and I didn't have much back then. We didn't have some of the nicer things some of the other kids had. But we had a lot for our age. Mom and Dad always made sure we had a roof over our heads, a bed to sleep on, clothes on our backs, food on the table and love in our hearts.
To get there, you would turn right out of Dog and Suds. That was a favorite hangout for us guys back then. I still remember the Pizza Burger. One bite and you knew you were at the right place. The mozzarella cheese just oozing out of the burger. The burgers had mozzarella cheese on the inside and not on top. I also remember their fries and that big, frosty mug of Dog and Suds root beer. Those were the days! You can't find that sort of thing any more.
Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. When you come out of Dog and Suds, turn right and go to the railroad bridge and turn left onto Hillview Ave. You would go out a' long ways. At least it seemed like a' long ways back then. The road would go around an "S" curve. Ilona Pinzke I believe lived out that way, on the second of these curves; across from Hamlin's Greenhouse.
And then - there it was. You could not see the area where I lived but you knew you had arrived. Right there, on the water tower, was the name "Whiskey Creek." The name had been painted on the water tower by some very brave kids. Just turn right, cross the Chicago and Northwestern rail road tracks and there it was; the ol' homeplace. You couldn't see it from the road. You had to know it was there. It sat on a small hill out of public view.
My sister and I didn't have much back then. We didn't have some of the nicer things some of the other kids had. But we had a lot for our age. Mom and Dad always made sure we had a roof over our heads, a bed to sleep on, clothes on our backs, food on the table and love in our hearts.
Class newsletter e-mailed to subscribers on April 1, 2017
I knew my neighbors. Our neighbors were not the "across the street, next door, or down the block" type. While growing up in Whiskey Creek, we knew everybody on the street where we lived. The families knew the kids and kind of watched out for us and even snitched to our parents if we weren't in line. What is so different today than yesterday? I don't have the answer. I just know most people seem so preoccupied with their own lives to care about anybody else that isn't family. In the 60s, families only needed one income to make ends meet. Today it is so difficult for an average family to make a living on one income so both parents work or there is only one parent in the home. As a result of this, social outlets are now limited to the work place and not to the home environment or our neighbors.
I recall the games we made up and perfected as we grew up in those fun years. One that comes to mind is foil ball. I know what you are thinking "what the heck is foil ball?" It is a game patterned around baseball. The ball is actually a tightly rolled ball of aluminum foil. The teams were one man teams. The bat was a small wooden one, the souvenir type, about 18-24 inches long. I know you have seen them. If we didn't have this type of bat, we used a piece of broom handle. We always could find one of those. The ball is pitched from about 15 feet away and thrown as hard as you can. You have three outs. A strike is an out and a foul ball is a strike of course. A hit ball is a run. Very difficult to hit a pitch. Most games were low scoring. We started having tournaments with all our friends around the neighborhood. We played this game well into our teens. My friend Ron's mother would always go berserk because she supplied the foil. The foil ball had to be replaced quite often as it became battered up. When she wouldn't supply us anymore foil, we would rip it off her planters she had wrapped in foil. Of course, Ron ended up in the doghouse over that.
Then one day, someone showed up with a "whiffle ball." This was a white plastic ball, about the size of a real base ball. It also had slots in it for control.
We had a guy on our team, Steve, who could really "chuck" one home. After a while, he learned how to control the ball. Now he became dangerous. We always played in the field next to Ron's house. We had no lights to play under. So, we played until dark or until our mothers called us in for supper. What imagination we had then!
Today kids are so involved in video games and other things with their friends which does not include getting out moving around and getting the heart rate up. Here in the neighborhood where I live now, I seldom see pickup games of baseball, football or basketball as we always had. This may explain the obesity in our children of today.
I recall the games we made up and perfected as we grew up in those fun years. One that comes to mind is foil ball. I know what you are thinking "what the heck is foil ball?" It is a game patterned around baseball. The ball is actually a tightly rolled ball of aluminum foil. The teams were one man teams. The bat was a small wooden one, the souvenir type, about 18-24 inches long. I know you have seen them. If we didn't have this type of bat, we used a piece of broom handle. We always could find one of those. The ball is pitched from about 15 feet away and thrown as hard as you can. You have three outs. A strike is an out and a foul ball is a strike of course. A hit ball is a run. Very difficult to hit a pitch. Most games were low scoring. We started having tournaments with all our friends around the neighborhood. We played this game well into our teens. My friend Ron's mother would always go berserk because she supplied the foil. The foil ball had to be replaced quite often as it became battered up. When she wouldn't supply us anymore foil, we would rip it off her planters she had wrapped in foil. Of course, Ron ended up in the doghouse over that.
Then one day, someone showed up with a "whiffle ball." This was a white plastic ball, about the size of a real base ball. It also had slots in it for control.
We had a guy on our team, Steve, who could really "chuck" one home. After a while, he learned how to control the ball. Now he became dangerous. We always played in the field next to Ron's house. We had no lights to play under. So, we played until dark or until our mothers called us in for supper. What imagination we had then!
Today kids are so involved in video games and other things with their friends which does not include getting out moving around and getting the heart rate up. Here in the neighborhood where I live now, I seldom see pickup games of baseball, football or basketball as we always had. This may explain the obesity in our children of today.
Class newsletter e-mailed to subscribers on May 3, 2017
Growing up in Whiskey Creek was a simple life. My mother would wash and hang clothes on a clothesline. I can still picture her wiping the clothesline off with a wet rag to rid the line of dirt and bird crap. The clothes would be hung with wooden clothes pins that clipped the clothes to the line. After she hung the clothes up she would prop the line with a line pole and the clothes would just blow in the summer breeze. When the clothes were removed from the clothes line, I remember how fresh they smelled. I remembered how the clothes froze on a cold winter day as they hung from the line. My mother would always use a soda. bottle with a stopper and holes in it. She would fill with water to sprinkle the clothes before ironing. There weren't any steam irons back then. I can still see the old RC soda bottle Mom used, sitting on the ironing board.
We only had one car. I wasn't able to drive yet. Mom didn't drive either, Dad needed the car to go to work. If we needed anything from town, we would have to walk. It was a great help for us when the Jewel was built on Main Street. We didn't have to walk clear into town. We weren't afraid to walk into town. If someone thought you needed a "lift," they would offer you one. They took us where we wanted to go; or as close as they could. We were never afraid to get into someone else' car back then. People were more friendly back then.
There were times when we found it was necessary to go into town. One of those times was when we had to go to Steadman's to get our school supplies. That was a very hectic day for us. It seemed like all the kids piled into Steadman's at the same time. We each had our list of what we needed for the school year.
On the way back towards home, we always had to stop by Jim and Cliff's for a new gym uniform. They weren't much to look at but were required just the same. The girls got the nice ones; white blouses with blue shorts and the guys got the less attractive ones; blue tops and blue shorts.
If we got too many supplies or groceries, we would go to George Strompolis' cab station. It was a small building by the train depot. We got a cab to take a cab home. That was a treat for us. We didn't have to walk home.
We only had one car. I wasn't able to drive yet. Mom didn't drive either, Dad needed the car to go to work. If we needed anything from town, we would have to walk. It was a great help for us when the Jewel was built on Main Street. We didn't have to walk clear into town. We weren't afraid to walk into town. If someone thought you needed a "lift," they would offer you one. They took us where we wanted to go; or as close as they could. We were never afraid to get into someone else' car back then. People were more friendly back then.
There were times when we found it was necessary to go into town. One of those times was when we had to go to Steadman's to get our school supplies. That was a very hectic day for us. It seemed like all the kids piled into Steadman's at the same time. We each had our list of what we needed for the school year.
On the way back towards home, we always had to stop by Jim and Cliff's for a new gym uniform. They weren't much to look at but were required just the same. The girls got the nice ones; white blouses with blue shorts and the guys got the less attractive ones; blue tops and blue shorts.
If we got too many supplies or groceries, we would go to George Strompolis' cab station. It was a small building by the train depot. We got a cab to take a cab home. That was a treat for us. We didn't have to walk home.
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