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Here are a few words
from your editor: Being a captive audience you
will just have to suffer through this page. During the Chicago Reunion the group boarded a bus and visited the Navy Pier. Back in the late 30’s and early 40’s I was a member of the Sea Scouts and our ship, USS Buccaneer - No. 12 was stored over the winter where we could do maintenance on it for the upcoming racing season. We called it a ship, but actually it was a life boat
from an ocean going liner. It took 12 men to propel it through the water when we were in races along both sides of the pier. We boarded a small cruise boat and going along the shoreline gave us a nice view of the Chicago skyline and a view of the 2 mile crib, part of Chicago’s water system. Lunch was on own. Being a native
of Chicago I along with family members enjoyed a snack at Billy Goat’s tavern and grill. The original owner was famous for the
curse he put on the Chicago Cubs because he wasn’t permitted to bring his goat into
Wrigley Field. Many believe this is the reason
the Cubs have flopped so dismally these many
years. There were many other attractions at
the Pier including a magic show, a large Ferris
wheel. After a few hours of taking in the sights
we boarded the bus for a tour of the city.
The subject of lunch came up, but there was no
scheduled stop for it. Fortunately daughter Pam Hennessey was on board and with the
advent of today’s technology she used
her wireless telephone and contacted her
daughter, Jenny Porter who is part one of the
many people who put the Art Institute in motion.
Through her efforts the entire reunion group
was escorted to the cafeteria to enjoy a
leisurely lunch. Who said it doesn’t pay to have
clout when in our great city of Chicago? Thanks,
Jenny, 9our grand daughter. She has
also set a wedding date for next March in Las
Vegas. (Jenny, Grandma and I have a
pretty tight schedule, but we will some how squeeze that date in.) Boarding the bus after lunch we continued our tour.
To reach the expressway we took the Ontario
Street ramp. In doing so we passed within less than 20 feet of the 220 W. Ontario building
where your editor entered |
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the portal to the
sixth floor and for over 13 years managed a
photo studio until another photographer and I
struck out on our own. That took me to January,
1988 when I finally retired. Some of the sights we saw were the John Hancock
building, Soldier Field (home of the Chicago Bears),
Field Museum, Planetarium.
Continuing our tour on the expressway we passed
Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White
Sox, who I’m sure everyone is aware
that they finally after years won the World
Series. Toured China Town and passed Jean
and my favorite Chinese restaurant,
King Wah. We would have invited the group in
for a great meal, but since you all had lunch
already we felt it would have just been too much
for you. Maybe some other time. Just want to
say, “It kinda brought back a host of memories.” |
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Then on to many more sights including driving through the
University of Chicago grounds. One sight in particular was the “sculpture,” an
automobile completely encased in a huge block of
cement. Sorry, I don’t remember how or why
this came about. |
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