Touch of history

My Uncle Hank and Uncle Mitz 1944

Uncle George and my brother, Ron 1944

Do not know the two men on the left, Uncle Hank on the right

I reconnected with a cousin who still lives on the south side of Chicago yesterday. Photos of family have been flying back and forth. The above three are from the family albums I inherited from my dad. Photography was his hobby in his younger years, and at one point he was President of the photography club for the Illinois Central Railroad in Chicago.

I remember both locations very well. The brick duplex was in Bridgeport, an area on the south side not far from the old stock yards. My Aunt Ann, the oldest of my mom's sisters and her husband, Hank, and their daughter, Marion lived upstairs. When you climbed the stairs to their apartment, you were on an enclosed back porch. Enter the house, and it was the kitchen, then the dining room, then the living room. Small bedrooms were off to each side, but only two. One bathroom. No one stayed upstairs, because it was too blazing hot in the warmer months, so they all hung out on the stone porch out front, or the "stoop". I am so showing my age here. I haven't used the word "stoop" in decades.

There was no television. It was a big deal if a family could afford a telephone. Only a few had their own cars, and they were always used. Most used public transportation, which was never a problem in Chicago. My dad drove a Ford Model A, and I wish I knew the year of it, until I was around 7. Then he bought a used Studebaker, and drove that until I was a teenager. It was what they did.

Every man in my family drank and smoked cigarettes. Every single one. My uncles on my mom's side were mostly laborers, all of German/Polish/Lithuanian heritage. Hard workers. The same men who fought in the World Wars. The same men who never spoke of what they saw in the Pacific or Europe. Of what the Nazis did.

I am very proud to be of this heritage, these people who helped build Chicago, who labored hard to feed their families. Who were satisfied with the simple pleasures in life. These people would be appalled at this country today.
Linda
EDIT: I used the word "duplex" which is actually a modern term. In this time period, in Chicago, this was a two flat, meaning there were two apartments, one up, one down.