WHAT YOU WILL FIND HERE: HISTORICAL PHOTOS OF CHICAGO AND TORONTO LOCATIONS PLUS SOME OTHER PLACES, HISTORICAL PHOTOS OF THE CHUCKMAN FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND MANY OBSERVATIONS ABOUT LARGER EVENTS AND CHANGES UNDERWAY DURING THE PERIOD COVERED BY THE PHOTOS

NUNS IN QUEEN'S PARK TORONTO DURING A HEAVY SNOWFALL - 1966 OR 1967 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

JOHN CHUCKMAN IN THE LIVING ROOM (BACK WINDOW IS THE DINETTE - THOSE APARTMENTS WERE SMALL) OF OUR APARTMENT BUILDING AT 7904 ESSEX AVE 3RD FLOOR SOUTH SHORE CHICAGO - ALPERT'S DELI WAS DOWNSTAIRS ON THE CORNER - I HAVE MY BONDS BLUE SUIT ON (MY FIRST SUIT) AND I'M WEARING MY BELOVED CONTINENTAL TIE WHICH I UNDOUBTEDLY WORE TO A FRAZZLE OVER A COUPLE OF YEARS - THOSE WINDOWS LOOK DOWN AT THE WHITE CASTLE ACROSS ESSEX AT 79TH - I LOVED THOSE LITTLE ONION-COATED HAMBURGERS - I REMEMBER A FEW TIMES ON A WEEKEND DAY GETTING A FEW OF THEM AND SOME COFFEE AND WALKING OVER TO RAINBOW BEACH TO WATCH THE SUNRISE AND SKETCH IT WITH COLORED PENCILS - 1961 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

HERE'S SOME OF WHAT I MEAN (BELOW) ABOUT ALWAYS BUILDING GARDENS - I WAS ESPECIALLY PROUD OF THIS LITTLE GARDEN I PUT IN NEAR BOTTOM OF THE DRIVEWAY OF OUR TOWNHOUSE ON BROWN STREET AT PORT DOVER ONTARIO (ON A BLUFF RIGHT ABOVE LAKE ERIE) - I HAD SEEN ROPE-WRAPPED PYLONS USED HERE AND THERE AS A DECORATING MOTIF, SAY, IN FRONT OF A HOUSE AND I WANTED TO USE THE IDEA IN A GARDEN - I HAD TO SEARCH AROUND QUITE A BIT FOR SOME SUITABLE ROUND TIMBER - I CUT EACH SET SO THERE WAS A DESCENDING HEIGHT PATTERN WITH THE THREE ELEMENTS IN EACH PYLON - I WRAPPED THEM WITH HEAVY ROPES AND STAINED PYLONS AND ROPES IN TWO SHADES OF GRAY STAIN - THE PYLONS ARE ACTUALLY QUITE LONG FOR STABILITY IN THE GROUND SO I FOUND MYSELF AGAIN DIGGING DEEP IN BUILDERS' FILL OF CLAY AND ROCKS - I CUT A SHAPE AROUND THEM IN THE SOIL SUGGESTING A POND AND FILLED THAT WITH "POTATO STONE" - THE PLANTS CONSISTED OF A BEAUTIFUL HYDRANGEA (HERE IN BLOOM) AND A FEW TALL JAPANESE GRASSES - I LOVED THE FINISHED GARDEN - IT WAS UNIQUE AND HANDSOME AND I WISH I HAD A BETTER PHOTO BUT I DON'T - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKY'S LITTLE EVERGREEN GARDEN IN THE BACK YARD OF OUR CONDO AT DUKE AND QUEEN IN HAMILTON ONTARIO - EVEN THE PAVING WAS MY DESIGN THOUGH I DIDN'T DO THE WORK - THE GARDEN WENT THROUGH MANY ITERATIONS OVER TEN YEARS BECAUSE THE SOIL WAS GODAWFUL BUILDER'S FILL, NOT ONLY VERY HARD TO DIG INTO BUT LETHAL OVER A LITTLE TIME TO MANY PLANTS WITH ITS LACK OF DRAINAGE - EARLY ON I HAD A ROW OF GORGEOUS RHODIES WHICH BLOSSOMED BRILLIANT PINK ALONG THE FENCE BUT THEY DID NOT SURVIVE LONG - I DID SOME SOIL REMEDIATION BUT THERE WAS NO REAL SOLUTION SHORT OF HAVING A BACKHOE DIG THE WHOLE THING UP FOR A FEW FEET DOWN WHICH WAS IMPOSSIBLE IN THE SPACE - THE TREE-SHAPED GOLDEN EUONYMUS WAS MY PRIDE AND JOY (IT GREW CONSIDERABLY LARGER AFTER THIS PHOTO) - IT THRIVED IN THAT HORRIBLE SOIL BUT THEN IT CAUGHT A NASTY SCALE INFECTION WHICH IS INCURABLE - I LEARNED YOU CAN SUPPRESS IT WITH WINDEX OR DILUTE AMMONIA SPRAYED REGULARLY THROUGH THE GROWING SEASON - A PLANT THIS BEAUTIFUL IS WORTH THE TROUBLE - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKMAN KODACHROME COPY - RAINBOW GARDENS SOUTH SHORE CHICAGO LOOKING NORTH ON CENTER AISLE - I HAVE THIS PHOTO POSTED ON MY CHUCKMAN'S PLACES SITE, BUT ANOTHER LOOK CAN'T HURT - DURING A VISIT FROM TORONTO - 1968 OCT 11 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

RAINBOW PARK SOUTH SHORE CHICAGO - THE TREED PARKLAND PORTION - I AM NOT SURE BUT I THINK I'M LOOKING SOUTH FROM NEAR THE SOUTH END OF RAINBOW GARDENS - I WISH I HAD A BIGGER PRINT BUT THIS IS ALL I HAVE - ON A VISIT FROM TORONTO - APRIL 1967 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

WORDS WRITTEN BY JOHN CHUCKMAN FOR BOB SORENSEN (DEAR FRIEND AND FATHER-IN-LAW) ETTA CHUCKMAN (MY DEAR LOVING MOTHER) AND PRESTON UNEY (DEAR OLD FRIEND IN SOUTH SHORE)

JOHN CHUCKMAN: CHICAGO TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER IN MEMORIAM FOR ROBERT SORENSEN MY BELOVED FATHER-IN-LAW AND DEAR FRIEND:

Robert Peter Sorensen, born Chicago Sept. 11, 1909, to Oscar Sorensen and Catherine Keeley; died March 14, 1990; buried March 16, 1990, Park Lawn Cemetery, Toronto, Canada.

Known to friends as Rip. He was part of a generation that dearly loved the city and the kind of man no one ever regretted calling a friend.

Now, he's back with Barney and the boys from the Ravenswood Line.

"It's nice, but it's not Chicago."
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MEMORIAL FOR MY MOTHER - AS PRINTED IN CHICAGO TRIBUNE:

Death Notice in the Chicago Tribune, Sunday, December 3, 1995:

PARA (CHUCKMAN)

Etta Lucille Para, in Quartzsite, AZ, Nov. 30, after a long struggle. Born Sept. 19, 1923, Clinton, IN, the daughter of William N. and Nellie McIntosh. Etta came to Chicago for opportunity after high school, a working girl with big dreams about the city. Not many years later, she was left alone to raise two young sons, a task to which she devoted herself, earning their living and creating a loving home, first in Hyde Park and later in South Shore.

Her bravery, devotion, and fierce honesty in the face of great obstacles were remarkable. The last quarter century of her life was blessed with a loving husband, “Wayne” Joseph Para, who cared for her to the end. She is survived by her husband in Arizona; her two sons, John and Bill Chuckman, three grandchildren, John, Bob, and Julie Chuckman, in Canada, and sister, Wilma McIntosh, in Chicago. Her ashes will be buried in Indiana at a later date.

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JOHN CHUCKMAN:  ON THE DEATH OF AN OLD GOOD FRIEND:
WRITTEN FOR AN INTERNET NEWSLETTER ADDRESSING THE OLD CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS:

My old good friend, Preston E. Uney (Bradwell 1959/ South Shore 1963), died on July 7, 2008. He was an aeronautical engineer living with his wife and children in Colorado.
Preston's dad ran a small toy store on Stony Island in the 1960s until the changing neighborhood destroyed his business. The family lived for many years in a small house on Kingston Ave. just south of 79th.

His older sister, Marie, taught us both to dance, however awkward the results. His father, an immigrant from Russia, used to tell electrifying stories of the Russian Front in WWII.
Preston was an interesting independent-minded kid who must have been the only student carrying a Socialist Labor Party sign around South Shore High in the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon presidential campaign. He will be missed.

WAYNE PARA (MY MOM'S HUSBAND) SHOPPING ON 79TH STREET SOUTH SHORE CHICAGO - SOUTH SHORE HOLIDAY FLORIST IS ACROSS THE STREET - I RECALL "FLOWER DAY" THERE ONCE A WEEK WHEN THEY'D GIVE EACH KID WHO STOPPED BY A FLOWER FOR HIS OR HER MOM - PRESTON UNEY AND I DID THAT SO OFTEN ON THE WAY HOME FROM BRADWELL IN THE LATE 1950s - I SUPPOSE THEY WERE JUST GETTING RID OF OLD STOCK BUT WHAT A NICE GESTURE IT WAS - I THINK THE CARS PARKED TO WAYNE'S RIGHT ARE IN THE JEWEL FOOD STORE PARKING LOT - WAYNE AND MY MOM ARE LIVING IN THE COURTYARD BUILDING AT 78TH AND COLFAX AVE AND I AM ON A BRIEF VISIT HOME FROM TORONTO - I WAS SOMETIMES SO VERY HOMESICK (IT REALLY CAN BE ALMOST AN ACHE WHEN YOU LEAVE BEHIND A PLACE YOU GREATLY CARE FOR) - COMING BACK FAIRLY OFTEN ON SHORT VISITS AS I DID THEN IS SOMETHING YOU COULD NEVER DO TODAY WITH INTRUSIVE CONTROLS AND COMPUTERS PACKED WITH PERSONAL DATA - APRIL 26 1967 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKMAN KODACHROME COPY - JOHN AND BILL CHUCKMAN SITTING TOGETHER BY THE LAGOON ON NORMAL AVE (JUST A BIT NORTH OF 79TH STREET) AUBURN PARK CHICAGO - ON THIS VISIT HOME FROM TORONTO I REALLY RAN ALL OVER GETTING PICTURES OF OLD PLACES - THAT KIND OF SENTIMENTALITY JUST ALWAYS HAS BEEN PART OF ME - 1968 OCT 12 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKMAN KODACHROME COPY - RETURN OF THE NATIVE - CHUCKY SITTING BY THE LAGOON AT NORMAL AVE AUBURN PARK CHICAGO ON A VISIT HOME FROM TORONTO - POSED A BIT LIKE ANOTHER PHOTO OF ME NEAR THIS SPOT FROM THE LATE 1940s - THE BACKGROUND OF THIS PHOTO REMINDS ME OF WHAT A SPLENDID PLANNING JOB THEY OFTEN DID IN CHICAGO BACK IN THE 1910s - 1920s - A BEAUTIFUL CITY NEIGHBORHOOD THEN - 1968 OCT 12 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKMAN KODACHROME COPY - CHUCKY WITH HIS FAVORITE CORDUROY JACKET SITTING IN THE FALL SPLENDOR OF RAINBOW GARDENS SOUTH SHORE CHICAGO ON A VISIT HOME FROM TORONTO - I REALLY WAS VERY FOND OF RAINBOW GARDEN - I'M SURE IT INFLUENCED ME A GOOD DEAL BECAUSE IN EVERY HOME I EVER OWNED I BUILT A GARDEN, SOME OF THEM QUITE BEAUTIFUL I THINK - I CAN REMEMBER BEING ABLE TO HEAR THE RUSTLE AND RATTLE OF THE LEAVES IN THE POPLAR TREES WHICH LINED THE EDGE OF THE BEACH - 1968 OCT 11 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

BILL CHUCKMAN IN OUR BEDROOM AT 7904 ESSEX 3RD FLOOR CHICAGO READING "EXPLORING THE OLD WORLD" WHICH WAS A GRADE SCHOOL TEXT AT BRADWELL - THERE MAY WELL HAVE BEEN A COMIC BEHIND THE BOOK - JUST A LITTLE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 1961 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKY AT SOUTH SHORE HIGH SCHOOL CHICAGO - A CARTOON DONE FOR MS BRESLIN'S ENGLISH CLASS ON THE SUBJECT OF SATIRE BASED ON THE POLICE SCANDAL THEN GOING ON (1960) WHICH LED TO THE APPOINTMENT OF ORLANDO WILSON AS POLICE COMMISSIONER - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKY IN MONTREAL - A DRAWING OF SOME OLD HOUSES IN PEN AND INK - THE CITY USED TO HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF ARCHITECTURE OF THIS VINTAGE AND CHARACTER - A GOOD DEAL IS GONE TODAY BUT IT REMAINS A BEAUTIFUL CITY (IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, SEE MY SITE CHUCKMAN'S MONTREAL ON WORDPRESS) - 30 DEC 1973 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKY IN FRANCE - I HAVE NO PHOTOS OF MY TIME IN EUROPE SINCE MY CAMERA ALONG WITH OTHER STUFF WAS STOLEN IN ITALY - I HAVE A FEW DRAWINGS DONE WITH OIL PASTELS - THIS ONE IS OF A DRAMATIC TREE ON TOP OF A SMALL MOUNTAIN NEAR THE PICTURESQUE TOWN OF LE MONT DORE IN THE MASSIF CENTRAL - LE MONT DORE - 12 FEB 1971 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKY IN FRANCE - ROOM IN A SMALL "PENSION" AT LE MONT DORE - I REMEMBER GOING TO MAIL SOMETHING ONE DAY ABOUT NOON AT THE POST OFFICE - IT WAS CLOSED WITH A SIGN ON THE DOOR SAYING THEY WERE AT THE CAFE ZOZO UNTIL 2 PM - A CHARMING ANECDOTE BUT I THINK FRANCE TODAY HAS CHANGED UNFORTUNATELY A GREAT DEAL FROM THAT TIME - 14 FEB 1971 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

CHUCKY IN FRANCE - AN UNFINISHED STILL LIFE IN OIL PASTELS - WINE BOTTLE AND FRUIT - LE MONT DORE - 9 FEB 1971 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

COLFAX AVE SOUTH SHORE CHICAGO LOOKING NORTH FROM OUR OLD BUILDING AT 78TH AND COLFAX - IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL WITH THE TREES AND WELL-CARED-FOR APARTMENTS - I USED TO JUST ENJOY WALKING AROUND (WHICH WAS GOOD SINCE WE NEVER HAD A CAR) AND I THINK MY TERM "URBAN VILLAGE" FITS PERFECTLY - IT CERTAINLY HELD ITS PLACE IN MY HEART AS THE URBAN IDEAL FOR MANY YEARS BUT THIS PLACE TOO WAS JUST BEGINNING TO CHANGE WHEN I TOOK THIS PICTURE - BY THE EARLY 1970s, THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER WAVE OF REFUGEES LEAVING (AFTER THE EARLIER ONE I EXPERIENCED IN HYDE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD - SEE BELOW) FEAR AND INCREASED VIOLENCE AND BADLY DECLINING SCHOOLS - I RECALL SEEING A NEWSPAPER PHOTO OF "FOR SALE" SIGNS ON A BLOCK LINED UP LIKE KIDS GOING TO RECESS - NEVER SAW ANYTHING LIKE IT - PEOPLE WENT TO MANY DIFFERENT PLACES SUCH AS HOMEWOOD (MOM) OR EAST HAZEL CREST (PRESTON UNEY'S FAMILY) OR TO THE NORTH SIDE (AUNT WILMA) - OTHERS WENT AS FAR AS SKOKIE - OCT 11 1968 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

JOHN CHUCKMAN SITTING IN A WING CHAIR WEARING HIS FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER MASK AT AUNT WILMA'S ELEGANT LITTLE APARTMENT ON PHILLIPS AVE SOUTH SHORE CHICAGO - I REMEMBER BUYING THAT MASK AT THE OLD TREASURE CHEST STORE ON RANDOLPH STREET DOWNTOWN (A PLACE I LOVED) AND I USED IT FOR YEARS ON HALLOWEEN - I JUST LOVED THE AUTUMNAL MYSTERIOUS SENSE OF HALLOWEEN AND IN THOSE DAYS IT WAS EMBRACED AND CELEBRATED FAR MORE THAN IT IS TODAY - ONE YEAR I FITTED THE ELECTRODES ON THE NECK WITH FLASHLIGHT BULBS AND HAD WIRES RUNNING DOWN TO BATTERIES IN MY POCKET - EARLY 1960s - A JOHN CHUCKMAN IMAGE

OUR THIRD AND LAST SOUTH SHORE APARTMENT - 7802 COLFAX AVE CHICAGO - 1ST FLOOR OVER DOOR ON RIGHT - STILL SMALL (A ONE-BEDROOM) BUT WE THOUGHT THIS BUILDING VERY CLASSY AND LIKED ITS BEING NOT OVER STORES - MOM WAS HAPPY BEING AWAY FROM WHITE CASTLE - I REMEMBER FEELING THE GREATEST SENSE PRIDE IN THE HANDSOME COURTYARD - THOSE OLD APARTMENT BUILDINGS DID THAT TO YOU, MAKE YOU FEEL MUCH THE SENSE OF PRIDE HOMEOWNERS FEEL - TAKEN ON VISIT OCTOBER 11, 1968 - A JOHN CHUCKMAN PHOTO