The Ridge Historical Society
Fourth of July 1922
By Carol Flynn
The Ridge was busy with everyday life as the Fourth of July approached one hundred years ago.
School had come to an end for the summer and graduation exercises had taken place. A picture of the cadets at the Morgan Park Military Academy parading in formation appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Betty Frances and Irma Permelia Palmer of 96th Street gave a “good-bye before vacation” party for their schoolmates. Their mother was Pauline Palmer, the local correspondent for the Englewood Times newspaper for many years, and it was she who reported the neighborhood news in the 1920s.
Classes from the local schools enjoyed picnics in the Beverly Woods [which hadn’t been renamed the Dan Ryan Woods yet].
Tammie A. Wilcox, a teacher at the Vanderpoel School, received a Master’s degree from the American Conservatory of Music.
Newly ordained priest Father Lester Lyons of 98th and Winston celebrated his first solemn Mass at St. Margaret of Scotland Church. The “beautiful and uplifting service” was followed by “a sweet after-service” enjoyed by his relatives, friends, classmates and admirers.
Graduating college senior William G. “Bud” McCaw of 98th and Longwood was awarded the western conference medal by the Indiana University faculty for his scholarship and athletic record. He maintained a “B” average while earning his college letter “I” in football.
College students returned home for the summer. The Fitch family of 94th and Pleasant traveled to Ohio to collect sons Donald and James from Denison University. Katherine Hodges of 97th and Vanderpoel was home from Rockford College.
There were the usual illnesses and injuries. The little Kennicott son of 113th and Lothair was recovering from diphtheria. Miss Charlotte Slater had an operation for appendicitis at St. Luke’s Hospital. Mrs. Roy Baxter and her sister were badly cut and bruised when their automobile was smashed into at 103rd and Longwood. They were grateful to their neighbors Mr. Heffernon and Mr. Davis for coming to their assistance.
Folks made summer trips. Charles Lacklore of 111th and Longwood was in Seattle to visit his mother. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Mikesell were in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Dr. J. H. DeLoach went to Georgia on business. Mrs. Bulkley visited St. Louis and upon her return her daughter and son-in-law were planning to stay with her for the summer.
June weddings were popular. Gertrude Kilian and Charles Sikes had their wedding supper at the community center on 103rd Street, followed by a dance at Valentine’s hall at 103rd and Charles St. Marion Grozier married U. S. Navy Ensign Harry Keeler, Jr., of 96th and Longwood Drive, and prepared to move to San Diego, where the groom was assigned duty on a destroyer.
There were public safety concerns. The paper reported that it was “a favorite stunt for moonshine-filled autoists” here for funerals to drive through the local streets at “reckless speed from forty to sixty miles an hour,” and something had to be done to prevent this.
Neighbors were awakened by a “terrific” early morning explosion at the Beverly Hills News Agency at 98th and Wood Street, which resulted in a small fire and some damage. It was wondered if this was intentionally caused by someone with a grudge or if it was just an accident.
The Fourth of July program for the community was planned to start at 9 a.m. and end with a fireworks show at 9 p.m. – “if the weather man smiles.” Included in the day would be a band concert, community singing, athletic competitions and displays, and a baseball game between Morgan Park and Ridge Park teams. Major General Milton J. Foreman, a distinguished World War I veteran and leader in the Illinois National Guard, was invited to be the speaker.
The Ridge Park swimming pool would be open on the fourth, and “big and little, and grandparents, and all the rest, have their suits and caps and water wings ready for a plunge.”
Summer activities would go on after the holiday. The Vanderpoel School would be open on Sundays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. so people could visit the art collection. [The Vanderpoel Art Association would move to the Ridge Park field house when it was built in a few more years.]
St. Margaret’s Church was planning its annual carnival for the week of July 15. Mrs. John Finan of 100th and Prospect was the chair of the event.
Saturday afternoon at Ridge Park at 97th and Longwood was known for its “crackerjack ball games” and enthusiastic crowds.
The community kept growing. The southwest corner of 111th Street and Western Ave. [where today the Beverly Arts Center is located] had just been sold to W.J. and Edward Birk for $22,500. There were ads in the local paper from Elmer Jordan and Co. offering real estate plots in this section for sale as the “Morgan Park Sub-Division.” The land was still very rural, and a project to widen, grade, and pave Western Avenue was in the works.
The oldest house in the community, and one of the oldest in the entire City of Chicago, the Iglehart House, is located in this neighborhood at 11118 S. Artesian Ave.
Life went on.