Memories Announcements
"Grew Up in Park Forest" group formed on Facebook
We are on Facebook! Become a fan of "Park Forest Historical Society" and of "1950s Park Forest House Museum!" We have joined Facebook (like us!) and have a Facebook page for the museum (like our museum page!). (Active links are further down the page.) There is a Facebook group, "Grew up in Park Forest". It formerly had some wonderful memory streams going, but that changed with Facebook's new format. It is still a place to reconnect with people who grew up here. We still accept memoirs sent to us via email. We hope to get a "Park Forest Memories " group started sometime to capture those entries, but are looking at other social networking sites. If you are interested in helping with that, contact us. We have joined Facebook (like us!) and have a Facebook page for the museum (like our museum page!).
Remember to make a copy of your memory and submit it to us, too. And, you will notice, you can write a much longer memoir to be put on our website to share with people.
If you see a topic there and want to expand on it, please share it with us! Remember, many people are not on Facebook and don't read memories, there. We may know something about your question.
Have you tried to contact our email and not received an answer?
I think the absence of emails to us is a result of the Facebook page, BUT if you have tried and we have not answered your email, please try again and put something in the subject line to draw attention to the fact. I have gotten some legitimate messages but a fraction of what I formerly received. I receive a lot of spam messages. I worry that I am missing some that don't come through as legitimate.
Thanks to all of you who have been submitting memories!
I will be adding the memoirs and sending you emails to let you know that yours is online. Hopefully this will go smoothly. When you get your email, please be sure to notify friends and relatives to come look at our site.
Let us hear from YOU!!
If you are reading and enjoying these memories, (and I can tell that you are by the web statistics) send yours along. You do not need to add your contact information for the website. Please let us know what information you want to include. Your memory can be a few sentences or an essay. Our Memories stay up for years to come.
Exploring the Park Forest Area Farm History
Be sure to read our story on this year-long project with South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society. Our program on September 20 will be on this. Read more in News and Programs. Be sure to contact SSGHS or PFHS if you have any information on farms in the Park Forest area.
St. Irenaeus School
Do you have photos of St. Irenaeus School or your class photos from your time there? Please contact us through our link. The Class of 1959 recenetly had a reunion in Chicago and we discovered St. Irenaeus School history files at the church had inadvertently been thrown out. Please help us and St. I's reconstruct the files.
St. Anne's Catholic Church Sauk Trail and Westwood Drive
Did you or your family attend St. Anne's Catholic Church before St. Irenaeus was built? We have people looking for history and photographs of the church. Do you know what happened to the original building? The museum has a lovely painting of the church hanging in the bedroom, donated by Terry Ruehl who moved to PF in October 1948 and attended the church. Terry has since moved and passed on. If any of you can help reconstruct the history of St. Anne's please contact us.
Rich High Class of 1959 Tour
On June 13, 2009 thirty-nine or more people came through the museum on a special tour arranged by Jack and Becky Black. The reunion first went on a tour of Rich East High School, then came to the museum on a bus provided by the high school. Everyone enjoyed sharing memories of their years growing up in Park Forest.
We have since had tours for the Classes of 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, and 1967.
Having a reunion? Be sure to book your tour of the museum as part of your activities!
1950s Museum in the News
The 1950s Museum is in GroupTour eMagazine, Spring 2013 issue, page 26. You can download the issue here.
The 1950s Museum was in the Chicago Tribune Metro section on Sunday February 3, 2008. We had a color photo and text on the front page and more photos and text on page 5. If you go to chicagotribune.com, put "1950s Museum" in the search box, and you can go to the article, but now you have to pay to read it there. If you Search the internet for "1950s Museum" the article should come up in another site where you can read it for free.
More than a Liquor Store: First Retail Store Opens in Park Forest!
Following is my speech at the 2003 Hall of Fame induction ceremony. by Tom Taradash Posted 7/31/03
Recently, an old friend of my father reminded me of the time in 1949 that he was planning Thanksgiving dinner at his new home in Park Forest. He and his wife wanted to show off their home and their young children playing in their backyard. That afternoon, as his wife prepared the dinner and set the table, they realized that they needed glassware for 15 or 20 people. In addition, they had forgotten the ice, liquor and wine -- and; they did not have enough snacks to go around.
My father's friend would have had to drive to Chicago Heights to get the forgotten items, but all these items were provided by the Park Forest Liquor Store.It was a problem that George Taradash decided to do something about. In 1949 he and his brother Irving, soon before, opened the first retail store in the Park Forest Shopping Center. It was the thought of these needs that they rushed the completion of the Park Forest Liquor Store to open before the Holidays that year. Many retailers tried, but only the liquor store opened. Things were "rugged" in Park Forest at that time - there were no paved streets, other than the main throughfares - no green lawns - no trees, other than the wind brakes planted years before. There were no sidewalks and only "duckboards" would get you in and out of the shopping center.
The name Liquor Store at that time was really a misnomer. The store carried such staples as milk, bread, canned goods, toilet paper and the most precious item - baby food. As we all know, there were a lot of babies in Park Forest after the War. It was by all means, in today's terms a "Convenience Store." But the services that were provided then were way different than the "no" service of today. First and most important, there was FREE home delivery. When a young mother was home - with children and no car - but needed grocery items or baby food, George Taradash and the Park Forest Liquor Store provided free delivery service. When phone lines were at a premium and a message had to get home from a husband downtown at work, the liquor store provided a message service. There was no bank in town then, so when paychecks needed to be cashed, Park Forest Liquors provided that service also. Besides being a shop owner, there was George the community person. Meeting space, for the newly formed clubs and community service organizations was non-existent before the building of restaurants, schools and churches. But again, Park Forest Liquors came to the rescue. An area in the basement of the store was devoted to meet this need. Anytime, day or night, groups would meet and formulate the future of Park Forest. From community service groups to government entities, from school boards to church organizations, all met at space provided free at the Park Forest Liquor Store. Because of his extreme generosity, he sponsored numerous Little League teams, bowling teams, softball teams and about any organized event held in town. The office in the store looked like a museum of pictures and trophies from anything ever held in Park Forest.
Later, Jewel opened, and there was no longer a need for food items. The town was growing rapidly. My father had already built a terrific reserve of "good will." On that "Good Will," he decided to expand and move into a larger space in the Theater Building. He also opened a second store on Blackhawk, as the community expanded. My sister, Gail, and I remember when our family first moved to Park Forest in 1949. And, although our father and mother, Nancy, are no longer with us; we still remember Park Forest fondly.
Thank you for honoring my father, George Taradash, by inducting him into the Park Forest Hall of Fame in April, 2003.
-- Tom Taradash