by Robert Long  October 5, 1998

My father, C.B. Long (my mother is Hazel Long now living in Sun City Center, Florida) was a career (45 years) employee of Swift & Co. (edible oils division) and was transferred to Chicago in the spring of 1950. I was nearly 7 years old, my older brother Chip was 9 and my younger brother, Bill, would be born in January, 1951 in a Chicago Heights hospital. We moved directly into an apartment at 161 Park Road. (As I recall, their were no houses for a couple of years thereafter.) In 1954 we bought a new home at 448 Shabbona Dr. and lived there until my father's transfer in the summer of 1960. For me, it was a wonderful place to spend the formative years (between ages 6 and 17 in my case).

Kids galore to play with, great schools, happy parents and neighbors and places everywhere for me to play any and every type of ball (whatever was in season). What a place! Chicago was merely a city somewhere close by where my father and three or four other men would take turns driving in their "carpool" during the week and where we kids would go once a year on "field trips", usually to the Museum of Science and Industry. Anyway, I was happy and my appreciation of Rich High (Rich Township H.S.), where I started in 1957, has only increased through the years. I played basketball for Rich and was a starter as a junior in 1960 (I was Rob Long then). We were the only completely average team (13-13) in a general period of athletic excellence being enjoyed by Rich. When we would travel for away games to such places as Evergreen Park, Reavis, Joliet, Wheaton, and Kankakee we all became aware that Park Forest was very special and that Rich High was, perhaps, the best high school anywhere. I still hold to this belief.

In 1994, after an absence of 34 years, I returned to Park Forest, visited both home sites, all four of the schools I attended and went into my beloved high school, which looked completely unchanged (actually looked better) after over three decades. The sign in front now read Rich East High School, Home of the Rockets. On this particular day, totally by coincidence, Rich was having an open house for parents and when I walked in I was actually greeted and welcomed as if I were expected. (The faculty members naturally assumed I was a parent of one of the students). I quickly cleared this up and was given a tour of the school and couldn't believe how sparkling clean and new looking everything appeared. It was a twilight zone experience. It was 1959 all over again. One teacher I met had married a classmate of mine and was able to fill me in with the lives of many schoolmates and friends whom I wondered about through the years. Then she said "Do you remember Don Hanson? He's still here." Don Hanson was one of our coaches who and just graduated from the University of Illinois and had joined the Rich faculty in perhaps, 1956 (the year before I started). Loved by everyone, Don Hanson was and is the embodiment of what was so special about Rich High (and Park Forest). Anyway, I was directed to "Coach Hanson's" office and spent an hour with this hero figure. He pulled out the 1960 Lagoon, found me in the basketball section, and said very convincingly that he remembered me well. Whether true or not, it was good enough for me, as was my entire visit in 1994, and all of my memories of my Park Forest from 1950 to 1960. Park Forest was very good to me!

(Rob writes from Boone, NC)