Memories from Liz Stark, (Elizabeth Stark, Mrs. Robert) May 15, 2008

I could write a small book about EARLY Park Forest, before the pre-1950 museum, but will write more in the near futue. My husband Bob and I moved to Park Forest on October 20, 1948, court E-8 on Western Avenue. The park ing and play area wasn't paved yet and we were among the first 4 courts settled. Phil Klutznick and family moved into the first court, I think, about the time we did. Except for one bachelor (a WWII Veteran like most all the others) was involved in building PF...everyone was young, there were a few children but within 9 months, the children began to arrive. I have a picture of a baby shower for 4 pregnant women, all due at the same time, and we credited that to the same cocktail party!

There was lots of laughter and we made lifetime friends, some of us were their kids' godparents and vice versa.

In our immediate group, I am almost 87 and Bob died at 88 New Year's Eve, 2006. Only a few are living. Some of your facts I read are right, others not. Yes, most of the women were stay-at-home mothers. Most men commuted to Chicago on the Illinois Central and it was a few miles to the station. We didn't have a car, yet, but a few people did and gave rides. If you weren't on the same AM/PM train schedule, it was tough. Eventually a bus came from Chicago Heights to return there as well as make a 5:30 p.m. train into the city. I was the only career woman with no children and was advertising manager of the Rau Store for our 3 years there. It was owned by a private group who bought it from Marshall Field and Co. and a most attractive store. I don't even know if it is still there, since we moved to Barrington 11/1/51, and never went back because our PF friends all moved to other suburbs about the same time and like us, eventually to other cities.

In January 1956, with 2 young children we went East to Connecticut and NYC. During those years, all grocery shopping, school attendance, Drs/dentists and hospitals were in Chicago Heights. The then Williams Press printed all my ads in the bi-weekly and very good newspaper. I had ads in Wed. and Fri. issues, a minimum of 3 and a half page complete with copy and artwork. I got a lot of kidding and funny, but envious, comments when I went off to work all dressed up including a hat!!!

That is enough for now, but I would love to write more about the townhouses themselves and mention some of the people. On our 10th Anniversary, I wrote a nostalgic and humorous poem about Ct. E-8, which we sent to everyone. Will have to find a copy.

Jane Nicoll--I responded to Liz with the names of some of the early residents of her court and on May 23, 2008, she wrote back:

I was just delighted to get your prompt reply and especially to find Terri Ruehl and boys mentioned. How well I remember them and I hope you will send her email or slow mail address. Terri and Ed moved in the same time we did and would have most of the same memories. [Terri and Ed have both passed away, but Terri was one of our most loyal docents until a year before she died. For those of you who have the calendar, Terri took our famous, Muddy Kids, photograph. Dan Weiner of Fortune Magazine stayed with the Ruehl's and Terri was one of the women in many of the Fortune Magazine photographs.]

We did all gather for "tot-yard" parties but formed smaller and different groups of life-long friends, some from other courts. The tot yard was meant to confine the children, but when the mothers gathered, they often sat there and let the kids play outside. With adult outside parties -and even inside- no one ever got a sitter; they just went home regularly to check on the sleeping tots. Ruehls had two adorable little boys, Roger about 2 plus and E.J. about 4? [Terri had Roger just after they moved into court E-8. JN] I was checking through old pictures when I found one which I forgot I even had, of the boys on a sofa in their house. I took it! Terri had a great sense of humor and called her boys "The Pots." Terri took a job in our third year there. EJ might have been in Management, and since there were no such things as Day Care Centers, maybe a neighbor took Roger. I don't remember anything about her job.
I mentioned before that I wrote a 10 year anniversary poem, but couldn't find my copy. I did find the ORIGINAL brochure which Bob brought home to the #2 apt. we had in the city, June to August for one, and Sept. to October for #2/3. And sight unseen, we signed up immediately! If you don't have a copy in the museum, I will send you mine, as at 87, there's no point in saving this stuff. The first page has big type, "Park Forest...a new design for better living." It was during our last year there, fall to November 1951, that the first building was built for what was to be the Shopping Center. I can't recall what that was for, [Taradash's Park Forest Liquors] but the funniest part was that management sent every resident a request to the corner stone laying part and asked each family to bring a brick for the building. Men from E-8 all went over to where they were still building townhouses and brought home one of those bricks. Of course, Mgmt knew that would be done. We weren't going to buy one!

I will add news of "original settlers" with whom I am still in touch. My Bob died in 2006 at 88. Jane and Neal Tonks (Neal died about 1979), Jane remarried and lives in Georgia. Helen and Jack McCune, retired from Wis. to Forida and Jack died a few years ago. We saw Jane and Bill Cushing a few years ago...and Neal and Jane before that in Conn. and New Jersey. We also saw Helen McCune after we moved to Wis and she to Florida.

Thank you for helping me to bring back those memories. The AARP bit mentioned "rotary phones". We had 8 party line phones with one letter and 3 numbers, i.e., P-123. Those were to be part of numbers to come with rotary phones. Four families got the rings from 1 to 4 out of 8 parties...if it rang 4, for example, I would know that was for Doris Ferguson and Ruth McCormick was probably calling from their connecting apartment, on our stairway and bathroom side. So I would often get on the line and we would have a 3 way conversation, just for fun. There were only single phones on the first floors. The townhouses were great size, but the sound proofing was terrible. We all used to tell stories about that, some of them really hilarious!!!!!

Thank you for "listening" and I am enjoying talking about it.
Elizabeth (Liz) Stark, Madison, WI