'Ten dollars went a long way'

My husband and I both are native-born Waukegan people. I came from the South side of town, and my husband from the Northwest side.

Some of my memories include riding my bike downtown from the South side of Waukegan with my dad to buy meat at the meat markets on Saturday mornings. He would stop and talk to all the "old cronies" in front of the First National Bank, and I would just sit on the ledge and wait for him. My father belonged to the VFW and I would go to all the parades to watch him march in the parade.

Another one of my favorite memories was going Christmas shopping for my family by myself. I would take the streetcar downtown. Ten dollars went a long way. You could buy presents for everyone in the family and still get a sloppy joe at Kreske's. They had mystery packages at Niesner's that you could buy, and the packages were all wrapped and didn't cost very much.

I, too, remember the iceman and having the milk delivered to the house by the horse-driven trucks. We as little kids would wait until the iceman would go in to deliver the ice, then we would all jump on the truck and get the ice shavings. When he came out and saw us, he would be so angry.

Back then, when folks got dressed up they also had to have their shoes shined. So my dad built a shoeshine stand for my brothers on the South side, and when the guys got dressed to go out or to go to church they would stop and get their shoes shined.

We didn't have to worry about gangs. Most kids stayed on their street and played with the kids who lived on their street. But in addition to that, for the boys and later the girls, almost all the boys from North Chicago and Waukegan played basketball on one of the Rex teams. We have Dr. Eugene P. King to thank for that. Dr. King was unique. The boys who played basketball learned more than just the game. He made sure all the boys practiced good hygiene habits, and he furnished not only the uniforms but the cosmetics they needed. The Rex teams traveled all over the county to play, including Evanston and Milwaukee.

Living in Waukegan wasn't all good or all bad, but it sure provided a lot of memories.

Betty Foxie-McKenzie