Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Search results

  1. ChiTownScion

    What Happened....

    She didn't block 'em and climb atop her car to curse at 'em... or chuck an ashtray at 'em? Or go berserk with a sledge hammer on their motorcycle?? And some still claim that people cannot be rehabilitated ! :D:D:D
  2. ChiTownScion

    What Happened....

    Simple question: Were it submitted to referendum, would the locals have enough votes to change the form of government to a town meeting/ selectmen government?
  3. ChiTownScion

    Hoboes, homeless and such during WW2?

    Back to the OP: I don't see a lot of men being able to ride the rails in typical hobo mode during the war years, as the rail yards were often heavily patrolled by armed employees looking for saboteurs. I always had the impression that rail crews (aside from the railroad police/ "bulls")...
  4. ChiTownScion

    Hoboes, homeless and such during WW2?

    Dad was in the Ardennes in early '45 when the Battle of the Bulge had finally come to a halt. Got a letter from his older 4-F brother, telling Dad that he was making money hand over fist working overtime at a defense plant job and that he hoped that the war would go on forever. You can imagine...
  5. ChiTownScion

    Hoboes, homeless and such during WW2?

    Actually I was serving in weekend "bum court" in Chicago as appointed counsel through the 1980's. City loitering ordinance violations were always dismissed/ non-suited: the guys were locked up for the night, given a meal and a warm place to sleep, and then let go- usually after breakfast. They'd...
  7. ChiTownScion

    Ok, so some things in the golden era were not too cool...

    Childish in the extreme, if you want my unsolicited opinion. To realign not only your political and economic outlook, but essentially your entire world view by becoming the very thug which you've beheld and at whose hand you suffered, simply because you didn't get a favor, is the last thing that...
  8. ChiTownScion

    Ok, so some things in the golden era were not too cool...

    Interesting, in that Charles Coughlin was a Roman Catholic priest who wasn't born in the United States. Considering who exactly was the greatest target of the most violent and inflammatory manifestations of Nineteenth Century nativism (from Bill the Butcher Poole to Thomas Nast) it's a classic...
  9. ChiTownScion

    Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

    East of Michigan City it takes on a real interurban flavor: flying across the rural landscape on a single track main under wire, after trundling through the streets of Mich City streetcar- style. It was an awesome ride when they still had the old Pullman Company cars doing the work.
  10. ChiTownScion

    Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

    One of my great uncles lost his savings because they had his money tied up in Insull stock. I think that my grandmother felt that the guy had it coming: he tended to put on a few more airs than she tolerated. But he wasn't the only one: hundreds of thousands went broke when his stock collapsed...
  11. ChiTownScion

    Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

    The history of the electric interurban is a fascinating one. At one time- save for a gap of about 20 miles- it was possible to travel from New York to Chicago on the electric cars. Of course, the New York Central, Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Nickel Plate all offered through sleeper car service...
  13. ChiTownScion

    What Happened....

    One of our dearest friends enrolled in the University of Vermont's Morgan Horse breeding and management program, and she said that she had the fondest memories of attending New England town meetings. She was impressed by the passion and sense of participatory citizenship that she witnessed: she...
  14. ChiTownScion

    Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

    You had a streetcar in your little town? Or was it part of a larger interurban system?
  15. ChiTownScion

    Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

    Unpaved streetcar tracks in the streets. Occasionally you'll find a patch or two under an old railroad viaduct where paving over is next to impossible, but it's becoming rare.
  16. ChiTownScion

    Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

    Unless this gal was an unapologetic skinflint I doubt that she was making that kind of money, even adjusting for inflation from 26 years ago. Amtrak. Coach. Flying wasn't all that more expensive, and if she was that flush with cash on the train I think that she'd have tried the old Amish...
  17. ChiTownScion

    Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

    I still ache when I think of my last 24 hours in a coach Amtrak trip. Wife and baby flew down to Texas to see the in-laws, and she thought that since I liked trains, I might like going by rail. She wouldn't pop for a roomette so I was stuck sitting up all night in a coach seat both ways...
  19. ChiTownScion

    What Happened....

    My theory on that: the bigger world has deemed us as odd birds for enjoying such things as a classic suit, a bespoke hat, or a nice leather jacket. We become an "us" because so many have deemed us to be a "them." A little like your theatre kids singing the Hut Sut Song:* we can either hide it or...
  20. ChiTownScion

    What Happened....

    My only gripe about the whole foodie mindset is the willingness to pay beaucoup bucks for tiny servings in huge plates. Presentation is a nice feature, but it doesn't come close to that sense of satisfaction after a truly gut- busting meal. Not EVERY meal: that's why it's a special occasion. But...
  21. ChiTownScion

    Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

    It was always the transportation mode of last resort. My best neighborhood childhood friend's dad was an exec for Greyhound, and even he (the kid) would prefer to be put on a train or a plane when sent out of state to visit his grandparents. Riding the Dog was something I hated doing even in...
  22. ChiTownScion

    Men's Adventure Magazines

    AKA, the Eight Pagers. Some were highly creative and, I would argue, not without redeeming artistic and satirical merit. I am certain that they were an influence for Robert Crumb, Jay Lynch, Bobby London, Gilbert Shelton, and a number of the other underground comix crowd who came later.
  23. ChiTownScion

    What Happened....

    The sight of any cooked cereal does that to me. ANY of it. Oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits.. you name it. It's a reflex and I can't control it if someone eats it too close to me. And the "you don't know what you're missing" comments likewise arise when I express my distaste. If your touristas...

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 2,929 (members: 43, guests: 2,886)

Forum statistics

Threads
109,269
Messages
3,077,667
Members
54,221
Latest member
magyara
Top