EMPEHI.blogspot.com

Dec 7, 2016

In Memory of the Crib Fire - Mount Greenwood Cemetery

Submitted by Rick Smith on February 2, 2015 - 8:50pm.

They were paid $1 to $2 a week for their labor. The workers were housed in a wooden crib on the lake. For unknown reasons a fire broke out.

It was rumored that someone had sprinkled gasoline to ward off bedbugs, but no official cause was ever confirmed. The fire quickly consumed the wooden dormitory that housed the tunnel workers. Left with little choice men began to jump into the freezing lake and climb onto ice floes.

One man was able to make a frantic telephone call to the offshore office, relaying the message “The Crib is on fire! For God’s sake send help at once or we will be burned alive. The tug—” and then the line went dead.

Accounts vary, with estimates between 40-70 men dying from the fire and drowning. The exact number is uncertain, because many of the workers were day laborers and migrant workers. Little information about their identities remains. Some of the bodies were never recovered.

Some that were found, were buried at Mount Greenwood Cemetery where a plaque reads, “In Memory of Crib Fire, 45 unknown men, Jan. 20, 1909.”

Labor History in 2:00 brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society and The Rick Smith Show

Dec 6, 2016

Famount Pony Express Rider Buried in Mount Greenwood Cemetery - Who Knew?

Robert "Pony Bob" Haslam (January 1840, London, England – February 29, 1912, Chicago, Illinois) was a Pony Express rider in the American Old West. He came to the United States as a teenager and was hired by Bolivar Roberts, helped build the stations, and was assigned the run from Friday's Station (State Line) to Buckland Station near Fort Churchill, 75 miles to the east.

Perhaps his greatest ride, 120 miles in 8 hours and 20 minutes while wounded, was an important contribution to the fastest trip ever made by the Pony Express. The message
carried, Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Address.

After the Pony Express, Haslam returned as an employee of Wells, Fargo & Company, which operated its own enterprise between San Francisco and Virginia City. He later served as a Deputy United States Marshall in Salt Lake City. In his final years he worked in the Hotel Congress in Chicago. He made a personal business card with a sketch of himself as a Pony Express rider at the age of twenty and entertained guests with stories of his adventures.

Haslam is credited with having made the longest round trip ride of the Pony Express. He had received the eastbound mail (probably the May 10 mail from San Francisco) at Friday's Station. At Buckland's Station his relief rider was so badly frightened over the Indian threat that he refused to take the mail. Haslam agreed to take the mail all the way to Smith's Creek for a total distance of 190 miles without a rest. After a rest of nine hours, he retraced his route with the westbound mail. At Cold Springs he found that Indians had raided the place, killing the station keeper and running off all of the stock. Finally he reached Buckland's Station, completing a 380-mile round trip, the longest on record for the Pony Express.[1]

Haslam continued to work as a rider for Wells Fargo and Company after the U.S. Civil War, scouted for the U.S. Army well into his fifties, and later accompanied his good friend Buffalo Bill Cody on a diplomatic mission to negotiate the surrender of Chief Sitting Bull in December 1890. He drifted in and out of public mention but eventually died in Chicago during the winter of 1912 (age 72) in deep poverty after suffering a stroke.[2] It is reported that Buffalo Bill paid for Pony Bob's headstone at Mount Greenwood Cemetery on Chicago's far south side; however, the business records indicate it was paid for by a family member. A map to the grave site is available from the cemetery office during regular business hours (all week, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM).[3]

The Original Mighty Mighty Mustang!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Haslam_(Pony_Express)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express

Path Between AlbanyCalifornia between Ridge County Club and Mount Greenwood Cemetery

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Thats the route. Great short cut unless it was raining at which it was nothing but mud. Used it a lot to get to Lou Yocum’s house.

Seems like just yesterday.

RayJ (66)

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I took that path many times. It was interesting walking in the narrow path between the cemetery and golf course at night. A little scary at night as the path was only a few feet wide with a fence between it and Ridge Country Club on the north and Mount Greenwood Cemetery on the south. Does anyone know if it still exists?

Craig Hullinger

Dec 5, 2016

Hitching or Skitching a Ride

Back in the day most residential streets were not plowed and the snow packed streets would get icy. A favorite activity was hitching or skitching a ride by grabbing the bumper of a car and sliding behind the car on the icy street.

You snuck up on the car and grabbed the bumper without the driver knowing. Sometimes the driver would become aware of you and swing out to get you off the car, or to give you more fun, or both.

You could just do this with your shoes, or wear skates. We also did it with bikes which was harder. And now the kids do it with skates or skateboards.

Sometimes our fathers or older brothers would let us hitch a ride. Lots of fun - not very safe - but fun.

http://tinleytime.blogspot.com/2014/01/skitchin-ride.html

http://skiernet.com/skitching.php

Swallow Clif Woods

You seem to get pics on the site. The attached would interest many, I think.

Tom Schildhouse

Swallow Cliff Woods is best known for its dramatic “front lawn,” which leads up a steep, 100-foot-tall bluff. The bluff creates one of the best sledding hills in the county and also one of its toughest and most scenic stair workouts. On top of the bluff, trails pass through this quiet 800-acre preserve. Hikers enjoy wandering the hilly, forested terrain complete with stream crossings, grand old oaks and flocks of migratory birds around the numerous wetlands.

Enjoying Swallow Cliff

Constructed in 1930 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, 125 limestone stairs lead to the top of a former toboggan run at Swallow Cliff North. Although the runs were closed in 2004, the stairs remain a popular exercise destination for fitness buffs and casual walkers. (Some stair climbers build pebble piles at the top of the stairs to keep track of their trips up and down.)

During the winter, the bluff still serves as an active sledding hill. Visitors provide their own sleds. (Learn more about sledding in the forest preserves.) The stairs are cleared and salted.

Hikers and trail runners can access the brown and yellow trails via a short connector trail from the top of the stairway. The full yellow loop is roughly eight miles, extending west to Cap Sauers Holding Nature Preserve and east to Palos Park Preserve. Hikers can cut the loop in half by using the white connector trail to cut back to Swallow Cliff North. These trails are part of the Sag Valley unpaved trail system, which is open to hiking, biking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing.

Swallow Cliff Woods South has small and large open-air shelters with picnic tables for family gatherings and special events. Groups of 25 or more must purchase a permit; otherwise, they are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Trail users can access the yellow trail at the Swallow Cliff South entrance as well. For a 4.75-mile loop, head west on the yellow trail.

Nature at Swallow Cliff

Swallow Cliff is a 100-foot-high bluff formed 12,000 years ago when glacial meltwater carved out the Sag Valley, leaving behind steep walls and a varied landscape of morainal hills and pothole lakes. As it did across the region, fire shaped the natural communities here. More frequent fires in some areas maintained prairie openings, while woodlands developed in more protected areas. Wet marshes and sedge meadows are scattered throughout the landscape.

There are a variety of migrating and breeding songbirds active in the preserve, including woodpeckers, great crested flycatchers and summer tanagers. Other birds seen in the area include red-eyed vireos and eastern wood-pewees.

Concessions at Swallow Cliff

The Swallow Cliff Pavilion was completed in October 2015. It includes an indoor rental space, warming shelter and restrooms. The concession area sells food and beverages (including sandwiches and smoothies) as well as work-out gear and supplements. Call 708-361-2605 for more information.

Dan Ryan Woods For Sledding

For Sledding

The hill: The slope at Dan Ryan Woods is bigger and more family-friendly than steep Swallow Cliff in Palos Park (which may close this season due to erosion).
Where: 87th Street and Western Avenue (800-870-3666, fpdcc.com)
Elevation: 45 feet
Length of run: 200 feet
Number of runs: Unlimited—you can sled down any side of the hill. There’s a gentle slope perfect for young children and a steep, fast route for everyone else.
Cost: Free
Rules: No tubes or metal-edged sleds
Safety: Unsupervised by the forest preserve, so sled at your own risk.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, December through February (closed December 25). Open only when snow depth measures three inches or more.
Perk: Lighted runs allow for night sledding.

Old toboggan slide facing demolition - tribunedigital-chicagotribune

articles.chicagotribune.com/.../0705160554_1_slides-toboggan-snowy

May 18, 2007 - The two toboggan slides in the Dan Ryan Woods are choked with bramble, surrounded on all sides by a barbed-wire fence.But Marge Polo ...

Dan Ryan Woods - The Forest Preserve District of Cook County

fpdcc.com/dan-ryan-woods/

One of the few forest preserves within the city of Chicago, Dan Ryan'splayfields, picnic groves, sledding hill, paved trail and natural areas make it a popular family destination. One of the few forest preserves within the city of Chicago, 257-acre Dan Ryan Woods is a popular and ...

Sledding & Coasting - The Forest Preserve District of Cook County

fpdcc.com › Recreation

Dan Ryan Woods West. 87th St & Western ... Use of skis, non-winter style tubes, carpets, snowboards, toboggans and metal-railed sleds is strictly prohibited.

The Demise of the Toboggan Run - Chicago Life

www.chicagolife.net/content/.../The_Demise_of_the_Toboggan_Run

Feb 1, 2006 - Of the toboggan runs that were once open, the ones at Bemis Woods, Dan Ryan Woods, Deer Grove and Jensen Slides, there was one that ...

Dan Ryan Woods - Landmarks & Historical Buildings - 87th and ... - Yelp

https://www.yelp.com › ... › Landmarks & Historical Buildings

Rating: 4.8 - ‎8 reviews

8 reviews of Dan Ryan Woods "The Dan Ryan Woods was a HUGE part of my ... There was also a toboggan style paved run, which is no longer available.

Dan Ryan Woods, 87th & Western - Chicago, Illinois - Park | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com › Places › Chicago, Illinois › Park

Rating: 3.8 - ‎33 votes

Address, Suggest an address ... Comments. Bob Pyrky — 1 starI think they should put back the toboggan run, this city takes away and just keep collecting money.

Chicago Daily News, Inc., photographer.
Palos Park ski jump
DATES 1926
View of the Palos Park ski jump in Palos Park, Illinois. In the foreground is a grassy hill. Visible in the background, on top of the hill, is a jump with two people standing on it.
SUBJECTS
- Skiing Illinois Palos Park 1920-1929.
- Runs Illinois Palos Park 1920-1929.
- Athletic facilities Illinois Palos Park 1920-1929.
- Winter sports Illinois Palos Park 1920-1929.