If you haven't seen it already, check out www.berwyninformer.com --it has an area with three tours of berwyn homes, some pics of interesting homes around town, images of a nice flower garden and koi pond, and a rundown of berwyn restaurants and businesses. they also have their own forum but it looks like no one is using it yet. cool website
<Admin here == I modified the www.berwyninformer.com so it was a valid link>
What a beautifully put together site! Whoever's running the joint is doing a nice job of it. And I'm thankful to learn some more about the "Fountain House" on 34th Street; my fiancee and I have mooned over that place countless times (those bookshelves!) and wondered about who lives there. Anybody know if it's ever open for tours?
I forgot her name, but she is a retired doctor from county general.
Now I remember, its Margaret Otto.
My wife and I approached her last summer on a walk and she was
more than anxious to show us her backyard - quite a beautiful
place with a little mediatation corner and a large goldfish pond.
We never went inside, but I think it is the house she grew up in.
Sean and I run it. He does the design/photography, I handle the back end stuff on the servers. Sign up for the mailing list, good info goes out (NON-POLITICAL).
Cheers,
Brian
You are correct Kurto, Maggie grew up there, her younger brother Chip was
my bud, we spent many a fine summer evening in that yard. If you saw what the original
house looked like you would be shocked, there was a large side yard on the
Clarence side that she built onto. The home is truly wonderful as was Chips mom
who put up with all of us hooligans hanging in the yard after our sport of choice
at The Zoo, (St. Leonard's parking lot)...Those were great times growing up here
Brian, You guys have done a wonderful job on the site! Sean G is very talanted with his photography!
I don't know who Sean is but the site is a wonderful addition to Berwyn, for Berwyn and for others to see what Berwyn has to offer. I've been dying to look into the fountain house for over 15 years, thank you, thank you, thank you! And being a Berwyn house viewing addict, I know where most of these homes are located and who owns a couple. Gosh, I am sooooooooo grateful.
Hey guys,
Thanks for the input... This site has been bustin' my butt for almost a year now.
I don't even want to know how much time, gas and money I have blown putting this thing together.
Brian has been a huge help behind the scenes! I have a bunch of realators both from Berwyn and outside of Berwyn that have links to the site and they have commented that it has already brought a new wave of interest to the town. That was never the intention... but not a bad effect of the site. I have been in touch with the guys who are doing the condo project on Oak Park and Stanley, and I think I might be getting a copy of the artist rendering to post on the site as well. Please join the e-mail list and interact with the forum as well... I just started it a short time ago. I have several other homes that I will be doing photo walk throughs of in the not to distant future... There are some truely outstanding homes in this town... and I thank everyone for letting me into their homes and gardens.
Thanks again for all the comments,
Sean Gallagher
Here's a "bungalow-related" pic.
What the heck are these things I see in the alleys?
I think I want one.
I asked some guys who grew up here. They stashed beer and cigarettes in them to hide from the p's. :D
Anyone know what they're really for?
Those are the old garbage cans.
Yeah?
How did they get the trash out of there, is there a removable sleeve? Seems rather tedious for them to bend down and scoop the stuff out there. They're also rather small for trash containers.
The garbage men got it out with a shovel, according to my dad, who grew up with them in Chicago.
lol! You have got to be kidding me.
Actually those were incinerators, people would burn most garbage. It wasn't until too long ago
we had 55 gal drums for garbage containers.
They were not incinerators, accidentally maybe, when garbage spontaneously combusted. They were garbage receptacles, the drivers shoveled garbage out of them into the trucks. Required lots of labor, but labor was a plentiful, cheap commodity at the time.
Quote from: tgoddess on April 27, 2007, 08:24:27 AM
The garbage men got it out with a shovel, according to my dad, who grew up with them in Chicago.
Geez. I consider myself lucky if my garbage can lids aren't a mile down the alley. He's also got a weight limit which I consider to be rather wimpy. If I can get it in there, you can lift it up, you know?
Those were the days!
Quote from: Bonster on April 27, 2007, 08:12:51 AM
Yeah?
How did they get the trash out of there, is there a removable sleeve? Seems rather tedious for them to bend down and scoop the stuff out there. They're also rather small for trash containers.
Bon,
Yes, they're very small, but you have to remember that back when they were being used, people just weren't creating the amount of garbage we do today. Paper waste was usually burned (in the fireplace or stove), people used stuff 'til it literally fell apart and "packaging" alone (of just about EVERYTHING these days) wasn't nearly at today's levels. Today, everything is blister-packed, wrapped in plastic, put in plastic bags. Back in the 30's, it was "waste not, want not" and a lot more was "recycled."
t- my mom's response almost mirrored yours lol...
Garbage just didn't seem plausible to me as it would be overflowing at 6 inches (height of the swing-out door).
I was thinking it was where coal ash might have been deposited before the coal to natural gas conversion kits became commonplace.
Both my parents had 55 gallon drums for their garbage...one in Chicago, one in Stickney.
Cold coal ash did go in there too, sometimes it went in there not so cold.....leading to the fires we talked about earlier. Coal ash, especially the "clinkers" (coarse solid hunks of ash) were used a lot instead of salt on the alleys and sidewalks. It was not a pretty time, I remember my mom complaining that wash hung out in the winter sometimes came in dirty from all the coal soot floating in the air from both home and industrial stokers.
Quote from: tgoddess on April 27, 2007, 09:00:17 AM
Quote from: Bonster on April 27, 2007, 08:12:51 AM
Yeah?
How did they get the trash out of there, is there a removable sleeve? Seems rather tedious for them to bend down and scoop the stuff out there. They're also rather small for trash containers.
Bon,
Yes, they're very small, but you have to remember that back when they were being used, people just weren't creating the amount of garbage we do today. Paper waste was usually burned (in the fireplace or stove), people used stuff 'til it literally fell apart and "packaging" alone (of just about EVERYTHING these days) wasn't nearly at today's levels. Today, everything is blister-packed, wrapped in plastic, put in plastic bags. Back in the 30's, it was "waste not, want not" and a lot more was "recycled."
And there were no disposable diapers...nowadays even babies are wrapped in plastic
Quote from: 'Rita on April 27, 2007, 11:17:42 AM
And there were no disposable diapers...nowadays even babies are wrapped in plastic
LOL!
I remember when I was growing up my mom used to use those big brown paper bags that your groceries came in for our garbage and when it was full you took it out to the big 55 gallon drum in the alley. Even with the heavy duty recycling that I do I doubt that one of those bags would last half a day if all 6 of us were home.
Quote from: 'Rita
...nowadays even babies are wrapped in plastic
...and their stinky, poop-laden bundles of love are often left at the curbs on our streets. Would not have happened back in the day.
Man, I always thought those cement receptacles were for burning trash. I can't imagine how much the job of garbage man must have sucked back then.
Renovator Bear - I still think the life of a garbage man pretty much sucks, especially in the summer what with the heat and the way some people dispose of their garbage (like those stinky diapers on the curbs-that is disgusting!) I haven't come across those yet and hope I don't! YUCK!
I have no pity on waste management garbage men, I wish we had those cement resceptacles now to show them what kind of wimpy babies they really are. . . "you but rocks in your garbage can, it's too heavy, i'm going to hurt my back, no, it doesn't matter that you are 5'2" and you can carry it all the way out here, I'm not taking it. . ." Waaaaa somebody call a waambulance.
Quote from: Ana on April 27, 2007, 11:18:09 PM
I have no pity on waste management garbage men, I wish we had those cement resceptacles now to show them what kind of wimpy babies they really are. . . "you but rocks in your garbage can, it's too heavy, i'm going to hurt my back, no, it doesn't matter that you are 5'2" and you can carry it all the way out here, I'm not taking it. . ." Waaaaa somebody call a waambulance.
How would having cement trash receptacles show how wimpy the garbage men are? Those were fixed in place, they were not movable. Typical Berwyn thought process" you do what I say cause you work for me and I am the boss and I pay taxes!!" I hope that this kind of thinking and you people never spread beyond the boundaries of this fetid and feculent city.
fetid and feculent!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!
That's why I moved here!
I think Ana's just had some bad experiences with her garbage collection.
Although - it may be true that the WM guys who work the south are a bit wimpy.
Up in the great white North they've abandoned their shovels when pickin' up for the hovels, and lift the cement cans by hand.
I thought this was a neat bungalow mod I noticed on my OPA walk last week. Rather than the normal straight cement climbers, at some point the owner had curved stairs put in, with some neatly trimmed evergreens planted for privacy. Maybe the neighbors were bastards...
Quote from: Count DMC on April 28, 2007, 08:12:57 AM
Quote from: Ana on April 27, 2007, 11:18:09 PM
I have no pity on waste management garbage men, I wish we had those cement resceptacles now to show them what kind of wimpy babies they really are. . . "you but rocks in your garbage can, it's too heavy, i'm going to hurt my back, no, it doesn't matter that you are 5'2" and you can carry it all the way out here, I'm not taking it. . ." Waaaaa somebody call a waambulance.
How would having cement trash receptacles show how wimpy the garbage men are? Those were fixed in place, they were not movable. Typical Berwyn thought process" you do what I say cause you work for me and I am the boss and I pay taxes!!" I hope that this kind of thinking and you people never spread beyond the boundaries of this fetid and feculent city.
As Bonster, said, I've had my share of probs with WM. . . but I can assure you that I'm not the only one. BTW, one of my waste baskets has been sitting in the alley for 2 weeks without being emptied. Why? No one knows and no one can tell me. Anyone want to drive by and take a gander and let me know why, WM won't. . .
Bending over and shoveling garbage all day may be a little more difficult than dragging a garbage can with wheels over to the hauler. And this fetid ::) and feculent ::) city is my home for life.
Quote from: Ana on April 30, 2007, 09:46:13 PM
Quote from: Count DMC on April 28, 2007, 08:12:57 AM
Quote from: Ana on April 27, 2007, 11:18:09 PM
I have no pity on waste management garbage men, I wish we had those cement resceptacles now to show them what kind of wimpy babies they really are. . . "you but rocks in your garbage can, it's too heavy, i'm going to hurt my back, no, it doesn't matter that you are 5'2" and you can carry it all the way out here, I'm not taking it. . ." Waaaaa somebody call a waambulance.
How would having cement trash receptacles show how wimpy the garbage men are? Those were fixed in place, they were not movable. Typical Berwyn thought process" you do what I say cause you work for me and I am the boss and I pay taxes!!" I hope that this kind of thinking and you people never spread beyond the boundaries of this fetid and feculent city.
As Bonster, said, I've had my share of probs with WM. . . but I can assure you that I'm not the only one. BTW, one of my waste baskets has been sitting in the alley for 2 weeks without being emptied. Why? No one knows and no one can tell me. Anyone want to drive by and take a gander and let me know why, WM won't. . .
Bending over and shoveling garbage all day may be a little more difficult than dragging a garbage can with wheels over to the hauler. And this fetid ::) and feculent ::) city is my home for life.
Home for life, ok your choice. But a bit short sighted, but then again that is the Berwyn mindset.
It is what it is, my choice, your opinion. When are you moving?
Quote from: Ana on April 30, 2007, 10:00:28 PM
It is what it is, my choice, your opinion. When are you moving?
As soon as I find a nice hovel near yours!! :-*
I dig it here, but then, again, I'm half a DINK (amongst other nasty things...). If I had kids nearing Jr. High, well...hmmm. We'll see what happens.
I couldn't imagine not having a driveway as a teen. That's one thing about driveways...all the hot chicks out washin' their cars and
Bonster...
You're gonna get Bear all flustered. ;)
Quote from: Bonster
... with some neatly trimmed evergreens planted for privacy.
ahhh...gigantic evergreens, the national flower of Berwyn.
But I agree...the curved stairs are an interesting twist.
Hey - Count DMV - why you gotta come here and crap all over everyone? No one needs your attitude. I've been a long time lurker here on this board but no more. Why not put the for sale sign on the front lawn of your hovel and head on over to some other suburb where everything is perfect and no one has the typical Berwyn mind set you so despise? Is it because you like the attention you get here?
Joe Sleestak
Joe,
Just an guess, but something tells me the Count can actually DRIVE his house to another town.
Yeah, I think it's time for him to pull up those cement blocks, reattach the wheels and hit the road!
http://www.whitetrashworld.com/vtp/
Quote from: Joe Sleestak on May 01, 2007, 01:47:02 PM
Hey - Count DMV - why you gotta come here and crap all over everyone? No one needs your attitude. I've been a long time lurker here on this board but no more. Why not put the for sale sign on the front lawn of your hovel and head on over to some other suburb where everything is perfect and no one has the typical Berwyn mind set you so despise? Is it because you like the attention you get here?
Joe Sleestak
Did you copy that directly from some other noob poster on here? I will give you your moment to bask in telling me off, so you can show everyone where you work how witty you are. If you truly had anything to say and lurked as long as you say you did, you would have shown your mug here before.
You flatter me with the use of the word hovel which I know until you heard me say it and then looked it up online you had no idea what that word meant. Unfortunately for you I am not going anywhere, though buzz about me enough and I will make you my new play toy. And yes you are a typical Berywn dullard, now look that word up too. :-* :-*
Dullard? Wot duz that mean? Gosh - u'r so smart. Better get out my dickshunary! How duz berwyn run without you in charge?
Oh - and by the way, Count DMZ, I don't have any co-workers to share these fun postings with - I own my own business, jackass - I have employees and I don't think they'd be interested in what you have to say.
Now, back to the drive thru window with you! The fries I ordered are getting cold!
Quote from: Joe Sleestak on May 01, 2007, 03:34:48 PM
Dullard? Wot duz that mean? Gosh - u'r so smart. Better get out my dickshunary! How duz berwyn run without you in charge?
Oh - and by the way, Count DMZ, I don't have any co-workers to share these fun postings with - I own my own business, jackass - I have employees and I don't think they'd be interested in what you have to say.
Now, back to the drive thru window with you! The fries I ordered are getting cold!
Hmmmm Jackass, drive thru window, notice the correct spelling from the fast food industry where witless spent most of his adult life. Does your mommy know that you are wasting her AOL minutes playing MR PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS OWNER instead of having your afternoon naps?
I own my own business too, its a Fortune Five Hundred company, yeah that's it, and I have 200 employees that think I am the greatest boss in the world, and my kids are the best and my wife stays home and cooks for all of us and I drive a super expensive car I cant pronounce or spell correctly and...... oh no wait that would be YOU. :-*
Quote from: Bonster on April 30, 2007, 12:52:25 AM
I thought this was a neat bungalow mod I noticed on my OPA walk last week. Rather than the normal straight cement climbers, at some point the owner had curved stairs put in, with some neatly trimmed evergreens planted for privacy. Maybe the neighbors were bastards...
Very neat if you approach from the south. What if you are walking in from the north though?
Quote from: Bru67 on May 01, 2007, 04:45:51 PM
Quote from: Bonster on April 30, 2007, 12:52:25 AM
I thought this was a neat bungalow mod I noticed on my OPA walk last week. Rather than the normal straight cement climbers, at some point the owner had curved stairs put in, with some neatly trimmed evergreens planted for privacy. Maybe the neighbors were bastards...
Very neat if you approach from the south. What if you are walking in from the north though?
Yeah, all you see are the plants (may have been thicker back when). I'm thinkin' it's the neighbors to the North they were shading themselves from. :)
Well, at least they didn't move to Plainfield to shade themselves from it with a 2 hour commute.
I meant next door, goof!
Quote from: Count DMC on April 17, 2007, 03:26:33 PM
Come on, why is it everytime you are pressed you come with theese
milqtoast answers. I never said the Realtor has the power to say anything to the buyer or seller or lender, but when you know that the person is not qualified and yet you send them to "one of your " mortgage guys you are just as guilty. do not try to pass the buck, you know it goes on, or wait are you the only ethical realtor out there?
Morals, ethics, personal honor. These are not applicable to the Realtor I suppose. Money, money money. These
definately are.
[/quote]
Hmmm...who can't spell correctly? It's
milquetoast and definitely fuckwit. I like reading your posts Count PHD. You're one of those people who like to throw (what you think) are big words around to prove how smart you are. In reality, you don't know the meaning of them or even how to spell them. And my favorite part is that you're too stupid to click on the little spell check button but you are the first one to note when someone else makes an error in their post.
Let me share something with you - you are a joke. You live in this city and hate it so you come here to shit all over everyone. If you haven't noticed, the powers that be don't come to this board. If you're so hopped up about the horrible things going on in Berwyn get off your ass and do something about it. But you won't - it's more fun to come here, post anonymously and pick on people so you can feel superior to them. Good for you. If that's what it takes to support your fragile ego then do what you have to. I won't be talking to you any more.
I really do own my own business, btw. It's not a Fortune 500 company. Just a small business that supports me and my family and allows us to have a nice bungalow in a nice little city like Berwyn. No fancy cars for us. We have a nice life, nice neighbors and we enjoy our life. I wonder if you can say the same.
Over and out Count!
Joe,
I think you'd be surprised who reads this board. What people say they do, and what they actually do are two different things.
Cheers,
Brian
Brian,
I probably would be surprised by who reads this board. But has anything ever changed in this city because of what someone on this board wrote about it anonymously?
Some people like to complain but never take the steps necessary to make things change. I know there are a lot of people on this board who are very involved in our community and I commend them. I just don't think my friend the Count is one of them. I think he likes to come here to stir the pot and feel superior to those he deems have the "Berwyn mentality."
Joe
Yes, some things have changed.
And many of us are "anonymous" only on the surface. Doing a face to face meetup tends to get over that hump...
Last weekend, I had drinks with eno, tgoddess, scoon, 'Rita...all of us "anonymous".
A few weeks ago I was with Bonster, Boris, Tyry, scoon, mrs. scoon, fejes, and a couple of other people...
Anonymity fades pretty quickly if you show up at a board meeting.
Cheers,
Brian
Quote from: Count DMC on May 01, 2007, 04:39:58 PM
Quote from: Joe Sleestak on May 01, 2007, 03:34:48 PM
Dullard? Wot duz that mean? Gosh - u'r so smart. Better get out my dickshunary! How duz berwyn run without you in charge?
Oh - and by the way, Count DMZ, I don't have any co-workers to share these fun postings with - I own my own business, jackass - I have employees and I don't think they'd be interested in what you have to say.
Now, back to the drive thru window with you! The fries I ordered are getting cold!
Hmmmm Jackass, drive thru window, notice the correct spelling from the fast food industry where witless spent most of his adult life. Does your mommy know that you are wasting her AOL minutes playing MR PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS OWNER instead of having your afternoon naps?
I own my own business too, its a Fortune Five Hundred company, yeah that's it, and I have 200 employees that think I am the greatest boss in the world, and my kids are the best and my wife stays home and cooks for all of us and I drive a super expensive car I cant pronounce or spell correctly and...... oh no wait that would be YOU. :-*
Punctuation. Look into it.
Real life, get one!!! :-*
A one and a two and a three!
The Count has spoken (and punctuated)!
(http://www.all-about-animals.co.uk/images/count.jpg)
LOL!!!!!
(http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/5/5f/125px-Tv_sesame_street_mumford.jpg) < "A LA, PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES!!!"
PLEASE do not disgrace Mumford the Magnificent by lumping him in with the likes of Count. Mumford was a puppet, not a cartoon character, like "our" Count and this one:
(http://www.goreydetails.net/images/items/jpeg1124519040.jpg)
By the way, Count, you used that line about getting a life yesterday -- and then proceeded to keep talking about me. Get some new material.
Anybody ever Google images for "Count DMC"? Cute little cross stitch duckies pop up! Awwwwwwww!
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=Count+DMC&btnG=Search+Images
(http://www.stitcher.co.uk/images/SSN17169SMALL.jpg)
There is no such thing as bad publicity, keep it up girls! I know you pay way more attention to me than I do you. :-* :-*