Bungalow pics

[Port Meadow]

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>

[markberwyn]

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?

[kurto]

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.

[OakParkSpartan]

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

[Bear]

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

[hvychev]

Brian, You guys have done a wonderful job on the site! Sean G is very talanted with his photography!

[Ana]

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.

[Cheeky Monkey]

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

[Bonster]

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. 
Anyone know what they're really for?

[jqpublic]

Those are the old garbage cans.

[Bonster]

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.

[tgoddess]

The garbage men got it out with a shovel, according to my dad, who grew up with them in  Chicago.

[Bonster]

lol!  You have got to be kidding me.

[Bear]

Actually those were incinerators, people would burn most garbage. It wasn't until too long ago
we had 55 gal drums for garbage containers.

[dukesdad]

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.

[Bru67]

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!

[tgoddess]

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."

[Bonster]

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.

[dukesdad]

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.

[Matryoshka]

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