Stories
On June 20th, 2007, Barbara B. wrote...
My parents were actually the first tenents to live at 1226 W. Taylor St. It was on the 3rd floor and I forget the apt.letter, but it may be on my birth certificate. I was actually born in that apartment. My mother went to the hospital thinking that she was in labor. They sent her home with the reasurrance that her baby would not arrive for six more weeks. I was born, at home, 2 hours later being delivered by a neighbor. We didn't have a telephone so one lady was delivering me, another was hanging out of the bedroom window talking to a lady that was hanging out of the bedroom window in the next hallway over who was talking to a lady that was on the phone with the doctor who was telling her what to tell everyone else what to do. My big brother, who was 7, was sent to sit on the stairs on the first floor. When my father came home from work he was kept busy being sent back and forth to the drug store that was on the corner of Taylor and Racine. He was so mad he refused to pay the doctor bill. I spent my life expecting to be repossed...just kidding. We moved away when I was 7 and I can tell you that I have never been as happy as I was when we lived on Taylor St. My brothers and I attended Our Lady of Pompeii School. They both graduated from there. If I can help in anyway please let me know. I loved Taylor St. (I didn't know we were poor until I was grown and had three children of my own!)
On June 21st, 2007, Barbara H. wrote...
My parents were the first people to live in the apt that I was born in. My brother was 2 and my other brother was 9 when they moved in. One day when my father was walking up the sidewalk he heard "Catch me Daddy", he looked up and my brother, Joe, was sitting with his feet out the third floor window ready to jump. My Dad didn't know if he should stay there and catch him or run up the stairs and grab him before he jumped. He finally decided he had better run up and grab him, which he did....
On June 21st, 2007, PJ Fitzgerald wrote...
When I first heard about the possibility of preserving and resorting one building of the Jane Addams Project to represent life in Chicago Public Housing I was so excited.
The first evening after I heard about the “Public Housing Museum” I had to sit down and write down all my random memories. Then I went to old family albums and the memories of life at 1322 W. Taylor St, Apartment 281, came flooding back.
There had to be others out there who remembered life in the “projects” as I did. How could I find them and gather support for the ”Public Housing Museum”? My theory is that 90% of the kids who went to Jacob A. Riis School also lived in Jane Addams Project. Thanks to this web site I am now given the opportunity to look for some of my classmates and hopefully they will share their stories.
In pouring over the picture below I discovered I remembered some names but alas most of them were girls. Girls marry and change their names (at least the ones who grew up in the 1950’s did). One boy I remembered was Christopher Baraglia. I Googled his name on the chance I’d find something. Sadly, I found 2 resolutions, one from the Illinois House of Representatives and the other from the Cook County Board of Commissioners memorializing Chris’s life. I tried to insert the links but due to my limited computer skills it seems they did not work. You can Google Christopher Baraglia and you’ll find them. The Cook County tribute is near the bottom of the document. Although sad, finding these public tributes to Christopher confirms my belief that my classmates and I, who grew up in Jane Addams, went on to lead productive lives and there must be thousands of other stories out there.
Can you remember the coatroom black boards that went up and down? The little white curtains on those big windows with the shades that went up from the middle and down from the middle? Washing the blackboards (that were really black)? That “ticking” clock on the wall? How far did you live from school? Tell us about your life at Jacob A. Riis and Jane Addams and what you’ve done since.
Please look at my 4A, room 202 Riis School picture from 1952 and help me identify some more of my classmates. As close as I can remember our teacher was either Miss Eleanor Pica or Mrs. Ward.
*To view a larger image, Right-click on File, Save As, Open with your Image Viewer
? | ? | Mary Ester | Peter | ? | ? |
? | ? | ? | Reginald | ? | ? |
Lupi Lopez | Philip Palmasanto | ? | Ronald Sampson | ? | Robert Linsey |
? | Beverly Bonner | John Russo | Patricia Gwodz (this is me!) | ? | ? |
Beverly White | Anna Marie Coglanese | ? | ? | ? | Barbara Rachel |
Marsha Gilbert | Robert | Sharon Gray | Chistopher Baraglia | Linda Millhouse | ? |
I was in the class that would have graduated in 1956 but transferred to John Milton Gregory School (at Polk and Lawndale) in 1954 for the next 2 years. If you read this and were in a different class please share your experiences and thoughts of Riis School and Jane Addams with the web master.
Thanks for your help. I hope you enjoy the trips down memory lane as much as I have. Looking forward to reading your stories.
Patricia (Gwodz) Fitzgerald
On July 15th, 2007, Venita C. wrote...
I grew up in the Jane Adams Projects in the 70's and 80's. I went to Jacob A. Riis School and from there I went to Crane High School. After high school I left and went to Tennessee for college. I have been living in Nashville Tn since 1985. I was glad to find a website that I can go to and see the history of where I grew up. Thank You.