A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROGERS PARK......

A History of Rogers Park.........

Indians once roamed the natural trails of the community we know as Rogers Park.  The trails were formed after Lake Michigan rolled back to reveal a high ridge.  White settlement began on the north side in the early 1800's and history notes that in 1809 a tavern on top of the "ridge" was used for a rest stop for weary stagecoach travelers.  By 1821, white settlers had pushed north to settle in Rogers Park.  The Indians were persuaded to move north of the Indian Boundary Line (Rogers Ave.).  The land south of the line was purchased by the government in a treaty dated 1816 to encourage homesteaders to buy parcels of land.

Phillip Rogers was one of these homesteaders. He was an Irishman who had come west from New York in 1836.  He was able to buy land for $1.25 per acre, and eventually increased his holdings to 1,600 acres before he died in 1856, having become a very successful truck farmer.  Patrick Leonard Touhy was an employee of Rogers, and later married the daughter of Rogers.  It was Touhy who developed the area and named the town Rogers Park in 1869.

Settlement did not progress rapidly in the 1840-50 period, although truck farmers coming from Luxembourg moved into the area at Ridge and Devon starting about 1845.  When the St. Paul Railroad came through, Indians still remained in Rogers Park and wolves roamed what is now Greenleaf Avenue.

By 1870, however, Rogers Park had begun to grow.  The   Ravenswood Land Company established the community as a suburb on the Northwestern Railroad Line and after the Chicago fire in 1871, land became more expensive as people began to look "outside" of the city for buildable land.  As a result, in 1873, the Rogers Park Building & Land Co. was organized.  Rogers Park was incorporated in 1878 by original members of the group—Touhy, John Farwell, Luther Greenleaf, Stephen Lunt, Charles Morse, and George Estes, all of whom have streets named after them.

The water works system, fire department, school and an active business district were located at Lunt and Ravenswood (then called Market Street) at the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad station.  Meanwhile, in West Ridge (inaccurately called West Rogers Park by some today), settlers had devoted themselves to truck gardening and raising flowers.  As early as 1886, some of the farms gave way to buildings and two story homes; others were to continue into the mid-1900's, with fields and greenhouses "neighboring" comfortably with newer brick buildings.

Rogers Park decided to annex itself to Chicago in April of 1893. And then in August of 1894, on a very hot afternoon, the entire business district of Rogers Park was destroyed by fire.

During the rebuilding process, West Ridge and Rogers Park split over a park permit issued to Rogers Park in 1895.  The West Ridge farmers opposed the permit because they did not wish their tax money used to improve the lakefront property.  They subsequently applied for a permit for their own park district west of the Northwestern tracks.  A bitter fight ensued, with the West Ridge farmers being called "cabbage heads."  The West Ridge district won, and in 1897, Ridge Ave. Park District was born.

Another important date in Rogers Park history is 1915, for it was in this year that the state legislature decided that the "no man's land" near Calvary cemetery should be annexed to Chicago.  The area became known as 'Germania' and became home to well off German/Jewish residents.  It was about this period, also, that the North Shore beaches became immensely popular as a summer recreational area.  Soon theaters, ballrooms and bowling alleys opened to accommodate those who did not wish to swim, and Rogers Park, particularly Howard Street and the surrounding residential area, boomed right through the roaring 20's.

It was not until Rogers Park "went to war" during the early 40's that the dowager community fell on hard times.  Taverns and clubs on Howard Street were populated with soldiers and sailors from Fort Sheridan and the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, causing that once prestigious street to slowly decline.

However, as Chicagoans know, ups follow downs, and today as Rogers Park enters the 2010's, Howard Street, Morse Avenue and Clark Street ring with the sounds of revitalization. New, young builders rehabilitate stately older buildings.  Families fill the beaches on sunny summer days.  Young professional people scour the area for spacious apartments close to transportation, the hallmark of Rogers Park living.   And all breathe new life into Rogers Park, bringing with them their faith in Chicago, "the city that works."

                    Join us at the 'Top of Chicago'
                       on 'Chicago's NorthCoast' in
                            'Rogers Park USA'!

MUST READ

The 10,000-year experiment of settled life is about to come to a crashing halt. And humankind, which thought it was given dominion over the Earth and all living things, will be taught a painful lesson in the necessity of balance, restraint and humility. There is no human monument or city ruin that is more than 5,000 years old. Civilization, Ronald Wright notes in “A Short History of Progress,” “occupies a mere 0.2 percent of the two and a half million years since our first ancestor sharpened a stone.”

Read Chris Hedges' column
 "Calling All Future Eaters"

THE WISDOM BRIDGE THEATRE....R.I.P.

Going, going, going...............

(click photos to enlarge)

...... gone, but not forgotten! 
Thanks for the memories!

CELEBRATE HEMP HISTORY WEEK AND LET'S CHANGE THE LAW IN THE U.S.

Hemp History Week,
a look back at America's hemp heritage

Sunday, May 23, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Let U.S. farmers grow hemp! This is the battle cry of those who recognize the value and history of hemp and lament the fact that domestic farmers have been unable to legally grow it for over 50 years. In an effort to change this, Vote Hemp and the Hemp Industries Association have announced May 17-23, 2010, as Hemp History Week, a time when patriotic Americans are encouraged to anchor and organize events in their hometown as part of a national grassroots, media and public education campaign about hemp.

Contrary to popular belief, hemp is not marijuana. At least not Cannabis sativa L., the kind that has been grown worldwide for food and industrial purposes for thousands of years. A look back at American history reveals that hemp was also widely grown and used by early Americans.


To set the record straight, cannabis sativa L. has no drug value. Its seed contains no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of marijuana. Cannabis sativa L. will not cause a person who consumes it to test positive on a drug test. It is a completely different plant than the marijuana plant.


As far as functionality, there are literally thousands of uses for hemp. Its seed and oil are powerful superfoods and its fiber is useful in a host of various textile applications. For example, hemp is used to make clothing and paper, and is also used in composite door paneling, fiberboard and concrete foundations.


For food, hemp seeds are a rich source of highly-digestible essential fatty acids (EFAs), or omega-3s. In fact, they contain a perfectly balanced omega-6/omega-3 ratio of 1:3, which many believe is perfect for the human body. Hemp seeds have a nutty flavor similar to that of pine nuts, and they can be used in all sorts of food applications.


Hemp oil is delicious and nutritious as well. Unlike flax and fish oil, hemp oil is rich in Super Omega-3 Stearidonic Acid (SDA) and Super Omega-6 Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) which together help to reduce inflammation and improve mental functionality. These also assist in improving the metabolization of necessary fatty acids.


As opposed to cotton, which accounts for nearly 25 percent of the world's pesticide use in order to grow it, hemp requires no pesticides or agricultural chemicals in order to thrive. It is an entirely non-toxic, renewable resource that actually helps to suppress weeds and regenerate soil naturally. It is a favorite among farmers who use it as a rotation crop.


Back in the early days of America's founding, hemp was a commonly grown and used resource. America's hemp heritage includes the following little-known facts:


-Early laws in some American colonies actually required farmers to grow hemp.

-Many of our earliest presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, all grew hemp.


-The American Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper.


-Abraham Lincoln used hemp seed oil to fuel the lamps in his home.


-The U.S.S. Constitution was rigged with 60 tons of hemp sails and rigging.


-In 1942, Henry Ford built an experimental car body out of hemp fiber, which is ten times stronger than steel.


Other interesting discoveries about hemp include a USDA bulletin published in 1916 that found that hemp produces four times more paper per acre than trees do. In 1938, Popular Mechanics published a piece about hemp called the "New Billion Dollar Crop" that explained how hemp could be used to manufacture over 25,000 different products, "from cellophane to dynamite".


Unfortunately, domestic hemp growing ceased in the 1950s due to misinformation and confusion about hemp's relation to marijuana. Around the same time, government incentives were launched that propped up the fossil-fuel plastics industry at the expense of the hemp industry. As a result, all the key hemp producers went bankrupt and hemp quickly became an industry of the past.


In recent years, however, the truth about hemp has been resurfacing. Following a 2004 Ninth Circuit Court decision that permanently protects the sale of hemp foods and body care products in the U.S., there have been major initiatives to once again allow hemp to be grown domestically. As it stands, nearly all of the hemp sold and used in the U.S. is imported from places like Canada, but many hope that will change.


In 2007, two North Dakota farmers were given licenses to grow hemp. This is the first time in over 50 years that hemp has been grown in the U.S., and it represents a shift back towards this valuable and environmentally-friendly crop. Hemp has the potential to revolutionize our economy and bring real prosperity back to America.


Most American farmers today raise subsidized crops like corn and soy, which generate less than $50 per acre in net profits. The average net profits for Canadian farmers who grow hemp in some cases is upwards of $500 per acre. If American farmers are once again permitted to grow hemp, and American industries are able to effectively use hemp for industrial purposes, the American landscape would change dramatically for the better. The possibilities are endless.


Please visit http://www.votehemp.com/ to learn more about hemp. Also, be sure to take a look at the information there about Hemp History Week and do your part to bring this nutritious, sustainable and versatile crop back to America.

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY 2010

Celebrate Martin Luther King Day!

Watch the video; know, remember and live his legacy:

"I have a dream...."

The March on Washington

August 28, 1963

A LOOK AT CHICAGO 61 YEARS AGO!

CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH

"February is Black History Month. Every year, we honor the achievements of African-Americans throughout history. This year is different. We have the first African-American president and, while it is important that we honor the contributions of historical figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and Booker T. Washington, I would like to take some time in showcasing the heroes of today. These African-American leaders are the next generation’s historical figures."
Armando Rayo

"Creating A New Black History"