South Side Gems

The door of a metal box creaks open and a treasure buried for over seventy-five years is unearthed. Does this sound like a scene from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean? Perhaps, but it’s only me doing my job fulfilling research requests at the Teich Archives.

One hundred and five, four drawer, metal filing cabinets line the second floor rooms of the Teich Archives Building. The drawers contain over one hundred thousand of the original job files used by the Curt Teich Company artists to create the postcards. A small percentage of the files have been inventoried, but the contents of the rest of the files largely remain a mystery. It is only when we get a request for original material that these treasures come to light.

Though some files are virtually empty, others are a precious cache of original photographs, fabric samples, paint chips, artist’s renderings, and even samples of the products the postcards are advertising. A package of Dr Witzels’ Cigarettes for Asthmatics resides in the envelope that contains the material used to create the product’s advertising postcard. The envelope file for a postcard depicting Thomas Edison’s home contains a casual snapshot of Edison sitting on a chair, complete with a pinhole on the top where it was probably tacked to the artist’s drawing board. Yet others contain cultural and social documents that speak volumes about the times of their creation while recording the vast changes that defined the last century.

A recent request for a postcard of the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago brought to mind the contents of one of the files that I had pulled a number of years ago for another researcher. The Savoy Ballroom and Regal Theater were part of a commercial real estate development on Chicago’s South Side that included the South Center Department Store. The entire complex served the predominantly African-American neighborhoods that stretched between 23rd and 63rd Streets. These establishments were also known for their fair hiring practices. Most of Chicago’s businesses restricted African-Americans from holding positions involving contact or interaction with customers. The management of the businesses in the South Center Development took pride in the fact that they hired only African-Americans, albeit to serve the mostly black clientele.

The job file for the postcards the Curt Teich Company created for the Savoy Ballroom and Regal Theater and at the time of their opening in the late 1920s contains two remarkable original photographs. The photograph of the Savoy was shot from directly across the street. The marquee proclaims the current offerings to be the Supreme Chamber of Majestic Sentinels and “A Night in Honolulu” Vaudeville, with admission costing a mere fifty cents. The close up photo reveals the building’s exterior architectural details and the hundreds of lights that adorned the ballroom’s illuminated sign.

The Regal Theater photograph was shot from the far side of the boulevard so one can see the giant illuminated sign that stood high above the theater on steel towers. The Regal sits like a gem in the middle of the crown of the South Center Development. The photo also shows the placement of the Savoy Ballroom in the block long complex.

Both of these businesses provided an institutional presence in the African-American community. The Regal hosted community events and championed local causes like the Bud Billiken Club, a popular South Side children’s organization. Besides hosting a wide variety of entertainment including jazz bands and popular entertainers like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, the Savoy was a community center and sports venue serving Chicago’s African-American population. As a sports complex, the Savoy hosted roller skating parties and sponsored the local basketball team the “Savoy Big Five”, which later evolved into the “Harlem Globetrotters.”

The most remarkable document this research request unearthed was the promotional piece created by the exclusive agents of the South Center Development, Harry M. and Louis Englestein. The brochure outlines the phases of development of the project and the benefits and services that each phase will provide to the African-American community. It also forecasts the role the development would play in the South Side neighborhoods:

“It will be the business and social Mecca of the more that 300,000 Negro residents of Chicago. It will be a rallying point for their growing feeling of race solidarity. It will draw patronage from every Negro group in Chicago and its suburbs, as contrasted by other community centers which draw from only their immediate neighborhoods.”

The brochure also serves as an historic document and sign of the times in the language it uses as well as in its social commentary and the recognition that the African-American community would become a powerful and influential economic force, not only in Chicago, but across the entire United States as well:

“Since the World War, Negroes have become factors of ever-increasing importance in the industrial life of Chicago. The restriction of immigration by the United States government
has recently opened thousands of new jobs to them. As a result the wealth and purchasing power of Chicago Negroes are greater that ever before and their educational and social levels have been raised accordingly.”

It is entirely possible that this promotional brochure and the above mentioned original photographs exist in no other place but in the art files of the Curt Teich Company. The language in the brochure may be archaic, but together with the original photographs these time-pegged visual and print documents help to define an era. More importantly, these artifacts weave yet another thread of the story of the development of the city of Chicago into the fabric of this country’s history. To me they are only the beginning of a tale told through the contents of these files, the component of the Curt Teich Postcard Archives that makes the collection unique and very remarkable. In an age flooded with visual images, the original art files of the Curt Teich Company can still amaze and confound this writer.

Leggo My Eggo™? If I Could Find One!

The aftermath of Black Friday has left many store shelves empty. If you were hoping for a Zhu Zhu pet for your favorite niece or a 38 inch flat screen TV you may have to resort to checking out Ebay. So you pop a couple of Eggo™ Frozen Waffles in the toaster, slather them with butter and syrup and sit down in front of your computer in your favorite reindeer jammies to do some power shopping. What? No Eggos™? You better check out EBay because that may be the only place you can snag some Eggo™ Frozen Waffles right now thanks to a few savvy waffle hoarders.

According to a recent article in Time Magazine, the shortage has been called “a national calamity, further proof of global warming’s reach, a sign of the apocalypse, evidence of a corporate conspiracy and a good opportunity to cash in.” The Eggo™ Waffle Facebook page is all a twitter over the breakfast pastry shortage. All hysteria aside you can thank the historic amounts of rainfall that soaked the Atlanta area in September and shut down the plant responsible for the production of America’s favorite frozen waffle. With several production lines in Kellogg’s largest bakery in Rossville, Tennessee also closed indefinitely for repairs, Eggo fans were beginning to believe it really was nothing short of a gastronomical conspiracy. If you happen to be a distraught waffle eater, don’t despair. Kellogg recently released the following statement: "The Eggo™ team is working around the clock to bring everyone’s favorite waffle back to store shelves as quickly as possible. We hope to regain full distribution of Eggo™ products by the middle of 2010. This is a top priority for the Kellogg Company.”

I thought this was a great news tidbit and worthy of a blog entry because of the fantastic Mr. Eggo™ postcard above, a Teich Archives’ staff favorite. Currently he’s on exhibit in the Food in the Atomic Age exhibition at the Lake County Discovery Museum. While researching the Eggo™ shortage I learned a lot of absolutely wonderful useless information about waffles that I thought I’d share.

Ancient Greeks ate flat cakes cooked between two metal plates called obleios.

There is evidence that the first manufactured waffle irons may have come from Holland or Germany in the 1300s.

The Pilgrims brought waffles to the New World in 1620 after being introduced to them in Holland.

In the late 1700s Thomas Jefferson returned to the United States from France with a culinary souvenir, a patterned, long handled waffle iron. After being served in the White House, “waffle parties” became a national fad.

The first US patent for a waffle is awarded to Cornelius Swarthout in 1869.

By the 1930s electric waffle makers are a standard kitchen appliance.

By the mid twentieth century waffles are standard restaurant fare, served with butter and syrup or fried chicken and gravy, depending on your location.

In 1953 the Dorsa Brothers, Tony, Sam and Frank, introduce frozen waffles to supermarkets, officially changing the name to Eggo™ in 1955.

Belgian Waffles are introduced to the US at the New York World’s Fair in 1964.

Kellogg buys out the Dorsa brothers in 1970 and introduces the catchy slogan “Leggo My Eggo” in 1972.

Worldwide frozen waffle shortage begins in 2009. Distraught waffle loves resort to paying exorbitant prices on EBay for Eggo™ Waffles.

The White Cities

Historians interested in Chicago associate the name “White City” with the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. A few years after the fair it became the name of an amusement park located in the greater Grand Crossing and Woodlawn community areas on the city’s south side that operated there until the 1940s. Recently while looking for images of Louisville, Kentucky I found one for a White City. Remembering that I have seen White City images in other cities, I thought I’d learn a little more about these amusement parks and if they had a connection to the Columbian Exposition.

The World’s Columbian Exposition was a landmark event for the city of Chicago. So much so it is represented by one of the four red stars on the city’s flag, together with the others that stand for Fort Dearborn, the Chicago Fire, and the Century of Progress. One of the biggest attractions for the 26 million visitors to the 1893 fair was the Midway Plaisance. Considered to be the first amusement park, this mile long attraction included the world’s first Ferris wheel and the Snow and Ice Railway, a forerunner to the modern roller coaster. Other firsts to debut at the Midway Plaisance were some tantalizing new taste treats such as the hamburger, Cracker Jack and Juicy Fruit chewing gum. Two of America’s favorite breakfast foods also were served for the first time at this fair venue: Aunt Jemima’s pancakes and shredded wheat.

The Columbian Exposition was designed to celebrate the 400 years since the landing of Christopher Columbus in America. The exposition’s founders had lofty ideas to showcase Chicago, not only as the phoenix city risen from the ashes of the great fire only two decades earlier, but as the classical renaissance city and the embodiment of “Americanness.” Dubbed “The White City” due to the electrically-lit white stucco buildings, the fair would always be remembered by this iconic vision. However, it was the Midway Plaisance with its boxing exhibitions of John L. Sullivan, exotic dancing of Little Egypt, games, rides, and other compelling attractions that that would be the drawing card and ultimately the meeting place of the masses.

Within only a few years after the World’s Columbian Exposition the amusement park concept spread across the country. Inspired by the success of the Midway Plaisance the White City amusement park opened in Chicago in 1905. Power and railroad companies started partnerships to create electric transportation companies, and the idea of constructing amusement parks along electric trolley and inter urban railway lines to encourage riders to use the lines on the weekends made economic sense. Within only a few years, dozens of White Cities, Electric Parks and Luna Parks had opened across the country. Most of the Electric Parks were owned by the electric and railroad companies, which also owned the intercity trolleys and railways. The first Luna Park built on Coney Island in 1903 took its name from the spaceship in the 1901 Pan American Exposition ride "A Trip to the Moon. In 1899 there were about 250 amusement parks operating in the United States and by 1919 there were almost 1500. Today only one of the original White City amusement parks still remains. Built in 1908 it is operated today as Denver’s Lakeside Amusement Park, its name officially changed decades ago.

Lakeside Park is only a few minutes from my daughter’s home in Denver. I pass the amusement park coming and going to and from her home and never really knew its connection to White City. Lakeside is still a hometown family favorite with all the tacky charm of a carnival. It’s an amusement park, not a theme park like its stepsister Elitch Gardens, also a Denver tradition. It’s a place where a family can still take a lunch to eat in a shaded picnic area, pay a nominal parking fee and ride the rides without standing in line for 30 minutes. Not too bad for one hundred years old, it’s nostalgia wrapped up in fun and I hear it’s best at night when the moon and twinkly lights give a soft glow to its somewhat shabby facade. When was the last time you rode the Wild Chipmunk?

A Postcard Thanksgiving

Traditional harvest feasts and celebrations giving thanks for surviving winter and its hardships have been held by native cultures around the world for thousands of years. A gathering between the Plymouth colonists and about 90 Wampanoag Indians has come to be known as the first Thanksgiving, though Native Americans had organized such gatherings for centuries before the Europeans arrived on American soil. What actually happened that day is clouded in history, but we do know that it was a feast held in the spirit of cooperation between the colonists and the Native Americans to celebrate a bountiful harvest.

These postcards selected from the Curt Teich Postcard Archives show an array of wild turkeys, some who have already met their fate, and others that seem overly confident, two downright patriotic, and oblivious to their Thanksgiving dinner destiny. Were turkeys part of the original feast held back in 1621 or just part of the holiday’s mythology? According to the most detailed description of that famous feast from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth by Edward Winslow, we do know that fowl and venison were surely on the menu. It’s very possible that geese, ducks and swans were also part of the “fowl” offerings that graced the table. Lobster, clams and even seals were plentiful at the time and also may have been a part of the harvest repast.

I’m afraid that stuffing and pumpkin pie were not on the menu, which would make my family very unhappy. The supply of flour the pilgrims had brought with them had dwindled and they did not yet have ovens. However, they may have eaten boiled pumpkin and due to the time of year, plums, berries, chestnuts, acorns, walnuts and dried peas and beans may have been available to them as well. There were no domestic cattle, therefore no milk products. Potatoes were still viewed as poisonous by the colonists, so those creamy mashed potatoes beloved by today’s Thanksgiving feasters were definitely not on the table. Cranberries, one of three fruits native to America along with blueberries and Concord grapes, may have been eaten dried but not in the sweet and tart concoction we call cranberry sauce. Though the Pilgrims had brought sugar with them on the Mayflower, it was probably a scarce commodity by the time of the feast.

The 1621 harvest feast attended by the Native Americans and Pilgrims at Plymouth lasted for three days and was a secular celebration, not the day of thanksgiving it has become. The participants engaged in traditional harvest festival activities such as dancing, singing and game playing. It was not repeated the next year nor did they have plans to make the event into anything more than it was, a time of gathering to celebrate a good harvest. It wasn’t until 1863 that President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, a tradition that has been upheld by every president since.

I took an informal poll of the Archives’ staff to see how they spend the Thanksgiving holiday. For most it is a day of family, food and football. For some the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade plays in the background while the food is prepared and as a lighthearted prelude to the hours of choreographed violence called football. There was a consensus on one element, though, the menu stays the same. An errant new dish may be introduced occasionally, only to be nixed for the next year’s lineup, but there is always turkey. One family forgoes the football and attends a movie, while another with three small children makes the rounds to both sides of the family and two full turkey dinners. My guess is that a lot of napping is happening in between visits. Whatever your Thanksgiving traditions may be, I hope your day is happy and your harvest is bountiful.

Postcard Party Time

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I’m sure many of you need some inspiration for planning your holiday soirees. This scrumptious array of meat, cheese, relish and appetizer trays would compliment any party table and simplify your entertaining dilemmas. According to the text on the back of one of these advertising postcards from the Teich Archives, “You’re a guest at your own party with this tantalizing tray of delicious meats and imported and domestic cheeses, attractively arranged to make work light for the most discriminating hostess.” Sounds like the perfect solution for an easy, breezy holiday celebration.

While many of the same food items are offered by each catering company represented on these vintage postcards, the style and arrangement of the trays differ. Personally I like the more artfully arranged trays with the rolled meats and parsley stuffed cheese florets. They look so “Martha Stewart.” The green pepper encircled egg slices and the carefully positioned whole and sliced olives lend a creative flair to the whole repast. Someone should mention to Cal’s that they are a bit heavy on the garnish and bit light on the crudités. It’s also interesting to note the changes in food offerings over the years. The Little Cheese Shop showcases its most popular snack tray in this advertising postcard from 1953. Today you might fine hummus, marinated tofu, sushi rolls or star fruit on a party platter, but I doubt if calf tongue or liver paste balls would be a popular food item at the office holiday party.

Here at the Curt Teich Postcard Archives we’ve all been having visions of food, glorious food. We pulled dozens of food related images for a new exhibition called Food in the Atomic Age, and these party trays are some of my favorites. Though they were not chosen for the exhibit, I thought I’d share them with you because they are so festive and might spark some ideas to make your next holiday party a rousing success. After studying them carefully I have a few suggestions for the discriminating host and hostess: light on the garnish, go with the hummus, and nix the calf tongue.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Fast-Food

As early as the late 1800s the lunch wagon became a popular fixture at work sites or factories, often serving food at night when other establishments had closed. As these rolling food vendors became quite popular and a lucrative business opportunity, ordinances were enacted to restrict their hours of operation in many cities and towns. Owners began to find stationary sites for their wagons to circumvent local zoning restrictions. Many displaced streetcars were purchased, converted and pressed into service and the local dining car or “diner” was born. By the 1930s diners were being manufactured using the latest in building materials that suggested speed, luxury, efficiency, hygiene and the desire to be modern.

The evolution from traditional streetcar to the streamlined version made from stainless steel, chrome and neon had taken place by the end of World War II, but the desire for convenience, speed and efficiency was overtaking American postwar society. By the early 1950s the elegant gleam of the diner was fading. America was smitten with the automobile and the nation’s population was on the move and in a hurry. Dining behind the wheel became the ultimate car culture convenience and the American Drive–In restaurant was born.

By the 1950s drive-in restaurants with their snazzy architectural styles were a staple of the American landscape. Standardized menus replaced the home made comfort food of the early diners. McDonald’s restaurants employed the production-line technology of Henry Ford nicknamed the Speedy Service System as it streamlined food preparation and maintained consistency in its limited menu items. This uniform production kept the food hot, the service fast and the prices low. Other franchised restaurants such as Burger King, White Castle and Kentucky Fried Chicken were also fulfilling the American desire for fast, convenient meals people could eat in their cars or take home to eat in front of their television sets. The growth in automobile use that came with the suburbanization of the country gave fast food establishments a big boost and contributed heavily to their success. By 1955 Americans were spending 25% of their food budgets eating out.

Almost every one of us grew up with a favorite fast food joint. In my neighborhood it was Don’s Dairy Frost. Don’s started out as a soft serve ice cream stand called Shakey’s that served those twirly cones dipped in your choice of a chocolate, strawberry or butterscotch crispy coating that firmed up almost immediately and cracked as soon as you bit into it. I tried the strawberry early on because it was such a pretty color, but decided it tasted like perfume so I stuck with the chocolate. Besides, you can never go wrong with chocolate. Later Shakey’s became Don’s Dairy Frost and introduced burgers, crinkle cut fries, and corn dogs to accompany the twirly cones, shakes and sundaes. Today it’s called Don’s without the “Dairy Frost” and is still the neighborhood place to be after the baseball games at the VFW field. It’s been remodeled a few times, the menu has expanded to keep up with current tastes in fast food and there are a number of booths and tables inside for those who’d rather not eat on the run. I ate a lot of meals sitting in a car in that parking lot during my teenage years and with my children when they were little. Every time my daughter comes home for a visit you can be sure that she’ll make time for cheese fries and a double cheeseburger from Don’s. My granddaughter Evie loves the corn dogs.

These images from the Curt Teich will be seen in a new exhibit at the Lake County Discovery Museum called Food in the Atomic Age and celebrate great American diners, drive-ins and fast food joints.

Halloween is for Lovers

Looking for love in all the wrong places? Tired of on-line dating and searching for suitable prospects at your local health club? According to old traditions and superstitions your Halloween night activities could land you a mate. Perhaps you should spend a little time on All Hallow’s Eve looking into the mirror by “pumpkin light” or sitting in front of a cozy fire. Then again, how about throwing a ball of yarn into a dark room and waiting to see who might eventually pick it up? Want to know the first initial of the name of your true love so you don’t have to bother dating any Peters, Paulas or Penelopes? You could just peel an apple and throw the peeing over your shoulder, then hope it doesn’t land in the shape of letter X or Z.

These postcards, all from the early twentieth century, celebrate the superstition that Halloween is the perfect time to conjure up love and romance. So if you’re looking for that special someone, try a different approach and cast a little Halloween spell. You never know what might happen.

All of these postcards are from the Curt Teich Postcard Archives.