by Ray Shepard, Colliersville, TN, Posted July 1, 2007

Now retired and living in the South, I spend quite a bit of time in my backyard communing with nature. Sometimes, while I am sipping on my margarita, my mind drifts back to the wonderful time growing up in Park Forest.

I remember the day when my father came home from work and said, "We're moving to Park Forest". This became a reality in June of 1952 when we moved to our new home at 229 Mantua. I was 10 years old. Our house was so new that we did not have a driveway yet. There was a two-foot drop from the garage floor to the ground. On our block to the west, the ground was being graded to pour new concrete slabs. To the East, there were rows of houses as far as the eye could see. I remember thinking to myself that everything was so barren; this was a town without grass or trees.

Outside my bedroom window I could see the water tower looming above a few blocks away. I use to find fossil shells in the gravel rocks underneath the tower. In our back yard there were still mountains of dirt. It looked like a battle zone from WW1. My sister and I would have dirtball fights with kids who lived somewhere behind us. They seemed to appear out of nowhere throwing rocks at us. I quess they were protecting their turf not realizing that we were all newcomers.

I would visit all of the new houses as they were being built. The town seemed to be in a continuous state of construction. Houses were being built everywhere; there was always the constant sound of hammering. To this day, I still love the smell of new lumber.

Exploring my environment was new and exciting. Park Forest was a refuge with soft barriers protecting us from the outside world. I remember exploring the woods and winding creeks along Monee Road to the south. To the east of Western Avenue, we would ride our bikes out to the forest preserves and cook lunch in one of the pavilion fireplaces. The wind swept cornfields to the west, adjacent to the small sleepy towns of Richton Park and Matteson, were a nice contrast to the open low land to the north. Years later, this became the Westwood and Lincolnwood sections of Park Forest

The Plaza was in the center of Park Forest. Even though the Holiday Theatre was built a year before I arrived, it still was a very big deal. I remember the Plaza ended where the Jewel grocery store was located next to the clock tower. Marshall Fields and Goldblatt's were not built yet. My favorite places to go on Saturdays were the Sports and Hobby Shop, Kresge's and the Karmel Korn Shop. Also, I have a very vivid memory of seeing Henry X. Dietch political posters taped to the posts while walking through the Plaza. I always wondered: what the "X" stood for.

Just west of the Holiday Theater, a big tent was used to stage the outdoor Playhouse Theater. What I remember most was the mud outside the tent. In the summer, Kiwanis held their Pancake Day in a big tent on the same spot.
In the fall of 1952, I attended 5th grade at Sauk Trail School - the first year it was built. This was my first exposure to progressive education. Even at that age, it was obvious to me that this was an exceptional school that had a special emphasis on modern education techniques. I remember the school was of modern architecture and quite different than the traditional school I had previously attended. Desks were not aligned in a straight row, but organized randomly in semicircles allowing for discussion groups, one section for science, another for math.

During the year, our teacher Mr. Jensen, would take us on nature hikes through the forest preserve pointing out bees nest, bird types, various types of trees and shrubs. Also, we learned social skills of how to dance (the box step and square dance) and took tours though factories in Chicago Heights. Learning became fun and unregimented.

That winter, I remember waiting for the school bus in front of the old ACB building at the corner of Blackhawk and Indianwood. Again, in the distance, there was the constant sound of hammering. They were building more houses on Indianwood toward Monee road. The girls would wait inside a small phone booth to stay out of the frigid cold until the school bus arrived.

Across from the school, homes were under construction on the corner of Orchard & Apple Lane. I remember, in particular, large bails of straw lying on the ground everywhere to prevent erosion.

The highlight of the school year, however, was making the Little League team at spring tryouts, Every morning in the summer 1953, we would ride our bicycles to the little league ballpark to practice. The field was located off of Indianwood, half way between the Plaza and Sauk Trail. Mr. Burghardt, one of the high school coaches, would always be there. We would choose up teams and because there would be only a few of us, he would be the pitcher for both sides. He was a very nice, reserved man. I remember how he would show us all how to bunt correctly. I found out later that he was actually head of the recreational for Park Forest. I think he liked to play baseball as much as we did.

In the summers of '52 and '53 we would ride our bikes to the Illinois Central train station and take the train into Harvey to swim in the public pool located just north of Thornton High School. Not knowing how to swim, I would dive off the board at the deep end and come up and grab the side of the pool. One day, however, I missed the edge went straight down to the bottom. In my panic I reach up and by chance grabbed a girl's ankle. She was a little upset but probably saved my life that day.

I guess my father got wind of my near drowning. He helped with the sale of bonds and served on the committee that originated the Park Forest Aquacenter. When the pool opened up a year or two later, we were members. I still have my picture pass from 1956.

It seemed that the trees grew over night. Within a few years, all of the houses had green lawns and trees. Also, it was just amazing how fast Park Forest developed. Hundreds of homes were built monthly with new schools being built every year. The Plaza expanded when Goldblatt's, Bramson's & Marshall fields were built in 1953. I remember exploring inside during construction. I think Goldblatt's had a large basement. I remember when an elderly Mr. Goldblatt would park his limo on the North parking lot and go inside pretending to be a shopper. He was actually looking for shoplifters.

My wife was originally from Skokie, IL and had always lived in a small apartment. When her family visited relatives in Park Forest who lived in a nice home in the Lincolnwoood section, her dream was someday to live in Park Forest. So naturally, when we met in college and she found out I lived in Park Forest, love soon developed.

I got married in 1969 and we moved to 158 Birch. By then, these rentals had been converted into cooperatives. Our adjustment to court life was very pleasant. Because of the layout design, each court produced it own separate social groups. We became friends with a close-knit group of couples who were very socially active.

Even though we had separate working lives, we all shared many things in common: We were all young, educated, working for corporate America in middle to upper management positions.

This was the time in our life when we attended many social activities. In the court, we played volleyball, had a league softball team, drank beer at the VFW after the games, attended many evening parties, played golf on the weekends, and, of course, had barbecues. We lived there five years before purchasing a home.

As the early Park Forest settlers became more successful in their careers, many chose to stay and put on large additions to their homes instead of moving to more affluent areas. They had strong bonding ties to their neighbors and the town. They liked were they lived. In 1974, we purchased one of these homes at 370 Winona (our first dream house). It was a large, wonderful home. Back then, most of our immediate neighbors were original owners headed toward retirement age.

As the first children of Park Forest, it seems to me that many of us followed in a similar path as the early settlers. As young adults of similar class, we started out in the rentals and eventually purchased a home in the Village while, at the same time, striving to make it up the organization ladder. More importantly, I think very strong bonds were forged in the early years between the town and its residents who shared in the experience of living in this very unique place. I am glad "Park Forest happened to me".

Having spent 27 years living in Park Forest, I can really say that I was a true Park Forester. Even though we moved away from the area 26 years ago and have been back only a few times for class reunions, this place, Park Forest, will always hold a special place for me: We grew up in the best of times, in the best of places. We were all very fortunate to have called Park Forest home.

From: Ray Shepard
1210 Cotton Hill Ln
Collierville, TN 38017
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