Alley cats

Ah, the alleys of my youth, back when they were paved with honest concrete and not the cheesy blacktop in use today.

Since we all seem to have "grown up" in the 50s, I was wondering if we share the same memories. Way, way back in the day there was a fruit peddler (Peaches! Peaches!) with a wagon drawn by a swayback horse, complete with blinders and hat. He later got a truck, but it wasn't quite the same.  He still hollered "Peaches! Peaches!" though.

Then there was this guy with a push cart who sharpened knives, scissors, whatever needed it. The cart had a big stone wheel which was operated with a treadle; heady stuff for a curious kid. It looked like fun to me, but to the guy doing the work it was just probably another crappy job until something better came along.

But that was when everybody had open windows because air conditioning wasn't commonly used.  Window units were huge (or Yuuuuge!) and noisy. But those open windows allowed alley commerce to thrive and also allowed the "mom network" to keep an eye on all the free-range kids. Somehow Mom always knew when I went someplace I was told not to go...a "little bird" told her.  Huh. Why some damn bird had more credibility than me, I'll never know, but I was never taught to be a good liar.  Or never learned.

Free-range kids had an incredible amount of autonomy, and it was probably the same for you south siders.  I always felt that I was trusted as long as the folks knew what I was up to. If you let a seven year-old kid out by himself today, letting him cross Kedzie so he could go climb trees and throw crabapples in Humboldt Park...well. The authorities would be notified.  Probably for the best, though. You can trust the kids, but it's the weirdos in white vans that you should worry about.

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Can't think of any developments that plopped in out of nowhere in the area you speak of, Mr. Beagles. If it was in the 70s it has probably been absorbed into something else. Been a long time since cornfields were around that neck of the burbs. The only thing I remember that seemed to spring from nothingness was the Old Chicago indoor amusement park, around Bolingbrook. It looked strange, big old building like that, sitting by itself in the great expanse.