McHenry Outdoor Theater-- Part 2: Doin' a Retro Night

It is now open on weekends, but come June seven days a week.  Cost is $14 a person and includes two feature films.  This weekend it is "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania."

I would like to do an ultimate retro night at some point this summer. That would mean going out to the Ingleside, Illinois, Don 'N Suds for a Coney Dog and some of that good root beer.  Carhops serve you. (We are lucky to have three remaining Dog 'N Suds here in close proximity.  The other two are in Grayslake and Richmond.)

 Then go the the McHenry Outdoor Theater for a movie(s).

My big problem, however, is that during the summer, the movies don't start until 9 which seriously pushes my bedtime.  And, if I stay for the second film (to get my money's worth), 2 am is REALLY past my bedtime.

Plus, these new cars have things on them that I do not know how to operate.

We'll See.  --CootFilm

McHenry Outdoor Theater-- Part 1

This drive-in theater is located about six miles from home and it is not one of those billboard theaters, but has a massive stone (or something like it) screen housing.

From Drive-In Movie.com.

Originally opened in 1951, the Skyline Drive-In, now the McHenry Outdoor Theater, is a single screen drive-in theater located in McHenry, Illinois.

It is the Chicago area's last  remaining drive-in.

Double features are shown seasonably.

In December 2020, the owner announced that he had bought ten more additional acres and plans to turn it into a three-screen venue.

--Coot-In

McHenry Area Historical Society (MAHS)-- Part 3: Those Board Games

Many of the companies who made the early board games started  in Massachusetts, including the two biggies: Milton-Bradley and Parker Brothers.

Parker Brothers started in in 1883.  They are best known for Monopoly, Clue and Risk.  Their first game was Banking.  George Parker joined his brother in Salem, Massachusetts to start this company.

In the 1900s, General Mills bought them out.  In 1983, Parker Brothers had a book published.  General Mills merged with Kenner and then Hasbro bought them.

Milton-Bradley started in the 1800s as a lithography shop.  One of their first games was The Checkered Game of Life which was a forerunner of the Life game that we all know.  It was very religious and featured the good and bad things that you might do.  You didn't want the bad things.

During the Civil War, they produced smaller versions of the game for Union soldiers and they sold for $1 each.   During the Great Depression the company was losing money.  They also had special soldier game kits during World War II.

--CootGame

McHenry (Illinois) Area Historical Society Meeting 4/9/22: Board Games

The meeting was held at the McHenry Savings Bank on Illinois Highway 31 south of McHenry.  There were 24 in attendance.  It is good to be back meeting again after all that you-know-what.  I just don't do Zoom.  

The last in-person meeting was held last June 11, 2021, at the Veterans Park Shelter in McHenry.

The next meeting will be at the bank on October 8 and the presentation will be about Women Pilots in World War II and the presenter will be Judy Porter from McHenry.

Attendance is down and the society will have a booth at the Thursday night concerts at Veterans Park this summer.

Membership is still $15 a year but will be going up.

There are two publications available from the society:  a 2022 calendar showing historical buildings and a McHenry  Illinois Sanborn Insurance Map Book showing the locations of every building in the city  from 1893 to 1933.

This morning's presentation was Board Games, given by Patrick Wirtz.

I was surprised to see good buddy Double D, fellow collect-too-much and NIU football superfan.

--Cooter

McHenry Area Hist. Soc. Meeting Today: History of Board Games

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 12, the McHenry Area Historical Society will be having a meeting at the McHenry Savings Bank at 353 Bank Drive, McHenry, Illinois. (On Route 31 south of town toward the hospital.)

The meeting will be held in the room downstairs.

The program will be presented by board game expert Patrick Wirtz who has a large collection of board games dating back to the early 1900s.  He will bring about two dozen and place them on display while he shares a brief historical sketch about each of them.

The meeting starts at 10 am.

I especially liked war games of any sort like Risk and Stratego.  Also Dogfight and Broadside.

A Gaming to Go.  --Cooter

Ray Boro, Korean War Navy Vet-- Part 1

I visited with well-known Legion member Ray Boro in March and interviewed him about his service to our country.  He is a regular at the Drop Zone Bar at the Legion and called "OROB" because of his name.  In the service, his nickname was "BoBo" though he is not sure why, perhaps they didn't know how to pronounce his name.

He was born in Chicago on August 30, 1930, but spent most of his life growing up in Lakemoor, Illinois.  At one time he attended a one-room schoolhouse there and was a graduate of McHenry High School.  For awhile after graduation he delivered milk door-to-door.

Ray and his buddy enlisted in the Navy on October 13, 1950, at age 20, with the hopes of serving together,  and spent eleven weeks doing basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station.  At least here, he and his buddy were near each other, but in different training groups because they were placed alphabetically.  But that ended after graduation.

Pensacola, Florida's Corry Field was Ray's destination.  His buddy went to Guam.  Here Ray received his AD classification as an airplane mechanic.  He was there for 18 months when he was transferred to the VF-44 Squadron based at Jacksonville NAS in Florida.

--Cooter

About Those Old Record Stores and Albums-- Part 3

I usually make sure to visit my local old record store on this special Record Store Day in McHenry, Illinois, named The Vinyl Revolution.  That is a real good name for a record store.  Even though I usually buy their used CDs much more often than vinyl.

But, I am always glad to see young people in their teens looking and buying the vinyl.  there is hope yet.

In addition to the crowds attracted to the special day, dozens of artists released limited edition vinyl for this day:

"The Night We Called It a Day"--  Bob Dylan
"Greetings from Asbury Park"  --Bruce Springsteen
Wake Up to Find Out--  Grateful Dead
"Purple Haze/Freedom"--  Jimi Hendrix
"The Family Way: Original Soundtrack Recording"--  Paul McCartney
"The Grass is Blue"--  Dolly Parton
"Songs for Young Lovers"--  Frank Sinatra
"Changes"--  David Bowie

--DaGratefulCoot

Our McHenry Vietnam War Deaths: Carter John Freund

Born July 27, 1946.  III Corps, Co. C, 3rd Infantry, Light Infantry Brigade.

Buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in McHenry, Illinois.

Our McHenry Vietnam War Deaths: Glenn Phillip Davis, III

From Find-A-Grave.

Son of Lois Beaubouef of McHenry and Robert G. Davis of Chicago, Illinois.  Enlisted in the USMC June 20, 1966.  Arrived Vietnam Dec. 20.  In Co. M, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.

January 8, 1967, while on patrol during a fire fight was wounded and treated.  Returned to duty

Was at the 3rd Battalion Command Post on May 12, 1967, on Hill 37 in Dai Lee District when it was hit by a barrage of 82 mm mortar fire.  Killed from a multiple fragmentation wound.

Our McHenry Vietnam War Deaths: James Ambrose, KIA Vietnam

From Find-A-Grave.

JAMES AMBRIOSE

James William Ambrose III,  Killed January 31, 1969.  Listed as being from Crystal Lake, Illinois.  Vietnam Wall: 33W, Row 023.

Army Pfc.  Remains recovered.

Died at Binh Duong, Vietnam.

Armor Reconnaissance Specialist.

E Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry.

Buried at Fort Sheridan Cemetery in section 9 R-B 222.

Born February 2, 1945.

McHenry Honors Its Vietnam Dead

From the Nov. 11, 2014, Northwest herald (McHeny County, Illinois) "City honors McHenry High School grads killed in Vietnam with memorial" by Jeff Engelhardt.

Richard Phannenstill, McHeny High Class of 1964, went off to war with three classmates who never came back.  Later, a member of the Class of 1967 was also killed.

Work on this memorial started 14 years ago.

Hundreds gathered in the miserable drizzle and cold to witness the dedication of the memorial.  I know, I was there.  O wouldn't have missed it.  This was my generation's war and I sure came close to going myself.

We honored:
John Granath, Jr., 20
Carter Freund, 22
Glenn Davis, 22
James Ambrose, 23

Members of their families unveiled the marker at Veterans Park.

Freedom Doesn't Come Cheap

Veterans Day McHenry, Illinois, 2014: Dedication of Vietnam War Memorial

On Nov. 11, 2014, i was outside at Veterans Memorial Park in downtown McHenry, Illinois, on a blustery, rainy day, paying homage to four young McHenry men who never got the chance to grow old.  They were killed in Vietnam.

Two of the dead were twins.

It was a cold, gray day.

The McHenry High School Class of 2014 donated $900 to the memorial and the school's chorus sang in the gazebo.: "America the Beautiful," "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and closed with "God Bless America."

McHenry's mayor remarked, "It's a beautiful day in McHenry," which it surely, despite the weather, was.  Any time you can honor those who have given the last full measure, it is a beautiful day indeed.

After the ceremony, we all moved across the park to the memorial itself, which was a project on the McHenry Class of 1964. The names of the four McHenry men is listed and then the site of their deaths was marked on a map of Vietnam.  Facts and pictures of the war are engraved on the back of it.

One was killed just eight days after his arrival.  One was a Marine who served one tour and was killed in his second.

We were back in the park on March 14, 2015, while enjoying the St. Patrick's celebration and paid our respects.

Young Lives Cut Way Short.

McHenry Vietnam Veterans Memorial

McHenry, Illinois.

The memorial is sponsored by the McHenry High School Class of '64.  Three of the four McHenry graduates killed in Vietnam were from the Class of 1964.

Carter Freund, Class of '64
James Ambrose III, Class of '64
Glenn Davis, Class of '64
John Granath, Class of '67

The groundbreaking for the memorial was held in October 2014 and formal dedication on Veterans Day 2014.

A Day at Petersen Farm: Welcome to the 1950s-- Part 1

This past Sunday, Liz and I went to Peterson Farm, a farmstead dating back to the 1840s in McHenry, Illinois, for their annual "Day At the Farm."    It was a very hot and muggy day, but at least we didn't have any rain which we have been getting a lot of these last two weeks.

They had a good-sized crowd.

We were handed a flyer with some 1950s facts.  Both Liz and I were born in 1951 and grew up in that generation.  It is hard to believe that Harry S. Truman was president when we were born.  That makes her pretty old.

Here are some 1950s stuff:

** 1952: Dwight D. Eisenhower, hero of D-Day and World War II was elected president and served for the rest of the decade.
**  Davy Crockett  "Born on the Wild Frontier"
**  1956:  "Hound Dog" by you-know-who.
**  "The Cat in the Hat: by Dr. Seuss
**  CBS introduces color TV on the Ed Sullivan Show
**  Those little-bitty portable phonographs
**  1954: Swanson & Sons create Frozen TV Dinners.

And, More to Come.  --Cooter

Railroads in McHenry County-- Part 7

Continued from April 18th.

The lotus beds in the Chain of lakes were a huge attraction back in the late 1800s and the fastest, best way to get there (before the age of automobiles) was by train.  Back then, the railroads went to McHenry where tourists would offload and board steam launches to take them to the lotus beds and resorts on the Chain.

Overnight stays were at the Riverside Hotel (by Il-120 bridge) and the Northwestern Hotel, by the train station (Main Street Cantina).  All three buildings still stand.

There was also a train called "The Millionaires Special" which consisted of Pullman cars that would go through McHenry on its way to Lake Geneva.  Lake Geneva was the resort of the rich and the Chain of lakes was the one for regular folks.

Next year will mark the 160th anniversary of the arrival of the railroad coming to McHenry County.  Railroads brought prosperity.

Bring 'Em On, Just Don't Make me Wait at Crossings.  ----Cooter

Getting My History On

In a few minutes I'll be heading out to McHenry, Illinois, to go to the McHenry Historical Society's meeting and presentation on the role of trains in the town's development.

Railroads were a huge reason pretty much every town around Chicago grew.  You can trace town development right along the tracks.

Railroads were a reason for why McHenry had three "downtowns" at one time or another.

Originally, I was figuring I'd miss this presentation as we originally were going to go to Dekalb, for the NIU Spring Football Game, but it is way too cold outside to sit in the stands.

Should Be Interesting.  --Cooter

McHenry Acquires Dobyns House Site

From the October 16, 2012, Northwest (Il) Herald by Jane Huh.

McHenry, Illinois, city officials spent $580,000 to a purchase  a 2.62 acre site along the Fox River regraded as a key piece the the city's downtown redevelopment.

There has been nothing on the site since an arson fire burned down the popular Joey T's restaurant in 2009.  The original building was built in 1929.  We went to Joey T's many times and were there when we found out that Liz's mom was going to die and I'll remember a wonderful November lunch out on the patio.

The land fronts on the Fox River and a channel so is an ideal spot for a park.  There is an upscale townhome development across the channel from it.

The City Did Right By Getting It.  --Cooter