Stewart School Fourth Grade Class (Room 204), 1970

Thanks to Doug for sending this fourth-grade class photo. Does anyone remember the teacher's name?

Parachute Jumping, Costume Making, and Halloween

Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent

Now, as a kid I wasn't stupid, but I sure did my share of dumb things. Right after the war, surplus stores opened up, and I couldn't wait to buy a parachute.

Now just about every kid my age needed a parachute, but most of them wouldn't admit it. So I bought one from the surplus store on Broadway just North of Montrose for fifty cents; it was bright yellow and came in a canvas backpack. It was originally designed to drop supplies to the troops.

I couldn't wait to get home and open it up; it was a little bigger than I thought, so I repacked it, put in on my back, and climbed up on the garage roof, which was only a maximum of 15 feet off the ground. But as a kid it looked high enough, so I spread out the chute on the roof and jumped off.

I landed hard on the ground, and the chute was still on the roof top. I didn't allow for the 20 feet of shroud line, I had my tongue in between my teeth, and when I smacked the ground my chin hit my knee and I almost bit it off. It bled a lot and I had to keep the injury hidden from my parents. I mumbled for a few days.

So I packed the chute away until the following Halloween.

One of my favorite Saturday afternoon movie serials was "The Scarlet Horseman," so I decided to cut up the parachute and make my costume out of this bright yellow material. I made a hood, mask, shirt, and pants. I am not a particularly gifted tailor, but for my purpose, it was good enough.

In those days, if you needed a costume, you made it. On Halloween, Stewart School always took pictures of the class. I wore it to school, the teacher asked who I was, so I told her and the class I was the Scarlet Horseman. She started laughing, they all started laughing. All Serials were black and white, and I had no idea that Scarlet was a color.

When I got home, Mom and Dad asked me how my day went, so I told them. They laughed, too, so did my little sister.

I guess I was the Scarlet-Faced Horseman

Treasure Hunting in the Alleys

Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent

As a treasure hunter the alleys were our gold fields. Things we could find that became our treasure were
an old pair of roller skates and a 2 x 4. This was the birth of modern day skate boarding. We would take the skate apart and attach the ends to the front and back of a 2X4, this was the skate board.

Now to make a scooter we would take the 2X4 with the two pieces of skate wheels and attach a wooden orange crate to it. We then attached an old broom stick to the top of the crate; this became our handle. We would paint them if we could find paint. Old baby buggies were prized for the wheels; we always wanted to enter a soap box derby but we never progressed that far. Most of the time it was a cardboard box on top of a collapsed buggy.

A rare find was an old inner tube. We would find one and patch it up. This became our Lake Michigan Yacht. If it was shredded and couldn't be patched we would cut it into strips and make rubber guns.
This was a carved piece of wood that resembled a rifle; a spring clothes pin was the trigger and we would shoot a large cut piece of rubber out of it.

Match guns were made by taking a spring clothespin apart and reversing one of the handles with the spring on the outside. By pushing in the lever of the spring, it fit into a notch that we cut in on the inside of the pin. Then when we inserted a kitchen match and pulled the spring/trigger, the spring shot out a lit match. This was great for burning down small forts we made out of popsicle sticks.

Finding bottles was the same as finding money. Cereal box tops and the inner liner of a jar of Ovaltine was the same as a pot of gold. Kellogs PEP sponsored Superman, Ovaltine, Captain Midnight, Ralston Tom Mix, Wheaties Jack Armstrong. Cherrios The Lone Ranger* We listened to all their radio serial programs, 15 minutes each.

When we found a piece of wood about a 2X2 we would taper it at each end them put numbers on it. 1 on one side then 2 then 3 then 4. We then would hit the tapered end with an old broom handle, the piece would fly up and then when it landed the number showing on top was your score. We played to 21.

Speaking of patch kits for inner tubes, which we could buy at the Dime Store, we would also buy repair kits for shoes. A rubber sole the could be glued over the hole in your shoe, along with new rubber heels. I even remember the "Cats Paw" brand.

Metal crescent shaped cleats were essential in order to be noticed walking down the street. We would attach them to the heels and the tips of our shoes. As young kids we developed a way of walking, double bouncing and dragging the cleat on the sidewalk that made a terrible racket. Especially in the school hallways.

Most every kid in Stewart School collected trading cards. We would start out with an ordinary old deck of cards and the trade one of your cards for a different card from someone else. Over a period of time, we would end up with a hundred cards all different, most valuable was any card that that had a scene on it. Pin ups were the best.

We did this for a couple of years, then some company started selling trading cards with an already mixed set and blank on the suit side. Well, that took all the fun out of what we were doing, so we all quit. I think the Dime Store got stuck with a lot of inventory

Thanks for reading!

Stewart School, June 1950

Have you ever wondered what Uptown Chicago History correspondent Bill Matteson looked like back in the day? He is the second from the left in the bottom row. (Click to enlarge.)

Uptown, Stewart School, and the Hollywood Connection

Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent

What is the Uptown connection with Josey Wales, Indiana Jones, pod people from Outer Space, and Demonic Possession?

What has all this to do with Stewart School? Well, I am glad you asked.

My graduating class of Stewart School, June 1950, had some talent. Dan Greenburg is an accomplished writer and actor. Phil Kaufman is an actor, writer, producer, and director

Phil Kaufamn wrote the dialog for "The Outlaw Josey Wales." He started out to direct, but had a confrontation with Clint Eastwood and was fired as the director. Phil (I can call him Phil because we were classmates) then went on to direct the remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

It was Phil who came up with the storyline for "The Ark of the Covenant" to start off the Indiana Jones series, which starred Harrison Ford, who also went to Stewart School starting in about 1948. The Star Wars series also went with Harrison Ford. I call him Harrison Ford because I don't know him that well, but when we were at Stewart, I probably helped him safely across the street in my role as patrol boy, therefore giving him a heroic role model to look up to and model Han Solo and Indiana Jones after.

Dan Greenburg is a well-rounded author and actor, and was in about 10 films. He wrote over 24 TV sitcom pilots. He also wrote the screenplay for "The Guardian," which he adapted from his novel "The Nanny,"
and that movie was directed by William Friedkin

William Friedkin is probably one of the best, if not The Best director in Hollywood. Billy Friedklin directed the "French Connection" and "The Exorcist." Billy went to Stewart School, but I think he graduated in 1949; I don't really remember him.

Speaking of the Exorcist, which was a "true" story that was happening to a 12 yr old boy in St Louis. in about 1946 or 1947. My job was to report to the class all information that I could find from all the newspapers, and magazines at the time.

I also reported about the UFO wreck at Roswell; I have always held a morbid curiosity for strange and paranormal occurrences, and still do.

I find it strange to have the writers, actors and directors of the top Hollywood hits of all time come out of our Uptown neighborhood.

More Photos from Graeme Stewart in the 1950s

Editor's note: We've had a number of reunions this week! Since we started posting old class pictures, a number of readers who were classmates way back when have found each other! These were sent in by Marilynne Marcos, who grew up in Uptown. Do you recognize yourself in the images? Drop a line in the comments section! (To view larger versions, click on image and then click again.)

Graeme Stewart Second Grade Class, Uptown Chicago, 1951

Another great photo sent in by Cheryl Peck Deters. Click on image and then click image again for larger views. Do you recognize yourself in the photo? Say "hi" in the comments section.

Do you have a photo of your time in Uptown that you'd like to share? Send it to editor(a)compassrose.com and I'll be sure to post it.

Graeme Stewart Third Grade Class, October 1952

Sent in by Cheryl Peck Deters. Click on image and then click on again for larger view.

If you have photos of your time in Uptown that you'd like to share, send them to editor(a)compassrose.com

Graeme Stewart School, Uptown, Chicago

An early image of Graeme Stewart School in Uptown, Chicago. Image courtesy John Chuckman.