HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:
They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I
have seen your painted women under the gas lamps
luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it
is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to
kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the
faces of women and children I have seen the marks
of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who
sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer
and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on
job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the
little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
This stretch has changed a lot. The cameraman is standing at Ravenswood, looking east down Wilson Avenue towards Hermitage. The building at right once housed the Zephyr Cafe, which closed in 2006 after 30 years of business. This image is courtesy John Chuckman; circa 1910.
A reader wrote to tell us he attended a plaque dedication ceremony at the Abbott House at Wilson and Hermitage this past week. You can see his blog post about the experience at MySpace. (Thank you, P.M., I totally missed hearing about this.)ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Chicago will recognize the Ravenswood home of Abbott founder -- Dr. Wallace Calvin Abbott -- as one of Chicago's outstanding historic landmarks. At a special dedication ceremony today, Abbott will receive a Preservation Excellence Award from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks for its restoration work on Dr. Abbott's home.
These awards honor outstanding projects that involve notable improvements to individual Chicago Landmarks or to buildings within Chicago Landmark Districts.
Built in 1891, Dr. Abbott's home, located at 4605 North Hermitage, was renovated and restored by Abbott and received historic landmark status in 2006. Abbott's founder lived in the Queen Anne-style home from 1891 to his death in 1921.
"The history of our company and our community are inextricably connected," said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "We are honored to continue to make and preserve history in Chicago."
Founded by Dr. Abbott in 1888, Abbott (NYSE: ABT) is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs 65,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.
Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com.
SOURCE Abbott
/CONTACT: Matt Bedella of Abbott, +1-847-936-3394
/Web site: http://www.abbott.com
Looking south down Hermitage from Wilson Avenue.