Braidwood from Another Perspective

Richard Shaw

Richard had read some of my blog articles on Braidwoodguy.com and informed me that as a couple of years my senior, he could add some insights and respectfully offer some differences as he saw things. I completely accept these opinions, perspectives, and insights. Aside from formatting the following letter, I didn’t make any substantive changes. These are Richard’s words.

Tom, you would not remember me – although we were from Braidwood at about the same time, our paths would not have crossed.  

What threw me originally was your statement that you lived on Walker Street.  As my memory serves me you lived in a house adjacent to the East School Parking lot.  I think I remember chasing the ball into your back yard after Betty Fitch (who lived across the street from you perhaps kitty-corner) had knocked it over my head and over the fence into your back yard.

Pretty sad.  Being in the 8th grade with the testosterone just starting to flow and realizing that the best ball player in the neighborhood was a girl. Then again, perhaps it was not your house adjacent to East School.  This would be circa 1952

My education path would be Lower Braidwood Grade School, 5th to 8th grades at the old East School, Reed-Custer Township High School, North Central College, then Chicago and then the north Chicago suburbs.  

Reference to TK’s “Richard and Buddy” Incident

Of course being Richard,  your Richard and Buddy blog immediately caught my attention.  As I thought I was the only Richard in that age group in town (obviously not) I was surprised to learn the story about Buddy Pinnick.  As I was his BEST friend in high school, I knew him very well.  He was totally non-confrontational in nature, and I was surprised that he would react so strongly even to a racial slur.  I further thought because being his best buddy (bad pun intended) somewhere along the line he would have related that story to me.  Such was not the case.

This segways nicely into the next topic.  As I knew the Pinnicks and the other black families so well, I can address the Braidwood Recreational Club issue with confidence.  I assure you that there was no direct or implicit attempt to exclude them socially from the Braidwood Recreation Club..  The answer is simply that none of the black families in Braidwood at that time had any interest in joining.  Swimming was just not one of their activities. Buddy never brought up it nor was it ever even discussed in any context at any time with any of the other black families.

Other Swim Spots in Braidwood

What follows is purely informational about swimming prior to the opening of the club, In the 50s, there were 5 places to swim in and near Braidwood.  

There was the “beach” at the start of the strip mines near Oak Street on the East Side.  If you remember where the Harris’ and the Lavicka’s lived on Oak Street, you would pass their properties on the way down the path. 

Another beach was at the start of the mines off of Alternate 66 (left side going toward Joliet) there was a place called The Rock.  Big pit, bit rock to dive from.  A little farther down the “city dump road”  (Where Koca Park was at one time) was the 3rd spot; the BAB.  (Don’t ask for an explanation of that acronym.)  This was a pretty popular swimming destination.  

The 4th destination was out on #113 – the road taken from Wilmington to Coal City.  I think that area is now called Shadow Lakes. This swimming hole was known as The Rope.  Obviously a large rope was attached to a tree; you grabbed the rope, ran out over the water and dropped off.  The 5th swimming club of course was by far the nicest (and safest) just down that road, the Miners Beach.  Private. (Guard at the entrance) 

Black Families

You did well with those you named.  However, there were others.  

The Carters, for example, lived on Center Street between the Blecha’s and the Mandat’s.  Mr. Carter was a barber in Joliet.  Impeccable property.  When Charlie (the oldest son) and I cut the grass we cut it horizontally then vertically.  (With a push mower of course)  When Mrs. Carter would invite me in for lunch the rules were simple.   Be sure to speak only when spoken to.  Then be sure that Sir and Maam would be in your reply.  Then you asked to be excused from the table.  This would be as middle class as you can you get.  Charlie was one year ahead of me and one of the most popular students at RCHS.

Ed Anderson on School Street should be amplified. Ed was a Tuskegee Airman.  I don’t think a pilot but perhaps a mechanic.  Ambitious.  Raised pigs at the old city dump and also had a good-sized garden out there  Mr. Anderson and Mr. Wells (another black gentleman) also were the Waste Management team of Braidwood businesses at that time.  (Note the use of Mr. in that sentence).  Never when greeting them would be they be called Ed or Willie.. Not by us kids, anyway.

Other Braidwood People

The list of Braidwood characters would not be complete without “Old Ginbuck.”  An old black guy who lived in a shack on the left side of #113 between Braidwood and Custer Park.  He would walk into town about once a week.  He was treated pretty much the same as our rather lengthy list of characters.  As follows:

• Glenn Touvelle, town imbiber.  (the uncle of two great local basketball players, Hike and Jimmy Touvelle)
• Ira Stolle, town hermit. (Lived in a shack in the woods behind the tennis court at old RCHS)
• Joe, Andy, and Martha Berta 
• The little and likable dwarf “Mac” who married Nancy Spiezio
• Charlie Mc Carthy and his harmonica (town street musician)
• Paddy Mortimer, town imbiber.

Nationalities

I don’t recall the prejudices you mentioned as being even covertly held.  Italians very much a part of the culture; I don’t ever recall the pejorative Dago or Wop being used.  Never Polack to describe one of Polish ancestry.  Pope hater as being anti-English, Nazi as being anti-German. Only “Bohunk” used to describe the Bohemians and that being used affectionately.  Maybe because I was first  raised in Lower Braidwood. 

I do remember when my grandfather Louis Kaiser was running for President of the Lower Braidwood School Board several carloads of Blacks pulled into the school parking lot to vote and I overheard an adult standing near me say “well, here comes a couple of carloads of votes for Louis Kaiser.”

You were not quite correct when you spoke of anti-Syrian prejudices.  There were no Syrians in Braidwood.  The Nahas, Tenn and Agamy families were Assyrian.  A HUGE difference.  Syrians are Islamist, Assyrians Catholic.  Totally different cultures.  A common misinterpretation.

“Yellow Hammers”

Also, the apparent truth about the “yellow hammers.”  Colonel Brodie was a Union Officer captured and imprisoned in an Alabama  pow camp.  Upon release he returned to the area with a group of people from Alabama and set them up in the woods of his property on the outskirts of Wilmington. Others followed from Alabama because of the lack of work in that state.  They worked for the railroad and because they had no money for their own tools yellow hammers were supplied to them.  A combination of the tools and the fact that Alabama is known as the Yellowhammer State resulted in this nickname.

Final Thoughts

I remember your father.  Barnett’s was his watering hole.  When I would come into the lounge he would greet me with a hello and a smile. I was Kathryn Kaiser’s younger boy and some pleasant conversation would always ensue.