Elena Bergman Hibler
I attended the East School and Murray Scott was the principal. I also had Josephine Donna (wonderful teacher) in the 5th and 6th grades. In 3rd and 4th grades I had Kate Fallon. She was remembered as wearing long dresses all the way to the floor.
We moved to Braidwood from South Wilmington in 1944 when I was 8 years old. I have an older brother, LeRoy, whom you probably wouldn’t know. One of his buddies was Frannie Jone (Clue’s boy). Miss Cowden was a teacher you had. She was a lovely lady. She lived in the pink house on School Street. After she died, Porky Lestina bought the house and fixed it up for Barney and Alice to live. Now, young Barney and his wife live there, and they have remodeled it into a beautiful ranch home. But underneath it all, Miss Cowden’s house is still standing.
I know exactly where you lived on Walker Street because we lived on the very last house on South Walker. We bought the old Peterson farm in 1948 where we had peach and apple orchards. I don’t know if you remember my dad, Axel Bergman the blacksmith, driving down Walker Street in his 1947 Jeep. He worked for the Northern Illinois coal mine as their blacksmith.
People and Places
Dolores and Jackie Martinetti
Dolores was a very kind and good person. Because of her size, it must have been very difficult for her. I can remember her walking down the sidewalk pulling her little boy along. After Dolores died, Jackie lived in a nursing home in Joliet near Saint Joe’s hospital where he got along very well. He lived quite a long time, at least into his 50s.
Carpenter’s Store
Carpenter’s small grocery store on the corner of main and railroad St. He used to sell Christmas trees out in front of his store. Before he retired he was a blacksmith and his shop was where Ray Sharp built his garage. He was also a money lender. If you were in a pinch and needed money for a funeral or something, he would make loans to people and write the loan out on the grocery store pad.
The Shaw Brothers and the Grinchucks
Sharon and Dickie Shaw, Katherine Kaiser’s boys, and lived upstairs above the 13 Club. Dickie said that from their apartment window he could look out over to the Grinchuck Pants Factory upstairs. The Grinchuck family had an apartment above the factory and you can see all the Christmas festivities going on in and outside apartment. It made him feel bad to be poor and live next to the wealthy. Every Christmas, many employees went to the party, including Clue Jones and his wife Ruth. Clue worked at the factory and Ruth Jones used to tell stories about drinking “Tom and Jerrys” at the party.
Grinchucks had just had the one daughter, Lois. She was such a nice girl. She played with us kids and we roller skated in front of the factory because they had smooth concrete. Sharon Shaw was really smart and he had in some important jobs, I think, as an engineer. He worked at the Panama Canal Zone
Chewy Mulligan, Squeaky Dennison, and Others
“Chewy” graduated with me in 1954 married Judy Pedroni from Coal City and I see them quite often. Ray “Squeaky” Dennison has done very well for himself. He was always a car salesman. He lives in a lovely home in Morris IL. Ronnie Flint did janitorial work at Barnett’s Restaurant and Bar. Dennis Mahler and his wife, Marge, live in South Wilmington. Dennis used to work at the First National Bank in Wilmington.
Joe Munch was the pillar of the Catholic Church and did so much work for the Knights of Columbus. He was a very good person and worked with Earl Lavicka at Barnetts gas station for many years. He never had to worry about money because his parents left him a home and many acres on route 113 that was later brought up bought up by Commonwealth Edison. Joe was not feeling well but would not think of missing mass it was Confirmation in Braidwood and the Bishop and all his entourage were here in church. Joe walked up to the altar carrying the Bible and then he just fell over dead. If anyone should ever die right on the altar with the Bishop and several priests surrounding him, it was Joe because his religion was the most important thing in his life.
Hibler Family
My husband, Harold, was the construction laborer all his working years and was a very good friend of your dad. In 1978, Harold got a brainstorm and took over Nick’s Bait Shop. After a few months, he decided that was not for him and our son Kevin was 16 years old said he wanted to run the shop. That was the start of my son’s entrepreneurship. He just loved selling those crawlers and dipping those minnows. Then in 1981, the old Liars Corner in Wilmington came up for lease. Kevin and I leased that for five years we ran both bait and tackle shops. In the early morning hours, people would be lined up with their minnow buckets all the way out the door. He would get soft shelled crabs in Indiana and loads of crawlers from Canada.
Kevin was itching to buy his own place but the owners of Liars Corner would not sell. Right at the time Barnett’s Restaurant came up for sale in Braidwood. I told Kevin there is a place for sale. He said he could run the bar but not the restaurant. I said I could run the restaurant. For 13 years, we ran the restaurant bar and pizzeria that was in 1986. Kevin started the first delivery service and we had a hot truck and little delivered pizzas and dinners all over. We delivered to Com Ed Collins Station, Mobile Oil and wherever. Then he built a car wash next to Barnett’s where that old hotel used to be. Then he took over the bar across the street, McElroy’s and named it Kevinigan’s. Now he lives in Florida and owns a large car wash. He bought a home there on five acres and his wife raises chickens.
Joby Bell and the Kennedys
Did you ever hear of Joby Bell? Joby lived in a brick tar paper shack behind the Pants Factory. He was kind of scary but never hurt anybody. I think he collected rags to sell.
Your mom, Adele, and dad, T.J. ! I knew them both. Your mother was such a wonderful seamstress. I still have a dress in my closet that she shortened from a long gown to a street dress length. And your dad. Our whole family loved him. He used to come and sit in Nick’s Bait Shop where Kevin and had it and Kevin just loved it when he came in. He could talk to anybody and he had a heart of gold.
Braidwood Beginnings 