It was a dark tinder-dry Sunday night in Chicago, having seen no rain for many weeks. A brisk southwest wind was blowing.
There was this cow in the barn at 137 DeKoven (later renumbered to 558 DeKoven). She was blamed for starting the Great Chicago Fire.
Anyone who is really old like me and/or lived in the Chicago area might well remember going to the Hub Roller Rink on Harlem Avenue in Norridge. What made roller skating so very special there was the genius of Leon Berry playing the mighty pipe organ way up above our heads. 
But even more interesting was that he built a full sized pipe organ in the basement of his house. Read on!
Leon Clay Berry was born July 2 1914 in Burnsville, Dallas, Alabama to Paul Burns Berry and Anna Ida Kramer. He began playing the organ in church back in Selma, Alabama. In the Chicago area , after military service, he worked at Hammond Organ for a time, he played in barrooms, The Trianon Ballroom on Cottage Grove at 62nd, the Arcadia Roller Rink at Broadway and Montrose, and most famously the Hub at 4510 N. Harlem. After his time at the Hub, he played at the Orbit Roller Rink in Palatine for a time. 
He cut several great LP albums including my favorite “Beast in the Basement. But wait there is the “Beast”! Read on
For decades, they all worked within the friendly confines of Wrigley field and were all an important part of our Chicago Cubs.
Continue reading “Four Chicago Cubs – Jack, Harry, Ernie, and Sollie”
The first was Len, born on February 15, 1927, loving son of Frank and Bronislawa “Bertha”. A native of Chicago, he graduated from Lane Technical High School. He was a World War II veteran.and drove a CTA bus for a time. He became a Chicago Police officer on September 21, 1953. In 1954, he was the first patrolman in the United States to use the now famous radar gun and the first to write a speeding ticket having used a radar device.
The second was Irv, born on May 5, 1919, loving son of Irwin and Magdalena, He like Len, was also a native of Chicago, a graduate of Lane Technical and a World War II veteran before joining the Chicago Police Department in 1948.
.Unless you are a Chicago-born senior citizen like myself, you may not have heard or remember them, but please continue reading. Discover what they really did for Chicago, and celebrate their lives. See why I decided to honor them together in this post. Continue reading “Flying with the Angels”
Chicago and Cook County Cemeteries 