Ray Rayner, a Staple of Chicago Children's Television in the 1960s & 70s. (1919-2004)

Ray Rayner was born Raymond M. Rahner on July 23, 1919, in Queens, New York.

In 1942, Rahner (pronounced "Rayner") enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and trained as a navigator on B-17s. Promoted Second Lieutenant, he was assigned to the 422nd Bombardment Squadron, 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), deploying to England and 8th Air Force in September 1942. Rahner quickly developed a reputation for superior airmanship.

On March 8, 1943, Rahner was assigned to a crew different from his own, with Lt. Albert Kuehl as a pilot and Lt. Floyd Truesdell as a copilot. Truesdell was on his first B-17 mission after transferring to the USAAF from Royal Air Force Coastal Command and would die at the controls of his B-17F 42-5376 JJ-X "Eager Eagle" in a mid-air collision with RAF No. 96 Squadron Bristol Beaufighter V8715 on August 31, 1943.

Sixty-seven B-17s attacked the railway yards at Rennes, including 16 from the 305th Bombardment Group. The formation was attacked by German fighters en route to the target. Kuehl's aircraft, with Rahner navigating, bore the brunt of enemy attacks: the No. 3 engine was destroyed, and the airplane's radio compartment, hydraulics, and control systems were all damaged. Every member of the crew was wounded -- particularly the bombardier, Lt. Arthur Spatz of Reno, Nevada. Though he was himself wounded, Lt. Rahner administered first aid, saving Spatz's life, then took over as Bombardier, toggling the bombs and fighting off German fighter attacks from two gun positions. Though the B-17 dropped out of formation, Rahner successfully navigated it to an RAF base in England. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for that action.

On April 4, 1943, Rahner was a navigator in "Chuck Wagon," B-17F #42-5146 (code JJ-S). In a raid on the Renault automotive works near Paris, Rahner's aircraft was shot down, crashing in Normandy, and Rahner was taken prisoner. After being processed through Stalag VII A (Moosburg), he was imprisoned at Stalag Luft III for 2½ years. There he helped edit the camp newspaper, "The Circuit," and contributed to the digging of tunnels Tom, Dick, and Harry, serving as a lookout for German "ferrets" and helping disperse the dirt; as depicted in the film The Great Escape—though he was transferred to another camp before the escape took place.  (Written by Russ Burgos)

During his time as a POW, he would discover his talent for entertaining, namely through his fellow prisoners and his German captors.

RAY RAYNER'S FIRST TELEVISION GIGS

Ray Rayner's "Rayner Shine" (Rain or Shine) was a short-lived weather program on WBKB, which later became WLS-TV in Chicago.

"The Ray Rayner Show" started in 1953; he and his co-host Mina Kolb would host a free-form show featuring music, comedy skits, dance, and pantomime. The show was geared toward teens. The show had a call-in Guess the Song Game to win a prize. It ran for five years on Saturdays until 1958. 

In 1956, Rayner hosted the TV Bowling Classic on Wednesdays at 11 PM on WBBM-TV Channel 2. He also hosted Teen Pinners, a bowling program with teen bowlers produced for the teenage crowd.

WBBM-TV asked Rayner to switch to a children's program in 1958; though initially reluctant, he did so with a show called "The Little People," which ran for two years.

The "Popeye's Firehouse" children's show featured Ray Rayner, whom WBBM-TV executives hoped would make a dent in the ratings, who worked on the show for two years. On Popeye's Firehouse, Rayner appeared as "Chief Abernathy." John Coughlan's voice was heard in the show, too. Dave Garroway, famous for his show "Garroway At Large (1949-1954)," had anchored the station's early attempts on a program called "Rayner Shine," starring Ray Rayner as host. 

Ray Rayner hosts a TV show called "Popeye's Firehouse."
on Chicago's channel 5, WNBQ.

Ray Rayner would move on to WGN-TV in 1961. Rayner's first role on WGN was as Sergeant Pettibone, the host of the afternoon "The Dick Tracy Show" in 1961. Here, Rayner sported a 2-way wrist radio like Tracy's, through which he would pretend to hear the call "Tracy...this is the Chief...," and the Chief would describe the latest trouble caused by Pruneface, etc., which would be the cue to roll a Dick Tracy cartoon.

Ray Rayner, as Sgt. Pettibone was the host of the Dick Tracy Show with Police Dog Tracer on WGN-TV.

Among other low-budget Rayner's morning show feature was "Let's Go into the Closet," where he would find a marching band jacket and baton (no doubt borrowed from the Big Top Band on Bozo) and proceed to march around the set to some corny tune. Then, there were the traffic reports, which were an attempt to keep parents from switching to the news on another channel. The reports were dubbed over a b/w aerial video of the expressways − the same video was shown daily.

He joined the cast of Bozo's Circus as a country bumpkin clown "Oliver O. Oliver" who had a talent for singing. Bozo and Oliver sang songs like 'A Clown Is a Kind of a Guy. 

Rayner hosted the Laurel & Hardy Theater in the summer of 1963. Before each film and during the commercial breaks, he provided biographical information about Stan and Ollie. The Laurel & Hardy Theater later became the Ray Rayner Theater, showcasing WGN's library of classic comedy movies.

 

By 1965, Rayner's clown character and "Sandy," played by Don Sandburg, were added to Larry Harmon's Bozo coloring books. Rayner left the show in 1971 because he wanted more time for other projects. After that, he would occasionally appear on the show as Oliver and fill in for Ned Locke as "Mr. Ray" when needed. 

Ray Rayner as Oliver O. Oliver on the right. Ringmaster Ned Locke is on the left, and Bob Bell as Bozo the Clown is in the center during the WGN-TV-produced show "Bozo's Circus." (1967)

Ray Rayner as Oliver O. Oliver on Bozo's Circus in 1967. Note Bozo's early red suit.

A new afternoon program called "Rocket to Adventure" ran until 1968; this featured early appearances by Gigantor and Tobor the Eighth Man. Rayner hosted the show as an astronaut on a spaceship, introducing space adventure cartoons. 

Rocket to Adventure.

In 1968, Rayner also appeared in television commercials for McDonald's as Ronald McDonald.

Ray Rayner was the first.
NATIONAL “SPEAKING” TV Ronald McDonald.
1968-69.

1968 McDonald's Commercial
Featuring Ray Rayner.

At one point, WGN-TV had enough hope in being able to syndicate Rayner's "The Dick Tracy Show" to produce a pilot for that purpose.

RAY RAYNER AND HIS FRIENDS

Chelveston the Duck.

Beginning in 1962, Rayner hosted the show "Breakfast With Bugs Bunny," which was an early morning weekday show that first starred Dick Coughlan and was produced by Don Sandburg.

When Coughlan left, Ray Rayner recently arrived from WBBM-TV and working afternoons as "Oliver O. Oliver" on Bozo's Circus, and "Sgt. Henry Pettibone"  in the "Crime Stopper Cruiser" on "The Dick Tracy Show" took over. This made Rayner one of the busiest and highest-paid talents on Channel 9. It became "Ray Rayner and His Friends" in 1964.  

At the time, a show director suggested that Rayner wear a jumpsuit because they were only $5 at Sears. On his first show, Ray wore a brown jumpsuit. But it needed something, so Sandburg suggested using notes stuck to the jumpsuit, and the rest is history. He covered his jumpsuit with little squares of paper (this predates Post-it Notes), and during the show, he would pull them off, one at a time, and read them out loud to see what to do next (time for a cartoon, traffic report, visit with Cuddly Dudley, etc.).

"Ray Rayner and His Friends" featured old cartoons such as various Warner Brothers character cartoons, arts-and-crafts, and animals such as Chelveston, the Duck, named after RAF Chelveston, where Rayner was stationed during World War II. Chelveston would occasionally bite, and Rayner was notably wary. During these segments, Chelveston would walk around the set, eat, or bathe while a then-current top 40 song was played. Rayner later said he put duck feed in the cuffs of his coveralls so Chelveston would nip at them, then save himself from the duck by giving him a head of lettuce to pick apart. What was not known to the public until after the program was no longer on the air was that Chelveston was actually played by four different ducks over the years.

Left to Right; Clod Hopper (1972-1973), Cooky (1968–1994), Ray Rayner (Oliver O. Oliver 1961–1971), and Bozo. Ray Rayner was still helping out Bozo's Circus after his character ended in 1972.

Every little girl's birthday wish was to get their own Cuddly Dudley.

Ray also had a talking dog puppet, Cuddly Dudley, created and voiced by Roy Brown, aka "Cooky the Cook" from Bozo Circus. The segment would highlight viewer mail, including many hand-drawn pictures submitted by children. The segment was often humorous, allowing Rayner and Brown to interact and use comedic ad-libs. 

NOTE: The dog house has misspelled Cuddly Dudley as "Cuddley."

Rayner's turtle races were epic. Three turtles, painted numbers on their shells, were placed in the center of a tabletop with perhaps a 3-foot circumference circle with a finish line painted at the circle's edge. Rayner would try to entice the turtles to run to the finish line by cheering them on. 

The seemingly impromptu nature of Ray Rayner's show was fascinating to children.

He would also simulcast traffic reports from sister-station WGN Radio over stock footage of traffic moving along the Chicago-area highways.

Cubs-Sox, half & half, baseball
helmet from May 6, 1980.

During baseball season, he would show & narrate highlights of the Cubs and White Sox games from the previous day, wearing a custom baseball helmet that had the front half of the Cubs and the front half of the Sox, resulting in a two-billed helmet, which he would spin around on his head depending on which team's highlights were being shown.

The arts-and-crafts was a regular segment that always began with a finished version prepared in advance by someone "behind the scenes" (who quite often was the wife of Producer Dick Flanders) that was displayed to the audience, followed by Ray attempting to demonstrate the process in an amusing, all thumbs effort, also set to music, that resulted in a comically sub-par facsimile that more resembled a random collection of felt, construction paper and glue. Ray's version would be displayed alongside the original, emphasizing his comical ineptness regarding crafts. 

He held an annual jellybean contest where viewers were to submit guesses of the quantity in a large jar displayed for some time on the show. He would have an Advent calendar every Christmas and reveal the number of days until Christmas.

Another bit was a lip-syncing sketch Rayner would usually do to an older novelty song such as "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" by Allan Sherman. However, he would also perform songs while actually singing.

Another show segment was the PBS news (for Pretend Broadcasting System). He would sit at a table with a wire strainer with the letters PBS on it as a microphone. The "news" reports consisted of viewer letters. In addition to Diver Dan and lots of Warner Brothers cartoons, another staple of the show was a live-action "talking animal" series "Rupert the Rat, Kookie the Kitten, and Bessie the Bunny, down on the Animal Farm.

The feature "Ark in the Park" was a taped segment of a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo featuring the then-director of the zoo, Dr. Lester Fisher. The introductory music for this segment was "The Unicorn" by The Irish Rovers. 

Rayner also featured a "How and Why" segment on his shows with J. Bruce Mitchell of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, as did Garfield Goose and Friends. 

Rayner added the game "TV POWWW!" where those at home could play a video game by phone. Rayner hosted this show until January 23, 1981. How did this work?[1]

At the end of each show, A friendly reminder to dress appropriately for the weather, and - last but not least - at the end of every show, the outstretched arm, with the open hand and his fingers wiggling wildly;

"BU-BU-BU-BU-BYYYYYYYYYYYYYYE!!!"

OTHER TV JOBS
During his time at Channel 9, starting in 1974, Rayner hosted a Thursday night broadcast of The Illinois State Lottery. 

It was a weekly drawing featuring a top prize of $300,000 ("Weekly Bonanza") and the second prize of $50,000 to a field of about a dozen contestants who had won a unique lottery game over the preceding seven days. The show aired at 7:00 PM.

Chicago, July 3, 1975 - Picking up the Winnings. Chicago television personality Ray Rayner congratulates Chicago Policeman Michael Berchel, whose mother, Grace Berchel, from Chicago, won a $50,000 prize in the Illinois Lottery drawing Thursday night in Chicago.

LIVE PERFORMANCES

 

Ray Rayner in the Elmhurst Illinois 4th of July Parade.

RAY'S BOOK

The Story of Television. 1972

RAY RAYNER AND I TALKED FOR MORE THAN 2 HOURS

I met Mel Thillens at his business office of the "Thillens Armored Car Check Cashing Company" on Devon Avenue, just east of Western Avenue. I just walked in and asked to speak with Mr. Thillens in the spring of 1968; I was 8 years old. Mel Thillins stepped out of his office to greet me. He took me into his office. 

I asked him if I could work at Thillens Stadium for the season. Mel asked me a few questions to determine my interest in working at the Stadium. Mel gave me a day and time to meet him at the stadium. He introduced me to the staff, telling them that I'd be helping them out.

I was allowed to attend any and all games I wanted to for free. When working, I was allowed to eat, drink, and snack for free. As a matter of fact, I don't remember there being any limit to food and drink. Sounds good. Although I didn't get any money, I met some local celebrities, like Ray Rayner, Eddie Feigner and his team, the King and his Court, the Queen and her Court, the Donkey Baseball teams, etc.

I met Ray Rayner at Thillens Stadium in 1968. Ray was on a WGN 16" softball team playing the Playboy Bunnies. The evening game was for a charity. It was standing room only. 

If you know anything about Thillens Stadium, one kid worked the manual scoreboard, placing the number of runs per inning and a total runs count. The Strikes, Balls, and Outs scoreboard lights were worked from an elevated platform, with the game announcer from behind the home plate. I worked the strikes and outs from the announcer's booth.

Ray sat in the announcer's booth when the WGN vs.Playboy Bunnies game ended. We talked for quite some time. Ray told me he would speak of the charity softball game on his show on Monday. I jokingly mentioned that I never heard my name called on the Romper Room Show. Rayner told me he'd tell me on his TV show the next day, and I could count on him. 

Sure enough... Ray talked about the charity softball game and how much money was raised, and then he said he met a great kid who worked at Thillens Stadium, Dr. Neil Gale. I was floored. It's too bad there were no recording devices to capture that, but it's one of my life's "claim to fame" moments.

Mel Thillens had my name put up on the sign that same day. I couldn't believe it when Mel gave me the picture he had taken the following day. I'm Facebook friends with two of Mel's daughters.

THE URBAN MYTH OF RAY RAYNER BEING A DRUNKARD - BUSTED!

I watched Ray Rayner test his blood sugar after the softball game mentioned above while sitting next to me in the announcer's booth at Thillens Stadium in 1968. You don't do that unless you're diabetic, so getting drunk EVERY night is just ridiculous. It also besmirches his reputation.

THE END
Rayner moved to KGGM-TV in the 1980s, the CBS affiliate in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before retiring from television. He cited the harsh Chicago winters as the motivating factor. Later, he moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after his wife of several years died of lung cancer.

He died on January 21, 2004, of complications from pneumonia in Fort Myers, Florida, at the age of 84. He was survived by his daughter Christina Miller, his son Mark Rahner, and his grandchildren Patrick, Sean, Hilary Miller, and Troy Rahner. 

MORE RAY RAYNER IMAGES.

 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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[1] TV Powww was a franchised television game show format in which home viewers controlled a video game via telephone in hopes of winning prizes.

Bozo's TV Powww game.

The TV POWWW format, produced and distributed by Florida syndicator Marvin Kempner, debuted in 1978 on Los Angeles station KABC-TV as part of A.M. Los Angeles, and by the start of the next decade, was seen on 79 local television stations (including national superstation WGN as part of Bozo's Circus) in the United States, as well as several foreign broadcasters. While most stations had dropped TV POWWW by the mid-1980s, stations in Australia and Italy still used it as late as 1990.

Stations were initially supplied with games for the Fairchild Channel F console, but Intellivision games were used following Fairchild's withdrawal from the home video game market. Kempner later unsuccessfully attempted to interest both Nintendo and Sega in a TV POWWW revival.

While the underlying technology was standardized across participating stations, TV POWWW's presentation format varied from market to market. Many presented TV POWWW as a series of segments that ran during the commercial breaks of television programming (a la Dialing for Dollars). In contrast, some (such as KTTV in Los Angeles) presented TV POWWW as a standalone program.

Gameplay
In the featured video game, the at-home player would give directions over the phone while watching the game on their home screen. When the viewer determined that the weapon was aiming at the target, they said, "Pow!!!" after which that weapon would activate.

Accounts vary as to what kind of controller technology was involved. Some sources state that the gaming consoles sent to the stations were modified for voice activation. However, a 2008 WPIX station retrospective claimed that for the station's version, where the player said: "Pix" (Pron: picks), an employee in the control room manually hit the fire button when the caller indicated a shot.

One of the pitfalls of the gameplay was that, due to broadcasting technicalities, there needed to be a significant lag in transmitting a television signal. The player would experience this lag when playing at home, which likely made playing the game somewhat more complex. (For similar reasons, such a game would be impossible in digital television without the use of a second video chat feed for the player due to the time it takes to process and compress the video stream; most stations also mandate a seven-second delay to prevent obscenities from reaching the air.)

Northwest Corner of Lincoln and Belmont Avenues, Chicago, Illinois.1895

Northwest Corner of Lincoln and Belmont Avenues, Chicago, Illinois.1895

Photographs of Devon and Artesian Avenues, West Ridge Community of Chicago, Illinois. (circa 1950s)

Looking East on Devon Avenue at Artesian Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. (circa 1950s)
I stitched two photographs together to make this panoramic view. You can see the break in the foreground.
  Click the photo above for a highly detailed image.

Looking East on Devon Avenue at Artesian Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. (circa 1950s)

Looking East on Devon Avenue from Artesian Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. (circa 1950s)

The History of Brach’s Confections. Brach's Palace of Sweets, Chicago, Illinois.

Emil J. Brach, 22, took a job at Bunte Brothers & Spoehr candy manufacturers in 1881. 

In 1904, Brach invested his life savings, $1,000, in a storefront candy store and kitchen. He named it "Brach's Palace of Sweets," located at the corner of North Avenue and Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois. With his sons Frank and Edwin, he started with one kettle.

Emil J. Brach, founder of Brach's Confections, in front of his first store, "Brach's Palace of Sweets" at North Avenue and Town Street (Frontier Avenue 1500N-1599N at 642W, Today would be on North Avenue and Orchard Street), Chicago, 1904.

By investing in additional equipment, he could lower his production costs and sell his candy for 20¢ per pound, well below the typical 50¢ per pound his competitors were charging. By 1911 his production had reached 50,000 pounds per week.

Brach's was incorporated in 1916 as E.J.Brach & Sons.

By 1923, Brach had 4 factories operating at capacity. Brach then invested $5 million (Today $69 million in a new factory, beginning construction in 1921. It was built at 4656 West Kinzie Street and consolidated production into one building. 

Brach’s Chocolates of Quality Box, Circa 1923.

At the time, they produced 127 different varieties of candy with a capacity of 2.25 million pounds per week. Over the years, this new plant was expanded, and investments in new processes and equipment were made, including its own chocolate grinding plant and a large panning operation. 

The only incinerator in Illinois had been quietly at work, devouring 20 percent of the garbage collected by city crews and producing high-pressure steam sold to the nearby E.J. Brach's candy factory. The steam was sold to the Brach factory for about $1 million a year, or almost half the cost that Brach would face if the factory made its own steam. The company uses steam to heat its candy kettles.

The expanded complex provided about 600,000 square feet of floor space to consolidate the company's 127 different kinds of candy production. It had "seven acres of smooth concrete floors, solid concrete construction – with steel and glass; walls 50 percent glass – it is, in reality, a 'sunlight' factory; equipped with a large Steam Plant – a Refrigerating Plant – and an electric transforming station; private railroad sidings with a capacity of two train cars; equipped with the latest and most efficient labor-saving machinery of American or European make." 

“When my sons and I opened a little candy store forty years ago, we hoped folks would like our candy. But we never dreamed they’d like Brach candies so well we’d outgrow our little ‘Palace of Sweets’ in just a few brief years. We didn’t dream that soon the Brach candy-kitchens would be among the finest in the world. However, over the years we’ve stuck to this aim—to make the best in candy and sell it at reasonable prices. And we’re proud that every year more people are asking for Brach candies.” —Emil J. Brach, founder and president of E. J. Brach & Sons, 1944.

In 1948, after an electrical spark ignited corn starch, a massive explosion on the plant's third floor killed 11 employees and injured 18. Much of the factory's north side was destroyed. Reconstruction brought the plant's capacity up to more than 4 million pounds of product per year and employed 2,400 workers in 2,200,000 square feet.

It was recognized as the largest candy-manufacturing plant in the world at the time. At its peak, 4,500 employees worked there. The plant was eventually abandoned in 2003 when new owners took over operations, and production was moved primarily to Mexico. An administrative building was blown up for a special effects scene in The Dark Knight Batman movie in August 2007. The rest of the complex is in ruins awaiting its eventual demolition.

Before World War II, Brach's produced several candy bars, including a chocolate-covered, honeycombed, peanut butter Swing Bar and a mint and almond nougat bar. After the war, Brach's concentrated on bulk and bagged candies. It was in the period after the war that Halloween Trick or Treating became a popular activity. Brach's promoted its candy corn and other fall-themed candies, available in single-serve, pre-packaged packets.

In 1958 Brach's introduced the Pick-A-Mix concept. Customers could choose from a wide selection of products, scooping items and paying one price per pound. This was adapted from the barrels seen in general stores at the time. This concept brought the dying experience of buying candy at the local corner store into the new merchants, the supermarkets.

In 1966, American Home Products Corporation purchased the company. In 1986, the last year of ownership by American Home Products, it accounted for two-thirds of the U.S. market for bagged candy and 7% of the $9 billion U.S. candy market. It employed 3,700 and had an estimated pretax profit of more than $75 million on sales of $640 million.

In 1987 Jacobs Suchard Limited, a Swiss chocolate and coffee conglomerate purchased the company for $730 million; by the end of 1989, it was in serious trouble. That year, losses were an estimated $50 million, and sales had decreased to $470 million. By 1993, sales had dropped to $400 million, though losses were reduced somewhat to $26 million. All this occurred when overall per capita candy consumption in the U.S. had increased by 25%. By May 1994, after 7 years of Suchard ownership, Brach's had had 9 different CEOs, moved its headquarters from the plant property to a penthouse office in one of Chicago's wealthiest suburbs, saw a loss of nearly 900 jobs (42% of the workforce), and suffered a loss of key customers and market share.

Klaus Jacobs almost immediately fired Brach's top officers and gutted the leadership of its sales, marketing, production, and finance departments. Some of these positions were filled with executives from Suchard's European operations and people with little experience in the candy industry (see: Favorite Brands above). Former executives cited Jacobs Suchard's autocratic management style and inability to recognize the difference between American and European candy consumption habits. The company's name was changed to Jacobs Suchard Inc., a name few retailers or consumers recognized, and product lines were trimmed from 1,700 to 400 to cut costs. This alienated many of its largest customers, including Walgreens and Walmart, who found other sources, including Farley Candy. In addition to the cuts in product selection, Brach's also chose to curtail holiday promotional activities.

In 1990, Phillip Morris purchased Jacobs Suchard for $3.8 billion, except for its U.S. subsidiary, E. J. Brach Corp. A holding company named Van Houten & Zoon Holding AG was formed by Klaus Jacobs to run Brach and other businesses. Disagreements with Klaus Jacobs on marketing and management strategies continued, particularly over commodity vs. branded (Brach's) products. In 1993 alone, Brach's saw 3 different CEOs and continued to experience a high rate of turnover and dismissals within the sales and marketing departments. Many of Brach's sales personnel left to work for its competitors.

In September 1994, E.J. Brach purchased the Brock Candy Company of Chattanooga for $140 million, a year in which Brock Candy had sales of $112 million and profits of $6.5 million. This was the second attempt by the two companies to join, and the first time had been while E.J. Brach was under American Home Products ownership. The merger attempt at that time was canceled due to concerns of an antitrust suit.

For a time, the new company operated as the Brach and Brock Candy Company, and this was later changed to Brach's Confections.

In 2003, Barry Callebaut AG purchased the new company. The principal owner of Brach's, KJ Jacobs AG, was also a majority stakeholder in Barry Callebaut. As part of the deal, Barry Callebaut agreed to assume $16 million in debt, fund restructuring efforts for 5 years and pay a symbolic $1 (one dollar) for the company.

In 2007, the company was sold to the Farley's & Sathers Candy Company, which merged with the Ferrara Pan Candy Company in 2012 to form the Ferrara Candy Company.

Today, Ferrara Candy Company has an outlet store at 7301 West Harrison Street, Forest Park, Illinois, making Brach's, Sweetarts, Laffy Taffy, Now and Later, Nerds, Red Hots, Lemonhead, Jujyfruits, Boston Baked Beans, Chuckles to name just a few brands.

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

A Brief History of Illinois State Capitol Buildings from 1818 to the Present.

The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, is the building that houses the executive and legislative branches of the government for the State of Illinois. The current building is the sixth capital of the state since statehood in 1818. Following is a brief history of all six Illinois statehouses. 

№ 1 - The first Illinois State Capitol (1818-1819). Kaskaskia, Illinois, is a village in Randolph County. As a major French colonial town of the Illinois Country in the 18th century, its peak population was about 7,000 when it was a regional center. As a center of the regional economy, Kaskaskia was named the capital of the United States Illinois Territory, created on February 3, 1809. 

State of Illinois Capitol Building in Kaskaskia, Illinois.

In 1818, when Illinois became the 21st state, the village of Kaskaskia briefly served as the state's first capital until 1819. The capitol was quickly moved to Vandalia, Illinois when flooding destroyed most of Kaskaskia in April of 1881. As of July of 2016, the village of Kaskaskia has a population of 14.

State of Illinois Capitol Building after the Mississippi River
Changed Course Naturally and Flooded Kaskaskia, Illinois.

№ 2 - The second Illinois State Capitol (1820-1823; 1st one built in Vandalia). In 1820, with the completion of the new statehouse in Vandalia, Illinois (eighty miles northeast of Kaskaskia) became the official capitol building of the state. The first of three capitol buildings to stand in Vandalia was a plain two-story frame structure. The entire first floor served as a meeting place for the House of Representatives. In contrast, the second floor was divided into rooms for the Senate and the Council of Revision, which consisted of the governor and justices of the Illinois Supreme Court. Executive offices were located in other buildings. The state treasurer transacted business at his home, while the auditor and secretary of state worked in the brick building that housed the state bank. The bank building burned on January 23, 1823, consuming most of the state's financial papers, and the statehouse was destroyed by fire in December of 1823. 

№ 3. - The third Illinois State Capitol (1824-1836; 2nd one build in Vandalia). Vandalia's second statehouse was built during the summer of 1824 by residents who feared the removal of the capital to another town. Like its predecessor, the building served primarily as a meeting place for the general assembly. State executive offices and the Supreme Court seem to have had no permanent quarters. The building had been constructed hastily, and the effects were soon apparent. By 1834 its floors sagged badly, and the walls bulged dangerously. Two years later, people refused to enter the building, fearing it would collapse. Frightened by an 1834 referendum to relocate the capital, Vandalia residents constructed a third statehouse.

№ 4 - The fourth Illinois State Capitol (1836-1839; 3rd one built in Vandalia). It is located at 315 W. Gallatin Street in Vandalia, Illinois, in the center of a city block downtown. It is the oldest surviving capitol building in the state and costs $16,000.00 to build. Work began in the summer of 1836 the third capitol was demolished. Efforts were made to salvage material from the old building. Though workers attempted to finish the building rapidly, much remained to be done when the legislature convened in early December. Plaster in second-story rooms was still damp, and rooms on the first floor were barely begun. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Illinois' Fourth (4th) Statehouse, Vandalia, Photographs.

This statehouse was of simple Federal design. The new statehouse was larger than any of its predecessors. The building provided, for the first time, space for all three branches of the government. The first floor contained offices for the auditor of public accounts, secretary of state, treasurer, and all members of the executive branch as well as chambers for the Supreme Court. There was no space specifically assigned to the governor. The second floor is composed of a central hall devoted to the general assembly's needs. The House and Senate chambers each contain a visitor gallery reached by staircases. Although the new brick structure was extravagant, the General Assembly ignored the gesture and voted to relocate the capital to Springfield on February 25, 1837. The last session of the Illinois General Assembly to meet in the Vandalia statehouse closed on March 4, 1839. Before adjournment, the legislature passed an act presenting the building to Fayette County and the town of Vandalia. 

In 1856 Vandalia sold its interest in the building for $3,150.00. Shortly thereafter, county commissioners authorized an extensive remodeling, including the addition of the porticoes that visitors see today. On August 5, 1918, the State of Illinois purchased the old statehouse and public square in order to ensure its preservation for future generations. Though owned by the state, the building continued to serve as the Fayette County Courthouse until 1933, when county offices moved to new quarters. In the 1930s and 1940s, the State of Illinois carried out a major effort to restore the building to its Lincoln-era appearance. Spectators' galleries were reconstructed in the Senate and House chambers in the 1970s

№ 5. - The fifth Illinois State Capitol (1839-1876) is in Springfield, Illinois and is preserved as the Old State Capitol Historic Site at Capitol Avenue and Second Street. On July 4, 1837, the first brick was laid for Illinois' fifth capitol, designed by John F. Rague (who also designed the nearly identical Iowa Territorial Capitol).

In 1853, the capital was completed for $260,000.00, almost twenty times the cost of any previous structure. The building was designed in the Greek revival style from stone quarried six miles (10 km) from the site. For many years, it was the largest and most extravagant capital of the western frontier of the United States. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

№ 6. - The sixth is the current Illinois State Capitol (1876-present) is also in Springfield, Illinois. The capital was designed by Cochrane and Garnsey, an architecture and design firm based in Chicago, Illinois. The formal laying of the cornerstone occurred on October 5th, 1868.

Two years later, the cornerstone developed large cracks and had to be replaced.  Although still unfinished after eight years of work, the General Assembly moved into the building in 1876. The project was continually plagued with trouble. Corruption was suspected several times, and at least one workman was killed on the job. Construction continued intermittently for twenty years. During this time, a serious movement was afoot calling for the abandonment of the unfinished structure and the Capital's removal to some other Illinois city.

Civil War veteran Richard J. Oglesby was Governor when the building started and served a third term when the Capitol was finally completed two decades later in 1888. Initially, construction costs were limited by appropriation to $3,000,000.00, but expenditures had risen to over $4,500,000.00 at the time of completion. 

The Capitol, situated on a nine-acre plot and built on the highest point of ground in the city, was designed in the form of a modified Latin cross. The facade is classical, an extremely popular style for government and public buildings in the nineteenth century. The French-style Mansard roofs on the north and south wings are indicative of the influence of Piquenard, a native of France. 

The extreme length of the building from north to south is 379 feet, and 268 feet from east to west. The height from the ground line to the top of the dome is 361 feet and 405 feet to the tip of the flagstaff. The red lights on the dome, electronically geared to turn on when visibility reaches a certain low, were installed as guidance for pilots.

The building is the highest non-skyscraper capital in the United States, with a dome height of 361 feet. A Springfield city statute does not allow buildings to be constructed that exceed the height of the Capitol. 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

The Drake Fountain, Chicago, Illinois. 1892

The Drake fountain is believed to be the first statue in Chicago to commemorate Christopher Columbus. This monument was dedicated in December 1892, marking the 400th anniversary of the explorers’ voyage to the Americas. 

Walking past the Drake Fountain on LaSalle Sreet
outside of City Hall, Chicago. 1906

The 7 ½ foot bronze figure is of Columbus as a young man with globe in hand. The fountain is inspired by Gothic architecture and a small granite columns and curving buttresses rise up 33 feet to the pointed spire on top.

Originally located downtown on the Washington Street side of City Hall in 1892 to provide chilled drinking water to those in the Loop, the fountain was moved to the LaSalle side in 1906. The fountain dispensed into four granite basins what is still listed on the monument: ice water. 

A surviving example of Victorian-era public drinking fountains, it was hoped at the time that it would be an alternative to nearby saloons. The fountain was moved twice as the city razed buildings and redirected the flow of traffic. 

In 1909, Southeast Chicago residents complained about the lack of public art in their part of town and were able to get the fountain move to the location where it still stands in 
Richard Henry Park on 92nd Street and Exchange Ave. It was designated a Chicago landmark in 2004. 

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Fort Sheridan Amusement Park in Highwood, Illinois (1898-1908)

Fort Sheridan is a residential neighborhood spread among Lake Forest, Highwood, and Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois. It was originally established as Fort Sheridan, a United States Army Post named after Civil War Cavalry General Philip Sheridan, to honor his service to Chicago.

On July 30, 1898, Fort Sheridan Park had its grand opening! The amusement center was created at the corner of Clay Street and Sheridan Road in Highwood, Illinois. 

The park's rustic beauty and entertainment attracted large crowds who began arriving in droves in Highwood aboard Dinkies (trolley cars) on the "Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railway Company," North Shore Line (AKA: Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad).

Fort Sheridan Park - Chicago Tribune Ad, August 6, 1899

The amusement park attracted hundreds of people for band concerts, vaudeville shows, dancing in an open-air pavilion, beer gardens, and food concessions. It is unknown if there were any mechanical rides.

Fort Sheridan Park - Chicago Tribune, August 4, 1900.

Fort Sheridan Park, Inter Ocean, July 1, 1900

Fort Sheridan Park was destroyed by fire in September of 1908.

Belvidere Daily Republican, May 6, 1909, Tabernacle and Keeley Cure.
A resident of Highwood for two weeks, staying at the notorious Park Hotel, Pat Crowe is claimed to be boosting a scheme for the erection of an immense tabernacle at the Fort Sheridan Park that will seat an audience of 5,000 with a vigorous temperance campaign there and the changing of the Park Hotel into a branch of the Keeley Cure.

Crowe is getting well known in Highwood and while he has talked to many has neither denied nor affirmed the rumors about his plans. He has made no breaks nor backsliding and has quietly gone about his business which is the promotion branch of the Keeley Cure.

Fort Sheridan Park posted an ad on July 1, 1909 for lease. 

Fully equipped and ready for operation, seating capacity of 1,800; best location in the country adjoining Fort Sheridan; a big moneymaker; can be run year-round; excellent opportunity if taken at once, as present owner has other business requiring all his time. Inquire of H.D. BARRY, Highwood, Ill. Phone 386 Highwood.


Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Illinois Central Locomotive №. 2500 Gives Centralia Illinois Permanent Memorial to Age of Steam. Dedicated on October 6, 1962

The clanging of a train engine's bell has rung over Fairview Park beginning in September of 1962 when a group of dedicated citizens labored eight days to move a steam locomotive there. The problem was that they had to move the engine down a busy street by laying sections of the track ahead of it and then moving it with winch trucks.

The corner of Oak Street and Broadway, Centralia, Illinois. 1962

The corner of Oak Street and Broadway, Centralia, Illinois. circa 2014

It was described at one of the biggest history-making projects ever undertaken by a town in this area. 

Press, radio and television coverage was given the project throughout Southern Illinois and including metropolitan St. Louis as this city undertook to dedicate the steam engine as a memorial to the Age of Steam - commemorating the railroad industry which played such an important role in building this city. 

Children climbed over the old engine, №. 2500, and argued over who was going to pull the cord. The locomotive glistened under a bright fall sun as it rested on its platform, signaling the end of a year's work for the large group of Centralians. 

It will rest there for future generations to see what kind of engines once pulled the trains over the nation's rails. A special trust fund was set up for maintenance of the engine, as stipulated by Wayne Johnston, president of the Illinois Central Railroad Company when he okayed the railroad's giving the locomotive up. 

That move came as a surprise since the old engine was worth about $10,000 In scrap metal. It had been destined for the cutting torch when such steam engine enthusiasts as Jim Adams and retired engineer Ernie Dolan started the move to let up a tribute to railroading. 

While others were observing Labor Day Weekend last September, volunteers began the laborious operation of moving the huge locomotive down Broadway.

Large crowds of curious spectators gathered and watched that first night when crews sweated to maneuver the engine around a makeshift bend to get if off the IC tracks and onto the street. 

And many watched as men worked well into the night and sometimes into the early morning hours during the next week. Eight days later they pulled the engine onto the platform. 

While they were moving it, one worker sustained an injured foot and another time a speeding motorist narrowly missed running down two police officers and crashing into a group of workers.

The workers, many of them railroaders, some retired, all donated their time. Local businesses donated materials and machinery to move the engine and build the platform for it at the park.

Soon after its arrival at Fairview, a fence was erected around №. 2500 and organized tours for Centralians and curious tourists alike were organized.

Members of the moving committee said several hundred visitors went through the engine on its first day at the park. Then they fixed up a registration book and in the past seven months, several thousand persons have signed their names after touring the engine.

Spotlights Illuminate No. 2500 nightly. The gate in the fence around it is closed then, but motorists often stop to observe the black engine.

Locomotive 2500 was the first engine ever to be issued a clearance card and running order down the main street of a city. Dispatcher F. W. Howell at the IC passenger station issued the order which gave the huge engine top priority down Broadway on September 4,1962.

It read: "Engine №. 2500 run extra from Oak Street to Fairview Park. Has right overall trains. Not to exceed a speed of 100 miles per hour." Lester Hanrahan, call-boy, called the following phantom crew: Engineer Ernie Dolan, Fireman J. W. Bailie, Conductor Eddie Copple, Brakeman Steve Opolony and Flagman Allen Ferguson.

Workmen said the moving of the steam engine was one of the most difficult railroad operations ever performed anywhere.

The engine's background is not able. It was built in 1921 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Ohio. Its original number was 2943. It has two small trucks in the lead, big driving wheels and two small trucks or trailers behind. 

Engine Boiler and Controls of Locomotive №. 2500.

It was designed for heavy freight service but was sometimes used fast freight or passenger service. To make it dual purpose, the IC mounted the boiler on a new frame, changed the diameter of the wheels from 63 to 70 inches, and dropped one pair of driving wheels, substituting two small engine trucks in their place. 

Steam pressure was raised from 200 to 240 pounds. The engine is 96½ feet long. Its cylinders are 30 x 30. It weighs about 225 tons and has a total capacity of 24 tons of coal and 11,000 gallons of water.

During its 41 years of service, the engine traveled about a million miles. It was estimated that №. 2500 could produce 7000 horsepower, capable of pulling a 125-car train 25 miles an hour.

According to Dolan, a couple of high school boys, David Kracht and Lynn Redmond, originated the idea of a locomotive for a memorial. They gave the idea to Adams who later became chairman of the trust fund.

The fundraising was a long and tedious drive, members of the committee later said. The contributions ranged from 5¢ to $500. 

The cooperation extended by Individuals and companies alike was noted by city officials, Chamber of Commerce officers, and others as a progressive step forward for the community. 

Said Adams at the October 8 dedication ceremonies: “The wholehearted cooperation shown in this project demonstrates that we can cooperate in many other things.”

He continued: "The 2500 remains an example of magnificence from the colorful period in history in railroads known as the Age of Steam to which the 2500 stands as a memorial.

H. H. Koonce, superintendent of the St. Louis division of the IC Railroad, was the principal speaker. He told a hushed crowd; “Whistles screaming, headlights shining, her day is gone. She’ll blow her whistle no more,” he said.

Dedicated on October 6, 1962.

The Story of the 2500 

From the Centralia (Illinois) Sentinel Newspaper, May 26, 1963.
Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Rush Medical College, Anatomy Dissection Lab, Chicago, Illinois. (1900)

Rush Medical College was one of the first medical colleges in the state of Illinois and was chartered in 1837, two days before the city of Chicago was chartered, and opened with 22 students on December 4, 1843. 

Its founder, Dr. Daniel Brainard, named the school in honor of Dr. Benjamin Rush, the only physician with medical school training to be a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He later taught Meriwether Lewis the basic medical skills for his expedition with William Clark to the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Rush was also known as the "Father of American Psychiatry."

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Charter Oak School in Schuline, Illinois. A One-Room Octagon School.

Charter Oak School is located one mile east of the rural community of Schuline in Randolph County. The structure is one of the few remaining octagonal-shaped, one-room, school buildings in America. 

Classes were held in this building from 1873 until 1953 when it was closed due to consolidation. Charter Oak School was the third school to be built in the area. The first was a one-room log school and later a one-room frame building was constructed.

In the early 1870s a young teacher named Daniel Ling came to the Schuline community. Records show he was “educated in the East, was scholarly, could read Greek, and was a skilled architect.” Ling felt “an eight cornered building with windows on each side would offer improved lighting since light comes from all sides as nature intended, and would also offer better wind resistance to storms.” 

Blackboards painted on walls could be seen from any part of the room when lesson outlines were given. Ling convinced the local school board of directors and area residents that his architectural plan of an octagonal building was sound, and was chosen to supervise construction of the building. Construction by carpenters William Holcomb and Franklin Adams cost $1000 which was raised in a bond issue.

Up to this time, the names of Old Oak, Boyd School and District 7 were used locally to refer to the school. Residents and students were very proud of their new brick building and wanted a special name for it. A large, beautiful oak tree stood on the grounds. According to early residents, a student, Agnes Houston, suggested the name Charter Oak in honor of the famous Charter Oak of the Connecticut Colony.

School started in the new building in the fall of 1873 with Miss Avis Allen as teacher. Attendance varied throughout the years with a maximum of 46 pupils reported one year. The school also became a community center and was used for public and farm meetings, church and Sunday school, spelling bees, speaking contests, political rallies and other civic affairs.
Throughout the years, structural changes were made. Some of the changes were made for convenience and some to conform to State regulations. These included a bell, tuck-pointing, adding a vestibule, two additional windows and a door. Charter Oak was closed in 1953 when the need for the little one-room schools declined and the children were sent to larger consolidated schools.
The vacant school building deteriorated and became a target for vandalism. Later it was sold at public auction and a former teacher, Miss Nellie Ohms, purchased it for sentimental reasons. Because of its unique design and historical significance, the Randolph County Historical Society became interested in the building. Miss Ohms was contacted and was very receptive to its restoration. In 1960, it was sold to the Society for $600. Numerous fund raising events were held to pay for the building and for its restoration. The most famous of these was the Corn Fest, which has become an annual event, held on the first Saturday in August.

Major restoration was completed in 1968. Then in 1970, the site became an official Illinois State Historical Site and a historic plaque donated by that office was erected on the grounds. In 1978, the school was placed on the National Register of Historical Places. 

A board of directors supervises maintenance and upkeep of the grounds and building. The school is still being used on field trips where elementary school children spend a day experiencing what school was like in the past. 

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.