VIDEO
The Closing of the Busy Bee Restaurant.
INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
The Busy Bee Restaurant, 1546-50 North Damen Avenue in Chicago, Illinois (1913-1998).
One of my Dad's offices (he was an optometrist) was on the ground floor of the Tower building at North, Milwaukee, and Damen Avenues in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago.
He knew the owner of the Busy Bee Restaurant, Sophia Madej, very well. She would stop by his office and give my Dad the homemade soup of the day (the beet borscht was to die for), a few dozen different kinds of Pierogi's, and sometimes some other Polish specialties Sophia made that day as a care package for my Mom. I loved the Busy Bee because Sophia treated me just like her own family, perhaps even better.
The restaurant had numerous visits by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, both Mayor Daley's, Senator Edward Kennedy, and lots of other local big-wig political figures. Walk-in and most likely there were some big sports stars eating there. With so many recognizable people eating at the restaurant, Officers Bill Jaconetti (right) and Al Kohl (left) stopped in many times a day (their beat) to check on Sophie and the Busy Bee restaurant.
The Busy Bee has been a Near Northwest Side mainstay since 1913 when the area was predominantly Polish, and the restaurant was known as the Oak Room. No one knows for sure when the restaurant was renamed, but it was long before the Madej's bought it in 1965. The restaurant closed in June 1998.
INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
The History of the Village of Hecker, Illinois and Civil War Colonel, Friedrich Franz Karl Hecker.
The Village of Hecker had its beginnings first as the town of Freedom, with the first house built in 1849. Hecker, located at the intersection of Illinois Routes 156 and 159, is on the eastern tip of Monroe County.
In 1895, due to the discontent of the citizens of Freedom, with the muddy roads and lack of sidewalks, they decided to incorporate. Because there was already a town named Freedom in Illinois, the U.S. Post Office requested another name for the village.
Hecker, as it is known today, was named for Colonel Friedrich Franz Karl Hecker (1811 B Born: Angelbachtal, Germany and buried in Summerfield Cemetery, Summerfield, Illinois in 1881), a German lawyer, politician and revolutionary. He was one of the most popular speakers and agitators of the 1848 German Revolution (aka: the Hecker Uprising)[1].
His arrival in America saw a huge reception. He settled in Summerfield, Illinois, just outside St. Louis, Missouri. Then, in 1861 he enlisted as a Private in Franz Sigel's 3rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry.
He had assembled a regiment consisting of German and Jewish soldiers as a Union Army Colonel in the 24th and later on the 82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. He was severely wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville while carrying the battle flag during a charge on Confederate positions.
Hecker owned a farm near Summerfield in adjacent St Clair County. Because of Col. Hecker's personality, courteous dealings and intellect, the people of Freedom decided to name their village after him.
Hecker died in 1881 and was buried in Summerfield, Illinois.
[1] 1848 German Revolution / The Hecker Uprising - The Hecker uprising was an attempt by Baden revolutionary leaders Friedrich Hecker, Gustav von Struve, and several other radical democrats in April 1848 to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic in the Grand Duchy of Baden (The Grand Duchy of Baden was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918). The main action of the uprising consisted of an armed civilian militia under the leadership of Friedrich Hecker moving from Konstanz in the direction of Karlsruhe with the intention of joining with another armed group under the leadership of Georg Herwegh there to topple the government. The two groups were halted independently by the troops of the German Confederation before they could combine forces. The Hecker Uprising was the first large uprising of the Baden Revolution and became, along with its leader, part of the national myth.
Hecker, as it is known today, was named for Colonel Friedrich Franz Karl Hecker (1811 B Born: Angelbachtal, Germany and buried in Summerfield Cemetery, Summerfield, Illinois in 1881), a German lawyer, politician and revolutionary. He was one of the most popular speakers and agitators of the 1848 German Revolution (aka: the Hecker Uprising)[1].
His arrival in America saw a huge reception. He settled in Summerfield, Illinois, just outside St. Louis, Missouri. Then, in 1861 he enlisted as a Private in Franz Sigel's 3rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry.
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| The Hecker Farm in Summerfield, Illinois. |
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| Colonel Hecker during the American Civil War. |
Hecker died in 1881 and was buried in Summerfield, Illinois.
[1] 1848 German Revolution / The Hecker Uprising - The Hecker uprising was an attempt by Baden revolutionary leaders Friedrich Hecker, Gustav von Struve, and several other radical democrats in April 1848 to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic in the Grand Duchy of Baden (The Grand Duchy of Baden was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918). The main action of the uprising consisted of an armed civilian militia under the leadership of Friedrich Hecker moving from Konstanz in the direction of Karlsruhe with the intention of joining with another armed group under the leadership of Georg Herwegh there to topple the government. The two groups were halted independently by the troops of the German Confederation before they could combine forces. The Hecker Uprising was the first large uprising of the Baden Revolution and became, along with its leader, part of the national myth.
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