Chicagoland's famous Harold's Chicken Shack.

Harold Pierce, a Chicago entrepreneur, founded Harold's Chicken Shack (also referred to as The Fried Chicken King, Harold's Chicken, or simply Harold's) in 1950. Pierce developed the first Harold's out of necessity to serve the underserved neighborhood. The larger fast-food chains tended to avoid opening in African-American neighborhoods.

During the same time, there were legal and social obstacles to black-owned businesses that prevented Harold's from expanding into downtown or the North Side. Harold's became one of the few examples of a thriving take-out chain that was owned by and primarily served the black community.

Harold's fried chicken is different from other fast-food chicken joints (Kentucky Fried Chicken, Brown's Chicken, Popeyes, etc.) in two significant ways. First, the chicken is cooked in a mix of half beef tallow and half vegetable oil. Secondly, they fry your order after you order it.

Chicago-style fried chicken meal.

The basic Harold's Chicken Shack dinner is a half or quarter chicken served with french fries, two pieces of white bread, and a cup of coleslaw. The chicken may be all-white meat, all dark meat, or a mix (known as regular).

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Harolds also has chicken gizzards, a big seller, and some restaurants offer catfish, perch, and a number of side items including fried okra. The chicken can be served plain, but usually, either hot or mild sauce is added. 

Chicago-style fried chicken: Drizzle sauce over the fried chicken and fries to soften the chicken skin. 

The Fry Sandwich: A common practice is to put the sauce-soaked fries inbetween the two slices of bread, which Chicagoans call a "fry sandwich."

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

The Old Harlo Grill in Melrose Park, Illinois, is another 1950s diner structure lost to progress?

The Harlo Grill at 2300 West North Avenue in Melrose Park open in 1953. The great American diner is already on the endangered species list and Harlow's was on a new strip-malls radar.

The counter wrapped around the open kitchen and was the only available seating. You can overhear people ordering "the usual," so you knew right away that they were a regular.

This place was a no-frills, open 24 hours a day diner that catered to the blue-collar working-class community, 3rd-shift workers, as well as the weekend after-the-bars-close crowd.

Breakfast... done right, just how you like it, great burgers, good coffee, and malts & milkshakes to die for. Breakfast, lunch, dinner or late-night is the perfect time for their double-cheeseburger, two beef patties, cheese, salt, and pepper — you pick toppings and condiments — simply delicious.

Harlow's is still open for business but in a shiny new building. I'm glad we have some awesome pictures of the original sign and restaurant.

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES..

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Kiddie Dude Ranch in Lombard, Illinois. (1940-1960)

After searching the Internet and making a few inquiries, I received a phone call from Ralph Weimer, son of Earl Weimer, the owner and operator of the "Kiddie Dude Ranch" located on the southeast corner of Roosevelt Road and Lawler Avenue in Lombard, Illinois (Glen Ellyn, today).

The story goes...

Ralph Weimer said his father was a carpenter by trade, and he built their house off Lawler around 1931-32. "In those days you could easily count the number of cars passing by on Roosevelt Road."

Weimer remembers, as a child, his father taking him for pony rides in Elmhurst (Roosevelt and York Roads) at a pony ring, run out of a trailer park by a man named Steve Wall. When Wall decided to sell the pony ring, Earl Weimer in 1939 bought the ponies - about 10 in all - and the saddles, along with the fencing, which Weimer noted was originally built for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The fencing, which Weimer described as 66-foot wide, 200-foot-long "ornate ten-foot sections, painted white with red and white striped poles at each end.

When asked why his dad decided to create the amusement park, Weimer replied that his father "wanted to get into something like that; an entrepreneurial spirit." During the week Earl Weimer worked in carpentry and ran the pony ride operation on weekends.

Weimer recalled that his father set up pony rides at area carnivals, and around 1945, built a new barn on Roosevelt Road, and added a mini train, ticket stand and other features to the amusement park, including a parking lot, merry-go-round, "Turn Pike" car ride, whip, boat ride, small Ferris wheel, airplane ride, and a fire engine ride.

The amusement park came to offer for sale refreshments such as soda, candy, popcorn, and ice cream, and Earl Weimer went on to build a shelter over the pony hitching rail.

The whole family worked at the Kiddie Dude Ranch, including his mother, who was "very actively involved" in such jobs as working at the ticket stand, keeping the books and selling refreshments. His mother died in 1955, and his father closed the amusement park in 1960, due to illness, and died shortly afterward, said Weimer.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

*Permission from Ralph Weimer. Photographs are the copyright © of Ralph Weimer, who sent these photographs to me for scanning, so I may document his family's amusement park online.
*Special thanks to the Lombard Historical Society, the "Lombardian," and Jane Charmelo.