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Hammond Indiana

Subject	Message	Replies
"Tree" street neighborhoods Date: 01-20-2010 By: wefles	Did anyone grow up in or live on any of the "tree" streets (birch, walnut, beech, chestnut, catalpa, magnolia)? I live from 1989 to 1998 on chestnut right near the expressway. Those track houses might have been start of the art in the day in which they were built in 1952, but unfortunately have fallen to disrepair. I barely got my money back when I sold mine after what I put into it to make it liveable. But at the time it was a good place to start a family, but not one which ballooned to 4 kids. I wonder if how many list members are my former neighbors....	9

Replies

Date	Member	Message
01-20-2010 ( Reply#: 4783 )	tom w	I was born on Elm St. then we moved to Oak then I went to Irving School that was between Oak and Pine. I was born in 1942. We left Hammond in 1988 and even though we are in beautiful, sunny Orlando and I had a dream job that I retired from, I still miss Hammond. Tom W
01-20-2010 ( Reply#: 4785 )	BobK	Dang! I forgot to give you a call Tom, we were in Orlando today at Bass Pro.
01-20-2010 ( Reply#: 4787 )	Paddy	quote: Originally posted by wefles Did anyone grow up in or live on any of the "tree" streets (birch, walnut, beech, chestnut, catalpa, magnolia)? The neighborhood holds a special place in my memories. My family lived at 4842 Beech when I was born in 1941. My parents married in 1936. They started out living on Hickory Street with my Mom's parents while they built the house on Beech Street. Her Dad was a carpenter, and no doubt had a big role in building our home. I recently came across their mortgage papers, which valued the home at $3500.00. The house still stands, along with the rest of the homes built in that era that escaped the path of the Indiana Toll Road.
01-21-2010 ( Reply#: 4788 )	tom w	Bob; If ya woulda called, I coulda told you about the great biker shop across I Drive from Bass Pro. Thats where I buy all my stuff. Oh well, mebbie next time for sure. Paddy; My uncle owned a bunch of places un that area so we lived in one of his places. Right behind the Igloo. If you lived on Hickory, did you know Carol Rose or Carol Woods or Ronnie Kennedy? They were all between Hoffman and Chicago Avenue. Tom W
01-21-2010 ( Reply#: 4795 )	Paddy	quote: Originally posted by tom w Paddy; My uncle owned a bunch of places un that area so we lived in one of his places. Right behind the Igloo. If you lived on Hickory, did you know Carol Rose or Carol Woods or Ronnie Kennedy? They were all between Hoffman and Chicago Avenue. Tom W I lived on Beech Street. When it went through to Hoffman, it was right across from the entrance to Bishop Noll HS. My grandparents on my mother's side, the Etienne's, lived at 4846 Hickory, but they moved in the 1960's. My grandfather was a carpenter, and the workshop behind the house had every kind of woodworking tool imaginable. The floor was ankle-deep in aromatic wood shavings. When St. Margaret Mary's church was built on the Bishop Noll campus in the 1950's, he built the altar, backdrop and altar railing. The Igloo brings back lots of memories. In the late 1940's, a neighbor two doors south on Beech street was a railroad engineer, and one of the few car owners in the neighborhood. One of his two daughters, Doris McNeill, was about my age, and they would invite me to join them for a ride to the Igloo for banana splits. The car had a rumble seat, and that is where Doris and I would ride.
01-21-2010 ( Reply#: 4796 )	tom w	OK so back then the Igloo was on the south side of Hoffman street. Later on, they built a new Igloo on the north side. By the way, one of my hobbies is the woodwork in the Catholic churches in the Calumet and Chicago area. This level of craftsmanship has almost gone forever. A good friend of mine who hand carved the alter furniture at our little church here in Orlando died last month and that was the end of all that beautiful work. Thank God some of the work will live for future generations to wonder at. Would you have any pictures of his work? Thank you. Tom W
01-21-2010 ( Reply#: 4797 )	Paddy	quote: Would you have any pictures of his work? Thank you. Tom W Unfortunately no. I checked the church's web site hoping to find some, but there was nada.
01-21-2010 ( Reply#: 4800 )	wefles	I lived 3 doors from the expressway. It was a track house which was originally 2 bedrooms (10x10 and 8x12) with an addition put on the back with a 10x14 bedroom and a dining/all purpose room. I could tell stories with the electrical, plumbing and roofing nightmares I had to fix. I paid 30050 for the house and sold it for 53000, after putting about 16000 into everything including doing all but re-doing the walls in the garage. I guess initially the house was 5000 in 1952 and they were part of the post-war boom. The house is still standing and is rented and was not as well maintained as I did. A
01-23-2010 ( Reply#: 4822 )	MrRazz	quote: Originally posted by wefles Did anyone grow up in or live on any of the "tree" streets (birch, walnut, beech, chestnut, catalpa, magnolia)? I live from 1989 to 1998 on chestnut right near the expressway. Those track houses might have been start of the art in the day in which they were built in 1952, but unfortunately have fallen to disrepair. I barely got my money back when I sold mine after what I put into it to make it liveable. But at the time it was a good place to start a family, but not one which ballooned to 4 kids. I wonder if how many list members are my former neighbors.... You brought back some good memories, Walt, but I go much further back. We moved there from the southside of Chicago around 1952. Lived on Walnut St between the expressway and the Little Calumet River. I think they called it the Schliker District, named after the developer. It was a really nice neighborhood back then...lots of kids to play with. Went to Reilley School from kindergarten through the mid 3rd grade, and then moved to Hessville. I think the reason we moved was the house on Walnut was really small, and my dad taught at Morton High School, so Hessville was closer. In the early years, there were still some open, farmed, and wooded areas along the Little Calumet, so my brother and I had great fun exploring. Flew my first kite with my dad at Riverside Park. Used to walk east over to the Woodmar Country Club and then south over the line into Munster to see how the other half lived...a lot of big, beautiful homes were in that area, and we often dreamed of what it would be like to live in one of them. Walked all the way to Wicker Park more than once...the swimming pool there was really "cool". Were evacuated from our house once due to the threat of flooding from the river, but fortunately it never got to our house. I am sure things have changed...good grief, that was over 55 years ago. But it was a pleasant part of my life.