Sheptalk

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General Shep Related Chatter

Subject	Message	Replies
"The dumps" !!(& Sheps' golf course found!) Date: 11-21-2005 By: m10bob	Shep admits he got hooked on visiting the dumps as a kid, and sez the one he and Flick frequented required "bicycling down Kennedy avenue, about half a mile south of the (Calumet) river", and then had to "cut off the avenue and go through woods and up and down some small hills." Shep has mentioned Hessville was literally on the edge of town at that time and his neighborhood was still in the process of being built. I have verified this via the Hammond assessors office, so his neighborhood as it existed back then , was much more refined in proximity to his home, (than is now the case.) This said, I believe the Little Calumet river was "out of town"(as Shep has claimed), and the dump was likely located where "Wicker Memorial Park" is located now. We (in present days) have seen dumps and landfills turned into "parks", and this (to me) would make a lot of sense. Currently, all other areas within the scope of Sheps' "measurements" are housing areas.......... In Hoc Agricula Conc In Est Spittle Louk	6

Replies

Date	Member	Message
11-25-2005 ( Reply#: 207 )	Bill Bucko	Hmm, where does he say that? My thoughts first went to the Gibson woods/prairie; I never went far east, but maybe the eastern end was hilly. "Calumet River" is ambiguous. The Grand Calumet River is to the north of Hessville. The Little Calumet River is to the south. (They're actually connected in Illinois, forming a large loop.) If by "down" Kennedy Avenue he meant south, then you made a good guess. Parts of Wicker Park and the nearby Woodmar Golf Club are hilly. The Woodmar area of Hammond was definitely ritzier than Hessville, and I doubt if the Golf Club would have tolerated a dump; so Wicker Park is an excellent guess. I don't know of any other hills in the area. Wicker Park was not new, when I visited it in the late 1950s; I'd guess it was at least 15 years old. But it was large, and quite possibly just one corner was a dump. More I think about it, south makes much more sense than north. A dump has to be convenient to get to. There was no traffic around the east end of the Gibson woods. There'd be plenty of traffic on south Kennedy Avenue. I'm curious as to where Shep said that. That's the first I've heard of him mentioning Kennedy Avenue. Thanks, Bill Warren G. Harding Class of '63
11-26-2005 ( Reply#: 208 )	m10bob	Hi Bill........Shep refers to the location of the dumps in the episode "Garbage Dumps", 1966-04-28.. BTW, He refers to Kennedy ave on many of his programs, so I believe you meant "where did he refer to Kennedy ave regarding the dumps"? While you are checking, I just heard another program in which he states he did his golf caddying at "Cherry Hill Country Club". I have not checked your great maps yet,is this an existing course ? If so, it adds depth to several other of his tales......[8D] In Hoc Agricula Conc In Est Spittle Louk
11-26-2005 ( Reply#: 210 )	Bill Bucko	Actually, that IS the first I've heard about Kennedy Avenue. I've read all the stories, but have heard only 50 or 60 of the radio programs. Dunno any country clubs. (Not that I ever paid much attention to country clubs.) If Shep did any caddying, it was probably at the Woodmar Golf Club. Maybe that's considered a country club. Bill Warren G. Harding Class of '63
11-26-2005 ( Reply#: 211 )	Bill Bucko	Probably it was Woodmar. Hammond was not the sort of place that would be swarming with country clubs. Warren G. Harding Class of '63
11-27-2005 ( Reply#: 213 )	m10bob	I did find this local "Cherry Hills" in nearby Cook County. Shep was quite specific about the name of the course, and from what I have learned so far, I am not inclined to believe his stories were as much fiction, as some believe. This "Cherry Hills" was built in 1932, so I doubt 2 courses with the same name would have operated in the same proximity...[:)] http://www.golfguideweb.com/illinois/flossmoor/beabd.html (Mapquest puts this 16 miles from his home.) In Hoc Agricula Conc In Est Spittle Louk
12-30-2005 ( Reply#: 250 )	momcat2000	but kennedy ave. was not always called kennedy ave..........