Rye Gewalt writes: “This was forwarded to me by an old friend and I thought you might enjoy it. I grew up in Racine during that period so it resonates. I don’t know who wrote it.”

Author found! Thanks to Vyto Kapocius and his Park High School classmates for this great collection of Racine memories.

Memories of Post-War Racine
Late 1940s to Mid 1950s

1. Fourth of July Fireworks at Washington Park Golf Course and the swaying bridge crossing Root River

2. Parades with Racine’s musical units — the Elks Band, Boy Scouts, Kilties and Boys of 76, Johnsons Wax Band, Park Board Band

3. Sun bathing at North Beach during the day and bonfire beach parties at night

4. Reggies Roller Rink at North Beach

5. Swimming au natural at the quarry on Northwestern Avenue

6. Rialto and Venetian, Uptown, Capitol, Crown, Badger, Main Street and Douglas Ave Theaters

7. Radio station WRAC and Saturday Morning Teen Time Program

8. Ethnic programs such as Peder Bachs Danish hour and the Kurier Polski Programma on WRJN

9. Fibber McGee and Molly radio program (sponsored by S C Johnsons Wax) broadcast from Memorial Hall

10. Downtown stores -Zahns, Fantles, Racine Dry Goods,(had elevators) and Penneys, Sears, Fish Furniture, Eitels, Thrifty Mac, Gosieskis Music, Lulevich Jewelry, Mezinis Photography, Ace Pool Hall, Thrifty Sandys (Very nice Lionel Train Store )

11. Reflecting ponds on Monument Square

12. A&W Root Beer stand and carhops on 12th Street

13. Kewpies hamburgers for 25 cents and root beer for a nickel

14. Dutch Maid ice cream shops on Wisconsin Ave and Washington Ave

15. The Spot ice cream store at 11th and Herrick, Cho-Chos ice cream push-ups, Sammy ice cream bars

16. Public Fruit Markets on Main, 6th Street and Washington Avenue

17. Telephone numbers that began with Jackson and Prospect

18. Operators who connected calls before dial phones

19. Racine Zoo concerts by the Park Board Band on Sundays in the summer

20. The UW-Racine Extension Center Student Union in Memorial Hall

21. Post Prom Dances with big bands such as Stan Kenton and Count Basie

22. Friday night dances with Jim Frosethas band at the Y at 4th and Wisconsin after high school football and basketball games

23. Formal dances at South Hills Country Club

24. North Shore Metroliners and the Chicago NorthWestern

(North Shore Electroliners plus North Western passenger trains, per Dennis Mayer)

25. Interurban from Kenosha to Milwaukee operating along Wisconsin Ave., Main Street, State and Douglas

26. Railway Express Agency delivery trucks

27. Wind Point submarine races

28. Perch fishing off the north or south piers

29. Horlick Field football games on Saturdays between the four junior high schools-McKinley, Washington, Mitchell and Franklin

30. Ice skating in the Park bowl and warming shed at end of Valley Drive

31. Tobogganing at Washington Park, sledding down Chicago Street hill.

32. Tennis courts behind Park High

33. Park Center Swimming Pool

34. Washington Park ski jump

35. Pizza restaurants Charlies, Brushas (pencil sketches courtesy of Flint Morrison) and Natales

36. All you can eat chicken at Kilbourn Gardens

37. Scooping the loop down Main Street and turning around after the bridge at W. H. Pugh station

38. The Three-mile Reef Lighthouse and harbor fog horns

39. Blue suede shoes or bucks, charcoal trousers (pegged at 14 inches), pink shirt and blue sport coat

40. Old Horlicks Dam/ Horlicks Malted Milk plant

41. Water tower along Chicago NorthWestern tracks at 9th Street

42. Howell and Franklin Schools

43. Friday night dances for junior high students at the Washington Park recreation center, admission 10 cents

44. Two way traffic on Sixth and Seventh Streets

45. Nash, Crosleys, Packards, Studebakers, Kaiser, Frazer, Hudsons, Plymouths, Metros, Edsels and fins on practically every car in the late 50s

46. Old Abe Eagle atop a post at the J I Case Clausen Works

47. Herrick Mansion, Herrick Avenue and Herrick Hill to Uptown

48. Danish Beer Gardens and Chris, the bartender, on Four Mile Road

49. Tony Rondonis bar with musical wine bottles

50. Bricks on Washington Avenue, College Avenue

51. Smelt fishing by lantern light off Herrick Ave. bridge

52. Shadow of a nude from a tree near Villa

53. Elks Lodge on 6th Street overlooking Lake Michigan

54. Don Hutson’s Chevrolet dealership at the foot of 5th Street

55. Coal boats unloading at Pughs dock

56. Coal trucks and dusty coal bins in basements

57. Horse drawn milk wagons from Progressive Dairy, also Mari Gold and Harmony dairies

58. Student nurses dorm at the Bendstead Mansion across from East Park

59. Pokornys Drug Store at 4th and Main

60. Durango’s Pizza on Main Street and on High Street

61. Journal Times paperboys

62. Gen. Douglas MacArthurs speedy visit through Racine in 1952

63. Wisconsin Highway 42 re-named to Highway 32, three lanes wide (passing lane was also called suicide lane.)

64. Gasoline at 16 cents a gallon

65. The cannon at Washington and 12th to keep the Danes in West Racine and the band shell for weekly concerts in the summer

66. Horse drawn rag collectors going up and down alleys

67. Garbage incinerator behind City Hall

68. City dump on Lake Michigan at foot of 6th Street

69. Police Headquarters on 3rd Street

70. Natural gas storage tanks and coke factory on lake front

71. The Egyptian mummy in the museum located in the court house

72. Manufacturing jobs at Hamilton Beach Osters, Andis Clippers, Rainfair, Massey Harris (later Massey Fergusen), Young Radiator, Western Printing, Jacobsen, Belle City Malleable, Hamilton Beach, Haban Mfg., Gordon Machines, Hartman Mfg. Co., Dremel, Lakeside Malleable Castings Co., Racine Boiler and Tank, Jacobson-Lawn Mowers, Green Mfg, Modine Mfg, Walker Mfg plus many other smaller Companies that were taxed out.

73. Saturday night Stock Car racing at Horlick Field (per Dennis Mayer)

You have to be older than 60 to remember many of these events and milestones!

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More Memories — by Jon Aceto, December 2010

4. Reggie’s Kiddie Land as well, with mini roller coaster after the roller rink “burned down”

5. Skating on Root River above Horlick’s Dam where there was also another Kiddie Land on Rapids Drive.

6. Don’t forget the Granada off Douglas Ave on Charles or the Rex which became a bowling alley on Main. The Venetian and Uptown had Live Wurlitzer Organs played during intermission for the Saturday Kiddie shows –$0.25 for 3-4 serials (Lash LaRue, Flash Gordon, King of the Rocket men), lots of cartoons, and a cowboy movie—what a deal. A kid with 50 cents could take the bus, see the show, buy popcorn (Maybe jujubes or Blackjack gum?) and ride back home.

7. I recall WRAC’s Saturday program being called “The Melody Nuthouse” I appeared on it one day in about 1953. The crazy MC’s ‘sold’ me the program.

10. Zahn’s had elevator operators, “Going up!”

16. Farmer’s market on West & Marquette Saturdays in the summer.

18, “Number playeeze.”

19. Skating on the Zoo pond in winter.

22. I think his name was Froseth.

24. Metroliners gave you a transfer for Chicago and Milwaukee public transportation. I used to go to Milwaukee to see the Braves. The State Street Trolley, yeah, trolley, took us to County Stadium.

There was also a tiled tunnel connecting the N-bound & S-bound 400 stations (cool in summer) at the Northwestern station.

Locomotives on the Northwestern were soot and steam before diesels.

The NW crossing gates were pumped by hand by guys in elevated towers along the tracks 24/7.

28. Beside fishing off the piers, sometimes there was a jump off the pier into the harbor for an impromptu swim when they weren’t biting. (Add fishing for ‘crabs’ in Island park beforehand for bait for fishing: 10 cents of liver, some string and some patience). If you had a boat, you could fish off the Reef Lighthouse when it was still manned by the Coast Guard.

30. Skating at Albert Park, Marquette Park and others…with warming houses and guys who’d sharpen your skates.

35. A note on Brusha’s: it had been my Grandfather’s (Sam) bar/restaurant/store; my parents ran the grocery store in the 1940’s there; he sold to the Brusha’s (we lived right next door).

46. Inside the building behind Old Abe was the Case Agricultural Museum..free..mostly Case implements produced by Jerome Increase’s company.

51. Smelt fishing off the jettees a Shoop park, too, in spring.

59. Homer Dary’s Pharmacy with Soda Counter (Red Cross Pharmacy on State Street and Pokorney’s had one, too) where you could get a copper mug of rootbeer for $0.10..or even better a “Suicide”…sugar rush, anyone? Woolworth’s also had a lunch counter (sandwiches = 50¢; malts = 25¢; banana split = 39¢; coke was a dime).

71. Mrs. Trumbull was the curator. She knew the provenence of every item in the NW corner room on the 1st floor, just past the switchboard operator. Free, too.

Memorial Drive used to be called Forrest Street.

Other reminiscences:

Belle City Foundry…lots of work and pollution just south of Horlick Field. Used to watch the Belle City Belles play there (League of Their Own).

Hartman Trunk on Hamilton W of RR tracks made luggage—now a prison.

The Library moved from its old classic Carnegie building on Main and 7th to the lakefront location. You could go out on the terrace for a cig break

Lincoln Elementatry K-6 school wasn’t always a condo.

The “Y” moved from 4th & Wisconsin to the lakefront in the ’60’s. Co-Rec sponsored swimming, games, dances when I was in high school.

Batten Field was Horlick Airport.

The Theater Guild Playhouse in the abandoned church on High Street & Erie.

“Boy Scout Woods” off W High St. that extended from the Country Club to Lincoln Park. Hiking and day camping. Yeah, swimmin’ in the River, too.

The Guild Galleries in Porters was understaffed. My classmates & I used to eat our lunches there in luxury.