Deano, where abouts in Chicago are you? I lived in Berwyn as a little kid and spent summers in Oak Park. My great-grandpa (an O'Malley, of course) was a cop in the 14th predcint.
Were on the Southside, my wife Limerick knows Berwyn, somewhere near 22nd n Harlem ? Ive only been here since...
That's my old stomping grounds--Cermak Plaza. We lived just off 31st and Harlem. I was there last summer. There's a hot dog stand, Pete's, on the corner of Roosevelt and Ridgeland that I always visit when in town.
I hope your ewnjoying Chicago. I like going back for vacations, but doubt we'd ever move back.
Just a bit to go with the Hot Sauce. Found it while I was doing a bit of research on a dancer called Saharet who married the father of Peter von Frantzius.
I can't remember when I bought the double-record stereo LP set 'The Best of Frankie Lane' - but it only cost me AUD$4.99 at the time. The back of the cover (shown) is a bit worn now but the 2 vinyls are still worth a listen to. I think I might take a trip down memory "laine" later today if I get the chance. It doesn't take much of an effort to listen.
Some of the classic tunes included: Cool Water; Sixteen Tons; High Noon; Rawhide; Riders in the Sky; The Hanging Tree; Gunfight at OK Corral; I Believe - and 8 others that were typical FL hits at the time. Most of us 'more mature' music lovers will probably remember all of them.
Ya take sixteen tons, and whatta you get,
Another day older and deeper in debt,
St. Peter don't ya call me 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store.....
This song always makes me think of both of my grandfathers. They worked in the coal mines of southwest Virginia back when there were no unions and the workers lived in company houses in mining camps and were paid in scrip which could only be spent at the company store. My dad was born in a mining camp called Leona Mines, in a company house, attended by the company doctor. Leona Mines is no longer on the map.
G'Day Freckles - amongst my collection of odd money stuff I have 'Good For ...' scrip tokens from mining and similar company stores. I don't think I have anything from Leona Mining Co. West Virginia - but sometimes they had 'generic' scrip tokens from companies who specialized in supplying mine stores
Ingle - Schierloh Co. of Dayton, Ohio was such a company and they produced $1.00 Trade tokens.
A Mining company could have its name on the back if it wanted. In some areas it was the only form of money.
These Ingle tokens could be found all over the US during that era. It saved mining companies dealing in cash and the tokens usually could only be spent in the company store - although it is known that other authorized private stores would accept them at a discount.
This scheme was designed to keep the workers always in a state of debt to the company as they never had real money.
Hiya Lonnie - How cool that you have some of the old scrip, and yes, until the United Mine Workers union came along the mining companies pretty well owned the miners.
I need to clarify a few things from my previous post. My folks lived in Virginia, not West Virginia. The company they worked for was Virginia Iron and Coal Company. The name of the town was Leona Mines.
Hi Freck, Actually I worked that out as I was reading up about Leona Mines. There is a tiny bit on the Internet if you search - but I was having a very 'slow load' day yesterday and impatience got the better of me as I had other things to do.
I read a bit more in a book I have on Virginia Coal town tokens but it had no illustrations of anything from Leona Mines itself, only a notation that the old Virginia coal company tokens are selling to collectors at between 50c and $2.00.each (and upwards for rarer types)
I think that, as that company had holdings in several areas, they may have had a series of different value generic tokens made for them. I have found one from Blue Diamond Coal Co. - Leona Mines which appears to be dated 1941, which would give you an idea what these tokens look like.
That's cool, Lonnie - I've never seen any of these tokens before, and this one was issued around the time my dad was born! I probably I have some relatives who worked for Blue Diamond, I'll ask my folks.
LOL Obx - actually, my paternal grandfather was instrumental in getting the union established in the mines where he worked, though at the time it was a dangerous thing to do.
Hi obx - Yes! I had heard of them - being from Irish descent, as you are, I had little quiet reminders at times, from my older relatives, of the inherited baggage that their parents and grandparents carried around their shoulders and that we, the new generations, should keep our efforts for justice at a tolerable level and use legitimate means to attain our ends.
That's why our extended family has contributed a small but active political/social presence to my nation's well-being for several generations.
Here is something about the mysterious Molly Maguires for those who had never heard of them.
