WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME

As WWII ended the nation rejoiced and echoed the old Civil War song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, Hurrah, Hurrah”. Celebrations took place throughout the land. The Stars and Stripes was flown proudly and the pride and patriotism was seen throughout the land. Happy Days Were Here Again.

The transition from wartime to peacetime was about to begin. What was once a male dominated work force was about to change. Through their hard work and efforts women were now competing for the jobs previously occupied by men. The factories began to hum and produce the much needed and desired domestic goods: refrigerators, automobiles, furniture, clothes... After years of shortages the stores were stocked and meeting consumer demand. I remember a neighbor who waited a year for his new Ford Coup. It was a beauty, bright shiny red... Within days it was stolen. It was heartbreaking to see this man’s happiness turn to anger and sorrow... I guess you can never eradicate evil. Our household participated in the change by buying a refrigerator and saying good by to the ice box. We got a used gas heater for the kitchen to replace the coal stove.We purchased a radio and phonograph. We ran out to buy the latest 78rpm hits: Julida Polka, Jedzie Boat, Too Fat Polka, Helena Polka, Czy Jak Ta Dzywiecyna and others. Yes, we liked Those Polkas! Oh, by the way, we did buy popular records.

My sisters were now getting older and starting to date. They’d go polka dancing to the ballrooms and picnic groves. They ‘d go to Polonia Ballroom and Grove, Pulaski Village, Veterans Hall, Wozniaks, Trombas and Natomas. There were plenty of dance halls in the 40’s. This is were the Polish Boys went to meet the Polish Girls. This was also the Big Band era, they would go to the Aragon or Trianon Ball Rooms to listen and dance to Eddie Howard, The Dorsey Brothers, and Wayne King. For movies they went to neighborhood theatres or Downtown too the Chicago, Oriental, State Lake Theatres where they watched live performances presented by big bands, singers and comedians. It was like vaudeville. I remember going to the Chicago Theatre to watch a James Cagney movie, the one were he pushes a grapefruit in the girls face. After the movie, we enjoyed the big band sounds of Guy Lombardo or Carmen Cavarello.

After the war couples started to marry and it was the start of the baby boom. It was a time when people married within their own nationality and religion. It was frowned upon for a Pole to marry someone that was not Polish or Catholic. Everyone in my family, aunts and uncles, married Poles. The only non compliant one was my brother who married an Italian girl. Most of our weddings took place at Holy Trinity Church on Noble Street. This was the time of the famous Polish Weddings. The couples rented a hall, hired Polish cooks, bought the food and drinks, and hired a Polka Band. For food there was chicken soup, chicken, golambki, Polish sausage, mash potatoes, kapusta, a salad, coffee, and kolaczki. The wedding cake was taken home. The cooks were the best. The halls were situated so that you had dancing on the main floor and dinner on the lower level. When it was time to eat, the band would strike up the Polish Wedding March and the Bride and Groom would invite and lead the guests to the dining area. After dinner the bar would open and dancing would begin. The bar would be manned by friends and relatives. The drinks would be beer, wine, straight shots, high balls and soda. Sometimes, someone would have too much to drink and fights would break out, or other foolish incidents would occur. I remember, at my eldest sister’s wedding, my brother and several friends took my brother-in-law’s car for a joy ride and were caught by the police. They were escorted back to the wedding where my brother-in-law talked them out of the situation.

In 1947 my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. It was a surprise party hosted by my sisters and brother. It was held at an old hall, Gutz Hall. It featured great home cooking by our Polish Cooks and the music of Joe Durlak. To this day I still listen to his renditions of Czy Jak Tak Dzywiecyna, Kuku Oberek and Young Fellows Waltz. It was like the typical Polish wedding with the Wedding March, dinner and dancing. My father was famous for his Russian Cossack Dance and entertained the guests with his energy and footwork. All the relatives and friends attended. In those days you invited your neighbors. It was like a block party. The Anniversary was held on a Sunday and on Monday we stayed home to rest and continue the celebration. My father went to work. He never missed a day of work.

The day after a Polish Wedding was called Poprawina, the Day After. It was a continuation of the celebration. The relatives would gather at the home of the bride or groom to visit and talk about the wedding. It was a time when the question, how much money (ile) did they collect was asked. We would enjoy the left over food and have a good time, talking and laughing about the crazy things that happened at the wedding.

One of the things I enjoyed after the war was watching the men, back from service, play 16” softball. After super I would go to Wicker Park School Yard to watch the games. The season lasted from June thru July. The two neighborhood teams were the Rippers and Wolves, My favorite was the Rippers. They wore red burgundy pants with white stripes. They were a solid team. I remember they had Gene at 1st, Whitey at 3rd and Mike at shortstop. Gene was a big guy who could hit the ball a mile. The playing field was covered with gravel and was surrounded by Damen, Schiller, Evergreen and Hoyne. Home plate was at Schiller near Damen. The school was about 200 feet from home plate and 50-60 feet from left field. It was like having a big fence in center field... A lot of home runs were hit on to the roof of the school. I remember Gene hitting one from Schiller to almost Evergreen Avenue. The Wolves wore Blue and Gold. I had a habit of watching the Wolves along the 1st baseline, until their pitcher, Johnny; a left hand hitter hit a line drive that hit me in the nose. .. I still can feel that ball and blood coming from my nose. The problem was that it didn’t happen once, it happened twice. I guess I didn’t belong on the 1st baseline. The teams would meet once or twice during the season. Sometimes, Joe Graboski played for the Wolves. They called him Bones. He was about 6-6 and played for the Chicago Stags and later the Philadelphia Warriors. Joe went straight from Tuley High School to play professional basketball with the Stags. The Rippers normally came out on top. The best games were when the Cats, a black team, came by truck to play the Rippers. This was the show down of all show downs. It was like the Yankees coming to play the White Sox. Two great teams squaring off in what was always a big money game. The Cats were so good they were unbeatable. If the Rippers beat them once or twice it was a miracle. The scores were something like 40 to 1 or 43 to 0. They were unbelievable and it was a joy to watch the teams and the respect they had for each other. I didn’t see any racism.

The young men playing softball were a great example for the neighborhood kids. Many of the men continued their education under the GI bill and went on to successful careers. It was there way of staying in touch with their buddies and relaxing.

Early in May the Polish Constitution Day was celebrated. It was on the first Sunday in May and started with mass at Holy Trinity Church and followed with a parade that proceeded down Augusta Blvd to Humboldt Park than to the Kosciuszko Statue, The statute had stood for years near North and California. Every year we would have lunch and run to watch the parade. We’d walk down Potomac Street to the park. There was always a packed crowd lining the parade route. Everywhere you would see Red and White Polish Flags and American Flags. A number of bands played as we watched former Polish soldiers march by. The Polish Ladies auxiliary were dressed in white outfits with Blue and red capes and blue hats. They would string out huge white sheets to collect money for Polish charities... My Uncle Miller marched in his Goral outfit, Mountaineer; he had his handy curved Polish Cane in hand. The parade ended at Kosziciuczko’s statue where a well known dignitary would speak. It was an enjoyable and memorable event that was looked forward too every year.

The end of WWII also marked the year that the Chicago Cubs battled the Detroit Tigers for the pennant. It was 1945 and the Cubs had such favorites as Phil Cavaretta, who batted 355, Stan Hack, Andy Pafko, Bill Nicholson, Lennie Murrelo, Claude Passeau, Hank Borowy and Hank Wyse who won 22 games. The Cubs were managed by Charlie Grimm, but lost in a 7 game series to the Detroit Tigers.

In 1948 Harry S. Truman ran for re-election against Thomas Dewey, former governor of New York. This was the year that the Chicago Tribune printed its famous headline that “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN”. Truman was the winner and continued on for four more years with his standby trademark, “The Buck Stops Here”.

Yes, Johnny had come home and we had returned to normal, unfortunately it was to be short lived. . In a few short years we would find ourselves in the Korean Conflict.

Join me next week on the Front Porch as we discuss the grammar school years.