Maywood, Illinois (Chicago, Mark: loans, transfer, to buy)

[ArbyOC]

I never lived in Maywood, but my family lived there for generations. They were staples in the community, as they owned a cleaners and hardware store.

My father would take me back to Maywood every so often when I was growing up. He always reminisced about the good times he had. He painted a Cleaveresque scene, with neighborhood kids playing ball, mothers chatting on the sidewalks, and fathers coming home in time for dinner with the family.

As we would leave our visit, my father would always sigh and say, "My, how times have changed." Perhaps he was referring to the run down neighborhood where he once lived, or perhaps it was the nearly deserted streets that he gazed upon with sadness.

A very sad tragedy occurred in my family when my cousin was gunned down in cold blood 2 years ago in our family store. Needless to say, I have no plans of ever visiting the ole family stomping grounds again.

Store owner killed in front of mother :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/258587,CST-NWS-mom15.article - broken link)

[promis1]

Originally Posted by arbyoc

i never lived in maywood, but my family lived there for generations. They were staples in the community, as they owned a cleaners and hardware store.

My father would take me back to maywood every so often when i was growing up. He always reminisced about the good times he had. He painted a cleaveresque scene, with neighborhood kids playing ball, mothers chatting on the sidewalks, and fathers coming home in time for dinner with the family.

As we would leave our visit, my father would always sigh and say, "my, how times have changed." perhaps he was referring to the run down neighborhood where he once lived, or perhaps it was the nearly deserted streets that he gazed upon with sadness.

A very sad tragedy occurred in my family when my cousin was gunned down in cold blood 2 years ago in our family store. Needless to say, i have no plans of ever visiting the ole family stomping grounds again.

store owner killed in front of mother :: Chicago sun-times :: Metro & tri-state (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/258587,cst-nws-mom15.article - broken link)

i pass that old hardware store every day on st. Charled rd. What a shame- i heard they were a great family that did everything for that area. Those damn animals that killed him should croak.

[bungalowdweller]

Originally Posted by ArbyOC

I never lived in Maywood, but my family lived there for generations. They were staples in the community, as they owned a cleaners and hardware store.

My father would take me back to Maywood every so often when I was growing up. He always reminisced about the good times he had. He painted a Cleaveresque scene, with neighborhood kids playing ball, mothers chatting on the sidewalks, and fathers coming home in time for dinner with the family.

As we would leave our visit, my father would always sigh and say, "My, how times have changed." Perhaps he was referring to the run down neighborhood where he once lived, or perhaps it was the nearly deserted streets that he gazed upon with sadness.

A very sad tragedy occurred in my family when my cousin was gunned down in cold blood 2 years ago in our family store. Needless to say, I have no plans of ever visiting the ole family stomping grounds again.

Store owner killed in front of mother :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/258587,CST-NWS-mom15.article - broken link)

I remember that your family tragedy was the talk of many in the community. It's a horrible loss and my prayers are with your family. It's families like yours that make many urban areas worth living in and until the animals are brought to heel, people will continue to take their businesses and families and run!

[Venom]

Originally Posted by mzpretty8

Maywood,IL
Maybe back then the town had some great qualities, but now, thats all down the drain. The community is very corrupted with the amount of drug trade, shootings, gangbanging, fighting, mainly crimes from young adults. 5th ave - 17th ave, madison and st.charles are all terrible. The town is somewhat raggity. The only escape is maybe Washington or over the bridge. Crimes seem to increase when the weather gets warm or when the holiday halloween comes. People just dont know how to act. As for proviso east. So terrible. If i could i wish that i didnt have to attend any of the Proviso's. Everyone uses West to get away from East and they use Central to get the highest education and best treatment. As for east, they have no money. They dont have paper, the teachers supply it. They ran out of soap before. The atmosphere is terrible. The news dubbed it Proviso Zoo. The text books are outdated so far thats spaces are running out to insert a new name. The security guards barely do their jobs. The secretaries arnt proffesional when they answer the phone if they even do. The student body is the absolute worst. Noone has respect at all. The females definetly dont respect one another and dont even have enough class to not be out hollering & fighting like boys. The boys have no respect and definetly pride but no integrity. Noone gets along. Everyday there's at least a few fights. Everyone drinks and smokes to have a good time and these days young boys just cant bare to go out unless there 'high' or 'drunk' and they cant bare a relationship without having sex. Maywood is terrible and i wouldnt recommend anyone raising their kids here. dont put them through it. Instead of having unessary classes like gym, proviso east needs uniform and etiquette/character classes. The young adults here are so terrible and noone is trying to help and this is mainly due to Maywood beings so messed up. Its a shame this town is dubbed the Austin of the suburbs, but yet there is a church on every other block how ironic.

Yeah... Proviso East is bankrupt.
I hate the stupid Seurity guards, they favorited people. They let them roam the halls when they where cool, but when I walked around with a hall pass they harassed me. And when the police officer was shot and killed, half the kids where glad. That is very disrespectful man. And when those three kids that got shot in the car that one time, they weren't even bad man. I knew them and honestly, they where not one of the bad ones. And also my distant cousin was shot at a gas station and robbed like two weeks ago.

I heard they're going to start building a couple complexes for stores and offices and put up cameras. I hope that stops or slows some of this down and creates jobs.

But in the end it's because people just don't care.... they pass that mentality on to the kids... and it just keeps going.

[BiSHGoD]

Hello.
I currently live in Ravenswood Manor but need to move somewhere central to downtown (for girlfriend) and Aurora area, for my work. She needs access to metra/el. We found a great house for rent in Maywood. It was a done deal but a few people we informed about the move were shocked we were going to Maywood. We have no children and don't go out a lot. My girlfriend would need to walk to and wait at the Metra stop, sometimes in the evening on special occasions.

The house is on the north end of Maywood, Erie and 4th Ave. Next to many historic houses. Is this a bad idea?

I thought Riverside would be a similar neighborhood. Would around the Harlem metra stop be a large improvement? Say Harlem and Quincy.

Thanks a lot!

[Max Stout]

I wanted to comment on some of the posts here, so please bear with me. I'd like to begin here:

"The young adults here are so terrible and no one is trying to help and this is mainly due to Maywood beings so messed up. Its a shame this town is dubbed the Austin of the suburbs, but yet there is a church on every other block how ironic."

I know it would be easy to pass along blame for this and other situations in Maywood, especially since I no longer live there, but that's not my intention. Instead, I would like to present a viewpoint that is much older than Maywood, yet so relevant that it could have been written today for all to discern:

2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days

1"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."

I highlight the 5th verse relative to the churches mentioned, the ones "on every other corner". I've seen these during my return trips to Maywood. They do indeed have a form of godliness, but they deny the power of God. In other words, they may do some good, but who is reaping the most benefit? Where is the courage that would provide hope in a community desperate for solutions?

7"always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone."

Bible prophecy does not mince words and Maywood is not unique in it's circle. Communities here in America and abroad are suffering through the same painful experiences.
So where is the hope?
In the heart, that's where.
And what can be done about that?
It's up to all of us to answer for ourselves.

Sure, it sounds like I'm preaching. Just another do-gooder. Another "holier than thou" type. Another church on still another corner.

But that's not it. What is "it", is that if you are seeking solutions you must first accurately and honestly identify the problem!

I hope that Maywood has the courage to meet it's challenges and recover from it's blighted condition.
I once knew two brothers, farm boys they were, who delighted in an older, badly corroded Ford convertible they purchased for next to nothing. The family indulged them while at the same time chuckling at the idea these lads had of restoring it to it's previous glory. Well, you can guess the "rest of the story". It took them several years of work, learning as they went (with many parts that came from J.C. Whitney and Warshawsky's), but they did it.
Now I know that Maywood and other communities like it are not old convertibles, nor are the issues the same. But there is a connection.
Attitude and determination in spite of adversity.



"Never was like that when the town was filled with whites, mainly Italians, over 50 years ago My, how things have changed for the worse."

Racial issues are not new to Maywood. 50 years ago I attended Irving school. I still remember a neighbor who worked at the Fisher Body plant in Stickney. He came to the door one evening with a petition. His attempt to get my mother to sign it failed. Had my father been home, I'm certain that the reaction would not be in the neighbors favor.
So what was the nature of the petition?
The neighbor was trying to organize the homeowners to rally together and not sell their homes to any prospective black buyers! Very few sold their homes back then, at least not in my neighborhood. There was talk though, of the paranoid type, the prejudicial type, the fearful type.
You can imagine the nature of it.
I was removed not long after that with many other white kids from Irving School that lived south of Madison Street in '57 (by the district)to attend Roosevelt in Broadview. I mentioned that in a previous post.
What the parents were saying, the kids would overhear.
Again, you know the rest.
What kinds of things did you hear?
What kinds of things are your children hearing?

Things happen for a reason, both good and bad.
However, change starts with you and I.

That's all I have time for now. I hope that you accept what it is I've written in the spirit in which I wrote it and quoted it. I wish the best for you all in Maywood and those that once resided there. Let your wounds heal remembering the essence of the Lord's prayer.

Forgiveness.


All the best from Max Stout

[otters21]

Originally Posted by Max Stout

I wanted to comment on some of the posts here, so please bear with me. I'd like to begin here:

"The young adults here are so terrible and no one is trying to help and this is mainly due to Maywood beings so messed up. Its a shame this town is dubbed the Austin of the suburbs, but yet there is a church on every other block how ironic."

I know it would be easy to pass along blame for this and other situations in Maywood, especially since I no longer live there, but that's not my intention. Instead, I would like to present a viewpoint that is much older than Maywood, yet so relevant that it could have been written today for all to discern:

2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days

1"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."

I highlight the 5th verse relative to the churches mentioned, the ones "on every other corner". I've seen these during my return trips to Maywood. They do indeed have a form of godliness, but they deny the power of God. In other words, they may do some good, but who is reaping the most benefit? Where is the courage that would provide hope in a community desperate for solutions?

7"always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone."

Bible prophecy does not mince words and Maywood is not unique in it's circle. Communities here in America and abroad are suffering through the same painful experiences.
So where is the hope?
In the heart, that's where.
And what can be done about that?
It's up to all of us to answer for ourselves.

Sure, it sounds like I'm preaching. Just another do-gooder. Another "holier than thou" type. Another church on still another corner.

But that's not it. What is "it", is that if you are seeking solutions you must first accurately and honestly identify the problem!

I hope that Maywood has the courage to meet it's challenges and recover from it's blighted condition.
I once knew two brothers, farm boys they were, who delighted in an older, badly corroded Ford convertible they purchased for next to nothing. The family indulged them while at the same time chuckling at the idea these lads had of restoring it to it's previous glory. Well, you can guess the "rest of the story". It took them several years of work, learning as they went (with many parts that came from J.C. Whitney and Warshawsky's), but they did it.
Now I know that Maywood and other communities like it are not old convertibles, nor are the issues the same. But there is a connection.
Attitude and determination in spite of adversity.



"Never was like that when the town was filled with whites, mainly Italians, over 50 years ago My, how things have changed for the worse."

Racial issues are not new to Maywood. 50 years ago I attended Irving school. I still remember a neighbor who worked at the Fisher Body plant in Stickney. He came to the door one evening with a petition. His attempt to get my mother to sign it failed. Had my father been home, I'm certain that the reaction would not be in the neighbors favor.
So what was the nature of the petition?
The neighbor was trying to organize the homeowners to rally together and not sell their homes to any prospective black buyers! Very few sold their homes back then, at least not in my neighborhood. There was talk though, of the paranoid type, the prejudicial type, the fearful type.
You can imagine the nature of it.
I was removed not long after that with many other white kids from Irving School that lived south of Madison Street in '57 (by the district)to attend Roosevelt in Broadview. I mentioned that in a previous post.
What the parents were saying, the kids would overhear.
Again, you know the rest.
What kinds of things did you hear?
What kinds of things are your children hearing?

Things happen for a reason, both good and bad.
However, change starts with you and I.

That's all I have time for now. I hope that you accept what it is I've written in the spirit in which I wrote it and quoted it. I wish the best for you all in Maywood and those that once resided there. Let your wounds heal remembering the essence of the Lord's prayer.

Forgiveness.


All the best from Max Stout

Well said. It is not the skin color that ruins neighborhoods, it is the dirtbags of any race who have no regard for others who destroys stable areas.

[Venom]

Autopsy: Forest Park teen shot to death - Chicago Breaking News (http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/06/officials-investigate-teens-death.html - broken link)

I was in school with this guy.
Didn't know him, but I saw him around
It was thought to be a motor accident, but it looks like he was killed.

[southsidehitman]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Oak Park police used to be known for their vigilance as well, but they seem to have their hands tied by a liberal-bending city government. They seem to forget how high crime got in Oak Park in the 80s and 90s. A few more crime waves like the one this past summer will put Oak Parkers behind their police force again, however! Robberies really skyrocketed in Oak Park and River Forest this past Summer, but things have settled down again. River Forest saw something like a 300% increase in armed robberies for a few months after several straight years of declines. I'm hoping this was an anamoly, and not a new trend.

oak park cops took my weed n let me go lol

[sweat]

I remember the hookers back then, and they were just following the coke trail that had a strong path on St. Charles