My earliest memories of the "L" date from when I was around 4 years old. At the time, we lived in Evanston on Sherman Avenue (near St. Francis Hospital), and on Saturdays we would board the "L" at South Blvd. to go shopping in downtown Chicago. I remember the stairwell to the platform, which was dark, damp, and had a strong urine smell. I remember the cemetery which the trains would pass shortly before descending underground. I remember riding "shotgun" in the single seat at the front of the train. And I remember the decals which were applied underneath the (openable!) windows, which originally said:

"Please do not put head or arms out of window."

Being of that young and scatological age, I took particular delight in the handiwork of some clever individual(s) who had scratched away strategic portions of some of those decals, resulting in the admonition:

"Please do not p out of window."

I also remember the gawdawful screeching of wheel upon rail as the cars rounded the curves, especially the big curve surrounding the Howard St. yard; that sound was piercing and could be heard for blocks. Just northwest of the Howard yard (on the other side of the "L" and C&NW tracks) was a park where I used to play. There I was often treated to the CTA Steel Symphony.

One Sunday, when I was about 9, I somehow got separated from my parents during a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry (probably due to a refusal on my part to come when called ;-). After searching for them for a while, I gave up and started back towards home on my own. Having no real concept of the distance involved (some 22 miles), my first bright idea was to walk; I knew that all I needed to do was follow Lake Shore Drive and I would eventually get back to Evanston. Simple, right? It wasn't long before I had a better idea. I managed to find an "L" station (don't ask me which one!), paid the fare, and took the train home. I don't remember if my parents were angry at me or not...

In January, 1975, halfway through my 5th grade year, our home was damaged by fire and was subsequently torn down. This naturally forced us to move, and I began commuting to Miller School on the "L", initially between Dempster and Foster, and the following year (after another move) between Central and Main. I seem to recall the fare being around 35 cents; there may have been a student discount. I remember the spiffy new "bicentennial" cars - those were my favorites.

My most memorable experience happened a couple years later. As my friend and I were riding a northbound "L" train in Chicago, we had the misfortune to be stuck - alone - in the last car with a couple of members of the Gaylords street gang. They were busily drawing some graffiti inside the motorman's cab with magic markers when they noticed us. A few tense moments ensued: they demanded to know "what you lookin' at?" and generally tried to provoke a fight. Cream-puff suburban boys that we were, we didn't try to duke it out with them; when the train stopped at Howard, we ran out of the still-opening blinker doors and disappeared down the stairs like bats outta hell. I don't think they tried to follow us; perhaps they were laughing too hard to give effective chase.

It has been some 15 years since I lived in Evanston and rode an "L" train, but I still have (mostly ;-) fond memories.

It's good to know that someone appreciated us being there. Wish we were a bit wiser and be able to do more than just fight for a neigborhood with a battle, and we could've fought for them with our minds instead. Just goes to show that what we were lacking back then, we have today. But the day has come and gone, and so is the hood.

Peace, Love & Honor

Tell them Ironworkers the GLN says, hey.
Just keep building higher and stronger, make us proud!

Subj: awesome web site
Actually was looking up any info on SCR`s from my old neighborruled the hood, Rogers Park. When I came across this site. I can remember coming out the front door place on Greenleaf and Western and seeing a whole wall covered with Gaylord slogans. It said something like what I saw on the site. Welocome to our town where the fork goes down, something like that. The dumpsters they stood on to spray paint it were still on the side walk. The very next morning it was all covered in blue Cambell and Lunt SCR`s slogans. I was never in a gang myself, but did manage to rack up a couple felonies for residential burglary in Skokie. I was 18 and spent the first day of spring till the last day of summer in division 4 of Cook County jail. The judge told me the next step was prison I knew I wasn`t tuff enough for prison and besides a DUI I have never been arrested since. But over the years I`ve heard a lot about Gaylords and their legacy. I`m a Union Ironworker here in Chicago and there`s a lot old timers from the Northside. They told me a lot of stories I never believed till I saw this web site. When I was young I knew a Royal from Farwell and Clark named Hayes who was murdered. And a tall blond girl named Jennifer who disappeared. I also knew some of th Cambell and Lunt Royals but they were`nt really like a gang. They just drank and got high in Rogers Park next to the school every night. But the Gaylords were oviously the real deal. They would have been able to recruit me back then no problem As I wasn`t too smart and just wanted to belong to something. I cant imagine white kids living at Lawndale and Fullerton, it`s all hispanic. And now the yuppies are moving west, so far their up to Western Ave. I remember going to a school for messed up kids just north of Peterson on California. It was in a 3 story apartment building. I went to school with kids from group homes (Cambell house etc.), and a tall skinny kid named Pete had Gaylord business cards. Also had Royals, Insane Popes, and Chicago Party Boyz. But the Gaylords ones were the coolest one, and most professional. I cant wait to tell some of the older Ironheads from the old hood about this site tomorrow. Hell if my Dad was alive he would have appreciated it. It really tells a story about a Northside that's no longer exists. White blue collar neighborhoods. Where the gangs got into fight more then anything, and maybe did some grafitti. But they were`nt slinging crack and shooting innocent bystanders. Whatever you do keep this site alive. I`d like to show my son some day what the neighborhoods were like when his father and grandfather grew up there.

I WENT TO HAUGAN FROM 66 TO 74 AND I REMEMBER GAYLORDS HANGING ON THE N.E. CORNER AND I'D WOULD NEED TO PASS YOU TO GET HOME FROM DRINKING BEERS AT MY BUDS HOUSE ON MONTICELLO AND WILSON.YOU NEVER REALLY GAVE ME A HARD TIME,JUST ASKED FOR SOME SPARE CASH AND WHEN I SAID NO YOU GUYS WOULD CHASE ME DOWN TO AVERS AND LET ME GO.I LIVED ON WILSON AND KARLOV , KINDA IN THE MIDDLE OF THINGS.WE WERN'T IN ANY GANG BUT THAT WAS OUR CORNER AND WE HELD IT.I REMEMBER HAVING A COUPLE RUN INS WITH THE POPES "CRAZY EDDY" BUT THAT WAS NOTHING MAJOR.BUT SCR WAS ANOTHER STORY,THEY WE REAL AZZHOLES...........