Adventure in Chicago

The wire story was out of Fort Wayne.
A group is pushing the idea of improved passenger rail service to Chicago.
And a flood of memories came pouring in.
Back about 1964 or 1965 or maybe even 1966, an October trip to the windy city was a regular item on my calendar.
In those days, the fall vacation from school was called “Teachers’ Institute,” a break from classes while teachers went to the equivalent of in-service training.
For students, it was a welcome break between the start of school and Thanksgiving.
For me, it was a chance to hang around the Loop, go to a bunch of first-run movies, and soak up the big city.
My brother Steve and his wife were living in Evanston at the time.
He was finishing work on his master’s in journalism from Northwestern University and working for United Press International.
Beth was teaching.
They’d married in 1964, but they were tolerant when I proposed visiting.
Here’s how it would work.
First, I’d get a substitute for my paper route, probably my buddy Don Starr.
Then on the Thursday morning of Teachers’ Institute, I’d catch an early ABC Coach Lines bus at the Vernon Schmidt Garage.
That was the last bus station in the days when Portland had inter-city bus service.
The bus, for a couple of bucks at the most, would take me north to Fort Wayne.
There, I’d land in a bus station in an uninviting neighborhood — not far from Parkview Field where the Tincaps play these days — and I’d walk a few blocks, with the morning still young and the sky still dark, to the Baker Street railroad station.
The station’s still standing, but it’s been a long time since it hosted a passenger train.
At the station, I’d catch one of the several trains a day to Chicago.
It was a pretty seedy ride. By the 1960s, passenger rail in the U.S. was already struggling. The seats were threadbare. The facilities were lacking.
But it worked.
I’d arrive at Union Station in early afternoon and immediately be dazzled by the place.
After all, I was probably 16, traveling alone, and making the transition from a rural county seat to one of the most dynamic cities in America.
I did my best not to make a fool of myself.
Though I probably could have figured out the buses, I found it easier to take a $1 cab ride from Union Station to Marshall Field, the legendary department store in the heart of the loop.
At Marshall Field, I’d plunk my overnight bag in a locker, which I rented for the day for the princely sum of 25 cents.
After that, I’d spend the rest of the day hanging out in the Loop. I’d wander through Marshall Field and its competitors. I’d browse in bookshops and record stores. I’d see movies that would never make it to the Hines.
And I’d gawk at the city like any small town kid who is given that opportunity.
At the end of the day, I’d retrieve my bag from the locker, get on the El in the basement of Marshall Field and head north to Evanston. There, I’d walk about four or five blocks to the house where Steve and Beth had a small apartment.
The next morning, I’d take the El back to the Loop and spend yet another day soaking up the city.
It was, in its own way, a series of amazing adventures.
Certainly it’s amazing, in retrospect, to realize how much freedom I’d been given by my parents. In all, I think I made the trip three Octobers in a row.
And if they can work out better passenger service to Chicago from Fort Wayne, I’d make the trip again.
But next time, I’ll skip the bus ride on ABC Coach Lines.[[In-content Ad]]