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Chicago vignettes
Readers who want to grasp the mood of Chicago in the late Nineteenth-century should reach for this book. George Ade captures the city's beat and pulse, its fabric and nature, and the diverse atmospheres across the wide spectrums of society and ethnicity. Originally published as Stories of the Streets and Town by the Craxton Club in 1941, the book is a collection of fifty-four short stories, culled from over a thousand, which first appeared as a regular feature in The Chicago Record from 1893 to 1900. During those years the newspaper also carried Finley Peter Dunne's famous philosophizing bartender, Mr. Dooley. While Dunne's topics were often national in nature, Ade's were of a local quality. Still, the two had similar characteristics and reflect the taste of Chicago's reading audience during the Gay '90s. Chicago Stories is well illustrated with many sketches by John T. McCuthcheon, who appears to have been well known in Chicago during that era and likewise provided drawings for Dunne's Mr. Dooley articles. Ade uses a variety of writing tactics to capture the scene. Many stories feature fictional characters while others simply describe a scene or atmosphere. In one story, "Small Shops of the City," he gives a vivid description of tiny and narrow shops squeezed between larger buildings, "...tunnels plugged at both ends...." A bakery, a laundry, and other businesses are described. One can almost detect the odors emanating from the tiny industries. Vehicles Out of the Ordinary describes some unusual venders and their wagons. Included are a waffle man, a cobbler, and even a portable church, replete with organist. "In Sidewalk Merchants and their Wares" we get a glimpse of the travails and hardships street hawkers endured. While some garner tidy profits (oft-times selling horribly shabby products), many compel Ade to wonder how they manage to exist at all. And the pretty little dancing and singing "ragamuffins," who once were attractive novelties, are now "as bold and bothersome as English sparrows." Social class is a repeating theme throughout the book. In "Some of the Unfailing Signs,"Ade details how to determine the social rank and vocation of any man. Telegraph operator, railroad man, alderman, lawyer, or even anarchist a man's mode of dress and habits clearly classify him, according to Ade. "A Young Man in Upper Life" and "From the Office Window" give rather drab observations of men supposedly climbing the ladder in the business world. But "In the Advantage of being Middle Class," Ade makes a clear case that middle class folks enjoy life to a higher degree than the upper crust with their self-imposed limitations on behavior. In "After the Sky-Scrapers, What?", Ade offers his sardonic views on the rapidly changing Chicago architecture scene. "The Junk Shops of Canal Street" offers a disheartening scene for the Russian Jews who lived and existed there, yet Ade assures us that their "frugality and untiring industry" will see the next generation "do business in tall brick buildings like those on Van Buren Street." Other diverse topics covered are Chicago politics, old canal days, tavern life, and the venders at Haymarket. A parade of interesting fictional characters stream through the book. There is "Min Sargent," an aggressive secretary applicant who backs down the hardboiled boss; "Pick" is an African-American shoeshine boy who dreams of winning big in the numbers games; "Sophie," a servant girl, goes romancing during her Sunday afternoon off while observing all the unwritten rules. And there is the poignant story of Olaf Lindstrom, whose Norwegian ancestry gives him a strong instinctive pull to the sea. Olaf suffers his wife's wrath and his fellow Lutheran church members scorn to go fishing on one single Sunday morning each year. On the other hand, the surprise ending of "Mr. Benson's Experience with a Maniac " leaves the reader laughing. There are a few stories that seem farfetched and a little zany as they describe the antics of a hypnotic boy journalist and a boy inventor. However, as Ade notes, they were written for the younger members of the family and, while a little strange to the modern reader, the heroes are no zanier than Harry Potter will seem a 100 years from now. Stories of Chicago is a delightful and easy book to read. The University of Illinois Press is to be commended for republishing this Chicago gem. Stu Fliege 22 |Illinois Heritage |
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