"OUR" PLACE - SEE NEW THREAD!

[Anonymous]

Good rainy morning again guys. You know, it occurs to this unworthy one, that the only to keep these Sunday pix days pages from creating loading problems, is to interject more text so there is less room for memory-stealing pictures. Make sense? In that spirit, here is another “pix” submission from me. I feel it’s also the type of story that’s completely in-line with commemorating the birth of an American city during this celebratory weekend.

Boxcar Camp: First Stop to American Dream

A fascinating cover story by Crystal Yednak in the Chicago Tribune on June 13 told about Senoblo Nila, a Mexican immigrant who settled in Eola (near Aurora, Il.) in 1923, and went to work with other Mexicans for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad at its scrap plant.

Mr. Nila and his co-workers persuaded the railroad to give them old boxcars, which they converted to homes. Soon, a neighborhood was born, and when the boxcar camp was dismantled in 1934, after the CB&Q cut back on the workforce at its scrap plant, many of the Mexican immigrants took apart the boxcars and used the lumber to help build homes in the area, which eventually helped form the city of Aurora.

Mr. Nila, now 105 years old, recalled the early days recently at a gathering that was part birthday party and part historical recollection for the Aurora Historical Society. Mr. Nila, with oversized glasses and white hair, still has a sharp memory. His son says he does not take any daily medication, and started using a walker only last year.

At the gathering, a small, partial exhibit of the boxcar collection was displayed. The boxcar camp had about 20 cars holding 135 people when it was complete, all lined up along the track near the railroad scrap plant, where the men spent their days. Imagination helped the mothers create warm kitchens in the one-room cars, and children to live their lives without noticing they were poor.

In oral histories that are part of the historical society’s collections, the families described how they transformed boxcars into homes. They fashioned kitchens in the center of the cars, around potbelly stoves. They filled pots of water from the faucets between each car. Curtains sometimes divided the living area from the bedroom area.

A report from the U.S. Dep’t of Labor in 1926 says that 22 married men who worked for the CB&Q’s scrap plant lived with their families in the boxcar camp. The report’s author wrote “The cars are kept clean, and at any time one can see a woman or two washing or scrubbing. Chickens, cats, dogs and children play together around the houses.”

The families built a church, played music after work, and watched their children play baseball on a makeshift diamond. Mr. Nila planted gardens, according to his son. After the camp was dismantled, the families moved to Aurora and together built homes for each other.

Today, Mr. Nila’s home features a plaque from the city of Aurora that’s reads “It began with you. It continues today with you. In recognition of the generations that were, and the generations to come. Aurora salutes the courage, spirit and will of the Nila family.”



Now …. Let’s check the progress of my son’s home as compared to mine.

Here’s his house, ready to move into on July 18th


Here’s my house, projected to be ready on October 6th.



[:I] I walked into a bar the other day and ordered a double.

The bartender brought out a guy who looked just like me. [:I]

[siberianmo]

Even though ”Our” Place is CLOSED on SUNDAY’s –
We do observe Sunday Photo Posting Day!


NOW PLAYING at the Mentor Village Emporium Theatre!

. . . Sunday, July 2nd thru 8th: 1776 (1972): starring: William Daniels & Howard Da Silva – and – The Patriot (2000) starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger & Joely Richardson. SHORT: Movie Maniacs (1936).


The Patriot (2000)

QUOTE: PLOT SUMMARY: The movie takes place in South Carolina in 1776. Benjamin Martin, a French-Indian war hero who is haunted by his past, is a patriot who wants no part in a war with Britain. Meanwhile, his two eldest sons, Gabriel and Thomas, can't wait to go out and kill some Redcoats. When South Carolina decides to go to war with Britain, Gabriel immediately signs up to fight...without his father's permission. But soon, Colonel Tavington, British solder infamous for his brutal tactics, captures Gabriel and sentences him to be hanged. As Gabriel is taken away, Thomas tries to free him, only to be killed by Tavington, in front of Benjamin. Now, seeking revenge for his son's death, Benjamin leaves behind his 5 other children to bring independence to the 13 colonies.
from: www.imdb.com



1776 (1972)

QUOTE: PLOT SUMMARY: The film version of the Broadway musical comedy of the same name. In the days leading up to July 4, 1776, Continental Congressmen John Adams and Benjamin Franklin coerce Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence as a delaying tactic as they try to persuade the American colonies to support a resolution on independence. As George Washington sends depressing messages describing one military disaster after another, the businessmen, landowners and slave holders in Congress all stand in the way of the Declaration, and a single "nay" vote will forever end the question of independence. Large portions of spoken and sung dialog are taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the actual participants.

from: www.imdb.com



Three Stooges Short Subject: Movie Maniacs (1936)

PLOT SUMMARY: Featuring Moe, Larry and Curly
The boys are stowaways on a train box-car filled with furniture bound for the "Hollywood Storage Co.," and they hope to break into movies together and become stars. They arrive at the Carnation Pictures Studios. Fuller Rath, the studio general manager, previously received a telegram from the Home Office telling him that a certain "Mr. Smith and his two assistants" will arrive to take over the supervision of the studios. He mistakes the Stooges as the executives and gives them free reign over the studios, where they proceed to disrupt and destroy the production of a romantic drama. Meanwhile, Fuller Rath receives a second telegram stating the executives won't arrive until later, at which he sends the studio guards after the Stooges, who beat a hasty retreat.

from: www.threestooges.net



If you are browsing, how about letting the guys know that you’ve enjoyed their efforts!


Enjoy![tup]


Tom [4:-)] [oX)]


REMINDER!
Sunday Photo Posting Day! is a “sunrise to sunset” event!

Happy Railroading! Siberianmo