It
is hard to imagine, even for an old fart like myself who grew up in the
Chicago Suburbs and remember when there were great expanses of “prairies”
(vacant lots) when I was a kid, how much the Chicago area has
changed.
REA
is a good example…..the UPS and FEDEX of the day, REA used to do a great
business and was an integral part of many people’s lives. Ditto,
at a little earlier era, local freight service in the Suburban
territory. And, going back even further, Milk Service and
support for farm products, both inbound and outbound, even including what is
now within the City of Chicago.
While
“commuter” service is strong on the Aurora-Chicago line, the railroad used
to be more important for people getting into the city in general and for
city folk to get out of the city to escape the heat and get some fresh
air.
I
was surprised the last time I took Route 34 to see how urbanized it
is…..nothing but SUVs and Shopping Centers all the way past
Sandwich!!!
Looking
at Chicago proper and all the suburbs and close-in cities and seeing where
there were once industries employing people making goods one has to wonder
about where we are in these times and if we didn’t make a wrong turn
somewhere along the way…..
Charlie
Vlk