A TIME LIKE NO OTHER

Dad was a lifelong fanatic when it came to taking home movies. The countless reels of film he took span a time frame from the late 1930’s to the late 1970’s. I always enjoy viewing these old movies showing day-to-day life and special occasions such as: birthdays, weddings, holidays, and my personal favorite, St. Joseph Tables. The real kick in watching these old movies is seeing family, friends, our old neighborhoods, vintage cars and us kids growing up right on the screen. Like most Italian families, ours was top heavy with aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends we considered as ‘extended family’. The sad part in watching these old movies was knowing that most of these friends and relatives have passed on. On this occasion, while viewing Dad’s home movies, I was paying special attention to the scenes depicting our old neighborhoods on the near west side of Chicago. I could see the homes we lived in, the cobblestone streets with their trolley tracks and friends I used to pal around with. As I reflected on each neighborhood, powerful images of people and events came to mind as I remembered a childhood long past. I decided to re-visit these neighborhoods and see if I could find my old haunts. Armed only with images from Dad’s home movies, and a general idea of where our houses were, I started my journey. I never could have imagined that my quest would transport me back in time more than 60 years and I would become a Time Traveler.

Charles Rini is a retired Computer Systems Analyst who was born and raised in a tight knit Italian family in the Lincoln Park and near west side areas of Chicago. He has vivid memories of what life was like as a kid growing up in the late 1940’s through the 1950’s in this wonderful, old Chicago neighborhood. A period of time he considers ... the best there was, or ever will be.