Growing up in Chicago in the 60's

[kwhizz]

I grew up around Clybourn and Fullerton, "And"back then you had the "SUNDAY" radio ads about US 30 Dragstrip....LOL......that was cool...But.....some of the finest Drag Racing on Friday nights was right at the intersection of Racine and Clybourn......Man.....the racing would take place on Clybourn going north to the train tracks....at the time it was an Industrial area and was pretty much empty at night....but, Friday nights the crowds would show up and line the street....the crazy part was that this was just North from the Cabrini-Green housing projects.....now....lets be kind and say that you really didn't want to be in that area......(if you know what I mean)......But...On Friday & Saturday nights it didn't matter, we were all there to watch, or Race and there was never a problem.........I remember one of the Black guy's that was unbeatable down there....his name was "Big Ernie" and he had a dark blue 55 Chevy with a 327-375 hp fuel injected Corvette engine..(probably a store bought crate engine......Right!!)
This was in 66 and Ernie had no fear of any car or anyone....I remember that car when it was running had that Hissing sound...crazy,but I can still hear that thing....he never opened the hood so I assumed the air cleaner set-up was not on it....he later sold the car to the son of the guy I worked for at night at a gas station....he had the car one day and wrapped it around a telephone pole.....(Never got to see the engine)........Everything was "Crazy" down there.....cars would just line up and go with all the money stuff figured out ahead of time......
It seemed the Police would leave us alone till the crowds really started spilling into the street and then they would come and open up the Fire Hydrants to flood and wet the street down...
In all that "Stupidity"...I don't have any recollection of any major accidents of people getting hurt......
To drive down in that area now, it has been "Condoized" and nobody that lives there now would ever Imagine the Mayhem that took place there........Good Times and we were Lucky to make it thru them........