Tom Sullivan Describes the Area Where he Grew Up

Excerpt from Thomas A. Sullivan's Memories, March 4, 1994.

Tom begins his 12 page "Notes About Things I Remember - Mostly Trivia" noting that the write up has been requested by his grandsons.

"I was born at home on Fillmore Street in the Westside of Chicago, in the upper of a two-flat owned by my grandmother (maternal [Bessie Thompson Madigan]).  It was a true 'back of the yards' neighborhood.

"We faced north.  In our long block from the east:

• St. Louis Ave, going west
• An empty lot
• The Pattons, a little brick home with three generations of widowed or unmarried ladies
• Our brick two-flat
• An empty lot
• The Maloneys, four rough-necked boys and a girl
• A yard owed by our city ward for storage of trucks and maintenance equipment
• A saloon
• Central Park Avenue

"On the north side of Fillmore street, facing south:

•  A City pumping station for water
• More City Ward equipment
• A swimming pool
• A factory making screens
• Homan Ave.
• This is a two block stretch as St. Louis ended at Fillmore

"Behind the above is the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad tracks and behind it a multi-storied Sears Roebuck building that stretched the two blocks from Central Park to Homan Avenues.

"None of this is meaningful to anyone but me -- I spent the first ten years of my life here, and here Helen was born, at home, on 3/11/14.  This was the Center of my Universe."

 This Google Maps shows were 3511 W. Fillmore was located.

Tom Sullivan's Memories of Fillmore Avenue, 1908-1918

Excerpt from Thomas A. Sullivan's Memories, March 4, 1994.

My Early Life - 3511 W. Fillmore Avenue, Chicago

"My Father had a workroom in the basement of Fillmore Street and he formed a number of things out of pipe. He had a crude ability for woodworking but metal was his forte.  I remember him making a wide swing on the second floor porch where we lived.  I must have been about three as I could just stand and look out the kitchen window while he worked.  This is the earliest memory I have.

"When they built the swimming pool across the street I was about seven.  A friend of my Father's was in charge and I used to go over every day and play along the edges of the pool.  One day he asked me if I wanted to learn to swim.  I greed and he threw me in.  I thrashed around and nearly drowned.  He had to jump in clothed and pull me out.  That ended his interest in me.  I still hung around until the job was done but he ignored me.  Guess he thought I didn't try.

"Another memory - one day my Father and I took Helen to Garfield Park in he buggy.  He was sitting on a bench at the top of a hill while I pushed the buggy.  Suddenly the buggy got away and rolled down the his dumping Helen in the pond.  My Father raced down and fished her out, ruining his shoes, trousers and the rest of the day.  I must have been eight.

"In my first year I went to Our Lady of Sorrows School because they had a bus.  I was five but good at spelling because of my Mother's efforts at home before that time.  I used to place second in all the spelling bees after a girl who had a lock on first.  all through grammar school there always was some girl who would beat me at most subjects, tho I generally was among the top boys.

"My second and third year where at a "German" school a few blocks from home.  For some reason my folks didn't like it so fourth, fifth and sixth were at St. Agatha's about a mile from home - where I was baptized.  I used to walk there in the morning, back and forth at noon, and home in the P. M.

"It didn't help much, I was still a fat kid.  The Jews were just starting to move into the neighborhood.  When we walked in orderly class lines from the school to the church they threw pennies out the window and pandemonium developed.  After a couple of instances the kids were threatened with eternal damnation if they didn't stay in line so the Jews gave up.  We had the B.V.M. sisters who prided themselves on teaching so my seventh and eighth grade3s at St. Thomas Aquinas were a breeze.  We had moved to Latrobe Ave. by then.

"To wind up Fillmore Street - Ruth [Rooney] would come to visit from Denver a couple of times a year.  Her Father worked for the Santa Fe Railroad so he would get some sort of a deal for his family when he traveled.  Ruth was bound to make a gentleman of me: tipping hat, ladies first, men walk on the outside, etc.  My Mother was strict on table manners but didn't bother with other things, but Ruth made up for it."

 Ruth Rooney and Tom Sullivan, c1910.

 From Helen Sullivan McIntyre's Album.  Photo entitled "Pals"

Helen remembers Tom when they were young

Helen writes in The Story of a Lifetime: The Personal Memoirs of Helen Sullivan McIntyre about when Tom and she were young:

Tell about your brothers and sisters and your relationships with each of them when you were little.

I just had a brother called Tom.  He was 5 1/2 years older than me.  We didn't do too much together.  He always seemed so grown up.  Although I did remember when I was about 6 we would play down in the basement.  We'd fill the double wash tub with water and sail home made boats.  My tub was the Atlantic Ocean and Tom's was the Pacific Ocean.

I also remember when I was in second grade and Tom was in eighth grade at St. Thomas Aquinas School, I became sick to my stomach and the nun said I should go home.  She said do you have any friends or relatives in the higher grades that could walk you home.  I thought and thought, finally I said I know Joe Differman in 8th grade.  So she had him brought down to my room and he took me home.  He was a good friend of Tom's.   When Tom got home he was mad and asked me why I said Joe and not him.  I said, "Oh, I forgot you were in 8th grade!"  He sure thought I was dumb!

We also had some white rabbits in cages in the back yard.  We never cleaned their cages and sometimes forgot to feed them and a couple died.  My Father got disgusted and opened the cages and let the rest run away.  We were upset - but had no more rabbits.

What other memories would you like to share?

Tom was in 8th grade at St. Thomas Aquinas and I was in 2nd grade.  He was an altar boy at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.  One day the altar boys were told to bring their cassocks home to be washed and ironed.  When I saw my Mother ironing this pretty, white lacy thing I thought she had made me a new dress.  I wanted to wear it.  She told me it wasn't mine, it was Tom's  I started to cry.  I said "Why is Tom getting a new dress and not me?"  My Mother tried to explain why, but I still was jealous.

My Mother always had Christmas Eve with all her relatives.  We always had the biggest real tree ever but there was never any presents put under the tree until Santa Claus came.  When it was time for him to arrive, Tom and I were told to go and wait in the kitchen, a bit later we would hear the doorbell ring and a few minutes after that we were called back into the living room and there was loads of presents under the tree.  One Christmas Eve we were waiting in the kitchen and the bell rang.  I said "Oh that's Santa Claus!"  Tom said " There is no Santa Claus, That's Mother ringing the bell.  Then she hurries upstairs and puts all the presents under the tree."  That was when I didn't believe in Santa Claus anymore!