John "Cocky" Houston

My family owned and operated the first meat market at 5th & Brady in the 1870's, Peters' Market. My Grandmother Della was a Peters. She was first married to Frank Huschle. She and Frank owned a butcher shop on Collinsville Ave. where the Lyric Theater was. Later Johnny Perkins Bowling Alley. My Grandmother divorced Frank Huschle about 1905 when she married James Charles Houston from South St. Louis.

My father Jack Houston born in 1907 became a precinct committeeman in 1935 in old Precinct 12, East St. Louis. He built two baseball fields, one at 5th & Railroad, the other at South Fifth St. He was always so proud of the fact that none of the kids that played on his fields ever went bad or went to jail.

Many of the old landmarks of the city were still standing when I was a young boy in the South End.

Rock Road started behind Jimmy Major's Auto Repair & Garage at 4th & Rock Road. Following Rock Road East one would walk across the Southern Rail Road tracks (main line in those days) on up to Broadway; cross that street then go thru the school yard at St. Henry's, cross 6th St. and come out behind Brodhead Motors. Across St. Louis Ave. to 9th and Illinois Ave. We kids use to walk that route to Rock and East Side daily.

Fanny Peters and William Peters had a grocery store at 428 Brady, where all the housewives would meet for their daily gossip. Harry Zuke had a grocery store at South 4th Street. He also owned many buildings on 4th St. and Brady Ave.

St. Mary's at 4th and Converse and the drugstore at the other side of the street was Louis Muenterferring. Dr. Eisele had an office above the drugstore. Up the street was Ramapo Ajax, later Elliot's Frog and Switch at Main and Converse. The street car turned the comer there.

Down at 316 Trendley Ave. was the Red Onion. One of the first houses built in East St. Louis that wasn't on the old Island. The Red Onion stood until the late 1950's. Harry Bise had a store on Market Ave. in the 400 block. Sam Soffer was at 5th & Converse.

The City Park was at So. 5th Street to So. 6th Street from Market to Bond. A lovely park where people used to gather and chat and cool off. It had swings, sliding board, etc. and wading pool. A large drinking fountain was in the center of the park. In all these years I don't think I ever heard of a child or woman being bothered or molested. Those things just didn't happen. I'll always think that having the Valley and the Red Light district had to help the morals of our community.

The Franklin School at 7th and Bond had three floors. There was a teacher that taught the first grade by the name of Litener. She taught my grandmother at St. Henry's as a lay teacher before St. Mary's or St. Henry's had the nuns. She also taught my father and mother and my sister and 1. She retired about 1953 from the Public Schools.

When I was a young boy I saw them lay brick in the street. The world record was over 8000 in a day laid. A black man did it as I saw him working on those brick streets. The Genus Book of Records has it. Also I watched the levee west of Main Street being built. It was sand pumped into the area behind the old International Truck and Equipment building at Main and Southern tracks and west of Elliott's Frog & Switch building. They pumped it for a long time and it reached a height of 40 to 50 feet. Tracks were laid on top of the levee and went over the MacArthur Bridge, which used to be the old "Free Bridge."

All us kids used to fish in the Cahokia Creek. When it froze in the winter we would ice skate on the Big Four lake which sat by the Big Four Roundhouse.

When I was five or six, back around 1933, 1 watched my father fly a kite that had a tail 6 feet wide and 100 feet long. He had printed "CROW for MAYOR" on it. He flew it all over the downtown area about 500 feet over Collinsville Ave. It was a first, I really believe. Later airplanes flew tail advertisements. A lot of people claimed his kite was a first.

Who can forget Hodge's Chili Parlor, Dick Slack's, Collinsville Ave. at 2:30 A.M. on a weekday, back in 1941 till 1950. People were so thick on the sidewalks all the way from Broadway to St. Clair Ave. Most people can't remember Eagle Pitcher at St. Clair and Collinsville Aves.

There was as horse race track down in the South End past Piggott west of Route 3. 1 never saw it but I saw the foundations from where it had stood. And my earliest recollection of a White Castle hamburger was at 10th St. between Brady and Converse. Across the street from Bennett's Fish Restaurant, which was a classy place at 10th & Converse.

You could always find work. We had 15 to 20 major industrial sites. At one time Obear Nester employed 1400 people. One of the main reasons they closed was their absentee record. It had reached 35% daily.  Pageant of Progress Parade each year, Lady of the Lake at Pittsburgh Lake, the swimming pool that never opened. The familiar call "Locker Boy" at Jones' Park. Largest pool with a sandy bottom in the midwest. Some of these are things I often catch myself thinking about. Pat Van Horn's Tavern "Tuff Pinochle" ad in the Journal daily. Ladies not welcome. Remember??

As a child growing up around here we got to see the Air Ships from Scott Field. They were Navy Air Ships, not Air Force. We also got our "Knot Hole Cards". One for the Cardinals. One for the Browns. We also had our horse drawn milk wagon, ice wagon, rag and junk man. Every home, when we were kids, had an ice card in the window.

And Bank Night at the Majestic. Dish night at most of the other neighborhood shows. Our beautiful Knights of Columbus building. Kite flying contests, marble shooting champs, Halloween parade down Collinsville Avenue for prizes.

Paul Godt at the organ at the Majestic and Crazy Auction where the M.C. bought crazy things from the audience and sold hams, clocks, lamps, etc. that had been given to the theater by merchants on the "Avenue". The Hub Clothing. John Kriwanek next to the Avenue Theater. All the doctors were either in the Spivey Bldg., Murphy Bldg., 1st National Bank Bldg. or over a drugstore.

No shopping malls or medical complexes; cabs going out State Street, Rosemont, Washington Park. Or just call them on the phone at "East" 4600. Way before "Upton" or "Express" exchanges.

Call or write me, Ed, if I can think of anything else to help. Just write.