Images: #TBT Gallery revisits unusual events 40 years ago
July of 1977 was obviously an unusual time. Kids used plungers to push chickens off tall ladders. Funny hat-wearing judges measured feline tails. Dozens of football helmets were dropped and pounded. Proud kazoo players marched in front of hundreds of admirers.
And nobody seemed to notice that a man wearing clean business clothing climbed a water tower to take photographs.
Daily Herald photographers recorded it all and we get to relive the weird moments in this #TBT Gallery.
The chickens don't seem to want to cooperate with the ladder event at the North Cook County 4-H Fair in Barrington.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
The chickens don't seem to want to cooperate with the ladder event at the North Cook County 4-H Fair in Barrington. Also, a lot of people wore white belts in 1977.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
Football helmets in 1977 look like they do today. This man was testing them by dropping them and measuring the impact with the device he is securing into the helmet.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
Football helmets are lined up for testing in Wheeling.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A fisherman hooks his prize on Diamond Lake, in Mundelein, at sunset.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A Daily Herald photographer made this picture from the trunk of a water tower, probably 100 feet above ground, as workers paint the giant structure with rollers while hanging from a cable-suspended basket. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was formed only six years earlier, and did not have a big impact on the nation's workers until a decade later.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
Today, you won't find workers painting a water tower with rollers. You won't see them working on a tower without a curtain to contain their equipment and potential harm to the public. You won't see them working without shirts and handling equipment that doesn't have it's own harness.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
In 1977, a Daily Herald photographer was allowed to climb up the water tower with the workers. He apparently did this on a whim, wearing his dress shoes and slacks, as shown in this self portrait. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration now has rules in place to keep photographers from doing this. However, we now have aerial drones that we can control from the ground to give us a perspective of elevated work.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A motorcycle with a sidecar rides on just two wheels as the crowd waits for one of two possible outcomes during the Fourth of July parade in Mount Prospect.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A patriotic Kazoo band marched in the Mount Prospect Fourth of July parade in 1977. Bell-bottom jeans, striped tube socks and cutoff jeans were obviously in vogue.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
Girls use paper towels at a charity car wash at Randhurst Mall in Mount Prospect.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
It seems like an good assortment of vehicles and customers at a charity car wash at Randhurst Mall.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A wood-paneled Ford LTD station wagon gets treated at a charity car wash in Mount Prospect. In the background is the former Randhurst Twin Ice Arena, which hosted semipro hockey, figure skating and concerts. A Home Depot now sits in that location.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
Cigarettes, glass ashtrays and glass soda bottles get players through a Monopoly tournament in 1977. The game hasn't changed much in the last 40 years.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
There must have been a dress code for this Buffalo Grove Park District adult tap dance class.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A "pet Olympics" at Randhurst Mall apparently included measurements of a cat's tail while wearing striped hats.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
An antique airplane comes in for a landing in Aurora with a Daily Herald photographer on board.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A man restores pieces of a disassembled antique airplane in Aurora. It looks like he may be sealing seams with tape and glue, or varnish.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
This sleek bi-wing antique airplane is pushed from it's old hangar.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A road maintenance worker ties up his shirt to expose more skin to the breeze during a hot day in Arlington Heights.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A worker applies hot, sticky black sealant to new roofing material on an apartment building in Arlington Heights or Elk Grove Village. If you know where this location is, please comment below.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
A magician entertains children under a ceiling that reflects '70s design elements.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
These guys seem to be losing their tug-of-war battle, but probably don't mind the cooling mud in Elk Grove Village.
Daily Herald file photo July 1977
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