The Mabley Archive: Where do streets (and schools) get their names?

In 1988, when longtime Glenview resident Jack Mabley brought his legendary column to the Daily Herald, he made a couple of requests: 1. Let him keep the ugly, old green chair he sat in for decades. 2. Launch an edition for his hometown. He kept the chair. And now, more than a decade after his passing in 2006, his second request has been granted. We're sharing some of his columns with you, because we think they stand the test of time. We hope you'll enjoy them, too. This one's from May 3, 2000.

By Jack Mabley

May 3, 2000

Glenview's own

The big flap over naming Chicago streets after celebrities' and politicians' pals (Honorary Hugh Hefner Way) is a big laugh here in the suburbs.

Those honorary street signs will wear out, or be torn off by vandals, or by the honorees.

Out here, we name our streets for keeps, for evermore. Who do they honor? Mainly the wives, sons, daughters, cousins, mothers, fathers, grandchildren and girlfriends of subdividers.

In my town, Glenview, we have streets named Alexis, Allison, Barbara, Barry, Bette, Bonnie, Brian, Carol, Charlie, Chester, Cindy, Dearlove, Donald, Elizabeth, Frederick, Gale, Georgia ... and that's only through the G's.

A street name is better than a tattoo. Tattoos fade, and can be removed surgically, and eventually they'll be buried.

In Chicago, they have a Kennedy and an Eisenhower and a Stevenson and a Bishop Ford and a Ryan.

Crawford was renamed Pulaski when the 100,000th Polish-American registered to vote. It becomes Crawford again at the north city limits.

Twenty-second Street became Cermak Road after Mayor Anton Cermak took a bullet intended for President Roosevelt. Twelfth Street became Roosevelt Road - that's Teddy, not Franklin.

Eighth Street became Balbo Drive when Gen. Italo Balbo led a fleet of Italian planes to the 1933 World's Fair.

Chicago has a Goethe, pronounced go-thee. I lived in a town with a Beethoven Street, pronounced bee-thoven by the streetcar conductors.

Many roads out here are named for original farmer-settlers, like Busse and Wagner and Landwehr.

All in all, in the street naming game, we make Chicago look bush league.

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We don't have any statues honoring bygone heroes or politicians that I know of.

I commented recently about Chicago getting statues to Frank Sinatra and Jack Brickhouse to balance the Harry Caray statue.

It turns out that Chicago does have a statue in Lincoln Park honoring a writer - Eugene Field, who worked at the Daily News before my time.

Goethe and Wagner have statues along with some horses with generals atop them.

Michael Jordan is Chicago's most famous statue. I think that before we honor those entertainers and TV announcers, we should put up a statue to Walter Payton.

And a final word on public recognition: Better than all the honorary street names and the statues and whatnot is having a school named for you.

With rare exceptions names of schools honor teachers, principals, superintendents and others who have made the world better through education.

My favorite honorary name of anything - school, street, park, or whatever - is Winkleman Elementary School in West Northfield Township.

Henry Winkleman was a beloved custodian. When he retired, the students and faculty acclaimed him as the man worthy of the school's name.