Synopses & Reviews
A current and ongoing story of unequal power in Chicago, this book tells the story of four representatives of immigrant and migrant groups—Jewish, Italian, African-American, and Mexican—that have had a distinct territorial presence in the Maxwell Street area. The interviewees reminisce fondly on life in the neighborhood and tell of their struggles to save it and the 120-year-old Maxwell Street Market that was at its core.
Midwest Independent Publishers Association Book Award - 2nd Place - Midwest Regional Interest
Harold, Florence, Nate, and Hilda Dragon Slayers at Halsted and Roosevelt
"You could be St. George and you couldn't slay that dragon," said Florence Scala. She was referring to her epic fight to preserve the Italian Taylor Street community from Mayor Richard J. Daley's plan to redevelop it for the University of Illinois. Yet, Scala and other ordinary citizens in Chicago's port-of-entry Near West Side neighborhood persisted in their extraordinary battles against some of the biggest power players in a city of clout.
"Near West Side Stories: Struggles For Community in Chicago's Maxwell Street Neighborhood" is an ongoing story of unequal power in Chicago. Four representatives of immigrant and migrant groups that have had a distinct territorial presence in the area--one Jewish, one Italian, one African-American, and one Mexican--reminisce fondly on life in the old neighborhood and tell of their struggles to save it and the 120-year-old Maxwell Street Market that was at its core.
"Near West Side Stories" brings this saga of community strife up to date, while giving a voice to the everyday people who were routinely discounted or ignored in the big decisions that affected their world. Though "slaying that dragon"--fending off the encroachments of those wielding great power--was nearly impossible, we see in the details of their lives the love for a place that compelled Harold, Florence, Nate, and Hilda to make the quest.
Review
"Eastwood continues in the tradition of Berkow and Terkel to breathe life into our ethnic and working class past." —Dr. Steve Balkin, Roosevelt University
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [341]-344) and index.
Synopsis
A current and ongoing story of unequal power in Chicago. Four representatives of immigrant and migrant groups that have had a distinct territorial presence in the area--one Jewish, one Italian, one African-American, and one Mexican--reminisce fondly on life in the old neighborhood and tell of their struggles to save it and the 120-year-old Maxwell Street Market that was at its core.
About the Author
Carolyn Eastwood is an adjunct professor of anthropology at the College of DuPage and at Roosevelt University. She received her PhD in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago with the dissertation entitled "A Study of the Regulation of Chicagos Street Vendors." Her extensive travels and studies have concentrated on markets, vendors, and ethnic occupations in low-income communities. She lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
Carolyn Eastwood was born in Canton, Ohio and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She relocated to the Chicago area in 1943, but has lived and worked in many locations across the United States and throughout the world, including Washington D.C., England, Israel, and Italy. Her extensive travels have concentrated on markets, vendors, and ethnic occupations in low-income communities.
Carolyn received a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, an M.A. in Anthropology from Northern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago with the dissertation, "A Study of the Regulation of Chicago's Street Vendors." She published Chicago's "Jewish Street Peddlers" with the Chicago Jewish Historical Society in 1991. In March of 1995, Eastwood presented The Demise of an Urban Market: Does it Matter? Who Cares? at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Central States Anthropological Society.
Carolyn teaches Cross-Cultural Anthropology at Roosevelt University in Chicago and also is an adjunct faculty member at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She resides in Glen Ellyn with her husband, Tony.