I t was 56 years ago, but James Kelly still remembers playing hooky from eighth grade to ride Chicago's first subway train. The subway opening day ceremony. Attention focused on Allied forces' efforts in Europe and the Pacific. The war's impact on Chicago also was key. When Democratic party leader Benjamin Adamowski was inducted into the Army in late 1943, it was front-page news.
Many people still associate the year with victory garden vegetables.
My father was away in the Navy, but my mom let me take the L downtown to watch the parade. The first State Street Subway riders. Despite the war, Chicagoans managed to have a good time. Sonja Henie charmed thousands with her skating at the Chicago Stadium, and Cab Call oway, Duke Ellington and Lawrence Welk performed at the Boulevard Room of the Stevens Hotel, the Aragon Ballroom and the Hotel Sherman's College Inn. Musician Fred Rundquist worked such clubs as the Review Lounge on Randolph, the Capitol Lounge on State and the Brass Rail on Dearborn.