Monday, June 17, 2019

ABOUT JOHN CHUCKMAN

John Chuckman is former chief economist for a large Canadian oil company. He has many interests and is a lifelong student of history. He writes with a passionate desire for honesty, the rule of reason, and concern for human decency. John regards it as a badge of honor to have left the United States as a poor young man from the South Side of Chicago when the country embarked on the pointless murder of something like 3 million Vietnamese in their own land because they embraced the wrong economic loyalties. He lives in Canada, which he is fond of calling “the peaceable kingdom.”

John’s writing appears regularly on many Internet sites. He has been translated into at least ten languages and has been regularly translated into Italian and Spanish. Several of his essays have been published in book collections, including two college texts. He has published a book, The Decline of the American Empire and the Rise of China as a Global Power, published by Constable and Robinson, London. John also writes book reviews.

Apart from his writing since retiring from the oil industry, John has taught university courses in economics, done a good deal of private tutoring, served as a professional newspaper restaurant reviewer (he likes cooking), followed his favorite hobby of photography, and created a popular family of image blogs on the Internet.

John may be reached directly at:  formersouthsideboy@gmail.com

SOME INTERNET SITES FROM JOHN CHUCKMAN:



CHUCKMAN'S PLACES ON WORDPRESS: FEATURING THE BELOVED URBAN VILLAGE OF SOUTH SHORE CHICAGO

CHUCKMAN'S PHOTOS ON WORDPRESS: CHICAGO NOSTALGIA AND MEMORABILIA

CHUCKMAN'S PHOTOS ON WORDPRESS: TORONTO NOSTALGIA

CHUCKMAN’S MONTREAL

CHUCKMAN'S PHOTOS ON WORD PRESS

CHUCKMAN'S KODACHROMES ON WORDPRESS: JOHN AND BOBBY LONG AGO

CHUCKMAN'S PORT STANLEY

CHUCKMAN'S BAYFIELD

CHUCKMAN'S GODERICH

CHUCKMAN'S ILES DE LA MADELEINE (MAGDALEN ISLANDS)

CHUCKMAN'S ART

CHUCKMAN'S ROBOTS

CHUCKMAN'S GALLERY OF GROTESQUES

CHUCKMAN'S CARTOON COMMENTS

CHUCKMAN'S PHOTOS ON WORDPRESS: 1920s ARCADE CARD BEAUTIES – THEIR CHARM AND GRACE AND WHIMSY

CHUCKMAN'S WORDS ON WORDPRESS: POLITICAL ESSAYS

CHUCKMAN'S WORDS ON WORDPRESS: COMMENTS FROM THE WORLD'S PRESS

CHUCKMAN'S MISCELLANEA OF WORDS

CHUCKMAN'S NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS OF THE 1950S VOLUME 01 (OF 4 VOLUMES)




ME, ROUGHLY: THE DECLINE IS RAPID NOW

POSTCARD - CHICAGO - LINCOLN PARK - BOAT LANDING - STEAMER FERRY LANDED - LINCOLN PARK BOAT LINE - HUGE CROWD ON SHORE - TINTED - REALLY NICE VERSION - 1915


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - ARAGON BALLROOM - 1106 W LAWRENCE - INTERIOR - OPENED 1926 - MANY BIG BANDS PLAYED HERE - 20 000 SQUARE FEET OF THE FINEST DANCE FLOOR IN THE WORLD - THE CLOUDS ON THE CEILING WOULD MOVE ACROSS THE STARS - TINTED - 1940s


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - AUDITORIUM HOTEL - S MICHIGAN AVE AND CONGRESS - A LOUIS SULLIVAN BUILDING - COMPLETED 1889 - LOBBY WITH OFFICE - NICE VERSION - TINTED - 1911


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - BREVOORT HOTEL - 120 W MADISON STREET E OF LA SALLE - OPENED 1906 AS SECOND LARGER HOTEL OF THAT NAME - PRIVATE DINING ROOM -TINTED - 1946


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - CENTURY OF PROGRESS WORLD'S FAIR - BELGIAN VILLAGE EXHIBIT - PEOPLE WALKING - TINTED - 1933


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - CHICAGO METHODIST TEMPLE - 77 W WASHINGTON - SKYSCRAPER CHURCH - OPENED 1924 - SANCTUARY INTERIOR - ORGAN HAS 6300 PIPES - NOONDAY ORGAN MEDITATIONS DAILY - CHURCH OPEN EVERY DAY FOR MEDITATION AND PRAYER - NICE VERSION


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - COLISEUM - 15TH AND WABASH - INTERIOR - ELECTRICAL SHOW - HUGE LIGHT DISPLAY ON TENTED CEILING - TINTED - 1911


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - COMMERCIAL AVE- SOUTH CHICAGO - LOOKING N - THE HEAVY TINTING MAKES IT LOOK A BIT LIKE A UTRILLO PAINTING - NOTE: SOUTH CHICAGO WAS AN AREA OF HEAVY INDUSTRY SUCH AS STEEL MILLS - 1908


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - CONTINENTAL AND COMMERCIAL BANK BUILDING - ADAMS S LA SALLE QUINCY AND FIFTH AVE - THREE-QUARTERS SLIGHTLY ELEVATED GROUND VIEW - TINTED - 1916


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - DOWNTOWN AERIAL PANORAMA - LOOKING S W FROM N OF RIVER - ILLINOIS CENTRAL ON LEFT - CALLED CITY OF TOWERS - STYLIZED TINTED - 1951


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - DREXEL BLVD SCENE - WOMAN WITH BABY IN CARRIAGE - SUN-DAPPLED WALKWAY - ULTIMATE IN URBAN GRACEFULNESS -TINTED - 1911


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - FERNAL MANUFACTURERS - 316 W 105TH PLACE - AD FOR FERNAL RED DRAGON ELECTRICAL HEATING FURNACES - 1945


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - FIRST SUBWAY - STATE STREET - TRAIN PLATFORM AND TRAIN - NOTE: CHICAGO NEVER DID BUILD MUCH SUBWAY - IT DEPENDED, STARTING IN THE EARLY 1890s, ON THE ELEVATED RAPID TRANSIT (THE "L") - LATER IT WAS AN INNOVATOR IN BUILDING RAPID TRANSIT LINES DOWN THE CENTER MEDIANS OF EXPRESSWAYS - HOWEVER CHICAGO ALSO HAD A REMARKABLE PARALLEL SYSTEM OF REGIONAL COMMUTER RAILROADS WHICH IN PART ALSO SERVE THE CITY SINCE AT LEAST THE 1920s - MANY OF THESE WERE ELECTRIFIED FROM THE START AS THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL COMMUTER (THE "IC") AND THE CHICAGO SOUTH SHORE AND SOUTH BEND COMMUTER ("THE SHORE LINE") - THERE WERE SUCH COMMUTER RAILROADS FANNING OUT IN MANY DIRECTIONS (ROCK ISLAND LINE, NORTH SHORE LINE, NORTHWESTERN COMMUTER) - OF COURSE THEY WERE BASED ON THE HUGE TRACKAGE OF WHAT WAS THE WORLD'S GREATEST RAILROAD CITY FOR SOME TIME - TINTED - NICE VERSION - 1947


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - HALSTED STREET LIFT BRIDGE - SOUTH BRANCH CHICAGO RIVER - IN RAISED POSITION - TINTED - 1910


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - HENRICI'S RESTAURANT - 67-71 W RANDOLPH STREET - DINING ROOM INTERIOR - CHAIRS ARE DIFFERENT THAN LATER VERSIONS OF THE CARD - ROOM THE SAME EXCEPT CEILING STOPPED BEING PINK - TINTED - MAYBE 1930s


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - HOTEL SHERMAN - N W CORNER W RANDOLPH AND N CLARK STREET - THE FOURTH OF FIVE SHERMAN HOUSE HOTELS - THREE-QUARTERS VIEW ELEVATED - TINTED - 1911 - 1925 WHEN REPLACED BY STILL ANOTHER AND LARGER HOTEL SHERMAN


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - ILLINOIS CENTRAL DEPOT - MICHIGAN AVE AT 12TH STREET - S END OF GRANT PARK - AERIAL PANORAMA - TINTED - 1913


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - JACKSON PARK - LAKE SHORE DRIVE - LOOKING S GROUND LEVEL PEDESTRIANS SEATED ON BENCHES TOWARDS LAKE - SOME CARS - GERMAN BUILDING FROM 1893 WORLD'S FAIR IN BACKGROUND - TINTED - 1910s


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - JACKSON PARK - SCENE FROM BOAT HOUSE - PEOPLE WAITING ON PIER - SMALL PLEASURE BOAT WITH AWNING - TINTED - 1925


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - JOHN G SHEDD AQUARIUM - 1200 S LAKESHORE DRIVE - TINTED - OPENED 1930


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - LA SALLE HOTEL - N W CORNER LA SALLE AND MADISON - PRESIDENTIAL SUITE PARLOR INTERIOR - TINTED - NICE VERSION - OPENED 1909


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - LA SALLE STREET - 31ST TRIENNIAL CONCLAVE - KNIGHTS TEMPLAR - TEMPORARY ARCH OVER STREET - IT WAS A BIG AFFAIR WITH A HUGE PARADE - THERE WERE ALSO TEMPORARY STRUCTURES AND DECORATIONS ON STATE STREET AND ON MICHIGAN AVE (NOTE: THERE ARE OTHER CARDS ON THE SITE ABOUT IT) - NICE VERSION - 1910


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - LINCOLN PARK - LINCOLN MONUMENT BY AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS - TINTED - c1920


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - LINCOLN PARK ZOO - ELEPHANT BATHING IN POOL - CROWD BEHIND - TINTED - NICE VERSION - c1910


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - CHICAGO ZOOLOGICAL PARK AT BROOKFIELD - THE ELEPHANTS - LARGEST COLLECTION OF LARGE LAND ANIMALS IN THE WORLD - TINTED - 1940s


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE - DINING ROOM - PACKED WITH PEOPLE - WOMEN AS WELL AS MEN - NICE VERSION - TINTED - MAYBE 1920s


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - MORRISON HOTEL - MADISON AND CLARK - A DELUXE BEDROOM - HOTEL OF PERFECT SERVICE - 1944 OUTSIDE ROOMS WITH BATH - 3400 ROOMS WHEN COMPLETED - $2.50 PER NIGHT AND UP - TINTED - OPENED 1925 - RAZED 1965


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY - THEN TEMPORARILY FIELD MUSEUM UNTIL NEW BUILDING BUILT - HAD BEEN ART GALLERY FOR 1893 WORLD'S FAIR - SOUTH FACE BY LAGOON - BOATERS - DRAMATIC DARK TINT - c1910


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY - THEN TEMPORARILY FIELD MUSEUM - HAD BEEN ART GALLERY FOR THE 1893 WORLD'S FAIR - SOUTH-FACING SIDE ON LAGOON - JACKSON PARK WITH 540 ACRES - TINTED - 1910


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - NORTHWESTERN PASSENGER STATION - MADISON STREET ON W SIDE OF RIVER - CITY'S LARGEST AND FINEST WHEN OPENED - NICE VERSION - TINTED - 1915


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - OAK STREET BEACH - LOOKING W GROUND LEVEL TOWARDS GOLD COAST SKYLINE - 1960s


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - STATE STREET - LOOKING N GROUND LEVEL FROM ADAMS - MOUNTED POLICEMAN IN FOREGROUND - BIG CROWDS WALKING - TINTED - c1920


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - UNION STOCK YARDS - CATTLE STALLS - COWBOYS ON HORSEBACK - TINTED - 1916


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - UNION STOCK YARDS - AERIAL PANORAMA - OVER STALLS TOWARDS PROCESSING PLANTS - YARDS EXTENDED FROM 39TH STREET TO 43RD AND WEST FROM HALSTED COVERING 400 ACRES - TINTED - c 1950


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - UNION STOCK YARDS - HISTORIC STONE GATE - CARS JUST INSIDE - SOME PEDESTRIANS - TINTED - 1925


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - UNION STOCK YARDS - ENTRANCE GATE - HERD OF SHEEP - A NUMBER OF HERDERS - TINTED - c1920


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - UNION STOCK YARDS - ENTRANCE GATE - WITH WHIMSICAL DRAWING OF CATTLE HEAD - 1908


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - UNION STOCK YARDS - 4-H HITCH - 8 HORSE WAGON TEAM - CROWD IN WAGON WITH FLAGS - IN FRONT OF STOCK YARD INN (WHICH HAD QUITE A FINE RESTAURANT) - TINTED - 1930


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - UNION STOCK YARDS - SIX HORSE TEAM - COURTYARD STOCK YARD INN (WHICH HAD QUITE A FINE RESTAURANT) - TINTED - 1932


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - GARFIELD PARK - ENTRANCE WITH CAPTURED SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR GUNS - MAN WOMAN AND BABY - NICE VERSION - TINTED - 1909


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - UNION PARK - 1501 W RANDOLPH - TWO CARS ON STREET - WOMAN AND GIRL WALKING - SOMEONE APPEARS TO BE SLEEPING ON A BLANKET IN THE GRASS NEAR THE WALKERS - MY MOTHER TOLD ME A LONG TIME AGO THAT WHEN SHE FIRST CAME TO CHICAGO FROM INDIANA AS A YOUNG WOMAN ON HOT NIGHTS MANY PEOPLE WOULD SLEEP IN THE PARKS OR ON FIRE ESCAPES - OF COURSE NO ONE WOULD THINK OF DOING THAT NOW - TINTED - 1914


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - WASHINGTON BLVD - GROUND LEVEL VIEW - STREET OF BIG HOMES - CONTINUATION OF WASHINGTON STREET - THROUGH UNION AND GARFIELD PARKS - TINTED - 1900s


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - WASHINGTON PARK - BETWEEN COTTAGE GROVE AND GRAND BLVD FROM 51ST STREET TO 63RD - BOAT HOUSE - PANORAMA FROM ACROSS LAGOON - 371 ACRES - TINTED - 1910


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - WEST SIDE PROFESSIONAL BUILDING YMCA - 1804 W CONGRESS STREET - THREE-QUARTER SLIGHTLY ELEVATED VIEW - TINTED - 1933


POSTCARD - CHICAGO - YMCA LINCOLN BELMONT DEPARTMENT - 3333 N MARSHFIELD AVE - CARS PARKED IN FRONT - AERIAL PANORAMA - TINTED - c1940