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Wieboldt's, gas under a buck, and Gentleman Jim's Barber Shop

July 11th, 2019 3:00 PM

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This 1979 photo from July 4, Forest Park Review, shows a truck that didn't quite make it under the viaduct. In the background, the vertical Wieboldt's Department store can be seen in River Forest.

By Historical Society

Forty years ago, July 4, 1979, the Forest Park Review front page stories included this 18-wheeler that almost made it through the overpass at Harlem and Circle.  Destined for Oak Park-River Forest High School, as the report states,  the Canadian-based rig challenged the clearance of 13'3" and lost. Wieboldt's department store can be seen in the background, at corner of Lake and Harlem in River Forest.

Other front page stories this week included how gas stations were going to manage when gasoline hit $1 a gallon.  According to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, most gasoline pumps in Illinois were incapable of computing gasoline prices above 99.9 cents.  The solution to the technology challenge with the increase of petroleum costs was to adjust the price at the pump by half.  So if gas is more than a dollar a gallon, the price on the pump would be half, requiring drivers to multiply by two to determine the actual cost at the pump.
In other local news, Forest Park  Village commissioners "swallowed hard" and  approved the expense of $1,600 to appraise the property at Thomas and Madison, which was anticipated to be around $200,000 to make way for off street parking.  The property which was occupied by GoodLite Co., Gentleman Jim's Barber Shop and two small manufacturing facilities would eventually be purchased and leveled to make Constitution Court.

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