The Hot Dog Lady has been featured in:
| • West Suburban Living, Hot Fun in the Summertime, July/August 2006, (p. 46) |
| • Elmhurst Press, October
17, 2003 (cover page) |
| • The Doings, October
16, 2003 (p. 5) |
| • Elmhurst Press,
August 2, 2001 (p. 42) |
| • Elmhurst Press, July 25, 1999
(p. 2) |
| • Josephinium H.S., The Conversation
Piece, Alumni Edition 1999 |
| • Metro Mix, "Summer in the
City, Best of Chicago 1999" |
| • Chicago Tribune, Jun 11, 1999
(sec. 7, p. 43) |
| • The Leader, Elmhurst College
Newspaper, Nov 9, 1998 |
| • ABC 7 News, Harry Porterfield "Someone
you Should Know" segment, Aug. 1998 |
| • Elmhust Press, "Focus Elmhurst",
Food, Jun. 24, 1998 (sec. 2, p. 4) |
| • The Elmhurst Suburban Life,
August 7, 1997 (p. 10) |
| • Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce Directory
Book, "A Portrait of Elmhurst", cover 1996 |
| • Elmhurst Press, "Oktoberfest",
Oct. 4, 1995 (p. 3) |
| • Elmhurst Press, Aug. 4, 1995
(Entertainment Section, p. 3) |
| • The Elmhurst Banner, Jul. 21,
1995 (cover story) |
| • RTA Annual, Regional Transport
Authority, Annual Report, 1994 (p.18) |
|
The History of The Hot Dog Lady:
Once Upon a time, a little girl in Chicago wanted
to be a movie star. Well, she didn't become a movie star but she
became The Hot Dog Lady...
I grew up on Chicago in an area which is now called
Bucktown. My great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins,
friends and of course my family and I lived in the "neighborhood". "How
did you come up with the idea of a hot dog cart?", is the often
asked question. Who knows! Well, let's see if I can take a guess
at it.
I still have vivid memories of going to my grandparents
sandwich shop called J&M's on North Avenue east of Ashland Avenue.
They lived upstairs from the small sandwich shop. I would love to
run downstairs to see what Papa was doing. I was about 7 years old,
my face barely reached the top of the counter and pick-up window.
I can still remember the smell of the piccalilly, onions, beef sandwiches
and hot dogs! I can also remember the teenagers ordering from the
screened pick-up window. They were dressed in white t-shirts with
their cigarettes rolled up in their sleeves. They would comb back
their DA's with their small black plastic combs which were always
kept in the back pocket of their jeans. From that description you
can probably guess that this was the early 1960's.
OK! That was a great memory of food and history but "what
about the hot dog cart" you ask?
Before "malls" were built, we used to shop
the avenues. Ours was Milwaukee Avenue and on that street were hot
dog vendors. As we passed the open fruit and vegetable markets, the
Woolworth dime store which had succulent rotisserie chickens cooking
in the window, vendors with multi-colored snow cones, I could see
in the distance... The hot dog man! It was a special treat to pick
up a bag of dogs after a long, hot afternoon of shopping.
Twelve years ago, I tried to bring Elmhurst, Illinois,
which I found very similar to my old neighborhood, my experience
and memories of my childhood. Memories of family, friends and a unique
way to bring great food to the public. I hope I have given children
their own memories to pass down and I hope I have given the public
a taste of nostalgia.
p.s. You know what? I still want to be a movie
star! To be continued...
|
2004
Well, does she still want to be a movie star, I hear you ask? Of course she
does!
The year 2004 brought closure to all the controversy that began at the end
of 2003. I thought I would take opportunity at this time to thank every person,
local business and organization that supported me. A petition of over 2,000
signatures was accumulated from Elmhurst's York High School students and faculty
and from the petition that rested on the hot dog cart itself. Support and the
encouragement were absolutely tremendous and surprising. The media also rallied
to my side. Special thanks to ABC Channel 7, NBC Channel 5, CBS Channel 2,
WGN Channel 9, WGN radio, The Chicago Tribune, The Daily Herald, Elmhurst Press,
The Doings and numerous others. Utmost thanks to the Mayor of Elmhurst, Thomas
Marcuccci, the Elmhurst City Council, Elmhurst City Attorney's and the Elmhurst
Safety Committee, who worked countless hours in committee meetings. The issues
were resolved with a fair and just revised amendment to the existing ordinance.
I am entering my 14th season with great anticipation of what this season will
hold for me. With continued.support from family and friends, I will forge into
a new season. People touch and enter our lives sometimes for a brief moment,
sometimes years, sometimes forever. Our daily encounters. as brief or insignificant
as they seem, are for a reason.
Thanks again to all the people who have touched my life. I hope, I in turn,
have given something, even if a smile, to someone else.
As we all probably have (although sometimes some more than others) we all have
a story to tell. My story is full of laughter and sadness, courage and fear,
love and hate, hope and disappointment. My story is filled with people and
their stories.
Let me end my update by saying, yes, if there is someone (Hollywood hint, hint)
out there who thinks my saga might just be interesting to hear..............call
me, let's talk! What shall I wear to the Oscar's?
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you. I appreciate you business
and the confidence you have placed in me.
Hot Dog Lady Humor:
Confucius Say: Hot Dog Cart is
not sitting on street corner so birds have place to poop!
Hot Dog Lady Say: Dream what you want to dream; go
where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only
one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
To be continued.........
|
2005
The year was good, good and dry! Since I have been in business, which is now 15 years, I have never had a year without rain. The year of 2005 came very close. I worked a great deal more, business was good, but I welcome a day off now and then due to inclement weather. I couldn't catch a break! The summer heat can definitely wear you out. It not only wore me out but it also wore out the two people I had working for me at Spring Road at the Prairie Path in Elmhurst, Illinois. It was a pleasure to have Bradley Mahler, a local resident, who attends Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois working the second cart on Spring Road. In addition to Brad, I also had Lisa Homiak, who worked the second half of the season. She is a recent college graduate who is now searching for a job in social work/teaching. Great job guys! I hope my second location is on the road to many, many more.
My seasons are always filled with interesting, intriguing, and fascinating people. The year usually holds at least one surprise. I can say that I have never had a dull year.
I worked an art fair in downtown Elmhurst in the summer of 2005. After I was set up for the day and Lisa was in place, I strolled down the street for my morning latte and to see all the artist's displays. Well, to my amazement and surprise, there was a watercolor titled "Elmhurst Hot Dog Ladies" being displayed right on York Road! Mr. Cliff Reiman, a local artist did a painting of me, a summer employee, Katie Markowski and of course the cart in its entire splendor. One hot summer evening for "Cool Cars Under the Stars", he snapped a photo and painted the watercolor from the picture. The painting was entered in a show at the Elmhurst Art Museum in September of 2005. The Elmhurst Artists’ Guild hosted the Annual Fall Members Show 2005 and Eddie Corkery judged the competition. Mr. Reiman did not place that evening but he had great exposure.
I closed my season the second week of November 2005. The season as a whole was good. I opened a second location and as luck would have it, I chose wonderful people to work with. Family and friends were there for me with great support as always and I was looking forward to my winter/holiday break with hopes of taking a vacation. Ahhh, vacation! Well, no vacation was taken. Instead the year of 2005 ended like no other for me. December 31, 2005 was the climax of the year and will never be forgotten. Why not share my story? My story will be shared with you in my upcoming book. Yes, a book. The book was originally intended to be a humorous and sometimes touching story about the past 15 years on the street. That will still be the case but I believe the ending has changed quite a bit. Has that aroused your curiosity? Let me leave you with..........
So much of our time is preparation, so much is routine, and so much retrospect, that the path of each man's genius contracts itself to a very few hours.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
To be continued.........
|
2006
What happened to 2006? Well, it was either uneventful or very busy. Let’s move on to 2007.
|
2007
This year is called the alien invasion, invasion of insects. In 2007, Illinois had the Cicada’s! Once every 13-17 years these alien looking bugs emerge in large numbers. The adult insect is usually about 2-3 inches long with prominent eyes set wide apart on the sides of their heads, short antenna protruding between or in front of eyes and membranous front wings. With their arrival comes the "Cicada Song." The noise making at the hot dog cart near the "prairie path" in Elmhurst was deafening. It is best described as an amplified clicking sound. Some Cicadas produce sound up to 120 db "at close range." They are among the loudest of all insect produced sound. Elmhurst, Illinois was named in 1869 for its Elm trees. Elmhurst has an abundant amount of gorgeous old trees and because of that, they were everywhere! They were flying ( I call it the kamikaze flight) into your car, in your bags, even on your head! The Cicadas are not long lived, but still too long for me. Bye, bye Cicadas see you in another 17 years.
Now, we come to No-See-Ums! What? Just that! You can’t see um. Mosquitoes you can see, these you couldn’t. No-see-ums are micro-scopic biting flies, as best described. You develop a 1-2 inch red spots which itched like, if not more, than a mosquito bite. You never see them coming. You never see them biting you. At the end of the day or evening, especially working the "Cool Cars" evenings, you went home to discover the red welts all over you body. They should call them "Gotcha’s." Enough of that! Ugh!
Now we come to August, the end of summer, precisely August 23, 2007. A severe storm hit the City of Elmhurst. The storm caused 11,400 customers in Elmhurst to lose electrical power. I had just finished closing the carts up about 15 minutes earlier than usual because a severe storm warning had been issued and the skies to the west were turning black. Just as I locked up the last cart, I heard the air raid sirens going off. I paid attention to the alarm, but I did not realize the severity at which they were alarming for now. Instead of taking shelter, per my own advice that I gave the store owners before I left, I proceeding to get in my mini-van to head home. Bad move. Within minutes of the air raid siren the wind picked up to a severity I had never seen before. As I waited for the red light to change at the major intersection of York Road and North Avenue, things started to fly. Steel tables and chairs from the Caribou coffee store literally were airborne and of course flying right into the van. I couldn’t move. I was in standstill traffic, bumper to bumper, waiting for a traffic light. I felt as though I was in the middle of a movie set. As I watched in my rear view mirror, the center of downtown Elmhurst, which I had just escaped, was getting hit hard! Trees behind me and in front of me were being "uprooted" as I watched helplessly. I couldn’t help but want to go back and help friends and business associates that I knew were in trouble. I prayed all were in shelter or basements of the stores. As devastation surrounded me, my cell phone started ringing; my daughter was taking shelter with all the other students at the College of DuPage. The school was black due to loss of power and she was scared! She and the other students had now reached the basement and at that moment we lost connection. Other relatives were calling but cell phone connections were not going through or you would lose them immediately. It was the "all circuits are busy scenario." Seemed like a lifetime but the traffic light finally turned green. All traffic cautiously proceeded. The tornado like winds (later claims were that "a micro burst" hit the city) were moving cars. Debris was flying and huge old trees were being uprooted like twigs. It was over as fast as it started. Unbelievable damage. As I approached an area where I could have turned around, I realized I could have never gotten back through. There were police and fire department vehicles everywhere and trees totally blocking main and side streets. I couldn’t get through to the people I knew in town because all phone lines and circuits were down.
I was very lucky that the only things that hit my van were the iron tables and chairs. The next day I was back at work. There was still no electricity for the city nor for many days following. Customers came and told me their stories. Businesses were open with the help of generators. As I stated earlier they claim it was a severe storm or micro burst but contrary to belief, a group of contractors came by for lunch and told me their version. They had been working on scaffolding and could see the storm approaching. As they were frantically scrambling to get those guys down, they saw a funnel! They couldn’t get the guys down fast enough and one of their own was thrown from the scaffolding and ended up severely hurt and hospitalized. They begged to differ (I’m being polite) with the reports of a micro burst. Quote, "That was a ------ tornado!" When I drove around where I could get through, it looked as though bomb had gone off. One of the oldest trees in town had been uprooted at the corner of St. Charles Road and York Road. Surreal!
When you hear an air raid siren and it’s not 10:00 am on a Tuesday--hit the ground
Air raid siren = put the hot dog cart away or you may see it in the newest version in the tornado scene in the "Wizard of Oz" (and your little dog (dogs) too)
|
|