“The Good Old Days”

As I drove down the ever-bustling 95th Street en route to the Oak Lawn Public Library, I couldn't help but think about this town's past.  With cars merging to the left and right and commuters traveling to and from Chicago, it's hard to imagine that less than a century ago, most of this area was lush farmland, dotted only by quaint cottages that might be typical of any rural village in Southern Illinois. 

Settling among my typical pile of legal pads, ready to research, the voices of the past beckoned to be heard as I looked through photographs of Oak Lawn's first intrepid settlers.  They had staked their claims on a wide expanse of countryside once known as Black Oaks Grove.  With the grit and determination that any settler must count among their qualities, a handful of individuals helped define the hospitable values that Oak Lawn residents still hold dear today.

Otto Brandt, born in Oak Lawn in 1893, followed his family's tradition of hard work and began from an early age.  While still an adolescent, he toiled in a local grocery store, sorting pickles into barrels with his friends.  The 15 cents they received at the end of a back-breaking day of labor was considered a small fortune to Otto and his companions.

In 1978, Otto was interviewed by librarians at the Oak Lawn Public Library and discussed some of his fondest memories of the community.

Like most children his age, Otto attended classes in a one-room schoolhouse located near 95th Street and Cicero.  Students of all grades and abilities were taught by a single instructor.  From the break of dawn each day, the teacher was responsible for every task at the school, from educating the town's youth, to sweeping the floors at the end of the night.

But education was not Otto's only calling.  "I only went to school until I was 12.  After that, I had to go to German school," he remarked during his 1978 interview.  The majority of Oak Lawn's earliest settlers were of German ancestry, and their native language was commonly heard in town.  "When I got through school," Otto continued, "I had the harness put on me to go to work.  The day before my fourteenth birthday, I took my first load of hay from my father's farm to deliver to market."

Wilhelm Brandt, Otto's father and a leading community figure, was a prototype Donald Trump in early Oak Lawn real estate.  In addition to the family farm, Wilhelm purchased 140 acres along Ridgeland Avenue, which he eventually sold for future building projects.  But of all their holdings, Otto's family prized their two-story saloon the most.  Brandt's Tavern soon became a gathering place for Oak Lawn residents, hosting dances and festive parties in its spacious upstairs ballroom.

Otto assumed full ownership of his father's tavern in 1936 and reminisced about the warm memories that took place within its walls.  When asked by library staff why he enjoyed his early years in Oak Lawn, his response was similar to that of other interviewees in 1978: "It was a nice, quiet town".

For over 20 years, Wiley Simmons rose before the sun and walked in the frigid morning air to the four-room Cook Avenue School, were he served as a "teaching principal."  After stoking the fires in each classroom, he would return home for breakfast with his wife, Pearl.  Together, they would return to the school and jointly teach over 90 children, from first through eighth grades.

The Simmons husband and wife team eventually transferred to teach at School District 122, where the pair was solely responsible for the daily operation of the tiny school.  Even amid their numerous duties, Wiley had time to dabble in the latest technological breakthrough: the radio.

After purchasing a parts kit while in Chicago, Wiley tested the contraption for the first time, successfully picking up a radio station in Pittsburgh.  Eager to share his discovery, Simmons shared a cherished anecdote during his 1959 interview.

"When I got it working, I put the headphones on our old janitor, Mr. Hardwell, who was 91 at the time, and played it for him.  He was an old Civil War veteran who had fought during the Battle of Gettysburg.  He listened and proclaimed 'Well, I declare to gracious,'"

Simmons's was the first documented radio in Oak Lawn.  After demonstrating its power to his students, word spread quickly across town.  Mobs of the curious thronged to the school, demanding to hear the unbelievable for themselves.  So many onlookers crowded the school that the entire building had to be locked for several nights to deter further commotion.

After four years, Simmons was named the Assistant County Superintendent of Schools for the area, a position he would hold for four years.  In recognition of Wiley and Pearl's contributions to Oak Lawn's earliest schools, the student body renamed the District 122 schoolhouse in 1942 in honor of the two educators. 

Wiley retired in 1951, but continued to hear from his students until his death in 1974.

The stories and recollections of Otto Brandt and the Simmons, along with countless others, help us paint a snapshot of a world not unknown to ours.  It was a time of dedication and determination, of community and citizenship.  And although the clip-clop of wagons and buggies have been replaced by the rumblings of Chevy and Toyota, we cannot forget what a pivotal role these individuals played in shaping Oak Lawn's future.

Recordings and transcripts of the interviews with Wiley Simmons and Otto Brandt are available in the Local History room of the Oak Lawn Public Library.  For more information or further inquiries, contact Local History coordinator Kevin Korst at kkorst@olpl.org.