This autobiography follows a boy’s experience growing up on Chicago’s Southside in the 1950s.
"Southside Kid" is an autobiography that begins in the 1940s and tells of one boy’s experience growing up on Chicago’s Southside. L. Curt Erler pays homage to a simpler time when families worked hard, stuck together and made their own fun. From the Big Band days and matinees at the Avalon Theater to dancing and drag racing on the Eastside this book shares one man’s experience with the American dream.
L. Curt Erler comes from a large, hardworking family and in his autobiography, Southside Kid; he pays homage to strong family values, to a simpler time at the tail end of WWII. The author recalls his childhood growing up on Chicago’s Southside during the 1950s with baseball, matinees at the Avalon Theatre, young love and Friday night dances with the St. Felicitas kids. Moving into the mid-50’s you find yourself surrounded by Rock and Roll and the sounds of Chicago’s jazz joints.
"Southside Kid’s" narrator is the only non-Catholic attending a Catholic school. Young Curt was fortunate and clever enough to make the best of this rather trying opportunity. He tells of his Yankee adventures in the South and a few altercations on Chicago’s Southside streets. This book is a wonderful and wildly fun journey down a memory lane filled with laughter and high jinks that leaves its reader with a sense of longing. Everyone should have a childhood that is this much fun and a life that is this rich.
Welcome to Chicago’s Southside.
In Southside Kid, L. Curt Erler recalls a time when missing children found sleeping in laundry baskets made headlines. From weekly air raid sirens and gathering around Mom’s Philco radio listening to Glenn Miller and Frankie Laine to dancing and drag racing on the East Side, this Southside kid reminds us that where we come from is the greatest place in the world.
A place where sewer covers become first, third and home plate and second base is someone’s cap. When you aren’t playing baseball your afternoon might include a matinee at the local theater or riding your bike for some penny candy at Julie’s Candy Store and there are always the Friday night dances with the St. Felicitas gang. Moving into the mid-50’s you find yourself surrounded by Rock and Roll and the sounds of Chicago’s jazz joints.
Everyone should have a childhood that is this much fun and a life that is this rich. In fact, for L. Curt Erler it isn’t a life, it is a celebration and it is what makes this memoir alternately so touching and so hilarious.
Author Biography
L. Curt Erler was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. As an adventurer and business executive, he has traveled extensively. He is the proud father of three grown daughters and resides with his wife of 46 years in San Diego County, California...
"Southside Kid" is an autobiography that begins in the 1940s and tells of one boy’s experience growing up on Chicago’s Southside. L. Curt Erler pays homage to a simpler time when families worked hard, stuck together and made their own fun. From the Big Band days and matinees at the Avalon Theater to dancing and drag racing on the Eastside this book shares one man’s experience with the American dream.
L. Curt Erler comes from a large, hardworking family and in his autobiography, Southside Kid; he pays homage to strong family values, to a simpler time at the tail end of WWII. The author recalls his childhood growing up on Chicago’s Southside during the 1950s with baseball, matinees at the Avalon Theatre, young love and Friday night dances with the St. Felicitas kids. Moving into the mid-50’s you find yourself surrounded by Rock and Roll and the sounds of Chicago’s jazz joints.
"Southside Kid’s" narrator is the only non-Catholic attending a Catholic school. Young Curt was fortunate and clever enough to make the best of this rather trying opportunity. He tells of his Yankee adventures in the South and a few altercations on Chicago’s Southside streets. This book is a wonderful and wildly fun journey down a memory lane filled with laughter and high jinks that leaves its reader with a sense of longing. Everyone should have a childhood that is this much fun and a life that is this rich.
Welcome to Chicago’s Southside.
In Southside Kid, L. Curt Erler recalls a time when missing children found sleeping in laundry baskets made headlines. From weekly air raid sirens and gathering around Mom’s Philco radio listening to Glenn Miller and Frankie Laine to dancing and drag racing on the East Side, this Southside kid reminds us that where we come from is the greatest place in the world.
A place where sewer covers become first, third and home plate and second base is someone’s cap. When you aren’t playing baseball your afternoon might include a matinee at the local theater or riding your bike for some penny candy at Julie’s Candy Store and there are always the Friday night dances with the St. Felicitas gang. Moving into the mid-50’s you find yourself surrounded by Rock and Roll and the sounds of Chicago’s jazz joints.
Everyone should have a childhood that is this much fun and a life that is this rich. In fact, for L. Curt Erler it isn’t a life, it is a celebration and it is what makes this memoir alternately so touching and so hilarious.
Author Biography
L. Curt Erler was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. As an adventurer and business executive, he has traveled extensively. He is the proud father of three grown daughters and resides with his wife of 46 years in San Diego County, California...
