For most of the time during the 1950s, five doctors lived next door to each other on the 500 block of North Oak Park Avenue.
Dr. Grissom, a pediatrician, was our next-door neighbor and my primary physician until I was 14. He was always available if there was an emergency, and he made house calls. During a wrestling class in my freshman year, a mole on the back of my neck was scraped open and bled on and off during the school day. When I got home, I called Dr. Grissom, who happened to be at home, and he told me to come over right away. I sat on a chair in his front hall, and he cut off what was left of the mole.
On a Saturday afternoon during my sophomore year, a group of neighborhood kids were playing basketball in our backyard, and John Gilbert fell and injured his arm. Once again Dr. Grissom was at home, examined John’s arm and said it was broken. He splinted it and called the Gilberts, who took John to West Suburban Hospital where the break was verified and the arm was set.
Dr. Grissom and his family moved from Oak Park in 1958. We were sad to see him leave because not only was he a good friend but he was always there when we needed him.
Next door to the Grissoms was the family of Dr. Sullivan. He had nine children, but they were all younger than I when they moved into the neighborhood in the late 1950s, so I really never knew them.
The family of Dr. Shima lived next door to the Sullivans, and the Shima kids were also younger. My family members were friends with the Shimas, however, so I knew them fairly well.
During the Christmas season, the Shimas hosted a get-together that was well attended.
I remember in 1959 when an inebriated neighbor arrived after attending a party at his office. He asked me what was in the punch bowls, and I told him that one was scotch and the other was bourbon. After slurping down two or three cups of bourbon punch, he announced that he would lead us in a sing-along. Just as he got started, his wife grabbed his arm, made apologies, and hustled him out of the door, leaving their coats behind.
The house next to the Shimas was owned by Dr. Bert Beverly Sr. Dr. Bert Jr. and his wife lived on the second floor, and the senior Beverlys lived on the first floor. The Beverlys were pediatricians who practiced at 715 Lake St., the Medical Arts building. Dr. Beverly Sr. sold the two-flat while I was still in grade school, but father and son continued to practice together until the father retired. I did not go to the Beverlys, but after I was married, we took our children to Dr. Beverly Jr. until they were old enough to go to our doctor.
Our family felt that in case of a medical emergency — and there were two or three —help was always near because not only were the doctors usually home at night but three of the doctor’s wives were trained nurses who were home most of each day with their children.
These fortunate circumstances made for a very safe environment.
John Stanger is a lifelong resident of Oak Park, a 1957 graduate of OPRF High School, married with three grown children and five grandchildren, and an English professor at Elmhurst College. Living two miles from where he grew up, he hasn’t gotten far in 71 years.