Post 3: Community Song Post

My Town by Montgomery Gentry

There's a "For Sale" sign on a big old rusty tractor.
You can't miss it, it's the first thing that you see.
Just up the road, a pale-blue water tower,
With "I Love Jenny" painted in bright green.
Hey, that's my Uncle Bill, there by the courthouse.
He'll be lowerin' the flag when the sun goes down.
And this is my town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Hey!
Where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
My town.

There ain't much goin' on here since they closed the mill.
But that whistle still blows ev'ry day at noon.
A bunch of us still go down to the diner.
I wonder if that interstate's still comin' through.
Come Sunday morning service, at the Church of Christ,
Well there ain't an empty seat to be found.
And this is my town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
My town.

Well, I bought and painted up that rusty tractor.
You can't miss it, it's sittin' right there in our yard.
The County came and took that water tower,
And that's Jenny, with a baby, in the car.
Ah, we're off to Sunday service at the Church of Christ,
And if we want a seat, we better leave right now.
And maybe later, me an old T-roy will show you around,
Our town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)

Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
My town.

   In this song, Gentry supports his community and shows his hometown pride. He talks about how it has changed and his good and bad memories while living there. He is obviously glad to be there because he "came back to settle down." It is described as a small rural farm town that once had tractors and a mill. Although he mentions that the mill closed, the townspeople still fill the church. This shows that even though not "much [was] goin' on here since" that occurrence, the people still stuck together for the sake of their community. The singer doesn't feel the town needs changes because he noticed that the people living there already had changed it by tearing down the old graffitied water tower. They also found a way to flourish once again after the closing of their economy boosting mill. Although the town doesn't need any more changes, the singer buys the "big old rusty tractor" and fixes it up. By doing this, he shows his dedication to the town where he was raised and has no shame calling it the place "where they'll put me in the ground."

Bibliography

1. Drury, John. "Jefferson Park- Cradle of City's Northwest Side." Chicago Daily News 27 May 1957: 2. Print.

Population increases in Jefferson Park.

2. Karlen, Harvey M. Chicago's Crabgrass Communities: The History of the Independent Suburbs and Their Post Offices That Became Part of Chicago. 1992.

Basic history of Jefferson: first settlers, stores, railroads, etc.

3 .Posadas, Barbara M. “A Home in the Country: Suburbanization in Jefferson Township, 1870–1889.” Chicago History 8.3 (Fall 1978): 134–149.

How it got its name and when it was incorporated.

4."Northwest Chicago Historical Society - Jefferson Park." Northwest Chicago Historical Society - Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://nwchicagohistory.org/nwch_jefferson_

Jefferson Park’s first settlers and railroad history.

5. Mendro, Bernhardt. "The "Garden" Gateway." Jefferson Park- A History 2 (1980): 1-11. Print.
History beginning with the first settler.

6.  Foerstner, Abigail. "The Village Called "Jefferson"." Chicago Tribune 6 Aug. 1986, sec. 8: 13-14. Print.

How it evolved in quick succession from an agricultural township to an independent village to a suburb of Chicago.

7."Jefferson Park." Chicago Velo - Chicago Neighborhoods by Bike. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. http://www.chicagovelo.com/jeffersonpark.html

Early settlement to Jefferson and the building of a community.

8."The Chicago Neighborhoods." The Chicago Neighborhoods. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://www.thechicagoneighborhoods.com/Jefferson-Park>.

How the population grew when the Elston and Milwaukee Plank railroads were extended.

9. Pogorzelski, Daniel. " Holiday in Avondale | Forgotten Chicago | History, Architecture, and Infrastructure." Forgotten Chicago | History, Architecture, and Infrastructure. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://forgottenchicago.com/features/holiday-in-avondale/>.

Access improvement to Jefferson by the extension of the Milwaukee streetline.

10. Shigley, Elaine. "Chicago's Jefferson Park community - Chicago History | Examiner.com." Welcome to Examiner.com | Examiner.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.examiner.com/article/chicago-s-jefferson-park-community>.

Railroads bringing in German and Polish laborers and settlers.

11. Conner, Henry. "Jefferson Park Jubilee."Sun times [Chicago] 29 Oct. 1939: 8. Print.

 Percentage of residents and their cultural backgrounds.

12. Voss, Rose . "Jefferson Park." Progress Trend 1 (1981): 1-4. Print.

History of Elston Ave. and early days of the village.

13. Sedgwick, Robert. "Jefferson History of By-Gone Years." Progress Turned 1 (1981): 4,7. Print.

Description of the area as the perfect town close to the city, yet close to the countryside. 

14. Childs, Roberta H. A History of the Jefferson Park Community. Rep. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Steps leading to the improvement of the original pioneer community.

15. Siudzinski, Frank. "Cripe, Pioneer Resident, Talks of Jefferson Park."Tribune [Chicago] 9 Nov. 1935: 6-8. Print.

Jefferson Park at the time of the Columbian Exposition.

16. Catlin, Franklin, and Frank Murphy. Elston Ave. Opening Celebration. Dec. 1928.
History of the old Plank Roads and the earlier country roads.

17. Sanfillip, Tom. "The History of Jefferson Township." The Jefferson Digest 1.1 (1989): 4-6. Print.     The key to Jefferson Park's entire growth and development because of transportation.

18. Consortium, The Chicago Fact Book .Local community fact book: Chicago metropolitan area
based on the 1990 census. Chicago, Ill.: University of Illinois at Chicago, 1990. Print. Description of the town and its census tracts.

19. Vesper, Frank. "Area Originally Part of Virginia." Times Home Newspapers[Chicago] 18 Oct. 1961: 12. Print.
Comparing and contrasting the community at the time the article was written to the time it was first settled.

20. De Bat, Don. "The "Gateway" to Chicago." Chicago Daily News 13 Sept. 1974: 14-15. Print.
Analysis of census data in the community and description of a day in the life a person during the popualtion boom.

21. Valko, George. The Volga Germans: Krasnoyar (aka Krasnojar), Chicago, everywhere : their stories, their words : a compendium of history and family. Family ed. Chicago, IL: G. Valko, 20012002. Print.
The story of Jefferson Park through the eyes of a very early resident.

Post 2: Community Posts

Polish School Community

     On every Friday night, I attend Kolbe School of Polish language. Classes are held at St. Constance School and I am in the second year of high school. Students enter through a big glass door and walk a few steps on a large burgundy carpet that leads to the black and white stairs.  A big brown door leads to a hallway of classrooms. My room is down the dark hallway and to the left. Most of the lights come form the exit signs. One side of my classroom is covered in green tile and the other has old windows. The walls are covered with motivational posters from the American school that uses it daily and their classwork. All around the bottom of the room are storage shelves and the back of the room has a Smart Board that we aren't allowed to touch. We sit at long wooden tables with black tops that are arranged  in two rows with six tables in each one. Only two students can sit at a table in a blue chair with metal legs. My teacher's desk is old and white with a gray top and several metal drawers. She sits in a big chair with large black cushions. The front of the room has a dry erase board and the door is to the left of it.

     In my Polish school class, we are expected to give our phones to the teacher as soon as the bell signaling the start of class rings. We must be in our seats and silent. We are also expected to have our homework complete and to throw out any chewing gum or food out. As a member, I am required to know the language fluently and be able to speak and read it. Whenever a secretary comes in or walks out of the classroom, we are required to stand up for her until she says to sit. We must also be willing to learn the literature, grammar, and history of Poland. Everyone except for the teacher have the same responsibilities. My teacher has to be able to control us, teach us, and make lesson plans. 

     I feel comfortable in this community because I am surrounded by people of my own age and of the same culture. This is my community because I feel like an important and welcomed part of it and it includes others attending for the same purpose. We are all proud of our Polish heritage and are willing to learn more about our backgrounds. Even though attending Polish school is not mandatory like normal school, I attend because I want to make my family proud and master the language so I can talk with family in Poland.

St. Constance Parish Volleyball Community

    The St. Constance Parish volleyball team has practices every Thursday night at 8 o'clock. We meet in the Handzel Center Gym. It is a large gym with white tile floors and is painted with St. Constance School colors: red, black, and white. It is fully equipped with a basketball and volleyball court. 

    Being on the team, we are expected to show up to practice on time and ready to play. We are expected to do our best at practice and be open to improvement. We are required to set up the net and get a ball as soon as we arrive and do this efficiently. We must also be respectful to our coach and teammates. Our coach is expected to give back the respect that we give her. She must come to games and practices and make our weaknesses our strengths. 

    This is my community because we all enjoy playing competitive volleyball. I feel comfortable in it because I have fun playing and I know my teammates do to. We all cheer for each other and bring each other up if one of us is down. I know that we can all count on each other and that no matter what happens, we will all be their for each other. 

   

Family Community

     My family lives in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago. The 5 of us live in a single family home decorated with earthy tones. The walls are painted a light green that matches perfectly with our brown coaches and champagne colored pillows. When entering through the front door, the first place you see is the living room. It leads to our dining room with its large wooden table and is separated from the kitchen by a wooden swinging door. To the left of the dining room is my brothers' bedroom, the bathroom, and my parents' bedroom. The stairs to the second floor of the house are in the dining room and lead to my bright, sea-foam colored room, the playroom, my dad's office, and a small bathroom. The stairs to our basement are in the kitchen and lead to a bar, office space, "man cave", bathroom, and laundry room. We also have a porch and a small backyard.

     In my family, my brothers and I have several responsibilities and chores. We are all expected to start our homework as soon as we come home and keep our rooms tidy. I, being the oldest and least lazy, have the most chores to do. I have to vacuum, do the dishes, help my mom with the laundry and cooking, iron my own clothes, help my youngest brother with his homework, dust the house along with my dad's help, and set the dinner table with my little brother's help. We are also expected to obey our parents and help them with whatever they are doing. In addition to cleaning the bathrooms, cooking, doing the laundry, and driving us to extracurricular activities, my mom and dad work to support the family. My grandparents come over every morning to take my brothers to school and to pick all of us up and watch us until our parents come home.

     I feel comfortable in this community because I have grown up in it and it is the first community I have belonged to. I know that the people in it care for me and love me no matter what happens. I understand that even though I may not like the choices my parents make for me, they are for my greater good. I have known the people in this community my whole life and I know that we all love each other even though we may not show it. I also know I can always depend on these people and that they can rely on me.

Post 1: Response to Crevecour

For us today, America is simply where we live, work, and go to school. Our parents decided to raise us hear for a reason. Our ancestors also chose to live in this country and depended on it to provide them with food, land, and protection. But why out of all the possible countries did they rely on the United States? Michel Crevecoeur answers this question for us in his “Letters from an American Farmer”.

When poor Europeans sought a country they could call home, they needed fertile land, fair government, and the rights they couldn’t get from where they emigrated from. Eighteenth century America turned out to be the perfect place for these immigrants. Here they “became men” with more opportunities and more control over their lives. They no longer had to worry about royalty claiming ownership of their earnings. The U.S. provided them with a fresh new start that they were desperately in need of. This yearning was shared with many immigrants and soon America became a “melting pot” of different races and nationalities. With each other’s help, all of the immigrants found what they needed in a homeland and finally found reliability. 

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