by Melissa Wozniczka, September 21, 1999, from the Chicago Flame, UIC's Student Newspaper

A copy of this article is also available at the Chicago Flame Website.

Rising early last Saturday morning to a glowing gleam of sunshine filtering in through the curtains of my bedroom window was the only premonition I needed to realize that my mission for the afternoon was going to be an eventful one. No, I was not going shopping at the mall or to lunch with friends. Instead I was going on a tour of Maxwell Street for the first time, with Steve Balkin, vice president of the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition and Professor of Economics at Roosevelt University.

Needless to say, it was an experience and it goes a little like this:

First thing on my agenda was to talk to as many people as I possibly can, and with the help of Balkin I was able to do just that and then some. Arriving on the scene, the first noticeable attraction in the area was a wooden bandstand on the corner of Maxwell and Halsted streets, across from Original Jim's Hot-dog Stand and UIC's Parking Lot 16.

While trying to adjust my eyes to the brightness of the afternoon sun and taking in the scene at the same time, I heard the faint sounds of a keyboard being played. Next thing I knew, someone, with a deep, melodious voice began singing the blues. I gravitated to the bandstand and could not help myself begin bobbing to the beat. The man playing and singing on the wooden bandstand was a blues man by the name of Bobby Davis.

Davis encompasses all of my stereotypes of a blues player. He was a bit chubby, with big, black-tinted sunglasses. He wore an immense gold ring on his hand, a little hat topped askew on his head, a bright, Bahama button-down shirt, and a mammoth smile over his entire face. I Let my mind wander for a couple of seconds while soaking up the atmosphere, and the next thing I know, he made up and proceeded to sing a song about me, for me! That was the highlight of my afternoon! No one has ever sung, let alone, written a song just for me, and feelings of bliss and uniqueness raced throughout me for the duration of the day.

Frank Scott, a sweet older man with an equally sugary smile, is the owner, builder, and preserver of the bandstand where Davis and other blues players do their thing. Many people stop and listen, and bob their head to the beat when passing by the bandstand. Others get down and dance their little hearts out like local Lewis Tucker, who danced a dance just for me.

The happening hot spot in the area is Original Jim's Hotdog Stand, famous for its pork-chop sandwiches and Polish sausages. Being a vegetarian, I did not want to try any of the items sold, but the crowds in front of the stand said it all. With grins on their faces and a sandwich in one hand and free fries in the other, the major consensus exclamation was "Great food!"

"We are open 365 days out of the year, 24 hours a day. We've only closed down twice. Once for my dad's funeral, and once for my sister's funeral. And only for half a day, so the employee's can attend the funerals," said Joe Stefanovic, owner of Original Jim's Hot-dog Stand.

Stefanovic could not help but boast about his exceptional work staff, and the excellent business they receive at the stand. There is still one residential house left on Maxwell Street and I met and spoke with one of the residents. The house, in which Lorenz Joseph has resided for the past 15 years, is located next door to the 13th Street Garden. Joseph is a visual recorder with an extensive amount of still photography as well as video records of many historical and cultural events in and around Chicago.

"Maxwell Street is about freedom, that's why they (UIC) want it," Joseph said. Maxwell Street is known historically for many things as well as people. A building wall located next to the bandstand is filled with important and famous names and inscriptions. Stores located in the area still carry the ever-famous Zoot suit, which was extremely popular in the Jazz/Swing Era.

Hughe Tarver, one of the roving merchants of Maxwell Street, has been selling on Maxwell Street for the past four and a half years. Tarver explained that he would not mind if the merchants of Maxwell Street need to unionize and wear uniforms. He feels that these things are all needed, because being an "entrepreneur" does not equate being a "hustler."

Reverend Johnson and his wife own a blues music store on Halsted, for over one and a half years.

Reverend Johnson, wearing black overalls and a train conductor black-and-white striped hat, leaned back in his chair and in a low, but strong voice said that Maxwell Street "helps the rich and academically astute people to have access to experience a reality check. It is also a segment where the educated and uneducated, the poor and the rich, black and white, to share personal concepts about life."

My afternoon ended on a sweet note, with an "helado" from a Mexican vendor, and a newfound faith in people. I was taken in with open arms and extended invitations and not at all treated like an outsider. All in all, it was an afternoon never to be forgotten and every time I hear a blues melody playing in one of those snazzy little coffee shops or on the radio, I will remember Davis, Scott, Joseph, and the other locals of Maxwell Street and just smile.

For more information on Maxwell Street and its current state, check out the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition's Website at www.openair.org/maxwell/preserve.html.

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