Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Despite disinvestment, a longtime West Sider has stayed put with the help of block clubs

suntimes.com · 6d · first reportShare

Helen King sits in her dining room in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood. She’s been living in the home for more than 50 years and chuckles at the couch and lampshades covered in plastic. “Can you imagine that color if I didn’t have plastic on? All the kids and stuff,” she said. King raised her children here with her late husband Harry. She takes pride that her couches are still their original shade of yellow. “Alexa, play Ray Charles,” she said as she walked over to the kitchen. The music takes her back to summer parties organized by her block club. Neighbors gathered outside for some barbecue and good company. “We all needed and wanted the same things,” King said of her block club. “We wanted success, and we wanted our kids to be safe.” People attending a block party organized by the 1300 Claremont Club in order to raise money for neighborhood improvements in 1968. Chicago Sun-Times/ST-13003366-0016, Chicago History Museum Today, you’ll still see evidence of block clubs in Sou