Gately's Peoples store...destroyed... #Ward09

[VIDEO] This past Friday I posted about the former Gately's store located at 113th & Michigan. The store from what I can tell doing some Googling had long closed in 1981, with another store located in Tinley Park until 1994.

Usually me and my family would drive on Michigan Avenue to head to River Oaks Mall in Calumet City, we'd often pass this store. Of course by the time I came of age all I would recognize is that antiquated sign for a store that was no longer there. Whoever owned this property if it wasn't the Gately family who previously operated their location there never removed this sign. It was just a great reminder of the history of the retail strip of south Michigan Avenue between at least 107th Street to 1115th Street.

Christmas AM fire on 104th & State

[VIDEO] This was a sad story to find out about on Christmas morning and retweeted several stories about this from various local outlets also over @thesixthward on Twitter. It's sad that the residents of this building at 104th & State Street in Roseland - or Fernwood depending upon the source - were displaced on Christmas morning. In the video from CBS 2 above one family hadn't had the opportunity to even open their presents.

What most have on Christmas morning others may not have and this struck me as very sad.

Here are some tweets to share from news outlets and the Chicago Fire Dept.

Chicago Stars Ep. 2 - The Great Chicago Fire // MBMHMC tv

[VIDEO] I really like how the officials at the Chicago Fire Department Academy literally had to kick Jahmal Cole out of their training exercise. That is understandable at they are in training and surely there is an element of danger in their training.

Either way that segment is fitting as we explore another meaning for one of the stars on Chicago's flag - the Great Chicago Fire. We learn that there wasn't a fire started by a cow, but several fires near Lake Michigan which due to the buildings of the city at the time with wood and tar just spread all over the city.

Also ironically the alleged farm where the Great Chicago Fire started is exactly at the Chicago Fire Academy located at 558 W De Koven St.