"Skokie vigil honors victims 2 years after Oct. 7 attacks" (fb)

Chicago Jewish Historical Society (CJHS) member Marshall Sorkin is an expert and lecturer on Chicago's transit system. His knowledge has surprising connections to other things about Chicago, including Chicago Jewish history. Here is what he wrote about the "Three Patriots Statue " after it came up in correspondence. The "Three Patriots Statue" is a very relevant topic. Many Chicago area residents are unaware of the existence of that wonderful statue which is sort of "hidden in plain sight". I am very familiar with that statue and I know a bit about Haym Salomon's role in financially supporting the American Revolutionary War. While he at least lived to see the victory of the colonists over the British at the end of the Revolutionary War, his death at the age of 44 in 1785 meant that he didn't live to see the presentation of the Constitution in 1789. And Haym Salomon, Robert Morris, and George Washington have "connections" to the CTA "L". Please read on... ...For the 1976 US Bicentennial, many "L" cars were repainted with red, white, and blue themes along with temporarily naming some of those cars after American patriots. Cars 6017 and 6018 were named for Haym Salomon (see the name design for Salomon's cars above this paragraph). Cars 6175 & 6176 were for Robert Morris. 6711 & 6712 were for George Washington. If you're wondering why it was always two cars (not one or three or some other combination), here's the answer. Since 1950, all new CTA trains (with the exception of 50 cars built in 1959), are permanently connected in pairs. They are officially called "married pairs". Here's another photo (below) showing cars 2175 and 2176 (named for Ben Franklin). Note that Franklin's name is on the side of the leading car in a circle of stars (like Salomon's above). In an article about the statue published in Jewish Chicago (The JUF magazine) on 8/24/2021, it says that the money which Salomon raised and donated would be equivalent to between $4 and $9 billion (in 2021 dollars). People often don't consider inflation when they hear/read about amounts of money in past eras. (fb)