Shady Lane In Marengo, Illinois (Chicago, Rockford: loan, area, businesses)

[jbkeene28]

Originally Posted by jarlbaby

my grand parents started the thing in the early 50's or late 40's... my dad acted with gerald paige and jeff chandler in the theater... it caught fire the other day and much as burned down..... but i can supply many photos and history... but i', curious why your interest...

hI"
i WAS A TECH (SETS AND LIGHTS) In 1950-51. That year we did Streetcar named desire with Geraldine Page. this was one year before
Her appearance as Alma in the Off-Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke in 1952 which was as earth-shattering and legendary as anything that had ever happened in the American theatre.
So I must have known your dad......
I would Love a pix of theatre if you can send to my email, since I am doing a history of my life.. Much appreciate it
jbkeene28@gmail.com

[westcoralroad]

TO JBKEENE: I SENT YOU AN EMAIL WITH PHOTOS TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS YOU POSTED HERE AT THE FORUM...IT WAS RETURNED. JUST EMAIL ME@
19581955.mjc@gmail.com
THEN I CAN SEND YOU THAT EMAIL WITH THE IMAGES...
GOD BLESS, MARCI C.
westcoralroad

[Michel Corbeil]

Originally Posted by Yager

What can anyone tell me about Shady Lane Restaurant and Shady Lane Theatre on Route 20 in Marengo, Illinois. I know it was built in 1900, anyone have any other details or input about it? Thanks, Yager

To: Yager

The only thing I can tell you about the Shady Lane Playhouse in Marengo, Illinois, is that my play SECOND SPRING was produced there in 1979 with a very talented cast headed by the superb actor, Dale Benson.

Everyone was so supportive. And the setting was simply enchanting. The restaurant also served good food.

Wonderful memories. What a shame the Shady Lane Playhouse no longer exists. I often think about it

Best wishes,

Michel Corbeil

[dminkster]

I acted in 3 plays there in 1979 and returned to direct the plays for 5 years, 1981-1985. I loved it, the then owner Ray, was very generous and I felt the theatre was mine. He simply came in on dress rehearsal nights and watched what he would be presenting. I had directed some, but not alot before this, and it was great on the job training for me. I remember when I acted there coming into the Men's dressing room the first time to find Dale Benson, a long time regular and a great actor and guy, sitting in the knotty pine room. I looked out the window at the Wheat fields, which were quite high, it being July, and saying,' this is really beautiful', and Dale, with a smile, replied, 'yes, and I get to be here 40 weeks a year'. His positive outlook changed my life, and I enjoyed my 3 show stay a great deal, and learned more from him about comedy in that time than I had learned in my 38 years put together. When I returned to direct Dale had left to try, and meet with great success, other theaters. However, it was good for me, as I learned to work with actors, who like most of us, didn't have nearly as much talent. I have several photos of the place and they are posted proudly around my house. I miss you Shady Lane, but I will never, ever forget you and the good times I, along with thousands of others, had on your grounds.

[charlessoucek]

Shady Lane Farm and Theater were founded by Frank and Dorothy Bryan (the restaurant was founded first, in the 1930s). The Bryans then sold to Ray Curnow in the late 1950s or very early 1960s. I worked there while in high school--from 1959 to 1961 and then during the summers of my first 2 years of college. Mrs. Bryan was a force to be reckoned with--very short woman but with a no-nonsense attitude. We all were if not in fear of her, certainly in awe. She ran a tight ship.

The little house one of the posters mentioned, which was just to the west of the theater was owned by the Bryans. In it lived the restaurant's baker, Meta Vimpenny (we called her Penny). Like Mrs. Bryan, she was no-nonsense.

Almost everything served in the restaurant was made from scratch. Penny baked all the pies, cakes, rolls, etc. One of the specialties was fried chicken, and I remember the slogan for it in the menu: "When chicken like this is served, the wise man never lingers. He throws away his knife and fork and eats it with his fingers". The menu was filled with such "witticisms".

One of my fondest memories was sneaking into the back of the theater on Saturday night, after our work was finished. It was the exposure to "culture", even if the plays mostly were comedies and light. To farm kids, the plays smacked of the big city and the possibilities of other lives, other places.

I am grateful to the Bryans and the adults I worked with at Shady Lane for giving me a job and the examples of hard work. Because of them, I was able to get an education and achieve. They may have been hard on us, but I suspect they realized that they were our employers, not friends.

[KOOB007]

BG,
I would love to see the photos you have of the restaurant/playhouse both before and after the fire.
Mike

[KOOB007]

BG, I would love to see the photos you have--both before and after the fire.
Mike

[ebiedog1]

My parents both worked at Shady Lane in the 50's. My mother was a waitress and my father worked in the theater in the lighting department. They met there and married in 1957 and I was born in 1958. My mother worked there well over 20 years. I remember Ray Curnow as my mom worked there during my childhood. The different dining rooms each had their own names such as "The Porch"and "The Haymow". The bar was so beautiful to me with it's dark wood and low lights. I remember the painting hung behind the bar with a rather heavy woman in the nude. The kitchen was huge and I can still remember the layout of it. There were people who just made desserts and salads. They would fry the chicken in large cast iron skillets and made real mashed potatoes with butter and cream instead of milk. In the fall they would set up a scene out in the yard on the south side of the restaurant that had characters sitting around a fire with the harvest moon hanging in the sky. It was a beautiful place back then. I have some pictures of me maybe around the age of 3 or 4 sitting on the giant red wooden roosters that were in the yard. So many memories of Shady Lane... My e-mail is ebiedog1@gmail.com

[chrizma]

I drove by this place this morning and now the Steakhouse has been burned to the ground. I can't find much news coverage on it only this...

FIRE AT FORMER SHADY LANE FARM THEATRE AND RESTAURANT, OAK STEAKHOUSE ON ROUTE 20, MARENGO


WED AUG 20 2014 ~1:40 AM
MARENGO FPD
VACANT RESTAURANT FIRE/BOX ALARM
24803 W GRANT HWY MARENGO, IL

MABAS DIVISION 5 BOX ALARM ON BOX #5-1183 FOR A STRUCTURE FIRE ON FARMSTEAD

INITIAL ADDRESS DISPATCHED AS ROUTE 20 AND BURMA. SOME SOURCES ARE REPORTING 25803 W GRANT HWY.

ENGINE(S): HUNTLEY, WOODSTOCK

TENDER(S): GENOA-KINGSTON, KIRKLAND

EMS: ?

CHIEF(S): HARVARD, HAMPSHIRE

SPECIAL: BELVIDERE RIT, HUNTLEY SAFETY

CHANGE OF QUARTERS: LAKEWOOD ENGINE, HARVARD TENDER, HEBRON EMS

STAGING: AT SCENE

[jimmykon]

Hi everyone,

I live in Huntley, Illinois. It is about 15 miles or so from the Shady Lane Theatre and Restaurant. Several years ago, the playhouse pretty much burned to the ground. Last night, August 21st, at 1:30 Am, the newspaper reported that the Shady Lane Restaurant, what was left of it, has completely burned to the ground.

I never even knew about it until I moved to Huntley in 2000, but have been by there many, many times, and was intrigues by what it must have been. Talking to the old timers in Huntley, there were a lot of famous entertainers that performed there. Must have been a hot spot back in the day, especially considering that it was in the middle of nowhere.