Park Ridge Maine East

[Trickeration]

1855 Enrollment according to IHSA.

Scored only 75 points while giving up 398 this season. I see the job is open and I'm wondering what the situation is there? Is it a player thing, a lack of coaching, bad administration or something else?

I can understand a 1-8 record but that is a pretty significant points disparity.

Anyone?

 

[Irish LB]

2 public school programs from the same town with drastically different results. Something doesn’t really add up.

 

[LAguy]

I don't know how true or to what degree this exists and hopefully a MS poster can shed some light but I have been under the impression, based off what I've been told that there is a open enrollment policy of some sorts within the Maine School District (South, East and West). Again, not sure if that is true but that could be one factor.

MS has a very long tradition of having a strong football program. When we played them in 92' I still recall how much our coaches stressed to us how much of a powerhouse program they were even back then. If there is some kind of open enrollment thing, their tradition would explain why all the football kids would choose to go there.

Would love for someone any of the Maine schools to set the record straight on that.

 

[kpjasion]

It's a demographic and socio-economic thing mostly.

Some history..there was once a Maine North High School, and when it closed in June 1981, most of their students were absorbed by Maine East. I graduated in 1981 from Maine East, the last class before Maine North closed, and we had 755 students in our graduating class. For the class of 1982, they had over 1400. Enrollment had almost doubled.

To alleviate this, District 207 decided that people who lived in the north end of Park Ridge in the traditional Maine East district, could go to either Maine East or Maine South(at the time the "other" Park Ridge school...now "the" Park Ridge school).

At the same time this was happening, Park Ridge was transitioning from a nice, upper middle class suburb to a very nouveau riche north shore wannabe suburb where nice old homes were torn down left and right and replaced with McMansions...especially the area just around Maine East. As that occurred in Park Ridge, while not in the Des Plaines / Niles / Morton Grove areas that Maine East also took in, the McMansion owners more and more sent their kids to Maine South. While the rule of either school is still in effect, nowadays almost no one who lives in the north part of Park Ridge sends their kids to Maine East.

Right next to Maine East is Lutheran General Hospital, which also underwent major expansion in the past 20-30 years. Because of that, alot of the area around the hospital..in Park Ridge and other suburbs, became much more doctor centric (when my parents retired down to Sarasota in 1994 doctors bought their house even..), and as a part of that it became much, much more ethnically diverse. If you look at the cultural makeup of Maine East, it's about a third Asian and about a quarter hispanic -> https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/...=studentdemographics&Schoolid=050162070170001).

How this all related to football, is that Asians and Hispanics are not historically groups where a lot of kids play football. Because of that, they have low numbers, and need to teach a lot of kids the basics, and the result is usually a 1-8 or 0-9 season. They did have one year where they had a chance. They had a bunch of good kids, including 3 of the head coach's sons on the team, but they got hit by injuries and wound up 4-5. The last winning season the varsity had was 5-4 in 1983.

It sucks as a Maine East alum, as they once played good football there. My freshman year the varsity went 9-1 and beat Maine South 41-18...and Maine South was 1-8 my junior and senior years. Phil Hopkins wouldn't arrive until a couple of years later and change the trajectory of Maine South football. Hopkins and Inserra, plus the inherent advantages from high socio-economic factors that exist in Park Ridge will for the forseeable future mean Maine South is always strong and Maine East is always an also-ran.

 

[Catch--22]

KP hit the nail on the head. I have a friend with a 1st-grade daughter who lives on Potter, just blocks away from the school. I ask if she’ll go to Maine East someday, and he says “No chance... Go Hawks!”

Maine South also draws from unincorporated Norwood Park Twp and parts of Norridge that should/could conceivably feed into Ridgewood. That’s my old neighborhood. The neighborhood also features the farthest northwest area of Chicago proper. While I shrug my shoulders at the boundaries, you can bet I’ll be in a Maine South house if I ever move back there rather than a Ridgewood house or in Chicago.

At my grammar school (St. Eugene) it happens every year that several 8th graders move within the same neighborhood from Chicago or “Ridgewood” to a Maine South area. Most of the circumstances I know of aren’t even driven by football. It has always been the best option for that community, especially before the CPS options could even be considered.

 

[superac777]

Gotta show Maine East some love.Svengooli went there!!!

 

[Occams toothbrush]

A portion of Niles and Harwood Heights lies within the MS district boundaries and yet MS is always one of the smallest 8A schools even falling to 7A a few years back. MS is dwarfed by NT and considerably smaller than Evanston and GBS.

 

[Catch--22]

However, “smallest 8A school” isn’t small. It’s big... very big. 2400 students. 4A Ridgewood is smallish, with just 850 kids. Shouldn’t all the Harwood Heights kids logically feed to Ridgewood? Ridgewood is 4 blocks away, and 95% of Harwood Heights goes to Ridgewood, Maine South is over 4 miles away, You drive through HH, Norridge, Chicago, NWP, and Park Ridge, AND cross the crazy Kennedy Expressway in the course of that 4 miles to get from HH to Maine South.

Certainly not whining about Maine South. I know these districts were drawn up before our grandparents were born, It just doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.

 

[MS4EVER]

Gotta show Maine East some love.Svengooli went there!!!

Harrison Ford too!

 

[MC63]

It's a demographic and socio-economic thing mostly.

Some history..there was once a Maine North High School, and when it closed in June 1981, most of their students were absorbed by Maine East. I graduated in 1981 from Maine East, the last class before Maine North closed, and we had 755 students in our graduating class. For the class of 1982, they had over 1400. Enrollment had almost doubled.

To alleviate this, District 207 decided that people who lived in the north end of Park Ridge in the traditional Maine East district, could go to either Maine East or Maine South(at the time the "other" Park Ridge school...now "the" Park Ridge school).

At the same time this was happening, Park Ridge was transitioning from a nice, upper middle class suburb to a very nouveau riche north shore wannabe suburb where nice old homes were torn down left and right and replaced with McMansions...especially the area just around Maine East. As that occurred in Park Ridge, while not in the Des Plaines / Niles / Morton Grove areas that Maine East also took in, the McMansion owners more and more sent their kids to Maine South. While the rule of either school is still in effect, nowadays almost no one who lives in the north part of Park Ridge sends their kids to Maine East.

Right next to Maine East is Lutheran General Hospital, which also underwent major expansion in the past 20-30 years. Because of that, alot of the area around the hospital..in Park Ridge and other suburbs, became much more doctor centric (when my parents retired down to Sarasota in 1994 doctors bought their house even..), and as a part of that it became much, much more ethnically diverse. If you look at the cultural makeup of Maine East, it's about a third Asian and about a quarter hispanic -> https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/...=studentdemographics&Schoolid=050162070170001).

How this all related to football, is that Asians and Hispanics are not historically groups where a lot of kids play football. Because of that, they have low numbers, and need to teach a lot of kids the basics, and the result is usually a 1-8 or 0-9 season. They did have one year where they had a chance. They had a bunch of good kids, including 3 of the head coach's sons on the team, but they got hit by injuries and wound up 4-5. The last winning season the varsity had was 5-4 in 1983.

It sucks as a Maine East alum, as they once played good football there. My freshman year the varsity went 9-1 and beat Maine South 41-18...and Maine South was 1-8 my junior and senior years. Phil Hopkins wouldn't arrive until a couple of years later and change the trajectory of Maine South football. Hopkins and Inserra, plus the inherent advantages from high socio-economic factors that exist in Park Ridge will for the forseeable future mean Maine South is always strong and Maine East is always an also-ran.

I lived in Park Ridge from 1978 to 1996, and you hit the nail right on the head

 

[Occams toothbrush]

It does seem illogical, I'm sure your tax bill runs a little higher if you're in the MS district versus the Ridgewood district.

 

[kpjasion]

Harrison Ford too!

And really Hillary Clinton graduated from Maine South, but she went to Maine East for her first three years. I always think when a new school opens up it should start with freshman and sophomore classes only and let juniors and seniors stay where they've been. Abdel Nadar of the Phoenix Suns played basketball ball at Maine East for three years then transferred to Niles North his senior year. We just can't seem to hold on to people.

 

[Occams toothbrush]

MS vs ME hoops rivalry was great in the 70's.

 

[BBCHS77]

Curious... anyone remember MS QB Ron Wagner from about 1990???

 

[1111SouthFirst]

And really Hillary Clinton graduated from Maine South, but she went to Maine East for her first three years. I always think when a new school opens up it should start with freshman and sophomore classes only and let juniors and seniors stay where they've been. Abdel Nadar of the Phoenix Suns played basketball ball at Maine East for three years then transferred to Niles North his senior year. We just can't seem to hold on to people.

KP...liked your historical post. MW guy here, we used to beat MS when I was in high school when the MW football program had around 200 kids.

Harrison Ford is a Maine Township HS (now Maine East) alum, if I'm not mistaken.

I remember the Maine North Norsemen, they drew the kids from the northern stretches of Des Plaines too.

My sister (who can be a bit snooty) lives on Manor, a few streets south of Maine East and my niece is a sophomore at MS. When her daughter was in junior high, my sister liked to say how they were seriously considering ME because she likes to think of herself as open-minded. I would look at her and tell her that there is no way that SHE would send her kid to ME.

 

[TheDude11]

KP...liked your historical post. MW guy here, we used to beat MS when I was in high school when the MW football program had around 200 kids.

Harrison Ford is a Maine Township HS (now Maine East) alum, if I'm not mistaken.

I remember the Maine North Norsemen, they drew the kids from the northern stretches of Des Plaines too.

My sister (who can be a bit snooty) lives on Manor, a few streets south of Maine East and my niece is a sophomore at MS. When her daughter was in junior high, my sister liked to say how they were seriously considering ME because she likes to think of herself as open-minded. I would look at her and tell her that there is no way that SHE would send her kid to ME.

Nearly everyone that lives in the Maine Township area where parents are given the choice of sending their kids to MS or ME ends up going to Maine South.

 

[MWittman]

And really Hillary Clinton graduated from Maine South, but she went to Maine East for her first three years.

kpjasion:

Did HRC transfer to MS for her final year because she was re-districted or because she lost the ME senior class presidential election?

 

[kpjasion]

KP...liked your historical post. MW guy here, we used to beat MS when I was in high school when the MW football program had around 200 kids.

Harrison Ford is a Maine Township HS (now Maine East) alum, if I'm not mistaken.

I remember the Maine North Norsemen, they drew the kids from the northern stretches of Des Plaines too.

My sister (who can be a bit snooty) lives on Manor, a few streets south of Maine East and my niece is a sophomore at MS. When her daughter was in junior high, my sister liked to say how they were seriously considering ME because she likes to think of herself as open-minded. I would look at her and tell her that there is no way that SHE would send her kid to ME.

I grew up on DeCook Avenue...the next street north of Manor Lane parallel to it..and if they live on the north side of Manor Lane between Parkside and Vernon I probably knew them or whoever lived in their house back in the day. Sadly, the neighborhood wasn't always that snooty. My mom is still alive and when I talk with her and we talk about the old neighborhood I tell her I would never live there again because (a) I couldn't afford it and (b) even if I could I really wouldn't want to these days.

After my brother and I got out of college and moved out on our own, my parents had a kid who mowed the lawn who lived on Farrell...all you had to do was walk 20 feet across the street from his house and you were on Maine East property...and he went to Maine South because of their soccer team.

What bums me the most though, is seeing people I graduated from Maine East with who still live in Park Ridge send their kids to Maine South. When Palatine played Maine South in the semifinals last year there were three kids of friends of mine from the Maine East class of '81 on Maine South's team. I roamed over by the MS side before the game(ostensibly to find them but mostly to keep warm..hehe) and found two of them and I'm like "c'mon guys"...but they both said the kids would be considered almost freaks if they went to Maine East..it's considered the "weird" school. Oddly, Maine East is filled with doctor's and nurse's kids and scores very highly in most comparisons of high schools academically, but in terms of athletics it's always second tier.

 

[1111SouthFirst]

kpjasion:

Did HRC transfer to MS for her final year because she was re-districted or because she lost the ME senior class presidential election?

I'd like to say she lost the election, but she actually transferred to MS because it just opened and the Rodhams lived in the then-new MS district.

 

[kpjasion]

kpjasion:

Did HRC transfer to MS for her final year because she was re-districted or because she lost the ME senior class presidential election?

Ha! She was re-districted when Maine South opened.

Interestingly, if you read her biography that came out about 10 years ago, there's a whole chapter pretty much about her high school days and how she was basically a conservative when she started high school and a pastor at her church started her conversion to a liberal. It's got interesting stories about how her US govt professor Mr Carlson( who was a LEGENDARY teacher at Maine East - let's put it this way, I'm very liberal and always have been and Mr Carlson was a John Birch Society "better dead than red" guy and I thought the world of him and had him write a recommendation letter for me to get into the Honors Program at NIU when I was graduating and he gladly did it and wrote me a glowing recommendation) used to argue politics in class and often after school. It seems competing forces in her upbringing in PR really did shape her regardless of what you think of her politics.

 

[1111SouthFirst]

I grew up on DeCook Avenue...the next street north of Manor Lane parallel to it..and if they live on the north side of Manor Lane between Parkside and Vernon I probably knew them or whoever lived in their house back in the day. Sadly, the neighborhood wasn't always that snooty. My mom is still alive and when I talk with her and we talk about the old neighborhood I tell her I would never live there again because (a) I couldn't afford it and (b) even if I could I really wouldn't want to these days.

After my brother and I got out of college and moved out on our own, my parents had a kid who mowed the lawn who lived on Farrell...all you had to do was walk 20 feet across the street from his house and you were on Maine East property...and he went to Maine South because of their soccer team.

What bums me the most though, is seeing people I graduated from Maine East with who still live in Park Ridge send their kids to Maine South. When Palatine played Maine South in the semifinals last year there were three kids of friends of mine from the Maine East class of '81 on Maine South's team. I roamed over by the MS side before the game(ostensibly to find them but mostly to keep warm..hehe) and found two of them and I'm like "c'mon guys"...but they both said the kids would be considered almost freaks if they went to Maine East..it's considered the "weird" school. Oddly, Maine East is filled with doctor's and nurse's kids and scores very highly in most comparisons of high schools academically, but in terms of athletics it's always second tier.

She's near Manor and Hamlin(?) on the south side of the street. I always like point out all the O'Hare air traffic when we're out on her deck.

 

[kpjasion]

KP...liked your historical post. MW guy here, we used to beat MS when I was in high school when the MW football program had around 200 kids. .

I really enjoyed watching many Maine West games this year and am really impressed with the job Kradman has done with that program.

I also enjoyed all the comparisons to the 1979 squad because I remember them quite well as that was my junior year at Maine East. You guys beat us 18-7 and won conference that year. My late best friend Alex was a football and track musclehead kind of guy, and used to lift sometimes with the late Rick Schulte at the Leaning tower YMCA. Thru him I got to know guys like Perry Carlini, Mark Voss, George Arvanitis, and Kevin Clifford. That was a hell of a team! Started out 7-0 and only got their first loss to Deerfield 14-13 in week eight..and this was when Paul Adams was in his prime at Deerfield and they were a perennial power.

 

[1111SouthFirst]

I really enjoyed watching many Maine West games this year and am really impressed with the job Kradman has done with that program.

I also enjoyed all the comparisons to the 1979 squad because I remember them quite well as that was my junior year at Maine East. You guys beat us 18-7 and won conference that year. My late best friend Alex was a football and track musclehead kind of guy, and used to lift sometimes with the late Rick Schulte at the Leaning tower YMCA. Thru him I got to know guys like Perry Carlini, Mark Voss, George Arvanitis, and Kevin Clifford. That was a hell of a team! Started out 7-0 and only got their first loss to Deerfield 14-13 in week eight..and this was when Paul Adams was in his prime at Deerfield and they were a perennial power.

Agree, its nice to see the Warriors making a little noise again these days, too bad for them they had to play a very good Benet team in week 10. I remember all those guys you mention, I had graduated by then but I have two younger sisters that attended MW, classes of 80 and 82. One of them dated Carlini for a while.

 

[kpjasion]

At my grammar school (St. Eugene) it happens every year that several 8th graders move within the same neighborhood from Chicago or “Ridgewood” to a Maine South area.

Catch-22...I went to Our Lady of Ransom in Niles for grade school and St Eugene was always one of our main rivals for CYO Floor Hockey. St Eugene, OLR and St Huberts out in Hoffman Estates were like the Maine South, LWE and Loyola of CYO Floor Hockey back in the mid '70s

 

[CCHS-Fan]

Bring back Al Eck!

 

[Occams toothbrush]

ME is academically great and the building itself is beautiful architecturally speaking. Between Dempster and Golf there are thousands of rental units. Living there provides a great education without having to pay exorbitant real estate taxes.

 

[kpjasion]

Bring back Al Eck!

Now you poked the hornet's nest.

First off, he passed away 15 years ago so couldn't bring him back even if we wanted. From his obit:

"His proudest career highlights included coaching the famed 1965 undefeated, unscored on, championship Palatine High School football team; and, as head football coach for Maine East High School, coaching the 1977 undefeated conference champions -- Maine East's first and only playoff team. He concluded his coaching career at Maine West High School and William Rainey Harper College."

Secondly, I played under Al Eck, and to be honest I wasn't a big fan. It seemed if you were already a good player he could make you better, but if you were marginal(as I was) he didn't have much time for you. He was also a "suck it up" kinda guy who didn't seem to have much tolerance for injuries. My best friend Alex was the starting fullback and a starting linebacker but was having alot of problems with pain in his shoulders. After playing as well as he could his senior year and Eck telling him out loud in front of other players that he had "all state size and all state ability, but not an all state attitude" he found he had bones spurs in his shoulders. Anyone who's had bone spurs can imagine how good that felt every play..

It was a lesson in cognitive dissonance for me when I went to NIU to discover he was the only two-time All American in NIU history and in their athletic hall of fame, and then later when my sons played football at Palatine High School to find he was in the athletic hall of fame there too, as a player and a coach, and had a lot of success.

 

[CCHS-Fan]

My uncle played for him. He loved Al.

 

[CCHS-Fan]

And Guy Boliaux was a beast for the Demons!

 

[1111SouthFirst]

ME is academically great and the building itself is beautiful architecturally speaking. Between Dempster and Golf there are thousands of rental units. Living there provides a great education without having to pay exorbitant real estate taxes.

Living in that area between Dempster and Golf would provide an education in a lot of things that have nothing to do with a HS education.

 

[kpjasion]

And Guy Boliaux was a beast for the Demons!

Yes he was. Alot of the '77 squad were incredible players..Guy Boliaux, Tim Gavlin, Tom Bradley, Terry Brady, Bob Rzeppa, Bob Etchingham, Brian Frasier, and lots more I've probably forgotten by now.

My two favorite college teams are NIU and Wisconsin. NIU because I graduated from there, but I started following Wisconsin football when Guy Boliaux went there after Maine East and have been a fan ever since.

 

[MC63]

kpjasion:

Did HRC transfer to MS for her final year because she was re-districted or because she lost the ME senior class presidential election?

It was stolen from her. Actually, she won the school's popular vote, but the janitor's vote gave th election to her opponent -- a millionaire doctor's son with an Elvis hairdo.

 

[MC63]

ME is academically great and the building itself is beautiful architecturally speaking. Between Dempster and Golf there are thousands of rental units. Living there provides a great education without having to pay exorbitant real estate taxes.

Without exorbitant real estate taxes? Who do you think i paying those taxes? The renters!

 

[HoopinHawk]

I really enjoyed watching many Maine West games this year and am really impressed with the job Kradman has done with that program.

I also enjoyed all the comparisons to the 1979 squad because I remember them quite well as that was my junior year at Maine East. You guys beat us 18-7 and won conference that year. My late best friend Alex was a football and track musclehead kind of guy, and used to lift sometimes with the late Rick Schulte at the Leaning tower YMCA. Thru him I got to know guys like Perry Carlini, Mark Voss, George Arvanitis, and Kevin Clifford. That was a hell of a team! Started out 7-0 and only got their first loss to Deerfield 14-13 in week eight..and this was when Paul Adams was in his prime at Deerfield and they were a perennial power.

I remember the game very well! We weren't challenged a whole lot that year until losing in the semis to St. Laurence, but Maine East sure gave us a game!
Thanks for the memory!

 

[MWittman]

It was stolen from her. Actually, she won the school's popular vote, but the janitor's vote gave th election to her opponent -- a millionaire doctor's son with an Elvis hairdo.

HA!

Well, maybe her weaknesses were evident to ME freshmen, the freshmen class recognized she was an ethical mess back then, or she never visited the freshmen students at all.

Did HRC cry foul on the school bus ride home and blame everyone but herself?

Did the Maine Township High School District launch a full-fledged probe into the janitor's voting practices? Did a bunch of pro-HRC administrators grandstand?

 

[MC63]

HA!

Well, maybe her weaknesses were evident to ME freshmen, the freshmen class recognized she was an ethical mess back then, or she never visited the freshmen students at all.

Did HRC cry foul on the school bus ride home and blame everyone but herself?

Did the Maine Township High School District launch a full-fledged probe into the janitor's voting practices? Did a bunch of pro-HRC administrators grandstand?

The guy who "won" went around grabbing cheerleaders wherever he wanted and they never complained.

He never actually studied, either. His father bought him all those grades.

 

[1111SouthFirst]

HA!

Well, maybe her weaknesses were evident to ME freshmen, the freshmen class recognized she was an ethical mess back then, or she never visited the freshmen students at all.

Did HRC cry foul on the school bus ride home and blame everyone but herself?

Did the Maine Township High School District launch a full-fledged probe into the janitor's voting practices? Did a bunch of pro-HRC administrators grandstand?

It all came down to the winner promising boxes of free Twinkies in the cafeteria every Monday morning, but he never delivered on the promise. HRC learned a valuable politics lesson that you could promise voters the world, and never have to follow through.

 

[MC63]

This conversation is getting way too close to Edgy's mortally sinful topic ... the one that leads to expulsion. Count me out.

 

[Gforce5_rivals223435]

Nearly everyone that lives in the Maine Township area where parents are given the choice of sending their kids to MS or ME ends up going to Maine South.

Maine South is a good school, but given the option, its to bad that the sentiment by default is to automatically go there over ME. ME is also a good school that gives the kids diversity that they otherwise would not get. It has a terrific arts and cultural department and some not so well known tidbits are that it has a firing range in the basement ( from the 60,s I believe ) a full blown radio transmitter in its tower and its design is modeled after the UCLA library. A truly beautiful school. The districts there are fortunate to have both those options.

 

[MC63]

I believe the exterior of Maine East was used in a Holllywood movie or two ...Grease, perhaps?