Here is a great pic of my dad and his twin brother Frank that Val at Colouring the Past colorized for me. Dad is the one with lighter hair.
And Val colored it with blue coats and hats, too, because I wasn’t sure whether they would have been brown or blue, although felt sure they would have been one of those two colors. Which version do you prefer?
A Story of Chicago and My Uncle
I recently spent time with my uncle, and he told me a story about something that happened to him. Or rather, it didn’t happen to him.
In the sixties, Uncle Frank worked in Chicago at Fohrman Motors as a car salesman. Today, the dealership is gone and only the vacant lot is left. It’s in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood and is nearly 2/3 of the 2700 block of West Madison Street. This post takes a personal look at an event that changed the world for some Chicagoans.
On 7 January 1966, when he was 37 years old, my uncle was working at the dealership and had to use the restroom. He went there, only to find the facilities in use by a man making a racket with something or other. Uncle Frank couldn’t wait so he ran across the street to the body shop, but that bathroom was closed for maintenance. Used to being able to drive a car from the lot, my uncle grabbed the keys of a nearby vehicle and told one of his bosses that he had to run down the street to use the washroom.
Uncle Frank had several bosses, in a way, because Fohrman Motors was owned by Benjamin Fohrman and his four sons. An Illinois blogger, John Ruberry, says this about the company:
Forhman Motors was founded by Benjamin Fohrman, who was viewed as an innovative and pioneering car dealer. . . . . Older relatives of mine tell me that Forhman’s folksy television ads were common fare on local television.
The history of Benjamin Fohrman’s auto business is well-described in his obituary:
Mr. Fohrman, a native of Austria, founded Fohrman Motors near Michigan Avenue and 22d Street in 1912. He sold such cars as the Stoddard-Dayton, manufactured between 1905 and 1913, and the Rickenbacker, made in the early 1920s.
His strong influence on merchandising methods was felt in Chicago and elsewhere in the country. Before World War I, he was among the first to “import“ cars over dirt and often muddy roads from locations then considered far-off such as Lafayette, Ind.; Davenport, Ia.; and Kenosha.
He offered new cars on payment plans as early as 1914, and he was among the first to see that a secondhand car dealership could be successful. He bought used cars in small towns in the Midwest and sold them in Chicago.
At various times, he owned new-car dealerships that sold Chryslers and later Packards, and for many years Mr. Fohrman was a television advertiser.
Beginning in 1963, his agency at 2700 W. Madison St. sold used cars exclusively. Among its 80 employees were his four sons, Sidney, Edward, Sherwood and Cary.
My uncle worked for this family business, and he was pretty happy there. The neighborhood the dealership was in was primarily African-American. Uncle Frank tells me that that at least one of the Fohrmans went to bat in court often times for customers who lived in the area.
In other words, the family wouldn’t have minded that my uncle took off in a company-owned vehicle to use a bathroom down the street. And they seemed to have a decent relationship with the community.
When he got to his destination, a call came in for Uncle Frank. It was a woman employee at the dealership. All she said over and over was, “They’re all dead. They’re all dead.”
Imagine the shock he felt at her words. And then to discover that the man in the first bathroom had been making that noise by loading his gun! If my uncle hadn’t had to go so badly he would have waited for the bathroom instead of running across the street and then taking off in the car. He would have been the first person shot and killed. That day, Robert Jackson killed brothers Sid and Ed Fohrman and salesman Albert Sizer.
The Fohrmans were important in their community. In a 21 January 1966 article about their deaths in The National Jewish Post and Opinion, Sidney had been president of Niles Township Congregation, and Edward was vice president of the Park Synagogue.
I was ten-years-old when this occurred, but I don’t remember hearing about it. Quite probably my parents didn’t let me know. This is what happened as I can piece it together from accounts found online–and it all dovetails with my uncle’s account. What is different is how differently people perceived what had happened.
This is the account from the Chicago Crime Commission:
In this account there is no mention of possible motivation, and the murders serve as prelude for the Richard Speck case. He killed eight student nurses just a few months after the Fohrman massacre.
On the other hand, the article from Jet magazine blames the victims and builds sympathy for the murderer by calling him a “dying cancer patient.”
The difference between those two accounts points out for me the intensifying race relations.
Caught between these two views are the Jewish owners of Fohrman Motors, both Sid and Ed who had been killed and their father and other brothers (co-owners). The idea of businesses (sometimes Jewish-owned) preying upon the poor people of the inner city was starting to be noticed. The way people talked after this crime and the resulting focus on high interest brought out a lot of anti-Semitism.
Ebony took a more nuanced approach to the murders than Jet did. I am posting their photo of the dealership so you can see what it looked like, but please use it as a link to the Ebony article. In this piece by Alex Poinsett, credit is seen as a hidden “pitfall” to consumers.
The Fohrmans had the last word on this subject by addressing their truth about the issue of Jackson’s car in Benjamin’s obituary. This shows me how hurt they were by the blaming of the victims.
Rumors spread throughout Chicago that the man had been cheated on the car and had been paying an exorbitant 51 percent interest rate. Documents showed, however, that the interest rate was 15 1/2 percent, the price he paid was average and the problems with the car resulted from a major accident.
Even then, the car was insured through the agency, and the firm had agreed to pay most of the damages. Chicago`s American columnist Jack Mabley, noted for exposing shady auto dealers, wrote: “I`ve worked on most of the schlocky auto dealers in Chicago and never heard a whisper about Fohrman Motors.“
What a tragic story. I am so glad that my uncle really had to go to the bathroom. He’s almost 90 now, and we’re lucky to still have him. The Fohrman and Sizer families were not so lucky.
###
The Family Kalamazoo 
Wow! Just wow!
I know. We tend to think this stuff is a recent invention, but this was 1966! Ugh. And it occurred to me that my uncle (and perhaps others of the men there that day) was a veteran.
I was raised in a lily white community. I saw my first black person when I was 18 years old. She was the only one to work at my company (2000 employees!). I was so fascinated with her hair, I just wanted to touch it. It never occurred to me that she would be any different except in her looks. All that nasty stuff is learned. Sometimes (most of the time) I wish we all looked the same.
Like the song from South Pacific that goes “you’ve got to be carefully taught.”
OMG, I had no idea where this story was going. We think of this kind of gun violence as a modern phenomenon, but obviously revenge killings of this kind have been around for a long time. Adding to that the issues of race and anti-Semitism makes this one important story. I need to go back and re-read it all including the links to process it all more completely. I may have more comments then. Of course, even if the Fohrmanns were taking advantage of Jackson, nothing excuses his murders.
On a lighter note, I prefer the brown version of the photo. And what a sweet photo it is. Were the brothers very close? They sure seem to love each other in this photograph.
No, there is no excuse in the blaming the victim. Or making excuses for the killer. Although the Elizabeth George novel “What Came Before” is a good look at the life of someone who became a killer before it happened–and what led up to it. So I sympathize with the Jackson family, too.
The brothers were close their whole lives. My uncle was with my father when he passed away.
Yes, it’s all a terrible waste.
How sweet—I am glad to hear that they stayed close.
My dad was blessed with a loyal and devoted brother.
What a tragic story, indeed. And what a difference a split-second decision can make, especially something as small as going someplace else to use the restroom. Makes us treasure every moment. But how awful for those who lost their lives.
We just never know what can happen–and we never know how every tiny decision we make can have an impact later. Is that related to the butterfly effect, in a way?
Luanne – I prefer the Brown version, it seems to give a sharper cleaner picture.
You story highlights the fact that nothing has truly changed, race, anti semitism, gun violence, revenge. It takes me back to the 60’s when I first began to understand these issues. I am so thankful your Uncle survived and his story has been told
Brown is winning! So much change and yet nothing has changed. Isn’t that amazing and sad?
I forgot to mention this. You bring up the race angle to this story, and what I don’t think the public accounts mention, but what my uncle told me is that the police officer who killed Jackson was black. We think today of the idea of putting more minority first responders in minority neighborhoods, but there is evidence it was being done in 1966, not that it did any good in this case but that is no kind of evidence against the practice at all, of course.
Wow!
I’m happy your uncle had to leave to use the bathroom.
It is interesting how the two stories are slanted so differently–and both different from what the obituary reveals.
Your uncle and dad–such cuties in that photo!
The stories are all so different. And I have never read an obit quite like that either. This story might make a good literary journalism book!
Yes, it would. Coincidentally, we watched the first episode of Ozark on Netflix last night. The family leaves Chicago to go there. . . 😉
Are you serious?! Oh I wish my Apple TV was doable on my stupid old system.
Can you watch on your computer? (If you have Netflix.) We use Chromecast to cast to our old TVs. It was a funny coincidence. 🙂 I told my husband about your past few posts.
My cataracts say no.
😦
And yup they were so cute!
Thank you Luanne for posting your uncle Frank’s story… I am glad he was not there to be the fourth victim or to see the carnage.
It is interesting that people commented about the shooting being a modern thing and were surprised it happened way back then… I work with old newspapers so it was not a surprise to me. I’ve come across many news stories of people being shot, gunned down, blown up and hacked to death… er, maybe I shouldn’t read the tabloids… HA.
Thanks again for the story and the various news accounts of it, with their different takes on the incident. “The more things change…”
As for the color, I think brown fits the 1940’s era better.
Jose from Clarkston, Michigan
Yes, brown does seem to fit the era better. Those old newspaper stories can be addicting and shocking haha. Thanks for commenting, Jose!
Wow, Luanne! I hadn’t expected this! What a terrible thing to have happened and your uncle was so lucky that day.
The first cutting does mention a motive, it has ‘Jackson, a disgruntled customer’, in fact that seems to be the thread running through each of the articles, even though they are all in many ways different from each other in other aspects. But to go out and premeditatedly kill like that is wrong, wrong, wrong, whatever Jackson’s motive.
As you know, I like both photos equally but still think the brown probably works better because of the contrast with the green. Thanks for the link. I’ve reciprocated.
I am impressed. You are such a careful reader. You are right–that crime report does hint at a motive with that phrase! Good catch! My uncle was so lucky that day. The browns are ahead, by the way. I even put both on Instagram and asked people to choose. Mostly brown although I see John and Derrick prefer the blue.
Thanks. My careful reading is of necessity these days or I lose a lot of what is there… (though, actually, I still lose a lot!)
Not surprised about the brown and blue… more on that in my reply to your comment on my post. 🙂
Well, you win the prize for being the most careful reader!
What a shocking story, Luanne. Among many other lessons, it points out the importance of truly objective journalism. Your uncle must’ve been in shock for months, if not years, after that incident.
We haven’t seen objective journalism in a long time. Maybe never. Literary journalism is gorgeous but it might be helping to blur the lines! Yes,such a shocking story. So glad I didn’t hear of it at the time.
What a story, Luanne. thanks for sharing. I like the blue.
Thanks John. I’m glad you and Derrick like the blue. I feel that if softens their faces.
I do too. It is more gentle.
Exactly.
😀
A fascinating story Luanne, all the more so I expect, because you have a personal connection to it. Your uncle must have been so grateful for that decision he made – but also for the environment that allowed him to make it. And it does just show how easily opinion can be swayed by the way stories are reported.
Andrea, thank you so much for your comments. I like what you say about being grateful for his decision AND for the environment that allowed him to make it. Yes, that little bit of freedom in the workplace! Opinion is so easily swayed. Hmm, sounds like a repetitive part of history, doesn’t it?
What a story! So great that your uncle had to ‘go’ so badly. But how awful for those who lost their lives in such a violent way. Amazing history.
Pam, it’s a terrible example of violence used to handle problems, for sure. Of course, we can’t know if mental illness, drugs, etc. was involved in the murders, but it sounds like something that would be in the news today, in a way.
I know, and how sad is that? To peace and compassion.
To peace and compassion!!!
❤
That’s a very accurate description of how it was in 1966. Great post, Luanne. Thanks for sharing this story.
I feel as if we can see the seeds of today in the 1960s, but things didn’t go quite as expected.If that makes any sense. Thanks, Jennie!
It definitely does, Luanne. 🙂
It does, Luanne🙂
Wow, Luanne, that’s quite the story! I am glad your uncle is still with us too!
Thanks, Ann Marie. ME TOO! It must have been so scary for him!
Val has done a good job. I would opt for blue. Tragic tale, but glad Frank was saved by his bladder
Thank you, Derrick. You and John are in agreement about the blue. Many opt for the brown. I am split between them :). It is such a tragic story. I’m so grateful that Uncle Frank couldn’t “wait”!
What an amazing, tragic story.
Marysia, I agree. There are so many important points to what occurred and its aftermath. I feel as if someone could write a book about the event and really get into the specifics.
Wow! What a story! No wonder your parents didn’t tell you about it. Mr. Jackson goes from disgruntled customer to cancer patient to crazed ex-con without even missing a step. That interest rate would have made me angry, too, but not to the point of murdering somebody. A tragedy for all concerned.
I also go with brown coats. Blue at that time was in “transition” from being a demure colour suitable for little girls to being the preferred hue for boys, so brown would have been a more traditional shade.
Yes so many differences in perspectives! I’m not sure about the truth of the interest rate since the Fohrmans were so eager to set the record straight in the father’s obituary. I wish someone would really investigate the story today and get to the “truth” of the matter.
Good, in fact EXCELLENT, points about the colors of the coats! Thank you!
What an unbelievable story, Luanne! Good grief – it’s amazing to think of mass shootings in such early times, but there you are. insanity is not limited to certain decades. Gun violence is gun violence in any era.
Thanks so much for sharing!
You’re welcome! I was amazed that my uncle had gone through something like this and I had never heard about it.
A fascinating story Luanne, and one which is so illustrative of human nature on so any levels, including the different ways in which one event can be read, observed and interpreted…
I don’t believe there ever was ‘objective’ journalism, – we all see life and its events through the lens of our upbringing, beliefs and prejudices…
Valerie, I agree with you so much about the notion of objective journalism. How could there be? I think it would be an impossibility. But it is good to collect different stories of the same event!
Wow! Your uncle really was fortunate that day. Thanks for presenting different versions of the story. It’s always instructive to remind readers that it’s difficult to find anything like objective truth in history.
I think we’re fooling ourselves if we think there has ever been objectivity in history or in journalism. Everybody has a perspective that gets in the way. And to a certain extent, that’s ok. It means we have “shared values,” I guess. But it’s so good to get different perspectives. I was interested years ago to read the children’s picture book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf. Hahahaha
Sounds like a good one!
Whew, this is a really thought-provoking post. I like how you looked at this complicated issue from a variety of perspectives and angles. This is a complicated issue. Thank goodness your uncle was okay.
Thank you, Sheryl! Yes and yes!!! Very complicated. And I’m so glad he was unharmed.
Good lord! This reinforces the old adage, that there are usually 3 versions of any story: this one, that one, and the truth, somewhere in the middle. You put this together very beautifully and dramatically, Luanne. Thank you.
Doesn’t it though?! Thank you so much, Ellie. That means a lot!
What a tragic story but glad that your uncle was not harmed.
As for the pictures, I also like the brown one. They are beautiful photos!
Thank you for telling this story so eloquently, Luanne.
Thanks, Theresa! Just got back from vacation….
Hope you had a great time! 🙂 I’ll bet you’re enduring the intolerable weather there in the Valley of the Sun. 🙂
Very interesting story about your uncle and the tragic killings. I like the way you presented the different write-ups of the story and the link to the Ebony article.
Thank you so much, Beth!
what a powerful story (I came here from your recent post about Frank’s passing)
and this life story reminds me that truth can be more interesting than fiction!!
So true! Thanks for popping over here!
Not sure if this is the right place. My dad was.physician to the Fohrmans. Our families were friends. There was a daughter, Elsie. I had a crush on her but she married a dentist (nice guy, became friend). The youngest son, Sherwood, had diabetes. Eddy was a student at the University of Chicago – where we hung out together. Terrible, terrible shame.
My grandmother is Elsie! My grandfather was the dentist, Leon Saltzman. My grandmother turns 95 this June. This made me smile to read. I’m named after my great grandfather Benjamin and my dad shares stories of my great uncles Sid & Ed till this day! Thank you for sharing. She’s the last sibling left.
Benjamin Fohrman was my great grandfather and my great uncles Eddie & Sid were both murdered before I was born. If you read his obituary, my grandmother is Elsie Saltzman and she is the only sibling left and about to be 95 years old. My husband works in the car industry and knew every detail of my family before meeting me. When he found out my grandmothers maiden name he asked if there was any relation to my uncles. My father went downstairs and grabbed a very old suitcase with every single newspaper report released regarding my family. I couldn’t be any more proud for him to continue sharing their story and keeping the Fohrman Legacy alive. Just had to share when I came across this article tonight.
Thank you for posting, Erica. The more information added here, the better.
At the same time there was another Fohrman motors on Fullerton ave. 200 feet East of Cicero. In the mid to late 50’s they were Studebaker / Packard dealers. As Studebaker / Packard began to fade their product line this Fohrman motors took on an unknown car line “Mercedes–Benz” a very unheard of car line at the time. Later on as Studebaker / Packard shut down the product line Fohrman took on another unknown product line—Jaguar and when the 1973 gas crisis hit they shut down and someone else put a dealership in there. My family used to bowl right next to the car lot at Kraft Bowl owned by Rudy Kraft.