Gaylords, Chi-West, PVP's, Royals, C-Notes, Bel-Aires, and the Popes

FRANK had this gag where if you ordered a small pop, he'd turn the cup over so that only the little lip would be filled. he'd say " THAT'S what you asked for." BLESS FRANK AND ROSE!

Lenny's Stormtroopers

The Stone Greaser Hangout of the Sixties and Seventies

The official name, and the name outside on the sign was "4 Buddies", but we kept calling it Lenny's as a matter of tradition. The Lennies Storm Trooper card was the brainchild of a "second generation" Royal who called himself Little Hitler in 1974. He was also the one who did the actual printing of the "Fist City Royals" card in the Lane print shop. Both cards were done as joke, but the "Storm Troopers" gag went over well so the handle hung around for a year.

No, not the 1950s! These greasers were around in the 1970s as Stone Greasers. In 1972, I came to Lane Tech as a freshman and there were all these guys walking around with leather jackets and baggies on . . . They seemed to run the school they were all the Hall Guards and all the Campus Guards the greasers literally ran the school Right then, I knew my calling . . .

Lennies was the Greaser Hangout. EVERYONE had baggies and leather jackets . . . Some even greased their hair still . . . but all white gangs hung out in there and all had one common goal . . . Fight the Latinos.

Dime PinBall, Greasy Burgers, and nothing but oldies on the Juke Box. There wasn't one modern day song on the whole juke box... Heros Subs was the Black hangout and Jack-in the Box was the Freaks hangout. If anything is mentioned about Lennies a shout out to Frank and Rose must be made. They were the owners and treated us like we were their Family. Hiding us in the Back from Cops when we were cutting class, even opening tabs for lunches when we had no money and driving us home if needed...

	Gaylords
	Taylor Jousters
	Popes
	Royals

The most members when I first started hanging out there were KP Gaylords. There were also Hostein Park, PVPs, Chi-West, Royals (originals), Popes and a lot more little known members of smaller gangs. Alot of guys that came and hung out didn't even go to Lane. But I would say KP had the most guys going to Lane. The first time something happened was with the Popes and KP Gaylords. They got into a beef as they hung out in the same neighborhood. So, Popes were not welcome at Lennies anymore until, one day, Larkin and about 7 Popes came walking in and I knew there was going to be trouble. I had my Venture sweater on and asked my Senior Member Klunky what we should do if KP comes in. He said we were neutral so we watched. Word got back to school and a KP Gaylord named Ringo came out of school and over to Lennies. The Popes would not come out. They called the cops and got escorted out, otherwise . . . well . . .

But the greasers fought RACE fights with the blacks in the lunch room once every year as the Bros all hung out together in the Lunch room and if a greaser and black got into a fight somewhere like in Gym class thats all it took. Once the Cops escorted a black into Lennies to eat a cheeseburger it was funny...Here it was Chicago 1975 and it could have been Mobile Alabama 1950. The nearest Latino gang was the Project Deuces and they would drive by now and again and break the windows late at night when nobody was there. Frank and Rose, the owners, finally had enough and sold the place in the late 70's and it became Dennis the Menace. The younger guys (Lil Munchkin) still hung there but there was a lot of backstabbing by gangs like Chi-West and the NEW Royals during that Period.

Lenny's Restaurant Greaser Hangout

In the 1960's there were two Lennies. Lennies #1 was south of Cornelia. Lennies #2 was next to the alley by Addison.

From the alley walking North you had several places. Lennies #2 (100% greaser), Joes (80% greaser, 20% duper), and the Teepee Hut (50/50 greasers and blacks).

Journey To The Center of Your Mind by Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes was THE song at Lennies #2. Ten great tunes on the juke at Lennies back in the day:

• Temptations: My Girl
• Johnnie Taylor: Testify
• Cream: White Room
• Cream: Sunshine of Your Love
• The Who: I Can See for Miles
• Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze
• Jimi Hendrix: All Along The Watchtower
• Four Tops: (Reach Out) I'll Be There
• Sly & The Family Stone: Dance To The Music
• Tommy James and the Shondells: Mony Mony
• Amboy Dukes: Journey To The Center of Your Mind

No one in the '60's called it Lennies Storm Troopers. That came along in the mid-70's. Lennies was just called Lennies and the people who went there were just called Greasers, not Storm Troopers.

Greasers and Dupers (aka Doopers) In the 1960's white Chicago was divided into dupers and greasers. Dupers, or Doopers ("Dear Old Oak Parkers") wore jeans or corduroy slacks and colorful shirts, for example madras shirts. Their socks were white and their shoes were brown penny loafers. Most dupers studied and got good grades. They had solid prospects and were usually college bound (although some got heavily into weed and psychedelics).

Music: Dupers liked rock, folk and folk rock. They liked bands and musicians such as Beatles, Stones, Dylan, the Byrds, the Mamas & Papas, Crosby Still & Nash, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors and the Grateful Dead.

Greasers never wore jeans. They wore baggy work pants called "baggies" and solid color shirts, like banlons and/or Italian knits. They often wore a white t-shirt with a solid color button-down sweater over the T. Shoes were black Stacy Adams, Wingtips, or black combat boots. Jackets were black Cabretta leathers. Many greasers were medicore students (thus Vietnam bound, due to the student deferment system), however, some were excellent students. At Lane, more often than not, the Class President was a greaser who hung at Lennies and got straight A's.

Music: Greasers preferred black sounds. Motown, Stax/Volt/Atlantic, and Chicago's Chess Records had the sounds greasers wanted. Greasers also liked Elvis and '50's era rockabilly and doo-wop, however, in a battle of the bands funk & soul from hardcore musicians like Sly and the Family Stone, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield or Johnnie Taylor always won out. Some people think Greasers weren't Beatles fans but the Beatles were always playing on the juke at Lennies. So were the Stones and other British Invasion bands like the Animals and the Kinks. Greasers especially liked Led Zeppelin when their first album was released in 1968, and when the second album came out in '69. And they liked "heavy" music from bands like The Doors, Blind Faith, Steppenwolf and The Who.

Greasers especially liked Jimi Hendrix. Then again, so did Dupers. Hendrix was someone that everyone could agree on.

The Stone Greaser Group is for all the old school greaser gangs, and non gang members, who would like to share their greaser stories, or publish information about their clubs. This will give everyone a chance to tell their stories without having to invest in a website.

	Stone Greasers - From the 1950s Through the 1980s
	Browse Archives at groups-beta.google.com

Let's here yours, Lenny's Memories. Please Check out the Stone Greaser website.

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