One thing I wanna point out is that when you talk about Greasers, at
least in the Chicago area, you're not just talking about members of an
established organization. A little thing that has stuck in my mind all
of these years was one of the older guys in our crowd answering me when
I asked why we didn't have a formal name, and sweaters, and all the
rest-he told me, "remember, you're a member of the biggest gang in the
city-the Greasers!" There were a hell of a lot of guys (and girls) who
were real hardcore Greasers, but who were never members of any named
gang. Mostly they were "Park Boys", or used the name of whatever
hotdog stand or what have you where they hung out.
Reading about the North and South Side gangs that you listed, I think,
at least when I was running around on the street in that scene,
(1967-1972) that the South Side and the immediate area had all kinds of
little groups that had no formal names. There were all kinds of
suburbs just on the fringe of the city that were blue-collar, lower
middle class or just plain poor White trash that had more than their
share of Greasers and gangs. Argo, Summit, Lyons, Brookfield, Cicero,
Berwyn, all had plenty.
Good times, good days. When we were in it, the Greaser thing was
coming to an end. When you went someplace in your baggies and
P.F.C.'s, hair slicked back into a D.A., a nice knit over a dag-tee,
and your Cabretta, everyone knew what you were about, and just about
any other Greaser would welcome you as a Brother.
Wish things were a s simple now!
Maybe the greasers will make a comeback? It seems like the youth are
getting borded with the hip-hop seen.
Peace!