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theiierald* Wednesday, december 24,1975 page 17jFather and son swim team hold all the recordsBy Cheryl RothwellAccording to the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records, Hyde Parker Ted Er-ikson holds the record for the fastest time in swimming the English Channel both ways. In September 1965 he became the second man to accomplish the swim in the record time of 30 hours, 3 minutes. In the 1976 record books Ted will lose that title, gladly. In August of this year his son Jon broke his fathers’ record by three minutes. He was only the fourth person to ever complete the double crossing.Ted, a physiochemist, grew “bored with the intellectuals at IIT” at the age of 32, he took up marathon swimming “seriously.”length from 10 to 25 miles.The next year he became the first and only person to swim from Chicago to Michigan City.Jon Also got into the marathon swimming circuit. On August 11, 1969, he swam the Channel from France to England and set the record as the youngest male.Indian batiksLiving in Hyde Park, the Eriksons doing their practising off the Point. ^Beginning as early as March, they plunge into the icy waters and swim south. This also prepares Jon for the marathon swimming he does each summer in Canada.The colorful batiks of Kokilam Subbiah, an Indian artist, are being displayed at the Blackstone Branch Library, 4904 S. Lake Park ave., during the month of December.Marathon swimming is a professional sport and Jon does makQ money. However, when you take the money against the miles he swims and figure he swims an average of two miles per hour, the hourly rate and the minimum wage law are pretty close together.According to Jon, the water in Canada is actually warmer than Lake Michigan. This is because they swim in considerably smaller lakes which warm up more. The swims vary in“It’s a challenge,” is Jon’s answer to why. It has also become a way of life he likes and plans to continue.In 1971, ten years after Ted’s swim, Jon made it to Michigan City in 25 hours, beating his father’s record by 11-1/2 hours. How does Ted feel when his records fall to Jon? “I created him,” he says proudly.This summer, ironically also ten years after his father’s swim, Jon took the Channel record. He chose this year because there was a boycott of the marathon races in Canada so he really didn’t have anything else to do. Ted was the primary sponsor of the costly venture which earned Jon no money, just the satisfaction of knowing he did it.“I went from France to England first because of the currents,” Jon explained. “It took about 12 hours over and 18 back, with a 10 minute rest.”After the feat Jon appeared on “To Tell the Truth” and “I’ve Got a Secret.” He expects to appear on other shows later.While Jon is now the primary swimmer in the Erik-son family, Ted hasn’t stopped. He and some other distance swimmers have joined to form the “Hyde Park Irregulars” and they swim regularly off the Point. “It keeps the rust out of my pipes,” says Ted.Mrs. Oswelda Badal, 5430 S. Harper, Assistant Commissioner of Chicago's Department of Development and Planning was recently elected one of two Vice-Presidents of the Board of Governors of NAHRO (National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) for a two-year term. Elected at the NAHRO Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, Mrs. Badal will serve as the third ranking officer of the 10,000-member national organization of individuals involved in housing and renewal efforts. Prior to her joining the city’s planning department in 1974, Mrs. Badal served for eight years as the city's Director of Relocation, as a member oftlia Tlanarfmant of YIrh:iii FVlilTI 1951Ted and Jon Erikson pose together after Jon completed another swim off the Point.(Photo By Vernon L. Petro)Cub meeting\Cub Scout Pack 4504 will hold a Knightly Tournament at its meeting on Monday, January 12th.Pack 4505 meets at Temple KAM Isaiah - Israel at 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested in Cub Scounting is invited. All boys must be accompanied by a parent.Kiwanis Club of Hyde Park Treasurer William T. Doody presents Peanut Day check to Hyde Park Neighborhood club Executive Director Irene Smith, while Fay Isenberg smiles with pleasure. Mrs. Isenberg helped organize the Neighborhood club volunteers for Kiwanis Peanut Day.Children's Choir on televisionThe Eriksons also team up to lecture on marathon swimming for organizations and institutional groups. They figure proginently in Hyde Parker Connie Wen-nerberg’s new book on marathon swimming Wind, Waves and Sunburn.When they aren’t swimming or lecturing, Ted is a chemistry teacher in Hammond. Jon is a junior physical education major at Circle Campus, University of Illinois. He is going to teach too. In case you can’t guess what, he plans to be a swimming coach.Monday morning, December 22, they will sing Christmas music on the well-loved children’s program. The show will be taped and rebroadcast on’Christmas Day morning.There will be one last appearance of Chicago Child ren’s Choir this Christmas season at the Vespers Service of the First Unitarian church, Wednesday, December 24, at 7:30 p.m. at Wood-lawn ave., and 57th st. In this beautiful service the meanings of Christmas are expressed in reading and in music and in the light of candles held by the congregation and lit by singers inthe recessional.Early risers can see and hear Chicago Children’s Choir twice this week on the Ray Rayner show (Channel 9) between 7 and 8 a.m.A X- ISASSOCIATED Limousine Service, Inc.Licensed * Bonded by The City of Chicago568-4594Luxurious Chauffeured Limousines Available For All Occasions Advance reservations appreciatedCALL.US ANYTIME DAY OR NIGHT.HOUSE EtICOn Tep ef Mm Del Prode Hotel 53rd ft Lake Shore Drive(mi t. im m.)Serving Chicago for over 30 yearsCHICAGO’S ARISTOCRATIC
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Hyde Park Herald
Hyde Park, Illinois, US
Wed, Dec 24, 1975
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