Back in the 1940s, Chicago school kids took local field trips that would be unthinkable today.

I'm Curious City reporter Monica Eng.

And a few years ago, I answered a question about what happened to Chicago's fabled meatpacking industry.

The story explored the history of the Union stockyards, which for almost a century supplied most of the

country's meat. During the reporting, I heard a tale about the stockyards that deserved a separate

story of its own, because it shows just how much the city embraced its reputation as hog butcher

to the world. The story was told by my pal Ed Kramer, a WBZ volunteer who remembered

going there with his eighth grade class in 1941. Ed died in 2018, at the age of 89. He had a

great memory and such great Chicago stories. Here we got Chicago school kids to help bring Ed's

tale to life. But what you're about to hear is not for the squeamish.

I was in the eighth grade at Wicker Park Grammar School. Mrs. Paulson was my eighth grade

teacher and we all packed our bag bag lunches and went to the

Wicker Park L train at Damon, North of Milwaukee. And we got off at the Swifton Company Station.

Now imagine riding over the stockpens that were filled with cattle, looking down at this just herd of animals.

They're probably over a million just right here.

I love them. I just want to eat them.

They explained to us what we were going to see, and if anyone was faint of heart, they could stay behind. What are you? Spooked? You know what? I'm going to see and if anyone was faint of heart they could stay behind.

What are you?

You know what?

I'm going to be the only person.

But no one chose to stay behind and we went on this catwalk and down below us, the cows were

being let in through a shoot.

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