Band gets permanent signage
near starting point

The boys of Berwyn will be forever remembered as car after car travel down Home Avenue.

“The Ides of March,” a band formed in a home on Riverside Drive, will have a portion of Home Avenue dedicated as ‘The Ides of March Way’ early next year.

The street dedication came as a surprise to band member Chuck Soumar last week. Richard Brom, a longtime friend of Soumar and other band members, told Soumar he submitted a letter to Berwyn Mayor Robert Lovero about the band and suggested a street be dedicated in the band’s honor.

“I have known the band members since high school, and I am still amazed and impressed with their success,” Brom wrote. “I understand that demographics and musical tastes change. However, the lesson to be learned from the determination of these Morton High School graduates is timeless.”

Lovero passed the letter along to 8th Ward Alderman Nora Laureto, who introduced the idea to the Berwyn City Council. Laureto spent time earlier this year working to dedicate Bob “Pappy” Kaufman Drive near the Commodore Barry Post 256 on Roosevelt Road earlier this year.

“People still know them, and they’re still a draw in the area,” Laureto said. “They’ve given back to the community in so many ways.”

Soumar was on hand for the Oct. 13 City Council meeting as the officials voted unanimously to move forward with the street sign dedication. The Public Works Department will place street signs on Home Avenue from Cermak Road to Riverside Drive for the road to honorarily become ‘The Ides of March Way.’

“To be honored by Berwyn in such a way is just exciting ... This is like icing on the cake for us,” Soumar said. “This is still home. Berwyn is still home for us.”

It was the first time Soumar has been back to the Berwyn City Hall in nearly two decades. The previous trip was in 1990, when the band was  was honored with the  ‘Ides of March Day’ proclamation.

Later that year, the band would play its first concert in nearly 17 years. The final concert before the band’s peaceful disbandment was Nov. 2, 1973, at in the Morton West High School gymnasium.

After rehearsing once a week for eight hours a day for four months, the Ides were back on stage in Berwyn, headlining the city’s 1990 Summerfest. An audience of more than 20,000 came out to the concert in the Morton West parking lot, steps away from their last concert.

“To come back 17 years later on those grounds again, it was meant to be,” Soumar said. “The place was packed. We were the Morton guys ... the Berwyn band.”

Nearly 20 years later, the band has not stopped. The eight-man band includes all four original members — Jim Peterik, Larry Millas, Bob Bergland, and Mike Borch — and have added Soumar, John Larson, Dave Stahlberg, and Scott May since the band was created in 1964.

Soumar was asked to join the band in 1969 as a 17-year-old senior at Morton West.

“I was still playing on the football team and in the school band,” he said. “These were my buddies from high school band.”

Forty years after Soumar joined the band and nearly 20 years after the reunion concert, the band performs more than 40 shows a year across the nation. They play hits from the ’60s and early ’70s, including “Vehicle,” which became the fastest selling single in Warner Bros. recording history in 1970.

The song has gone on to be used in commercials for General Motors and was used by “American Idol” contestant Bo Bice during the show’s fourth season.

“When he first sang ‘Vehicle,’ our Web site got more than 250,000 hits the next day,” Soumar said. “It’s just incredible the roller coaster ride that we’ve been on.”

Along with performing around the country, the band has traveled back to Berwyn to play in its hometown for fundraisers for both the North Berwyn and South Berwyn school districts since reuniting in 1990.

And while there may not be any new dates scheduled for the band to play again where it all began, Soumar said performing in Berwyn is always an option.

“We’re still having fun with it ... If there was a 20th anniversary of the (Summerfest), we’d be there,” Soumar said. “That’s up to the powers that be but hopefully we’ll be back playing in Berwyn soon.”