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Chicagoans now in Park City revel in World Series win

Jesse Shetler, a native Chicagoan, flew Cubs flags outside his No Name Saloon on Main Street as the baseball team claimed the World Series title.
Jay Hamburger/Park Record

Jesse Shetler was born in Chicago and grew up in Wrigleyville, the neighborhood surrounding the ballpark where the Chicago Cubs play.

Now 54 years old, Shetler suffered through the difficult decades at Wrigley Field. On Wednesday night, as the Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 to win their first World Series since 1908, Shetler was elated with the rest of the club’s fans across the country.

He recalled that generations of Cubs fans, including his late grandmother, never had the opportunity to witness a world championship for the team from the North Side of Chicago.

“It’s unbelievable. I’m floating on clouds, finally. It’s surreal,” Shetler said.

He grew up three blocks from Wrigley Field and went to games growing up with his older brother during the era of futility. His favorite players growing up were Cubs greats Ernie Banks and Ron Santo.

Shetler, the owner of the No Name Saloon and other Park City establishments, flew Cubs flags outside the No Name Saloon as the team moved through the playoffs and into the World Series. The flags remained highly visible on Thursday morning on the busy stretch of Main Street where the No Name Saloon is located.

Shetler planned to fly to Chicago on Friday to celebrate his father’s 80th birthday.

The No Name Saloon is scheduled to throw a World Series victory party on Nov. 9. Shetler said hot dogs and pizza from Chicago will be flown in for the event.

“This is a testament to the faithfulness of the Chicago Cubs fans,” Shetler said, calling the title the “ultimate goal.”

Dick Weber and wife Joe Ann Weber, Park Meadows residents in their 70s who were born and raised in Chicago before moving to Park City in 1995, were also thrilled with the championship. Dick Weber remembers watching a friend of his growing up pitch batting practice at Wrigley Field. Joe Ann Weber wishes her mother was still alive to have seen the Cubs win.

“1948 is nothing. Try 1908,” Joe Ann Weber said, comparing the World Series title drought of the Indians to that of the Cubs before Wednesday. “It’s such a relief it’s finally over.”

She said family members in Chicago spent part of Thursday placing Cubs flags on the graves of ancestors.

The Park City Police Department reported it received two complaints about fireworks Wednesday night that were set off by people celebrating the win by the Cubs. The reports were on the 800 blocks of Woodside Avenue and nearby Norfolk Avenue. Fireworks were also heard toward the southern end of Old Town. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said it did not receive complaints about people celebrating.

Park City


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