These Hilarious Beverly Memes Were Made By Teenagers

CHICAGO, IL — In the age of memes and Internet comedy, no public figure, idea or accepted neighborhood trait is exempt from ridicule. That's the case on "The Bev Boiz" Instagram page, which has gained mild attention in the month or two since it launched as a way for high school kids in the neighborhood to poke fun at what's going on around them.

That's right. These clever memes that have many neighborhood residents shaking their heads in agreement were created by a trio of friends who just entered high school.

Behind the page that claims it is "all tea, no shade" is Mae O'Malley, a freshman at Whitney Young Magnet High School; Ignatius Gathman, a freshman at Morgan Park Academy and Lizzie Kujawa a sophomore at Walter Payton College Prep. All three live in Beverly and met in grammar school while all attending the Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center in Chatham.

"People are getting a kick out of it," O'Malley said in a group interview with Patch. "And hardly anyone knows it is us who run the account."

The memes, many of which are shown above the article here (or below if you are on certain mobile devices), have taken aim at the number of Barraco's Pizza joints in the neighborhood, the "hard to swallow" fact that a suburban doctor won the Queen of Hearts raffle at St. Cajetan, Beverly moms and the haze that often comes from driving in North Beverly (not that anyone who has taken a "Bev Route" knows what that one means) among other topics.

Gathman said it was his idea to poke fun at the huge grant Sutherland Elementary School recently received and Kujawa remembers a few of the golfers discussing the page at the Beverly Country Club while she worked as a caddie. Apparently the golfers had no idea it was her behind some of these gems.

The trio all said they've contributed equally to the page and have accepted suggestions from others, too.

The inspiration for the page was born on a Metra train (one on the Rock Island line, of course).

"Mae and I were on the Metra one day in the summer and started laughing at how people would stand up at 35th Street to get off at LaSalle Street," Kujawa said. "We figured we would make a meme about it, and then made a bunch of others about life in Beverly."

The teens' account saw a huge uptick in followers after local resident Scott Smith gave it some love on Twitter. Smith said the Bev Boiz have the "sickest neighborhood burns outside of a Pat McGann benefit set."

This IG acct is full of hilarious, quotidian memes about the 19th Ward. Sickest neighborhood burns outside of a @mcgannpat benefit set. pic.twitter.com/aEImz8wmb4
— Scott Smith (@ourmaninchicago) September 9, 2018

Which clearly gave the page creators the inspiration for their next meme, taking aim at the local comedy icon with a photo of a dolphin labeled "Beverly Boiz" coming after a distressed swimmer labeled "Pat McGann."

"Pat McGann, Matt O'Shea...... we are going to make fun of everyone," O'Malley said, noting that one of her favorites targeted the dockless bike share pilot program that began in the 19th Ward earlier this summer.

"I thought it was so funny that the Divvy bikes have made life so accessible in other areas of town, but now all these other bike companies are testing here in the neighborhood," she said.

The page has become a hit on Instagram, but don't expect it to expand to Facebook or Twitter. At least not yet, anyway.

"Most people who follow us are teenagers, and teenagers use Instagram," O'Malley said. "Many of the older folks use Facebook and Twitter."

Kujawa said that could change though.

"If our demographic following changes, we may be on there too," she said. "We'll see what happens."

As of Sept. 12, the account stands at 195 followers. Follow all the fun here

Scroll through the memes above this article to get you through a tough day. Or to make an otherwise awesome day even better.

Photos via The Beverly Boiz Instagram page, used with permission