Paczki Day ahead, not behind

By Peggy Zabicki

Your correspondent in West Lawn

3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327

If you read my column online last week, you might remember my reference to Paczki Day. I thought it took place on Feb. 9. I was shopping at a Jewel outside our neighborhood around that date, and I asked a clerk in the Bakery Department where the paczki were.

She told me they didn’t have any paczki, but she said they had similar pastries and showed me where they were. The pastries did look like paczki, so I bought two: one for the way home and one for later. (Yes, I am a glutton).

Peggy Zabicki

I remember feeling disappointed that Paczki Day was no longer being celebrated; but at the same time I did thoroughly enjoy the paczki-type, Bismarck-style doughnuts. I mentioned them at the end of last week’s column. (It appeared in the online version of the column and has since been revised, with the “paczki” reference edited out.)

I got a few calls about that. Most of the callers told me that Paczki Day hasn’t even happened yet. Thank you, everyone.

I’m glad to know that Paczki Day is still being celebrated after all. I will be at a neighborhood Jewel on March 1, buying some real paczki. I might even buy extra to share with my family, instead of hogging them all to myself.

I should walk to the Jewel so that I can burn some paczki calories. Honestly, this probably won’t happen. It is just one more idea that sounds great the night before, but the next morning sounds like a bad idea.

My hubby is more disciplined than I am. He walks five miles every day. He even walked during the worst of those snowstorms we had a couple of weeks ago. One thing he noticed after the storms was that not all businesses shovel their sidewalks. The location of the old Egan Funeral Home at 63^rd and Lawndale was not shoveled at all. Neither was the sidewalk at the fire station near 59^th and Lawndale. I can’t imagine how pedestrians dealt with snow accumulation of more than a foot.

The next CAPS meeting for Beats 813 and 833 will take place online at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22. Email Barb Zieglar for the registration link at b.g.ziegler@comcast.net.

Mark your calendar. The Quinn/Guerrero Service Office, 6500 S. Pulaski, will be holding an electronic recycling event on Saturday, March 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call the office for more information at (773) 581-8000.

Midway Airport has some job opportunities in concessions. They will be holding a hiring event on Wednesday, March 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second-floor mezzanine at the terminal.  Bring a state ID or driver’s license, birth certificate and Social Security card.

The neighborhood Love Fridge is still up and running 24 hours a day at 6601 S. Pulaski. It is filled with food donated by neighbors for neighbors. Take what you need, give what you can. A special thanks to Renato Delgadillo from the State Farm Insurance office next door to the Fridge for the recent food drive he held to benefit the Love Fridge. Your efforts are much appreciated.

Thank you to all for reading my column. Call me with any news you’d like to share, birthdays or anniversaries you’d like me to mention–and anything at all about paczki.