Florida was just too far

By Mary Stanek

Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon

3808 W. 57th Place •  (773) 284-7394

“Sing Robin from your woodland tree. I love your little melody”. And the sounds of robins mean spring is here!

Sorry I missed you last week. My family had intended to drive to Ocala, Fla., but we made it to Champaign and decided no more for now.

My husband has been having eye issues and with my bum leg, rising gas prices and a fidgety dog a 1,500-mile drive was too much.

Mary Stanek

Since I missed last week’s paper, I would like now to welcome our new columnist, Laura Ortega. Best wishes and I look forward to your words.

Mark your calendars for a holiday arts and crafts fair. The event will be held at Pasteur Park on April 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will also be face painting, crafts and an egg hunt.

I received a phone call from Mae, inquiring about some history of Lourdes High School. Her daughters also graduated from Lourdes but just a few years prior to my class.

So here is a synopsis from what I can determine. Lourdes high school opened during the great depression around 1936. The school was operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis and served to educate young ladies until its closing in 2002.

I remember attending a final walk through with some of my classmates and a Mass in Stritch Hall at its closing. I can’t believe that Lourdes High School closed more than 20 years ago. Where does time go? And here is an interesting tidbit: Lourdes, at least Stritch Hall and the third floor, is claimed to be haunted.

The cookbook that the Sisters from Lourdes put together years ago and I’ve been on the hunt for has been located. So, all I need is for Ted to call me back and we can hopefully locate some recipes. Janine, was instrumental in locating the book, so I will give her a call after I speak with Ted. And as a reminder I love receiving your phone calls and hearing your stories, so please keep them coming.

Here is a little heads up. Pulaski Road around 64^th Street will be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction for sewer work. This work is expected to last until the week of Monday, April 25.

On a final note, now that the days are getting longer and warmer its great that folks are out and about. It’s even better to see the neighborhood dogs that have been hibernating. Nancy and her Sparky and the 57^th Place terriers have been staples through the dead of winter. It’s great to see the rest of the pups, such as Miley (who has more sweaters than me), Dhama (a beautiful bull) and Buddy, to name a few. We’ve missed them.