A day of honor, a day of thanks

By Kathy Headley

Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor

6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778

As we observe Veterans Day, a heartfelt thanks to all of our veterans who fought to keep us safe. As I’m sure most of you know, this day was first set aside to commemorate the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany, which put an end to World War I.

That being said, I thought I might stop by the two monuments in our area honoring those that gave their lives during the First World War – the first in the northwest corner of Marquette Park by the playground and the second at Dan Ryan Woods, recently relocated by the Visitor Center.

The memorial at Marquette was erected by the Chicago Lawn Women’s Club and it reads: “This tablet and adjacent elm tree stand here as a memorial to those from this community who served in the World War 1914-1918.”

Kathy Headley

The memorial at Dan Ryan was erected by the Gold Star Mothers and restored in 2019. It reads, “In loving memory of our sons who gave their lives in the World War. It is the grateful privilege of posterity to honor the nation’s heroic dead.” Kind of gives you chills, doesn’t it?

Recently we talked about two visitors to our country from Lithuania who while here for the Chicago Marathon, stopped in to visit the Sisters of St. Casimir Legacy Room. This week, if you would like, you can tour the Legacy Room from the comfort of your home. While it is not exactly the same as being there, it is still pretty cool.

This is National Vocation Awareness Week in the Catholic Church. As a part of the celebration, the Fourth Annual Meet Our Sisters Tour has launched and will be available online for the rest of the week at C4wr.org/MOST22.

Tourists will find links to each congregation’s virtual events. For our Sisters of St. Casimir, in addition to the virtual tour of the Legacy Room, the episode of EWTN’s They Might Be Saints program which featured the life of SSC founder Venerable Mother Maria Kaupas will also be available to watch.

Other congregations that have served our neighborhood will have links on that website this week too, including the Adrian Dominicans and Sinsinawa Dominicans.

Looks like the Halloween Candy Trail map given out by the Greater Southwest Development Corp. was a big success. Lots of little goblins spent the afternoon following the map for treats, as was evidenced by photos taken by Jeanette Arteaga, owner of Monarca Financial, of more than 50 kids trekking in under the big welcome arch of orange and black balloons at 63^rd and Spaulding.

The next GSDC event to look forward to will be Small Business Saturday on Saturday, Nov. 26. GSDC is giving candles to businesses around our commercial corridors to promote #shop local and #support local. When we shop at the participating businesses, we will get a free candle with purchase of a product at the business. A complete list of businesses will be available in time to take advantage of this promotion.

If you have picked up a copy of this issue as soon as it hit the newsstand or if you receive the online edition (this column typically is posted on Wednesdays), then you still have time to bring the kids to the Chicago Lawn Branch Library, 6120 S. Kedzie, for Family Craft Hour this Thursday, Nov. 10. This week, kids will be making a Thanksgiving placemat while listening to music and meeting up with neighbors.

On Saturday, Nov. 12, Community Cinema brings the PG-13 Walt Disney film Jungle Cruise to the Chicago Lawn Library. The movie, which was inspired by the theme park ride at Disneyland, begins at 2:30 p.m.

If you are looking to stay in shape during the holidays, the fitness center at Hayes Park, 2936 W. 85^th St., is a hidden gem. The facility has the same state-of-the-art equipment as found at private gyms like computerized treadmills, cross trainers, multi-station weight machines etc., at an affordable price. A membership is required to use the fitness center and is available in 3-month, 6-month and annual rates. For more information, check out chicagoparkdistrict.com/Hayes.

Last week on our visit back to 1978, we were headed over to a business celebrating its grand opening (‘Under New Management’) at 3601 W. 63^rd St. Joe B. was the first to identify the Whistle Stop. As you may remember, the eatery was first created in 1973 in the abandoned Chicago Lawn Grand Trunk station and was called the Train Station Restaurant. With new owners Michael Nicosia and John O’Malley, Italian specialties would now join American cuisine on the menu. As you’ve probably guessed, the new huge murals on the wall featured trains.

For the last grand opening of the 1978 fall season in the neighborhood we’ll go to 7151 S. Western. I think this is the hardest one to guess. The name of the business was Bronco. It advertised “old-fashioned full service.” What kind of place do you think it was?