Cathy Vetter tells us of Col. Larry Foster, a singer with the Harlem Maennerchor and Damenchor and an able professional at the Hines dental clinic, who is again on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He’ll be in Afghanistan until April when we all hope he will return to Forest Park for good. After all, the boys in the chorus need Larry at the brat and beer stands for the summer fests here in town.

Wam K. Shim and Jin O. Shim of Bakol Cleaners have returned from a joyful visit to Korea where their son, Edwin Shim, was married to Kyung (Hwa Kim) Shim. In Korean weddings the bridal party dresses in western style wedding dress for a part of the wedding ceremony, then everyone changes into traditional Korean dress. The bride’s mother wears a pink Korean wedding dress, the groom’s mother changes into a green one. You can see the actual dresses on display at Bakol’s in Constitution Court. Jin will probably be happy to show you the pictures of the wedding.

Wishes for a speedy recovery to Loretta Woeltje, who is recovering from pneumonia at Rush in Oak Park. She may even be back home by the time this paper hits the newsstands.

Loretta’s faithful dog, Katie, has been staying with her faithful friend, Rose Krough.

The Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest will give a free concert for kids Sunday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. at the high school on Elmwood and Lake. There is parking in the garage on the corner. Four young soloists, winners of a recent competition, will perform on violin, piano, flute and viola.

On Jan. 15 the British Museum will observe its 250th birthday. It is also the day the first Super Bowl game was played in 1967. Green Bay defeated Kansas City.

The birthday of Martin Luther King is Jan. 15.

The Pentagon was completed on this date in 1943.

The date also marks the birth of physicist Edward Teller in 1908. He led the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Teller died in 2003.

On Jan. 17 the cable car was patented in 1871. Service began in 1873.

The 17th was Al Capone’s birthday in 1899. He was born in Brooklyn to parents who had migrated from Naples, Italy. He died Jan. 25, 1947, in Miami, Fla.

Benjamin Franklin was born Jan. 17, 1706. It’s also Kid Inventors Day. Some examples of kids’ inventions are earmuffs, water skis and popsicles. For more on this topic, visit www.kidinventorsday.com.

Jan. 18 was Cary Grant’s birthday; it’s also the day the Lewis and Clark expedition was commissioned in 1803.

Jan. 19 is the birthday of Janis Joplin in 1943; Robert E. Lee was born in 1807, and Edgar Allan Poe in 1809. Poe was orphaned and lived in dire poverty until he was taken in by a Virginia merchant, John Allan.

On Jan. 19, Dolly Parton was born in 1946.

On Jan. 20 the sign of Aquarius, the water carrier, begins. Little Orphan Annie came onto the scene in 1924, Harold Gray was her creator.

Jan. 15 is the birthday of Holly Ann Fjeldstad, Colleen Nee, Elyse O’Connell and James Nackey; on the 16th, Eunice Balzek, Tom Dasek, Lauren Pardun, Bob Kurash, Judy Baar Topinka; the 17th, Caroline Glinke, Joan Steinbach, Janet Fabiani, Margaret Flanagan, Daniel Mondragon, Marge Zwadlo; the 18th, Judy Daniels, Dan Olson, Kirk Oliver, Kaitlyn Trage; on the 19th, Christopher Madden has a birthday, and happy anniversary to Shirley and Jack Christell; Jan. 20 birthdays include Sharon Tierney, Julie Kaiser and Dale Heath; on the 21st, Cassidy Brown.

Keep warm, spring is only 60-some days away.