Easter Sunday, bright and windy, made up for all those dreary icy winter Sundays we just endured. Pastor Audree Catalano at Saint Peter’s welcomed beloved old parishioners Loretta Woeltje and Ruth Loyd. Jean Zelinski was there with her daughter Pat from Washington, D.C. Jim Becker with his three beautiful little blond blue-eyed angels, Georgia, Josie and Thalia. Many dear old friends gathered to worship and be together. This historic old church welcomes new and old members. Drop in and have a look at this historic 110-plus year old treasure right at the corner of Adams and Hannah. It is one of Forest Park’s points of pride.
Angelina Giuliano, daughter of Ed and Nicole Giuliano, is a budding ice skating champ. This young lady auditioned and won the chance to participate in last week’s Ice Dreams show at the Bensenville Ice Rink. Lina shared the ice with such champs as Johnny Weir, Rachael Flatt, Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov who represented the U.S. in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy. There were many other Olympic stars in the show as well, including 14-year-old Jorden Moeller of Oak Lawn. I think we’ll be seeing more of Angelina Giuliano in the future. She is the granddaughter of Forest Parkers Don and Lydia Giuliano.
Lydia Grant took a short vacation from her nursing duties at Rush-Pres Hospital last week. She and some fellow nurses fled the late Chicago winter to Cancun, Mexico where they basked in the sunshine, went swimming and even swam with the dolphins. Now they are back at work caring for the sick and helping those in need. And trying to catch up on their sleep after that fun but exhausting vacation.
For the musical thrill of the season remember the Mahler Symphony of a Thousand coming soon to Symphony Center featuring our very own Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest, the Symphony Chorus, Chicago Chorale, Chicago Men’s A Cappella, Concordia University Kapelle Choir, the OPRF Children’s Chorus, and local soloists, Nancy Pifer, Marcy Stonikas, Elizabeth Norman, Deborah Guscaoot, Tracy Watson, Kurt Hansen and (my favorite) Doug Anderson and Peter Van de Graf. If you listen to WFMT during the night, you hear Mr. Van de Graf narrating the program. All this on Monday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m., 220 S. Michigan Ave. Maestro Jay Friedman, our neighbor in Oak Park conducts the behemoth opus and, William Chin trained the chorus(es).
Happy birthday time for Tiffany Basarich, Rich Barger, Laura Annarino, Amy Mesheimer, Mike Thompson, Chrissy Neumann, Sara Mesheimer, Zachary Peter Janopoulos, Ernesto Gasse, Daniel Patrick Hart, Frank Nee, Kara Einbinder, Jim Stanton, John Spence, Don Cote, Dawn Mandile, Julie Mahnke, Sarah Stahlki, Amy Thiesse Vobornik, Eleanor Locati. Happy anniversary to Kevin and Melissa Dodge and Mary and Brian Sullivan.
