Kathy Huebner was honored and remembered all evening at Saint Bernardine Women’s Club dinner and fashion show April 10. Her life was celebrated joyously. The hall was ablaze with red as per the committee’s request and that color seemed to engender high spirits and sociability. No doubt the spirit of Kathy was responsible.
Terry Meffley took the Wednesday group on a tour of three Chicago churches last week. Our Lady of Pompeii in Little Italy was scheduled but became unavailable at the last minute so the group visited the famous old Polish church, Saint Mary of the Angels, on North Hermitage. This Roman Renaissance structure stands 19 stories tall, has a dome forty feet in diameter and forty feet high. Atop the building are 26 angels each 9.5 feet tall weighing 5,500 pounds. Stained glass windows portray the stations of the cross; a Kimball organ boasts 2,000 pipes. Saint Mary of the Angels is considered one of the most beautiful churches in the country. It is the largest Catholic Church in the state of Illinois and is run by the prelature of Opus Dei. The old neighborhood, Bucktown, has been rediscovered by prosperous younger families and is emerging as one of the desirable places to live.
A visit to Moody Bible Church was another heart stopper. The auditorium holds 4,000 seats, a choir area holds about 1,000 seats held up by cantilever construction, i.e. no braces or poles holding the seats up. This was the courageous innovation of architect John Fugard. The last church stop was the famous old Saint James Episcopal Cathedral on North Wabash, site of ongoing concerts by decades of professional musicians. This old beauty still has scorch marks left by the Chicago Fire of 1871. Pat Riske celebrated his birthday that day with treats for all. He and Mary and Rick Hollander enjoyed the foyer of Saint James.
Another sure sign of spring is the appearance of Jim Payette with his friend Rick Watts seated on the bench in Constitution Square. Unfortunately Rick had a bad winter, suffering a heart attack. His longtime partner and dear friend Pat Daly went with him to the hospital and came home only to suffer a fatal heart attack himself. Sincere sympathy to Rick on the loss of his dear friend.
St. Ignatius High School juniors from Forest Park were inducted into the National Honor Society this week. They are Robert Hoskins (son of our own Village Commissioner Rory Hoskins), Helen Roach and Josiah Simmons. Robert wants to attend the Air Force Academy after graduation. Helen has already been accepted into the Naval Academy summer program and Josiah is in the math club and plans to study architecture. Helen’s mother, Megan Roach, tutored all three kids, when they were 8th graders, to prepare them for the school’s entrance exam. Megan graduated from Iggy’s and was an outstanding member of the girls basketball team. Talented kids in our town.
Congratulations to our esteemed editor, Jean Lotus for the many Illinois Press Association awards she was nominated to receive. Sharon Daly, Tom Holmes and John Rice are also to be congratulated for their nominations for press awards as well.
Now for the April birthdays this week: Joe Rice, Jessica Witt, Parker Ryan Wojtas, Benajmin Gerger, Shawn Miller, Grace Ahern, Pricilla Bruce, Urtan Romani, Lisa Grimes, Lorraine Sansone, Frank Nee, Michael Bowker, Bob Farro, Kate Leinweber, McKenna Mintz, Ruth Meyer, and Regan Doolin.
Happy Easter to YOU.
Jackie is a former Chicago and Elmwood Park schoolteacher with an undying love for music, friendly pets and a host of life’s other treasures too numerous to list. She was born on the far southwest side of Chicago in a great neighborhood when it was a great time to be young.
