March came in like a lamb and I hope it departs in the same manner. During the month there are many ‘fun’d raising events that may be a little waist increasing, but ever so worth it. The various organizations contribute to the community in so many ways. The events themselves are fun and give attendees the opportunity to visit and, in some cases, gain a little education. It may be difficult to attend them all, but try to attend at least one ore two. I hope to see you at some.
AROUND AND ABOUT
Music Boosters Club of West Chicago Community High School holds a Dine Out event from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Kindred Coffee Roasters, 148 West Washington Street. Music students provide special entertainment.
The eighth annual “Art is the Heart of the City” is the exhibit for the month of March at Gallery 200, 103 West Washington Street. On display is the artwork of students in grades first through eighth at West Chicago Elementary School District 33 schools. There is a variety of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, representing a broad spectrum of styles and artistic periods/genres. District 33 art teachers chose the theme to emphasize the value of participation in art for all children. Art activities stimulate creativity, imagination, perception and selectivity. The artists’ reception is from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, 2020. Students and teachers are on hand to discuss the value of art in public schools and their artwork.
Art teachers are Linda Rooney and Kelsey Mangler from Leman Middle School, Jacqui Neidhardt from Currier School, Katie Yankowski from Gary School, Kirsten Snodgrass from Indian Knoll School, Christine Cintula from Pioneer School, Megan Czervionke from Turner School and Lisa Miller from Wegner School.
American Legion Post 300, 123 Main Street, has a Fish Fry from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday, March 6, 2020. Outlaws and Angels perform from 7:00 to 10:30 p.m. The band plays new country, a bit of old country, some rock and a little southern rock mixed together. (www.merleburl.com)
Winfield Township once again is participating in “Local Government Week” with an Open House from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 7, 2020, at Winfield Township Road District building, 30W575 Roosevelt Road. Hot dogs, snacks and beverages are served.
There are tours of the office and garage, plus the opportunity to view the road equipment. In addition to information on display, staff and elected officials are on hand to answer questions. Also available to answer questions and give information are members of the Citizen Emergency Response Team, referred to as CERT, Schools and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education, commonly known as SCARCE, DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, and representatives from Wayne/Winfield Area Youth/Family Services (WAYS) share information on programs currently offered.
The Township is collecting cell telephones, eyeglasses and hearing aids to distribute to the appropriate organizations. There are bins for newspapers and non-perishable foods. Foods are donated to Neighborhood Food Pantries located at the Crossroads Church location. Persons also may bring tattered and faded American flags to give to American Legions Post 300 or Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6791 for proper disposal at a flag ceremony.
For further information call the Township office at (630) 231-3591 or road district office at (630) 231-8850.
The West Chicago City Museum is open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturdays beginning March 7, and ending November 28, 2020
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6791 holds its popular Raffle Blast at noon Saturday, March 7, 2020, at the post, 431 North Neltnor Boulevard. The charge is $50 per person and includes lunch prepared by the Post Auxiliary. Pre-registration is required. To register or for more information, call the post at (630) 231-9823.
It is time to Spring ahead when Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, May 8, 2020. Remember to set your clocks one hour ahead.
Wayne/Winfield Area Youth/Family Services offers hour-long computer classes for senior citizens at Wayne Township, 27W031 North Avenue. Not only do seniors learn basic skills, but also have the opportunity to socialize. The fee is $2. Reservations are required and may be made by calling (630) 231-7166. Beginner classes are at 3:00 p.m. Fridays. “Introduction to Facebook” class is at 4:00 p.m. Monday,March 9, 2020.
People Made Visible hosts a meeting for representatives of all West Chicago organizations Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at Gallery 200, 103 West Washington Street. To allow an opportunity for all persons to attend, there are two times. 1:00 and 7:00 p.m. The focus is on the advertising of events and programs in the community.
For the past year, People Made Visible has been working with Kindred Coffee Roasters and the West Chicago City Museum to coordinate events in downtown West Chicago. Over this time, they discussed their joint struggles with reaching residents to promote events or programs in an efficient and effective manner. Many other groups may have this same problem and would like to explore more productive ways to share and receive news. The three organizations have devised a few solutions to this problem that they hope will provide a more efficient avenue for residents and fellow organizations to receive information about events, programs and promotions occurring in West Chicago and also help coordinate events around each organization’s schedules.
Wildcat Boosters Club Annual Spaghetti Dinner is from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in the Commons at West Chicago Community High School, 326 Joliet Street. The menu is unlimited spaghetti, a serving of salad, bread, cookie and cold drink. The cost is $8, $6 for children age 11 and under. All profits are donated back to the students of WCCHS. The Booster Club supports both athletics and activities at WCCHS. (www.merleburl.com)
Healthy West Chicago holds “Money-Saver Alert: Let’s Tac(o) About Wasted Food” program at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at Gary School, 130 East Forest Avenue. The hands-on nutrition program includes how to use all the food that you have (or have access to), practice using ‘hard-to-use’ ingredients in a variety of recipes, how to save foods that you cannot use right away and how to limit food waste with children while still introducing new foods.
The West Chicago Public Library holds a Computer Basics class at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in the conference room, 118 West Washington Street. Areas covered include opening/closing programs and documents, saving documents and computer vocabulary. To make a reservation, call the adult services department at (630) 231-1552, extension 4.
The West Chicago Park District monthly social for senior citizens is Thursday, March 12, 2020, at the ARC, 201 West National Street. The theme is St. Patrick’s Day with the menu of corned beef, cabbage, red potatoes, carrots, bread and dessert. Guests supply a complete place setting.The cost is $6 for residents and $8 for non-residents. Reservations are due by Friday, March 6, and may be made in person at the ARC or on line at www.we-goparks.org.
WeGo Drama at West Chicago Community High School continues their 2019-2020 Season with their IHSA Showcase performance, which is the 40-minute play and 30-minute Group Interpretation that are featured in Illinois High School Association competition. Performances are at 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14, 2020, in Weyrauch Auditorium, 326 Joliet Street. The ticket price is a suggested donation of $10.
Wego Drama’s 2019-20 Season is focused on “Stories Told and Retold.” These shows embody that theme as they deal with the power of the stories that need to be told. IHSA shows do deal with serious content and therefore are intended for teens and adults. The two shows are presented together to create a wonderful evening of cutting-edge theatre. The audience gets the benefit of two shows in one night.
The company of actors and crew for the show are Philip Calabrese, Maggie Hancock, Aidan Incrocci, Samuel Incrocci, Kenya Bahena, Nathan Bradley, Ryan Castiglia, Christina Champagne, Josie Kotke, Vinny Lamantia and DJ LaPlaca.
Others are Noemi Lara, Daniela Luna, Grace Miller, Vincent Ross, Cassi Villa, Olivia Wesling, Chris Yera, Ava Fini, Elizabeth Ryan, Cassi Villa, Katherine Vander Plaats and Jazmin Wilkins.
Mark Begovich is the director. Scenic Design and Technical Direction is by Chris Jensen. Hair and make-up is by Jamie Elza. (www.merleburl.com)
The annual West Chicago Community High School Music Boosters Pancake Breakfast is from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 14, 2020, in the Commons, 326 Joliet Street, Entrance H. Menu includes pancakes, sausage, juice, and coffee from Kindred Coffee Roasters. Music students in jazz band, brass quintet, chamber choir and some string ensembles perform throughout the breakfast. Ticket price is $5, $3 for children 10 and under and senior citizens 65 and older. Proceeds from the pancake breakfast go towards funding scholarships for music students.
Healthy West Chicago hosts a one-hour Health Living Grocery Store Tour at 6:00 p.m. Monday, March 16, 2020, at Jewel-Osco, 177 East Roosevelt Road. A registered nutritionist leads the tour. Participants learn how to find healthier food, compare unit prices to find bargains, how to read food labels, how to identify whole grains and how to stick to a budget. Attendees receive a $10 produce gift card and a reusable grocery bag. To register, call/text: 630-230-6370 or email: director@healthywestchicago.org
West Chicago City Museum Historiography program, a non-fiction book reading group, is at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, March 19, 2020, in the Museum, 132 Main Street. Guests can bring a lunch; dessert and a beverage are provided. The book to be discussed is “Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the Right to Vote ” by Tina Cassidy. Copies of the book are available at the museum and library.
The book gives the account of the complex relationship between leading suffragist Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson in her fight for women’s equality. Paul’s procession of suffragists resulted in her being granted a face-to-face meeting with President Wilson, one that would lead to many meetings and much discussion, but little progress for women. With no equality in sight and patience wearing thin, Paul organized the first group to ever picket in front of the White House lawn—night and day, through sweltering summer mornings and frigid fall nights. It is a portrayal of a little-known feminist heroine in the critical moment in American history.
Cassidy writes about women and culture. A former journalist who spent most of her career at the Boston Globe covering business, fashion and politics, she now is the Chief Marketing Officer of WGBH, a public radio station in Boston. She is the author of two other books.
West Chicago Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 85 and West Chicago Firefighter 39701 once again are competing and, as usual, for a good cause. The competition involves seeing who can raise the most money at the respective First Responder Fundraiser events held at Hawthorne’s Backyard Bar & Grill, 1200 West Hawthorne Lane.The proceeds go toward the purchase of an electric wheelchair for a local child. Each event includes a 50/50 raffle and raffles for a Beach Cruiser Bike and a Yeti Cooler.
The Police fundraiser is from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Thursday, March 19, 2020. The Firefighters fundraiser is from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Thursday, March 26. This is a great way to assist the Community Heroes in their fundraising completion, while having fun, meeting friends and becoming acquainted with others.
The West Chicago Historical Society and the Friends of the West Chicago City Museum host their annual Spring Tea at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, March 22, 2020, at American Legion Post 300, 123 Main Street. The event includes a tea luncheon, program and a silent auction. Ticket price is $20. To make a reservation, call (630) 231-3376, email wegohistory@gmail.com or stop by the museum, 132 Main Street. Museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Thursdays, 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Fitting in with a Spring theme, Paddy Lynn, popular history presenter, portrays Beatrix Potter, the author of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”and other stories. Potter came from a wealthy upper middle class family, reared mainly by governess in her younger life and cold not play with other children. Because of this, she developed a love for drawing and painting, using her pets as models. Her vivid imagination and artistic talent led to the charming stories.
Lynn has been in more than 100 plays and worked with a professional theater company as a writer, director, and actor in many productions that serviced Chapter One schools in Chicago bringing them Shakespeare, Chaucer, and a variety of children’s programs. She wrote four original history programs that she has been performing for many years. (www.merleburl.com)
Gallery Theater, 129 Main Street, presents “Stella and Lou” by Bruce Graham. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays,March 27, 28 and April 3 and 4, and at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, March 29, and April 5, 2020. Ticket price is $18, $16 for seniors. To make a reservation, email GalleryTickets@gmail.com, visit the website: www.gallerytheaterstudio.com or call (630) 234-5919.
“Stella and Lou” is an intimate exploration of friendship, forgiveness, and the longing for companionship that grows with the passage of time. It takes place on a quiet night at Lou’s Bar as two kindred spirits seek solace as they navigate changing times and relationships past.
Members of the cast are Carol Townsend, Gary Murphy and Brian Koester. The director is Gail Cannata. (www.merleburl.com)
During the Lenten season, many of the local eating establishments and organizations are having Friday Night Fish Fries.
Both of the veterans organizations hold fundraisers, with some of the monies going toward community projects. Bingo games at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6791, 431 North Neltnor Boulevard, are on Wednesdays. Doors open at 5:00 p.m., games start at 7:00 p.m. The Auxiliary games are Sundays. Doors open at noon, games start at 3:00 p.m. American Legion Post 300 has a fish fry Wednesdays and Fridays, plus special meals on Thursdays.
Sincere sympathy is extended to the family of Lynne Damsch, who passed away Saturday, February 22, 2020.
Deepest sympathy is expressed to the family of Wayne L. Hensel, who at the age of 82 passed away Friday, February 21, 2020.
Sincere sympathy is extended to the family of Bhagwant S. Virk, who at the age of 73 passed away Saturday, February 22, 2020.
Deepest sympathy is expressed to the family of Karen Sue (Brown) Holloway, who at the age of 77 passed away Friday, February 21, 2020.
Sincere sympathy is extended to the family of Dianne M. (Klock) Bowie, who at the age of 79 passed away Wednesday, February 26, 2020.
Deepest sympathy is expressed to the family of Bette L. (Smith) Akin, who at the age of 77 passed away Saturday, February 29, 2020.
Named to the Up State Eight Girls Basketball All Conference team was Shailee Patel, a junior at West Chicago Community High School.
West Chicago Police Department Sergeant Eugene Samuel recently graduated from the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University. Their were 42 students in the 10-week course.
This program, implemented by the Center for Public Safety in 1983, provides upper-level college instruction in a total of twenty-seven core blocks of instruction and additional optional blocks during each session. The major topics of study include Leadership, Human Resources, Employee Relations, Organizational Behavior, Applied Statistics, Planning and Police Development, Budgeting and Resource Allocation. Upon successful completion, students may be awarded a total of 6 units of undergraduate credit from Northwestern University in Evanston. (www.merleburl.com)
At the Wednesday, February 26, 2020, basketball game with Lisle High School, Wheaton Academy won with a score of 60-37. West Chicago Community High School won the game against Elgin High School with a score of 64-57.
The Jel-Sert Company has launched SLIQ, a new premium alcoholic freezer bar poised to revolutionize mixology on ice, literally. According to the press release, “The world’s leading manufacturer of freezer bars, responsible for producing billions of bars each year, has evolved its product line for the 21+ crowd and set out to define a new category of alcohol that plays off the popularity and success of ready-to-drink and hard seltzer beverages.”
The three premium spirits are Vodka, Agave, and Rum, ”each infused with elevated flavors and a super smooth sorbet-like texture.” SLIQ freezer bars line-up includes Vodka infused Spirited Ice in Lemonade, Cranberry & Grapefruit, and Blue Raspberry; and Agave infused Spirited Ice in Classic Margarita, Strawberry Margarita, and Mango Margarita and Rum infused Spirited Ice in Strawberry Daiquiri, Coconut & Lime Daiquiri, and Pineapple Daiquiri. SLIQ will be manufactured by 21 Holdings, a new division of The Jel Sert Company that will exclusively produce the company’s 21+ items.(www.merleburl.com)
The West Chicago Community High School Boys Track team did well at the Auburn Boys Invitational in Rockford. Paul McLeland is the coach.The varsity relay team won first place in the 3200 relay. Relay team members are Luis Guzman, Josiah McLean, Ryan Nguyen and Freddy Munoz. Varsity team member Jorge Calderon won third place in the 50 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. Junior varsity member Niku Myers won first place and Alex Ortega won third place in the pole vault. The JV relay team won second place in the 3200 relay. Team members are Chris Hernandez, Dylan Diaz, Marcos Olague and Vincent Cielo. (www.merleburl.com)
West Chicago resident Judith Horsley was featured in the DuPage County Forest Preserve blog, “Catching Nature,” Friday, February 28, 2020. It was titled “Nature Inspires Woman in Many Ways.”
The WeGo Math Team competed in the ICTM 4AA regional. The Freshman/Sophomore eight- person team took Second place overall at the meet. Team members were Jane Osielski, Swapna George, Danny Eaton, Efren Mackintos, Jack Riconisciuto, Rafael Rotger, Leah Nika and Nathan Schmidt. The Calculator Team won Third place overall at the meet. Team members were Steven Demma, David Fatheree, Coen Garling, Rydell Salazar and Aaron Linden. Demma took Fourth place overall in the PreCalculus competition and earned a medallion. So far this year, the WeGo Math Team has scored 3,120 points.
West Chicago Community High School Social Studies teachers not only attended the DuPage County Social Studies Conference, but six current and former WCCHS teachers presented sessions on new legislation, eLearning, 2020 election, restorative justice, Civics in the Middle School, performance assessment and AP Human Geography. Teachers Maggie Haas and Dave Sayner led an AP Human Geography Roundtable, Candi Fikis presented how to prepare for an eLearning day and Nick Caltagirone presented the new LGBTQ+ History legislation. Mary Ellen Daneels, who has been on leave to run professional development across the state, presented two sessions, one on how to implement the Civics Middle School requirement and the other on Social Studies performance assessments. Shawn Healy, a former WCCHS teacher, presented on how to teach the 2020 election and also on restorative justice. (www.merleburl.com)
Support our local businesses as they not only contribute to the community through taxes, but also generously contribute through monetary and in-kind donations to clubs, churches, organizations and schools.
Contributing to the West Chicago Lions Club Pancake Breakfast Sunday, March 1, 2020, were Aperion Care West Chicago, Williams-Woodward Funeral Home, Edward Jones-John F. Cahill, Bob’s Auto Body, Marziani Enterprises, Daniel And Associates Real Estate, Precision Lube & Auto, Republic Bank, Rebecca C. Hall Consulting, The UPS Store, Mary Ann Manna, Murphy Ace Hardware, T. S. Specialties, Extra Value Liquors, Sonny Acres, Haggerty Ford, Augustino’s Rock and Roll Deli and Grill and Norris-Segert Funeral Home & Cremation Services.
The West Chicago Police Department again participated in the Coolest Event of the Year—the Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge, where law enforcement officers take a flying leap into the frigid water of an Illinois lake to support Special Olympics Illinois athletes. Twenty-four brave souls (police officers, their families and friends) represented the WC Police Department and took the plunge at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, March 1, 2020, at Loon Lake in Silver Springs State Park in Yorkville. Although the temperature was warmer than usual, it was still a freezing dip into the waters. Participants raise money from donations by friends, family and co-workers. The goal was $2,500, but that was surpassed with donations totaling $3,500.(www.merleburl.com)
My email address is merleburl@earthlink.net.
