Push for new library growing

By Karen Sala

Your correspondent in Gage Park

(773) 471-1429 • [email protected]

July 30, 2021

Another week has flown by.

I stopped for gas at the new BP on 51^st Street. It will always be Tuxedo Junction to me. Mine was the only car getting gas at that time, the rest of the pumps were being used by Amazon trucks.

The push for a new branch library in Gage Park seems to be going strong. The current location has been closed for about 16 months, reportedly due to pandemic. CPL officials say the space is just too small for them to reopen and practice safe distancing.

There is a petition on Facebook to get a new branch library. Go to change.org/p/chicago-public-library-a-new-public-library-in-gage-park-chicago.

Someone on the site recently posted a great idea: turn the old Kmart into a library. I think it’s so cool when old buildings are repurposed. That shopping center really needs some help and this would be a perfect solution.

There is a benefit scheduled in memory of Tom Salzburg, a former Gage Park resident who lost his fight against ALS. Tom grew up on 52^nd and Maplewood. He lost his battle in May of 2020. The benefit will be held on Sunday Aug. 8^th, 2021 from 2 to 7 p.m. at 115 Bourbon Street. All tickets with the 2020 date will be honored. This benefit was postponed and rescheduled. They will also be kicking the day off with Tom’s ALS Ride, a motorcycle run which will start at Chi-Town Harley 17801 S. LaGrange Rd. and end at Bourbon St. Registration starts at 8 a.m. and the run begins at 10 a.m. For more information on both events go to www.salzburgstrong.com. All proceeds will go to help families struggling with the expenses of ALS and towards ALS research.

I cannot believe how the size of products in stores are shrinking. The prices are staying the same or going up on these smaller sizes. You go to grab a can or box off the shelf and you immediately know it’s smaller. I found out there is a term for this phenomenon and its shrinkflation. Companies are making candy bars smaller and packaging them in multi packs thinking you won’t notice. They are changing the shape of things so you barely notice the weight difference. I spotted the band aid boxes were skinnier so I read an old one and a new one. There were 5 less band aids in the new box but the price remained the same. Ice cream containers and cereal boxes have lost weight too. Potato chip bags contain more air than chips. It’s only going to get worse with the cost of ingredients going up and shipping cost rising.

The TV show Windy City Live will be coming to an end in September. When it first aired my cousin Tina, friend Rose and I went to a taping. We were in line in front of a very talkative, friendly lady and her friends. It ended up this woman lived only a few blocks from me, her name is Carmen Thompson. That was so funny to live so close to someone and only meet them when you go downtown. It’s a small world and even smaller when it comes to Facebook. It amazes me how everyone you know is connected to someone else you know.