St. Adrian’s new sign is light, bright

By Kathy Headley

Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor

6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778

If you have driven by St. Adrian Church at 70^th and Washtenaw lately, did you notice the new signage on the church? It sure looks much nicer than the signage on some of the other parishes I have seen after Renew My Church.

It is rectangular on three sides with an arched top, then a color picture in an oval frame of the Blessed Mother in the center of the arched top. It reads: Mary, Mother of Mercy Parish on the first line, St. Adrian Catholic Church on the second, and then Mass times are listed below. The sign is affixed to the front of the church right where the old one had been. It illuminates at night. I liked it.

Remember our community has three opportunities this weekend to take part in Earth Day activities. All are on Saturday, April 23.

Friends of the Parks is coordinating the annual spruce-up at Marquette Park with the Chicago Park District and the Forest Preserves of Cook County from 9 a.m. to noon. All supplies will be furnished. Meet up by the field house. Register at fotp.org/earth-day.htm. Contact Site Captain Sandra Castillo at [email protected] with any questions.

At 9:30 a.m. meet crews at 63^rd and Western or 63^rd and Kedzie to work with the folks from the Greater Southwest Development Corporationfor this year’s community clean-up.

No matter which one you choose or even if you can’t make it to the community clean-ups, from noon to 3 p.m. you are invited to enjoy live performances, live painting by a local professional artist, and delicious food by local businesses in the parking lot in front of Lawn Terrace, on the southwest corner of 63^rd and Kedzie.

Does your child have a hobby they would like to turn into a business? Jeanette Arteaga is going to give them an opportunity to try and sell their wares. She is holding a pop-p she calls Kidpreneur at the Monarca Event Room, 3300 W. 63^rd St. This fun event will feature food, raffles, music and more. It is coming up on Friday, May 6, from 4 to 7 p.m. To register your child, go to forms.gle/zkcZusxHwKshwURN8.

The Chicago Lawn Branch Library, 6120 S. Kedzie, offers Yoga in the Library on Saturdays from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Stretch, meditate and relax. Classes are provided by Esperanza Health Center and are great for beginners. Registration is required. Call (312) 747-0639.

When we left 1992 last week, we had planned to eat out for Easter dinner and were deciding between two places. The first was at 3300 W. 55^th St. and was giving out chocolate bunnies to each child that came in for dinner.

Brad O. was the first to recognize the Candlelight Lodge where proprietor Al Sord would have been on hand to greet us. The second one was at 3321 W. Columbus. That one was a bit trickier. For many years, it was known at the Diamond Head; but in 1992 the name was Beyond the Reef. They were advertising an Easter uffet and they advertised “superb Chinese and American Foods; Casual Dining in an Exotic Atmosphere.”

Like many of you, I had only been there when it was Diamond Head. Paul B gave us some interesting history you may not have known about the Diamond Head.

The restaurant was owned by Richie Slaustis. Both he and Paul were members of the Knights of Lithuania. Now Richie’s wife was Japanese; hence, the oriental theme. As many of you might remember, after entering the restaurant, patrons would be escorted to a private dining area closed off from other groups by curtains and sitting inside on pillows.

As mentioned above, Richie was Lithuanian and his wife Japanese so one of the unique attractions of the restaurant was that in addition to Oriental cuisine, they also served kugelis.

At the beginning of the column, we talked about the new signage at St. Adrian. With that in mind, this week, let’s briefly veer from our visit to 1992 and go all the way back to 1929. I know not many of us were here back then, but let’s try this question anyway because the answer is pretty interesting. This question, which is a pretty cool nugget of our history, is also thanks to Paul B. What was originally sitting on the spot where St. Adrian Church was built?