Senior linksters headed for Marquette Park

By Kathy Headley

Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor

6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778

Registration is now open for the 39^th Senior Amateur Golf Championship at Marquette Park. The event will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 25-26. Fingers crossed that it does not pour rain on those dates like last year!

Golfers must be at least 50 years of age to participate. A $75 entry fee includes green fees, the prize fund, tee gifts, daily luncheon and 18 holes of stroke play each day. The field is limited to 54, and the popular tournament fills up pretty quickly. Register at marquettepark.cpdgolf.com or for questions call (773) 526-5040.

Have you been busy getting the yard ready for summer? Entries are now being taken for the Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards (CEGA). The contest is free to Chicago residents. CEGA’s goal is to reach gardeners of all Chicago neighborhoods.

The awards provide recognition to your hard work and creativity that make our city more beautiful. Categories include ornamental, vegetable, container and more. Entries can be residential or from churches, schools and businesses. Applications will be accepted from now until July 1 at chicagogardeningawards.org.

Congratulations are in order for the St. Rita varsity volleyball team, the Chicago Catholic League Blue champions. This is a three-peat for the Mustangs, having won the title in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Many of you may remember Adrian Dominican Sister Patricia Laverne (Michael Dominic) Erickson, who recently passed away at the age of 79. During her 61 years as a nun, she spent time teaching at St. Rita of Cascia Grammar School and was also a nursing assistant at Little Company of Mary Hospital.

The new display in the Chicago Lawn Historical Society glass case at the Chicago Lawn Branch Library, 6120 S. Kedzie, features the Grand Trunk Railroad Train Depot and includes train tickets from the olden days, bricks from the 1938 building (Thanks to Jann Paplauskas for rescuing and donating the bricks for us.) and pictures and a menu of restaurants that have called it home in recent years.

This Saturday, May 28, the Cinema feature at the library will be Sonic the Hedgehog. The film begins at 2:30 p.m.

Also this Saturday is the next meeting of the Senior Book Club. This special collaboration between the library and the Senior Services Division of the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services takes place virtually via Zoom or via phone. This month’s discussion will center on the title A Man Called Ove by Fredrk Bakman. Sign up to join the club. To register you can email [email protected] or call (312) 747-0639.

Zipping across the street, the next time you are at the Southwest Regional Senior Center, 6117 S. Kedzie, make sure to fill out the Center’s survey and let them know what sort of programs and activities you’d like to see.

A reminder to current and former St. Adrian parishioners that next Saturday, June 4 is the Memorial Mass for Rev. Tom Mescall in St. Adrian Church, 7000 S. Washtenaw, at 10 a.m. The celebrant will be Bishop Andrew Wypych.

When we left 1992 last week, we were on our way to get a bite to eat at 77^th and Kedzie. Brad O was the first to call with the answer – Lonigan’s. I remember Lonigan’s very well. Brad actually remembers having a T-shirt from Lonigan’s, so we know he is right.

Now Joan D. called with another answer: Daytona Restaurant and Lounge. Daytona featured live music and dancing. Both Brad and Joan were right, but over Memorial Day weekend in 1992 it was Daytona.

Here are a couple of bands that played at Daytona: Filthy rich and the Poor Boys, the rock band Trade Mark, the Beatles tribute group British Import and some hot rock and roll by Igneous Biscuit.

We all know that was formerly the location of Jack Aylward’s Round-Up. I met Jack at one of our Chicago Lawn Historical Society events. What a nice fellow. He grew up in the neighborhood, graduating from St. Rita Grammar School. As you may remember, aunts, uncles and cousins all worked at the restaurant. The Aylward family also owned Tally-Ho.

When I was checking to make sure I was right about Tally Ho, I came across a 1950s Aylward’s menu. A t-bone steak dinner was $2.95; a cheeseburger with fries and coleslaw would have set us back 75 cents. And – are you ready for this? – someone was offering the menu for sale at the cost of $95!

Here’s a good one for you. Thirty years ago this Saturday night, a half-hour comedy was airing on WMAQ-TV (Channel 5) that had been filmed here in Chicago Lawn. It was called Two Dinos and was the story of two wisecracking cousins that owned a business together. Any guesses in what building the show was filmed?