Farewell and thanks to Nathan, Connor and David

By Kathy Headley

Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor

6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778

As June ends, we at St. Rita of Casica Parish and St. Clare of Montefalco Shrine sadly say goodbye to Nathan Fernandes, Connor Fitzmaurice and David Marshall. The three are pre-novices discerning a vocation to the priesthood in the Order of St. Augustine and have had a huge impact on our parish.

During their yearlong stay, they lived at the newly established community, St. Clare Friary, which was opened in the building that formerly housed the convent at St. Clare of Montefalco on 55^th and Talman. They have been working and learning under the direction of the Rev. Ray Flores, who is the Director of the Pre-Novitiate at the friary.

All three spent time serving at St. Rita High School, where they were involved in helping with the school band, campus ministry, religion classes, academic support and even the chess team.

In addition to their work at the high school, their contributions at Sunday Masses, retreats and all parish events will really be missed. St. Rita has indeed been fortunate to have them.

Now I believe they will be able to enjoy a vacation back home before their next endeavor. Nathan is from Toronto, Connor from Columbia, Mo., and David from Dayton Ohio. In the short time they spent with us, they fit in like members of the family. Nathan, Connor, David – thanks for everything and hope you’ll be back soon.

While on the subject of St. Rita, Mr. Josh Blaszak has been named the new principal of the high school. An alumnus himself, graduating in 2002, Blaszak grew up in the Scottsdale neighborhood, attending St. Bede the Venerable School. He began his career at SRHS in 2007 as a math teacher and has served as associate principal.

A big shout out goes to Erik Contreras. His company just completed some tuckpointing and painting for us, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. His crew was courteous, conscientious, wasted no time completing the job and went the extra mile, making sure everything was finished off professionally before they left. If you need any tuckpointing, I’d suggest calling Erik (312) 392-8887, a local guy. I think you’d be happy with the result.

The other day as I was going by the Kedzie Avenue bridge at Marquette Park, I was surprised to see a new sidewalk being poured on the west side by the fieldhouse. It’s always nice to see improvements going in.

Later, as I was driving down Marquette Road, I got another surprise when I saw a new house being built on the south side of the street in the 3600 block. That lot has been vacant for so long I can’t even put a rough estimate on how many decades it’s been empty.

This summer, the Tween Crochet Club takes place on Thursdays at the Chicago Lawn Branch Library, 6120 S. Kedzie, from 6 to 7 p.m. Kids ages 10 to 13 are invited to join Mrs. Susie for Beginners’ Crochet where they will learn and practice the basics of crocheting. A starter material kit is provided.

Community Cinema comes to the library every Saturday at 2:30 p.m. This Saturday, July 2, the featured film will be the 2007 Walt Disney Film National Treasure Book of Secrets.

Now for our last week on our visit to 1992. What was the name of that discount variety store at 3927 W. 63^rd Street? My daughter used to love to go with me when I’d stop in there. Later it moved just west of Pulaski and then to 87^th and Ridgeland before becoming a Dollar Tree. Debbie R. was the first one to recognize D.C Sales. Some of you may remember Debbie from Lorraine’s Bakery by D. C. Sales, where she worked back then.

Since we are leaving 1992, let’s jump around for a few weeks without picking a specific year. Debbie remembers going into 3927 W. 63^rd Street before it was D. C. Sales, and before it was R & S. Liquors. A good memory for her was going with her dad on a Saturday night, and in addition to the regular products they carried, there was a pizza man there. Does that ring a bell for anyone? Remember the name of the business before R & S at that location?