The Lost Archives: Des Plaines with Aunt Sandy and Family

After the warm hospitality provided by Kevin W. and his family, I headed north about 50mi to visit my great Aunt Sandy and her family in Des Plaines.  I arrived just after mid morning at Aunt Sandy's place, and we had a nice chat while I settled in.  She put me up in her own room, which I thought was very gracious and accomodating.  I tried to fight it because I felt bad putting her out of her room, but sometimes the most gracious thing you can do is accept someones gift.  I was very appreciative.

We got to talking about her involvement in the Des Plaines Citizens on Patrol.  What she does through this organization is to support local law enforcement and fire services in the execution of their duties.  If there is a fire, the Citizens Fire Corps will arrive at the scene and provide support such as directing traffic and sealing off the area so the firefighters can focus on doing their job.  In a big city like Chicago, it is cool that the citizenry can be involved in a way that is more reminiscent of small frontier town.  She showed me a few pictures of her more interesting calls.  Also, she showed me all of her gear that she keeps, which was totally awesome.  They have some pretty heavy duty gear so that they can direct traffic, stay dry, illuminate things, etc.  She keeps it in the back of her car, so she can quickly respond when she is paged.  Definitely an awesome thing to do in your spare time.

Next, we planned out the agenda for the day.  One continuing theme throughout my journey was that I wanted to see family and connect with my ancestral roots.  Therefore, I wanted the first item on my agenda to visit the gravesites of my great grandparents, Nina and Papa.  I was fortunate enough to have them around during my childhood and teenage years.  It was always a special treat to come stay at their place in the heart of Chicago.  They were both from Italy.  My grandma didnt speak english until kindergarten.  So they moved to Chicago and started a life.  They lived in the same house their entire time in Chicago (I think), and I was lucky enough to get to know them.  I have fond childhood memories of my sister and I playing in the basement, having Papa make Kiddie Cocktails for us at his in-house bar (grenadine and sprite), and poking around his wonderful garden in the backyard.  The grass was growing over the headstones, so we trimmed them back a little bit.  In my mind, it is important to pay my respects to them.  They lived long and full lives, and they have great kids and family.  I hope to be as lucky as them. 

Next, we headed over to my cousin Tom's house.  He escaped from work for a bit to host us for lunch.  We made some sandwiches and hung out with his dog.  I also got a tour of his place.  Pretty awesome digs.  Big backyard, indoor pool.  Not too shabby at all.

After lunch, Aunt Sandy and I headed over to the local bowling alley for a few friendly frames.  I think Aunt Sandra is a member of a bowling league there or something, because she gets free games/the most absurdly low rates on bowling I have ever seen.  We rolled the ball around and had a great time.  Oh yeah, not to mention Aunt Sandy has her own bowling ball....serious stuff.  During our fun, my cousin Tammie and her daughter Rebecca stopped by to say hi to me.  They had a busy night ahead of them and wouldnt be able to stop by later for dinner, but they wanted to see me at least a little bit.  I appreciate the effort.  It had been a long time since I had seen either of them (Rebecca was probably a baby the last time I saw Tammie).  I got caught up on their lives.  Rebecca was charming and she told me all about her competitive ice skating.  Apparently, she is quite the pro and both Rebecca and her mom spend a lot of time on the road traveling with their ice skating league.  Thanks for stopping by!

 After a satisfying nap, we moved along with our evening plans.  My cousin Tom and Julie (plus family) were coming over for dinner.   We started preparing the food (it was mostly Aunt Sandy....she is the pro) which was polenta and red sauce.  Now you have to imagine that the daughter of Italian immigrants has a pretty mean spaghetti sauce, and you would be correct.  As a matter of fact, she was using the same pot and spoon that my great grandmother used to cook her sauce.  What a cool thing!

My cousin Julie came over with her family.  I had not seen her family since Kyle was a baby and her youngest Kevin had not yet been born.  I had a great time with these two.  I talked NFL football with Kyle, and Kevin brought over his awesome remote control car.  It was great to hang out with them both.  We ate some dinner, and Kyle had to leave early because he had a broomball game to attend (lucky...i wanna play broomball).

Tom and I spent some more time playing with Kevin and his remote control truck.  We took it into the street to give it a spin.  We took it off jumps, rode it to max speed, trekked off-road, and flipped it on the curb.  We had a great time.  After the delicious polenta, we had to set a little bit and digest.  We played around with Aunt Sandy's beloved cat Ginger.  What a sweet little kitty.  So willing to cuddle up with you.

All in all, it was a great evening.  We ate some delicious food, and I got to spend some very quality time with family I had not seen in quite a while.  I am really luck to be able to have this time in my life.  Many thanks to Sandy, Julie, Tammie, Tom, and families for their hospitality and time spent during their busy schedules!

The next morning, I woke up and had a pleasant breakfast with Aunt Sandra.  I cleared out her room, and headed along to my next stop:  Iowa City, IA to visit my friend JJ.  Aunt Sandra, thanks so much for your warm hospitality.  I was afforded comfortable lodging and delicious food, thanks for taking such good care of me!

On my way out of town, I drove into Chicago for a brief stroll down memory lane.  I went to my great parents old neighborhood and drove around to see all the sites I hadnt seen since my childhood.  The last stop was a visit to my great grandparents old house.  The whole neighborhood was getting pretty rough the last time I had been there, but now it is gentrified.  Its weird to think that the hipsters/yuppies that live there now have no clue about the history of the Italian immigrant family who spend 60+ years living in that house before them. It was nice to see the house in good shape.

The Lost Archives: Westfield and Elwood, Illinois

 After leaving St. Meinrad Indiana where I hung out with my buddy Jeff, my next destination was Elwood, IL to visit my friend Kevin W. with a short detour in the small farming town of Westfield, IL where one of my grandfathers grew up.  I crossed the Illinois border pretty quick, and I was greeted by miles of corn fields.  Its easy to be dismissive of the scenery as boring, but I felt like I was passing through Illinois at a great time to see the corn.  I dont know a lot about corn, but I think the corn was ready for harvest, which the browned husks looked very reminiscent of "amber waves of grain."  The endless brown corn rows rocking in the wind is a pretty cool sight.  Unfortunately, it was late enough in the season that a lot of farmers were already clearing their fields, so some of the fields were just miles of dirt, but that was a minority of the farms.

After battling traffic back ups on isolated farm roads, due to construction, I eventually made it to Westfield, IL where my grandfather grew up.  The first thing that greats you in the town square is the giant grain elevator where the local farmers come to drop off their produce.  As you can tell by the city limits sign, its a pretty small town and its in the middle of nowhere.  As I drove through downtown, it is apparent that the once boomtown had fallen on harder times.  Decaying and vacant buildings made up most of the town square. I was surprised to see that the most central buildings in the small town had brick walls that had collapsed a long time ago, and never been repaired.  It certainly projected a feeling of sadness. 

My next task was to try to find my grandfathers childhood house.  I called up grandpa, and he was able to give me a loose description of where the house ways.  It had been a while since he had been back here, and many things had changed, but I think I was able to find it based on his description.  It is important to me to connect to previous generations of my family.  This place represents a whole chunk of my grandfathers life that only existed as an abstract thought in my mind.  This trip provides a much needed connection to reality. 

After finding grandpas childhood home, I stopped by the local cemetary to see if I had any relative buried there.  The cemetary was actually pretty huge, so I briskly walked the rows and hoped that my last name would jump out at me if it crossed by gaze.  After 20min or so, I didnt see any relatives, so I hit the road.  After talking to my grandfather later, he told me no one was buried in Westfield. 

I spent the rest of my time in Westfield seeing the sites and looking at quaint farmhouses.  My grandpa suggested that I stop by the local post office and drop his name.  Apparently, there is an old lady that has been working at the post office forever that grandpa was friends with back in the day.  Unfortnately, the post office was closed at that time, so I didnt get the chance. 

After a while, I hit the road towards Elwood, which is just south of Chicago.   Apparently, it has one of the largest warehouse districts ever, and something like thousands of tractor trailers pass through Elwood every day.  Also, Elwood has a strong connection to the Blues Brothers.  You make recall that the two main characters in the movie are Elwood and  "Joliet" Jake.  The towns of Joliet and Elwood are right next to each other. 

As I pulled up to Kevin's house, his dog and family gave me a very warm welcome.  After a some introductory banter, Kevin asked what I wanted to see in Elwood. Hahaha, I laughed.  I have no idea what there is to see.  So I told him, show me the coolest things in  Elwood.  He mentioned that I could see the famous Joliet correctional facility, and that he would drive me by the entrance where Jake exits prison in the very beginning of the Blues Brothers.  I thought this was super cool!  Lets do it!

On the way to  the prison, we passed by his high school, which looks almost indistguishable from the prison!  Awesome.  Finally we made it to the gate.  It was night time, and Kevin told me this was a pretty rough area, so we shouldnt linger too long.  I got my picure and we moved on.  It was a pretty fun moment though.  I love seeing movie related stuff along the way.

The opening scene to the Blues Brothers

Next, we drove to a place called Portillos Hot Dogs.  Kevin said it was a pretty legit place to get some dogs and whatnot.  We spent the next couple hours chillin and eatin dogs.  I went back for seconds because I was hungry, and lets be honest, I am putting on the weight for this trip. Why hold back?

After dinner, we went back to Elwood to visit a local watering hole, Watson’s Diner I think.  Apparently there was quite a bit a drama that went down in downtown Elwood.  Something about the oldest and most popular bar being burned down by someone.  It was the community gathering place, and in the absence of this bar, many places have tried to fill the gap, but none of them have had the wide appeal to all demographics that the original place had.  We were also celebrating Kevins big achievement.  He got a new job!  After finishing grad school, he scored his first gig post school.  With his architecture expertise, he will be working for a firm that works with the warehouses.  It sounded like a pretty cool job, and we drank a few beers to celebrate. 

After the beers, we went home and slept.  The next morning, Kevin's  family treated me to a very nice breakfast and I really enjoyed the conversation with Kevin and his mother.  Kevin and family, thanks so much for your hospitality.  You were an excellent tour guide and host….I had a great time. 

On my way out of town, I stopped to snap a pic of the old timey post office in Elwood, and I got to drive down a stretch of historic Route 66.  A jaunt down Rte66 was a goal of mine for the trip, so I am glad I got to check it off the list.  There are still 50's style diners left over from the glory days of Route 66.  Given more time, it would be cool to stop at a few.

Next up: Des Plaines, IL to visit my great aunt and her family! 

St. Meinrad Archabbey with Jeff

After Louisville, I was cruising through farm land in Indiana on my way to St. Meinrad.  St. Meinrad is the name of the town, but the only thing in the town is St. Meinrad's Archabbey, which houses a Benedictine monastery and a seminary for Catholic priests.  My buddy Jeff H. is currently studying to become a priest there, and I had been meaning to visit him for a while. 




View St. Meinrad in a larger map

View St. Meinrad Pt II in a larger map

The next nearest town is called Santa Claus.  Not kidding.  Apparently they have a giant Christmas-themed theme park there.

I got there in the early afternoon, and I checked into my small guestroom.  St. Meinrad has brand new guest facilities where visitors can stay for nominal rate.  After checking in I walked towards the towering church where I met Jeff in a sweeping plaza.  He still had a few classes to attend, but I went and explored the grounds of St. Meinrad until we were to meet for daily mass.  

One of my first stops was the cemetary for the abbey.  All of the Benedictine brothers are buried here after they pass on.  The cemetary sits on a long green slope that overlooks a calm pond.  A very peaceful resting place.

These buildings comprise the classrooms and offices for the seminary, as well as the seminarians living quarters.  The hallways of these buildings were very clean and decorated with fantastic art.  I spent quite a few hours walking the hallways and enjoying the art.  I also walked around the grounds and explored.  Jeff explained that I could go anywhere, but I should respect the privacy of those living in the Abbey (that area was off limits).

I met Jeff up for daily mass with all of the seminarians.  Mass was quite a unique experinece.  Obviously, participation in the mass was very high.  Everyone sang, and it the sound was booming yet masculine.  Very beautiful actually.  The collective responses for parts of the mass were loud and in a very deep and masculine tone.  I sounded like a little schoolgirl with my responses.  I quickly fixed that. Honestly, the best way I can describe the booming collective voice was by comparing it to the borg in Star Trek.  That is exactly what it sounded like.  It was such a cool experinece.  All the rules of the mass were followed to exacting specifications.  I guess for the seminarians, this is part of their training.  At the end of mass, the main presider asks if there are any guests, and Jeff announced my presence to the community.

All meals are done with the community in cafeteria style.  Meals were great.  I sat with Jeff, and everyone was very welcoming and friendly.  Most of the seminarians are around my age, so it was just like hanging out with a few friends at meal.  Honestly, a lot of the nuisances and practices of the seminary were very reminscent of high school (I went to an all male catholic school), so I felt pretty comfortable in this environment, although at first I was very restrained in my behavior for fear that I would break some rule unknown to me.  After sitting around and talking with people at meal time, I felt much more comfortable.

Jeff had to go back to class.  Having already spent a decent amount of time exploring, I took a nap and worked on the blog until dinner time. Before dinner, he gave me an excellent tour of campus.  He showed me many of the buildings that the seminarians frequent in everyday life.  He pointed out his favorite pieces of art, showed me the library, and took me around to lot of hidden gems that I would not have discovered on my own.  One of these gems was a chapel on campus where Eastern rite masses can be held.  Jeff explained with enthusiastic and fascinating detail how several priests at St. Meinrad are capable of doing the Eastern rite mass.  He explained how the priest enters a gated area and performs a dramatic consecration full of symbolism that and detail that is much different than the Roman rite.   It was very interesting, and I would love to attend one if these masses at some point in my life.

For dinner, we headed to "The Unstable," the pub on campus.  The Unstable used to be a horse stable way back when, and it somepoint it was designated as the student recreation area, hence the funny name "The Unstable."  This place is the one area on campus that belongs completely to the students.  No faculty are allowed (except by invitation, maybe?).  It is the one place the students can relax with fellow students and discuss/complain about the complexities of seminary life, always in a charitable manner of course (amusingly, the word charitable was used in excess at the seminary).  

You may also be thinking that it seems odd that a seminary has a bar on campus.  I guarantee you that priests and seminarians are just normal people and can appreciate a brew with friends every now and again.  Remember, this is not a baptist seminary, and, monks have been skilled producers of beer worldwide.  But still, over indulgence is very much frowned upon.  The bartenders are seminarians, and I guess it is a duty assigned just like anything else (the baristas in the coffee shop were also seminarians....they run this whole joint).  Still, I did find it amusing when I was greeted by a giant Miller Lite banner that bore the Unstable's name on it when I walked in.

That night, they students in Jeff's class were celebrating a classmate's birthday.  Delicious pizza was procured, beer was drank, and fellowship commenced.  I had a great time hanging out with those guys.

Apparently, the Unstable is known for its birthday traditions.  If it is your birthday, you must kiss the moose-head mount in the bar.  For whatever, reason, the actual giant moosehead couldnt be there, and a surrogate stuffed animal moose took its place.  It wasnt my birthday, but Jeff said that I should kiss the moose anyways if I wanted the authentic Unstable experience.  After a fun time with Jeff and his classmates at The Unstable, I headed back to my guest room for sleep.

The next morning, I went to morning prayer at the main sanctuary with the Benedictine brothers instead of the seminarians.  Unfornately, I didnt take as many pictures of the inside, mainly because I didnt want to be irreverent during the service.  The ceiling was soaring.  The benedictine community sits up front, and they sit not in pews, but rows of individual cubicle-like wooden chairs.  Jeff explained that the purpose of this is reinforce that while each person is apart of the community, they are still individuals.  The prayers were all sung as chants.  The tone of these chants was surprinsingly much different than I heard from the seminarians.  The monks sang elaborate chants with a much gentler and more crisp delivery that greatly contrasted with the masculine and powerful singing of the seminarians.  It gave me chills, and I sat with the other people in the small guest section delighting in this ritual. 

Here is a picture of the monks chairs (courtesy Mark Scott Abeln:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/msabeln)

While Jeff was in class, I did exploring.  The first thing I did was to circumnavigate the campus.  It was no small campus, but it was such a mild and enjoyable day, that I took the several hour hike to examine this landmark from every angle. The campus really is smack dab in the middle of nowhere.  Surrounding the immediate campus are well manicured rolling green hills.

Next, I hopped in the car and drove a couple miles away to check out several of the massive churces in the area.  The first was the cathedral at the Convent of the Immaculate Conception. Jeff told me it looked like the Zelda castle, and he was totally right.  I found it striking that such a large and elaborate church was completely in the middle of nowhere.  There was a very small town in the area, but for the most part, the only thing surrounding the convent was miles of farmland.  I guess the sisters at the convent are gonig to devote their lives to prayer, they probably want to do it in beautiful surroundings. 

After walking around the exterior for a bit, I made my move to go inside.  Actually it took me a while to figure out how to get inside.  It turns out, the whole church is on a slope and the sanctuary is on the upper floors.  After trying to open countless locked doors, I found a small staircase hidden away.  I felt like I was walking up a secret passage. The stairs lead to a small tower that looked out over the grounds.  Awesome.

After taking the stairs, I was finally on the main level.  I walked through a very elaborate walkway meant to imitate European architecture that lead to the main sanctuary.  It had mosaics on the wall and beautifully painted statues.

The sanctuary was soaring, but very sleek.  Everything was gorgeous, from the baptismal font, to the stations of the cross, to the hand carved embellishments on the pews.

The focal point of the sanctuary is definitely the tabernacle.  The tabernacle itself is surrounded by a domed wooden structure.  I heard someone at St. Meinrad refer to it sarcastically as the "space egg."  Many Catholics are critical of modern attempts at religious art and architecture.  I see his point (and it made me laugh), but I still thought it looked cool.

After getting back to the Archabbey, I still had a little time to burn before Jeff was done with studying.  He told me about a small Marian shrine that was on the the other side of a pond on campus.  I took the short hike to check it out.

After a full day of exploring, and a full day of class for Jeff, we ate dinner.  We spent the rest of the evening enjoying a cigar and continuing our "Deep Thoughts" tradition from our college dorm.  It was a nice night, and we sat under a pavillion, discussed our deep thoughts, and invited passersby for conversation.

The next morning, it was back to work for Jeff.  We ate a quick breakfast, and I headed on my way.  Jeff informed me that there was one more church that I had to see before I left.  It was St. Boniface in a small town called Fulda.  As a matter of fact, this town is so small, St. Boniface was not even listed on Google Maps. I thought about adding it, but I figured its inaccessibility was part of its charm.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but this church is magnificent. Ironically, the exterior is so plain jane that I thought I must be at the wrong place considering how much Jeff had raved about it.  The colors on the paintings and sculptures were so bold.  And apparently, they record pipe organ performances that are aired on the radio program Pipe Dreams ( I am a nerd, and I listen to this program on occasion, so I was geeked out.  Check out Pipe Dreams Sunday nights on your NPR station).

 I cant emphasize how remote this place was.  This is the view out the front door.

And with that, I was on my way.  Next up: Illinois...namely, Westfield, Elwood, Des Plaines, and Chicago!