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Steelworker’s Return Monument unveiling at 87th and the Lake
June 11, 2015 | Vol.8 / Issue 6 | Chicago, IL
After nearly a quarter of a century absence, a steelworker returned to the former U.S. Steel-SouthWorks site on Saturday, May 9th, 2015. Sculpted by South Chicago artist and former steelworker, Roman Villarreal, the 11-foot tall bronze-clad figure brings with him his family, dog and lunch bucket. His orientation toward the West -- “the future,” as the artist puts it -explains why he endured the fire-breathing dragon of mill work. Marking the occasion were U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (IL2nd); Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; 10th Ward Alderman, John A. Pope; Chicago Park District CEO and General Superintendent, Michael P. Kelly; Chicago City Treasurer, Kurt Summers; Chicago Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Robert G. Reiter; Illinois Labor History Society Regional Director, Larry Spivack; Lakeside Development representative, Dean Welch; retired steelworker, Jorge Perez, Sr.; sculptor, Roman Villarreal, and artist-project manager, Roman De Lion. Host/emcee for the ceremony, South
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Chicago Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Dan Lira, prefaced the unveiling with words by Rod Sellers, curator of the Southeast Chicago History Society Museum, on the significance of the area mill for the community and the nation. Despite the inclement weather at the site, an appreciative crowd watched while the wrapping around the monument caught the wind, unwound and revealed this tribute to steelworkers. In it, no doubt, the vast majority of those present saw themselves and their own families. Participants were invited to warm up and celebrate with the artists and friends at Under the Bridge Arts Studio, 10052 South Ewing Avenue, Chicago, following the ceremony. Story submitted by Joann Podkul
Unveiling of the Steelworkers Monument, sculpted by Roman Villarreal.
RESTAURANT & PANCAKE HOUSE
1215 Burnham Ave. Calumet City, IL (708) 868-2620 SENIOR SPECIALS!
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Around Town
Archery, Explore and More Tue, June 16 – Time: 4 pm - 7 pm Eggers Grove, 11201 S Ave B, Chicago, IL 60617 COST: FREE All are invited to join us for a night of archery instruction and target practice, hiking and exploring, and nature games. Archery for ages 10 & up; other activities for all ages. Archery equipment is provided. Call 708-386-4042 x23 to reserve your spot. Night Out: Movies in the Parks at Bessemer Amazing Spider Man June 18, 2015 Time: 08:00 pm - 10:00 pm Location: Bessemer Park, 8930 S Muskegon Ave., Chicago, IL 60617 (312) 747-6023 Powderhorn Stewardship Day June 20, July 18, Aug. 15, Time: Sat., 9 a.m. to 12 pm 13817 S. Brainard Ave., Burnham, IL Contact Alice at alice.brandon@cookcountyil.gov or (312) 556-9990. Night Out: Movies in the Parks at Calumet Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey June 29, 2015 Time: 08:30 pm - 09:54 pm Location: Calumet Park, 9801 S. Avenue G, Chicago, IL 60617 Night Out: Movies in the Parks at Calumet Latino Film Festival Selection (NR) July 08, 2015 Time: 08:30 pm - 10:30 pm Location: Calumet Park, 9801 S. Avenue G, Chicago, Illinois 60617
South Chicago Chamber of Commerce’s Commercial Sidewalk Sale July 9, 10, 11 - Time: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Location: Commercial Ave betweem 87th St. and South Chicago Ave. Come one, come all, to our annual Sidewalk Sale. Participating businesses will be selling merchandise in front of their storefronts as well as restaurants. It’s not too late for businesses to sign up! Contact the Chamber at 773-768-1221 for more information. Night Out: Movies in the Parks at Calumet The Lego Movie July 13, 2015 Time: 08:30 pm - 10:10 pm Location: Calumet Park, 9801 S. Avenue G Chicago, Illinois 60617 Recycling Tour - Jointly sponsored with Chicago Recycling Coalition -visit a working recycling facility, compost sites, landfills, wastewater treatment plant; see how Chicago deals with its wasteSaturday, July 18 - Time 10am to 2pm Cost: $30 Register and make payment at: www.setaskforce.blogspot.com Or call at 773-646-0436 Films in the Forest: “The Book of Life” Thursday, July 23 Time: 6:30 p.m. Eggers Grove, 11201 S Ave B, Chicago, IL 60617 COST: FREE Join us for movie nights! Different feature films with a nature connection will be presented along with family friendly activities based on the film. Pack a picnic dinner and enjoy an evening of fun and entertainment at scenic preserve venues. Pre-movie activities start at 6:30 pm. Movie begins at dusk. Film rated PG.
Sacred Heart Annual Parish Festival Sunday, June 28, 2015 3pm-10pm Cake and coffee in the parish hall starting at 9am.
Live Music by BRAVO Barbecued lamb, pork,
Shish Kabobs Ice Cream Baked Goods Grilled Hot Dogs & Hamburgers Tacos and more...
and featuring a local DJ
Sacred Heart Parish 2864 E. 96th Street Chicago, IL 60617 Inquire through the Parish Office (773-768-1423)
and chicken available from 10:30am to 2pm.
Grand Raffle Goldfish Game Games and Prizes for all ages and MORE… New games and rides to be featured!
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Dinner celebrates 70th anniversary of WWII end
Following up on a recommendation members made at its annual business meeting, the Southeast Chicago Historical Society invited area World War II veterans to its annual dinner at the Crow Bar on Sunday, May 17th, with the theme of “70th Anniversary of the End of WW II: Home Front.”
Six veterans attended as guests and provided the nearly 80 other people at the event with the opportunity to personally thank them for their service. Honorees were: John Dorigan, Edward Jania, John Novak, James Rossi, Alfonso Sifuentes, and Carmen Torres.
Museum items on display included uniforms and other memorabilia from WW II. Rob Stanley’s war-time posters on each table transformed the space into the 1940’s. In addition to the program and tribute, society officers were installed: President Barney Janecki, Vice-President Rob Stanley, Treasurer Carolyn Mulac and Secretary Karen Brozynski. Gloria Novak, former president and secretary, was acknowledged for her decades of service to the organization. Story submitted by Joann Podkul
Rod Sellers, curator/director of the museum, shared a presentation of photos from the museum’s collection of area servicemen and women, victory gardens, war-related local industries and block plaques listing residents who were serving in the armed forces. On the home front, the many “Rosie the Riveters,” mill and shipyard workers, and locals, who worked on the University of Chicago’s Manhattan Project, were acknowledged.
Treasurer Carolyn Mulac presents plaque of appreciation to Gloria Novak, retiring Secretary. Photo by Jacqueline Mulac
Stop In For The Latest Hairstyles, Cuts, Colors & Trends
WW II veteran John Dorigan installs 2015 officers: l. to r. Barney Janecki, President; Rob Stanley, Vice-President; Karen Brozynski, Secretary; Carolyn Mulac, Treasurer while emcee Al Lerch looks on. Photo by Joann Podkul
Emcee Al Lerch opens the dinner program. Photo by Joann Podkul
Sam Gomez, Publisher sgomez@ontnews.com
STAFF
Christa Torres, General Manager ctorres@ontnews.com Sonia Mayol, Art Director smayol@ontnews.com Lydia Gomez, Office Manager lgomez@ontnews.com Matt Bright, Entertainment mbright@ontnews.com
From left, Veterans C. Torres, A. Sifuentes and J. Schuetter with guests at dinner. Photo by Joann Podkul
Contributors Joann Podkul South Chicago Chamber of Commerce Matthew Bennett George Washington High School Calumet Ecological Park Association Niños Heroes Community Academy James Brown Jr. Distribution
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info@ontnews.com www.facebook.com/ontnews “Promoting the Voice of Our Community”
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STEELWORKERS PARK Sunday, July 19, 4:00 p.m. EAST 87TH ST. AT LAKE MICHIGAN
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This program is presented as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks with the support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Arts programming in neighborhoods across the city advances the goals of the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Cultural Plan.
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GWHS Baseball team gets a fresh start
Few things challenge a team like a change in leadership. Fortunately, this year’s George Washington High School baseball team has demonstrated the ability to respond to a challenge. After enduring two coaching changes during the last few years, the Patriots rode a ten-game conference win streak to the top of the Chicago Public League’s Ernie Banks Division. The team did a lot of winning, yet the most memorable moment of the season might well have been a game that they almost lost. Head Coach Thomas Nall and Assistant Coach Michael Raher both cited one late-season game against Corliss High School as the most representative moment of the season. “We fell down in the first inning,” Raher said. “We made a couple of errors. It can go a couple of ways in a baseball game when that happens.” This time, it went the right way. The team took a 3-0 first inning deficit and came back (“a scratch and claw effort” according to Raher) to tie and then win the game. Senior pitcher Austin Bober shut Corliss out the
rest of the way and the Patriots took the win. “We got down early. We started chipping away, never quit, stayed on it,” said Nall. That quote could apply to the season in general. The Patriots began the season 1-3 before their ten-game conference win streak. The win over Corliss gave George Washington the edge over their nearest challenger in the division. From that point on, the Patriots won their remaining games against conference opponents and finished the season as champions. The team relied on a dynamic offense and strong starting pitching to meet their goals. The offense was particularly powerful in conference games with the Patriots often plating ten runs in a game. On the mound, the team was led by senior Austin Bober, who anchored the rotation. “We could always rely on him to compete his tail off,” said Raher. “He was very reliable and consistent throughout our season. When Bober was on the mound, we expected to walk away with the win. The team had an elevated level of confidence and intensity.” Though the Patriots lost in the first
George Washington High School baseball player, Vince Yzaguirre. Photo by Cathleen Cunningham
round of both the city and state playoffs, the conference championship and the good feelings that it inspired should provide a solid basis for the future. “There was certainly a learning curve through this transitional phase with a new coaching staff,” said Raher. “A lot of players bought in though so to speak and really embraced the new direction of the GW baseball program.” Senior shortstop Vince Yzaguirre agreed that the transition has gone well. “It’s been pretty good compared to the last couple of years. We adapted to the changes.” Though both coaches are in their first years coaching in CPS, both bring considerable playing experience to George Washington. Raher played third base and catcher at Downers Grove South High School. Nall, a pitcher, won a state championship at Schaumburg High School, was drafted out of high school and played for ten seasons in the minor leagues at the AA and AAA level. Their years of playing experience have provided considerable assistance to their players this season. Yzaguirre recalled the most memorable
moment of his season and his coaches’ role in it. The occasion was a home game early in the season. The Patriots led 14-0, one run shy of ending the game by mercy rule. Yzaguirre came to the plate with a runner on, having struck out earlier in the game. “Coach told me to forget about that and focus on the at bat,” said the senior. “I hit a bomb, an inside the park home run that ended the game. Right over the right fielder’s head.” Though the team will lose four seniors to graduation, the Patriots can look forward to a very strong crop of underclassmen to fill in the gaps. “The foundation has been established for a bright future,” Raher said. He also listed the team’s goals for the next season, which include a winning nonconference record, at least one win in both the city and state playoffs, and a repeat as conference champions. Whatever challenges the team may face, with new leadership and a solid attitude in place, the team is ready for them. Story submitted by Matthew Bennett
George Washington High School baseball player, Austin Bober. Photo by Cathleen Cunningham
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Green Summit themes reflect Southeast Chicago’s future This third and final in the series of 10th Ward Green Summit articles focuses on the future of Chicago’s Southeast Side. The Green Summit invites us to look at area assets, not only in May, but all year long. These assets are fixtures on our landscape, not bullet points on a display board. While Lakeside development on the U.S.X site promises a futuristic selfsustaining “New City,” changes not quite so dramatic, but significant, can be seen in the larger South Chicago community, which has LEED Community designation. Leadership in energy and environmental design has introduced local residents to the sustainable development vocabulary. Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry may have its “Smart Home” in a single location, but our green sites are scattered over the wider area of Chicago’s Southeast Side. Familiarity with green concepts will be useful as businesses, like Mariano’s (coming soon to 87th Street and the Lake Shore Drive Extension), become case studies for large stand-alone green facilities, which will eventually be woven into the larger Lakeside plan. Meanwhile, our green gardens continue to thrive, largely through the efforts of neighborhood volunteers and student “Green Teams,” like the one led by Mrs. LaJuana Jackson, a Chicago Conservation
Corps leader, at Arnold Mireles Academy, and Master Gardeners, like Gregory Bratton. Our green open space is increasing noticeably, as the Chicago Park District converts several numbered plots to named recreational sites. In keeping with the 1909 Burnham Plan, “The Last Four Miles” plan of Friends of the Parks continues to advocate for extending the Lake Michigan shoreline of Calumet Park from 95th north to 92nd and the Calumet River. A new hiking/biking trail now branches off to the East from the Burnham Greenway and runs through Eggers Grove to the state line trail leading to the Indiana side of Wolf Lake. Steelworkers Park, at 87th Street and Lake Michigan, with its Steelworkers Monument by South Chicago artist Roman Villarreal, connects the community with the lakefront via an imposing quarter-mile parkway lined on one side by a set of 40 foot high ore walls, once a storehouse for the working mill. Many older buildings have been salvaged and restored for new uses. To those listed earlier in this series -- A-Scrap Metal, SkyArt, Burley Apartments and Fr. Werling’s youth hostel, add Finkl Steel in the abandoned Verson Steel site, Crowley’s Yacht Yard at Federal Marine, Knowledge Hook Up computer center in a former neighborhood tavern, and
Mama Sunshine sings a blessing for the Victory Garden at the 8th annual 10th Ward Green Summmit. Photo by Joann Podkul
Under the Bridge Studio in the space once occupied by my favorite afterschool hang-out: Ernie’s Ice Cream Parlor. Other transformations: Harbor Side Golf Course sits on a non-toxic trash heap, and Big Marsh, a proposed state-of-theart eco-tourism mountain bike park, is being molded out of a slag-filled wetland. In keeping with the recycling theme of the Green Summit, SIMS Metal Management has turned its blocklong fence at 93rd and Ewing into a lesson on recycling and has taken its Recyclarium to students at local schools.
As this year’s calendar indicates, late April’s Earth Day and Arbor Day celebrations were natural openers for the Green Summit. As proposed green building projects become realities, the language of green will be even more common in 2016 than it is this year. Again, we LEED the way. A huge thanks to all summit presenters and participants, and to Graciela Robledo at ClaretianAssociates for pulling it all together. Story by Joann Podkul
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Master Gardener Gregory Bratton praises Ms. Jackson’s -Green Team- from Arnold Mireles Academy a the 8th Annual 10th Ward Green Summit Kickoff at the Victory Garden. Photo by Joann Podkul
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Students work to create a safer environment
Working with Angie Viands of Field Museum’s Earth Force Program, students in Ms. Laura Senteno’s 8th grade class at Ninos Heroes developed a project as close to us as our medicine cabinets. What does one do with out-of-date remedies or no longer needed prescription medications? Flushing or trashing might seem to be easy solutions but what happens to the material after that? Ninos students researched the pharmaceutical issue, created an informative brochure along with a presentation board and shared their findings at their school
and with attendees at the recently held Field Museum Earth Force Summit Day. Students plan to make a presentation for Ninos parents in the near future and are considering hosting a collection event. The Field Museum offers Mighty Acorns for younger elementary students, Earth Force for upper grade elementary and Calumet Is My Backyard for high school students. Story submitted by Niños Heroes Community Academy
Ninos Heroes students present findings on pharmaceutical waste.
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Eggers Grove hosts a party and planting event
On Saturday, May 16, the “Nature Block Party and Wetland Planting” event sponsored by Cook County Forest Preserves, Friends of the Forest Preserves, Field Museum, the Calumet Ecological Park Association and Wild Indigo provided those who love the outdoors with a rich array of activities at Eggers Grove Forest Preserve, 112th and Avenue E, inviting them to:
--cycle on the new trail connecting Eggers with the Burnham Greenway and NW Indiana trails; --fish at Wolf Lake; --hike from Wolf Lake to Eggers and at Eggers itself; --turn discarded materials including slices of buckthorn branches into art objects; --plant a variety of plugs along the edge
Under guidance of Art Matthews, CC. Forest Preserve District, Cyclists Rev-up at Eggers. Photo by Joann Podkul
of the grove’s wetlands deep in the forest yet visible from the indiana Tollroad; --use an ipad for birdwatching; --remove the invasive Garlic Mustard plant; --build a shelter; --recognize a Box turtle, and lots more. The forest floor was up to the occasion: dressed in Wild Geranium, Jack in the
Pulpit, May Apples, Columbine, violets and many other spring flowers at their peak. As volunteer Christopher Rodriguez remarked: “Who would believe that such a gem could exist on the Southeast Side...?” This year’s party is over but the memory lingers on.... Story submitted by Joann Podkul
Field Museum staff members work with volunteers on wetlands planting. Photo by Joann Podkul
BOWEN HIGH SCHOOL Bowen High School ofrece un programa de honores en pre-ingeniería así como una amplia selección en las artes, un enriquecimiento académico y cursos avanzados en un ambiente escolar acogedor, diverso y hospitalario. !Inscribete ahora y unete a nuestra familia de Bowen High School!
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