Local not-for-profit focused on supporting people in living their best lives
The Outdoor Committee is proud to announce the establishment of a Native Prairie Butterfly Garden & Monarch Waystation along the Meadowlarks walking trail. This vibrant pollinator haven is located on the east side of the trail next to the second park bench northeast of the bridge behind the CenterPoint Clinic, just southeast of the Monarch apartments.
This special project honors the tallgrass prairies that once blanketed North America and supports the full lifecycle of native butterflies—especially the beloved monarch.
The 17th annual Speedy PD Race for Parkinson’s Disease is Saturday, Aug. 23, at Tuttle Creek State Park. The race features a Half-Mile Walk/Run, Don Rasmussen 5K, and a 10K race. This year, we are excited to announce a partnership with Manhattan Running Company, providing race directing, logistics, and timing services. A full list of sponsors can be found on the Speedy PD webpage at www.runspeedypd.org.
Come back with me to the1940s era in Chicago. During the first few days of July, my younger brothers and I walked to the neighborhood Woolworth’s store to buy a very important item for our Fourth of July celebration. We had to make our purchase no later than July 3, for all businesses closed on Independence Day.
by Noel Stanton
My grandfather Fred Sheldon drove things for a living. At age 17, he was already driving a horse trolley through the streets of Oneonta, a small city in upstate New York. When the U.S. armored cruiser Maine mysteriously sank in Havana harbor in February 1898, he was 23 years old and working for an Oneonta livery stable, driving every wheeled vehicle they had, including a hearse.
Webster’s definition for the word “garden” just about covers everything: a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, vegetables, or herbs are cultivated. Or, “a piece of ground or other space commonly with ornamental plants, trees, etc., used as a park or other recreational area, e.g., as an arboretum.” Or, “any beautiful, pleasing, restful piece of land.”
Janet called me out of hiking retirement before we were actually married. She arranged for us to go on a Sierra Club organized hike in North England, from St. Bee’s Head on the Irish Sea, to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea. This was not a backpacking trip, but a series of day hikes with day packs. Our luggage was carried each day to our place of lodging for that night by our “sag wagon.” We went in late June 2008, married only a half year at that time. The tour also included a driving tour to Hadrian’s wall, just to the North and a day following the hike in York.
by Noel Stanton
1956. My generous parents gave me a 12-foot rowboat for high school graduation. It was a Penn Yann Cartop, a beautiful, somewhat fragile-looking craft with delicate ribs and thin planking of varnished cedar covered by sea-green watertight canvas. Three seats, two sets of oarlocks; weight without oars only 60 pounds.
