Home Care In Roseland, IN

What comes to mind when you first hear the phrase “Roseland groups”? If you’re in your late 70s and older, its’ probably Frankie Bortoli or Eddie Baldacci and their bands. If you’re from the generation before that, you’re probably thinking Styx or Chicago. If you so, you’d be way off the topic of this column.

Many social groups were formed in Roseland based on school, church, sports, ethnic or military affiliation. The American Legion, VFW, Tornados A.C., Gano A.C., SFBI, and several bowling leagues and Holy Name societies come to mind.

Unfortunately, times have changed. And with most people keeping in touch via social media, many of these organizations are pale shadows of their former incarnations. Let’s take a look back at when they were in their prime.

The men who returned from fighting in World War II continued their friendships by joining veterans organizations, and others who took part in sports leagues formed clubs like the Tornados. Some people might remember the Gano Athletic Club, which was located in West Pullman. An organization that ran the gamut of sports was the Roseland-Pullman Sports Hall of Fame.

Older Roseland and Kensington residents might still remember the Roseland Operetta Club. However, the ROC had its beginnings as the Roma Soccer Club. The opera came about because so many talented members sang along as Frank Bortoli played his accordion at their club festivities that they thought, “Why not put on an opera?”

The Venetian Hall still stands on Kensington Avenue. It has a new owner and has been repurposed, but the Veneti Nel Mondo still meets monthly and hosts several special celebrations throughout the year.

The Società Filarmonica Bella Italia (SFBI) was another gathering place for Italian American veterans. In 2018, a bronze SFBI plaque was presented by the Spaghetti-Os to the Italian American Veteran’s Museum in Stone Park. The plaque listed members of the SFBI on the top half and the bottom half listed all the sons of SFBI members that had fought in WWII.

Nowadays, there’s no glue of the magnitude of a war, baseball league or parish or ethnic affiliation to hold people together. What we do have are individuals who come together to reminisce about Roseland’s good old days.

An offshoot of this column came about when Paul Petraitis, Dan Bovino and I got together at Cal Harbor Restaurant on 115th. Our discussion led to the Roseland Roundtable. That group got together via picnic and pizza meet-ups for a number of years. The group no longer gets together physically, but they do have a presence on Facebook.

Another group that spent many years fostering Roseland memories is the Spaghetti-Os, which met at Carlo Lorenzetti’s until the restaurant closed its doors. That group also has a presence on Facebook.

Other groups may be smaller and less formal, but they are no less supportive of Roseland’s memories. I have been to meetings of these groups and found them to be welcoming. Old stories of mischief and history makers abound as new memories are formed.

A group of Mendel graduates from the late 1950s get together along with their wives for a monthly luncheon date at Bourbon Street on 115th and Kedzie. Fellow St. Anthony parishioner Jack Rossi honored me by inviting me to one of their get-togethers. It was a great lunch and the Roseland stories kept on coming. I might not have been in their group growing up, but any discussion of Roseland tags a lot of bases.

A golfing group made of Roselandites gets together in the south suburbs at Lincoln Oaks Golf Course in Crete. Some of the members actually golf and are joined regularly by non-golfers afterward. They’ve been gathering for years and are always open to former Roselandites stopping by.

The Fifth Quarter Bar & Grill in Homewood is another place for Roselandites to meet up, as is Mama Vesuvio’s East on College Drive. I’ve been there when parents of the Southwest Chicago Christian School convene after dropping their kids off for a school dance. Then there’s the annual holiday get-together hosted by the Mendel guys.

As you can see, sharing Roseland memories is something that many people enjoy. These are the groups that I’m aware of and I’m sure there are others out there in other suburbs. So when you want to gather with fellow Roselandites for a walk down memory lane, you’ve got options.

Contact me at [email protected] or 11403 S. St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60628; 773-701-6756.

Love the column? Buy the book!

Copies of “Petals From Roseland: Fond Memories of Chicago’s Roseland, Pullman and Kensington Neighborhoods” are available from me with prompt delivery at $20 + $5 s&h. My book is also available at D & D Foods, 1023 S. Halsted, Chicago Heights, at Bookie’s New and Used Books, 10324 S. Western Ave, Chicago and at Miles Books, 2819 Jewett Ave., Highland, Indiana.

During this past holiday season I kept seeing ads and hearing stories about the holiday traditions that people maintain. Everything from when to put up the tree to how to decorate it were enthusiastically debated, along with what to serve on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. All this discussion got me to thinking about Roseland and the traditions its residents maintained. I’m sure one thing we can all agree on is that the good people of Roseland were all traditionalists.

I easily recall the annual tradition of the Gately’s Peoples Store sponsoring the Michigan Avenue Christmas parade. I remember that they used to throw candy to the kids from the floats as they went by. I also remember that never once did I manage to catch or pick-up one of those pieces of candy. That was okay with me because I maintained a tradition of my own by collecting for the delivery of the South End Reporter just before Christmas to be sure I was knocking on people’s doors when they were in a more generous mood.

At St. Anthony of Padua Church on Kensington, one tradition that I fondly remember was the May Crowning. We celebrated the month of May by honoring Jesus’ Mother Mary with a procession, with all the students in attendance and dressed up, a special floral May Pole, and a May Court consisting of some chosen girls to be attendance to one special young lady chosen to actually place a floral crown on Mary.

As summer approached, the entire children’s contingent of Roselandites looked forward to a super parade: The Roseland Little League parade. The parade always assembled at 115th and Michigan in the Roseland Plaza where there was plenty of room for all of the Little Leaguers and the managers and coaches and a couple of floats.

The parade would head south up Michigan Avenue past Bob’s Candy Store and Cortese’s Market on 116th and continue on past Spiller’s Shell and Wanda’s Novelties. There was always a big to do at about 118th and Michigan because that was where the Homestore was located and they always sponsored a team.

As a matter of fact, there were a number of Roseland merchants that sponsored Roseland Little League teams and some of them I recall are Gentile Pharmacy, Roseland Buick, and Le Rose Coal & Oil. There are many more that I can’t recall but I do recall that the parade stretched on forever and lasted a couple of hours as it made its way up the ‘Ave’ as Michigan Avenue was known.

The parade ended at the Roseland Little League Fields that took up the block from 124th to 125th and Michigan. That would signal the start of the official introduction of the teams followed by the first games of the season. I’m pretty sure it was the 1967 North Roseland Little League team that went to the Little League World Series but came up short–a thrilling time nonetheless.

Another summer tradition was the opening of the parks with swimming pools. It was an event that every kid in Roseland looked forward to, not to mention the challenge to see how deep or which hi-board you could go off of. The main pools were the outdoor one at Palmer Park and the indoor one at West Pullman Park.

I can recall joining the gazillion other kids as we stood in line with our towels hanging around our necks or rolled up as we waited for our turn to be counted in. The opening and closing days are among the best of my memories. Of course, I don’t remember going all the other times because everyone went swimming to keep cool and be cool. This was the time when air conditioners were still a big expense and Elvis and Johnny Rivers were about to be pushed aside for Beatlemania.

At the end of summer came the most dreaded tradition–but a somewhat welcomed one: back to school! It wouldn’t have been something to look forward to except for the fact that you got to see friends you hadn’t seen all summer. You also got to meet new people, and depending on your grade maybe experience a totally different school environment.

Roseland had plenty of sports organizations and family organizations through churches or clubs and those groups had their own traditions. Among those were annual family picnics, church carnivals, sport’s recognition dinners, end of season bowling trophy award dinners and many others that I’m not aware of.

Roseland and traditions go hand in hand as we always had an event going on or an outing or a dinner or better yet a carnival. Roseland traditions now live on in our memory but many of us made it a point to create traditions within our own families and with our own children because we were born to respect and honor tradition as a meaningful heartfelt sentiment to pass on from generation to generation–just as the gift of tradition we received from our parents.

Dining out in Roseland came under two headings. There was actually eating out in a restaurant, which was something generally done with the family, as in after mass on Sunday or on Dad’s payday or in celebration of a family event. The other type of dining out was the more casual “hanging out” with friends in a favorite local snack shop or restaurant.

Local fine dining in Kensington centered around two restaurants: Pesavento’s on 115th and Parise’s on Kensington. These places had tablecloths and that qualified them as “fine dining” in young Roseland eyes. Of course, after mass on Sunday when Dads felt like treating the family, there were other options.

Fried chicken was a specialty in Roseland, and we had a number of choices primarily based on where you lived. For those people heading west of Michigan Avenue, Mundo’s Venice Inn was the go-to spot. East of the “Ave” (Michigan Avenue), Jolly Inn on 115th Street was well-known for their fried chicken, which they sold in a bucket long before Colonel Sanders did. I should mention Roseland’s Original Buckley’s Plantation at 119th and State Street, which became Roseland’s first KFC.

From chicken, let’s move on to Pizza with a capital “P” because pizza was a staple of the Roseland diet. There’s always plenty of mention made of Giovanni’s on 111th just west of the Ave. Giovanni’s provided many job opportunities for Roselandites including some of my family members. I remember one of my sisters telling the story of John Sigonfredo, who owned Giovanni’s, telling a couple of woman customers who had requested knives and forks that God would have given them knives and forks instead of fingers if you needed a knife and a fork to eat pizza … How things have changed!

Nino’s, now near Cicero and 111^th, was the other favorite place off the Ave for great pizza. I remember a couple of dates there where I was lucky that my dinner companion ate two pieces and I got to eat the rest of the medium cheese and sausage pizza with my pitcher of beer. I don’t know if that was a good enough reason, but I married that woman.

Now to “the” pizza place of the Kensington/Pullman neighborhood: Ken and Dick’s Cocktail Lounge and Pizza at 114th and Front Street. This place is a common denominator in conversations with women because it was off the Ave and very romantic due to its low lights. This was the first hangout for many young adults of the neighborhood who would bring their date to Ken and Dick’s head into the bar to meet up with friends.

Traverso’s at 156th and Harlem, part of the Ken & Dick’s family, carries on the tradition of serving fine food while being a great place to hang out. When the weather permits, the patio is a great spot to sit and relax, especially if it’s a karaoke night. Many Roselandites go there just to get their “Roseland fix” because chances are they will run into someone from the old neighborhood.

Mama Vesuvio’s East in Palos Heights is another place where Roselandites gathering to talk about the good old days. Krapil’s on 113th Street between State and Michigan was well-known and still has a location across from Holy Sepulchre Cemetery on 111th Street in Worth.

Quite a few people liked hanging out at places right on the Ave like the State Sandwich Shop, Toni Restaurant and Snack Shop, Snacktime Coffee Shop, and the Coffee Pot and Rainbow Grill. Gately’s Peoples Store had a restaurant in the back of the second floor with mini-hamburgers, and Kresge’s, Woolworth’s and Neisner’s all had food counters as was the custom with five and dime stores.

Toni’s (I know, I thought it was “Tony’s,” too) was where a lot of Vietnam era people did their late night hanging out. You could always expect to see someone you knew having a post-party BLT with fries and coffee.

Later in the ’60s and ’70s, there were a couple of places that rated as fine dining that were still part of Roseland. While some of us headed downtown to impress our dates with real fine dining, Club Allegro was a great place to go for many of us, and some of us, me included, held our wedding reception there. Chuck Cavallini’s Steak House was another Roseland favorite. The fanciest, of course, was Tony DeSantis’ Martinique in Evergreen Park.

One place outside of Roseland that started a lot of conversation was Phil Smidt’s. That alone was the name of this one-of-a-kind place that closed in 2007, but they were known for fantastic frog legs and perch. Going to Phil Smidt’s was a real treat for many Roseland families because, well, where else were you going to get frog legs?

There was another place outside Roseland that I remember as a lot of fun from when I was a kid. It required a ride out to Chicago Heights, and it was quite a ride, too, because there weren’t expressways. It fascinated me so much, and I couldn’t believe it years later when I found a place on the North Side that reminded me of it because the pizza place had a nickelodeon.

That was Svoboda’s in Chicago Heights. I’m sure we went there so my dad could impress some old-country friends of his. Wall-to-wall nickelodeons equaled an awesome place for a kid. There were player pianos and orchestrators with many instruments and pianos with animitronic dolls playing the instruments. One nickelodeon had a tuba that was up high and you had to throw your quarters up into it to get it to play.

Dining experiences often fill us with memories. The ones we had in the Roseland area will always be special as they were our introduction to “American” food. Today, people rave about great dining at the many Italian restaurants the Chicago area has to offer. For us Italian-Americans, great dining Italian style was something we appreciated because we had it every day — at home!

Copies of “Petals from Roseland: Fond Memories of Chicago’s Roseland, Pullman and Kensington Neighborhoods” are available with prompt first-class delivery at $20 + $5 s&h. The book has sold more than 600 copies since it became available a year ago. Roselandites who have bought my book are very excited to have their memories brought to life. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have provided so many fond memories of Roseland. My book is also available at D & D Foods, 1023 S. Halsted, Chicago Heights and at Bookie’s New and Used Books, 10324 S. Western Ave, Chicago.

Contact me by writing to 11403 S. Saint Lawrence Ave., Chicago, IL 60628; calling me at 773-701-6756; or emailing [email protected].

Calling out “free books” to passersby, organizers of a book giveaway in Chicago’s Roseland community on the Far South Side distributed more than 1,200 books Saturday while garnering support for a larger project they hope will spark a transformation of the neighborhood.

The giveaway was held in Palmer Park, 201 E. 111th St., where residents, including Krystal Pugh of Chicago, turned out to select backpacks or plastic bags filled with books for adults and for children sorted according to grade level.

Pugh’s daughters, Kamya, 11, Kylah, 7, Kaycie, 3, Khloe, 2, all took home books.

“They looked fun and colorful,” Kamya said about her selection, which included one called “Secret Coders.”

“I think she’ll like that one,” Pugh said. “She really likes science, coding, math and mysteries.”

The event was organized by Iesha Malone and Rebecca Silverman, two teachers at CICS Wrightwood Elementary School who are raising money to open a brick-and-mortar book store and cafe they plan to call Rose Café.

“We need something to feed the soul,” said Malone, who grew up in Roseland and spearheaded the idea for a bookstore in the neighborhood.

“Our motto is: books, coffee and community,” added Silverman. “We want to create a calm space where people can go to read and have healthy conversations.”

Silverman said the Roseland neighborhood is a book desert — a geographic area where books or other reading material are hard to find due to a lack of transportation and other issues.

To help address a lack of books in Roseland, Malone and Silverman held several book giveaways during the summer at various locations.

At the same time, they began working to raise money to open a permanent bookstore and café along Michigan Avenue between 109th and 115th streets.

“This neighborhood needs attention,” Malone said. “It’s important to get the resources we don’t have.”

Malone began last May to talk with community members about the neighborhood’s needs. Social media posts on the topic drew the attention of Silverman, who wanted to get involved.

The two are now seeking donations, grants and have established a GoFundMe campaign to raise the $75,000 they need to open the store. To date, they have raised about $10,000.

The idea has the support of Tyler Brunfield and Sophia Eisenberg, who attended the giveaway Saturday. They are both associated with the nonprofit Provide Chicago that is dedicated to providing necessary resources and information to Black and Brown communities.

Thirty or 40 years ago, Brunfield said Roseland had a vibrant downtown business district, but that’s no longer the case.

“Now you drive there and there is nothing there. There is no sense of economic development,” said Brunfield, who hopes a bookstore and café can help change that desolate picture.

Related: COVID-19 Across Chicago: Pullman and Roseland

Keisha Harris, who lives in the neighborhood, picked up a bag of books at the event for herself and her 3-year-old son. She also expressed support for the idea behind Rose Cafe.

“I’d love to see people who look like me selling something that I know we need,” said Harris, who would also like to see a grocery store, other businesses and better access to public transportation in the neighborhood.

“I was born and raised here,” she said. “So clearly I believe in Roseland. But we need to become a real neighborhood.”

The idea of establishing a bookstore and café gives her hope.

“It makes you feel like you have a chance,” she said.

Annemarie Mannion is a freelance contributor to WTTW News.

Please spread the word, and help to locate any survivors or family members of WW II veterans who are listed on the large bronze plaque that was rescued from a scrapyard destiny when it was discovered in a garage in South Holland. The plaque is a relic that was minted by the Roseland SFBI (Societa Filarmonica Bella Italia) to honor members and their sons who had served in World War II. Pullman resident Tom Shepherd has the plaque in his possession following its discovery by him and former Roselander Dan Bovino when they were helping to clean out a garage that belonged to Ron Johndrone, who had passed away. Ron had been the last known officer of the defunct club that once was in Roseland, and had been storing the item in his garage for years.

"We want to extend a "special invitation" to our vets and their families for when the plaque will be presented to the Italian American Veterans Museum on October 30," said CJ Martello, Pullman resident and writer for Fra Noi, an Italian American publication

Pullman resident Tom Shepherd has the plaque in his possession following its discovery by him and former Roselander Dan Bovino when they were helping to clean out a garage that belonged to Ron Johndrone, who had passed away. Ron had been the last known officer of the club that once was in Roseland, and had been storing the item in his garage for years.

Given the significance of this artifact and its military theme, Mr. Shepherd has made arrangements to donate the plaque to the Italian American Veterans Museum at Casa Italia in Stone Park in time for Veterans Day. "We want to extend a "special invitation" to our vets and their families for when the plaque will be presented to the Italian American Veterans Museum on October 30," said CJ Martello, Pullman resident, and writer for Fra Noi, an Italian American publicationThe plaque will be bestowed to the Museum at a special ceremony at the October 30 Spaghetti-Os Club meeting at Carlo Lorenzetti’s, 560 W. 14th Place, Chicago Heights. The Spaghetti-Os are a Roseland-Pullman reunion group who meet monthly for dinner and to talk old times. "We’re hoping to involve as many descendants as possible of the men listed on the plaque at the ceremony," stated Shepherd.

If you or anyone you know is related to one of these brave men, please let them know about the Oct. 30 dinner ceremony. All are invited!!The dinner ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. with a family-style buffet. The cost for the dinner is $12 per person.Donations to assist the museum in preserving, displaying and maintaining this precious artifact will be accepted at the ceremony. Donations can also be sent directly to the Italian American Veterans Museum, 3800 Division St., Stone Park. IL 60165. All donations are fully tax deductible."Have anyone who knows of survivors, family members or anyone that would like to attend the dinner ceremony contact me," said Tom Shepherd He can be reached at 773-370-3305, or [email protected], or by Facebook Messenger

Find out what's happening in Tinley Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here are the names of the veterans memorialized on the plaque, in alphabetical order:

Guido Alliod, Davis Anastassi, Alessio Anastassi, John Antoniono, John Avignone, Mario Avignone, John Basano, Primo Battian, Alvin Baudino, Merlin Baudino, Aldo Bechaz, John Bercera, Americo Bernardi, Italo Bernardi, Antonio Bersano, Michael Biavia, Leion Biolchini, Robert Biolchini, Louis Bomben, Emil Bonardi, Joseph Borello, Maurice Borello, Arthur Caretti, Edward Caretti, Antoni Caretto, James Caserio, Dominick Castelnuovo, Serio Cavalieri, Charles Cavallo, Dominick Cavallo, Peter Cecilio, Robert Chadel, Lino Chasseur, Anthony Christopher, Lawrence Clarino, Lewis Coda, Battista Cordera, Frank Cozzi, Louis Curoso, Angelo D’Adam, Joseph Dacorte, Leo Dalle Molle, Frank De Bernardi, Bernard De Gasso, Robert De Gasso, David De Marco, Mario Degani, Michael Degani, Raymond Degani, Vincent Degani, Joseph Enrico, John Enrietti, George Favre, Aldo Forte, John Fortina, Angelo Furno, Roy Gaspari, Adolph Gedda, Alfred Gedda, Joseph Ghidotti, Arthur Ghiotto, Norris Ghiotto, Ralph Ghiotto, Marion Gianoglio, Bernard Girote, Richard Grosso, Vincent Guastalli, Al Iandlino, Jack Ippolito, Carmen Lofrano, Ernest Luri, Sam Luri, Barney Macari, Arthur MacDonald, Anthony Maladra, Fedele Mamprisio, Albert Manescalchi, Frank Marino, Robert Marta, Humert Martin, Arnold Martinotti, Henry Martinotti, Joseph Marzari, Steven Massari, John Meinardi, Angelo Mentesti, Floyd Micheluzzi, Lawrence Minelli, Louis Minelli, William Minelli, Frank Monti, Al Montino, Joseph Mottino, Robert Munari, James Mussatto, Carmen Nespeca, Packy Nespeca, John Oglietti, Bill Ossello, James Pafei, Peter Pafei, Peter Paglia, Peter Palango, Angelo Paolino, Jerry Perelli, Bruno Quagliano, Clemente Reginato, Aldo Riccardini, Joseph Richetta, John Roi, Peter Roi, Peter Santacaterina, Andrew Serra, Joseph Stella, Albert Strazzabosco, Gino Strazzabosco, Robert Tabacchi, Gino Tavernaro, Martin Terra, Chester Tomaselli, Joseph Valfre, James Vallortigara, Edward Verna and Michael Vezzetti.