SS. Peter and Paul, Midnight Mass, Choir

Midnight mass December 24th, 2010

Saints Peter & Paul was founded in 1846 and is the oldest established parish in DuPage County. The parish was originally established as St. Raphael's, after the given name of its pastor, Rev. Raphael Rainaldi. The first church served 25 families, and was a small frame structure with a lean-to attached to the south side, which served as both sacristy and priest's residence. This church was built on the west side of Front Street (Ellsworth) and faced east.

Christmas Eve, 2010

On Pentecost Sunday, June 4, 1922, the church was completely destroyed by a fire that still remains the worst in Naperville's history. Out of the ashes, the 350 families that comprised Saints Peter & Paul parish at that time, built the magnificent church we have today.

Christmas Eve, 2010

The new rectory was completed in the fall of 1996. Because of the growing needs of Saints Peter and Paul, the new parish Ministry Center was dedicated in 1999. This building houses all the parish offices, the religious education offices, space for meetings and the parish auditorium/chapel. The parish now serves over 4,000 families.

 

Tom Wibbels Choir Director

Tonight (Christmas Eve) it was snowing, and the roads were pretty slippery so we headed out a bit early, so as not to be late. At 11:00 pm the choir began singing, those who ventured out and made it to SS. Peter & Paul were treated to some wonderful choral music. According to my son Karl, the choir was "sounding fantastic", he took some photos including those which you see above and also created a short slide show which you can see below.



Below is a video of Choir Director, Tom Wibbels at the organ, (video shot with Karl's iPhone on December 26th). Enjoy!


** Please note that any videos that appear after our video are randomly generated by YouTube and have absolutely nothing to do with our post about Christmas 2010.

Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance

Can't believe it has been so long since we had a posting but here goes.

The weekend of July23,24 and 25 we traveled to Auburn Hills, MI with our older son Steve to attend the Meadow Brook Concours de Elegance said to be the second most perstigious car show in the US. This is the second time Steve has been invited to the show.

In 1995 he showed his 1941 Chrysler T&C Station Wagon and this year he was invited to show both the 1941 and the 1946 T&C Convertible. The 1946 is an original condition vehicle so he was surprised that he was asked to show the car.

We left Naperville on Friday the 23rd and headed for Auburn Hills a suburb of Detroit. It was a very hot day and with no AC the drive was not too pleasant. Then to top it off the last 100 or so miles were accomplished in very,very heavy rain. (The woodies would have come in handy had the roads flooded.) Saturday was spent washing the cars between rain storms and getting the lay of the land between the hotel and show field at Oakland University.Sunday we awoke to more rain but drove the cars to the showfield. On the way the rain stopped and after the cars were dried off the day turned beautiful with a nice breeze for the show. Since the Chrylser Woodies were featured cars we had a nice turnout of 10 T&Cs for the enjoyment of the spectators. The show was great and we had a chance to visit with a group of friends at dinner.

Monday we headed back home on a very nice day with thumbs up from passing cars and a mini car show at a rest stop. The trip was accomplished without problems which is a tribute to the two cars some 60 years old.

Car show banner

The line up of Woodies

The 1941. This is the car originally purchased by Louise's Father. Louise's brother sold the car in 1970 to the owner of the San Jose newspaper. When that owner passed away in 1970 his  cars were auctioned off and Steve lost track of it. Then after a three year search in the late 1980's he found it in a collection in Minneapolis and was able to reacquire it.

This is the original condition 1946.

           

       

A New Project

Today our  workmen started  digging a trench around the  garage in preparation for a brick walkway.

42nd Annual Father's Day Classic Car Show

Sunday was Father's Day; time to participate in the Annual Father's Day Classic Car show in Oakbrook. This year Steve and Dave took Steve's 1941 Chrysler Town and Country Station Wagon and the 1948 Chrysler Sedan to the show.

Dave loves to explain all about the cars and tell the story of the 1941 station wagon and its journey from Louise's family to two collections and Steve's  finally repurchasing  the car after it had been lost for 10 years.

Here's a photo of Steve's two cars in front of Bloomingdale's department store, with the cream colored 1948 Chrysler Sedan in the foreground and the 1941 wagon in the background.

Toward the end of a long day, Steve and Dave in front of the 1941 (commonly called "the Green Car").

See a video of Steve's 1941 Town and Country click here

Our Blackhawks Win Stanley Cup after 49 years

Its been a long time since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, 49 years to be exact.
The celebration in Chicago was amazing

Anti Neimi and Patrick Kane celebrate the game winning goal and the winning of the Stanley Cup.

 

The old Chicago Stadium. I watched many a game there. I used to go to games on Sunday nights after playing myself on Sunday afternoons. We alway sat in the upper balcony in the $1 (cheap) seats.

 In 1994 Steve and Karl and I attended the last Hawks game ever played in the stadium, after the game I pried off several of the seat numbers as a momento....after all, they were going to demolish the place anyway!

 Those were the days of Hall, Makita, Hull, Esposito.

Glenn Hall, the Hawks All Star goal tender.

.Karl , a member of the Naperville Sabres. Sorry, but I wasn't able to find a shot of  Steve in his goal tender pads.

My pond hockey days with the Glenbard Green Hornets Hockey Club.

Karl playing with his men's league Rangers team in San Diego, CA.

Memorial Day 2010

 Steve's 1946 Chrysler Town and Country

The  Memorial Day events  included  5 wreath-laying ceremonies before the parade.  The pictures show the  memorial to a young man from Naperville who was killed on 9/11  when  the Pentagon was hit, and World War  II nurses awaiting the  wreath-laying  in the Naperville cemetery at the GAR monument for Civil War soldiers.  After this,  there was a sudden  downpour.  Literally thousands of  people along the parade  route were  drenched as they headed for their cars and homes  Many units and bands suffered the same fate.

Mule powered canal boat ride

Steve on the bridge over the basin

Canal boat in the basin

Aqueduct which carries the canal over the Little Vermillion River

Larry the Mule and Matt

In the past  two years, the  Illinois Michigan Canal has featured a  mule -pulled  ride  at LaSalle. Larry, the mule, and Matt , his trainer gave  the Classic Car club a ride in a boat made to  resemble the boats that carried passengers and mail from Chicago to La Salle, a distance of about 60 miles. ( This method of transportation  occurred  about 150  years ago.)

Illinois- Michigan Canal Towpath Trail, Morris to Seneca segment

Morris is on the Illinois  River.  We parked near the boat launch and kayak rental. No far down the  trail is a replica of a canal boat. Farther on, we passed tall beige grasses that  must have measured ten feet in height. After that, a dilapidated barn and its companions added to the rural aspect of the trail.  Mile marker #65, announces the distance to the  historic Hogan Grain Elevator in Seneca. About 150 years ago canal boats could pull right up to the  elevator at its second level.

Civil War Reenactment Naperville

Last weekend  our historical society  hosted this event...complete  with brigadier general, cannon power, "foreign observers" and a cordial surrender.

More Fermilab Pictures

Fermilab, May 14, 2010

Fermilab is a large area north of Naperville.  Originally  is consisted of  farmland.  Even  farther back than that, Native Americans occupied the land.  When the U.S. Government dug trenches for the colliders, they unearthed a wealth of arrowheads and other artifacts.

Fermilab  is concerned with particle physics; the experiments involve  protons and anti-protons colliding at the  speed of light.  This is the method  that scientists used to discover the top quark in 1995.  Now, the scientists are probing dark matter.

There are buildings  for experiments, and there  is a very  tall  building for administration.  Lately they have added a building for  teachers and students. In front of the tall building there is a reflecting pool,  plus the flags of those nations which  have scientists  currently  doing research at Fermilab.  The day that we rode our bikes in Fermilab, there were  the flags of 20  different nations.

Because the area  was  once farmland,  there is  lots of room for a herd of bison. The mothers and calves were too  far out in the field  for me to get a good shot even  with the zoom.  However, two very impressive bulls were close to the fence.  In addition to the bison, the area  has a native grassland area which school children visit.  A nice bike  path traverses the  area .  We  saw houses, barns, a swimming pool, a picnic area,  and several fishing ponds.  For employees and guests there are  social activities.

Geraniums

These are my heirloom geraniums. Originally they were my father's.    From Karl's high  school days, forward, he would help me take  the geraniums  outside on Mother's Day and bring them inside on Columbus Day. During the winter, Steve made  sure that they received "sunlight"  from  the grow light. Now Dave will help  me take them outdoors...it's a family project. Thirty years of history.

Fox River Bike Trail

1  The dam at North Aurora.  The current was pretty swift today; canoeists might set a record.  However,   it will be slower in a month when it is time for the canoe race.  Dave and the boys  used to enter the race.  Juanito used to scoot under the trees at the portages and give them fresh  water.  There are many hilarious memories....Bat Shirt and his  buddy floating  rather than paddling.....and the poor young couple whose canoe capsized  right at the starting dock  in Elgin. 

2  Windmill at Batavia.  Many windmills were made in Batavia to service the Westward Movement

3  Looking northward  toward Geneva, IL.  How about this?  A lighthouse on the Fox River !

4  Large windmill near Geneva, IL on  Fabyan Forest Preserve.   I think it is on the National Register of Historic Places

5  Small bridge at Mill Race Inn.

6  Dave  looking across the river at Geneva, IL  The building  is a former mill  that  has been converted into a hotel.

7  Dave at entrance to the estate of Colonel Fabyan, Batavia, IL

8  Mother Goose and goslings.  Dave counted 18.

9  The Illinois answer to "wildflower" blossoms.

10  "Peak"  of  wildflower bloom.

11 A view of the path itself.  The path  is a very long one. On May 6, we did only a 13 mile round trip segment.