More Than Kankakee County Fair, Lamancha Goats, Odd-Ball Bunnies and a Crab Cake BLT at the Longbranch in L'Erable, Illinois

"The goal that I aimed at in breeding American La Manchas was a breed that was able to produce 3½ to six quarts of fine-flavored milk with 3.5% or more butterfat over a period of one to four years between freshenings. They should have the w-way wedge body, strong legs well-placed, udders well-attached, both front and back, good barrel, short sleek hair, any color or combination of colors, horned or hornless, and head the size of Toggenburgs." Mrs. Eula Fay Frey American Breeder 1958. 

Pretty fair day at the Kankakee County Fair. The lightest of rains and the happiest of Americans celebrating the talents and the industry of future farmers, homemakers and patriots.

I love County Fairs.  They are generally free of political nonsense and all of the manure is produced by Beef and Dairy Cattle, swine, rabbits, fowls, shoe horses and the patter of the Carnies.

Kankakee County Fair is one of the best there is and so after 8:30 Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Morgan Park, the elegant Miss Sullivan and I motored south on 57 to Illinois Route 17 west for a breakfast at the legendary Blue's Cafes, where the prettiest woman and the homeliest men dine on real food. 

Then a trip down Wall Street and east to Route 52 South and Fair Grounds.

I parked at the very heel of the east lot, knowing that by mid afternoon the grounds would be jammed with cars, SUVS, Hill Billy Cadillacs and Customized Classics.  A $ 20 fee admits one and all for a daily visit, but you can purchase a $ 25 full term admission and opening day was only a Buck ($1).

The Fair Grounds is operated by a Board of Volunteers and offers use of the 87 acre facility not only for the Annual Kankakee County Fair, but also for weddings, concerts and races.   The grounds and its mission to promote American agriculture are on target.

This jaded urbanite learned to love the life rustic, when I taught at Bishop McNamra High School from 1975-1988.  Kankakee is the center of Illinois French Heritage and all of the surrounding townships south through Iroquois County reflect that influence.  Towns like Beaverville, Papineau, Martinon, St. Anne, St. George and Bourbonnais are steeped in French Canadian culture, dating back to the 1840's, when Pastor Chiniquy, the Pastor Michael Pfleger of his times, lured thousands of French Canadians to Illinois. Charles Chiniquy is only American Catholic heretic and schismatic, so far.  Most of the people remained faithful to the Catholic Church and a few families formed the Chiniquy Presbyterians, until the Presbyterians kicked them out.

I married a girl of French ancestry - Mary Cleary. Her Mom's family were from St. George and spoke French in the home; they were Duvals and Fortins.

The French farmed the best soil in Illinois and the Kankakee County Fair reflects that.

Upon entry to he fair grounds, the sponsors ( Case, John Deere, Mahindra, Oliver and tractors, discs and rakes) greeted the crowd. We would watch these brands compete in the Tractor Pull.

Then on to the livestock sheds!

Now, I have been to over thirty County Fairs, five Kentucky Derbies and eight hog call contests, but I have never seen anything like this weird looking son of a bitch. This blue ribbon winner from 7th grader Ms. Buente of Bonfield 4-H takes the prize with me too.

Not to be out done for strange the Lamancha goat was the next eye-brow raising exhibit.  Miss Sullivan lingered among the feathered contestants cockadoodle-doing up a cacophony only matched by Lalapalooza.  "They're birds for Crissakes."  Nasty, smelly foul tempered birds.  I hung with the swine.

Then lured Miss Sullivan to the goat pens and Lamancha goats. I learned about the Lamnacha goats from the Grand Prize Winner ( who asked to be nameless here) from Chebanse, "These are dairy goats and have been bred so.  Spanish goats from LaMancha produced great, high fat milk and they had remarkably short ears - gopher ers. But this is an American breed going back to 1958.  The ideal is to breed the shortest to non-existent ears."

I had always assumed that the ears had been cropped - I learned something yesterday.

The Sheep, the beef cattle and visiting African Leopard all took a backseat to the looming Tractor Pull.  The leopard was part of a Wild Animal menagerie for the little guys, but I loved watching the big cat nail chicken thighs.

That gal could eat!

Now, the tractor pull - To the uninitiated this sport appears rather odd.  To the initiated it is, but really fun, noisy and captivating. Here are the basics: "All tractors in their respective classes pull a set weight in the sled. When a tractor gets to the end of the 100 metre track, this is known as a "full pull". When more than one tractor completes the course, more weight is added to the sled, and those competitors that moved past 300 feet will compete in a pull-off; the winner is the one who can pull the sled the farthest."

Here is last year's event!    



This is yesterday's pull

This John Deere entry failed badly - barely hitting 200 feet.   I sent to purchase "the smallest scoop of strawberry ice cream in a Belgian waffle cone and a very small cup of water."  Dutifully, I succeeded in the former and failed miserably at the later.  The girls from Georgetown, Illinois looked at me like I had never eaten a funnel cake, when I asked for the water.  As if!!!!

It was time to stretch our legs and enjoy the wonders of the midway. Being a veteran Dad, I delighted in not going to any of the many ATM machines strategically positioned all along the midway rides and gaming booths.

Having spent the equivalent of a year's tuition at St. Ignatius College Prep, over the years of fatherhooding three wonderful children on carnival rides, duck ponds and darts, I declined the offers to give it a try and watched scores of Happy Pappies dig out the debit cards.

Our day was done at the Fair!  Now, it was time to dine À la manière de nos ancêtres français.  We were off to L'Erable and the fabled Longbranch Saloon.

L'Erable, Illinois is south of Kankakee in Iroquois County east of Clifton at the County Road junctions of 2400 S and 1500 E. Ashkum Township and is identified by St. John The Baptist Catholic Church and the Longbranch.

  It is in unincorporated

The Longbranch has always been a great place for food and drink, but 3rd Generation owners: Nick & Lindsay Bohn have brought more pizazz to the menu with Cajun Shrimp & Andouille Pasta, Steak Parmesan and Prime Rib done to perfection.

The bar is welcoming and if you don't care for IPA you ordered on friend's recommendation, a chilled bottle of whatever else you like is uncapped and poured in a cold glass with so much as a raised eyebrow.

I had the CrabCake BLT -  Miss Sullivan Longbranch Burger We took restorative stroll to the Church and its War Memorial before heading north to Chicago.

Miss Sullivan dozed contentedly as I rode the speed limit through the soybeans and tall corn to 111th Street.  I dozed not all but delighted in a more than fair day.

Experience Real Jazz with The Terry Sullivan Trio in Hyde Park: Sunday January 22nd at 3PM

terry

sullivan

trio

in concert  -  fine jazz up close

Sunday, January 22, 2017, 3:00 pm

First Unitarian Church of Chicago                   

5650 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL

Terry SULLIVAN, vocals

Tom MUELLNER, piano

Stewart MILLER, bass

$20 per person, $15 students/seniors

Cash only, at the door only.

Information: www.firstuchicago.org/events or 708/488-1701

Presented by the CHICAGO JAZZ CARAVAN

Allow me to speak on Siebert's Pub and then St. Raphael's Catholic Church - Greeting a New Wave of Catholics With the Grandeur of West Side and South Side Icons

If you’re looking for a family friendly place with a unique menu, full bar and 12 draft beers then... 
Siebert's Pub is the place for you!

This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint presbyters in every town as I directed you (Titus 1:5).


Last weekend, Terry Sullivan and I spent some long planned quality time with two of the most impost important people in my life - Kate and Charlie Olson. Both of these people got me through the toughest times in my life and made the happiest ones beyond special.

Charlie and I taught at Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, IL.  Kate was senior the year I began there and was one year junior to my wife Mary Cleary Hickey.

In 1988, Mary and I went to La Lumiere School in Laporte, Indiana and shortly after Charlie and Kate moved up to Lake County, Illinois where Kate worked as an engineer for Baxter and later Abbott Labs and Charlie taught and coached at Grayslake North.

When Mary was diagnosed with brain cancer, Charlie and Kate would drive to our home in Griffith, Indiana and often take the three kids with them.  They were with us all through that horrible time.

They helped me recover from loss and regain my balance - sort of.  They are delightful friends.

Though last weeks Arctic Chill and blizzardy road conditions turned Lake County into a scene from Dr. Zhivago we soldiered out to Salem, Wisconsin just over the State Line and had a great dinner at Sieberts Pub, which seems to have shanghaied a four star chef from somewhere, because the sea food and other dishes made more happy Packer Fans, than the Bears did the next day. Charlie and I both had the grilled Ahi Tuna steak, lightly seasoned with a side of homemade wasabi mayo. Most places do to tuna steaks, what TGI Friday's and Chili's do food in general.  
You eat it with all gusto and passion of David Mamet strapped to chair and subjected to 48 hours of Bill Moyers on PBS loop tapes -"We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie." In the absence of a fine pie, go to Siebert's*.

Siebert's prepares ( Medium rare tuna – Cooking temperature 132°F (56°C) – Cooking time 30 minutes) the fish and presents it with care.

Kate and Terry had pasta and pulled pork, but I am so self-absorbed that I only can comment on what I had for dinner.

Siebert's is and old timey road house on Antioch Road above the Chain of Lakes.  The staff are very welcoming to south of the border FIPS. Never once, did I feel the need to comment on the Packer wear, nor the fried cheese curds getting vacuumed up at the bar, by all and sundry.

We were stated and satisfied.

The next morning We went to 11A.M Mass at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church, before the trip home and my daughters Christmas gathering in Oak Lawn.

St. Raphael the Archangel is a work of genius.  This original place of worship was a typical post-WWII era, cookie-cutter modern American barn-like ecumenical design - externally indistinguishable from the the 11th Day Unitarian Temple of Coexistence, or an interior not unlike a rock concert venue.

Some people think that Catholic Churches are empty, only because of the scandals, or that the liturgies are too traditionally Catholic.

Nonsense, the Catholic Church has had scandals ever since Acts of the Apostles.  The Catholic Churches in the Catholic Church that are unashamedly Catholic - not Episcopalian/Methodist Lite, or Unitarian Book Club variety - are packed on Sundays.  If it looks Catholic, it more than likely is that.  Try and get a seat at St. John Cantius, or St. Odilo's three minutes before the Gospel and then try and reserve parking in front of City Hall.

We took Little Grassy Road east to Route 45 and then north for about a mile and there on our left ascended a blast from the past.

St. Raphael the Archangel was the dream of the late Francis Cardinal George, a Chicagoan steeped in our towns faith and history.In 2006, knowing the ever increasing population of Lake County, Cardinal George ordered Father John Jamnicky to assess the need for and begin the planning for the construction of a traditional Catholic Church.  On April 30th, 2007 Father Jamnicky became the first pastor of St. Raphael the Archangel. It was a barn - literally.

"An old barn, on the Alfred and Florence Pedersen farm in Antioch, converted into the temporary St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church.
Liturgical artifacts and furnishings salvaged from various shuttered Chicago Catholic churches and recycled in the temporary church."

Unlike too many houses of worship, it did not stay a Catholic barn.

The beauty of the immigrant built churches of Chicago reflected the authenticity and power of the devout who labored and penny'd - up the pew money to build St. Adalbert's, St. Patrick's and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Chicago.  The parish cut out a fine Mission:

St. Raphael the Archangel is a young parish, only 6 years old, of approximately 600 families. We are currently holding Mass in a remodeled barn, which we believe to be the most beautiful temporary church you will ever see, while our permanent church is being built in Old Mill Creek.
We are a traditional Roman Catholic Church that teaches the Gospel and the Bible with clarity and enthusiasm. We are loyal to the Magisterium – the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church. It is important to us that we live our beliefs, that we are witnesses of the compassionate love of Jesus for all people, that we share his message with others so that they may grow in spiritual life and find salvation. It is our goal to affirm and advance the Catholic faith.

St. Raphael the Archangel took the best of Old Catholic Chicago - the facade of St. John of God and the interior of St. Peter Canisius - matched the 'welcome home' mission sparked by Cardinal George.

His spirit rises above the prairies of Lindenhurts with the Bell Towers and Stained Glass windows of St. Raphael the Archangel.



The place was packed.  There were many young families, especially Mexican and Filipino, as well as former Chicagoans.  A south side priest Father Michael McGovern is pastor of St. Raphael the Archangel.  Father grew up in  Christ the King parish. His homily reflected the many signs demanded of God by weaklings like me and the daily signs that blow by my notice.  An angel told Mary and Joseph to expect the unexpected. They did not blink.  I get whacked between the eyes with two by four and I ask when lunch is served.

St. Raphael the Archangel is a sign that Cardinal George is very much with us, renewing Christ's Church by pointing to the signs of our faith in history. Pretty good weekend trip north of Madison Avenue.

Food for the soul can come with wasabi mayo or a parish that dedicates itself to renewal without erasing tradition, beauty and history.


* Siberts Pub: 8403 Antioch Rd, Salem, WI 53168
Phone: (262) 843-4621:  Aaron & Kim Edmonds owners

The Alperts are Evergreen - Lani and Herb Having a Great Time

I had one hell of a great day yesterday, October 15, 2016.

At 8:30 AM the exquisite Miss Terry Sullivan and I drove through Roseland taking my time-honored 107th Street to Cottage Grove North to 103rd Street East to Torrance Ave, South to 106th East past Pat Carroll's iconic Crow Bar and the mouthwatering Birreria Ocotlon. onto Indianapolis Boulevard south into the wilds of Indiana and the blue collar Gold Coast of Whiting.

We made it from Morgan Park to Whiting in under forty minutes and arrived at St. Adalbert's Catholic Church founded in 1906 by Polish steel and oil refinery workers.  Like Bridgeport, there is a National Catholic Church and more than a few Croatian Hussite, Serbian Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches every fifty feet.  The huge St. John the Baptist Catholic Church was the "english' or American, or Irish church and it dominates the landscape of Whiting/Robertsdale/Hammond along the Skyway over Wolf Lake.

We were guests at a wedding! It was a Tridentine Latin Mass and the music was wonderful.  After the Mass we drove south on Indy to Ridge Road and the Polish Discalced Carmelite Fathers Shrine to Our Lady - a maginficent piece of scared real estate that encompasses shrines, chapels, meeting halls, meditation walks, living rosary paths and a banquet hall.

The wedding party was blessed by the Bishop of Gary.  We sat with couples from Toronto, Minnesota and the Glynns who live across the tracks from me in Sawmill Lane.  There were scores of babies, toddlers and little guys grooving to the tunes. Great food by the way - family style chicken, beef, spuds and vegetables.  We took it easy on the portions - I mean I did, as our early evening appointment was looming - Parker's in Downers Grove.

We said our farewells to Bride and Groom and all and sundry and headed to 80/94 and the route home - Borman to bishop Ford to 1-57 to 111th to 107th and change our Sunday go-to- meeting duds at Casa Hickey. Quick change and onto the peak of the day - dinner at Parker's and the a concert by Herb Alpert and his Chicago-born bride, the brilliant singer Lani Hall.

Lani Hall hit the switch on my adolescent hormones, in 1966 when she and the strawberry blonde ignited males planet wide when introduced to America by Eartha Kitt!



With Sergio Medez, Lani Hall managed to improve tastes in music among my generation. Brazilian jazz, pop improvements - the Beatles wish their version Fool on the Hill was as good as Brazil '66.  Paul McCartney is no Lani Hall, Bub.




Lani Hall was the voice we always recognized, but never seemed to recall the person offering it up.  Who's Lani Hall?  A great lady and married to Herb Alpert.

I never had much love for the Tijuana Brass, though I did love the Whipped Cream album cover.  I always thought Herb Alpert's Brass was too Mitch Miller Square - you know - sounds like Game Show Music. 

Wrong.

Okay I have loved Lani Hall's voice for forty years and change and I sniffed at the work of man with whom she has been married to for as long.

This Guy's In Love With Her!   More so - she with him!

Last night, I wanted to hear Lani Hall and worried that I would be fogged by Lonely Bull, Casino Royale and stuff like that.  Herb Alpert reworks good songs fusing many genres, jazz, pop, hip-hop and innovative flourishes his side men freely work-out beyond the practiced charts.

He and Lani Hall repeatedly used the word Evergreen to connect songs that have worked for generations with people of good natures.  The song Besa Me Mucho *was said to have been written by a 16 year old Mexican girl, but the tune is one of the most recorded worldwide.  Evergreen is a connection and it explains Lani and Herb.  Get a load of this



Herb Alpert is a fun guy.  Alpert laments the loss of good music for inflated bass riffs and idiotic lyrics.  He has a deeply sweet nature that pokes fun at himself and a sharply professional musicianship that offers only what people deserve to hear. He respects his craft, his partners, his wife, himself and most of all the people laying down scores of dollars and filling the seats of McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage - there was not a seat open for this show.

Herb  Alpert founded A/M Records in 1962 with his pal Jerry Moss.  Alpert is a genius and an exacting perfectionist on himself.  His trumpet work is remarkable.  Albert asks the audience to speak up, as do many performers, but Alpert actually means it.  He treats the audience with respect and easy good humor.  For the opening minutes, Alpert and the three great musicians with him.


Lani Hall was sensational, beautiful, sweet and very much in love his her guy - Herb is a lucky guy.