Canaryville Roots

  Leo President Dan McGrath and four of the seven Canaryvillains at Leo High School with Joe's Mom and Coach Fogarty: from the left (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell,)

“When I went to take the entrance exams, it was during the famous winter storms [of 1979]. We took the test that day. They had to make arrangements to get us back home. Jay Strandring drove the Canaryville guys back home. He dropped us off at one of the viaducts because he realized he wouldn’t be able to get back out if he went under the viaduct. We walked back in the neighborhood. I think that was my first time ever at the school. I must have shadowed with my brother there once or twice, I suppose. But the first day I went to Leo as a student, I had to ask the bus driver if that was the school. We stopped at 79th, and I asked if that was Leo, and he said, “You’re going to a school you don’t even know where it’s at.”
I said, “Yeah.” He said, “That’s it.”
“My two oldest brothers went to St. Ignatius. My brother right above me went to Leo. My mom didn’t really like St. Rita at the time because my uncle—her brother—had gone there. My brother [Michael] just didn’t like school. It didn’t matter where he went. A funny story about my first day at Leo, I’m walking past the doorway and I hear: ‘McFarlane.’ I backed up, until I was in the doorway, and it was one of the [football] coaches, Dave Mutter. He grabbed me by the shirt and said: ‘Are you anything like your brother?’ I looked at him and said, ‘Absolutely not.’ That kind of shocked him. He let me go and he said something like, ‘Good for you.’ My brother had a reputation by the time I got to Leo. During my time at Leo, my brother would stop me in the hallway and say, ‘We’re going to the beach. Do you wanna go?’ With his buddies, he would just disappear. I was always afraid to do something like that with my parents.
“I took the Halsted bus when I first started at Leo, and then we had a bus service that started to pick us up. It was close to my house, I had to walk down like five houses to the corner.”

Father William McFarlane '83

This summer it has been my pleasure and pride to pick-up and deliver incoming freshman to Leo High School -one very big lad from Bronzeville and seven gents from Canaryville -One huge black kids and seven hard-scrabble pale-faces from St. Gabe's.  I pick them up between 7-7:25 AM and they are never late and very rarely absent.  My task is merely a cog in a recruitment and marketing machine developed by Leo football coach, admissions director and Father Flanagan to hundreds of Leo Men, Mike Holmes and Leo President Dan McGrath.

Leo High School is a Catholic high school for young men situated in the Gresham neighborhood on 79th Street just west of Halsted ( 7910 S. Sangamon Street -60620).  This iconic lion of a building is home to thousands of men from Chicago's stockyard, industrial and railroad past. Leo was built at the command of George Cardinal Mundelein and under the supervision of Msgr. Peter Shewbridge, pastor of St. Leo Parish, now, closed but still serving veterans through Catholic Charities. The building designed by Joseph McCarthy, lieutenant and disciple of Daniel Burnham went up in 1921;  the school opened in 1926.

Catholics from all over the industrial south side of Chicago sent their sons to Leo High School. which competed huskily with older and more established Mount Carmel, St. Rita and De La Salle. One of the most powerful cadres of talent attended Leo from St. Gabriel Parish in Canaryville.  e.g. Basketball standout James "Bro" Farrell dominated the hardwood floors of local, state and national opponents. St. Gabe's, south of Bridgeport, is the incubator of south side Catholic Chicago.
That is because of a man and an institution - Msgr. Maurice Dorney* and the Chicago Stockyards.

The Chicago Stockyards, St. Gabe's, was home to workers - not the affluent scions of burger families from Lake or DuPage counties who Occupy Chicago with Visa and Mastercards in their wallets - workers who scratched out a living, contributed to their church, built schools and spent their free-time fighting for the eight-hour day.  These workers penned, drovered, killed, butchered, rendered and cleaned every thing on four legs for meat, teeth, bones, marrow hides, horns  to be transformed for America's tables, hairbrushes, buttons, wardrobes and footwear.  They made soap, gelatin, fertilizer and bacon for the Armour, Agar, Cudahy, Swift and Hammond families.  They lost fingers, lungs and lives in the act of building community.   Father Dorney protected their paychecks from gamblers, pimps and thugs and their dignity from Social Darwinism. There is no expressway named for Msgr. Dorney. Dorney was and remains the spirit of Canaryville, That spirit is reflected in the accomplishments past, present and to come by his spiritual children.

Muhammad Ali said that, in his opinion, the greatest boxer of all time was Canaryville boxer Packy McFarland; Chicago White Sox 1st baseman George Moriarty was Canaryville born and bred and would become a Cub and later move to a long career as Detroit Tiger, where he took root as a coach and American League umpire - his grandson ( here with Robert DeNiro)would become one of America's greatest actors and accomplished musician, composer and author Michael Moriarty. Canaryville is home to priests as well as  punchers of pigs and pedestrians.

The south side Catholic union family began in the blood, bones and hides of Canary.  Many of those families became wildly successful and moved from The 'Ville but never out of it. My maternal grandfather was a lather according to his union card, but moreso a Regans Colts shoulder-hitter and utility tough guy for the Cermak/Kelly/Kennelly and Daley Reg'lar Demacrats as well as occasional operative for Ralph Sheldon.  His brother became a priest and labor chaplain - he would give the last rites to Brady, McCarthy ( Leo '67) and Delahanty in Washington D.C. when Jodie Foster's stalker tried to kill President Reagan. Carnaryville seems to be everywhere.

Canaryville is physically and spiritually manifest at Leo High School once again. African American and white Catholic Alumni have worked with Mike Holmes and Dan McGrath for the last three years to give Leo some ethnic diversity - since 1991, Leo High School has been 100% African American. Black alumni behind Mike Holmes have pushed to recruit Hispanic and white students.  Black Alumni Mike Anderson and Mike Lee have teamed with Canaryvillains and Irish Catholic alums Brian Fogarty and Jack Farnan and impressed young white guys from St. Gabe's parish to be Leo Men. Last year Jeff "White Chocolate" X___________ added his see-through Irish pelt to the darker hued Lions.  This year, Leo welcomes seven more Canaryville gentlemen:Tommy, AJ, Brian F, Brian C, Joe C, CK, Mitch C are Leo Men!


My morning's route takes me to Bronzeville, where in the shadow of the Black Doughboy on Martin Luther King Drive at 35th Street, I wait for Daylon F - a mountain of sweetness and innocence packed into 6'3" and change. Daylon is the latest in the many Leo Men from Bronzeville, like Leo Akim Hunter (Leo 2004 & Northwestern University 2008).


 Daylon and I head west past De La Salle Institute and hang a left at Wentworth on the front porch of Comiskey Park ( it will never be The Cell) and head south with this daily admonition from my co-pilot Daylon -" Don't Turn on Root Street and get to swearin' Mr. Hickey."  Architect John Root, for whom the street is named, helped Maurice Dorney build St. Gabriel's Church, school, rectory and convent, as well as affordable housing for the working families - many of whom still call St. Gabe's home more than century later.  We maintain our course to 43rd Street and hang a right westward to Emerald Street and carefully wind around the cul-de-sac lite south to Graham Elementary School parking lot. 


We are usually greeted by this school's engineer Dean Fuller Leo '71 a resident of Canaryville. The red-heads and pale faces load the Ford Van with critiques of the Dunkin Donut selection, " No long-johns?  Don't get powdered, please it's as bad as the nut-sprinkles on them, Mr. Hickey. Just get frosted and we won't have a problem"  Likewise, I get informed about the upcoming Freshman football season, Miss Meany's math and Coach Ed Adams' reading classes.  All of the young men will play football, basketball, baseball and a few will box. They are good students and delightful companions who lack not a jot for self-esteem.  None of them have central air conditioning and universally accept heat.  They are tough kids from Bronzeville amd Canaryville. Daylon's only complaint is the obviously racist hornet who torments his daily drink of water at the public fountain west of the CPS school parking lot.  The Dunkin Donuts have a very short life-span - roughly 43rd Street to 79th Street.

*Saint Gabriel Parish & Elementary School are positioned in the heart of Canaryville, a small community of several third and fourth generation Irish immigrants. The neighborhood is extremely proud of its strong roots to Ireland with family ties running deep and strong in the parish and school. Saint Gabriel is a hidden gem, tucked away amid century old homes and secluded from the neighborhoods surrounding Canaryville.
As Saint Gabriel Parish celebrates its 130th Anniversary, we would like to share how the school and parish began. Many people know that Father Maurice Dorney was St. Gabriel’s first pastor, but did you know… • Father Dorney had the foresight to purchase 20 lots (from 45th to 46th and Lowe) for $500(!) to build the church, school, convent and rectory for Saint Gabriel’s • While pastor, Father Dorney graduated from law school • Also know as “The King of the Yards,” Father was friends to both workingman and company owner, procuring jobs and helping avert strikes • Father Dorney was gifted with a block of stock from the head of National Livestock Bank – after two decades the dividends grew to $68,000, and the money was spend “for the welfare of the church, and assisting in the school’s of Saint Gabriel” • Father Traveled to Ireland in 1887 and was instrumental in the exoneration of Charles Stewart Parnell (champion of home rule for Ireland) who was accused of complicity in a murder.

 http://www.leohighschool.org/
http://www.ottawalife.com/2012/07/moriartys-musings-my-french-symphony/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragen's_Colts
http://www.leohsalumniassoc.com/alumni%20stories/mcfarlane83/mcfarlane.html
http://www.connorcoyne.com/blog/2004/09/back-to-canaryville-blues/
http://saintgabes.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=56
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/mcfarland.html

Be Our Guests! 1%ers March Through Back of the Yards, Canaryville and Bridgeport

 Occupy anti-NATO Commandos in Bridgeport - skin that never met a day's work, God Bless Them.

A band of several dozen protesters marched up Halsted Street this evening from the South Side through Bridgeport, where some engaged in a shouting match with residents.
The marchers, some of whom covered their faces with hoods or bandanas(sic), began their protest at about 51st Street and Halsted, chanting obscenities about police and police brutality.

A few dozen well-heeled, college educated, really sincere and snappily dressed masque-ers sporting button-festooned North Face head wear, American Eagle T-shirts and bandannas marched with a police escort up through the 11th Ward.  From Back of the Yards ( 51st Street) through Canaryville (47th-39th Streets) and Bridgeport up Halsted and past Jackie Schaller's landmark Chicago dining venue Schaller's Pump, America's young  spark-plugs of change paraded their V masks, Ninja costumes, and Indie fashion apparel along with the naughty words of the truly edgy. Like Jane Addams and Dr. Cornelia De Bey in 1904, the Occupy Commandos were protected and served by the Chicago Police Department.

Halsted Street became the  Occupy/Dissident/Anarchist/ Hipster Runway.  We were given a preview of the accessory conscious young, armed with Dad-funded Visa Debit cards and Rage Against the Machine.

I'd bet a shiny new Sacagawea gold dollar that not one of these later-day Mother . . .Joneses could identify the significance of these neighborhoods in the real struggle of working people*. Below are the residents of Canaryville and Bridgeport who fought the real fight on Halsted Street the site of  yesterday's Che fashion stroll

The Residents of Canaryville circa 1904- meat cutters in Armour's & Swift's Packinghouses - one their great grandchildren attends Leo High School - a young man from St. Gabriel's parish in Canaryville.

This is where American Labor, real Labor and not the phony Reds of SEIU, won its spurs by being betrayed by Progressives and buried by Progressive History.  This is where the Jungle happened Cupcakes.  Bridgeport was the home of the real Lithuanian workmen portrayed by Upton Sinclair, another armchair recvolutionary opportunist, as protagonist Jurgis Rudkus and his co-workers. Upton watched the 1904 Amalgamated Meatcutters Strike that shut down the American Meat Packing Industry from July to September in 1904 from the front porch of a previously Packingtown blacklisted Knight of Labor John Joyce and scribbled notes.
Jane Addams, like most Progressives is affluent, imperious and a very well protected species

Dr. Cornelia  De Bey and Jane Addams and her partner at the time Mary Rozet Smith were members of the Chicago Public School Board. Doc Cornelia had another partner.

The March of the Real Workers began at the Meatcutters Hall at 47th & Ashland. Michael Donnelly the President of the Amalgamated Meatcutters held out against the Strikebreakers, Meat Packers and the phony   Out And Proud Progressives Jane Addams and Dr. Cornelia De Bey**.  Read the Chicago Tribune account of the end of the 1904 Strike - you will be required to purchase the articles in true Medill fashion; however the NYT covered the strike very well and praised the work of Father Maurice Dorney of St. Gabriel Parish in Canaryville, giving short shrift to the short-haired women and long-haired Progressives. The New York Times accounts are free.  Ask me nicely, and I might link my privately owned collection of contemporary accounts.

Father Maurice Dorney was a figure of National renown ( NYT reported on his Spanish American War Service and his heroic fight for workers in three national strikes) -try and find any mention of Father Dorney in the much ballyhooed Chicago Encyclopedia.

Too many Americans subsist on a diet of redacted historical bullshit.  Progressive revisionists have erased all traces of genuine social justice fighters.like Father Dorney, John Joyce, the Knights of Labor and actual strikers and given praise and homage to the likes of Jane Addams who sold out the strikers.

Hull House and other Settlement Houses in Hyde Park flourished immediately after the strike was broken.  Michael Donnelly, who called and led the strike, disappeared from Chicago and from history.  Upton Sinclair wrote a swell book.  Teddy Roosevelt got Progressive street cred.  The Strikers got bupkis.

*Packinghouse workers, experiencing horrible working conditions and insufficient wages, sought to secure union recognition as the Amalgamated Meat Cutters. Two long and bloody strikes (1904 and 1921) were defeated by the companies. During both strikes, many African-American workers were temporarily employed to break the strikes. Since Black workers suffered from economic circumstances as desperate as those faced by the striking White workers, and since they were excluded generally from unions and consequently the benefits they would gain from unionization, these so-called "scab" workers felt no loyalty to the strikers or the union. In the aftermath of the two defeats, hostility towards Black workers rose, and Black resentment of Whites increased as well. For years, remembrances of racism and scabbing impaired any effort to create a common front against the packers. 

**When Jane Addams's travels took her away from her close companion Mary Rozet Smith, she sometimes took along a painting of Smith, even though the portrait was a rather bulky piece of luggage. Addams, the Nobel Peace Prize–winning social activist who founded Chicago's Hull-House in 1889, clearly felt a strong emotional attachment to the aristocratic, gracious woman in that picture, which now hangs at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum—with a question mark for a caption.
For the past year, the museum has been seeking suggestions on how to label the portrait, which Addams commissioned from Alice Kellogg Tyler. Should the caption suggest Addams and Smith were companions? Lesbian lovers? Or simply focus on Smith's role as one of Hull-House's most generous financial supporters? This summer, as the museum gets ready to decide, a new WTTW documentary is stepping into the fray and staking out the position that Addams and Smith were lesbians. The producers of Out & Proud in Chicago, Alexandra Silets and Dan Andries, say their film on the history of gays and lesbians in the city wouldn't be complete without Addams. "In not revealing this part of Jane Addams's life, you're denying the rest of us a role model," says Silets, a lesbian.

 http://www.politicalaffairs.net/class-and-race-in-the-us-labor-movement-the-case-of-the-packinghouse-workers/

http://books.google.com/books?id=DW4TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA425&lpg=PA425&dq=Jane+Addams+and+Cornelia+De+Bey&source=bl&ots=dQjc7A18Xg&sig=89nzLwjY4pN7hC4BQE098u4Aws0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hpuzT5bbOabS2QWO6cnpCA&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Jane%20Addams%20and%20Cornelia%20De%20Bey&f=false
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2008/Friends-With-Benefits/

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/tc/xtf/servlet/org.cdlib.xtf.crossQuery.CrossQuery?text=dorney&text-join=or

Chicago's "King of Canaryville and the Stockyards" -Father Maurice Dorney

Illinois Progressive History chose to ignore Col. James Mulligan, Senator for three States James Shields, the only Union general to defeat Stonewall Jackson in the field, and the most energetic, brilliant and courageous activist of the 19th century, Father Maurice Dorney founder of St. Gabriel's Parish in Canaryville and the King of the Stockyards when labor first got its legs.

Catholics are given scrutiny only when causing scandal or smearing people as racists, bigots, and deviants. Read Huffington Post and the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times for a daily litany of priest scandals, or loggerheads with Gay bullies and Planned Parenthood.

Mother Cabrini is being ignored and soon will be about as memorable as the man for whom Shields Ave. and Shields Elementary is named.

The St. Vincent DePaul Society, Misericordia, Mercy Home for Boys, Little Brothers of the Poor, and Poor Clares, have no homosexually rooted or abortion friendly parallels. Only when a nun gushes for abortion, or a priest preaches for the ordination of women will a media profile make nice with the nomenclature of Catholic. There are some Catholics who make a Progressive smile and they are generally elected officials.

Justice icons tend to be lesbian activists of the 19th Century like Jane Addams and Frances Willard, which is nice but much too exclusive. Don't you think? No?

Well, let's take a look at the life of Fr. Maurice Dorney, shall we?

Maurice Dorney was born in 1851 at Springfield, Massachusetts. His father, John, left his home at Longhur near Limerick, Ireland, in 1846 as the plight of the Irish was about to worsen. Taking work in Troy, New York, John met Mary Toomey there and made her his wife. From Troy to Springfield to Chicago, John Dorney's work as a lumber inspector landed him a job with the Illinois Central railroad. The family moved into a home along Cottage Grove Avenue and 25th Street on Chicago's Southside. His elementary school days were spent at Mosely School and St. Patrick's Academy, the Christian Brothers academy near Adams and Des Plaines. His university education took place at the University of St. Mary of the Lake under the tutelage of Father James J. McGovern. Maurice enrolled in Our Lady of Angels Seminary at Suspension Bridge (Niagara), New York, in 1867. He concluded his seminary studies in 1870 at the Catholic Theological Seminary (St. Mary's) in Baltimore, Maryland. Bishop Foley conferred the priesthood upon him at St. James Church on Prairie Avenue in Chicago, January 27, 1874. In his youth Maurice had knelt before the tabernacle in this very church as an altar server.

The first parish to receive Father Dorney's ministrations was St. John the Evangelist in Chicago. He served as assistant to Reverend John Waldron, a venerated veteran of the chaotic, early formative years of the diocese.

At this time Chicago was rebuilding from the Great Conflagration of '71. St. John's parish, having been effected by the fire, as was most of the city, was home to many of the rebuilders of the city. Father Dorney's dynamic presence proved inspirational to these survivors to maintain the "I Will" spirit born of the great fire.

Bishop Foley knew full well the measure of man he had assigned to the church at Lockport. Father Eustace's departure to St. Louis was probably directly or indirectly related to the aftermath surrounding Bishop Duggan's mental illness. St. Dennis needed a strong, progress-minded pastor: "The importance of this charge [St. Dennis] can best be understood by the realization of the fact that at the time the scope of this 'parish' embraced the territory extending from the city limits of Chicago to those of Joliet." [Charles Ffrench. Biographical History of the American Irish in Chicago. Chicago. p.799] Laboring at St. Dennis and the Illinois and Michigan Canal missions provided Father Dorney with a contrasting outlook to the one he developed while growing up within the city.


His most definitive call was to occur next. On the 11th of April 1880, by appointment of Vicar-General John McMullen, Father Dorney established living quarters at the Transit House, a lodging building. Hiecome St. Gabriel parish. From these quarters Father Dorney charted the construction of a temporary wooden church to be built on part of twenty lots purchased on Sherman Street. From this landmark point Father Maurice Dorney would build the legends new home was near the bustling Union Stockyards in the town of Lake, just outside the Chicago limits. The yards, which would soon become synonymous with Chicago, were located in an area known as 'Canaryville'. Wild pigs that roamed the area as scavengers were referred to as 'canaries' - hence the affectionate nickname. At the Transit House, a rented room served as a chapel for the growing congregation that would b he became associated with. He was to become "The King of the Stockyards".

His interest in the temporal well being of his fellows led to a crusade for temperance and against the proliferation of saloons throughout the residential areas of St. Gabriel parish. By skillfully presenting his impassioned plea, Father Dorney inspired others across the Archdiocese to adopt the cause of sensibility in relation to alcohol. Over forty saloons filled the area between 40th Street and 45th Street along Halsted Street. Father Dorney's persuasive powers can be gauged by the reaction of tavern owners in his parish. When Father Dorney proposed that all saloons be closed during hours that a weeklong mission for men was taking place, local saloon keepers 'Gambler' Jim O'Leary and R.M. Donkin were in concert. Said Donkin: "You can say for me that whatever Father Dorney wants he can have." 'Gambler' Jim O'Leary concurred: "We always do what Father Dorney wants us to do down here." His lectures on temperance such as one that took place in 1896 at Annunciation Church were in the spirit of Father Matthew and were a precursor to the larger Prohibition Movement that occurred at the beginning of the 20th century.

Father Dorney's excellence in elocution won the admiration of employers and employees at the burgeoning meat packing houses. He was able to act as a broker for jobs at the yards. Immigrants and people out of work petitioned Father Dorney for assistance in securing work in the packing plants and meat industry. In days before organized labor at the yards, he would mediate strikes and disagreements, going down to the 'killing floor' if need be.


Father Dorney's influence was felt as much at city hall and corporate board rooms as it was within the church walls. In fact, at one time his influence had an impact on houses of parliament across the sea. The politics surrounding agitation for Irish home rule brought Father Maurice Dorney into the international spotlight. Father Dorney met with Charles Parnell, organizer of the Irish Home Rule Party, in the British House of Commons at a time in 1889 when Parnell was under fire on many fronts. Richard Pigott, publisher of the newspaper, "The Irishman", and not sympathetic to the Home Rule Party, submitted a forged letter to the London Times slandering Parnell. In the letter, Pigott had insinuated that Parnell was a co-conspirator in the 1882 murder at Dublin's Phoenix Park of Lord Frederick Cavendish, the Irish Secretary appointed by England, and Thomas Henry Burke, the Undersecretary. This assassination had been carried out by a secret society referred to as the "Invincibles". Through papers received from the president of the Irish National league of America, Alexander Sullivan, and its onetime treasurer, Patrick Egan, Father Dorney aided in the exoneration of charges of terrorist activity brought against Parnell by Pigott.

Father Dorney had a long association with an Irish-American organization called the Clan Na Gael, also known as the" United Brotherhood". "In age it dated back to 1869, its cardinal objections being to establish in Ireland an Irish republic, to bring about fraternal feelings among Irishmen in the United States, and generally assist in the elevation of the Irish race."[Henry M. Hunt. The Crime of the Century. 1889. Chicago] His association with the quasi-secret organization was quite controversial for in many parts of the country clergy were discouraging their flock from joining the group. He was considered an insider in the highest levels of the organization having attended the 1881 Chicago convention as a delegate. His close association with Alexander Sullivan, one-third of an inner realm known as the "Triangle", would lead to friction with the church hierarchy, the press and the judicial system. Alexander Sullivan, a lawyer and a journalist, was the head of the American division of Clan Na Gael. He founded the Irish National League of America, an umbrella organization which united the majority of Irish fraternal and self-help organizations in America. During what was termed by the press as the " Trial of the Century" Father Dorney was subpoenaed to give testimony relating to Doctor Patrick Cronin's [another Clan Na Gael insider] murder and the suspected plot involved in the murder. Father Dorney received criticism in the press due to Sullivan's alleged role in the murder. Dr. Cronin had opposed Sullivan within and without the organization on various issues. A Tribune article in June of 1889 suggested that Archbishop Feehan "send Father Dorney to a quiet country parish where he could give no further scandal."

By actively venturing into the political area Father Dorney was a harbinger of the activism that the Church in the later 20th century has become associated with. His strong sense of ethnic pride and commitment to civic progress brought accolades to him from some and criticism from others.

The value of knowledge and education did not escape Father Dorney. Parents were encouraged by him to send their children to complete their education. From his experience, the road to success led away from the 'towpath' of the canal and the 'killing floor' of the stockyards. He concentrated large amounts of energy and money into schools at St. Gabriel. By his own example he provided inspiration to his flock by returning to school at fifty years of age receiving a degree in law. In addition, he was afrequent contributor to the Chicago Catholic newspaper, the Catholic Home.

He also provided guidance to the Archdiocese in evaluating students for the priesthood. Along with former St. Dennis pastor John Mackin and a few others, Father Dorney participated on a panel in charge of reviewing candidates for ordination. The St. Dennis 'stamp of approval' was on many of the priests chosen for the Archdiocese in the late 1800's.

On March 15, 1914, after a short illness, Father Maurice J. Dorney departed this life at 63 years of age. Archbishop James E. Quigley celebrated the final Mass attended by Father Dorney.


The silver-tongued orator was rightfully eulogized by the Bishop of Rockford, the Right Reverend P.J. Muldoon, at what was described in the 'New World', the diocesan paper, as "one of the most impressive funeral services ever witnessed by Chicago..." Every funeral limosine within the city of Chicago was utilized in the procession. In attendance were the families of the captains of the packinghouse industry - the Armour's, the Swift's and the Morris's, Chicago's politicians led by Chicago's Mayor Harrison and legions of parishioners, citizens of the city and Father Dorney's two sisters. "From the announcement of his death to the funeral on Wednesday, flags flew at half-staff over the International Amphitheater and the big plants of the yards. In tribute to Father Dorney, on the day of the funeral the stockyard companies suspended business for five minutes." [St. Gabriel: 1880-1980 (parish centennial publication).

Jane Addams has a nice stretch of highway and more pedestals than the Pantheon for serving bologna sandwiches and presenting Aristophanes to starving Italian, Greek and Jewish kids for only a penny, while Alderman Johnny Power put their Dad's to work.

Let's try and remember that Diversity should include breeders and folks who think its wrong to kill a baby.