The Vicar's Corner

Thelma and Ray

 

            Born and raised in Chews Landing, Gloucester Township, NJ, my family lived three houses past the cemetery for St. John's Episcopal Church - est. 1789.  I was accepted into the Army Student Nurse Corps for my senior year at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia.  I passed my state boards and was commissioned as a 2^nd Lt. in the Army Nurse Corps in March 1960 at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX.  After orientation I was sent to Fort Knox, KY with all of that gold - and the tanks.  Having spent 10 months in KY, I decided that it would be great to go overseas and put in for a transfer - and my orders said "Ryukyu Islands"?  Where?  Oh -it's Okinawa - ten thousand miles away!  And everyone said I'd love it there.

Before I departed for Okinawa, I went on leave to visit my folks and started the long trek - off to California and then a military contract jet flew me - and over 100 other members in the military - from California to Anchorage to Tokyo to Okinawa - refueling at each airport.

            Ray was born in the Chicago area.  He attended IIT and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering.  He was in the Air Force ROTC and was commissioned as a 2^nd Lt. upon graduation.  He hoped for an assignment to Wright Patterson Air Base in Ohio to do research and development.  But WAIT - "the needs of the service come first" - and the need for Communications Officers was critical.  So they did send him to a place with an "O" - Okinawa, where he was to be in charge of a communications transmitter site.  And then one day, it was announced that - for the first time - a jet instead of a propeller plane bringing military personnel would be landing.  Ray was on the roof of the flight operations building at Kadena Air Base and saw the jet land - and I was in it!  But he did not know that.

            Okinawa is a volcanic island - 10 miles wide and 60 miles long.  Camp Kue and the 300-bed Army Hospital supported personnel from all branches of the military, their dependents and selected Okinawans.     Then one day I had a patient with a kidney stone who was an Air Force officer from Kadena Air Base.  He and another officer shared a room.  I learned that he was from the Chicago area and we chatted a bit.  He was discharged from the hospital and went back to duty.

            Time passed and he called me at my quarters (shared with two other nurses) and asked me out.  We had pizza at the local Pizza Manufactory - complete with candles in Chianti Wine holders.  We dated for a while, time passed - and Ray asked me to marry him.  Do you suppose it was because he knew I could cook?

and got the marriage license (the clerk didn't know how to spell Illinois!)  And the minister had to go to the town hall to pick up the license and swear that he wouldn't do the marriage prior to noon on Saturday.

            Our Wedding Day was perfect - beautiful and sunny!  The wedding photo in the newspaper had the caption "Lieutenants Wed". (We were both 1^st Lieutenants by then).  The day after the wedding we drove back to Chicago, caught a flight to San Francisco and went to Travis Air Force base to fly back to Okinawa on a space available flight.  Here we were with our marriage documents hand  - and when we asked for a room at the Visiting Officer's Quarters, they sent me in one direction and Ray in the other.  My ID said Stiles and his said Malecek.

            Our transport back landed at Hawaii and scenic Wake Island on the way back - and no, it wasn't a jet!  Three eight hour legs.

            One of Ray's friends attempted to come to our wedding.  The travel agent said it was an elaborate hoax!  There was no "St. John's Episcopal Church on the Old Black Horse Pike in Chews Landing in New Jersey" - so Tom did not attend.  And we have had people remark that it was odd that Ray and I lived 800 miles apart in the states - but had to go 10,000 miles to meet.

            Ray was reassigned to K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he was in charge of maintenance of the navigational aids on the base.  I had resigned my commission in August and was discharged from the Army and went to Michigan by way of NJ.  Our February daughter - Jean, was born on 23 December 1962 and weighed in at 4# 14 oz. and it was 23 degrees below zero.  Her weight dropped precipitously, she failed to maintain her temperature and she spent 27 days in the isolette before they agreed to let us bring her home - at her birth weight!

            After Ray was completed his tour of duty we moved to the Chicago suburbs and Ray was employed as an electrical engineer.  He designed computer controlled test systems.  Our son, Ron, was born on 20 February 1966.  We then bought a house in Wood Dale where we have lived since 1966.  After both kids were in school Thelma decided to become an operating room nurse at Northwest Community Hospital.

            We will celebrate our 52^nd Wedding Anniversary in April - and yes - we know that God does indeed work in mysterious ways.

 

Chili Supper

Our Chili Supper is always a fun evening!  We hope you'll make plans to join us with a truckload of friends in tow, and a big appetite!

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

Our chefs even took a special request last year!

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL, February 10, 2014 - St. Nicholas' Pancakes up for gold medal

 

In a surprise Winter Olympics twist, the pancakes to be cooked and served by the guys of St. Nicholas at the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on March 4, 2014 are up for Gold Medal contention.  This new event, Winter Church Cakes, will pit the recipes of Shrove Tuesday challengers against one another and promises to be a real show-stopper.   

 

An unnamed source has listed St. Nicholas' pancakes among the early top contenders among the judges, and has been overheard to say, "Anyone who doesn't partake in the consuming of these amazing griddle creations *for free* on Shrove Tuesday in Elk Grove Village might well find themselves later suffering from symptoms of deep, after-the-fact regret upon hearing them raved about around the water cooler for weeks to come."

 

Ash Wednesday is March 5th

All are invited to join us for Ash Wednesday service at 7:00PM on March 5th. 

How might you get closer to God this Lent?  How might we as members of this community be light to one another?  To those around us? 

Come and join us as we begin this most holy season.

New St. Nicholas Parish Directories

Pat Kalicki is hard at work on the new edition of the parish directory.  If you haven't already done so, please check your listing in the draft this weekend to make sure everything is correct.  The deadline for making any corrections is February 16, 2014.

Thank you for your help, and thanks to Pat for her work!

This Week at St. Nicholas

Prayer Requests

For members of our community who are unemployed, over and under employed: that all may find peace in a chosen and desired vocation that sustains and affords a comfortable life.

 

For all our St. Nicholas community members who are under the weather and in need of healing and prayers:  may they find peace and be blessed with sound and better health.  Ruth Harber, Joanne Mangiaracina, Taylor Gans, Richard Gans, Eunice Dohra, Corky Stratton and any one else in need of our continued prayers and well wishes.

 

For our military personnel who are overseas and engaged in battle:  that they soon return home safe and secure. 

 

For those who are suffering from the pain of depression:  may their burdens be lightened and may they find healing.

 

 

Shout-Outs

To Jim M., a friend of St. Nicholas who not only helped snow blow our sidewalks but did the sidewalks of the three neighbors just north of the church on Ridge Avenue who needed help.  Now that is the true spirit of St. Nicholas in action!

To Barb and John Bosslet who not only braved the snow, wind and cold last Saturday night but shoveled their way into the church, thus clearing the path for the rest of the 16 others who came to worship and rejoice.  Great job, dear friends!

To our Building and Bishop Committee Members who are working very hard at resolving the boiler issue and all matters regarding St. Nicholas Church.  Warmer times are ahead...stay tuned!

February 13: Absalom Jones, Priest

February 14: Cyril and Methodius, Monk and Bishop

February 14: St. Valentine's Day

February 15: Thomas Bray, Priest

February 15/16: 6th Sunday after the Epiphany

February 17: Janani Luwum, Archbishop and Martyr

February 18: Martin Luther

Readings for This Weekend

St. Nicholas Episcopal Church
1072 Ridge Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL  60007
847-439-2067
www.StNicholasEpiscopal.org