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A wonderful presentation was given today at RHS by Maggie O'Reilly on "Fair Trade Threads." Maggie is the owner of The MAYTA Collection, which offers one-of-a-kind hand-crafted artisan items from Peru and Morocco.

Maggie grew up in Beverly and she and her husband are now raising their own family here. Her business grew out of her love for travel and other cultures, particularly Latin cultures, and her love of fabrics, color and textures. The MAYTA Collection follows fair trade practices when dealing with the artisans of these other countries – fair wages, safe working conditions, contributions to their communities, and other ethical practices.

Maggie was joined by her father-in-law, Vidal Gomez Pando, who is visiting for the holidays from Peru. She shared interesting photos of the artisans at work at their homes in the Andes Mountains. They do all the work locally – sheer the sheep for the wool, spin it into yarn, color the yarn with natural dyes, and weave beautiful fabrics. The fabrics are used for the bags and purses, and pillows and blankets, that The MAYTA Collection brings to the U.S.

This program was part of the "Threads of Imagination" exhibit which explores the intersection of fashion, art and business. The exhibit will be up through January 17, 2020.

REMINDER!! This is not your typical holiday program. While a good dose of "mindless merriment" is certainly welcomed this time of year, the Ridge Historical Society is also offering the opportunity to keep your intellectual muscles in shape with an interesting and informative program.

"Fair Trade Threads" is a special program that will be given by Beverly artist and entrepreneur Maggie O'Reilly at RHS on Sunday, December 29, 2019, at 2:00 p.m.

As part of the "Threads of Imagination" exhibit, Maggie will share the story of her business, the MAYTA Collection, the provider of beautiful, high-quality hand-made personal fashion and home accessories. These goods are created with native materials by artisans in Peru and Morocco through "fair trade" agreements. "Fair trade" principles include decent wages and working conditions for the artisans, sustainability of their native environment, and ethical production methods. MAYTA is a member of Chicago Fair Trade, the largest fair trade coalition in the U.S.

A special guest from Peru, Vidal Gomez Pando, is visiting Chicago for the holidays and will speak at the event. He will discuss the Quechua, the native artisans who live in the Peruvian Andes Mountains and South American highlands, who create these fine goods.

Items from The MAYTA Collection will be on display and available for purchase.

Refreshments will be served. There is a suggested donation of $10 for the event. RHS is located at 10621 S. Seeley Ave., in Chicago. Send a message through the RHS Facebook page or to cflynn2013@yahoo.com with any questions.

This will also be an opportunity to view the "Threads of Imagination" exhibit, which closes in two weeks. This exhibit explores the intersection of fashion, art and business through the creative work and careers of five woman artists of the Ridge – the historic Madame Alla Ripley, a famous fashion designer and businesswoman who lived in Beverly in the early 1900s, and four contemporary artists – Maggie O’Reilly, Judie Anderson, Sandra Leonard and Nicole Burns.

Merry Christmas from the Ridge Historical Society!

A nice historic Christmas sentiment was discovered by RHS President Elaine Spencer while she was looking through a house file. It was written in 1929 by Philip Yarrow who was the minister for the Morgan Park Congregational Church, and his wife Georgiana. The Yarrows lived in the big Queen Anne-style house probably recognized by most people familiar with Longwood Drive, just south of 111th Street where Lothair splits off to the southwest. Here is a picture of the letter and the house the Yarrows lived in. Linda Lamberty, RHS Historian transcribed the letter as follows:

“We are sitting around the Christmas Tree again. Children grown and gone. Just living over again tonight the days when Childhood’s Christmas joys brought to our hearts’ delights, immeasurably sweet and deep.

What a possession a child is, humbling, inspiring, strengthening, ennobling. Now we miss the children which this Christmas Tree symbolizes tonight.

They say that it is a waste to cut down this tree. If God took a thousand years to grow our tree, this tree is worth all His labor. Once growing on a hillside, now more alive than ever in our home.

See that old stuffed Santa Claus perched on a top limb? Mother bought that twenty years ago at Field’s. See that little tinsel ship? Mother bought that one Christmas Eve when she rushed out on North Clark Street and spent every cent she had left to make the Children happy. Look at all those balloons and globes, red and yellow and blue and green. Did Titian ever paint a lovelier picture? This tree is alive. The sparkle of the tinselled beauty is telling tonight some marvelous tales of memory when children looked and wondered. Oh, the mystic loveliness of this Christmas Tree!

Getting old and looking backward? Oh, no! Just the musing of a moment. We look forward with our dear friends to a greater tomorrow and would pray that together with you we may enter a New Year with hearts aglow with richer hope. The sands of time sink slowly but life with God under the guiding light of his son, Jesus Christ, becomes year by year higher, fuller, finer and more joyous.

Look, the logs in our hearth are blazing tonight with a strange brilliance! The Tree tells of yesterday. The hearth speaks of the joy we have in the warmth of friendships today and tomorrow. To our friends of all faiths, as we sit in the radiance of the Christmas Tree and the glow of the friendly hearth, a Happy New Year.

Philip Yarrow

Georgiana Yarrow

Christmas Night 1929”

This is one of the most important events of the year – learning about "fair trade" through the efforts of one of our own community members, Maggie O'Reilly and her business The MAYTA Collection. Maggie is a native of the Ridge and is now raising her own family here. She loves travel and other cultures and textiles and color – all of this came together with working with the artisans of Peru and Morocco to produce highest quality personal and home accessories. The goods are truly unbelievable in beauty and quality, and very importantly, are produced with the highest standards of ethical business practices.

Join us at the Ridge Historical Society, 10621 S. Seeley Ave., Chicago, this coming Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. for "Fair Trade Threads." There will be a special guest from Peru. Refreshments will be served. Suggested donation of $10. Message RHS through Facebook with any questions.

PS – That's Maggie herself posing with one of the beautiful bags sold through MAYTA.

The Ridge and the holidays, part I: The historical connection to the Jewish community

Today, December 21, is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Since prehistory, the day has been important in many cultures, observed with festivals and rituals. The day marks the symbolic death and rebirth of the sun.

As we celebrate this holiday season, we recognize that many religious and cultural groups, from Buddhists to pagans, have events between November and January.

Attached is a brief list of some of the observances that go on during these months.

Although since settlement and development started in the 1800s, the Ridge has always been predominantly Christian in population, marked today by many Protestant and Catholic churches, Beverly was also the home of Beth Torah congregation and synagogue.

In 1953, Jews living on the Southwest side of Chicago and suburbs established a Reform congregation they named Beth Torah, or Temple of Instruction. All but one of the officers lived in Beverly/Morgan Park. Although a small group, they were active with classes, a youth group and social events.

In the early years, they held Friday night services in the Beverly Unitarian Church in the Givins Castle, and special events at Trinity United Methodist Church and Bethany Union Church. Beth Torah Sunday School took place at first at 10546 S. Western Ave. (current office of the Beverly Review) and later at Sutherland School. Hebrew classes were held at Bethany Union. In the summers, they held programs in members’ homes

Their goal was to have their own synagogue. Funds were raised, they purchased land at 9200 S. Vanderpoel Ave., and constructed a building. Beth Torah Synagogue opened in October of 1961.

Beth Torah congregation was active in interfaith groups and supported civic organizations like the Beverly Area Planning Association.

By 1974, the congregation was declining and those remaining opted to combine with another group in Olympia Fields. The building at 9200 S. Vanderpoel Ave. was purchased by the Chicago Board of Education and used for classrooms for a few years. Eventually, after years of being vacant, the building was demolished in 1999, but the foundation still remains.

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah begins at sundown on Sunday, December 22, and is observed for eight days and nights. Also known as the Festival of Lights, the event commemorates the Jews reclaiming Jerusalem and rededicating the Temple in 160 B.C. The lighting of the menorah, the lamp stand that has been a symbol of Judaism since ancient times, commemorates the miracle of the oil. Only enough pure oil was found at the Temple to burn for one day, yet the oil burned for eight days until a fresh supply could be prepared.

Happy Hanukkah!

Reference: “Beth Torah: The Congregation That Held Services in a Castle,” by Errol Magidson, published in Chicago Jewish History, Vol. 38, No. 4, Fall 2014, a publication of the Chicago Jewish Historical Society.

We just added four events to the RHS calendar. The exhibit "Threads of Imagination" will run through Friday, January 17. This exhibit explores the intersection of fashion, art and business through the creative work and careers of five woman artists of the Ridge – the historic Madame Alla Ripley, a famous fashion designer and businesswoman who lived in Beverly in the early 1900s, and four contemporary artists – Maggie O’Reilly, Judie Anderson, Sandra Leonard ad Nicole Burns.

Two events have been added for this exhibit – please see the attached flier.

On Sunday, December 29, 2019, at 2 p.m., at RHS, 10621 S. Seeley Ave., will be "Fair Trade Threads." Beverly artist and entrepreneur Maggie O’Reilly will discuss her business The MAYTA Collection which produces fine handcrafted fashion and home decorating accessories through fair trade arrangements with artisans in Peru and Morocco. MAYTA is a member of Chicago Fair Trade, the largest fair trade coalition in the U.S. advocating environmental sustainability, ethical production methods, fair wages and safe working conditions. A special guest from Peru will be visiting Chicago for the holidays and will join the event. Suggested donation of $10, refreshments will be served.

On Friday, January 17, 2020, at 7 p.m. will be "Final Threads with Sandra Leonard." The closing reception for Threads of Imagination will feature the work of artist Sandra Leonard who turns the human form into sculpture through her “sculptural costumes.” Sandra will create a special performance art event just for this reception. Sandra’s work appears internationally in performance art productions, improvised theater, alternative fashion shows and installation projects. Admission is free and refreshments will be served. This will be the final day of the exhibit.

Saturday, January 4, 2020, at 7 p.m. will be the annual RHS holiday party and fundraiser, “Champagne, Sweets and Savories.” Celebrate the New Year with friends, delicious refreshments and good conversation. Cost is $25 per person.

This will also be an opportunity to view the Threads of Imagination exhibit, which closes in mid-January.

Later in January, on Sunday, January 26, at 2 p.m. will be the program “Speaking of Unmentionables: The Rise and Fall of Ladies’ Underwear. ”

Hooray! It looks like Richard Tito is the 1000th follower of the Ridge Historical Society! Thank you so much. I wish I had a prize for you – maybe we can help you research something! Come forward if you want to and introduce yourself.

The RHS Facebook page is up to 998 followers. Two more and we have met our goal for this first year of really focusing on communicating with the public via this site. I hate to beg ….

This picture has been kept on the refrigerator in the kitchen of the Graver-Driscoll House, the headquarters of the Ridge Historical Society, for almost 15 years now. It's the 2005 RHS Board posing for an impromptu picture. It was scanned recently to use for this week's Beverly Review article on the late Bill Sandstrom.

What is most poignant about this photo is the people who were on the Board in 2005 who are no longer with us. Some of the most dedicated public servants in the Beverly/Morgan Park community in contemporary times were on this Board. They were, of course, leaders at various times in other organizations as well, notably the Beverly Area Planning Association, and very importantly, the churches to which they belonged.

These people – Sue Delves, Mary Quinn Olsson, Bill Sandstrom, Joan Wynne Murphy, and Carl Spencer – all shared certain traits. They believed in their community, they believed in service, they believed in trying to make things better for other people.

What a legacy they left for this community! We can never thank them enough. They not only preserved our fine history, they ARE our fine history.

The Ridge’s historical Ukrainian connection ….

The country of Ukraine is getting a lot of media attention right now. This Eastern European country is about the size of France, with a population of around 42 million people. Its neighbors include Russia, Poland, and the Black Sea. The Eastern Orthodox Church (Orthodox Catholic Church) predominates and the country is known for its beautiful Byzantine churches.

In 1991, Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union and is now a constitutional republic. It is one of the world’s largest grain exporters. Ukraine has a rich culture in textile arts, literature and music. The tradition of decorating eggs, now associated with Easter, originated there and the practice goes back thousands of years, predating the arrival of Christianity.

The first Ukrainian immigrant on record came to Jamestown in 1607. Large scale immigration to the U.S. began in the 1880s, and was very heavy in the early 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union. Today there are over 1 million Ukrainian Americans. Some famous ones are/were the Pritzker family, Milton Friedman, Mike Royko, Mike Ditka, Leonard Nimoy, Natalie Wood, and Steven Spielberg.

Dr. Miroslaw and Bonnie Siemens (Sieminowycz, Sieminowich) owned and lived in the Givins Beverly Castle at 103rd St. and Longwood Drive from 1921 until the Beverly Unitarian Church bought the building in 1942. Dr. Siemens was born in 1885 in Ukraine and came to the USA in 1906. He graduated in 1913 from Bennett Medical College, affiliated with Loyola University. He practiced at Roseland Community Hospital and kept an office in the Castle.

Dr. Siemens’ parents, Nicholas and Maria Magdalena Seiminowich, also lived in the Castle. Nicholas was a Ukrainian Catholic priest who rose to monsignor. In this rite, married men can be ordained priests.

Bonnie Siemens was Irish Catholic. They had four children, Miroslaw, Jr., Roman, James and Patricia. Bonnie's mother Margaret Branan also lived with the family. Bonnie had tuberculosis and the grandparents did much of the childcare.

Dr. Siemens was very active and important in the Ukrainian American community. One notable achievement was to serve as the planner, fundraiser and chair of the Ukrainian exhibit at the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933-34.

He also helped to establish St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Ukrainian Village on Chicago’s north side. And in the early 1950s he was instrumental in establishing the Ukrainian National Museum.

Dr. Siemens has been called the “first ambassador for Ukraine in the U.S.” because of his efforts to preserve Ukrainian history and to help refugees from the country. Many dignitaries including the Crown Prince of the Ukraine visited the family in the Castle.

From Chicago’s Only Castle – The History of Givins’ Irish Castle and Its Keepers by Errol Magidson.