February 2011

Announcements

Next Meeting: Parks, Village Beautification, and the Superbowl!?

Letter From The President

Photo by Sarah Zack

From the days when the Village Voice was only two pages of copy paper that was hand delivered to each village home, Amy Lacy has been the Editor of our favorite neighborhood newsletter. With a New Year upon us, Amy has decided that it was time to hand over the reigns. So we thank Amy from the bottom of our hearts for many years of effort and toil to bring our neighborhood some good news and interesting bits about the Village and its people. Her effort and enthusiasm over the years has been unmatched and she will be missed.

Knowing that replacing Amy would be no easy task, we have tasked 2 people to take her place as co-editors of the Village Voice. Beth Bugbee (Chief of Nagging) and Caron Peper (Organizer Extraordinaire) are our new Editors. They both live on Ash St, so if there tends to be a bit too much news from the North side of the Village you’ll know why. Beth is long time resident and has been a frequent contributor to the Village Voice in the past with her great neighborhood profiles. Caron has lived in the Village a little over a year and is excited to bring some new ideas and fresh perspective to the Village Voice.

We have also enlisted a much larger group of contributors with some interesting new column and story ideas on tap for 2011. You will see some new names, and some familiar ones, and hopefully some great content! And although Beth has done a great job of organizing us for a whole year, there is room for more… more people and more ideas! Let us know if you are at all interested in being part of the Village Voice or if you have ideas for columns or stories, we would welcome you with open arms.

No matter what time of year, I am constantly impressed with the amount of pedestrian traffic we have in the village, from the dog walkers to the serious runners to the groups of ladies in the mornings staying fit. As the snow hits the sidewalk this winter, remember to get out there and keep your sidewalks clear. There are many people who will appreciate it, especially our neighborhood postal workers, Deanna, Cory and Brad. Help your neighbor if you can, and ask a neighbor if you need help.

Stay warm, spring is right around the corner.
Chris Bucher
VRA President

 VRA Garden Club News

Pooch Perspective

Gertie Tilford. Photo by: Brad Tilford

Nobody has a better nose for new pooches in the area than yours truly, Penny Rose. The first time I saw our newest resident, Gertie Tilford, was on an early morning walk soon after my second surgery around July of last year. There I was hobbling around in incapacitating agony when brilliant Mary (Rose) spied the new neighbors and decided we all needed to meet. I saw a woman, a baby, and two huge four-leggeds. Both greyhounds, but Gertie seemed about half the size of her adopted brother Charlie. Even though he was the bigger one, it was Charlie who was the shy one. When Gertie leaned down to check me out, it was like being scanned by a giraffe nose, so large was her muzzle.

Gertie started life as AM Eternity with a mom named Flying Kleenex and a dad named Slammer It Is. She has the papers to prove those hideous monikers are real. She ran a total of 145 races at the Ebro Track in Florida, until she was four and moved to Chicago. There, the Tilfords- Andrea and Brad- adopted Gertie in May 2008 at the age of 4 (Charlie was already well ensconced in the Tilford home). Weight: 55 pounds; Height: Well, she’s a lot taller than I am. Like most sheltie mixes, I’m barely over 12 inches. Brad (Tilford) tried to measure her but said she was afraid of the measuring tape. Chicken.

We’ve been learning about greyhounds since Gertie moved into a beautiful home in the Village over on Poplar with Charlie last summer. Charlie died from cancer just about the time I lost my long-time adopted sister, Madison, from the same malady. Although a sheltie mix (kind of) like me and only 30 pounds, Madison had some greyhound characteristics. She was a sight hound, always looking into trees and windows. Like Gertie, she had a very expressive, almost human, countenance.

The next time I visited with Gertie was at a cocktail party hosted at the Rose mansion. (what? you don’t have dogs at your cocktail gatherings?) Gertie and I were introduced out in my backyard when she arrived for the party. I had to start out on a leash of all things. Like I’m going to attack someone twice my size and easily four times as fast. You know how most dogs do the play move, head down, butt in the air, tail wagging and then whoosh, hightail it around the yard romping here and there. Well, Gertie’s romp is more like a flying leap. First, she’s here and a split second later she’s on the other side of the yard. It’s like magic. She even had a coat on… I mean an extra coat. I guess greyhounds require a coat in the winter because their own is so thin. It seems odd to me as mine is with me all the time. So convenient.

Inside, Gertie was not bashful but hardly pushy. She was incredibly polite taking food only when offered. Gee, with her height, I could have cleaned off the bar in one fell swoop. She completely ignored it. She did investigate every room and try each section of the couch in turn as well as every dog bed I own. Even that tiny one that sits in front of the fireplace she squeezed right into, looking very proud of herself. Brad says she’s a dairy dog and she did eat cheese but I hear she didn’t turn anything else down either. I allowed her to enter our kitchen but I refused to let her have as much as one ounce of water from my dish. My generosity only goes so far.

As many people know, greyhounds don’t require a lot of room. They need a few walks every day (and what pooch doesn’t?). They enjoy a comfortable couch during the day and love to curl up on a warm bed at night (and who doesn’t?). They enjoy a good meal filled with their favorite foods. Gertie enjoyed meatballs (no sauce, please) and cheese slices. She also enjoyed a few hors d’oeuvres, so I’m told. I was behind the bar helping Daddy Rose bartend and devouring whatever tiny morsels I was allowed to have so that I didn’t waste away before dinner. I did have the urge to wipe off that look of self-satisfaction on Gertie’s face a couple times but I was too busy snarfing down meatballs.

Gertie is due to come over for a play date soon. I’m thinking of enlisting reinforcements. I hear there is a tiny poodle mix named Rosie owned by a little Zionsviller named Lucy that loves everybody.

Penny Rose is an 11-year village resident pooch who lives with Dan and Mary Rose. Unlike Gertie, she has never had to work for a living and has never seen the inside of a crate except at the vet’s. To find a greyhound to adopt or to help with donations or time, Penny suggests going to the website, http://gpaindy.org or giving its director, Marjorie Dunbar, a call at 354-6858. That same organization holds meets and greets the first Sunday of the month at PetSmart 5750 W. 86th Street. The PetSmart number is 802-9025 as you might want to be sure there will be noses to check out before you go.

Village People – Meet Your Neighbor: Marcia Angstadt

Village Voice Arts

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Cocktail Coaching – A Wooing Potion

by M. Rose

I admit I am not your typical woman. I am not romantic. I am not girly. I hate to dress up and the only place I like to shop is in a bookstore. I would just as soon eat Cheez-Its, drink Grolsch beer, and watch football than do just about anything else. But, I do appreciate elegance. Maybe that’s why I have an affinity for greyhounds and sheltie mixes, which brings me to cocktails. (Oh, I still think like a woman, erratic as the weather.)

Valentine’s Day probably causes more heartaches than any other holiday. Men don’t know what to do and, as often as not, do nothing which, of course, is the worst thing they could do. Women want the day to be “special” but refuse to elaborate in a speech pattern men can comprehend. As my brother-in-law parodies from some popular movie I have never seen, “It’s the holidays, Clark. Everyone’s miserable.” I assume that line is about Christmas, but you get the idea.

Your cocktail coach is to the rescue. Whether you are a beleaguered male who doesn’t know what’s expected of him (take her out to a nice dinner, whatever you can reasonably afford, and get reservations, genius, it’s Valentine’s Day) or a frustrated female (tell him what you want, sister, and quit expecting him to read your mind; he can’t even get the book finished that he started last year), I have a recipe for success.

There are a few cocktail pointers to consider before we begin. Cocktails should be fun, elegant, and delectable. In addition, they are expensive to make and take some time to perfect. Like a good book, they should make you feel satisfied, warm, and dreamy not overwrought, perplexed or maniacal. Your drinking choice should enhance your evening, not define it.

St-Germain Martini*
1 part St-Germain liqueur
2 parts Grey Goose pear vodka (La Poire)
½ part dry vermouth

Shake or stir ingredients until ice cold.
Strain into a stemmed cocktail glass.
Garnish with a slice of pear.

*per The Schnabels

St-Germain is a liqueur made from pressed elderberry flowers, not from fruit. Developed by Robert Cooper (the son of Norton “Sky” Cooper who brought the raspberry liqueur Chambord to the United States), St-Germain has a taste that is difficult to capture. It’s flowery but not overpowering. It has some sweetness but isn’t sugary. It has hints of fresh fruit, but not any particular fruit. On one website, someone described it as tasting like “spring.” It does exude an amazing freshness. Pairing it (forgive the confusion) with Grey Goose pear vodka increases the fruity taste, but the cocktail still has an elusive albeit intriguing flavor.

Interested in the St-Germain but not sure you want to spend $36 on one bottle of a liqueur you haven’t tried? The restaurant, Petite Chou in Broad Ripple, uses it in what they call a French Martini. The Petite Chou at Clay Terrace tells me they plan to stock it as soon as their three-way license comes in.

Cocktails are best made to perfection, that is, the way the person drinking them prefers. At home, you control the ingredients (and the cost). You make sure the drink is ice cold and served in your best martini glass. Plan ahead to be sure you have the ingredients and maybe even do a few test samples a couple days before to get the proportions right. Your neighbors would be anxious to help you with this ordeal.

If you’d prefer not to join every other couple going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day, stay home and enjoy yourselves with cocktail perfection. Your spouse will be thrilled. Make hors d’oeuvres, and your dog will be happy, too. Besides, there’s no football on anyway.

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The Colonial Village – Weathervanes

2nd in a Series

By Warren Elkins, VRA Historian

The purpose of this three-part series is to provide a brief history lesson and highlight some interesting things to look for while walking or driving through the Village. I received a few questions regarding last month’s article, and to my surprise, two of them were about the title of the series; so I will extend the series with a fourth article on the subject of that colonial marketing theme. Meanwhile, here are answers to your questions about Onion Lanterns:

1. Regarding how “squished” a spherical globe must be to have official “onion” status: I called a manufacturer in Yarmouth, Maine, in search of an answer. The gentleman I spoke to didn’t know either, and could only say that they use three molds for spherical globes, and three molds with some “squat” (his word) for onions. To further confuse any but the most discerning eye, some lanterns feature a “round” globe housed in an onion-shaped cage; all these styles, of course, can be quite attractive, and have a similar look and effect in mind.
2. Big box retailers carry some high-end brands, but they don’t stock this unique quality of lighting fixture. These lights are truly handmade, starting with flat sheet metal (brass or copper) which is then rolled, bent, punched, shaped, etc.
3. To the lady who wants to start exploring through the Village but is not sure what to look for: Start right on Main Street! There are two classic onion lanterns flanking the entrance to The Butler’s Pantry, and two others (front and side) at Kogan’s Antiques (which is where I purchased the one by my front door, as shown in the photo last month).

Ready to start looking? For starters, you might 1) drive west on Ash Street and turn south on North Fifth (see at least FOUR before Oak Street). 2) Then, go west on Oak for five blocks and turn south on Ninth Street. Follow it down and wind left onto Sycamore. By the time you reach the Sixth Street stop sign, you should spot NINE more of them.

Photo by Chris Bucher

Moving on to weathervanes: They tend to be associated with the colonial period because they are often featured with colonial style houses – classic colonials, cape cods, saltboxes and such – usually on a cupola sitting over the house, breezeway, garage, or small barn. The fact is, however, that weathervanes did not originate in the colonies, or America at all. The earliest ones in recorded history were found in Greece (48 BC), and we know that Vikings used weathervanes on ships and churches in the 9th Century AD. While these early examples featured various animal/creature/man-fish designs, the first usage of something more common to us – roosters- dates to that period as well, but as a church ornament. During that century, a pope decreed that all churches in Europe had to display a rooster on their dome or steeple (a reference to the famous Peter-denying-Christ story in the book of Luke). Thereafter, roosters adorned church tops for centuries, and were called “weather cocks.”

Have you ever watched a movie showing banners flying from towers in medieval Europe? These banners informed archers of the wind direction, and might be the true precursors of our weathervanes: “vane” derives from the Anglo-Saxon “fane” which means “flag.” These cloth banners evolved into metal flags (which would still turn in the wind) topped with a noble family’s coat of arms.

There is plenty of documentation from colonial America of weathervanes made by named craftsmen: examples are the “grasshopper” weathervane on Boston’s Faneuil Hall (1742); a banner on the famous “Old North Church” (1740); and a rooster weathervane on a church across the river in Cambridge (1721). George Washington commissioned the making of a “dove of peace” weathervane for Mount Vernon in 1787, to celebrate the end of the Revolutionary War. The patriotic-themed eagle became a popular choice in the early 1800s, and race horses shortly thereafter- thanks in part to mid-century Currier and Ives prints.

There are lots of weathervanes to be seen around the Village – I found over twenty on my exploratory mission, and did not cover all the streets. See what you can find – some are not easy to spot! For example, a few are on backyard garages. One, although large, is on a stand on a front porch rather than the roof. There are at least FOUR flying eagles; THREE large roosters; THREE horses; TWO flying herons; and FOUR that are just arrows of various shapes. One features a cow; one features an old streetlight; and a very charming weathervane in the business district features a horse and carriage.

Nearby, on Starkey Road, you might notice another eagle and a small rooster. Start looking, and have fun!