Today in Rogers Park - April 27th, 2013

Today in Rogers Park is a series to inform our community of relevant daily events, including the arts, entertainment, presentations and community meetings. - Bill Morton 


Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society - Clark-Devon Hardware's  Bernie Walchak speaks at "Meet the Experts" event 1447 W. MORSE AVENUE CHICAGO, IL. 60626

Come to the Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society next Saturday, April 27, to meet Bernie Walchak, longtime owner of neighborhood icon Clark-Devon Hardware. Mr. Walchak will be at the RPWRHS office at 1447 W. Morse from noon - 2 p.m. He will be joined by his sister Shirley Walchak Slutzsky and his son Ken Walchak. The Walchaks will reminisce and answer questions about the store, its history, and their experiences in the neighborhood over the years. This will not be a formal presentation but rather an informal conversation. Drop in any time between noon and 2 pm and join the conversation; stay for whatever length of time you wish. The direction of talk will somewhat be determined by the interests of those who drop by. 
Artifacts related to the history of Clark-Devon Hardware and the surrounding area will be on display. Light refreshments will be available. Clark-Devon Hardware was founded in 1924 and has been owned and operated by three successive generations of the Walchak family. The business is a fixture in Rogers Park, with its handsome lighted clock on the corner of the building. Bernie Walchak has lived in the Rogers Park area for all of his 88 years. He has been associated with Clark-Devon Hardware for his whole life and still works there several mornings each week. This get-together with the Walchaks marks the first program in our "Meet the Experts" series. On selected Saturdays, persons knowledgeable about an aspect of neighborhood history will be invited to spend a couple hours at our museum to chat and answer questions about their area of expertise. The series will feature some of the Society's own experts as well as people from the community. 

HEADS UP

Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce Fresh Start Monday at the site of the former Adelphi Theater (7070-78 N. Clark Street).

The Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce was founded in April of 2009 with one goal: to help struggling small businesses, and in fact, all businesses, to become successful. Chamber founder Bill Morton wasn't sure how exactly to do this, but he knew that he would do what it takes to succeed. 
The Chamber struggled it's first two years, but in December of 2011, the Chamber and all of it's members started taking large strides to turn the Chamber into the vision they saw. 
Chamber Founder and President Bill Morton came up with the idea of a neighborhood clean-up in support of the businesses. Eventually, the program that was created was Fresh Start Monday, an event that occurs the first and third Monday of the month from April through to November, weather pending.

The next Fresh Start Monday will be on May 6th, 2013 at the site of the former Adelphi Theater (7070-78 N. Clark Street).  This is a public event from 6 pm - 7 pm. RSVP calls to (773) 850-0049 and walk-ins are OK. This is a free community event.
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