Peace Walk & Dedication on Wed., Sept. 21st at 6:00

Join your friends and neighbors for the Rogers Park Community Peace Walk & Dedication on the UN International Day of Peace!

At 6 pm, Wednesday, Sept. 21, we will meet at the United Church of Rogers Park Peace Pole, 1545 W. Morse Ave., walk north on Ashland Avenue to the Willye B. White Community Center at 1610 W. Howard St., walk one more block north on Marshfield Avenue and then west on Jonquil Terrace to Hermitage Avenue. We will end the walk at the newly installed peace pole in Triangle Park, where a brief dedication ceremony and calls for peace will be delivered.


Everyone is welcome. Here's the program:
• Re-dedicate United Church of Rogers Park Peace Pole, led by Rev. Catiana McKay.
• Walk for Peace (see map for route info.), which will include a brief stop at the Willye B. White Community Center.
• Brief dedication ceremony for new Triangle Park Peace Pole, led by Triangle Park Advisory Council President Stephanie Gillespie Schrock.
• Call for peace in the community, led by special guest Tio Hardiman, CeaseFire Illinois director featured in the award-winning documentary film "The Interrupters."

Candles and refreshments will be provided at the end of the walk.

Volunteers are needed to help organize this event, which is being hosted by the Triangle Park Advisory Council and United Church of Rogers Park. Contact Stephanie at skgschrock@gmail.com to learn about ways you can get involved.

We look forward to walking with our neighbors on International Peace Day as we renew our commitment to peace in our community--and in the world.



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Maintenance of the Triangle Park Native Plants & Grasses Community Garden

Natural plants and grasses garden – Joanna Erenberg, has kindly volunteered her time to be our ongoing point person for the care of the Native Plants & Flowers Garden.  Joanna also helps coordinate and run the oldest community gardens in Chicago, the Howard Aread Community Gardens, which are kitty-corner from Triangle Park.  Also worth checking out when you are in the vicinity.


Recently, she had a work crew digging out the striped grass which is too invasive.  When that is finished, other native plants will be planted that are not as invasive. She will also see that a splash of color is planted in the triangle point. 


If you would like to volunteer your time to help us maintain this beautiful garden, please contact her by email at joannalake@yahoo.com.

TPAC Meeting Agenda & Minutes

See our most recent meeting minutes and agenda from our July meeting, where we talked about everything from the newly installed peace pole, our upcoming peace walk and dedication on Sept. 21st, the UN International Day of Peace, our efforts to get the Park District to update our signage, and our finances.

Visit our newly created Yahoo Group where you can see all the details behind our work.

You can also always check back on this page of our blog for updates on when we have posted new notes.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, August 9th at 7:00 pm at 7716 N. Paulina #1N, for anyone interested in joining the Triangle Park Advisory Council and making a difference in our little slice of Rogers Park heaven. 

Please join us, we'd love to meet you and have your help!

What Happened to Renaming Triangle Park?

Back in 2009, TPAC helped facilitate an informal community poll at the Willye B. White Community Center to rename Triangle Park after a female community leader.  This request to rename the park was made by the Chicago Park District.  On January 5, 2010 a special meeting of TPAC was held to discuss the results of the poll and propose the winning name to the Park District and Alderman Joe Moore.

These were the results of the poll:

                                                electronic                     paper

Carmen Dyse Ellis                  365                              98

Mary Jo Doyle                                    27                                0

Tobey Prinz                             99                                0

The council taking into account the results of the community poll, drafted a majority and minority report depicting Carmen Dyse Ellis as the former and Tobey Prinz as the latter. In April 2010, Triangle Park Advisory Council submitted all the proper forms for a name change to Carmen Dyse-Ellis Nature Park and submitted it to both the Chicago Park District and Alderman Joe Moore for consideration.

Carmen was an outstanding and well-liked teacher at Gale Academy who died in 2008.  You may remember that she was also recommended as the community’s choice when the new park building was being named.  Even though Willye B. White was chosen by the Park District for that building the community members and students were promised that Carmen Dyse-Ellis would be kept in mind for future use. 

To our disappointment we learned last tim that the Board of Commissioners does not always follow the recommendation of the community.  We asked them to honor and accept the work the community has done in this regard, and affirm its choice of Carmen Dyse-Ellis Nature Park .

As of July 31st, 2011 we do not know whether or not they will choose to rename the park. 

Please help us to let them know that the community has spoken, and we would like to see the name changed.  You can do so by contacting our Park District liason, Sandra Olson sandra.olson@chicagoparkdistrict.com, and Alderman Joe Moore ward49@cityofchicago.org.

Open Letter of Thanks To Sr. Cecilia Fandel

Sr. Cecilia,

Thank you so much for your friendship, kindness, and unrelinquishing care for our community.

In the short time we have known eachother your love for the neighborhood and tireless work has made an unmeasurable inpact.  The work will always continue on, but the strides and paths you paved are a monumental foundation; we could never find the deserving equivalent accolade with which to repay you.

My family thanks you for making our lives here better.

The Schrocks

Goodbye Sr. Cecilia Fandel

In the fall of 1987,  Sister Cecilia Fandel of the Servants of Mary Order (founded in 1233 in Florence, Italy), arrived at the Howard Area Community Center to begin her service to the residents of the North of Howard community.  It would be the beginning of a 24 year commitment that officially ended with her retirement at the end of June 2011.  Over the years, Sister Cecilia has been a dedicated 'community activist' providing leadership, direction and spiritual guidance to thousands of residents.  Our neighborhood would be a far different place were it not for her work and commitment over the years. 

It's impossible to list all the specific contributions she has made in this limited space but some of the highlights are: she was instrumental in  creating, supervising and managing the Community Garden at Juneway and Hermitage; she played a key role in initiating and organizing the community in establishing and overseeing Triangle Park and is responsible for the amenities now in Triangle Park, i.e., benches, water fountain, the recently built Fitness Course and the Peace Pole; she was instrumental in the planning and building of the Harold Washington Memorial Playlot on Paulina, as well as the Willye White Recreation Center and Park at Marshfield and Howard; she established, organized and lead the HACC Seniors Club; she taught at the Howard Area Alternative High School; she spent countless hours in organizing and leading community meetings dealing with untold issues of concern and importance to the neighborhood and it's residents.

In recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions to the City of Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley and the Chicago Department of Aging  presented Sister Cecilia with the 2009 Luminary Senior Citizens Award, which is the highest award of the Chicago Senior Citizens Hall of Fame into which she was also inducted. 

In nominating Sr. Cecilia for the award, Pamela Barnet, executive director of Howard Area Community Center, wrote:



Sr. Cecilia Fandel



"Sr. Cecilia's dedication to the Rogers Park community is truly inspiring. Her actions and words are a guiding light to neighborhood residents. Above all, she leads community members to take action together and realize their own strength. I cannot think of any single individual who has had a greater impact on our community, and I truly believe there is no one more deserving of induction into the Chicago Senior Citizens Hall of Fame."

This was not the first time Sr. Cecilia was recognized for her service. She received the Spirit of Rogers Park Award from the Rogers Park Community Council (1999), the Friends of the Parks Individual Award, "For organizing and mobilizing community groups for park protection and improvement in North Rogers Park" (2003), and the Unsung Hero Award from Howard Area Alternative High School, "In honor of your spirit, your dedication, and your devotion to the students here over the past five years" (2005).


Her years of community commitment, dedication and service are unparalleled. She has made our North of Howard (Germania) neighborhood a better place for all and made those of us whose lives she touched, better human beings. Words alone can not do justice in expressing our gratitude. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Sister Cecilia! We wish you God speed in your retirement and future endeavors.


(On Friday Sister Cecilia moved to Ladysmith, Wisconsin.)


Special thanks to Mike L. for letting us post his beautifully written dedication.

Jamaica Fest 2009 Photos

Jamaica Fest 2009 photos

This community sponsored event was a true success.  The Triangle Park Advisory Council is proud to help sponsor local events such as this one.  Though it took us a while to find the right place to post these photos, now that we have a blog, we hope to continue to post more. 

If you held a community event in the past in our park that you'd like us to post here on the blog, send us the link to your Picassa album and we will try our best to oblige.