For the Family Tree

Vol. IX No. 2 - FALL 1998

Welcome to new Board member Michael Roper, who assumed the vacancy left by Judy Rodgers.

Congratulations to Jim Anderson, LeRoy Blommaert, Kathy Gemperle, Martha Kraeger, Betty Mayian and Sandra Remis, who were re-elected to the Board on March 28, 1998, and to the officers for the 1998 year:

  • President: Kathryn Gemperle
  • Vice Presidents: Sandra Remis, G. Mark Harding, Carl Helbig Treasurer, Marie Morrissette
  • Recording Secretary: Elizabeth Mayian
  • Corresponding Secretary: Alyce Marie Hanson

Our 10th Annual Meeting, held on Saturday, March 28, at the Edgewater Branch Library, was a hoot! After a short business meeting that included Board elections, President Kathy Gemperle read a list of our founding board members and reminisced about our very first meeting and its attendees in the very same room of the library a decade ago.

Mary Jo Doyle, a founder of the Rogers Park Historical Society (now RP/WR HS) and our mentor in founding EHS, started her congratulatory address with: “I am here with a lump in my throat and butterflies in my stomach - then and now.” She iterated a long list of things the two societies share in common (including Marty Schmidt) and summarized major milestones of the last ten years.

In between Mary Jo and the serving of birthday cake, Kathy Gemperle treated us to an absolutely wonderful slide presentation - “Selected Memories of Edgewater Through Photos.” She had lovingly assembled almost a hundred slides, the creme de la creme of EHS’s photo collection, each with its own story and significance. “The Edgewater Bear” was a big hit with the audience!

It was more than a sentimental trip down memory lane, especially for the ten-year EHS veterans in attendance. It was a time for remembering why we started this organization and seeing how much we have accomplished in ten short years, despite the disorganization inherent to not having a “home.” Every family needs a home and ours is finally on the horizon. We still have to build the threshold (Stage 3 of our museum plans), but there’s no stopping us now!

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