EARC Beginnings

The East Andersonville Residents Council was the second  Edgewater block club/neighborhood association to be formed, LBRC being the first.  It was the result of an initiative of two individuals: Marge Britton of LBRC and LeRoy Blommaert, then an unpaid consultant to LBRC.  Both believed that the success of LBRC should be shared and that the best place to start was the neighborhood immediately to the west of Lakewood Balmoral.  They began their initiative in 1972 or 1973.  One of the first meetings was held at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Richard Gayne on Rascher. Another was in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Arnold Strassburger.  According to the June 1974 ECC newsletter, Richard Gayne became chairman of the steering committee that led to the formal organization of EARC as well as its first president. 

An undated article in the local Lerner newspaper indicated that a meeting was held where Paul Parenteau, Marge Britton, and LeRoy Blommaert made a presentation to 28 residents of the East Andersonvill area, and that after the presentation, Mike Sargis assumed the chairmanship of the meeting and called for nominations to serve on a steering committee.  Elected were Sargis, Jerrilyn Tanaka (secretary), Richard T. Gayne, Maureen Lindsay, Claudette Mostyn, Arnold Strassburger, Gim Mah, Frank Schwerthoffer, Ada Mae Ryan, and Peggy Shirins.

It is not known who first came up with the name "East Andersonville" but it was a logical one, being east of what by then had become known as the Andersonville commecial district.

–prepared by LeRoy Blommaert, February 2014, revised June, 2020 and March 2023