Sandra Pakin - Transcript

Interviewee: Sandy Pakin
Interviewer: Dorothy Nygren
Location: Edgewater Library, 6000 N. Broadway Chicago IL 60660
Date: August 29, 2023
Transcriber: Dorothy Nygren
Time: 09:07

Copyright © 2023 Edgewater Historical Society

DN: This is Dorothy Nygren of the Edgewater Historical Society. I’m at the Edgewater Library which is located at 6000 N. Broadway, Chicago IL 60660. The date is August 29, 2023. I’m here to interview Sandy Pakin, one of our Living Treasures. First I’d like to start by congratulating you Sandy on being chosen as a Living Treasure and to thank you for all the work that you’ve done for Edgewater.

SP: Thank you.

DN: Can you tell us a little bit about when you came to the Edgewater area?

SP: I’ve lived in the area for 55 years. We moved to Edgewater in 1969.

00:54

DN: What attracted you to the area?

SP: Well, the lake front, of course, and public transportation.

DN: What do you find interesting or different about Edgewater than other communities.

SP: I’ve only lived in two other communities. I think that Edgewater, in a way, is more urban and more diverse: the kind of people that it has and just the general amenities of the area.

02:05

DN: Wonderful. What prompted you to volunteer? Can you share some of your volunteer accomplishments in Edgewater starting from the beginning?

SP: Well two volunteer opportunities. In 2004 when I retired, I was going to drop off some yarn at the Emanuel [Congregation] Stitching Ladies. At that time they called it the Emanuel Sewing Ladies, even though most of them knitted or crocheted. I happened to do that on a day they were meeting. The woman in the office said, “Why don’t you go and do it in person?” So I went in and they stuck me in. They we very nice ladies. They were all busy working crocheting or knitting. So since I had time on Tuesday, I didn’t drop off the yarn. I kept the yarn and every Tuesday I started working with them.

Then the person who was the coordinator, Renate Spiegel, moved to Assisted Living. She passed the baton on to me. And so I started coordinating. I don’t like to call myself a leader. I’m really a coordinator. All the women who are there are retired professional women for the most part. Everybody knows what they are doing. Everyone is willing to share. And so I do think of myself as one who coordinates activities rather than leads them.

03:38

DN: Can you share that story about your husband Sherwin was going to the library to pick up a knitting book. I thought that was charming.

SP: Okay sure. I ordered a knitting book and put it on hold. Sherwin walked over to pick up the book for me. He was chatting with whoever was there, Lisa, I think, who was at the desk but she’s not with the library anymore. She said, “Has your wife ever tried knitting? Is she a beginner or whatever?” My husband said, “Oh no, no. She’s much too advanced for a beginning knitting book.” She said “Would she like to teach a knitting class here” I went in and talked to them. It seemed a nice thing to do. That was probably in 2004 also.

04:32

DN: Where did you have the knitting class while the new library was being built?

SP: While the library was being built, we originally tried to do it at Dominick’s, across the street where Whole Foods is now. But that didn’t work out. The tables were not particularly clean after people ate there. So I walked over to the Armory and talked to Nick Boyko, who is now retired, and told him that we needed a place to meet. He found a place for us, thankfully, where we could continue all the time the library was being built. But we were very happy to move back here.

05:10

DN: How did you learn how to knit?

SP: My mother taught me how to knit when I was about 10 years old. Here’s another story. My first sweater – my mother was a perfectionist. When I learned, you knitted a row. Then you ripped out two rows. Eventually by the time I finished….I started when I was 10 or 11 years old. By the time I finished the sweater I had outgrown it. I never actually wore it.

DN: That’s a really good story. So currently, where are knitting classes happening?

SP: Knitting classes are happening at Edgewater Library on Thursday nights from 6:30 to 7:45 pm up on the second floor.. We get a variety of people up there. Young people, older people. Some people come every week. Some people come every other week. Some come once in a while. Some drift in and drift out. A couple of people came in because they were in the neighborhood. But they really wanted a sewing class. Knitting is not sewing. It is very different.

DN: What did you do during COVID to continue classes?

SP: During COVID we did not have classes. But the Stitching Ladies did meet via ZOOM every Tuesday.

DN: What would you say, on a yearly basis, the Ladies produce for donation?

SP: Good thing you asked. I actually brought something in. Last year we donated over 1000 pieces. Over the past 10 years, we’ve donated over 10,000 pieces. Last year was a little bit less than previously. Previous years it’s been more like 1200.But after we donated all the winter things, I discovered two boxes I missed. So this year is going to be much higher.

DN: Why do you think it’s important to volunteer?

SP: I think it’s important to volunteer to give back. Everybody has something they can contribute in some way. Whether you used the library as a kid, or went to Chicago Public Schools, people giving you things…. It’s important when you are able to give back.

DN: What about the people that you have met volunteering?

SP: Very diverse – people who I would never would have met otherwise – different cultures, different colors, different ages, and different life styles. It’s just been wonderful.

DN: What advice would you give young people about volunteering?

SP: Find something that works for you. Some people are very outgoing. They work really well on a one-to-one basis with people or groups. Other people like to be in the background and doing everything by themselves. But they can all contribute.

DN: So this is the end of my questions, but this is your interview Sandy. Is there anything else you would lie to share with us – any stories or any advice, or anything memorable that you would like to pass on? Would you like to share what you told me before?

SP: I was talking about my late husband. One of his favorite expressions was “The more, the more.” The more you do, the more you get. The more you’re involved, the more that people are involved with you. It’s just, “the more, the more.”

SP: I guess what I would like to say is that everyone who can contribute in some way should be sitting here with me doing this.

DN: Well at this point I’m going to end this interview. It’s been delightful sharing a little bit of your life with us. Thank you so much.

SP: Well thank you for the interview.

End of interview

09:07