Category Archives: Elmhurst

Speed bump

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Mrs. Fitz

Lately, my husband’s and my car has been spending more time alone, what with pandemic impact, more work-at-home, high cost of petrol. Lonesome status also was true of our family car in the 1960s, what with Dad’s belief a car … Continue reading →

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Ranch dressing

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Mrs. Fitz

Decades after Mom and Dad first moved our family of four into our Elmhurst ranch house, it occurs to me we didn’t live ON a ranch. We lived IN a ranch on land that might have BEEN a ranch before … Continue reading →

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More is less

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Mrs. Fitz

The basement of our ’50s ranch house in Elmhurst mirrored our upstairs like the Taj Mahal’s reflecting pool mirrors that place. It doubled our living area. This allowed space for a clothesline to use in inclement weather, a workshop Dad … Continue reading →

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Weenie Hallows (archive)

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Mrs. Fitz

In our holiday-happy suburb in the holiday happy 1960s, Mom stitched Trick-or-Treat costumes with the caveat that one outfit did the work for three of us: Eric the Elder, Michele the MustFit, and Mark the Shark. Not all at once, … Continue reading →

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Sodality Strong

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Mrs. Fitz

During the 1960s within Immaculate Conception high school in Elmhurst, the Sodality of Our Blessed Virgin Mary was having an image problem among girl students, which was the only gender allowed to join. Girls didn’t sign up voluntarily. The Sisters … Continue reading →

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Floating

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Mrs. Fitz

A football game and a dance in one day equals high school Homecoming. During the 1960s, each class at Immaculate Conception high school in Elmhurst, Il built a float for the parade to herald the game and the dance. Float-making … Continue reading →

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Well Scripted

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Mrs. Fitz

Practicing penmanship in 5th grade outranked talking to boys as a right of passage at Immaculate Conception grammar school in the 1950s in Elmhurst, IL Our teachers, the Sisters of St. Agnes, didn’t forbid cross-gender conversation so much as they … Continue reading →

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The Lobster

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Mrs. Fitz

Growing up in our Elmhurst ranch house was an example of form following function. Our house had enough bedrooms, enough chairs, enough yard for a family of five, which we were. This meant, among other things, we didn’t have houseguests … Continue reading →

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Wilder and Wilder

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Mrs. Fitz

I don’t know the historical significance of Wilder Park: Who it’s named after, why it occupies acerage in the center of Elmhurst, Illinois; when it morphed from prairieland to park. But it is uncommon, common ground. It isn’t devoted to … Continue reading →

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Little dolls

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Mrs. Fitz

I think Mom’s least favorite household chore was dusting, based on the fact she had me do it. Why baseboards and dresser tops require this attention eludes me but I did the deed every week in our 3-bedroom Elmhurst ’50s … Continue reading →

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