West Cook News

Village of Western Springs Recreation Commission met August 28.

Here is the agenda provided by the Commission:

Call to Order:

-Brian Piper, Chairperson

Approval of Minutes - Additions - Deletions - Changes:

-Minutes of the meeting from May 1 & June 5, 2017 (attached to email packet)

Citizen Comments:

Old Business:

New Business:

Reports:

1) Recreation Director and Staff Reports

A. Current Program Sessions -

B. Lacrosse-New LAX Coordinator

C. Tennis - (report from Dave E)

D. Basketball - Travel Tryouts

E. Seniors Programs -

F. Brochure - Fall Book ; 2018 Theme - Winter book info due Oct 2

G. Tower Trot -final numbers & BN accounting (send separate TT 2017 report), Walk For Ashley (send separate email from Matt 7-6-17 in 2018 trot file)

H. Special Events - Spelling Bee (7-13-17)

I. Summer Program Participant Evaluations - link sent in early August

J. Summer Events Report 217 (attached to email packet)

K. Capital Projects Update - Rec Center, North Berm at RC

L. Complaints/Comments -

2.) Budget

- 2017

3.) Park District Board Meeting

- Park Board Packet in Correspondence File

- Timber Trail Tennis Courts update (memo in Correspondence File)

- Next meeting: Tues, Sept 12, 7:00 pm, Village Hall

4.) S.E.A.S.P.A.R.

- Board Packet in Correspondence File

- Next Meeting: Tues, Sept 19, 3:30 pm, Downers Grove

5.) Chairman and Commissioner's Reports

6) Trustee and Board Report

Correspondence File:

- Village Board Agendas - June 12 & 26, July 10 & 24, and Aug 14

- Park Board Packet from - June 13, July 11 & Aug 8

- SEASPAR Board Packet from - June 28 & July 18. No Augmtg

- IPRA Magazines

Comments:

- Next Meeting: October 2

Adjournment:

This Day In History: August 28

1968 - At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, tens of thousands of protesters against the Vietnam War battle police in the streets while the Democratic Party tears itself to shreds concerning a platform statement on Vietnam. In one day and night, the Cold War consensus that had dominated American thinking since the late 1940s was shattered.

1963 - If the legendary gospel vocalist Mahalia Jackson had been somewhere other than the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on this day in 1963, her place in history would still have been assured purely on the basis of her musical legacy. But it is almost impossible to imagine Mahalia Jackson having been anywhere other than center stage at the historic March on Washington on August 28, 1963, where she not only performed as the lead-in to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his “I Have a Dream” speech, but she also played a direct role in turning that speech into one of the most memorable and meaningful in American history. By 1956, Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) was already internationally famous as the Queen of Gospel when she was invited by the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), to appear in Montgomery, Alabama, in support of the now-famous bus boycott that launched the modern Civil Rights Movement and made Rosa Parks a household name. It was in Alabama that Jackson first met and befriended the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whom she would support throughout his career.

Indeed, if Martin Luther King, Jr., had a favorite opening act, it was Mahalia Jackson, who performed by his side many times. On August 28, 1963, as she took to the podium before an audience of 250,000 to give the last musical performance before Dr. King's speech, Dr. King himself requested that she sing the gospel classic "I've Been Buked, and I've Been Scorned.” Jackson was just as familiar with Dr. King's repertoire as he was with hers, and just as King felt comfortable telling her what to sing as the lead-in to what would prove to be the most famous speech of his life, Jackson felt comfortable telling him in what direction to take that speech. The story that has been told since that day has Mahalia Jackson intervening at a critical junction when she decided King's speech needed a course-correction. Recalling a theme she had heard him use in earlier speeches, Jackson said out loud to Martin Luther King, Jr., from behind the podium on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” And at that moment, as can be seen in films of the speech, Dr. King leaves his prepared notes behind to improvise the entire next section of his speech-the historic section that famously begins “And so even though We face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream....'

Benefits of Parks & Recreation

The really happy man is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

--Unknown

Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.

--Soren Kierkegaard

http://www.wsprings.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08282017-614