Related by Marriage: A Sunday Ritual

Mr. Irene spent nearly every Sunday afternoon of his grade school years at the Marquette Park home of his Grandparents, Anna and Stanley. Anna and Stanley hosted him and his Parents for dinners of hearty Lithuanian fare: homemade sausages and sauerkraut, potato kugel ("Kugelis"), roasts, and dumplings (" Koldūnai " or "Pelmeni"). Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt Martha, her husband Wally, and Anna's spinster sister, Petra, all shared the small Marquette Park bungalow with Anna and Stanley. They, too, joined in the weekly ritual.

Everyone stayed together through the end of the meal. Afterward, the family divided itself into different quarters. Stanley and Anna retired to the living room (the "front room" in Chicago parlance), usually with Mr. Irene's Mother. Martha and Petra stayed in the kitchen to wash dishes. Mr. Irene's Dad went upstairs to join Wally for Winston cigarettes and political talk. Mr. Irene migrated across the different areas, ending up with his Mom, Anna and Stanley, and Martha.

In good weather, Mr. Irene's Dad and Wally might invite Mr. Irene to join them for a walk to Marquette Park. The Sunday soccer league usually was in play near the main intersection of 69th Street and California Avenue. Young and old men strolled up 69th Street towards the Park, and Mr. Irene's Dad and Wally frequently stopped on the sidewalk to greet friends and co-workers.

During one Sunday walk, Mr. Irene, his Dad, and Wally even saw President Reagan campaigning in Marquette Park.

Although Mr. Irene now craves the Lithuanian Sunday menu of his youth, as a child, he picked his way gingerly through most of those dinners. Occasionally (ha ha), he convinced his Parents to stop for decent Sunday fare—namely, a hamburger and fries—on the way home. White Castle was one good alternative. A special treat was stopping at an A&W Root Beer restaurant in McCook, an industrial area between Marquette Park and Mr. Irene's suburban home.

McCook was home to some huge factories, which were silent and empty on Sundays. An A&W graced the edge of some undeveloped prairie at the edge of the town. There was absolutely nothing around it, except a swing set on a patch of grass. Best of all, A&W had car-hop service.

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, Spring 1960. There's a plate of Kugelis at the front of the table. From left to right are Anna (with Mr. Irene in front of her), Stanley, Mr. Irene's Dad, Mr. Irene's Mom, and Wally (in profile).

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Marquette Park, Chicago, Spring 1961. From left to right stand "Uncle D" (the brother of Mr. Irene's paternal Grandmother Veronica), Stanley, Anna (holding Mr. Irene), Mr. Irene's Mom, and Mr. Irene's Dad.

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Marquette Park, Chicago, Spring 1961. "White Castle, here I come."