What's Open, Closed on President's Day

Most schools and government offices are closed Monday February 18 for Presidents Day.

Chances are if you're reading this you're off for Presidents Day, or attended the Oak Lawn Raiders' Winter Picnic on Sunday and called in sick. Here's a look at what's open and closed, plus a few suggestions of stuff to keep your children busy while they're off from school, as well as some nearby mattress sales. TAKE THE PATCH PRESIDENTS DAY POLL: Which president would you most like to run into at a Presidents Day mattress sale?

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Lincoln Commemoration Continues at Public Library

"Young Mr. Lincoln" will be shown at 2 p.m. Wednesday as part of the Oak Lawn Public Library's presentation of the exhibit "Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America." The movie, with Henry Fonda, is a fictionalized portrayal of Lincoln as a young attorney.

Lincoln's Springfield Focus of Talk at Oak Lawn Library

Thursday's program part of library's commemoration of the Civil War and the life of the 16th President.

Before he became our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Springfield where he gained a considerable reputation as a courtroom advocate and orator. A virtual tour of the state capitol as Lincoln would have known it will be the focus of a talk at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Oak Lawn Public Library, 9427 Raymond Ave. Nancy McCully will take people on a slide show tour of Lincoln's home, the old state capital, law office and the train depot. McCully also will venture outside of Springfield to New Salem, where he lived as a young man, and Lincoln's tomb, which rests just outside the city. Information on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum also will be part of the program. The talk is free and open to the public. The …

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Business Comings & Goings: Brunswick Zone Closing, Arena Lanes Returning

Little Company of Mary Hospital is scheduling a sneak peek of its new Urgent Care Center under construction in Oak Lawn.

Effective next Tuesday, Arena Lanes will replace the Brunswick Zone Oak Lawn as the name of the bowling center at 4700 W. 103rd St. Longtime proprietor Bill Bard is taking back his family’s bowling center that he leased to Brunswick Corp. in 2001. The Bard family opened the bowling alley with 24 lanes in 1956 and added 16 lanes in 1962 and ran it until they leased it to Brunswick. Bard said he decided to resume running the alley after Brunswick decided to let its lease expire. The closing of Brunswick Zone leaves a Brunswick Zone XL in Homewood as the company’s only location in the south suburbs. The other closest Brunswick locations are in Woodridge and River Grove. Oak Lawn-resident Jim Deiters took over last week as new director of the …

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Oak Lawn Library's Historic Artifacts Tell Chilling Tale of 1967 Tornado

Saturday, April 21, marks the 45th anniversary of the 1967 Oak Lawn Tornado.

Whether the dead of January or near the anniversary, not a day goes by when someone doesn’t stop by the Oak Lawn Public Library’s Local History Room to inquire about the Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967. Like O-L Patch on Facebook. This Saturday, April 21, marks the 45th anniversary of the worst tornado ever to hit the immediate Chicago region in history. “I’ve been here four years and every day someone stops in or calls to ask about the tornado,” local history coordinator Kevin Korst said. “It changed the course of Oak Lawn and its future development.” Watch resident Andy Koszyk's home movie of the day after the tornado struck. At approximately 5:30 p.m. on a humid Friday afternoon, and EF-4 tornado—as wide as a city block with estimated winds of…

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Oak Lawn Library Closes for One Day While Undergoing Atrium Makeover

New open floor plan offers more contemporary space to showcase library's diverse collections. Library will reopen at 9 a.m. Friday.

When patrons visit the Oak Lawn Public Library after Thursday they’ll feel like they are walking into a fine bookstore rather than a stodgy institution. The library is closing its doors all day Thursday (April 19) to transform its crowded lobby area and atrium into an open, spacious floor plan. The makeover is part of a plan to reinforce the library’s brand as “Your Discovery Destination” showcasing the library’s wide-ranging collections of books, media and reference materials. Gone will be the institutional beige and large circulation countertop. Instead, patrons will have plenty of space to move around in as they explore various genres and authors on new face-out shelving, including an expansive new fiction section and centerpiece “…

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LAST CHANCE: SXU Remembers the Titanic, Reliving Chicago's Great Ballrooms

Some great stuff going on and other deadlines that you don't want to miss.

Travel back in time when Chicago’s dance halls were all the rage. One of Patch’s favorite peeps—Larry Bergnach—remembers the Aragon, Trianon and O’Henry ballrooms of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s starting at 2 p.m. Thursday (April 14) at the Oak Lawn Public Library. FREE. “Cry and mourn for those left behind” at Saint Xavier University’s Titanic remembrance event, recalling the 100th anniversary of the disastrous sinking of the infamous ocean liner RMS Titanic starting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (April 12). The evening kicks off with a performance by Denise Vanaria who portrays portrays Helen Andrews, widow of Titanic’s chief designer, Thomas Andrews, who often found himself in disagreement with the ship’s minimal safety standards, including its …

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Photo Exhibit Celebrates Library Anniversary

"75 Years of Progress" on view through end of November.

When the Oak Lawn Public Library was moved from a dusty barn to a 19th century farm house, nobody could have imagined that their community could one day boast of having the largest collection of books in the Southland.  Relocated in the midst of the Great Depression, the first librarian’s salary was paid for through the Works Progress Administration. And although FDR’s New Deal program provided only temporary funding, residents enthusiastically supported the growing library. Highlighting the near-constant expansion of the library facilities, the photo exhibit featured in the second-floor art gallery will be on display until the end of November.  The carefully-selected photographs will help demonstrate to visitors the parallel stories of …

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Oak Lawn Public Library Celebrates Its Patrons

On its 75th anniversary, the Library throws a bash that includes music, food, prizes and the return of Sunday hours.

The Oak Lawn Public Library loves its patrons and is throwing a party for them on Sunday, September 18th.  Patron Appreciation Day begins at 1:00 p.m. Come hungry (and ready to swivel your hips) because there will be refreshments and a mirimba band in the lobby between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.  You can have your photo taken with "Bad Kitty" (from the Nick Bruel book series) there, too. If you're an Oak Lawn resident, be sure to enter the raffle.  Prizes include a $5 gift certificate to the Bookworm Cafe (located in the Library), and Brookfield Zoo passes.  Winning raffle tickets will be drawn every half hour between 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.  Patrons can sign up in advance for raffle tickets at the Library's Help Desk. A drawing for "Like New" …

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Lorraine Swanson

1:33 pm on Sunday, September 18, 2011

We did, CJM, and we apologize for the typo.   more ›

Lost Oak Lawn

Library Celebrates 75 Years of Oak Lawn’s Progress

Patch looks back on the story of the Oak Lawn Public Library.

By the early 1950s, Oak Lawns' village leaders, encouraged by the massive population boom after World War II, realized that a modern library was needed for their ever-growing community.  Originally housed in a one-room barn along 95th Street, the town’s collection of books and magazines soon outgrew the building that came to be known by locals as “The Little Red Library." When it was temporarily relocated to a vacant farmhouse on resident Charles Wertz’s property, village officials decided that a new, permanent library would help bring together neighbors and friends. READ MORE about the Oak Lawn Library. After an extensive search, Chicago architect Ralph Ernst’s sleek and elegant design was selected by the Oak Lawn Board of Trustees. As …

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