One of Beth Hickey’s favorite Village activities is Knitting with Friends–a group that has become a community within the larger Village community. They gather once a week for two hours to knit, help each other and chat, and over the years have gotten to know each other well. Beth says, “We talk about ourselves, about our families, current events, movies, plays, you get the idea.”
One of the group members, Susan, loves to cook and every week brings something homemade as a treat for everyone. Susan also is a docent for the Architecture Foundation of Chicago. She was hoping to become certified for a tour and wanted an audience, so several of the Knitting Group attended the hour and a half tour. Yes, she was certified and they all learned a lot.
Beth relates that, “Even though we have not met the family members we hear about, over time we feel we know them. When a family member becomes ill as was the case with one of our husbands, we wanted to be of help to him and his wife. Susan took food to their home, Laurie, a nurse, gave comfort and knowledgeable help and for several years the rest of us listened and offered encouragement. When he succumbed to his illness, it was only natural that those of us who could, attend his memorial service together.”
One day, one of us said, “I look forward to Wednesdays because I love the knitting group.” Beth says, “Me too, Ada, me too.”
Photo by Diana S. Philips