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Parade Princess Summer Cahill Newman performed an Irish dance. (Photo by Steve Metsch)\u00a0<\/p>\nEach of the girls named to the queen\u2019s court for Countryside\u2019s St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade is proud of her Irish heritage.<\/p>\n
Court members Nora Grill, of La Grange, and Ashley Karkoska, of Countryside, were announced at the city council meeting Feb. 25.<\/p>\n
So was Irish dancer Summer Cahill Newman, 8, of Lyons, who is the parade princess.<\/p>\n
Isabella Velez, of Countryside, a Lyons Township High School student, is queen.<\/p>\n
Parade Princess Summer Cahill Newman performed an Irish dance. (Photo by Steve Metsch)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Velez was out of town on vacation and missed the council meeting, but will preside as queen of the parade that kicks off at 1 p.m. March 7.<\/p>\n
Countryside\u2019s parade is traditionally one of the first St. Patrick\u2019s Day parades in the Chicago area.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because having the parade early makes it easier to get pipe bands and Irish dancers when not competing with other parades closer to St. Patrick\u2019s Day on March 17.<\/p>\n
This year marks the 10th parade in Countryside.<\/p>\n
Mayor Sean McDermott \u2013 you can\u2019t tell he\u2019s Irish with that last name \u2013 said the council meeting is his favorite of the year.<\/p>\n
And he was beaming with pride when presenting each girl with her sash, an Andy\u2019s gift card and a potted shamrock plant.<\/p>\n
Grill, a junior at Lyons Township High School, works at Elevate Salon, plays travel softball, is part of the Best Buddies program and \u201cvolunteers as much as possible,\u201d said Ald. John Finn (1st), the parade chairman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud to show my Irish heritage and show how hard my great-grandparents worked to come (to America),\u201d Grill said<\/p>\n
\u201cThey came from Ireland, started a family and now I\u2019m here. Without them, I wouldn\u2019t be.They came on a boat. They drank wine so they wouldn\u2019t get seasick,\u201d Grill added.<\/p>\n
Karkoska, 15, loves to paint and is involved in school musicals, Finn said.<\/p>\n
She is a freshman at Acellus On-LIne Academy. Her hair, dyed a distinctive shade of purple, \u201cis natural, totally,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud to be who I am. I\u2019m proud to represent my great-great-grandparents who came here basically with nothing and built from the ground up,\u201d Karkoska said.<\/p>\n
Newman, who danced in the council chamber, began dancing two years ago with the Harling School of Irish Dance, 919 W.55th St., Countryside.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m excited and happy to share my heritage,\u201d said Newman, a third-grader at St. Mary\u2019s in Riverside.<\/p>\n
Finn was impressed by her application: \u201cIt was beautifully designed with shamrocks all over it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newman is a Girl Scout and altar server, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSummer\u2019s Irish roots come from her mother\u2019s side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Finn said Velez \u201cis very excited\u201d to be the queen.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe plays lacrosse, is part of the journalism club and does modeling on the side,\u201d Finn said. \u201cShe\u2019s proud of her Irish heritage which comes from her mother\u2019s side.\u201d<\/p>\n
The parade\u2019s grand marshal is retired Cook County Circuit Court Judge Pat Rogers.<\/p>\n
Rogers was on the bench at the Daley Center and the Bridgeview Court House from 2008 to 2020. Before he became a judge, he was the Township of Lyons supervisor from 1992 to 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has done many things. I know his greatest accomplishment is his family,\u201d McDermott said.<\/p>\n
Rogers has three children and eight grandchildren. His wife, Patricia, has passed away. He turns 72 years old on March 15. He lives in La Grange.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous honor because this is one of the bigger St. Patrick\u2019s Day parades,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful the committee nominated me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although he is retired, he still dons judicial robes to swear in elected officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do it all over. I just swore in somebody last week. It\u2019s fun. It\u2019s always a positive thing,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n
Rogers and the girls were led out of the city council chamber by bagpiper Kevin Connelly, of La Grange Highlands.<\/p>\n
Connelly, 55, is a piper with the Chicago Garda Pipes & Drums, which will be leading the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade this year in Gallway, Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of our guys has connections,\u201d Connelly said with a smile.<\/p>\n
Connelly has been playing the pipes for 27 years.<\/p>\n
He laughed when reminded that some people think they can master the instrument in a few months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt usually takes two years. It took me about 14 months,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When Connelly is not playing the pipes he is the senior advisor to the deputy chief of staff at the Cook County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Wanting to learn the pipes sort of came with his roots.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing of Irish descent, you see how much fun these guys have and you see what they do. \u2026 And you get a chance to honor fallen officers and play for people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said \u201cthere\u2019s something wrong with you\u201d if you don\u2019t get teary eyed hearing \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d played on the pipes.<\/p>\n
Money raised by the parade will be split by Scout Troop 19 and the St. Cletus Food Pantry, Finn said.<\/p>\n
The parade starts on 55th Place near Blackstone. It then heads south to Plainfield Road, and east to Brainard Avenue where it turns south.<\/p>\n
The route then heads east and south on Longview Drive before rejoining Brainard and finishing just south of 62nd Street near the city hall.<\/p>\n
Once again, free trolleys will run from 2 to 7 p.m. taking revelers to and from Local 150, the Flagg Creek Golf Course clubhouse, Rafferty\u2019s, Uncle John\u2019s, The Mood, Wolf\u2019s Head and Caraway\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Food and drink specials will be offered at most. Some will have live music and Irish dancers. Visitors to Flagg Creek will see the newly renovated clubhouse.<\/p>\n
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Kevin Connelly leads the way for grand marshal Pat Rogers and queen\u2019s court member Ashley Karkoska. (Photo by Steve Metsch)<\/p>\n
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