Vol. VI No. 28 Westchester celebrates Fourth of July, PAGE 7
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New senior apartments among Maywood projects wrapping up
Historic Baptist Retirement Home now Maywood Supportive Living, old Supreme Catering now Kroger warehouse By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
A year after renovation work started on the former Baptist Retirement Home at 316 Randolph St. in Maywood, the facility is poised to open as Maywood Supportive Living and is currently hiring and taking inquiries from prospective tenants. The development is among a slew of development projects in the village that are close to completion. Maywood Supportive Living will offer 83 studio units and 17 one-bedroom apartments for senior citizens who earn no more than 60% of the area median income, or roughly $39,180 for individuals and $44,760 for couples, state officials said last year. During a State of Maywood presentation deSee PROJECTS on page 3
JULY 13, 2022 Meet Cody Cotton, PAGE 2
Pirate Pride built on history, struggle and fun, alums say Prov ovvis isoo E Eaast st Higgh School alum embr bracce du duri riingg the h sch cho hoo ool’ss Al Alll Class ass Al A um u nnii Piccni nicc held held Jully 9 in Milille lerr Me Mead a ow in Fo Forest s Park st arrk. Shannel Ro Sha Romainn
Proviso East High School All Class Alumni Picnic held July 9 in Miller Meadow reunites thousands who ‘bleed blue’ By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
The 1918 Proviso Township High School yearbook notes that Quinella Bernice Watson is “quiet and unassuming, but still water runs deep.” On another page, Arwilder Marie Lyles is “ready to help at any time.” Watson and Lyles were among the first Blacks to graduate from Proviso, which
was founded in 1910. The school would eventually become Proviso East in 1958, when Proviso West High School in Hillside was established. On Saturday, during the high school’s All Class Alumni Picnic, held in Miller Meadow forest preserve in Forest Park, the grandchildren of Watson and Lyles beamed with pride. Watson’s grandson, Grady Rivers, Class of 1977, said his grandmother was also among the first Black graduates of Washington Elementary School. She would eventually marry Walter Hathaway, the first trustee in Maywood. “The athletic program we had at East was second to none,” said Rivers. “You had state champions in wrestling, track, basketball and baseball. There were four future NFL players on the football team I
played on at East.” Pirate Pride runs so deep that Rivers’ younger brother, former NBA player and Philadelphia 76ers Coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers, Class of 1980, sang the high school’s fight song at their mother Bettye’s funeral in 2015. Robert Fowlkes Jr., Class of 1969, won the state championship in wrestling the year he graduated from East — the same year that the high school won its first state championship in basketball. Fowlkes, Arwilder Lyles’ grandson, recalled hanging out in Argo, Ill., about 8 miles from Maywood, the day before the massive championship parade that feted the basketball team. “I led that parade off,” Fowlkes said. “Back then, the buses didn’t run on SunSee PIRATE PRIDE on page 8