March is the first of five months that I treasure for family and friend memories (June, July, August and October are the others). This year is especially significant because Doris Looney’s birthdate was March 5, 1922. For over 30 years until Doris died, on Thanksgiving Day in 2007, my family and the Connelly family celebrated Doris’ birthday on March 5, my birthday on March 6 and John Connelly’s birthday on March 24.
I first met Doris in 1968 when I started teaching third grade in the Solon Community Schools second semester. Doris worked on the cafeteria lunch line. In the summer of 1968 my husband, Ron, and I moved into the log cabin on the Richard Adams farm on Highway One south of Solon. Doris’ twin brother, Donald, and his family farmed the property for Mr. Adams and lived there, too. Donald’s wife, Maxine, was the elementary school secretary and we sometimes carpooled to school.
In 1971 our son, John, was born. In 1972 we needed more space and moved to 233 S. Dubuque Street in Solon. John and Phyllis Connelly became our north neighbors on S. Dubuque Street in 1973 and their first daughter, Becky was born.
When we lived on S. Dubuque St., Doris, John C. and I began celebrating the “March Birthdays.” Sometimes, John Connelly’s parents joined us, too. The places we celebrated changed over the years, but usually we had pizza. I always remember John I. and Becky at Happy Joe’s peeking up over the window to see the pizza makers and loving the ice cream, plus the “Happy Birthday” serenade. In later years, we usually went to Mount Vernon to the Alger’s Pizza Palace.
After we moved to 601 Green Acres Drive and the Connelly’s moved to Windsor Drive, Doris would babysit with John I. and Becky before and after school. When Megan Connelly was born, John and Becky were old enough to not need Doris’ daycare. Doris also would sometimes babysit John and Steve Stange (Solon’s current mayor) together, if both sets of parents needed her help for the same night.
Doris always had part-time jobs in Solon. I mainly remember her working at the Solon Hardware Store over the years. John Ikan really loved it when he could see Doris at the Little Red Barn bait and fishing supplies shop during the summer months.
If you didn’t know Doris personally, you probably knew her because she rode her bicycle with the red flag on the back all over Solon. Doris never drove, and over the years I was happy to take her places when the Seats van wasn’t available. She was always at the Solon Methodist Church for services, football dinners and when Senior Dining meals began being served there. Doris attended services at Our Lord’s Church, too.
Doris was so pleased to be the first person to move into independent living unit #24 at Terrace Lane when it was built. She’d spent a lot of time at the Solon Nursing Care Center attending daily to her mother, Dorothea, and visiting others. Now that she lived at Terrace Lane, she had a lot of neighbors and friends nearby. After Doris’s childhood friend, Vic Vislisel, moved to Terrace Lane, we included Vic in the March birthday celebrations.
Doris’s legacy to Solon lives on via the gifts she made to various Solon organizations after her death — especially her scholarship fund. Celebrating Doris’ 100 years only had John Ikan, Becky Connelly and me alive this year of 2022, but we cherish those memories of the “March Birthdays” family.