Bald Eagle Over Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Euclid. Wildwood Park on Lake Erie

Today we went to mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, a holy place off Chardon Road, right above Euclid Avenue in Euclid, Ohio. This is part of our beloved summer ritual. A couple hundred people came to the mass, which was presided over by a priest-professor from Borromeo/St. Mary's Seminary. Besides the normal crowd, there was a tourist bus from Toronto, Ontario there--this shrine is well-known in Ontario and Quebec.

The Grotto, where mass is celebrated

The grotto is modeled after the original grotto in Lourdes, France. It is built of Euclid Bluestone, from the nearby quarry along Euclid Creek (where my great grandfather, Fenton Fitzpatrick worked).

Marian statue at Lourdes Shrine in Euclid.

The weather was perfect this morning--sunny skies, about 70 degrees. During the mass, a bald eagle circled overhead--then took off to the north, toward Lake Erie two or three miles away. I took this as a sign--a rather muscular symbol of the Holy Spirit, blessing this place.

I have long thought that this shrine is a holy place. Holy places can be such because of unusual beauty. Or because they are sanctified by human beings in some way--places where people have shown great courage, sacrifice, or achievement. This place indeed has natural beauty, on a hill overlooking Euclid (where you can get a glimpse of the Lake). The Shrine has also been sanctified by people, bringing their prayers, sorrows, and joys for the past century.

After the mass, we went into the Grotto and lit three candles. This might seem to be a kind of Catholic superstition. But no matter. I do it anyway, lighting a candle for my three daughters and praying for my family and friends.

When we left the grounds of the shrine, we drove up  Nottingham Road to E. 185th Street, and stopped at Buettner's Bakery. We have done this for many many years. We picked up a loaf of bread, a couple of sweet rolls, and a cup of coffee, then headed to Wildwood Park, off Neff Road. Before we got there, we drove up Tarrymore Road, where my Mom grew up. We tried to find her old house, and I think this is it (17301 Tarrymore Rd.).

Zillow.com says this was was built in 1928. Still looks nice!

From Tarrymore, we went a quarter mile north and west to Wildwood Park. I have gone to this park for more than 50 years, fishing there as a teenager. I love the place.

Wildwood's Marina

You can see Downtown Cleveland, about 8 miles to the west.

Sunday fishing cruise.

What a wonderful Sunday morning. We love our summer Sunday ritual!

What Happened to Euclid's "Mt. Baldy"?

When I was a kid, Euclid had one mountain--"Mt. Baldy." This mountain was somewhere between Highland Road and Chardon Road (US Route 6), about a quarter mile south of Euclid Avenue, US Route 20. I'm guessing Harms Road dead ended near the peak of this landmark.

Last Sunday I attended 9:30 mass at Lourdes Shrine, the beautiful and historic grotto off Chardon Road hill (just south of Euclid Avenue). After mass I drove up Highland Road to the Euclid Creek Park road that winds through a narrow valley, ending up at Green Road in South Euclid (by the way, it ends where the village of Bluestone once stood; here the beautiful slabs of Euclid Bluestone were quarried by some of my Irish ancestors).

Anyway, on my drive I couldn't see Mt. Baldy. Where had it gone? A mountain can't just disappear, can it? I used to be able to see Mt. Baldy from St. Joe's High School on Lake Erie. Something that prominent can't just disappear.

My best guess is that Mt. Baldy got some Rogaine treatments or transplants--in other words, vegetation has regrown on that once-barren hilltop and cliff. And now Mt. Baldy has transformed into Mt. Hairy. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Euclid, Ohio

On Chardon Road (US Route 6) hill, just south of Euclid Avenue (US Route 20), in the City of Euclid, Ohio, there is a most holy place--the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. I attend mass there in the summer, and today was the opening mass of the season. The mass begins at 9:30 sharp (sometimes even a couple minutes early!) at the bluestone grotto, a replica of the grotto cave in Lourdes, France. The cave (or grotto) is made from Euclid bluestone, quarried about a mile from the shrine by Irish, Hungarian, Slovenian, and other immigrants--including my own great grandfather, Fenton Fitzpatrick. There is a similar replica grotto at the University of Notre Dame--another very holy place. A priest-professor from Borromeo Seminary said the mass as a couple hundred lay people joined in the celebration. The world's strangest choir led the singing, as usual. Today the temperature was in the mid 60's and the sky was overcast, windy, and threatened rain. I think these conditions hurried the celebrant along a bit. It was a typical yet beautiful mass in this holy place. Lake Erie can be seen a few miles to the north of the Shrine, and the street noise and sometimes sirens and train whistles of busy Euclid, Ohio can often be heard. But the beauty, sanctity, and absolute specialness of this place is clear to everyone in attendance.

After mass, Linda, Emily, and I lit some candles and especially remembered Ruth Hoffman Sanders, my mother-in-law who died 2 years ago yesterday. Ruth was a tremendous person, a force of nature. Intelligent, passionate, a great mother, housewife, cook, family manager, motivator. She lived intensely right up to her sudden passing. We still haven't quite gotten over it. May she rest in peace and be brought into Heaven. And may she pray for all of us! We also prayed for my father-in-law, Ruth's husband Art Sanders. A sweet and kind man, great father and provider. Art died in April of 1996. Like my own Dad, he spent 4 years in the US Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. Ruth and Art had 5 children--and I married their first child (and prettiest)--Linda Rose.

We also lit candles for my Mom and Dad. Dad (Robert P. Coughlin) would turn 87 years old this coming Tuesday if he were still alive. Dad was the discoverer of the Shrine, and he and I used to help out there many years ago (I remember when we helped cut down a gigantic tree on the Shrine property in the early 1960's). A funny memory: Dad truly believed that the Shrine's spring water was a healing force. He drank as much of it as he could. Mom would save some of this water to sprinkle around the house when storms threatened

We also said prayers and lit candles for our immediate family and for our extended family, especially for those who are ill, like Jack Pendergast.

The Good Lord will bring safety, peace, health, and protection to those we prayed for. Prayers do not go unanswered.

New Poem about Euclid and Northeast Ohio

Lake Like Euclid Bluestone

From the Chardon Road hill, I can see the November Lake,
Gigantic and wild, the color of Euclid Bluestone,
Material for sidewalk slabs, foundations, millstones,
Quarried just a mile from here by relatives,
Refugees from the grinding poverty of Ireland--

The sky steel gray, a thousand shades, and
Lake Erie clouds rolling in from the north,
Blanketing this hard-ass city,
Spitting sleet and bitter-cold rain.

I love this wildness and toughness:
This is our history
Our present reality

Our very lives.