For those unfamiliar, paczki are a must-have decadent treat commonly eaten on Fat Tuesday in America, the day before Lent begins. This Polish tradition of indulging in these round, sugar-filled pastries, has been around since the Middle Ages and has only continued to grow in popularity as more and more people get hooked on these delicious fried dough desserts.

“In all my life long travels I never saw a bald eagle other than in a zoo until now when this special visitor came and sat in the tree right across my backyard,” said Joan Krecioch, who spotted a bald eagle sitting in a tree in her Sun City yard.

Other residents have only hoped to be so lucky.

Schank has served as a ski patroller for 43 years. His dad took him skiing for the first time at age 6.

Schank said, “I started skiing regularly in high school and then in college. My wife, Rita, and I went out West during those college years and skied those slopes. I enjoy skiing very much and I started my daughters young.”

The job includes about twenty-five trees of different sizes throughout the building’s interior, plus decorations on fireplace mantles in Fountain View Lodge and the social lounge, hallways and galleries, Drendel Ballroom, fitness center, etc.

The answer? The Sun City Garden Club can do it in two hours with 200 of its members.

How long have they been facilitating trips for Sun City Residents?

Jan said, “We’ve been doing this from the beginning. We moved here before the Lodge was built.”

When Sun City broke ground back in 1999, people like Nancy Visconti, eagerly jumped at the chance to be one of the first to close on a house in the newly established resort-style community. Although much has changed throughout the years, the memories created amongst the pioneers of Sun City remained.

Mike Ptak was lucky to receive that gift when he was just a one-year-old. He still hasn’t found a better toy.

For most, clean socks are not given a second thought. But for the homeless, having a clean pair of socks provides warmth and comfort, protecting skin from infections.

Currently, he is buzzing about his new venture.

Driving through the streets of Sun City, a few homes are adorned with orange lights glowing brightly. Some Halloween lover’s yards are packed with pumpkins, scarecrows, jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and cornstalks. But the best symbols of the feast can be found inside homes in Sun City.

Barb Lincoln put the dreams and plans together, and now, it’s all coming true. Her 26-year-old hopes are coming into reality.

However, Merrell’s story extends far beyond volunteering for multiple great causes. Although at times having to deal with the occasional rocky path in life, Merrell’s remarkable spirit and passion has led to some equally as outstanding achievements.

On the morning of October 6, hundreds of people in the northwest suburbs will gather at Lippold Park on Route 176 in Crystal Lake. They’ll walk two miles at 10 a.m. after a very emotional ceremony. What you’ll see should you either participate or watch for the incredible spectacle is a sea of purple. Most if not all of the participants will wear purple T-shirts with this message, “Together We Can End Alzheimer’s.” Some will hold their Promise Garden flowers; others will plant their flowers in the Promise Garden.

The Sun City couple serves as substitute teachers, and with the district’s close proximity to their home, they find it easy to teach classes they love.

“I planted them around Mother’s Day. I bought them from Menard’s and they came with a bit of fertilizer. By the Fourth of July, they started to really bloom. They moved pretty rapidly. Now they reach to just above the windowpane. I almost need a step latter to cut flowers for the house,” Pollastrini said.

What makes Winkelman’s love of adventure so extraordinary is that even on her 100-year birthday, she continued her favorite hobby on board a cruise to Costa Rica. A birthday trip made unforgettable by the 100 flowers gifted to her and the 4,000-person chorus singing “Happy Birthday.”

This is an excerpt from a letter that was addressed to Sun City Resident Kenn Ellis. Ellis was there, in 1969, as the three astronauts readied to take their flight. Ellis had finished his shift at the Cape Canaveral Base and had the security clearance to view the historic walk of three men.

Traveling to the moon once seemed an impossible feat until the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins made the dream a reality. The first manned trip to the moon occurred fifty years ago on July 20, 1969.

“PJ is a rescue dog,” Koziol said. “He was saved from being put down at around a year old by a vet technician who understood that he was a good dog that deserved a chance.”