As the crackling of spices and chicken sends a mouthwatering aroma across the common areas at the Ozanam Village senior residence, people can’t help poking their heads into the kitchen to inquire when lunch might be ready. The Catholic Charities residence and its neighbor, Matthew Manor, are located in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood and are home to 121 seniors.

Community. Sustenance. Some pretty elaborate kitchen choreography. This culinary collaboration is the work of five sisters who all live in the community and have spent six decades preparing meals together. Eldest to youngest, sisters Robbie, Nina (pronounced Nine Ah), Mary, Janelle, and Dorothy grew up with eight additional siblings in High Berger, Alabama, not too far from Selma. Planting, preparing, and sharing food are among their most treasured memories. 

“Mother could really cook, no measures, no recipes,” recalls Mary with pride. “We don’t measure either,” adds Dorothy. “Our mother was famous for her black-eyed peas; potato salad with eggs, mayonnaise, and mustard… At Christmastime, she would begin preparing weeks ahead: ham, hens, sweet potato pie, stuffing, coconut, and caramel pound cakes—all homemade.” 

During the 1950s, the sisters began moving to Chicago, one by one, beginning with Robbie and her husband. The others and their mother eventually followed. “Mother instilled in us that we must stay together, no matter what, in good times and bad,” explains Janelle. 

So, the fact that the sisters came to live in Ozanam Village and nearby Matthew Manor together is no surprise to them. It was just the natural progression of things. Dorothy says, “Mary and I moved [to Ozanam Village] on the same day in 2006,” and the other sisters soon followed, each in their own apartment in the Catholic Charities residences. “Bertha, the eldest, our rock, lived here too, before she passed,” adds Dorothy. “Can you imagine? There were six of us here!”

With a smile spreading across her face, Nina says, “I have enjoyed every moment of living here. I prayed that all my family would wind back up under one roof. It is amazing.” Her sisters nod in agreement.

The sisters gather for dinner about three times a week. They take turns hosting and cooking, but “we usually end up at my apartment,” declares Janelle laughing. “They call my place ‘the restaurant.’” Robbie teases, “Dorothy is the baby, and she doesn’t really cook, so she picks up the groceries.” On occasion, the sisters use the building’s community kitchen to prepare a meal to share with others.

Their devotion doesn’t end with meal preparation. They also share their green thumbs with fellow residents. “Before COVID, we had a beautiful community vegetable garden,” explains Dorothy. “It was hard for us to maintain during the pandemic; now we’ve planted flowers.” 

“Growing older can be hard. Not everyone is blessed with family. We are lucky to have each other,” says Robbie. Adds Mary, “We, along with other residents, try to be the welcoming committee—to spread our friendship and laughter with others.”

These women epitomize the spirit of community. They spread love… They welcome everyone.

–Margarita Rios, Ozanam Village and Matthew Manor property manager