When White Eagle Events and Convention Center in Niles announced its permanent closure, we asked readers to share their memories of the banquet hall and restaurant that served the Polish community for nearly four decades. Here’s what you told us, lightly edited for clarity:
“My mother’s family immigrated from Poland in the mid-1800s, and many are buried at St. Adalbert Cemetery across Milwaukee Avenue from White Eagle. After funerals, our family would gather at the Polish banquet hall. I’m heartbroken to see this tradition come to an end. It holds meaningful memories for my family and so many other families who spent time there honoring their loved ones.”
— Ann Pistone
“Many funeral lunches, a class reunion, a baby shower. Great food.”
— Kathleen Brown
“I attended a wedding in the mid-’70s at the White Eagle. I was 16. My boyfriend’s (now husband) sister got married and held the reception there at a time when no one paid attention to minors drinking at events. Table of 10, with each of the five guys bringing us a round. After mixing five assorted drinks with the Polish food, and a verbal altercation with my future mother-in-law, I called it a night. Spent the next several hours sobering up at a local donut shop before going home. Being Polish myself, the food was good; the drinks, not so much.”
— Christine Bock
“Funeral luncheons for our family have always been held at Przybylo’s White Eagle. This is sad news. There is no other place like it.”
— Carole Barrett
“My Mom, Dad and other family members are buried in the cemetery across the street. After the funeral, we would have a luncheon across the street at the White Eagle. Always consistently good food and service.”
— Ronald Yeska
“Mother’s Day lunch when they first opened. Then later, funeral lunches.”
— Kathy Chuston
“The White Eagle was the place for wedding receptions. Our date was already booked, so another reception hall was found. My bride then and now is as beautiful. But even 46 years later, when the day’s events are retold one or more family member will lean in on the conversation to say, ‘But it wasn’t White Eagle.’”
— Robert Kosin