Church pond renovation becomes 'labor of love' in nurse's memory
The pond shown in May, has a plague honoring Magdalene Kubeck, whose photo is to the right of the U.S. flag. She died in 1945 while serving with the Navy Nurse Corps in Guam.
Lasayko said he and his wife, Kathy, started to research Kubeck, "and she became part of our family."
"It felt so sad that she was forgotten about," Lasayko said. "We took it upon ourselves to (restore the pond) as a labor of love."
Their research shows Kubeck was born in Whiting in 1908 and graduated from Whiting High School in 1927. Her family moved to its recreational property in Chesterton after her father lost his store during the Depression.
As the Lasaykos researched Kubeck's life and history, they discovered a nephew, Paul Glawe, living in Beaverton, Ore., who had some vague memories of his aunt.
"I remember her at the farmhouse being in uniform, and I remember her leaving for Guam," Glawe said during a phone interview.
According to Glawe, Kubeck wanted to be a nurse and volunteered to be in the Army Nurse Corps. She shipped out to Guam in 1945.
Apparently there was an air-raid warning, and the ambulance Kubeck was traveling in crashed because the lights were out. Kubeck was killed, and four other nurses were injured.
Eva Hopkins, researcher at the Westchester Township History Museum in Chesterton, also provided information about Kubeck.
"From what I can gather, she is the only woman (from Porter County) we could find who died in service from any of the wars," Hopkins said.
Kubeck was originally buried in Guam, but her body was brought back to the United States in 1948.
"I'm glad there was some identification (on the pond) so she is not forgotten," Hopkins said. "She gave everything."
The Lasaykos have spent many hours restoring the pond dedicated to Kubeck to its original condition.
"I actually started on the groundwork in the fall; it took us a good month of going every weekend and renovating," Lasayko said. "Before we knew it, it became a mission. We got to know Magdalene, even though she is dead. I'm very patriotic, and I wanted to do something for her remembrance."
The pond needed a lot of work to make it functional again. The concrete had to be patched because of cracks, a new pump house had to be built, and the waterfall restored. The new pump house was built to look like a church. Original plants were used for landscaping, including begonias, hostas and day lilies.
It is believed that Magdalene's mother, Mary Kubeck, had a lot to do with the original landscaping, as she was a master gardener.
"The Franciscans used to have beehives," Lasayko said. "The honey bees have returned to get pollen and drink water from the waterfall."
"I give these people a lot of credit; they are doing the right thing," Hopkins said about the Lasaykos' work. "Her family is very happy she is being remembered."