Loie: One Thing Led to Another

August 14, 2025 (Part 2) In her final recorded reflection, Loie speaks with raw honesty and grace about love, regret, and gratitude. She recalls moments of distance with her children and the ache of conversations left unsaid — then offers a tender apology, thanking her family for their forgiveness and patience. With humor and humility, she marvels at the improbable beauty of a life that “could hav...

August 14, 2025 In one of her most intimate recordings, Loie reflects on each of her four children — Pat, Rebecca, Beth, and Mark — tracing their childhoods, adventures, and the unique ways they shaped her life. She recalls sleepless nights with baby Pat, Rebecca’s daring climbs, Beth’s quiet leadership and rebellious faith, and Mark’s long journey toward purpose. Between laughter and tears, Loie...

August 13, 2025 Loie looks back on motherhood — raising four children through the turbulence of the 1950s and ’60s while building community around her. She reflects on trusting her kids to find their way, the friendships and “village” that shaped them, and the adventures of family life: from Camp Concordia summers and packed car trips to Florida, to living in a veteran trailer park while Walt earn...

August 11, 2025 Loie reflects on the creation of Hilltop Neighborhood House and the ripple effect that followed — from a $30,000 dream to a thriving block of community care. She recalls how Walt’s “gospel of the hammer” led to free childcare, medical, and dental care for working families, and how neighbors, churches, and volunteers came together to build something lasting. The story flows into the...

August 9, 2025 This episode traces Loie’s memories from a harrowing fire in their Chicago high-rise to the formation of Project Neighbors after her and Walt’s years in Germany. She recalls the bravery of her children, the generosity of strangers, and the challenges of welcoming Black families into Valparaiso through the VBA experiment. The conversation weaves through heartbreaks, funerals, and tri...

August 8, 2025 Loie recalls the challenges and breakthroughs of Project Neighbors’ earliest years — when Barbara Cotton moved into Valparaiso and the neighborhood faced harassment, threats, and even cross burnings. She tells stories of students standing night watch with coffee urns and sleeping bags, a hidden toast to Barbara sealed inside the walls of her new home, and the deep lessons she learne...

August 7, 2025 Loie recalls the turbulent years when her family moved from Valparaiso to Chicago, the founding of the Prince of Peace Volunteers, and the beginnings of Project Neighbors. She shares vivid memories of Camp Concordia’s experiments with interracial staffing and family camping, the chaos following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and the moment Barbara Cotton challenged Walt wit...

August 6, 2025 This time, Loie revisits her early married life with Walt — starting with a wedding dress sewn from his World War II parachute and their first modest apartment in Valparaiso. She tells stories of teaching while raising young children, Walt’s knack for making deals and building furniture, and the family’s years as dorm parents at Valpo. From there, she traces how Walt’s restless ener...

August 4, 2025 Loie opens up about her evolving faith and spirituality. She reflects on growing up Lutheran, the influence of her parents and brother, and how her worldview widened through Chicago’s civil rights era. She shares her conviction that what matters most is not doctrine but how we live: loving our neighbor, taking risks, and doing good where we can. Loie talks about her ongoing ties to...

August 2, 2025 This time, Loie returns to her childhood and youth — painting vivid memories of her parents, the “Lovely Stockade” campus life at Concordia, and the music, friendships, and traditions that shaped her. She recalls her father’s nightly stories, her mother’s handmade Christmas dresses, and holidays filled with wonder. Loie shares stories of dating, college life, and the beginnings of h...

August 1, 2025 In this conversation, Loie reflects on the central role of relationships in her 96 years of life — from intentional communities and Project Neighbors families, to her closest friends, to prisoners she visited through PACT. She shares stories of supporting Black mothers in Valparaiso as they earned college degrees, her years of teaching and prison ministry, her phases of poetry and p...

July 29, 2025 In this conversation, Loie reflects on her years of activism and community building, tracing the path from Chicago’s turbulent 1960s to the founding of Project Neighbors in Valparaiso. She recalls witnessing police violence during the 1968 Democratic Convention — a turning point that unlocked her courage — and the decision to partner with Barbara Cotton, a mother from Cabrini-Green,...

July 25th 2025 In this first conversation, Loie recounts the whirlwind of meeting and marrying her husband Walt (“Schatz”), their early years of love and partnership, and a lifetime shaped by justice, community, and adventure. From campus flirtations and wartime letters to Chicago activism and the founding of Project Neighbors, she reflects with humor, honesty, and gratitude on what she calls a “m...