A Perilous Journey to America

This week we got to travel without getting on a plane or even going to the airport by attending a play of the first Chicago Latino Theater Festival. From September 29 until October 28^th, eleven plays are being presented in Chicago at various venues. While those of you in Chicago may have missed many, you still have time to see a couple that are running through this weekend.

We saw Amarillo performed at the new Shakespeare Theater, the Yard. The Mexican theater company Teatro Linea De Sombra performed this play directed by Jorge A. Vargas. Using actors, videos, and poems, the plight of those trying to cross the border from Mexico and Central America into the United States as well as the plight of those left behind was depicted. The play was done in Spanish while a screen above the actors provided subtitles in English. While this play feels more like a long and beautiful poem than a play with characters interacting, it was a very creative use of the stage.

Not only did we hear from those who tried unsuccessfully to complete the journey to the United States, we also heard from those left behind. They told us how they felt to be left alone and how they were coping moving forward. It is the unknown part of many of our stories. Many of us have grandparents or great-grandparents who came to America, some who never spoke again of the countries they left or of the family members that they never saw again once they made the perilous voyage. Thus, the story line of Amarillo is universal and easy for many of us to relate to.

I read a similar one by Luis Alberto Urrea, a Tex/Mex American writer who has written several novels and memoirs, among them Into the Beautiful North. In this book, the town of Tres Camarones, Mexico (a fictional town) is left with only women, children, and old men. All the men of working age have left to find work in the United States. Nineteen year old Nayeli and her friends decide to sneak into the United States with the purpose of bringing their men home. While this story was written satirically and allegorically, it depicted the plight of those left behind very well. The book was adapted to the stage and performed at The Sixteenth Street Theater in Berwyn last summer. We were lucky to see it performed there.

Amarillo is a creative piece of theater and an unusual opportunity to get a glimpse into another culture. It’s playing at the Yard, the new Shakespeare Theater venue at Navy Pier, through this coming weekend, until October 29^th. If you live in the Chicago area, go see it. We’re lucky to have a chance to have the world come to us. 

Women's History See in Evanston During Open House Chicago

Every year the Chicago Architecture Foundation www.architecture.org has been hosting Open House Chicago www.openhousechicago.org the second weekend in October. During the weekend, hundreds of volunteers guide the public through over 200 sites throughout the city. It’s an exciting event that we always look forward to.

This year we stayed in Evanston and had the opportunity to view three wonderful women’s history sites. Our first stop was The Woman’s Club of Evanston. I had probably walked past this building hundreds of times, but I had no idea what was inside. Open House Chicago was my opportunity to find out. The Woman’s Club of Evanston was founded by a group of philanthropic, civic minded women in the 1880’s. The group organized around helping in the typhoid epidemic. They were active in founding the Visiting Nurses’ Association. Before meals on wheels existed, the Woman’s Club brought healthy meals to shut-ins. They’ve helped promote many civic causes and charities throughout the years including women’s suffrage, child labor laws, and public health.

While the building looks like a house, it is not. The group utilizes it for their events, activities, and meetings. I had always thought of this group as frivolous but their volunteers guiding us through the building proved me very wrong.

The Woman's Club of Evanston

 Just up the block from The Woman’s Club of Evanston is the home of Frances Willard. How appropriate. Frances Willard worked closely with Elizabeth Boynton Harbert on the issue of women’s suffrage. While Frances Willard has been mostly known – and in many cases reviled – for being a founder of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, she was also a leader of many causes for women including promoting women’s opportunity in higher education and in getting the vote. Her home was built in 1865 and had been closed because of restoration activities for about one and a half years. It was reopened to the public a few months ago. The restoration efforts have been remarkable, painstakingly adhering to the style in which it was built and decorated. For fans of that early architecture as well as of the ERA, visiting this house is worth a stop.

Last but not least we visited The Margarita European Inn – another building that I had passed hundreds of times wondering what it was. It’s almost impossible to imagine a time when young women were not able to rent apartments on their own or live independently. Nevertheless, that used to be the case. The Margarita Club opened in 1927 to house young ladies who had jobs in the area. The building has been beautifully maintained and restored. During Open House Chicago, the grand parlor, the library, room 209, the roof deck, and the manually-controlled elevator were open to the public. The building is now a boutique hotel and is gorgeously appointed. If you have any out of town guests, it would be perfect.

In the parlor of the Margarita European Inn

Next year at Open House Chicago we’ll visit a different neighborhood. I’m looking forward to it already.

Reliving the Immigration Experience in Stoughton, Wisconsin

When we arrived in Stoughton, Wisconsin, we knew we were back. We had been to Norway in 2016 and loved the beauty of that country and so we were happy to see it again - a lot closer to home.

Stoughton, a town of 12,611 people, is about 15 miles South of Madison, Wisconsin. Because of its large Norwegian population, they have built a museum to remember the immigrant story of this group. The structure of the museum Livsreise www.livsreise.org is impressive in its replication of the architecture of Bergen, Norway.

Sons of Norway Mandt Lodge, Stoughton

 

Norwegian Museum, Stoughton, Wisconsin

Buildings near harbor, Bergen, Norway

in Norway

The interior of Livsreise, however, is even more impressive. They have utilized technology to provide displays and exhibits showing the lives of people in Norway who had journeyed to America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. A genealogical library housed in the museum provides resources to assist Norwegian-Americans to trace their roots. A 68-seat auditorium shows videos that focus on the Norwegian heritage. Photography is not allowed in this museum so you'll have to visualize this museum. I was unable to take any pictures of it.

The thought of getting on a rough sailing ship with all one’s possessions to make the journey to the other end of the world must have been daunting. Nevertheless, the poverty in Norway at that time and the promise of a better life in America spurred many to make the risky voyage. Many who survived the trip found their way to Stoughton and other towns in Wisconsin as well as to Minnesota and the Dakotas. Many of them availed themselves of the Homestead Act and became farmers in these areas. Others gravitated to the towns and cities where they rebuilt their lives.

Besides the Livsreise Museum, we had a good time walking through the commercial part of Stoughton enjoying their shops and restaurants. In addition, the town boasts the Stoughton Historical Museum as well as the Sons of Norway Mandt Lodge. Stoughton's major claim to fame is that the Coffee Break originated there. Started by workers in the tobacco factories, it has become a standard in most places of work.  

Newspaper article announcing the first coffee break

In a sense, the Norwegian immigrant experience is the American immigrant experience. The Swedish-American Museum in Chicago has a similar motif. It was enjoyable to see and be able to compare these two museums. We can think about their perilous journeys to America as we witness the journeys made by modern day immigrants leaving their homes and families in pursuit of what all immigrants seek – a better life than the ones they are leaving.

It is only a two and a half hour ride from Chicago to Stoughton. This quiet, charming town is worth the trip.

To Mexico With Love in Chicago

The National Museum of Mexican Art www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org is one of our favorite Chicago Museums. It’s a treasure of art and history of Mexico and the Chicago-Mexican experience and is the only accredited museum of Mexican art in the United States. While many people think of the Mexican-American Community as being in California and Texas, Chicago is also home to a large Mexican community some of whom have been here for over 100 years. Thus, it is not surprising that Chicago would be home to such a wonderful museum. Located at 1852 W. 19^th Street, it is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10AM to 5PM and the admission is always free.

Currently, the museum is celebrating being open for thirty years. We enjoyed seeing pieces from many of their previous and permanent collections. Their Day of the Dead exhibit as well the one Nuestra Historia (Our History) are especially notable. It is worth seeing how the artists have progressed and how political much of it is. The anguish felt about their precariousness in the world is palpable and creatively expressed.

The Resistance of the Hybrid Cacti

Pilsen, the neighborhood where the Museum is located, is home to many outdoor murals. We were there on a nice day and walked around to see them.

Walking worked up an appetite and we were in luck. The area is home to many good Mexican restaurants. At this time, when the entire Mexican-American community seems to feel threatened by our current President’s threats to deport everyone, they can use the support. Many in the community including those with Greencards and those who are citizens have been afraid to be out and about and this is hurting their businesses. What better and more delicious way to help than by patronizing a local restaurant. That day we decided to stop at 5 Rabanitos. The food was great and the prices were very reasonable. They’re located at 1758 W 18^th Street right near the 18^th Street Stop on the Pink Line. How easy is that!

Unfortunately, since we’ve been to Pilsen, the Mexican and Puerto Rican communities have both been ravaged by natural disasters – three major earthquakes in Mexico and a hurricane in Puerto Rico that has devastated the entire island. The two communities are jointly raising funds to aid victims in both communities through the Chicago for Mexico and Puerto Rico Relief Fund. Money raised will be distributed through the Mexican and Puerto Rico Red Cross Chapters. You can donate online or send donations to this group through the National Museum of Mexican Art earmarked for the Chicago for Mexico and Puerto Rico Relief Fund.

We Just Came Back From Canada - Sorry, Eh

“What brings you to Vancouver?” we were asked at Customs.

“We’re visiting. We heard how beautiful Vancouver was and we’ve been wanting to visit for a long time,” said my husband.

 “If we really like it, we may defect,” I joked.

With that Canadian sense of humor, the customs officer told us that we were always welcome in Canada.

We enjoyed that humor when we attended a sketch improv group’s show called “Oh Canada.” The audience, mostly Canadians, laughed at their own foibles in that dry, self-deprecating way. During intermission, the audience was asked to fill out slips saying what they loved most about Canada. I wrote that I loved the way everyone said “Sorry” all the time. To my surprise, the first skit after the intermission was “Sorry, Eh.” All the actors in the ensemble got the chance to correct each other prefacing it with – you guessed it – Sorry Eh. By the time the skit was finished, all the ensemble members had their chance to say “Sorry” about just about every aspect of Canadian life.

Poster at Oh Canada Skit

We witnessed this tendency to apologize in more important ways as we traveled through Vancouver, Victoria, and the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. Vancouver has an outstanding Anthropology Museum on the campus of BCU (British Columbia University) where we spent many hours. Their collection of native American – or as Canadians call it First Nations – artifacts, totem poles, and artwork was fascinating. Free tours of exhibits are given throughout the day and the history of injustices done to First Nations by Canada is fully acknowledged by the tour guides.

At entrance of the Museum

Sculpture by Bill Reid, First Nation Artist

In Victoria, we took a tour of the Provincial Capitol Building. Again, the guide talked about Canada’s past injustices to their First Nations and to Japanese-Canadians.

British Columbia Provincial Capitol Building

The town of Duncan population 4,944 in the Cowichan Valley has 30 totem poles and a museum featuring the history of First Nations in that part of Canada. We took this very interesting tour and learned a lot.

Totem Pole

Totem Pole in Duncan

Canada and the United States share a history of injustice toward their native American and other nonwhite populations – the spread of European diseases, usurping of native lands, relegation of First Nations people to reservations, boarding schools that erased native culture. They also interned Japanese-Canadians during World War II and then didn’t allow them to return to British Columbia when the War was over. The main difference between the two countries is that the Canadians have acknowledged their wrongdoing and said “Sorry” as they go forward as a multi-racial society. They apologized and arranged reparations for the Japanese in 1988. They apologized to the First Nations in 2008. In the meantime, we Americans still argue among ourselves about whether or not to keep our Indian sports mascots despite many Native Americans who have protested them saying how insulted they feel by those mascots.

We can’t undo the past but we can acknowledge our wrongdoing as a society, say “Sorry,” and change our collective behavior going forward. We in the United States need some lessons from Canada in saying “Sorry.”

  

In My Journey Through Life, A Real Surprising Development

Readers, something really surprising has happened. My blog has been hacked by Russian hackers. Don’t worry that I’ve flipped out. I know it’s them because in the statistics, I see the largest number of my readers are in Russia. Besides that, I keep getting anonymous comments that don’t make any sense. Sometimes they’ve been just a bunch of numbers. Other times they’re a bunch of nonsense words and I’ve had to send them all to spam. Who do they think I am - Hillary Clinton? I’m kind of flattered that they think I’m someone prominent.

So I’m thinking of sending them a comment in reply. Let me know what you think.

Dear Russian Hackers,

I don’t know why you’re bothering to hack my blog, but I kind of feel sorry for you because you’ve wasted a whole lot of your time. You’re not going to find out anything from me that you couldn’t find out by reading the newspapers. I’m just a private American citizen exercising my freedom of speech while I still have it. The events I write about are all public knowledge that I’m merely expressing my opinion about.

It reminds me of two funny FBI stories. One was an old friend of mine was a member of the Communist Party. The FBI sent an agent to spy on him. They spent so much time together that they got to be friends. When the FBI agent’s dog ran away, my friend helped him to look for his dog.

During the Vietnam War, my friends and I went to an anti-war march. We met a man who was wearing a “May 2^nd Movement” campaign button. I asked him what that was and he told us. About a year later, one of my friends told me that he read a story about an FBI agent spending six months with the May 2^nd Movement and finding out everything we did in our ten-minute conversation. I guess bureaucracies have something in common all over the world.

I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you’d just say you’re sorry and unjumble my blog. While you’re at it, could you do me a favor? My aunt was a great cook and she made fabulous beef Stragonoff. I lost the recipe so could you send one to me? If you tell me your real name, I’ll mention it in my blog.

And that’s another thing: Just a friendly tip: You’d probably do better if you used an American name on your comments and improved your English grammar. Just saying.

Happy New Year. May 2017 be a more peaceful one for all of us. Lisa Sachs

So readers, until this hacking problem is resolved, I won’t be able to post anything. Happy New Year to all of you and may 2017 be a peaceful year for all the world.

Only Twenty Nine Days Until Donald Trump Becomes President. What Do We Do Now?

There are only 28 days until Donald Trump becomes President of the United States of America. We have less than a month left to live in a Democracy that has a semblance of a social safety net, that has outlawed hate crimes, that guarantees us freedom of the press, speech, assembly, and religion. I feel that I must do something each day that counts toward saving the good that American has been and will be - until January 20^th. The time to cry was after the election results came in. The time to panic is probably just beginning. I’m sure I’ll be doing plenty of that in the future. For now, I’m trying to be constructive.

Yesterday, December 21, I volunteered as I’ve been doing each Wednesday, at the ESL Café at the Skokie Library. Since this is a drop-in program for any immigrant who wants an opportunity to practice speaking English, we never have the exact same group that we had the week before. While a core group attends each week, people are always dropping in or out. We go around the room asking the people to introduce themselves. Today, people came to the group from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Syria, Iraq, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The way in which people introduce themselves is always interesting. “I came from Syria five years ago,” says a woman. The tears she is trying not to shed are visible. “It used to be beautiful. Not now.” She cannot continue talking and we move on to the next person.

Many of the people who attend the group talk about how grateful they are to be in America and Skokie, Illinois in particular. “I’ve been here over 20 years,” says a Russian woman. “God bless this country.”

We welcome them all to the group. I tell them my name and that I was born in New York and have spent most of my adult life in the Chicago area. “My grandparents came from Russia over 100 years ago,” I tell them. “We’re all immigrants or the children or grandchildren of immigrants. Welcome to the group. Welcome.”

I wonder how long I’ll be able to say that. Will any immigrants be truly welcome here during the next four years? I swallow a lump in my throat and my co-volunteer goes on to our activity for this day – sharing holiday music from our respective countries. Everyone seems to enjoy sharing it. We sing. We dance. We eat cookies from various countries that participants have brought in. We’re from many lands but we’ve shared our music, our dance, and our foods. We can no longer be strangers.

I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer in this program, a joint project of the English Language Learners Center and the Skokie Library. How long will I be able to welcome new immigrants to America? I don’t know, but I’m determined to work with Immigrant Rights Groups to make sure that America remains a beacon of hope to the world.

The countdown continues. I hope to do something today and every day to make the next month meaningful.