GLENWOOD DID YOU KNOW... MAY 2024 ISSUE #4

ISSUE # 4

MAY 2024

GLENWOOD DID YOU KNOW...

M E T E M A R O B R E I L E E S C CHERISH

YESTERDAY

DREAM

TOMORROW

LIVE

TODAY

Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. *At the February 6, 2024 village meeting, I shared that several surrounding cities and villages recognized and scheduled events celebrating Black History Month. I expressed disappointment that Glenwood, a village that is over 70% African American, did not have any events scheduled to recognize the contributions of residents to the town and society, therefore; I created this newsletter to highlight as many as possible in this and future issues as well as other issues in the community.

Deborah Birmingham, M.Ed., M.A.

Life is a tapestry, woven with memories, Each thread a moment, captured in time.

Some threads are bright, some are dark, But all are precious, for they make up our lives.

We remember the good times, The laughter and joy, The love and friendship.

We also remember the bad times, The pain and sorrow, The loss and grief.

But even the bad times are important, For they teach us about ourselves, And make us stronger.

All of our memories, good and bad, Make us who we are today.

So cherish your memories, For they are the treasures of your life.

Keep them safe in your heart, And never forget them.

Quiz: Mother’s Day began

A. In 1858, when Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker, organized “Mother’s Work Days” to improve the sanitation and avert deaths from disease-bearing insects and seepage of polluted water.

B. In 1872, when Boston poet, pacifist and women’s suffragist Julia Ward Howe established a special day for mothers –and for peace– not long after the bloody Franco-Prussian War. C. In 1905, when Ann Jarvis died. Her daughter, Anna, decided to memorialize her mother’s lifelong activism, and began a campaign that culminated in 1914 when Congress passed a Mother’s Day resolution.

The correct answer: All of the above.

Each woman and all of these events have contributed to the present occasion now celebrated on the second Sunday in May. The cause of world peace was the impetus for Julia Ward Howe’s establishment, over a century ago, of a special day for mothers. Following unsuccessful efforts to pull together an international pacifist conference after the Franco-Prussian War, Howe began to think of a global appeal to women.

“While the war was still in progress,” she wrote, she keenly felt the “cruel and unnecessary character of the contest.” She believed, as any woman might, that it could have been settled without bloodshed. And, she wondered, “Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?”

Howe’s version of Mother’s Day, which served as an occasion for advocating peace, was held successfully in Boston and elsewhere for several years, but eventually lost popularity and disappeared from public notice in the years preceding World War I. For Ann Jarvis, also known as “Mother Jarvis,” community improvement by mothers was only a beginning.

Throughout the Civil War she organized women’s brigades, asking her workers to do all they could without regard for which side their men had chosen. And, in 1868, she took the initiative to heal the bitter rifts between her Confederate and Union neighbors.

The younger Anna Jarvis was only twelve years old in 1878 when she listened to her mother teach a Sunday school lesson on mothers in the Bible. “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day,” the senior Jarvis said. “There are many days for men, but none for mothers.”

Following her mother’s death, Anna Jarvis embarked on a remarkable campaign. She poured out a constant stream of letters to men of prominence — President William Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt among them — and enlisted considerable help from Philadelphia merchant John Wannamaker.

By May of 1907, a Mother’s Day service had been arranged on the second Sunday in May at the Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where Mother Jarvis had taught. That same day a special service was held at the Wannamaker Auditorium in Philadelphia, which could seat no more than a third of the 15,000 people who showed up.

The custom spread to churches in 45 states and in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada. The Governor of West Virginia proclaimed Mother’s Day in 1912; Pennsylvania’s governor in 1913 did the same. The following year saw the Congressional Resolution, which was promptly signed by President Woodrow Wilson.

Mother’s Day has endured. It serves now, as it originally did, to recognize the contributions of women.

Mother’s Day, like the job of “mothering,” is varied and diverse. Perhaps that’s only appropriate for a day honoring the multiple ways women find to nurture their families, and the ways in which so many have nurtured their communities, their countries, and the larger world.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY thank you for all you do

feliz día de la madre Gracias por todo lo que hacen

One of the first Memorial Day celebrations in the United States was by newly freed enslaved men, women,

CLICK - THE BLACK HISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY

and children on May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina.

One of the first Memorial Day celebrations in the United States was by newly freed enslaved men, women, and children on May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina.

Not long after the Civil War ended, freed enslaved peoples, members of the U.S. Colored Troops, and some locals organized a ceremony to bury Union troops who died due to horrendous conditions of a prison created at what was once a racetrack, History.com reports. They honored the dead by singing hymns and placing flowers on their graves. An archway over the cemetery was engraved with the words "Martyrs of the Race Course," according to The New York Times.

The observance was originally known as Decoration Day. By the late 1860s, many Americans had begun hosting tributes to the war's fallen soldiers by decorating their graves and with flowers and flags. Why did the name change from Decoration Day to Memorial Day? It seems that it gradually came to be known as Memorial Day over the years.

In 1950, Congress passed a resolution requesting that the president issue a proclamation calling on Americans to observe Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace.

In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May, in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. But Memorial Day didn't actually become an official federal holiday until 1971.

President Bill Clinton signed the National Moment of Remembrance Act in 2000, which asks Americans to pause and observe a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time.

A number of organizations throughout the country observe this moment, including Amtrak (whose trains blast their whistles), Major League Baseball, and NASCAR. Cities across the country host Memorial Day parades, but some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York, and, of course, Washington, D.C. In D.C., the National Memorial Day Parade hosts an audience of hundreds of thousands who watch as marching bands, active duty and retired military units, youth groups, veterans, and floats head down Constitution Avenue.

10: The President requests that all governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico direct the flag to be flown at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels.

U.S. citizens are asked to display the flag at half-staff from their homes before noon, as well.

Veteran's Voice

by Mitsi S. Hearn Jesse E. Flowers, of Glenwood, is a Vietnam veteran, who enlisted in the Branch of the Army in October 1963.

He served in Vietnam from 1964-1965 and was honorably discharged in 1966.

Flowers voluntarily enlisted for the education benefits paid by the armed services and was not drafted.

The United States has not had a draft since 1973.

Flowers civilian occupations included former Real Estate Salesperson, Life Insurance Producer and Paralegal.

He currently still does work as a Freelance Paralegal and Notary Public for over fifty years.

Flowers has been with the United States Selective Service System for 15 years: registration by the government to keep track of names to draw on in case of a national emergency requiring rapid expansion of the US Armed Forces.

According to Flowers, the US now registers all young men, through The Universal National Service Act to ensure that a future draft will be fair and equitable.

Bills by Congress in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2013, proposed mandatory national service for young adults, male or female.

For those readers not familiar with the Vietnam War, it was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955 – April 30, 1975.

The US sent troops to Vietnam through slow deployment in the early 1950’s and expanded gradually to include combat forces in July 1965. Approximately 58,220 US soldiers died in Vietnam.

An honorable discharge is the top-most ranking a service member can receive upon leaving the military.

This status indicates the recipient has faithfully and patriotically performed his/her duties and conducted his/herself in a manner of benefit to the serving branch.

Flowers is currently a member of Benjamin O. Davis VFW Post 311 in Richton Park.

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr was the first Black Brigadier General in the U.S. Army.

Cinco de Mayo, which translates to "Fifth of May" in Spanish, is a holiday celebrated on May 5th to commemorate Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The battle was led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, a Texas native, and resulted in an unlikely underdog victory against the French troops.

The French had invaded Mexico in an attempt to expand Napoleon's colonial empire due to Mexico's unpaid debt.

Date: Sunday, May 5, 2024 Celebrations: Parades, food, music, folkloric dancing, battle reenactments Observed by: Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and people of nonMexican heritage

LUPUS SOCIETY OF ILLINOIS RESOURCES

PLEASE JOIN US IN BRINGING AWARENESS TO LUPUS

OP-ED ED HADNOTT FORMER TRUSTEE

TAX INCREMENT FINANCING (TIF) 101

To make sure the TIF will benefit the community, there has to be transparency.

Right now, there is zero transparency. As a former village official, there was no transparency.

So, for example, you are company A. You come to the Village of Glenwood and you say I'm going to improve my building and the village agrees to reimburse you 50% of your improvements.

There's no way to know other than one person checking to see if the improvements were made so there's accountability. In other words, I would like to have an independent inspector go make sure that a roof was actually placed on the property.

We should be able to see actual receipts from the roofing company. What we have right now is a system of phone calls. Yes, the roof is done. Okay, I'll write you a check and one person is in charge of the entire process.

You have to have a system of checks and balances to make sure that the dollars people are saying they spent, they actually did spend and they did go into the property in the Village of Glenwood. Another part of the process is the village is supposed to send building permits to the Cook County Assessor so when they see the improvements made the assessed value of their property will increase thus property taxes will decrease.

I've been told that at times that no building permits were sent to the Cook County Assessor.

There have to be conversations and those yearly TIF meetings, there has to be collaboration with the citizens of Glenwood, and there have to be collaboration with other taxing bodies to determine what the needs are.

I am a Big Believer in return on investment. If I want to invest in XYZ's business, I need XYZ to succeed. I want XYZ to succeed because when they succeed, the village succeeds. We can't invest in businesses that are destined to fail.

We can't give TIF money to a business that hasn't paid his taxes for the last year. Because the money doesn't come back in. If I give you $250,000 and then you don't pay your property taxes and your tax bill is $50,000 a year and maybe over that $50,000, $10,0000 comes back into the TIF, but you don't pay taxes, then how can I help the next person?

Lastly, TIF reports have to reflect the fact that the TIF is doing what it's set out to do.

SURVEY LINK

TOP ISSUES FACING GLENWOOD RESIDENTS - SURVEY

ENVIRONMENTAL - WATER & AIR STREETS FIRE & EMS TRANSPARENCY LIGHTING INFRASTRUCTURE LEADERSHIP FINANCES OF THE VILLAGES SENIOR & YOUTH PROGRAMS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

THANK YOU GLENWOOD ESTATES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION for organizing and hosting an informative meeting with Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld and WindCreek Casino Representatives!

BOARD MEMBERS Nellie Briggs, President Gerald McCullough, Vice President Constance Watson III, Treasurer Evelyn Lewis, Secretary Roderick Murdock, Sergeant at Arms

Due to an overwhelming response, the Meet & Greet will be rescheduled and held at another location to accommodate everyone.

WIND CREEK CHICAGO SOUTHLAND THE 70,000-SQUARE-FOOT CASINO WILL FEATURE 1,350 SLOT MACHINES, 56 TABLE GAMES, ENTERTAINMENT, DINING, A 252-ROOM LUXURY HOTEL, AND WILL BRING 800 JOBS TO THE SOUTH SUBURBAN REGION. WIND CREEK HAS A PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS IN DEVELOPING HIGH-QUALITY AND SUCCESSFUL CASINO AND ENTERTAINMENT PROJECTS, AND WE’RE EXCITED TO BE COMING TO ILLINOIS. WATCH ON YOUTUBE

NEW MESSAGE: JOIN OUR TALENT/JOB NETWORK

OP-ED

THE JOHN H. BLAKEY CENTER Cathy Paxton The Blakey Center Needs You Hello Glenwood Residents, Are you aware that we are not utilizing our Blakey Senior Center that is ours to enjoy, especially as we are growing older?

The Blakey Center has become a social club for a few. Neighboring communities have well organized programs because they reach out to residents to get input into the activities and resources they are interested in.

It’s time to not just pay someone to open the doors a couple days of the week for coffee, and donuts but to appoint / hire someone who has a vested interest, who is capable of bringing in resources, activities, and neighbors together to make friends especially those who are alone and may have lost love ones and need someone to talk to.

I believe we have several residents who are capable of creating an exciting senior center that will result in more activities, resources, and participation.

Come on Glenwood - It’s Time To Move Forward.

CONGRATULATIONS The Bloom ‘Pedal Pushers NJROTC Cadet Girls STEM eSports iRacing Team Bloom High School District 206

LARELL ‘LARRY’ RHEAMS

READ MORE ABOUT - LARELL RHEAMS

VIEW VIDEO - LARELL RHEAMS

PAUL W. STYLES FORMER VIILLAGE TRUSTEE

Paul touched the lives of everyone who knew him. He was an avid bowler and golfer.

He was President of the Illinois Mortgage Bankers Association, and spent the majority of his career in real estate development. He was an active resident and Trustee in the Village of Glenwood. Paul was a proud member of Rotary, where he was Paul Harris Fellow and President for two terms.

CONGRATULATIONS ON ANOTHER GREAT SEASON!

Board Members Joe Jones, President Ron Sorsby, Commissioner Carmen Hopkins, VP/Treasurer Lyndell Fola, Program Equipment & Coaches Support Larry Pettis, Program Support Denise Sutton, Program Support Patricia Echols, Program Support Natisha Fola, Program Support Lee Moses, Program Support

GLENWOOD HAWKS BASKETBALL AWARDS DINNER

TEAM WORK INSPIRING DEDICATED FAMILY FUN COMMUNITY

WISHING THE ALL-STARS AN AWESOME SEASON!

TIME MACHINE TRIBUTE TO THE 80s An amazing concert within a play featuring many of the decades greatest artists and songs!

The Black Ensemble Theater takes you back to a time when the music was eclectic and eccentric – The 80’s! With hits from Prince, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Morris Day and many more, including a Hip Hop medley that will make you wanna jump up and pop lock. This is one musical journey that you don’t want to miss!.

CLICK - CHECKOUT MORRIS DAY PERFORMANCE

DON’T MISS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY THE OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES AND PROGRAMS OF THE BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER.

BUY TICKETS SALON - JUNE 8TH - JULY 28, 2024

GLENWOOD

OUR TOWN NEEDS BEAUTIFICATION

- Glenwood is in much need of clean up and beautification. Glenwood is in much need of road improvements.

The need for beautification has been brought to the village board’s attention several times over the past few years. The roads are in terrible shape and need of repair. Grass and weeds are throughout the village. Garbage cans are in the front of homes.

Litter is scattered on the streets. Residents have been cleaning areas around their homes, buying and planting flowers (at their expense) to spruce up areas that the village has left unattended.

Arquilla Park’s baseball field is an need of cleanup, even if it’s not being used, it is a reflection on the community.

Several of the surrounding communities are cleaned and well represented with beautiful flowers, shrubbery, and signs.

Residents and people from surrounding communities travel through town and see how the town has declined in beautification.

Residents pay taxes for a beautiful place to live, work, and play.

S U R R O U N D I N G

T O W N S

MOTHER, A CRADLE TO HOLD ME

BY MAYA ANGELOU

“It is true I was created in you.

It is also true That you were created for me.

I owned your voice.

It was shaped and tuned to soothe me.

Your arms were molded Into a cradle to hold me, to rock me.

The scent of your body was the air Perfumed for me to breathe Mother, During those early, dearest days I did not dream that you had A large life which included me, For I had a life Which was only you.

Time passed steadily and drew us apart.

I was unwilling.

I feared if I let you go You would leave me eternally.

You smiled at my fears, saying I could not stay in your lap forever.

That one day you would have to stand And where would I be?

You smiled again.

I did not.

Without warning you left me, But you returned immediately.

You left again and returned, I admit, quickly, But relief did not rest with me easily.

You left again, but again returned.

You left again, but again returned.

Each time you reentered my world You brought assurance.

Slowly I gained confidence.

You thought you know me, But I did know you, You thought you were watching me, But I did hold you securely in my sight, Recording every moment, Memorizing your smiles, tracing your frowns.

In your absence I rehearsed you, The way you had of singing On a breeze, While a sob lay At the root of your song.

The way you posed your head So that the light could caress your face When you put your fingers on my hand And your hand on my arm, I was blessed with a sense of health, Of strength and very good fortune.

You were always the heart of happiness to me, Bringing nougats of glee, Sweets of open laughter.

I loved you even during the years When you knew nothing And I knew everything, I loved you still.

Condescendingly of course, From my high perch Of teenage wisdom.

I spoke sharply of you, often Because you were slow to understand.

I grew older and Was stunned to find How much knowledge you had gleaned.

And so quickly.

Mother, I have learned enough now To know I have learned nearly nothing.

On this day When mothers are being honored, Let me thank you That my selfishness, ignorance, and mockery Did not bring you to Discard me like a broken doll Which had lost its favor.

I thank you that You still find something in me To cherish, to admire and to love.

I thank you, Mother.

I love you.”

Maya Angelou was a remarkable woman, poet, leader, author, and mother.

May she rest in peace.

Poem source: Poetry Mala.