Smart Living Rockford - October 29, 2020

Smart L iving Your Better Quality of Life Magazine • Rockford Region/Beloit/Freeport 95¢ • November 2020 • No. I

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Right in Our Region

Midway Village Collects Our Pandemic Memories

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In This Issue Right in Our Region ........................Cover & p. 16 Midway Village Collects Pandemic Memories Inspiration & Worship ......................................12 ‘A Stink in God’s Nostrils’ Your Technology ........................................ ....... 19 Lower Your Tech Costs

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Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Bill Hughes Executive Editor/Web Editor Chris Linden Managing Editor Lindsey Gapen Lukas Assistant Managing Editor Jermaine Pigee Editor Emeritus Janine Pumilia Multimedia Editor Sara Myers Graphics Director Blake Nunes Graphic Designer Samantha Behling Contributing Writer Peggy Werner, Paula Kalivoda Furniss General Sales Manager Brent Hughes Sales Manager Brad Hughes Advertising Sales Representatives Brian Hughes, Jeremy Jones, Nita Lasky, Sherri Cassedy Administration & Circulation Manager Lisa Hughes Distribution Kelly Fairbairn Website www.SmartLivingWeekly.com Published by Hughes Media Corp.

222 Seventh St., Rockford, IL, 61104 (815) 316-2300, Fax: (815) 316-2301 lhughes@northwestquarterly.com Smart Living Weekly.

Copyright 2020 by Hughes Media Corp., 222 Seventh St., Rockford, IL, 61104. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

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Something to Ponder

E

ven as we face the trauma of a pandemic, a bruising election cycle and a devastated economy, we Americans have many reasons to be a hopeful and thankful people. Our country has endured hardship before. Sometimes hardship comes from without, sometimes it’s selfinflicted. Either way, it’s our generation’s turn to pull together, right our ship and advance a “more perfect union” as our founders intended.

The approach of Thanksgiving is a good time to ponder how we do this. Since ancient times, people have celebrated the harvest and thanked their gods for it. Here in the New World, setting aside days for thanking the Christian God was common among 1600s Puritans. In 1621, William Bradford, governor of Plymouth, Mass., organized a three-day feast to celebrate the colony’s first corn harvest and to give thanks for survival itself. The native people who helped them were included.

Presidents George Washington, John Adams and James Madison all issued Thanksgiving proclamations. Perhaps the greatest champion of an official U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday was author Sarah Josepha Hale. For nearly 40 years, she unsuccessfully urged politicians to set aside one day each year for Americans to give thanks for their country. Finally, in the midst of Civil War misery, Abraham Lincoln granted her wish in 1863. (Christmas wasn’t made a federal U.S. holiday until 1870.)

Lincoln chose the final Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day and it remained so until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it up a week to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Critics referred to this as “Franksgiving” and, in 1941, he reluctantly moved it back to the fourth Thursday in November.

For persons of any belief system, it’s a healthy habit to contemplate the enormous blessings we enjoy, even in times of great stress. For Christians, it’s equally important to ponder the responsibilities that come with those blessings. “To whom much is given, much is required,” states Luke 12:48. How do we best use our blessings to improve the lives of others?

Focusing on that question will help us to avoid the downward spiral of selfishness and self-pity – the very opposite of thanksgiving.

Have a great week! ❚ Janine Pumilia SLW Editor

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I  W

A ‘ Stink in God’s Nostrils’

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hen you think about it, it’s remarkable that God allows us to choose whether or not to follow Him. If anyone has a right to force us to do something, surely it’s the Creator. But God doesn’t want allegiance that isn’t freely given. Jesus told his followers to “go tell the good news,” not to “go force people into joining my religion.”

Tragically, governments and religions have been less respectful of individual conscience throughout history, leading to wars and executions, even here in the New World. From the early 1600s to mid 1700s, religious persecution and state-mandated, tax-supported religions were the norm.

Louisiana required residents and their slaves to practice Catholocism; Virginia mandated Anglicanism; Puritan Massachusetts barely tolerated Protestant dissenters, much less the beliefs of American Indians, Africans, Jews or Quakers. This led Quaker Roger Williams to declare “Forced worship stinks in God’s nostrils,” as he established Rhode Island on the “new” principle of religious freedom.

It was against this backdrop that Virgina Gov. Thomas Jefferson declared that no man is truly free as long as his religious beliefs are manipulated by his government.

In the 1786 Viriginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, Jefferson wrote: “... Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities...”

He later made this concept a cornerstone of the Declaration of Independence.

Especially as we approach Thanksgiving, let’s appreciate the hard-won freedom of religion that we enjoy in America. And as Christians, let’s never take for granted the privilege God gives us to follow Him by choice. May we always extend the same courtesy to our neighbors and fellow citi– Janine Pumilia zens. ❚ 12

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R  O R

Museum Captures History in the Making

By Peggy Werner

S

omeday this pandemic will be in the rearview mirror. We all hope that day comes sooner than later.

Meanwhile, Midway Village Museum is capturing history while it’s being made, assembling a COVID-19 Collection to gather up memories and memorabilia and to record experiences of local people and organizations while they’re still fresh in our minds, says Curator Laura Furman.

“It’s not a happy topic to revisit, but it definitely has had a big impact on our community and society, and that’s worth remembering,” she says.

Photographs, letters and other items will be archived and made available to researchers and the public, and occasionally will be put on display, she says.

“If we don’t save the memories now, we won’t have them for the future.

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Everyone will agree this has been an earth-shattering year, with a lot of big stuff going on, and we don’t always realize at the time how it will impact our lives,” she says.

Examples of items already collected include pictures of drive-by birthday parties and Easter celebrations; essays from Boylan Catholic High School students on how they felt when school closed early; self-portraits by art students wearing masks; and the story of a local distillery that went from making liquor to making hand sanitizer.

Among donated items and topics are social distancing floor stickers and signs, face shields, curbside pick-up instructions for restaurants, recorded virtual church services, information about driveup confession at Catholic churches, home haircuts and the changes hair salons made

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before reopening.

There’s plenty of room for more.

Furman says the museum is particularly short on stories from essential workers.

“We know this is a hard time for them to take a breather and gather their thoughts, but when they can take the time, we are most interested in their stories, too,” she says.

Furman has pulled some information from Facebook, with permission, but social media, in general, won’t be as good of a way for museums to document the past as are actual items, stories, letters and diaries that can be preserved.

The collection will show the many ways the community adapted to the times. Some businesses closed their doors, while others were able to pivot and stay open. Families changed as parents worked from home and children learned

R  O R

This self-portrait by Boylan High School art student Morgan Anderson is part of the museum’s pandemic collection, as are those pictured on the cover (left to right) by Abigail Brodeski, Rachel Hilby and Cassie Schneider.

at home. People had to be creative to find ways to cope and accomplish what needs to be done, within the pandemic restrictions, she says.

“Just like 9/11 changed our world forever, so will the pandemic,” says Furman. “Ten years from now there will be ways we do business, travel, and go to school that will never go back to normal because of what we’ve learned during this time.”

And although the pandemic is a time of high anxiety for everyone – emotionally, financially and physically – most people can say they’ve learned a lot about themselves and others. Most of us have been forced to slow down and evaluate our lives.

“The pandemic gave us more time to think about what we’ve been putting off in life and to tackle some of those projects that were hard to tackle when running at full speed,” says Furman.

“It also gave us more time to spend with our families, whether doing home projects, working in the yard, cooking, playing games or just spending time together.”

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Whenever history is being made, which is all of the time, it’s an opportunity to capture life as it’s being lived.

Museums call such efforts “rapid collecting,” gathering items, facts and feelings about significant events while they’re fresh in our minds.

“We want people to know we’re interested in knowing how the pandemic has changed their lives and what they will remember about the time,” says Furman.

“And we’ll continue to collect memories and other items as long as people are willing to share them.

“By contributing to the collection, it validates our experiences and makes us more aware that we’re not alone. We’ve all been going through a tough time. If we can be aware of each other’s stories, it will help all of us.”

To make a contribution to the collection, call Furman at (815) 397-9112, ext.

108 or email her at curator@midwayvillage.com. ❚

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Y T

How to Save Money on Your Tech Bills

By Peggy Werner

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us to live on smaller incomes, but there are ways we can free up money in our budgets. One of the best is to make sure we’re not paying too much for tech services like phone, Internet, TV and home security. It’s easier than you think, says Charles Zambrano, owner and general manager of EZ Satellite & Wireless in Loves Park.

“I make sure the customers know exactly what they’re getting and aren’t paying for services they don’t want or need,” says Zambrano. He asks customers about the number of TVs and phones they have, favorite channels, streaming and recording habits, how they use high-speed internet and so forth.

“Most customers are paying too much, $250 or more for phone, TV and internet,” he says. “I can save them $50 to

$100 per month by offering them the best deals each company has to offer.

“A lot of people are not happy with their tech services, but are afraid to change or don’t have time to do the research. But it’s not that hard to start saving money.”

Zambrano also helps people to make better use of their smart phones to enhance their particular lifestyles. Products like the Google Nest Hub, Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa are ideal for those who want to monitor and access their homes and businesses remotely or with voice commands. Especially in the age of COVID-19, it’s useful to monitor package delivery and speak to people at your door remotely.

You can also switch lights on and off, change the thermostat settings and unlock doors remotely.

EZ Satellite & Wireless is licensed to offer services from any provider using dish, cable, internet and home security, including Rise Broadband, Comcast, HughesNet, DirectTV, Digitenna, Vivint, ATT and Nest products.

Zambrano’s store is regularly sanitized, social distancing is observed, masks are worn and interactions are contact-free.

Call (815) 957-4335 or stop by to see him at 6239 N. 2nd St. in Loves Park. ❚

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