Personal Accounts

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Picket Fence Realty at 400 W. Central Rd., led by Tom and Mary Zander, chose to erect an ever-changing chalkboard on the front of their building and used it to post inspirational messages.

“We had initially planned on putting up some posters in those two spots on the front of our building, similar to those attached to buildings around the world — with wheat paste,” Tom explained.  “But when the pandemic struck, we decided to make a chalkboard which would allow us more flexibility.  We discussed allowing the public to draw on it, but there were obvious concerns with that idea.  Now, we just use it to post random thoughts and messages, similar to the businesses that post cute sayings/thoughts on their signs or in public view.”

Tom is the artist. “I have some artistic talent but need to sketch it out in advance for it to come out looking halfway decent.  For more intricate images, I have an old school projection lamp that will display images on the chalkboard for me to trace, but that can only be done in the dark.”

Many customers, associates and random people have noticed and mentioned the chalkboard, he added, so they plan to continue to use it, even once the pandemic is part of our memories.They are open to suggestions for future topics. 

by Kristin Reinger

I have worked with the PADS program, “Public Action to Deliver Shelter,” for more than 15 years and am on the PADS leadership team at my church, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights. PADS is a traveling homeless shelter. 

During the cold months, various churches and faith-based organizations open their doors from 6 p.m. to early the next morning to clients of “Journeys: The Road Home”. The guests arrive at the church and are welcomed with a home-cooked meal from October through April. They are also provided gently-used clothing, coats, shoes, boots, new underwear and socks, toiletries, a “pad”/mattress to sleep on, blankets, pillow, a shower, laundry services, etc. – for the evening. 

There is usually a television, good conversation, games, books and other activities should they wish – but many of the homeless are tired and retire early in the evening after being out in the elements all day. 

In the morning, a hot breakfast is provided, in addition to a sack lunch before the guests pack their belongings and head off for their next journey. The next evening, another church will open its doors to the homeless guests. 

From May through September PADS also coordinates a program called “Summer Suppers for the Homeless” and others in need. The goal is to bring guests in from out of the summer heat for only a couple hours, offering showers, a hot meal, clean clothes, toiletries and non-perishable food items – but not an overnight stay. With coordination of other volunteers and faith-based groups, we are now feeding our friends in need 21 to 28 nights of each summer month. 

But the pandemic changed everything! We were all on lock-down, but what about our guests? They would be in dire straits if left to the streets and the winter elements. 

So, we started a modified PADS program in March 2020, when the stay-at-home order was enacted. Through a number of significant donations to Journey’s, our homeless guests were put up in local hotels. 

However, we still needed to provide nourishment to our friends. Initially, each group kept their original volunteer nights – ours were Saturdays. Because we were on lockdown, we had to create a way to feed our guests as safely as possible. As the monthly coordinator, I went shopping for non-perishable food items for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I was given free reign of an area in church — where I would not be in contact with anyone — to organize everything. Then I had a volunteer park their car by a church door and I would fill their car with the items for delivery. I did this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All socially distant, of course. 

We moved to a drive-thru/walk up system during the summer since we were feeding both the homeless and those in need. We had to limit the number of volunteers, due to the virus, and when possible, we had families work together. 

In the fall, we changed course. This time, we set up meals at church with our limited number of volunteers putting together to-go meals. We had a volunteer then take all the meals to the hotels where our guests were staying. This worked well until the virus numbers got much worse. This is when we contracted with a local Popeye’s chicken restaurant to provide full meals to our guests, all delivered by a volunteer.

Despite the epic challenges presented by this health crisis, our pandemic meal program has been consistent since March 2020. We have seen our numbers increase from 75, one full day per week in the spring months; to nearly 200 homeless and others in need, once or twice per month in the summer; to 115, twice a month since October 2020.

This been such a rewarding experience. We had to make changes to accommodate everyone’s needs – including that of the virus! Not one person could do this alone. We are lucky to have so many fabulous volunteers and donations as well as the outstanding support of our church. The PADS program is one of its finest and most important ministries! We are so blessed to give back in any way we can – to offer hope, love and nourishment to the very susceptible homeless community.

When businesses were required to close down last March, the Moose Lodge at 601 N. Main Street took the down time as an opportunity to refresh the lodge. They did a lot of cleaning and repairs and pulled out an old front hedge and planted new landscaping. They hoped sprucing up the place would help draw more people in the future, helping them survive the economic disruption.

The most dramatic step they took was painting the lodge’s dark brown ceiling a light shade of white. The #660 board was evenly split on this decision. Many enjoyed the dark, lodge-y atmosphere. However, one member works in the real estate rehab business and he strongly advised the Board that lightening up the look of the social quarters would appeal to younger members, giving them a head start whenever they were allowed to reopen.

“When we did get the go-ahead to open outdoors, we spray painted blocks and aisles in the grass in our backyard, creating large areas where each picnic table or patio table would sit, properly distanced apart,” explained Mike Burke, a member of the Moose Lodge’s Board. “We painted lines in the parking lot where people remained six feet apart when standing to line to use the bathroom or order a drink. We piped music outside and people really enjoyed being out in the sun. Our members supported us a lot, especially on opening weekend, coming out just to see friends again and to see the lodge improvements. Yes, especially on Sunday afternoons, neighbors who were walking by stopped in, grabbed a picnic table and enjoyed a drink or two. We took it as an opportunity to introduce ourselves, tell them about our support of the Mooseheart charity, and potentially recruit new members.”

“To provide food, we arranged for Ernesto’s taco truck to come out to the lodge. Several of our members knew about Ernesto from the Mount Prospect Farmers Market. He was able to set up every Saturday night for a little while, then periodically thereafter. We have had him back on a number of occasions after we were allowed to open indoors in a limited capacity,” Burke continued.

Sometime in the summer, the Moose Lodge also started an outdoors bags league, a game otherwise known as cornhole. It became very successful. They had more than 16 teams playing on Thursday evenings on a weekly basis.

“We basically tried to utilize our outdoor space as much as we could. Our land put us at a real advantage over other bars and restaurants, which had to set up tents in their parking lots,” Burke said.

“We also booked several local bands to play on our deck,” he added. “Several played for free because they had lost all their gigs when restaurants and bars were closed down. We were one of the only places where bands had a large outdoor area to perform.”

Long-time Mount Prospect resident Joe Sonnefeldt, a professional percussionist and former member of the District 57 School Board, married Amy Barwan, a fellow musician who plays the oboe and English horn, on the front lawn of Sonnefeldt’s home on North Fairview Avenue in a very small, socially-distanced wedding on July 25. The celebrant was Pastor Rick Kesler of The South Church.

“I’ve lived in Mount Prospect since 1998 and raised two children here,” Sonnefeldt said. “I met Amy Barwan in 2017 when we both played in the pit orchestra for Disney’s “Aladdin” when it ran in Chicago. Amy moved here in June 2018 and she loves Mount Prospect!  Although we were planning to get married at some time, we had not set a date.”

“When theaters and the performing arts shut down in March 2020, we soon realized that we would be unemployed for a long time and that whenever our work returned, it would take a long time to recover financially. So, we decided not to let the pandemic delay our wedding indefinitely.”

“Our wedding party was limited to 11 people – ourselves; best man, Peter Brusen; matron of honor, Lisa Fako; my daughter, Nicole; Amy’s son, David Dowd; my parents; Amy’s mother and aunt; and the pastor. Everyone received a negative COVID test result before the wedding.”

The ceremony was live-streamed for friends and other family members to watch and then the nearby-ones got in their cars and drove by the house to congratulate them. Joe and Amy stood on the front lawn to greet each car and gave their “guests” individually packaged scoops of Capannari’s ice cream, special cupcakes from Central Continental Bakery and custom masks commemorating the day.

Photo credits:  Ashley Hamm Photography , Ashley Hamm Photography, Arlington Heights IL

Jay Goeppner and his wife, Britta Smith, have been living in Mount Prospect’s Triangle neighborhood for approximately 20 years, but until the COVID-19 pandemic, relatively few of their neighbors probably realized that Jay was a local rock ‘n roll legend. He performs with four different bands, one of which even bears his name.

During the summer of 2020, three of his four bands took a turn rehearsing on his driveway, to the delight of his neighbors who brought chairs and coolers to sit around and enjoy the music.  They attracted several hundred music lovers each time.

A native of the West Pullman neighborhood of Chicago, Goeppner moved to Mount Prospect to be closer to his “day job” as a baggage handler for American Airlines. In addition to paying the bills, that job has allowed him to travel the world and perform in 20 countries (including Liverpool, England during “International Beatles Week”) with his John Lennon tribute band – “Backdated.”

During normal times, “Backdated” performs as a classic rock band in bars and at festivals all over the Chicagoland area. They even served as the warm-up band for “Cheap Trick” at the Rosemont Theatre for one of the THE DRIVE radio station’s annual concert parties.

Goeppner joined “The Class of ’68 Band” about four years ago. It also performs at local festivals and clubs. “2 Jay Way” is a pop duo which was able to perform at outdoor venues during the summer of 2020 due to its small size. “The Jay Goeppner Band” focuses on original music. Goeppner is the lead vocalist/tambourine player with all of the bands.  

“Music has always been my passion,” Goeppner said. “I discovered “The Beatles” at an early age thanks to my older siblings and have idolized John Lennon ever since.”

“The driveway concerts came about out of the sheer desire to perform in front of a live audience again and as a way to give back to the community,” he explained. “I thought why not have an outdoor rehearsal and open it up to the neighbors?  It really was a spontaneous thing and we weren’t sure what kind of reception we would get but, as usual, the healing power of music won out!  People with their children — and even dogs — in tow brought lawn chairs, coolers and blankets and parked themselves on our front lawn for a two-hour concert by “2 Jay Way,” which I also live streamed on Facebook.”

“The whole world was literally watching and the people loved it! They wanted to know when we were going to do it again and those watching it on live stream wanted to live in a community like ours.  In total, I hosted four shows on our driveway with the last one featuring the “Class of “68 Band”.  We billed it as an Oktoberfest and the neighbors chipped in for a keg.  We passed out Bavarian pretzels and Gummi bears to the social-distanced crowd and some of us even served brats.  I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more, the musicians or the crowd.”

“Opening up our block brought us closer together as a community and gave us a release that we all so desperately needed.  Although the bands didn’t charge for the concerts, the neighbors were extremely generous with their donations and tips. There’s a good chance that the driveway concerts will become an annual event.”

Photo credits: Mike Zarnek, Mike Zarnek Photography, Mount Prospect IL