88-Year-Old Activist-Artist Inspires Documentary Film

By Victoria Scott

A Jan. 14 fundraiser will give local filmmaker Jerri Zbiral (left) a start on a proposed documentary on the life of artist Peggy Lipschutz. The two stand in front of a painting by the 88-year-old, who is famous for her chalk talks.

Peggy Lipschutz does not color inside the lines.

The Evanston artist begins her famous "chalk talks" by applying shapeless swaths of color to blank white paper, often to the music of a live folk singer.

The lines come last. As she sketches in a few of them, deft and dark, a face, a mountain, a train track emerge from the clouds of color on her easel.

For more than 50 years this tiny, smock-clad figure has performed alone or with any of a number of folk-singers, illustrating messages of peace and social justice.

Now a local filmmaker is determined to capture Ms. Lipschutz's "Songs You Can See" - and the 88-year-old artist herself - on videotape. Jerri Zbiral, producer/director of the prospective 30-minute documentary, "The World of Peggy Lipschutz," says she intends "to use Peggy's life-long commitment to art and social change as inspiration for the next generation."

Ms. Zbiral admits to personal reasons for wanting to make the film; she sees Ms. Lipschutz as a role model. "She's been on a straight and narrow path her whole creative life, working nonstop for peace and justice," says the filmmaker. "She hasn't compromised or flinched from the path....[Even at 88] she has not gotten tired of fighting."

In many ways Ms. Lipschutz has lived her whole life outside the lines. Born Peggy Kraft in 1918 in London, she cut her teeth on liberal politics. Her father, a German-born Jew, was active against Hitler and succeeded in helping many members of the younger generation escape Nazi Germany.

She followed his political example. By the time she was 18 or 19, Ms. Lipschutz remembers tuning in a "cat's whiskers radio" for news of the Spanish Civil War and "shaking a can in the local movie house" to raise money to fight Franco and fascism.

The Kraft family moved to the United States just ahead of World War II, and Ms. Lipschutz studied painting at the Pratt Institute. Her first chalk talk came during the 1948 campaign of Henry Wallace, a third-party candidate for U.S. president who she believes could have helped the United States avoid the Cold War.

When the speaker at a Progressive Party rally failed to show up, someone asked Ms. Lipschutz to talk about Mr. Wallace's 10 points. "I was always a cartoonist," she says; she delivered a chalk talk on the spot.

That act generated numerous invitations. She responded with programs on the lives of Rosa Parks and Jane Addams ("I loved the research," she says), as well as on controversial issues such as smoking.

After a stint illustrating U.S. Navy training manuals, she moved to Chicago to become graphic arts director of a progressive labor school. It was the McCarthy era, and the House Un-American Activities Committee shut the school down. "There were some scary times," she says.

Working with the American Cancer Society in the 1960s, she says, she shared the program with "gloomy doctors talking about your insides." Her response was to "have some fun with it," she says, by creating a program that looked at breasts in many different cultures.

"I was a big success," she smiles. She began "traveling a lot and loving it," she says, grinning; it was her chance to "get away from home and the [three] kids." Her life took another turn when in 1960 she taught art at Camp Henry Horner.

She met Vivian Richmond, a Pittsburgh music teacher and expert on Yiddish songs. The two originated the chalk-talk/musical format, performing together long after summer camp ended.

"Vivian would send me a reel-to-reel tape from Pittsburgh in the mail," says Ms. Lipschutz. "I would listen and try to find the right images [to convey] the dignity and beauty of the song.

"Just drawing an outline and coloring it in - that would be bor-ing," she continues. She hit upon her technique: suffusing the paper with color, then leaving the audience in suspense while she gradually builds a picture, her bold strokes marking the beat of the music. With much practice, the drawing and song end together.

Her appearances were wide-ranging: a couple shows for [Pittsburgh-based] Fred Rogers of "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood"; appearances for civil rights and anti-war campaigns; a show with Pete Seeger to raise funds for the newspaper Labor Today and with Florence Reese ("She came and seemed old - 80 - but she wasn't," jokes Ms. Lipschutz) to support the miners. Her performance for the nurses' union drew enthusiastic "whoops and hollers," says Ms. Zbiral, who has viewed it on tape.

Then for 15 years Ms. Lipschutz and a musical partner - often Kristin Lems or Rebecca Armstrong - appeared at school assemblies through the Urban Gateways arts program.

This week she will take one of those programs to a middle school. She has been practicing the drawings she will use with a song about the Holocaust. "It's more about the guts it takes to stand up for ourselves" than it is about the horrific events of the Holocaust, says Ms. Lipschutz. "We wove together a beautiful program."

Meanwhile, Ms. Lipschutz says, "I'm trying to be a painter." She recently completed a series of paintings called "Twelve Steps."

Just off the press is the children's book she illustrated for writer Jennifer Armstrong. The book, says Ms. Lipschutz; is intended "for joy and delight." She says she hopes its loose, lively drawings will "encourage children to draw more freely."

Its title seems to sum up her own enduring optimism: "Anything Is Possible."

A benefit party is scheduled for Jan. 14 at Unity Church in Chicago to raise some of the $50,000 needed to make the documentary film, "The World of Peggy Lipschutz." More information is available from Jerri Zbiral at 847-328-6994.

Mental Health Board Honors Café Owner

By Nick Churchill

At its December meeting, the Evanston Mental Health Board (EMHB) recognized a local business owner for her kindness toward customers with mental health problems.

Carol Warkenthein, then-owner of Café Express Coffee Shop, 615 Dempster St., at Dempster and Sherman for the past six years, received a certificate of appreciation from Mayor Lorraine Morton for using her business to support Evanston citizens with mental illness.

"It wasn't a conscious effort, it was just that they were there. I don't think I did anything special," said Ms. Warkenthein. Café Express is close to two mental health facilities, Greenwood Care and Albany Care, and Ms. Warkenthein says residents from those facilities already frequented the café when she bought it.

She credits her experience at St. Henry's Catholic Church in Chicago, on the same street as Misericordia - a residence for people with mental and physical disabilities - with her acceptance of people with mental illness. "It doesn't bother me so much. People from Greenwood and Albany, you wouldn't be able to tell."

Ms. Warkenthein said that she had to be firm with some of the residents, and at times she used a three-strikes policy for bad behavior. In particular, she said, no one was allowed to ask for money.

Ms. Warkenthein said there were moments running the café when she could tell it was a "special place" for the residents, and she praised Evanston as a unique and welcoming city.

Ms. Warkenthein's work with persons coping with a mental illness was first noticed by Carol Sittler, a member of the EMHB and regular customer at Café Express.

"I saw it in action many many times," Ms. Sittler said. "She would run a tab for them, free coffee. She got them clothing. Her staff was selected with the same kind of attitude - that these are people and you treat them with respect. She worked with them firmly, but kindly."

Ms. Warkenthein also gave small jobs to residents of Greenwood and Albany, paying them the same as everyone else. "They were beneficial to us, good workers and very helpful," she said.

Ms. Sittler said that the EMHB is considering making this award on a yearly basis, with work like Ms. Warkenthein's to serve as an example.

"She didn't have anything to gain, it just made her life and their life much richer," said Ms. Sittler. The EMHB has not yet articulated any criteria, but Mrs. Sittler said that it will involve compassionate or helpful behavior toward Evanstonians coping with mental problems.

"We've never done this before," said EMHB chair Sue Canter of the award. "She stood out. She's not a volunteer, not in mental health. She's just a business owner, and it's a very positive influence. She helped a lot of these people to feel more like part of the community."

Café Express is under new ownership now but has retained many of Ms. Warkenthein's staff members, along with its policy of acceptance toward Evanston residents who are coping with mental illnesses.

Ask the Eco Expert: Resolve to Reduce Junk Mail

For the millions of Americans concerned with identity theft, one of the best strategies is to decrease junk mail. Cutting junk mail in 2007 will save trees and water and reduce habitat loss and animal/plant species extinction.

Recycling is great, but it will not bring back an extinct species.

In 2005 more than 114 billion pieces of bulk mail advertising were mailed in the United States (up 15 percent from 2000). That represents 62 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water used to produce U.S. mail for just one year.

Habitat loss and species extinction - how do they relate to junk mail? According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, 55 percent of all paper fibers come from trees and 17 percent is from old-growth forests.

Some 23 million acres of forest area were lost worldwide between 1990 and 2000. Habitat loss is a key cause of animal and plant extinction. 1995 figures show the percentage of wildlife groups threatened with extinction:
• birds - 11 percent;
• reptiles --20 percent;
• mammals - 25 percent;
• amphibians - 25 percent;
• fish - 34 percent; and
• vascular plants -12.5 percent.

Those who think recycling junk mail is enough might consider another statistic: 50 percent of all U.S. mail is discarded un- opened. Recycling is great, but it will not bring back an extinct species.

Take these actions to reduce junk mail by toll-free call, mail or online:
· Register with the Direct Marketing Association at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing for name removal. Or write to Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 282, Carmel, NY 10512. Send only a $1 check or money order, payable to DMA.

The "do-not-mail" file is updated monthly and distributed quarterly (January, April, July, and October). Names remain on MPS for five years, after that re-registration is necessary.

The amount of mail will begin to decrease about three months after a name is entered onto the quarterly file (a little longer with the mail-in option).
· Consumers can take a further step and opt out of direct-mail credit-card and insurance offers by calling 888-5-OPT-OUT (888-567-8688) or by visiting www.optoutprescreen.com.

Those who choose Opt-Out will no longer be included in firm offer lists provided by these consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion.

· ADVO, whose ShopWise mailer shows pictures of missing children, has an online form to request removal from their list. Visit www.advo.com/comsumersupport/html.
For those who are too busy to fill out forms or make phone calls, the American "can-do spirit" will come to the rescue: Some online businesses have been formed that will handle this task for a fee.

An emptier mailbox in 2007 will help save the planet.

One such enterprise is greendimes.com, which for $3 a month (a dime a day - hence the company name), will keep its members off junk mail lists and planting one tree every month for each of its members. The fee for 12 months is $36, and a lifetime membership costs $360.

Another venture is called 41pounds.org, its name derived from the average amount of junk mail a person receives each year. A $41 one-time fee covers an entire household for five years. More than 50 percent of the profits from each sale go to environmental organizations, local schools and youth groups.

Regardless of the service, it could take three or four months to notice a reduction in unwanted mail.

These solutions do require some effort and/or financial investment on your part, but it is time and money well spent. An emptier mailbox in 2007 will help save the planet.

Contact the Eco Expert at info@evanstonroundtable.com or ecogal247@yahoo.com.

"The Children of Men"

A Film Review By Joe Linstroth

Based on the novel by P.D. James, "Children of Men" is a bleak exploration of a world imagined without hope.

Set in Great Britain in the year 2027, it has been eighteen years since the last baby was born, and faced with certain extinction, the world has been thrown into anarchy. Believing Great Britain to be the last bastion of civil society left on the planet, the British government is obsessed with removing all immigrant refugees, or "fugees," from the island.

At the center of the story is Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a detached loner who walks through the streets of London, past heavily armed soldiers and cages of immigrants, without so much as a double-take. Theo is recruited for a mission by his ex-lover, Julian (Julianne Moore), leader of a rebel group called the Fishes. Determined to stop the government from deporting immigrants, the group has a powerful political tool, something the world has not seen in almost twenty years: a pregnant woman.

The young woman, a fugee named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), is eight months into her miracle pregnancy. The reluctant Theo is entrusted with delivering her safely to the "Human Project" (one of the film's few silly contrivances), a secret group of the world's most intelligent people that may or may not exist but is the only hope for saving humanity from certain destruction.

The rebels help Kee and Theo out of London, but Theo soon realizes that they are only interested in using Kee's baby as a political weapon. He turns to his old friend, Jasper (Michael Caine), for help. A former political cartoonist who now spends his days in a country house smoking home-grown marijuana and caring for his catatonic wife, Jasper is one of the few people Theo can trust to help him ferry Kee to safety.

Magnificently directed by Alfonso Cuaron ("Y Tu Mama Tambien," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"), "Children of Men" is unapologetically dark in its vision.

Mr. Cuaron uses long takes and muted colors to create a thoroughly believable dystopia complete with exploding coffee shops, dead policemen in the road, and government-issued suicide kits for citizens who would rather not live to see the end.

Clive Owen's performance is masterful. Opting for subtly melodramatic bombast, Mr. Owen's character gradually develops a sense of purpose despite the uncertainty of his mission and the constant death and destruction around him.

Providing strong support is Clare-Hope Ashitey as Kee. Her character's vulnerability and innocence give the story a reason not to kill everyone.

Though not without flaws, including the mythical Human Project and awkward attempts at comic relief with Mr. Caine's character, "Children of Men" creates a world in which there is no reason to hope, yet shows the human capacity to find strength and meaning in the face of such desperation.

1 hr. 49 min. Rated R for violence, language, and some nudity.

"Pan's Labyrinth"

A Film Review By Brian Murphy

"Pan's Labyrinth" is a fairy-tale film for adults, an astounding visual feast that is as gorgeous as it is gory. Do not be deceived by the fairies, the castles and the presence of a little girl as the main protagonist: Graphic violence is everywhere, with scenes of war, grisly torture and genuinely frightening fantasy moments.

"El Laberinto del Fauno" - the Spanish name of this film by writer/director Guillermo del Toro - is devastatingly brilliant. Known for his work on acclaimed horror/fantasy films ("Cronos," "Hellboy"), Mr. del Toro uses "Pan's Labyrinth" to examine the effects on a child living in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, a conflict and concept to which he has alluded before, in "The Devil's Backbone."

Like M. Night Shyamalan, Mr. del Toro has a gift for extracting emotional depth from young performers, and Ivana Baquero, as little Ofelia, is no exception. We meet her on a journey through the woods, traveling with her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil) on their way to her new step-father's estate (Sergi López as the army's Capitan Vidal).

Still suffering from the trauma of her biological father's death and the fear of her new home and step-father, Ofelia has found escape in books. But when she uncovers an insect that turns into a fairy, Mr. del Toro and his visual effects crew leave us blinking in amazement.

Ofelia is led to a labyrinth of rocks behind Capitan Vidal's estate, where she embarks on a quest that will, she believes, lead her to a castle where she will become a princess. While Capitan Vidal hunts down and tortures rebels hiding in the woods, and Ofelia's mother battles a difficult pregnancy, the girl is left to complete tasks designed by a faun named Pan. We must decide for ourselves whether Ofelia's creatures and tasks are real.

War's omnipresent gloom throws a vital plot shift involving rebels and Capitan Vidal's servant, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), who has become a surrogate mother to Ofelia while also secretly helping the rebels. We see the horror of Capitan Vidal's violence, and the depths of his evil soul. Mr. Lopez's performance is powerfully chilling.

Ofelia's tasks take her to mystical places such as the inside of a large tree to uncover a key hidden in a toad's belly and a frightening encounter with a child-eating creature with eyes on its hands. Tragedies mount for Ofelia as her quest goes astray, and Capitan Vidal's rage becomes increasingly uncontrolled as the film nears a brutal conclusion.

Mr. del Toro brings his vision to life through stunning audio and visual effects, intricate set pieces and brilliantly constructed costumes. The film grants us the freedom to draw our own conclusions at the end.

Those hardened by the harsh cruelties of human nature may be saddened, but those who still hope for a better world will leave the theater believing in magic.

1 hr. 52 min. Rated R for graphic violence and some language.

"The Echo Maker"

A Book Review By Sue Brooke

"The Echo Maker" by Richard Powers is a novel that makes the reader think - think, in fact, about the brain.

The story is set in 2002. When Mark, a young Nebraska man, first wakes up after an automobile accident, he can barely speak. In time, all of his functions return, and he appears to be all right. But one thing bothers him: The person closest to him, his only living relative, seems wrong. A woman claims to be his older sister, Karin, and looks exactly like her. But he is sure she is not Karin.

Karin, 31 years old, has escaped the small town where she and Mark grew up with an unbalanced, alcoholic father and a mother who found God and forgot about caring for her children.

Karin practically raised Mark, then went to college and went through a string of boyfriends and unfulfilling jobs. Mark dropped out of college after one year and has been hanging around with two buddies that Karin calls losers because the only things at which they excel are remote control games. Mark recognizes his friends and his ditsy girlfriend but continues to say things to Karin like, "My real sister would help me."

Puzzling circumstances surround the accident. Mark supposedly lost control on an isolated road. Yet he had always been an excellent driver and, at the time of the accident, his blood alcohol level was very low.

Karin learns there were three sets of tire skidmarks - and no witnesses. Most baffling is the note Mark found in the ICU the morning after the accident. It read: "I am No One but Tonight on North Line Road God led me to you so You could Live and bring back someone else."

While Mark is in the hospital, Karin moves into his home, vowing to help him somehow. She gives up her job and old life for the brother who is her only relative.

Meanwhile, Mark's friend Danny, Karin's high school boyfriend, is working to save the wetlands for the majestic Sandhill cranes that come every spring. Once commonly nesting over a much larger area of the Great Plains, now, with water levels so low, they mostly nest around Kearney, Neb.

When Mark persists in refusing to accept Karin as his sister, she calls Dr. Weber, a renowned neurologist who diagnoses Mark with the rare Capgras Syndrome. He agrees to see Mark, on the hunch that this unique case could help sell his next book.

As the story unfolds, Mark's rare disease causes everyone to change. Against the backdrop of the magnificent spring migration, the author sets his story of the mysterious patterns of the human brain.

Eye on Evanston

By John Macsai

There are more and more "loft apartments" in Evanston. These apartments are deeper than conventional units and the second bedroom, not adjacent to an exterior wall, has no windows.

A two-bedroom apartment, for example, has a floor area of approximately 1200 sq. ft. (actually, 42 feet by 28.5 feet equals 1,197 sq. ft.).

A conventional plan that allows both bedrooms to have windows requires approximately 42 linear feet of exterior wall or, assuming 10 feet floor-to-floor height, 420 sq. ft. of exterior wall surface. In contrast, the loft apartment where only one bedroom has a window needs only 28.5 linear feet, or 28.5 times 10 feet floor-to-floor height equaling 285 sq. ft., of exterior surface that can be brick, glass, or some type of curtain wall (see illustration at the end of this article).

The saving in construction cost is 135 sq. ft., that is, 420 sq. ft. minus 285 sq. ft. If we estimate cost at $55 per sq. ft., a savings is yielded of about $7,500 per apartment. Whether it is worth it is another matter.

This type of interior bedroom (sometimes called storage on the official permit plan) has always been prohibited by all building codes ,since any habitable room (living, dining, den, study or bedroom) was considered to require natural light and ventilation.

Then came the period of loft conversions. These were quite fashionable, though genuine lofts - former warehouses or factories - were deep and resulted in dark, unmarketable interior spaces.

Help was around the corner. Developers and building officials (and let us not forget architects) found an ingenious solution that made these interior spaces acceptable to building codes: the so-called "borrowed" light and ventilation. If the partition between an exterior room and this interior space were lowered so that at least 18 inches opened up between ceiling and partition, the interior room became "habitable." Needless to say, this gimmick worked best with high ceilings not customary in new apartment buildings.

My question is, "Are such interior spaces - without sunlight, without fresh air, without a view - really desirable?" In a sellers' market the developer can get away with this, as can be seen at Optima Horizons, Sherman Plaza and 525 Kedzie St., to name only a few.

But when it comes to who will use the windowless room, a decision will have to be made as to who will be deprived of blue sky, green spring foliage, autumn rust and orange. Surely the additional $7,500 is worth it for a condo so much more marketable later, even in a buyers' marker.

A conventional two-bedroom apartment requires more exterior wall space than does a loft apartment. Several factors determine whether the financial savings is justified.

McGaw YMCA Receives Grants for After-School Programs.

The McGaw YMCA recently received two $10,830 grants for the second consecutive year, from the JCPenney Afterschool Fund. The grants will help the Y offer children who otherwise could not afford it a fun, supervised place to learn new activities, make new friends and receive help with their schoolwork through its after-school programs. The award-winning programs are "ClubMid,” a program for middle-school students, located at 1000 Grove St., and "School's Out,” a program for K-5 children at our NAEYC-accredited Children's Center, 1420 Maple Ave.

"We are honored to have an opportunity to provide this grant to the McGaw YMCA,” said Jim Voeller, store manager for J.C. Penney's Niles store. "The JCPenney Afterschool Fund is firmly committed to helping YMCAs and other after-school providers deliver quality, values-based programs to deserving children in local communities throughout the country.” On Nov. 30, Mr. Voeller came out to the McGaw YMCA to visit with the kids in the two after-school programs. He assisted McGaw ClubMid students with their homework, and joined in arts and crafts and cooking workshops with the grade-school children in the McGaw YMCA Children's Center School's Out program.

In addition to receiving the JCPenney grant, the McGaw YMCA received over 60 gift cards from the JCPenney Corporation. These gift cards will be given to children receiving financial aid from the JCPenney Afterschool Fund grant to help with the purchase of school clothing and supplies.

"Together, these generous gifts will make it possible to help kids and their families have access to quality after-school programming and needed items for the school year,” said Bill Geiger, executive director of the McGaw YMCA.

Summer Camp Open House Jan. 12-13

The City of Evanston's Parks/Forestry & Recreation Department will hold a Summer Camp Open House on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 12-13 at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave. More than 50 camps will be offered this summer, from mid-June through late August, for preschoolers through adults.

There are full-day camps as well as half-day options. Some camps are held for a week or two, while others extend for most of the summer. At the Open House, residents can meet staff, ask questions and discover all of the camps available for youth and adults. Open House hours are 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, and 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13.

The complete 2007 Summer Camp brochure will be available at community centers in early January. It is also posted at www.cityofevanston.org/summercamps. Mail-in registration for residents starts Friday, Jan. 26. For more information, call 847-866-2900.

‘School's Out' Program

Meet children's author Glennette Tilley Turner at 2 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave. Ms. Turner is the author of several books of African-American history and biography for children, including "Running for Our Lives” and "An Apple for Harriet.” She will talk about the Underground Railroad and share her personal reminiscences of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Call 847-448-8610.

Parent-Child Workshops

This free program turns the Main Library's Community Meeting Room into a learning environment for young children and their parents. Children can play, do art projects, read and sing. The program is designed for children 1 to 3 years old with parents or caregivers. Siblings up to age 5 are welcome. The programs are held 10-11:15 a.m. on Thursdays, Jan. 11-Feb. 15, except Jan. 25. Call 847-448-8610.