‘Growing Up Koopersmith’…& Jewish in the Heartland.

The Official eMedia Release for:
ASK: Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith's "Remembering Jewish Chicago"
Talk & Discussion slated for: Friday, January 18, 2008 - 11 AM


eMEDIA RELEASE:
Dateline: Thursday, January 17, 2008



FROM THE DESKTOP OF:
ASK: ADRIENNE SIOUX KOOPERSMITH
Koopersmith’s Global Communications
“People read what Adrienne writes about…”
Chicago, Illinois USA
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TOPIC: ASK/Chicago: ‘Growing Up Koopersmith’…& Jewish in the Heartland.

Chicago, IL USA: This eNote is to personally wish you and yours a most happy, healthy and productive 2008. There’s no better way to start the New Year than to look to The Past to see where We came from and what We’ve achieved during the Decades of our Lives.

I will be doing ‘just that’ on Friday, January 18TH at which time I will be speaking at one of Chicago’s major Jewish Organizations, THE ARK. The Topic is one I know well – myself! I’ve been asked to talk about ‘Growing Up Koopersmith and Jewish’ which will, of course, put My Life into better Perspective. Plus, I’ll be able to share some Episodes that I nearly forgot about and/or feel may help others in their own ways and on their journeys.

The ARK is located at:

6450 North California in Chicago, IL 60645 USA
773-973-1000
arkchicago.org


ARK/Chicago: A BRIEF BIO:

Established in 1971, the ARK provides a comprehensive array of human services for the emotional, spiritual, physical and well-being of 3,000 needy Jewish People (both families and individuals) in the Greater Chicagoland area. Through loving and kindly acts, The ARK/Chicago supports and provides hope with an annual budget of over $3.7 million. It is the Torah’s Vehicle to sustain individuals in times of crisis and turmoil.

Besides providing social, medical and medical services, popular Intensive Day Programs are held on a regular basis that include such Topics as:

Arts and Crafts
Caregivers Group
Chuck’s Breakfast Club
Cooking
Current Events
Expression Through Photography
Health Matters
‘Let’s Talk About It’
Men’s Group
Mitzva Groups
Movie Club
News for Jews
Relaxation
Theatre Workshop
‘The Remembering Jewish Chicago’ Talks
Women’s Group
Writers Workshop and
Yoga for Women

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Speaking time for ‘Remembering Jewish Chicago’ Talks begins at 11 AM on Friday. I sincerely hope to see you there! If you cannot make it or live far away, perhaps you know someone in ‘The City’ who can benefit from this Selection of great Day Programs. If so, feel free to contact:

Steve Zeisel: 773-973-1000. Ext. 272
Na’ama Wasserman: 773-973-1000. Ext. 288
Evvy Gordon: 773-973-1000. Ext. 201

for more info.

Chicago is the Third largest City in the Metropolitan USA and within that select Population, no doubt, I am the only Jewish Gal (age 55 now) that spells her Middle Name as ‘Sioux’ – as the Great American Indian Tribe does. It doesn’t sound Jewish, but these Days, it’s not all in a Name. For Readers who are ‘well-aware,’ a Book cannot be judged by its Cover alone – it helps to see the Movie first!

But why me? “Growing up Koopersmith” in Mendota, Illinois (a small German Farming Community of 7,000 located 100 miles southwest of Chicago, IL), my Father was ‘crowned’ the first Jewish Mayor (for nearly 16 years) in a Town that was mostly German and anti-Semitic. A Jewish Star fashioned from scrap-metal bought from our junkyard was set on fire (klan-style) in the front yard of our ranch style home in the early 1960s. The closest Synagogue was 16 miles south of us. The original Rabbi died; the second rabbi’s wife didn’t like the area. They moved away leaving the Congregation. What were We to eat? My darling Mother (a native of Chicago) would drive (our fleet of Cadillacs) into Chicago (even during the Riots in 1968 when bricks were dropped from the overpasses on the Eisenhower Expressway) to go to the Butcher to make sure we always had our tummies filled. Mr. Berg always sold the best cuts of beef. As the ‘Oldest and the Best of 3 Children (all born in the 1950s) to Betty & Louis Koopersmith, I’m sure their Outlook on growing up was different than mine, but this is ‘My Story’ and I will be sharing it – what I can remember of it anyway – on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 11.

Life before the Computer, Whiteout and Trans-Fats. Imagine that. It’s just too hard to even remember Life before eMail, but it did transpire. What could possibly be more boring? Well, there might be a few things…but this personalized Discussion will definitely make for some lively Banter and Laughs that can shed Light on how even the most ordinary of unsophisticated Towns can yield the most brilliant of People. After all, it’s not where you came from, it’s where you land, straight up that matters in the long haul.

If you miss my Expose, Excerpts and Pictures will be appearing on my Blog, aptly named:

KOOPERSMITHin ® found at:

http://adriennesiouxkoopersmith.blogspot.com/


before February 1ST, 2008.

IN CLOSING:

If there are any Q&Q: Questions and Queries;
if you wish to run a Series of Stories on Events as these;
if you wish to interview me about my other Action Activities of which I am deemed:

‘America’s Premier Eventologist ® via Insight Magazine, Washington, DC in August of 1997;

‘The Premier Eventologist in the History of the World’ via The Chicago Tribune, in January of 2001

The Founder of AFSEE: Advocates For Senior Equality & Enrichment ®

The Founder of Cartoonists Against Crime ©1991 & Cartoonists Against Terrorism ©2001

Writer of 50 Pop Culture Manuscripts

or if you are curious about my 1500+ HOLIDATES that fall into 35 distinct categories that grace my Eventological Roster,

please email me directly at:

askoopersmith@hotmail.com
and/or
Adrienne.Sioux.Koopersmith@gmail.com

Thank you for your Time and Attention devoted to this pertinent subject. Continued Success and Best Wishes as the New Year unfolds…


Cheers,
ASK: Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith

PS: My Creative Profile is located at:
http://www.hotelsbycity.net/blog/usa/illinois/chicago/index.php/author/chicagoblogger27/

Koopersmithin': Premiering Thursday, November 21, 2007 - 4:11 PM

KOOPERSMITHin’ ®
The Life & Times as viewed
Through The Creative Eyes of:

ASK: Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith
‘America’s Premier Eventologist’
&
‘The Premier Eventologist in the History of The World’

Dateline: November 21, 2007 (a/k/a: ‘007)

WELCOMING REMARKS: The Who & Why of It All…

We all need to generate more Alphabet Letters in our Names. As of yet, there's no Person in the English-speaking World who has succeeded in having each Letter become Part of his or her Name, but I'm sure that Feat will unyieldingly make The Guinness Book of World Literature sooner than later. It may even prove to be a fun-time Activity to tackle while We semi-patiently wait around for the Turkey du Jour, Stuffing & Giblets to be served tomorrow.

ANGLES OF ALLUREMENT: In the meantime, an effective and eye-catching, rap-sounding Name in which to make one's Blog stand-out from all the others circulating in CyberSpace is a vital Necessity from all PoV: Points of View. There's no better way to do this than by making up a catchy Name - with its Root, of course, based in Reality or on its Fringes.

Therefore, KOOPERSMITH'in ® just popped into my Mind on Friday, November 16, 2007 @ 1 PM without Cause or Provocation. It merely appeared on its own Volition at a time when a clever Name was definitely needed. Hopefully, the Rest of The BLOG will be as easy to write.

With approximately 17,100 Hits for Koopersmiths & 481,000 Hits for Coopersmiths on the Planet to date via the Inner Confines of Google, the Dance of being a K(C)oopersmith strictly rests with your Heritage. The same, of course, rests with any other Tribe on the Planet. Life's chock-full of either/ors. This Blog may serve merely as one Prime Example.

WONDERMENT IN EVEYR NAME:

Do The Jones keep up with The Jones?

That Question may be the Foundation of all Family Secrets. Here you have it: Half the Family spells the Name with a K; the Other Half with a C. Then, there are those Renegades who drop Half the Name and either go by:

Kooper or Smith.

“How could they,” you ask? It was simple. In the Mid-1960s while GUK: Growing Up Koopersmith in the Heartland of America...Mendota, IL 61342, a small Farming Community 100 miles southwest of Chicago, I was told a very interesting Fact by my 7TH Grade Social Studies Teacher, Mr. William Hastert. While in Class in 1964, he stated that “Throughout History, a KOOPER was a Coffin or Cabinet Maker” and “a SMITH is the Person who...” This Suffix modified the Word that came before it.

“How interesting,” I thought to myself since my Paternal Grandfather, Srul Koopersmith had owned a lumber mill in the Black Forest in Germany before he immigrated to America to seek his Fame and Fortune. Therefore translated, Srul was ‘the Person who manufactured Coffins, Cabinets or Woodworking in his Village in Germany’s Black Forest Region in the late 19TH Century. Nice work if you can ‘get it.’

Mr. Hastert was write-on target. Genealogy had not even become that much of a Hot Topic as it has Today in the Mid-1960s, but what Mr. Hastert foretold made a huge Impact on my Life thereafter and would be the Chief Catalyst for many engaging Conversations when People stopped and curiously asked me about my Name. This Factoid was to be the Catalyst for many fine and curious Conversations for the Decades ahead. After all, People will stop you in your daily stride if you’re out walking your Dog. Once Names are exchanged, if a Name is unusual, this Fascination naturally will continue the Conversation.

It’s all in The Name – a Name. Any Name just won’t due for the choosy Personality who demands to be separated from ‘The Crowd.’ Mr. Hastert continued by saying that for Reasons and Purposes We can and should not make-up on this Sacred Topic, We should tell you that Centuries ago, a Person’s Profession related to his Namesake. Therefore, Millers, Bakers and other such Categories took Root. You were known for what you reaped. Now, that's the Reason why so many People named their Off-spring ‘Prince, Princess or Queen,’ in order to afford their Child(ren) a better Lot In Life.

Today, I often wonder: WWMHSN:
“What Would Mr. Hastert Say Next?”

Luckily, Names can be changed, adopted, adapted, forgotten or even mis-spelled for an Effect or The Affect as some unanimously prefer, but never forgiven. Evidently, many of my Relatives when they settled in the Land of Milk, Honey & hopefully Money, the ‘Kooper’ or the ‘Smith’ was dropped in order to be(come) more Anglicized, the most popular Action to take in the early 1900s to easily fit into THE GROOVE and prevailing Cultural Setting. Sociologists now coin the Concept as Assimilation.

Just think: I could have been named: Carpenter. LINGER LONGER: “However, as a Writer, I like long Names and long Words. The longer - the better. This evidently means the Reader has to linger more with your Works + Words. Writing is, after all, Ideas mixed with Psychology and ample Doses of Sleepless Nights and ill-frought Relationships. Perhaps those fervent Readers will like it well enough to revisit it again, if not on a regular Basis.”

Quote of: ASK

Tuesday, November 20, 2007 – 2:04 PM CST

Tabloids now tout that once your Name has been made into a Verb, you’ve ‘made it.’ You have arrived. However, they don’t say exactly what ‘made it’ means. It means a lot – trust me. That’s a given since it’s trumped up so much by these learned Experts. Therefore, I decided to take that Leap of Faith and revise my Surname to its verbesque State and name My Blog: KOOPERSMITHin’ ®.

Celebrity Examples undoubtedly could be:

Minelli’d for Liza (Minelli)
Afflecked for Ben (Affleck)
Bono’d for Paul Hewson (U2)
Trumped for ‘The Donald’ Trump
or
Chered for Cher (no Last Name ever required)

An Action Verb that would encompass all the People, Places, Events, Possessions, Topics, Thoughts and Things that I personally hold near and dear…and/or are being paid to endorse, enforce and promote.

As a B-52er (defined as ‘a BabyBoomer specifically born in the Year 1952’ quoted by my Dear Friend Patty L. Magee of Richfield, Ohio I methodically turn one year older every August 9TH.

However, this does not complicate my overly-active Imagination and creative Bent that hardly seems to fail me.

With all that in mind and possibly more, Welcome to KOOPERSMITHin.’

May you and yours enjoy and unravel each Day and Episode that occurs…on and off-line.