SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021 | 3A
Community News
Ellis Island Day goes virtual at Siuslaw Middle School
H
eather Wiggins, Social Stud-
ies teacher at Siuslaw Middle
School, has partnered with the act-
ing troupe “Living Voices” of Seat-
tle for the last six years to bring a
unique and memorable education-
al experience to her eighth-grade
students. The 2021 event was spon-
sored by the Florence Elks Lodge
#1858 and produced by FACE
(Florence Arts, Culture and Enter-
tainment).
Living Voices’ “Ellis Island —
The New American” program has
been held at SMS each February
since 2015, with three live presen-
tations attended by every eighth-
grade student in the morning. The
interactive event allows each stu-
dent to experience the live reenact-
ing as the immigrant experience,
circa 1912, and engage in the en-
suing question and answer session.
Wiggins then devotes the stu-
dents’ afternoon with their own re-
enactment of arrival at Ellis Island,
with students taking on the name
and persona of an actual immi-
grant, while other students act as
immigration officials, nurses and
In 2019, Heather Wiggins and
her Siuslaw Middle School stu-
dents were able to get dressed
up to participate in Living
Voices’ presentation.
policemen to set up their own “re-
enacted Ellis Island.”
“The New American” tells the
story of the fictional Bridget Fitz-
gerald from a poor farm family in
rural Ireland. The Fitzgeralds can
barely scratch out a living, and in
1912 her father sends Bridget to
America in hopes she will be able
to send back enough money to save
their home.
Bridget travels in steerage on a
steamship headed for New York.
At Ellis Island, she is tagged and
numbered along with thousands
of immigrants and crammed into a
huge, noisy facility. After a barrage
of tests and a long list of confusing
and embarrassing questions, Brid-
get is passed through and taken to
Manhattan, where she begins work
at a sweatshop.
Through many challenges, and
after studying for and passing
Getting rid of 'Huh?'
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the citizenship exam, Bridget ful-
ly embraced her new homeland.
Through it all, students learn what
American liberty and opportunity
mean to people around the world.
The story is presented as a live
reenactment by Rachael McClin-
ton, one of the founders of Living
Voices. Using a multimedia pro-
gram, she becomes Bridget Fitz-
gerald and makes her story come
alive. After the story closes, the
students are encouraged to walk
through major points of the saga,
ask questions, and think critically
about what immigration to Amer-
ica means — then and now.
That was Ellis Island Day at Siu-
slaw from 2015 to 2020, before the
pandemic.
In 2021, with students taking
classes almost entirely in their
homes, it seemed that this year’s
eighth graders — the class of 2025
— would miss out on this unique
day. But thanks to technology, in-
genuity and the hard work of the
reenactors and many others, Ellis
Island Day went on … virtually.
The event was held as a two-day
event via Zoom Webinar, with the
reenactment portion shown to
students on their home Chrome-
books. The following day, actresses
conducted live Question & Answer
sessions with each class.
Siuslaw School District Tech Spe-
cialist Chris Rowbotham ran the
middle school technical aspects.
The school does not use Zoom
meetings for daily teaching, so this
required flexibility and adopting a
learning curve. Plus, students could
“raise their hand” in a Zoom meet-
ing.
The Zoom webinar features were
helpful, especially in the Q&A with
questions posted anonymously.
Students in their four regular class
periods had their own Q&A and
discussion sessions.
“With just a few minor glitches,
the two days went very well,” said
Wiggins. “The students were able
to watch the recorded segment on
Wednesday and ask questions of
the actresses on Thursday.”
For a West Coast perspective,
prior to Ellis Island Day, Wiggins
conducted a short session on im-
migration through Angel Island in
San Francisco Bay (1910-1940).
The FACE Team sent special
thanks to the Elks Lodge #1858 for
sponsoring this event in its seventh
year. Kudos also went to Rowboth-
am for making the Zoom meeting
work almost seamlessly; Wiggins
for keeping the students engaged;
SMS Principal Andy Marohl; and
SEAcoast, which helped launch the
event in 2015.
For more information on FACE,
contact the Florence Events Center.
Windermere rallies to help Lane County amid pandemic
During a year marked by
challenge, local real estate
brokers, staff and owners
with Windermere Real
Estate/Lane County did
their part in answering the
call to help the less fortu-
nate in local communities.
Through the Winder-
mere Foundation, a total of
$18,900 was given to char-
ities in Lane County that
support low-income chil-
dren and families in 2020.
Windermere also piv-
oted its traditional volun-
teer campaigns through-
out the year to address the
most immediate needs of
the community, including
raising money for wildfire
relief efforts and hosting
a virtual winter necessity
fundraiser.
The $18,900 in dona-
tions from the Windermere
Foundation benefited char-
ities throughout Eugene,
Florence and Vida. Among
them were the Boys and
Girls Clubs of Western
Lane County, Crossroads
Church, Kids First, CASA
of Lane County, WomenS-
pace, Food for Lane County
and Florence Food Share.
Moreover, when fires
ravaged local communi-
ties, brokers from Wind-
ermere Real Estate/Lane
County raised an addition-
al $14,005 in just 48 hours
to benefit relief efforts,
including the local Amer-
ican Red Cross. More than
monetary donations, bro-
kers also spent countless
hours volunteering at evac-
uation shelters, providing
emergency supplies and
meals, and offering their
homes to displaced people
and animals.
When
Windermere’s
annual Community Ser-
vice Day was cancelled
— a 35-year-old tradition
where owners, brokers and
staff volunteer in their lo-
cal neighborhoods on the
same day each June — lo-
cal volunteers decided to
spread out their efforts so
as not to lose the spirit of
community service while
keeping everyone safe.
Windermere
brokers
spent three consecutive
Fridays in August volun-
teering for the Food for
Lane County GrassRoots
Garden, helping with what-
ever the greatest need was,
including pulling weeds
and general upkeep/main-
tenance.
With more than 2.5
acres, volunteers had am-
ple space to social distance
while helping the nonprofit
with their mission.
In addition, rather than
cancel its Share the Warmth
campaign — an annual
winter tradition that has
benefited local neighbor-
hoods through donations
of coats, blankets and oth-
er items for nearly two
decades — Windermere
hosted a virtual fundraiser
to help local charities pur-
chase winter necessities
for community members
in need. Beneficiaries in
Lane County included Siu-
slaw Outreach Services and
Whiteaker
Community
Dinners.
Windermere Real Estate/
Lane County is part of the
larger Windermere Foun-
dation, serving the Western
U.S. since 1989. Along with
launching its own fund-
raising activities and pro-
viding personal donations,
brokers donate a portion
of every commission to
the Windermere Founda-
tion for every home bought
or sold through Winder-
mere. To date, Winder-
mere has raised more than
$43 million in donations,
supporting programs and
organizations that provide
shelter, clothing, children’s
programs, emergency as-
sistance and other services
to those in need.
For more information,
v i s it w w w. w i n d e r m e re.
com.
Free weekly online parenting classes offered beginning March 22
The phrase “Babies don’t
come with instructions”
has often been said when it
comes to parenting.
In spite of the old ad-
age, every first-time parent
wants to do their best to
provide the love and nur-
turing that babies need.
For that reason, Safe
Shelter for Siuslaw Students
and West Lane County Safe
Families for Children are
offering an online parent-
ing course for families and
caregivers of babies and
toddlers, ages birth to 3.
The course is called “Start
Strong” and will be present-
ed by renowned author and
educator Dr. Becky Bailey,
founder of Conscious Dis-
cipline. This e-Learning
experience addresses the
needs of the adults first,
then addresses the needs of
the child during the critical
early years of development.
The ability to recognize
and manage both mild and
toxic stress is an adult pre-
requisite for equipping the
next generation to do the
same. The way we respond
to the needs of infants and
toddlers will help or inhibit
them from forming healthy
life patterns.
Classes will be offered on
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
MARCH 13
MARCH 14
MARCH 15
MARCH 16
Partly Cloudy
Rain
54°F
44°F
49°F
37°F
Mondays at 7:30 p.m., be-
ginning March 22.
Costs for the course are
paid by a generous grant
from The Ford Family
Foundation; there are no
fees for participants.
Preregistration is re-
quired to access class mate-
rials and sign on informa-
tion.
To pre-register, contact
Suzanne Mann-Heintz at
541-590-0779 or email her
at Suzanne@safeshelterfor-
siuslaw students.org.
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
MARCH 17
Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy
50°F
37°F
55°F
40°F
56°F
45°F
FRIDAY
MARCH 18
MARCH 19
Showers
Showers
55°F
45°F
53°F
43°F
Health is our #1 Priority!
At Shervin’s we are taking extra precaution in order to ensure that our customers and staff are kept safe
and healthy during this quickly changing situation.
1 Car Sanitation – All cars are wiped down with a sanitizer before and aft er the service. We wipe down
any areas in the interior where employees have touched, such as door handles, the steering wheel, keys,
shift ers and power window panels.
2 Hand Sanitation- Our staff will continue to wash their hands throughout the day and change gloves
aft er each car they service.
3 Give Customers Options- We will pick up and deliver your vehicle to your home. You may also drop
your key in our secure mailbox for drop-off s to avoid or minimize contact.
4 Employee Illness is Serious- We are encouraging employees
not to shake hands. We are practicing “personal distancing” and
encouraging employees to stay home if they feel under the weather.
5 Wipe Down High Touch Points- We wipe/spray counters, credit
card machines, door handles, phone handles, kitchen areas, and
chair arms and tables in waiting area multiple times a day.
We continue to be focused and committed to working with each
of you to ensure we continue to meet and exceed your expecta-
tions. We are here for you. 
We thank you for your business and more importantly, your
friendship. Please be safe and exercise extra precaution during this
challenging time.