The Buzz: Holocaust survivor zooms PHS class

Holocaust survivor videotapes her story to share with PHS class: Jennifer Lounibos, who teaches history at Petaluma High School, writes in to say that - with distance learning isolating all of her students in their separate homes - she reluctantly recognized she's have to cancel a classroom visit from guest speaker Rena Victor. Planned for an April visit, Victor, a Jewish German woman who survived the holocaust by hiding from the Nazis - has made a regular practice of telling young people her story at schools all around Sonoma County.

“Her mother kept her and her sisters safe while her father, a gentile, worked from within the German military to keep Jews safe,” says Lounibos. “With her daughter, who teaches at Sonoma State University, and sometimes her grandson, who is a PHS grad, Ms. Victor speaks to students in different settings.”

With the shelter orders resulting in school closures all over the state, Lounibos says she was disappointed that her students would miss out on what would have been the second visit from Victor.

“But then Ms. Victor and her family proposed that they record a video for my students to see in which she tells them her story,” writes Lounibos. “My students were able to watch to video and respond to her via email. They wrote beautiful messages and asked her questions. She wrote back to all who asked a question. It was really lovely.”

Lounibos adds how thankful she is to Victor and her family for going that extra mile during difficult times.

“It ended up being really special,” she adds, “because we haven't had students write Ms. Victor in the past, and now we'd like to do that again.”

Rivertown Revival's first Living Room Live “show” raises spirits and funds for Petaluma River: Ever since live concerts and festivals and theatrical productions everywhere were canceled two months ago, many creative souls have taken to Zoom, Facebook and Youtube to present their unhappily postponed productions online. Well, it's no surprise that the folks behind the Rivertown Revival have done with their own live virtual spectacle what they've previously done with the whole concept of an outdoor art and musical festival. They've supersized it, added a touch of eccentricity and charm, kept it both personal and universal, and remembered to make it all about protecting and celebrating the Petaluma River.

The first of four planned Saturday night concerts dubbed Living Room Live, the 95-minute extravaganza (which aired live on the Rivertown Revival Facebook page and YouTube channel on May 23 at 7 p.m.), was hosted with rakish affability by Josh Windmiller, lounging on a sofa and chatting in real-time with scads of viewers tuning in to catch the show. (Since then, the number of folks who've viewed the video after-the-fact has grown to over 2,000). The program featured live, inspiration-filled conversations with guest musicians, who then played previously taped three-song sets. The players were the folk-rock duo Ismay (surrounded by a nonplussed flock of sheep), a solo blues-rock set by Sebastian Saint James (bringing the fire in a corner of his home studio), and the John Courage Trio, apparently playing on his backyard patio. In between the music were short videos about the Rivertown Rivival, efforts to expand the work of Friends of the Petaluma River, a report from Gio Benedetti's My Town is Magical headquarters (watch out: there's been a troll sighting in Petaluma!), and a nifty documentary by and about artist Stephan Lockert. It described the ambitious construction of the enormous teeter-totter - complete with carved illustrations showing thousands of years of Petaluma history - that has become a landmark of the Rivertown Revival.

Rivertown Revivial, of course, has for 10 years been a significant fundraiser for Friends of the Petaluma River, and so is this four-pack of Saturday night live-streams. By Monday evening, the event had raised just over $1500 dollars, via Venmo and PayPal donations. (first week's video will remain up on Facebook until the next one goes live.

Like the aforementioned teeter-totter itself, Living Room Live is impressively put together, loads of fun to see, and worth every minute of the ride. Next week's show, May 30, 7 p.m., features the unpredictable Royal Jelly Jive, plus Frankie Boots and Petaluma singer-songwriter Hannah Jern-Miller.

And don't be surprised if Benedetti is back with more information about that mysterious troll.

Name those chickens! At a shady, historic residence on Liberty Street in the Oakhill-Brewster neighborhood, there is currently an attention grabbing sign on the fence, just in front of a fancifully decorated chicken coop and an unpretentious pen populated by poultry. The sign says, “Name Me,” in large letters on a green chalkboard, then, “Three baby chicks are having to be named by children in the neighborhood.” Beneath the sign is a metal watering can, referred to in the sign's other statement, “Put ONE name in the watering can. I'll pick three pieces of paper out of the can on June 15.” To passersby along Liberty, the home is well known for the chickens frequently offering sprightly, cluck-cluck conversation from the opposite side of the fence. The coop itself is adorned with inspirational messages: “Courage,” Magic Happens,” and “Nevertheless She Persisted.” Perhaps, once the tiny-feathered trio is officially named on the 15th of June, someone will let The BUZZ know what the youngster's new names will be.

(Have an idea for a good BUZZ item, and maybe a photo or two to go with it? Drop a line to Community Editor David Templeton at david.templeton@arguscourier.com)