As long as his trusty pit bull Ace is by his side, Dan O’Shea is content in the present, but that didn’t stop him from looking deep into the future with some of his fellow residents at Smith Village in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.
O’Shea and his neighbors at the senior living community spent a recent day in the Oak Room Pub inscribing 100-word predictions and their hopes and expectations for their descendents 50 years down the road. They jotted down their ideas on acid-free archival paper, which will be sealed in a time capsule surrounded by brick and four mosaics by artists from the Chicago Mosaic School on Aug. 12, to be opened in 2074. It will be placed outside the entrance at 2320 W. 113th Place.
“I hope in the future, people are able to get along — countries,” O’Shea said. “They used to say World War I was a war to end all wars and it wasn’t. One of these days, we’ll get to the point where war is a thing of the past.”
O’Shea said Ace, a 10-year-old rescue dog, helped him “formulate” ideas for his contribution to the capsule.
“He goes everywhere with me,” said O’Shea. “He’s my roommate.”
Dorothy Pawelski, who has lived at Smith Village for a decade, predicted more people will become centenarians in decades to come.
“One or two people (at Smith Village) are over 100 now, so in 50 years I anticipate more than half of the residents will be,” said Pawelski, 94, a former disability learning specialist. “As a result, we’ll still be helping the community by providing a spot for people who need support.”
But people of today might have a tough time understanding their descendents, she predicted.
“I think our terminology is going to change,” Pawelski said. “Words will be entirely different.”
Ruth Tesmond, 91, a South Sider who has lived at Smith for several years, said she hopes the young people of today, including her five great-grandchildren, use technology to benefit themselves and others, and “that electronics haven’t totally taken over their lives.”
“(I hope) they’re still communicating, and still willing to give and share and keep the community what it is,” she said. “Never lose the closeness of family, the ability to communicate and always have religion.”
Former librarian Rita Macellaio, 73, said literature and interactive activities will remain important as the decades go by.
“I hope they will continue to read books and that books will still be in existence,” she said. “That we’ll continue to play games here — chair volleyball, bocce ball, ping pong, have a book club — that people stay engaged.”
As part of the activity, the prognosticators had a chance to go back in time to see what was predicted for today, watching a segment from Popular Science’s 1967 video of Walter Cronkite predicting what would happen in the 21st Century.
The event was part of Smith Village’s celebration of its 100th year anniversary. They also recently showcased a timeline exhibit of Smith’s growth over that period, which included historical events surrounding the retirement community, at Beverly Arts Center.
The retirement community includes Smith Crossing in Orland Park, which is marking its 20th anniversary.
The Centennial Committee, which planned the time capsule and timeline exhibit, includes Smith executives Marti Jatis and Amanda Mauceri, board chair Kay E. Thurn, Ald. Matt O’Shea and other community members.
“We have such a strong legacy in the community,” said Jatis. “Our elders are the wisest among us.”
Meghan Maple, associate executive director, who, like Jatis, attended the event, agreed.
“They’ve lived through so much history and to have their predictions of where our future will be is exciting,” Maple said.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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