>> Matt: This week on Friends & Neighbors.

>> Julie: Jake went through every sport and school physical, was a vibrant, healthy young man.

And one day he was here running a play on the practice field, and he went into sudden cardiac arrest.

We knew that we needed to do something as a family so this was not happening to other children.

So what we started to do was going into the schools and do heart screenings.

>> Jeff: As it started evolving and people started seeing the beauty and stuff.

There's photo shoots are all the time anymore.

A lot of people do photo shoots out here.

Prom, weekends, you know, there's, you know, proms from Valpa, Crown Point.

All of them seem to make their way down here anymore.

All the local ones within an hour.

>> Stan: It's mainly family fun, running around with your buddies, kind of bashing cars.

It's quite the hobby, but it's the giggles that are worth it when you go out there and kind of goof off with this stuff.

>> Tammy: It's an experience.

We want you to come in, experience the art, have a glass of wine, look around.

So a lot of people that come in, they turn into friends.

>> Announcer: Centier Bank is proud to serve hometown community banking across Indiana.

For over 128 years, Indiana's largest private family-owned bank has been not for sale and promises to keep it that way for years to come.

>> Spokeswoman: Sacred Dunes integrative health is your comprehensive holistic wellness center, specializing in acupuncture, massage therapy, functional lab testing, nutrition, and herbal medicine.

Sacred Dunes, where wellness grows.

>> Announcer: Local programming is made possible by IBEW Local 697, Northwest Indiana's source for electrical professionals.

Providing certified, trained, and experienced professionals for residential, commercial, industrial, and solar projects.

>> I have a very strong connection to other students.

Everyone makes an effort to help each other.

I'll remember the feeling of being here, the feeling that I was a part of a family.

>> Spokeman: Strack & Van Til is hiring full- and part-time positions for deli, floral, bakery, department managers, and more, with flexible work schedules, sign-on bonuses, paid vacation, and benefits.

Learn more at strackandvantil.com.

>> Spokesperson: Methodist Hospitals' mission is to provide compassionate, quality healthcare services to all those in need.

Methodist Hospital, celebrating 100 years of healing in Northwest Indiana.

Learn more at methodisthospitals.org.

>> Announcer: Additional support for LakeShore Public Media and Friends & Neighbors is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

>> Welcome to Friends & Neighbors the Lakeshore Public Media program that explores what it means to live in Northwest Indiana.

Celebrating the idea that behind all of the good things in the region are good people making it happen.

I'm your host, Matt Valuckis.

After the loss of her son, Julie West created the Play for Jake Foundation in 2013.

Since then, she has dedicated herself to the prevention of sudden cardiac arrest in younger people.

The Play for Jake Foundation partners with schools to provide heart screenings for its students as well as raise funds and awareness around the importance of defibrillators.

(calm melodic music) >> Julie: Over 255,000 people die a year to sudden cardiac arrest.

And for our children, with doctors only doing, you know, just a basic physical, they're not thinking about checking and looking further into their heart condition, and that's what's so important.

One student dies every one to three days in the United States from an undetected heart condition.

Jake went through every sport and school physical, was a vibrant, healthy, young man was hardly ever sick from school.

He never missed school due to any illnesses.

And one day he was here running a play on the practice field and he went into sudden cardiac arrest.

It wasn't on my radar.

I thought I had a perfectly healthy son.

Didn't even think about a heart condition, you know, and he passed every physical.

I thought, "Oh, he's healthy, he's good, he's good to go.""

And then one day he doesn't come home.

After Jake, we found out Courtney had the same condition and she was an athlete all the way through school.

Found out then I had an electrical issue after losing my son.

So, you know, at that time I was in my mid forties and I never knew I had anything that could have caused me to go into sudden cardiac arrestment.

You know, the cardiologists told both Courtney and myself that Jake saved our lives.

We became a nonprofit just a few months after losing my son, Jake.

We knew that we needed to do something as a family so this was not happening to other children.

So what we started to do was going into the schools and do heart screenings.

We're trying to be proactive, we're trying to save a life.

And when we we're doing these screenings, I mean, we have saved lives.

It's so important that we know we have that knowledge.

And when we do the screenings, the parents will know that knowledge and can go from there.

Educating our kids on that as well.

Like if you're not feeling well, tell somebody.

If your heart's racing, you feel dizzy, tell somebody.

And then as parents, we really need to listen.

There's doctors that might say, "Well, if they don't have a sign or symptom."

Well my son never had a sign or symptom and he's not here anymore.

So I think it's really important that we do that.

I think with what happened with DeMar Hamlin on a national level, that was huge 'cause I think everybody saw, wow, his story would've ended possibly different if there was not an AED and the personnel on duty to you know, get in there quickly and save his life.

So I think everyone was like, "Wow."

You know, they need to start thinking, "Is my child safe at school?"

(uplifting music) We are signing Senate Bill 369, Jake's Law.

So I'm really excited about that.

It's been a couple years in the works.

And finally, I walked out of the State House at 1:00 AM on the final day of all the bills that were supposed to be finished.

And we'll have Jake's Law on the books starting July 1st.

It's having an AED with a goal of three minutes.

Having it within that amount of time at all athletic events and practices.

And the most important thing is having a plan to where everyone knows what to do when someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest.

Whether it's a coach, an athlete, a fan, a cheerleader, a band member, they know what to do.

We're doing it at the younger levels.

I mean, all kids then will know what an AED is.

They'll know what to do if someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest and then they can take that plan or what they've learned, they can take it to their workforce when they graduate.

So eventually, we're gonna get to that point where everybody knows what an AED is and how important it is to be prepared.

I'm relieved.

I'm relieved 'cause now kids in the state of Indiana on the athletic fields and practices will be better protected.

This community has been amazing from day one.

I mean, when they filled the stadium at Jake's celebration of life and the fact that they painted the the 26 yard line orange for Jake, and the flag.

Sometimes there's no words that can really show my appreciation for the support.

It's been amazing and very helpful too.

I don't think maybe people realize how helpful that is for me, knowing that I have the support that I do.

You know, Jake, he touched a lot of people in his years here.

He was a kind, funny, just all-around great kid.

And so people remember that.

People remember how he made them feel.

So I think that's a big part of the support that we received because he just was a really good boy.

(uplifting music) >> Matt: To support the cause or to schedule the screening, visit playforjake.org.

Wilbert Hamstra's biggest dream was to always have a garden to spend his time in.

In 1960, that dream became a reality.

What started as simple farmland in Wheatfield, Indiana, has transformed into a carefully-curated estate.

Mr. Hamstra continues to develop the gardens, showcasing the labor of love that started nearly 60 years ago.

Let's take a closer look inside Hamstra Gardens.

(calm music) >> Jeff: Mr. Hamstra's developer did a lot of real estate building, shopping centers and every other thing.

And about 1960 to 1962, where we're sitting was a cornfield.

And from that passion he started building and now we're to where we're at now.

In 1992 is when I came on board, 30 years ago, and it's evolved from there.

He was a builder by trade and this was just a sideline passion hobby.

Some people got show cars, he had a garden and he just kept maintaining and building it.

(calm music continues) As it started evolving and people started seeing the beauty and stuff.

There's photo shoots are all the time anymore.

A lot of people do photo shoots out here.

Prom, weekends, you know, there's, you know, proms from Valpa, Crown Point.

All of them seem to make their way down here anymore.

All the local ones within an hour.

(peaceful music) There's a lot more than meets the eye.

It's very, very highly maintained.

We're real particular on detail right down to little weeds and cracks to bricks being perfectly set.

As you can tell when you walk around here, everybody, it's always very neat and tidy.

With landscaping, you're always evolving but it's a maintenance job.

A lot just keeping up what we got now.

But structures, you're always doing remodeling, construction stuff.

You're always redoing pavers.

You're redoing beds, transplanting plants, replanting plants.

You know, it's never ending.

A lot of people say, "So what do you guys do?

Just mow?"

And that's basically hardly a drop in the bucket of what we do.

(peaceful music continues) >> Wilbert: I rarely, rarely come out here without clippers and a saw in my hands because if I see something that needs attention, I can do it right there and it gets me a form of exercise and also, I keep my body busy and I just enjoy doing that.

It's something...

It's a love for it.

I like to do it.

I'm out here not working.

I'm out here playing.

Just seeing people enjoy it and travel far to get here and it just gives me a great pleasure and joy to share it with other people and let them enjoy it.

And it would be not fair to hoard it to myself and not share it with the community in the surrounding area.

It's something, this is my hobby, my life, and it's my way of getting away from the work and everything and so on.

And I, you know, come out here and just relax and enjoy playing with the plants that I like to do.

It's not a job for me.

It's pleasure.

And yeah, I do it for the joy I get out of keeping it up and making it look nice so I can share it with other people.

(peaceful music continues) >> Jeff: You know, as anything, You know, after 30 years, sometimes you can get to where when visitors are here you start seeing it through their eyes and it gets new again.

You work and you actually forget to stop and see the beauty at times 'cause you're so busy and you go from one thing to the next.

So sometimes it's nice when you do show somebody, especially somebody that's never been here, I guess it makes you feel good to show it off a little bit at times.

You know, to have people, and especially the people that really actually know what goes into having something like this.

>> Matt: Visit hamstragardens.com for more information or to schedule a visit.

Since the mid 1960s, radio-controlled vehicles have been a staple at hobby shops across the nation.

King Hobbies in Valparaiso is a little different.

Not only can you buy RC cars, but you can race them too.

So let's grab a controller, hit the track, watch those tiny tires spin.

(upbeat rock music) >> Stan: It's mainly family fun, running around with your buddies, kind of bashing cars.

It's quite the hobby, but it's the giggles that are worth it when you go out there and kind of goof off at this stuff.

Jim Walker is the owner here at King Hobbies, his trade is a machinist.

And he had an apprentice that brought him some engine parts to an RC car and said, "Hey, I need to, we need to make these things better."

So they were manufacturing these race car parts for these RC cars.

So then Jim decided, you know, this was doing so well that hey, should, you know, take this to the next level.

And the next level was to get his own building and then eventually get into the hobby shop side of it.

You know, being able to sell cars and airplanes and all that kind of jazz.

And that's what it's built into today.

If you, you know, you're a dragster kid, you know, you don't want to spend nine bazillion dollars on a real dragster.

Track just has one of those.

You can do that kind stuff.

You want to do monster trucks.

Oh, you know, watching that stuff on TV, "That's so cool.

I could never afford it."

Well, you can now.

'Cause that stuff is available and it doesn't do what the real stuff does, it does way more, you know, just 'cause there's so much more speed and there's no human inside the vehicle.

So yeah, it's that, I guess fantasy that you can, you know, jump this thing a hundred feet in the air and squash it in the ground and everything's good and go do it again.

Have a good time.

You know, when you get one of these things, you're gonna have an issue with eventually.

You're running around and crashing in the mailbox posts and you know, we have the ability and the knowledge to fix those things and diagnose them, see what's wrong with it, and are willing to help you out.

You know, we're gonna get it fixed.

You know, some of these trucks were designed 20 years ago.

I've got a part on the wall for it.

You go to a another retailer and pick up a $40 RC car and it breaks and you might as well just throw it away.

It's not a matter of if you're gonna break this thing, it's when, and we have the parts available.

We have technicians here.

If you can't figure it out, we can work on it for you.

(upbeat rock music continues) We have a road course facility.

You can come and rent the track.

You know, we take pride in the quality of the track and we go the extra mile with preparing the facility.

You know, for racing, you could just, you know, knock some grass down and run around in circles, have a good old time, but we're on another level of that.

We like to dial it up a notch.

There's a bunch of jumps out there and all sorts of cool stuff.

We've got grand stands for all the spectators and family members that show up.

It's $8 to rent the track and come out here and have all sorts of fun for the whole day.

It's typical race people.

They want to beat you, but they would give their left arm or the last part they had in your toolbox to put your car back together if you needed it.

I mean, that's just the way that community is, especially when you see, you know, guys out in the parking lot here and gals having a good time, running around.

They would, in a heartbeat, give you a part just to keep you going.

So yeah, it's like you're in the cool kids club when you're part of that.

"Oh, you're an RC guy.

Oh, you need this."

Or, "I've run into this problem before.

Try this."

It's a really, really, really neat community of folks.

>> Matt: For more information on products and race times, find King Hobbies on Facebook.

Schiralli Art Gallery and Cafe Cozy is a retreat where people can get away from the day-to-day.

Owners Rocco and Tammy have filled the space with fantastical art, fresh cuisine, and friendly faces.

It's a labor of love that goes beyond your typical sights, sounds, and tastes.

(relaxing guitar music) >> I would say for someone that's never been here, from the moment they walk in, they're just overwhelmed with everything that's going on and taking place inside the gallery.

That would include all of the sights, the sounds, the tastes.

When you walk in, it's an old house and right away that captures you, and then just the grandness of everything.

I think the most important thing, it's the vibe that you get here.

When you walk in, you feel at peace, and you feel the love that was put into this place, and you can usually smell something very fresh cooking.

And that is of whatever the special is for the day or whatever she's making or baking.

So you're hit with the smell of something very fresh.

So it's like you're walking, you're going back home to a very pleasant place or a very pleasant time in your life when things were simpler.

>> I started cooking really young.

Seven, eight, maybe.

Before dinner, one of us would go down to the garden.

It was like an acre big.

We'd go down to the garden and we would pick the vegetables that we were gonna cook, the tomatoes we were gonna slice.

So, just growing up, I've always had a very close relationship with fresh food and wanting to cook with it.

>> Rocco: One of my favorite sayings is, "Life is beautiful but sad."

And unfortunately, that's pretty much my philosophy of life.

However, it is beautiful.

However, there is that sad element to life that we all experience or have experienced.

Or, if you're one of the lucky ones, well you will experience it.

So when I create a painting, I think it captures all of that.

But even in the darkest of themes of all my painting, there will be some hope in that painting.

(relaxing guitar music continues) (upbeat instrumental music) >> Tammy: It's an experience.

We want you to come in, experience the art, have a glass of wine, look around.

So a lot of people that come in are like, they turn into friends, right?

Or they become friends.

And they come back and they bring other people with them.

They wanna share it, they wanna share the space, which I think is really neat.

"We have to show you this."

And sometimes we have people come in and then leave and then come back that very same day with a group of people because they were so excited that they found this place.

I try to have items that you're not gonna get anywhere else.

So part of what you're eating and drinking is also part of the experience because you can't get it down the street.

You can't go to the store and buy it.

So I think that adds to the specialness of the place, the feeling of being on vacation.

Something that you don't see at home and something you don't see at the grocery store.

We created a space where we feel it's who we are, the things that we love, and we want everybody who walks in the door to feel that same thing.

That we, every inch of everything that we did, we did it for us, but we also did it for everybody else that comes in.

Like a big hug.

It's love.

You can see, you can feel everything that we put into it.

>> Matt: For more information, visit schiralliart.com.

That wraps another episode of Friends & Neighbors.

I'm your host, Matt Valuckis, and as always, we're looking for feedback and suggestions.

Do you have a friend that goes above and beyond to make the community better?

Or neighbor that has a funky local shop that you think we should know about?

Email us at friends@lakeshorepublicmedia.org.

Maybe next time we'll highlight the unique people, places, and experiences that are your Northwest Indiana favorites.

Until then, be kind and celebrate your friends and neighbors.

>> Spokeswoman: Centier Bank is proud to serve hometown community banking across Indiana.

For over 128 years, Indiana's largest private family-owned bank has been not for sale and promises to keep it that way for years to come.

>> Announcer: Sacred Dunes Integrative Health is your comprehensive holistic wellness center, specializing in acupuncture, massage therapy, functional lab testing, nutrition, and herbal medicine.

Sacred Dunes, where wellness grows.

>> Announcer: Local programming is made possible by IBEW Local 697.

Northwest Indiana's source for electrical professionals providing certified, trained, and experienced professionals for residential, commercial, industrial, and solar projects.

>> Spokesman: Strack & Van Til is hiring full- and part-time positions for deli, floral, bakery, department managers, and more, with flexible work schedules, sign-on bonuses, paid vacation, and benefits.

Learn more at strackandvantil.com.

>> Almost every single professor I've had, I'm on a first-name basis.

By building that relationship with faculty, I was able to get involved with research.

It's one thing to read about an idea in a book versus physically doing it and seeing the results.

>> Spokesperson: Methodist Hospitals' mission is to provide compassionate, quality healthcare services to all those in need.

Methodist Hospital, celebrating 100 years of healing in northwest Indiana.

Learn more at methodisthospitals.org.

>> Announcer: Additional support for Lakeshore Public Media and Friends & Neighbors is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

>> Spokesman: Did you know that you can find all of your favorite Lakeshore PBS shows online?

Visit video.LakeshorePBS.org.

You can stream a large selection of shows, including Eye on the Arts, In Studio, and Friends & Neighbors.

Miss the last night's episode?

No problem.

Lakeshore PBS has got you covered.

Search for your show and find your episode ready to watch at any time.

Visit video.LakeshorePBS.org to stream your favorite local shows >> Broadcaster: Across Northwest Indiana, stories are told, shared, and sought after.

Tune into Lakeshore Public Media, 89.1 FM to hear these stories about Northwest Indiana and your community.

Streaming online at LakeshorePublicMedia.org.

(calm melodic music)