LAHARPE — With walls covered in tropical vines, the heat turned high and humidity levels kept up, even in winter, Dee Bombagi’s home is a color-filled paradise complete with live birds.
From a corner cage big as a small room, a blue and gold macaw screams to wake the dead, then cocks his head and says hello. From a back room, a sulfur-crested cockatoo lets loose a stream of Hebrew. Additional birds screech in their native tongues.
It’s all music to Bombagi’s ears.
“My mom and I became tropical junkies,” the 50 year old said. “We’d go to the Caribbean at least once a year.”
Dee, her husband Charlie and Dee’s mom, Barbara Pace, would spend a week in turquoise waters and dove-white sands. The Bombagis brought their three children, Jazmine, Alex and Kayla, with them, too, and for that week, they’d forget about life in Kansas, where Charlie runs Doghouse Concrete and Dee has a daycare.
After her mom died about a year and a half ago, Bombagi said “I took my inheritance money and got the birds.”
With the addition of “Tatouage,” wall-sized decals that appear hand-painted, she has made her house into a replica of the tropical realm she and her mother loved so well.
“My heat goes non-stop,” Dee said. “I squirt water bottles on them twice a day,” she said of the birds. And, she has to have an air filter running 24/7, because the macaw, Lenny, is allergic to her white cockatoos.
“White birds have a lot of dander,” she noted. “They’re dusty.”
In the not-too-distance future, though, the birds will have separate quarters.
“Charlie’s building me a total bird room as soon as spring breaks,” Dee acknowledged.
“It will have Plexiglas walls between the birds,” Charlie said, so they can have more freedom without interloping on each other’s territory — Charlie plans to enclose their 20-foot by 20-foot patio entirely for the birds.
THE BOMBAGIS are relative newcomers to raising large birds — they began only two years ago, but Dee’s family had parrots in her youth, she said, so she is familiar with their exacting needs.
The couple currently have five large and three smaller parrots or cockatoos. Dee recently sold a couple other parrots, she said.
“We’ve got too many birds,” Charlie noted. Still, they plan on acquiring a breeding pair of sulfur crested cockatoos soon.
The unusual hobby doesn’t come cheap.
“It’s costly feeding all of them,” Dee said. “This fruit food costs $55 for 17 pounds,” she said of a dry food fed to all her tropicals.
In addition, the birds get a seed mix and fresh fruits and vegetables.
And then there’s the macaw.
“Lenny eats everything,” Dee said. “He gets eggs for breakfast. He eats meat. Regardless of what we’re eating, you’d better give him some. If you sit down and don’t bring him anything, he screams until you can’t think.” He also acts as the couple’s guard dog, Dee said, screaming at anyone who comes in. (If that doesn’t intimidate visitors, the couple also has five dogs.)
Lenny was a performer in a bird show in Branson, Mo., Charlie said. “We’re constantly discovering new tricks he can do.”
He “talks up a storm” and rides a tricycle, Charlie said. But the bird burned out on show business, and was sold off at a bird auction.
“There’s a company in Parsons that has a bird sale in Yates Center twice a year,” Dee said.
But she’s willing to go further for her birds.
Her cockatoos came from a breeder west of Wichita who hand raised them from babies. Unlike Lenny, they are as quiet as snails.
“Oh, they make noise,” Dee said. “They all yell twice a day, just to yell.”
The cockatoos are white as clouds, and clever enough to dismantle their cage, Charlie said. “They’ve taken apart two cages already,” he said.
And they have long, long lives. The Hebrew-speaking Monty is already 30, about half way through his 60 year expected life. The umbrella cockatoos can live to 80. Macaws typically live to 40.
“These birds are my children’s inheritance,” Dee said of the investment. “They’re my babies.”
Sunday, July 11, 2010
New Yates Center attorney happy to be here
YATES CENTER — It was fate — and a Sunday drive — that resulted in Constance Peebles taking office as Yates Center city attorney at the end of January.
Back in November, Peebles and her husband were in the area for the day.
He had grown up in Piqua and the couple was looking to move near his family farm once he retired from sales at Haldex in about five years, Peebles said.
Living in Atchison, Peebles, a family law attorney, and her husband, Frank Link, imagined house hunting would take a while.
Instead, in Iola, they found a 1960s ranch house that Peebles fell for.
They upped their time frame for moving and put their fully restored 1893 Queen Anne in Atchison on the market.
While settling into her new house, Peebles learned of a potential opening in Yates Center.
Mike Case, the city attorney, was leaving.
“That firm was leaving and I was coming in; it was just an opportune time,” Peebles said.
Peebles took office on Jan. 25.
As city attorney, “I advise the city on legal issues (and) I am the main prosecutor for the municipal court,” Peebles said. “But I’m available in Allen, Woodson and surrounding counties,” Peebles noted.
While her office is on the Yates Center square, “I do meet some Iola clients (in Iola) at the courthouse,” she said.
In addition to city work, Peebles “focuses primarily on family law and criminal defense,” she said.
Her office is at 120 West Rutledge on the Yates Center square, next to the pharmacy. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, although she will see clients on weekends or evenings as scheduled, she noted.
Peebles can be reached at 620.625.3400.
PEEBLES, who was born and raised in Georgia, likes Yates Center, she said.
“The people are extremely friendly; it reminds me of home.” And, she said, “I’m eager to become involved in the community.”
Her husband, she noted, graduated from Yates Center High School in 1964.
After living in larger communities, including working a number of years in Johnson County, she nonetheless said she thinks southeast Kansas will suit her just fine in her quest “to be very busy as a lawyer and have a rich personal life.”
Peebles talents include playing “piano, organ and all keyboards,” she said. “I’ve been a professional musician since I was 12,” she noted.
Peebles only just resigned her position as organist at her former church, Holmeswood Baptist in Kansas City.
“The drive was too much,” she said.
She now hopes to become involved in music and theater in Iola, she said.
“I was the main musician at our theater in Atchison,” she said. “I played piano at Silver Dollar City for 10 years and was an actor in Branson,” she added.
Peebles is also an organic gardener who raises vegetables and flowers.
“I’ve already ordered my seed for my butter beans and field peas,” including pink-eyed and purple-hulled varieties, she said.
It’s food not typically seen this far north, she said, but she still likes to eat like a Southerner, she said.
“I make splendid grits and pecan pie,” she said. “I learned from my grandmother and my mother how to cook.”
Peebles holds a masters of music from the University of Arkansas and juris doctorate from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Her undergraduate degree, in French, is from the University of the Ozarks.
The couple have one cat, although Peebles would consider getting a dog, especially once the Allen County Animal rescue facility opens.
PEEBLES’ work past reflects her life philosophy.
“I haven’t taken the traditional path,” she noted. “I have too many things I’m interested in.”
In Georgia, the slightly built Peebles worked for Continental Woodlands.
“The guys had a bet I wouldn’t last six weeks — so I stayed four years,” she said.
In that time, she “planted a million pine trees, operated bulldozers and fought fires,” she said.
“You have to make your mark or someone will make it for you,” Peebles noted, saying she prefers to define herself.
Back in November, Peebles and her husband were in the area for the day.
He had grown up in Piqua and the couple was looking to move near his family farm once he retired from sales at Haldex in about five years, Peebles said.
Living in Atchison, Peebles, a family law attorney, and her husband, Frank Link, imagined house hunting would take a while.
Instead, in Iola, they found a 1960s ranch house that Peebles fell for.
They upped their time frame for moving and put their fully restored 1893 Queen Anne in Atchison on the market.
While settling into her new house, Peebles learned of a potential opening in Yates Center.
Mike Case, the city attorney, was leaving.
“That firm was leaving and I was coming in; it was just an opportune time,” Peebles said.
Peebles took office on Jan. 25.
As city attorney, “I advise the city on legal issues (and) I am the main prosecutor for the municipal court,” Peebles said. “But I’m available in Allen, Woodson and surrounding counties,” Peebles noted.
While her office is on the Yates Center square, “I do meet some Iola clients (in Iola) at the courthouse,” she said.
In addition to city work, Peebles “focuses primarily on family law and criminal defense,” she said.
Her office is at 120 West Rutledge on the Yates Center square, next to the pharmacy. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, although she will see clients on weekends or evenings as scheduled, she noted.
Peebles can be reached at 620.625.3400.
PEEBLES, who was born and raised in Georgia, likes Yates Center, she said.
“The people are extremely friendly; it reminds me of home.” And, she said, “I’m eager to become involved in the community.”
Her husband, she noted, graduated from Yates Center High School in 1964.
After living in larger communities, including working a number of years in Johnson County, she nonetheless said she thinks southeast Kansas will suit her just fine in her quest “to be very busy as a lawyer and have a rich personal life.”
Peebles talents include playing “piano, organ and all keyboards,” she said. “I’ve been a professional musician since I was 12,” she noted.
Peebles only just resigned her position as organist at her former church, Holmeswood Baptist in Kansas City.
“The drive was too much,” she said.
She now hopes to become involved in music and theater in Iola, she said.
“I was the main musician at our theater in Atchison,” she said. “I played piano at Silver Dollar City for 10 years and was an actor in Branson,” she added.
Peebles is also an organic gardener who raises vegetables and flowers.
“I’ve already ordered my seed for my butter beans and field peas,” including pink-eyed and purple-hulled varieties, she said.
It’s food not typically seen this far north, she said, but she still likes to eat like a Southerner, she said.
“I make splendid grits and pecan pie,” she said. “I learned from my grandmother and my mother how to cook.”
Peebles holds a masters of music from the University of Arkansas and juris doctorate from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Her undergraduate degree, in French, is from the University of the Ozarks.
The couple have one cat, although Peebles would consider getting a dog, especially once the Allen County Animal rescue facility opens.
PEEBLES’ work past reflects her life philosophy.
“I haven’t taken the traditional path,” she noted. “I have too many things I’m interested in.”
In Georgia, the slightly built Peebles worked for Continental Woodlands.
“The guys had a bet I wouldn’t last six weeks — so I stayed four years,” she said.
In that time, she “planted a million pine trees, operated bulldozers and fought fires,” she said.
“You have to make your mark or someone will make it for you,” Peebles noted, saying she prefers to define herself.
Old-time doesn't mean old to this fiddler
Richard Pearman, elder statesman of the Kansas Old-time Pickers, Fiddlers and Singers, was feted Sunday for his 93rd birthday.
Although the regular monthly gathering was canceled due to inclement weather, the party, attended by over a dozen friends and family members, went on in Pearman’s living room.
A chocolale-on-chocolate cake, bedecked with icing garland and roses, was enjoyed after a performance by Pearman on fiddle and “French harp” (harmonica), followed by a few classical violin pieces performed by Matthew Cunningham, one of the many Iolans for whom Pearman rehaired bows or fixed instruments over the years.
Pearman has been fiddling since he was 10 years old, and repairing such instruments since he was 12, after reclaiming his father’s fiddle from his older brother’s house.
When his father, Ernest Lee, died of lung cancer at 46, “My mom gave (the fiddle) to my oldest brother,” Pearman said. Pearman was just 9 at the time.
“He had four or five children and they’d taken it apart. The back was off, the neck was off — I took it home and fixed it.” Then he taught himself to play.
As the youngest boy, and second youngest child, of eight siblings “spread out over 20 years,” Pearman never received lessons from his father, who had had to fight to keep his fiddle.
Ernest Lee — “that’d be bout 150 years ago now,” Pearman said — “hid his fiddle in a hollow log in the woods.” Ernest Lee’s parents had objected to his playing, Pearman said. “They said the devil was in the fiddle.”
Pearman was luckier. Although his mom, Geneva, couldn’t help him learn, “my older sister played piano and one brother played banjo and another played guitar, so me and Otis,” — at a year and a half older, Pearman’s closest sibling — “just sort of picked it up. We’d go to a party and hear a tune and went home and tried to play it. Maybe we got it right and maybe we didn’t; anyway, I played my version of it.”
Pearman never learned to read music, he said. But he became an expert at repairing instruments and restringing bows.
“I fixed fiddles for people all over Kansas and also in Arkansas. I haired bows for people all over the country,” he said.
Last year, Pearman gave his father’s fiddle to his nephew Mark Pearman in Branson, Mo. Mark, a musician who played with Roy Clark, will pass the fiddle on to his son, who is 14, Pearman said. Pearman has no children of his own. The fiddle will “stay in the family.”
After his father died, “I didn’t get much schooling. When I was on the farm and the weather was good, I worked,” Pearman said.
“We owned about 200 acres” south and east of Gas, Pearman said. “We raised flax, corn and calfer corn — it’s called milo now,” he said.
In addition the family had a big garden and the usual array of chickens, geese and ducks common at that time.
“The first years” after his dad died, “we weren’t getting the crops in” Pearman noted. His older siblings were gone, and just he, Otis and 3-year-old Marie were left.
His oldest sister, Julie McGee, her husband, and neighbors came to help.
“We’d go to school and my mom shucked corn all day. Then we’d come home and take it to market. We’d sell it for 10 cents a bushel,” Pearman said.
As an adult, Pearman held two main jobs.
Pearman met and married Agnes McIntyre in 1938. Then, “we hauled milk the first 14 years,” Pearman said. “Then I was a drywall and painting contractor.” Agnes worked with him.
“She was the banjo taper on the sheet rock. We hired two more guys and worked for several carpenters.”
Agnes was as good a worker as any man, Pearman said, maybe better.
The couple retired “when I was 63,” he said. Agnes was 62.
Instrument repair was always his hobby, he said. But playing music — ”I don’t know that I would have lived without it,” Pearman said.
For 27 years, he served as president of the Blue Mound Old-time Fiddlers, Pickers and Singers. When that group disbanded in 2008, he joined Fort Scott’s group, then last year, Iola’s organization.
Before KOFPS formed, Pearman played with a number of bands, including Harvey Orcutt’s Moonlight Ramblers. They played regionally at dances that had standing room only crowds.
Pearman noted one venue that seated 300; the crowds were out the door, he said.
Agnes never played music with Pearman. “She played piano, but she didn’t play our kind of music,” he jibed. “We were swinging.”
Pearman still has a set list of about 40 songs, he said, that he uses for nursing homes “where I play for the old people” and KOFPS performances.
The past 30 years, Pearman has kept busy putting in an average of 300 hours per year as a volunteer, predominantly playing music at nursing homes. The residents appreciate his music “because I play the songs they grew up with,” he said. A box overflowing with volunteer appreciation pins on a table and a wall of similar plaques attest to that truth.
But “I crushed a vertebra in my back about a year ago,” Pearman said, “and I had to cut back. I only did about 160 hours last year.”
The secret to his recovery, Pearman said, was Agnes. “She took care of me,” he said. Also he said, “I had a stroke in 2000. I thought that was the end.” With her help, he kept on.
Pearman believes in staying busy.
“I don’t think hard work will hurt you,” he observed. “It’s the worry and the stress. When you’re having fun, you don’t worry.”
And as long as he has Agnes, and music, he’ll keep on having fun, he said.
note: This article was written March 22, 2010. Agnes Pearman later died, in July 2010. Richard is hanging in there.
Although the regular monthly gathering was canceled due to inclement weather, the party, attended by over a dozen friends and family members, went on in Pearman’s living room.
A chocolale-on-chocolate cake, bedecked with icing garland and roses, was enjoyed after a performance by Pearman on fiddle and “French harp” (harmonica), followed by a few classical violin pieces performed by Matthew Cunningham, one of the many Iolans for whom Pearman rehaired bows or fixed instruments over the years.
Pearman has been fiddling since he was 10 years old, and repairing such instruments since he was 12, after reclaiming his father’s fiddle from his older brother’s house.
When his father, Ernest Lee, died of lung cancer at 46, “My mom gave (the fiddle) to my oldest brother,” Pearman said. Pearman was just 9 at the time.
“He had four or five children and they’d taken it apart. The back was off, the neck was off — I took it home and fixed it.” Then he taught himself to play.
As the youngest boy, and second youngest child, of eight siblings “spread out over 20 years,” Pearman never received lessons from his father, who had had to fight to keep his fiddle.
Ernest Lee — “that’d be bout 150 years ago now,” Pearman said — “hid his fiddle in a hollow log in the woods.” Ernest Lee’s parents had objected to his playing, Pearman said. “They said the devil was in the fiddle.”
Pearman was luckier. Although his mom, Geneva, couldn’t help him learn, “my older sister played piano and one brother played banjo and another played guitar, so me and Otis,” — at a year and a half older, Pearman’s closest sibling — “just sort of picked it up. We’d go to a party and hear a tune and went home and tried to play it. Maybe we got it right and maybe we didn’t; anyway, I played my version of it.”
Pearman never learned to read music, he said. But he became an expert at repairing instruments and restringing bows.
“I fixed fiddles for people all over Kansas and also in Arkansas. I haired bows for people all over the country,” he said.
Last year, Pearman gave his father’s fiddle to his nephew Mark Pearman in Branson, Mo. Mark, a musician who played with Roy Clark, will pass the fiddle on to his son, who is 14, Pearman said. Pearman has no children of his own. The fiddle will “stay in the family.”
After his father died, “I didn’t get much schooling. When I was on the farm and the weather was good, I worked,” Pearman said.
“We owned about 200 acres” south and east of Gas, Pearman said. “We raised flax, corn and calfer corn — it’s called milo now,” he said.
In addition the family had a big garden and the usual array of chickens, geese and ducks common at that time.
“The first years” after his dad died, “we weren’t getting the crops in” Pearman noted. His older siblings were gone, and just he, Otis and 3-year-old Marie were left.
His oldest sister, Julie McGee, her husband, and neighbors came to help.
“We’d go to school and my mom shucked corn all day. Then we’d come home and take it to market. We’d sell it for 10 cents a bushel,” Pearman said.
As an adult, Pearman held two main jobs.
Pearman met and married Agnes McIntyre in 1938. Then, “we hauled milk the first 14 years,” Pearman said. “Then I was a drywall and painting contractor.” Agnes worked with him.
“She was the banjo taper on the sheet rock. We hired two more guys and worked for several carpenters.”
Agnes was as good a worker as any man, Pearman said, maybe better.
The couple retired “when I was 63,” he said. Agnes was 62.
Instrument repair was always his hobby, he said. But playing music — ”I don’t know that I would have lived without it,” Pearman said.
For 27 years, he served as president of the Blue Mound Old-time Fiddlers, Pickers and Singers. When that group disbanded in 2008, he joined Fort Scott’s group, then last year, Iola’s organization.
Before KOFPS formed, Pearman played with a number of bands, including Harvey Orcutt’s Moonlight Ramblers. They played regionally at dances that had standing room only crowds.
Pearman noted one venue that seated 300; the crowds were out the door, he said.
Agnes never played music with Pearman. “She played piano, but she didn’t play our kind of music,” he jibed. “We were swinging.”
Pearman still has a set list of about 40 songs, he said, that he uses for nursing homes “where I play for the old people” and KOFPS performances.
The past 30 years, Pearman has kept busy putting in an average of 300 hours per year as a volunteer, predominantly playing music at nursing homes. The residents appreciate his music “because I play the songs they grew up with,” he said. A box overflowing with volunteer appreciation pins on a table and a wall of similar plaques attest to that truth.
But “I crushed a vertebra in my back about a year ago,” Pearman said, “and I had to cut back. I only did about 160 hours last year.”
The secret to his recovery, Pearman said, was Agnes. “She took care of me,” he said. Also he said, “I had a stroke in 2000. I thought that was the end.” With her help, he kept on.
Pearman believes in staying busy.
“I don’t think hard work will hurt you,” he observed. “It’s the worry and the stress. When you’re having fun, you don’t worry.”
And as long as he has Agnes, and music, he’ll keep on having fun, he said.
note: This article was written March 22, 2010. Agnes Pearman later died, in July 2010. Richard is hanging in there.
Science center a fun finale
They stood in tornados. Overhead, planets swirled. Around them, the long, fierce bones of cetaceans hung beside their Maori names.
Thursday marked the final field trip of the summer SAFE BASE program for about 120 children in USD 257. They shuttled off in yellow buses to the Exploration Place in Wichita, a stunning science center filled with hands-on displays about flight mechanics, Kansas’ landscape and skeletal whales.
Whales are sacred to the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand, who see the giant beasts as “taonga,” a treasure from the sea. Carved whale bone pendants and ceremonial paddles were on display along with a life-sized replica of a blue whale heart.
At 100 feet long, the blue whale is the largest animal to ever live on earth. It’s heart easily held five fourth graders.
The children learned through a “whale activity” the difference between baleen, or filter-feeding, and toothed whales, those that hunt fish and seals for their food.
The students were fascinated by the hanging bones and videos of whale scientists and Maori carving the massive bodies of beached whales for both food and scientific study. Sound displays played the mournful calls the leviathans use to locate food — and each other.
It seemed amazing, education program specialist Steve Kimball told the students, that the largest whales eat the smallest food. Baleen whales simply swim through the sea with their mouths agape, he said, filtering shrimp and plankton from sea water as they go. The baleen, he said, is made of the same material as hair or fingernails; another commonality in all mammals.
Kimball acted as a low-key tour guide for the group, introducing an IMAX film about the changes in Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets and leading the whale activities. He explained even whales get the bends if they rise too quickly from the depths of the seas.
The students had to do short presentations for one another about what they had learned. A group of second and third graders, including Blake Middlemeyer, Devon Wilson, Matthew Karr and Blake Haar did a great job of describing how toothed whales hunt using echolocation.
In the Kansas display, large crystal blocks of native rock salt sat within reach of tanks holding tarantulas and lizards. Nearby, a tornado generator created a swirl of vapor to replicate formation of a storm.
In the flight center, hands on activities were the rage. A tall tower generated wind on a curving wall of silver disks — the patterns changed as children turned the dials. Flight simulators for planes spanning the realm of aviation history lured in eager youth. The Wright brothers’ plane was steered by a joystick that foiled attempts at level flight. Jets were crashed or landed at their young pilots’ delight.
The day ended with a whirl through a three-story playroom, complete with a giant bubble machine that kept the youngsters busy.
The bus ride back in 100-degree heat was made bearable by a treat provided by Wanda Kneen, SAFE BASE health coordinator.
Soaked in cool water were gel-filled neckerchiefs. Wrapped around the necks of even the bus drivers, the reusable neck bands were a welcome gift.
In all, it was a successful end to a summer season where education seemed circumstantial to fun.
Thursday marked the final field trip of the summer SAFE BASE program for about 120 children in USD 257. They shuttled off in yellow buses to the Exploration Place in Wichita, a stunning science center filled with hands-on displays about flight mechanics, Kansas’ landscape and skeletal whales.
Whales are sacred to the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand, who see the giant beasts as “taonga,” a treasure from the sea. Carved whale bone pendants and ceremonial paddles were on display along with a life-sized replica of a blue whale heart.
At 100 feet long, the blue whale is the largest animal to ever live on earth. It’s heart easily held five fourth graders.
The children learned through a “whale activity” the difference between baleen, or filter-feeding, and toothed whales, those that hunt fish and seals for their food.
The students were fascinated by the hanging bones and videos of whale scientists and Maori carving the massive bodies of beached whales for both food and scientific study. Sound displays played the mournful calls the leviathans use to locate food — and each other.
It seemed amazing, education program specialist Steve Kimball told the students, that the largest whales eat the smallest food. Baleen whales simply swim through the sea with their mouths agape, he said, filtering shrimp and plankton from sea water as they go. The baleen, he said, is made of the same material as hair or fingernails; another commonality in all mammals.
Kimball acted as a low-key tour guide for the group, introducing an IMAX film about the changes in Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets and leading the whale activities. He explained even whales get the bends if they rise too quickly from the depths of the seas.
The students had to do short presentations for one another about what they had learned. A group of second and third graders, including Blake Middlemeyer, Devon Wilson, Matthew Karr and Blake Haar did a great job of describing how toothed whales hunt using echolocation.
In the Kansas display, large crystal blocks of native rock salt sat within reach of tanks holding tarantulas and lizards. Nearby, a tornado generator created a swirl of vapor to replicate formation of a storm.
In the flight center, hands on activities were the rage. A tall tower generated wind on a curving wall of silver disks — the patterns changed as children turned the dials. Flight simulators for planes spanning the realm of aviation history lured in eager youth. The Wright brothers’ plane was steered by a joystick that foiled attempts at level flight. Jets were crashed or landed at their young pilots’ delight.
The day ended with a whirl through a three-story playroom, complete with a giant bubble machine that kept the youngsters busy.
The bus ride back in 100-degree heat was made bearable by a treat provided by Wanda Kneen, SAFE BASE health coordinator.
Soaked in cool water were gel-filled neckerchiefs. Wrapped around the necks of even the bus drivers, the reusable neck bands were a welcome gift.
In all, it was a successful end to a summer season where education seemed circumstantial to fun.
Iola EXPO back on track
By ANNE KAZMIERCZAK Register Reporter
This year’s Iola Chamber of Commerce Business Expo wil be the first since the Neosho River flooded Riverside Park and the Community Building there in July of 2007.
Although the building reopened to public use in May of 2008, the Expo, traditionally the last weekend of January, had no where to go before then and was canceled. This year, the date has changed, but the venue returns.
“It’s usually the last weeknd in January,” said Chamber of Commerce head Jana Taylor, “but the SuperBowl is then, and we didn’t want to compete with the SuperBowl.”
So, in deference to that great event, the Expo has been bumped up a weekend, to Jan. 24 and 25.
Iolans will find a wide array of businesses present, from non-profits like the Allen County Historical Museum and ACARF to traditional Expo attendees like Kitchens and More and Western Auto.
In all, Taylor said, there should be as many booths as in years past, or possibly more.
“I have new people adding booths every day,” she said.
In addition, the event should be far easier to maneuver through.
The old floor of the Community Building was concrete with an elevated wooden basketball court - a situation that “wasn’t handicap firendly,” said Parks Dept. Receptionist Kristy Sutherland. The new Taraflex flooring, however, is all one smooth, cushioned level — easier on the feet and bones as well as friendlier to the mobility impaired.
The flooring is a synthetic layered sysytem.
“It’s pretty thick plastic,” Sutherland said.
According to the company’s website, it’s layered vinyl, reinforced fiberglass and closed-cell foam “to provide shock absorption, help fight fatigue, deliver consistent ball bounce, and protect against skin burns.”
It’s certainly more comfortable than the old wood or concrete floors, Sutherland acknowledged.
The businesses representatives who spend two days standing during the Expo will probably appreciate that as well.
That single-level surface will provide more usable square footage, as well, said Taylor. Before, merchants had to work around the edge of the concrete. Now, booths can be rimmed around the building, as well as having a center grouping, wihtout needing to allow empty space for the elevation change. Traffic flow will be easier for patrons, she said. Merchants will set up in the earth-toned “Little Theater Room” as well as the new gym.
In all, there will be over 13,000 square feet of vendor dispalys, Taylor said.
“They always have goodies — freebies and promotional items,” Taylor said of the vendors.
Specials this year will include a masseuse offering chair massages and the Chamber’s daily give-away of $500 in Expo Bucks, credit that can be used at any of the participating vendor locations.
Also planned is a computer raffle, Taylor said. Tickets should run a buck a piece, or six for $5 she said.
It’s all with one purpose in mind: “The idea is to promote Iola business not only to our own local people but also to those outside the area.”
Attendance in years passed surpassed 2,00 visitors over the course of the weekend, Taylor said.
“We do publicize the event,” she said. The Expo has been promnoted from Yates Center to Fort Scott and Ottawa.
Food will be available this year, too, thanks to the new kitchen added during remodeling.
“We had an area before that was a concesion,” Sutherland said, “But we didn’t have freezers or a stove.” Sutherland said the new kitchen will be a boon to all the events held at the center, form community ball games to weddings and family reunions.
“We have a dodge ball tournament on the 31st and they’ll use the kitchen at that,” she said.
The kitchen and the new gym are the silver lining to the 2007 flood.
“We are better off than we were before,” Sutherland said. “We never would have gotten the floor that we needed otherwise.”
As for the EXpo, Major sponsors Copy Products, Diebolt Lumber, Personal Service Insurance and Windsor Place of Iola, need to be thanked for their assistance, Taylor said.
“They really make it happen.”
This year’s Iola Chamber of Commerce Business Expo wil be the first since the Neosho River flooded Riverside Park and the Community Building there in July of 2007.
Although the building reopened to public use in May of 2008, the Expo, traditionally the last weekend of January, had no where to go before then and was canceled. This year, the date has changed, but the venue returns.
“It’s usually the last weeknd in January,” said Chamber of Commerce head Jana Taylor, “but the SuperBowl is then, and we didn’t want to compete with the SuperBowl.”
So, in deference to that great event, the Expo has been bumped up a weekend, to Jan. 24 and 25.
Iolans will find a wide array of businesses present, from non-profits like the Allen County Historical Museum and ACARF to traditional Expo attendees like Kitchens and More and Western Auto.
In all, Taylor said, there should be as many booths as in years past, or possibly more.
“I have new people adding booths every day,” she said.
In addition, the event should be far easier to maneuver through.
The old floor of the Community Building was concrete with an elevated wooden basketball court - a situation that “wasn’t handicap firendly,” said Parks Dept. Receptionist Kristy Sutherland. The new Taraflex flooring, however, is all one smooth, cushioned level — easier on the feet and bones as well as friendlier to the mobility impaired.
The flooring is a synthetic layered sysytem.
“It’s pretty thick plastic,” Sutherland said.
According to the company’s website, it’s layered vinyl, reinforced fiberglass and closed-cell foam “to provide shock absorption, help fight fatigue, deliver consistent ball bounce, and protect against skin burns.”
It’s certainly more comfortable than the old wood or concrete floors, Sutherland acknowledged.
The businesses representatives who spend two days standing during the Expo will probably appreciate that as well.
That single-level surface will provide more usable square footage, as well, said Taylor. Before, merchants had to work around the edge of the concrete. Now, booths can be rimmed around the building, as well as having a center grouping, wihtout needing to allow empty space for the elevation change. Traffic flow will be easier for patrons, she said. Merchants will set up in the earth-toned “Little Theater Room” as well as the new gym.
In all, there will be over 13,000 square feet of vendor dispalys, Taylor said.
“They always have goodies — freebies and promotional items,” Taylor said of the vendors.
Specials this year will include a masseuse offering chair massages and the Chamber’s daily give-away of $500 in Expo Bucks, credit that can be used at any of the participating vendor locations.
Also planned is a computer raffle, Taylor said. Tickets should run a buck a piece, or six for $5 she said.
It’s all with one purpose in mind: “The idea is to promote Iola business not only to our own local people but also to those outside the area.”
Attendance in years passed surpassed 2,00 visitors over the course of the weekend, Taylor said.
“We do publicize the event,” she said. The Expo has been promnoted from Yates Center to Fort Scott and Ottawa.
Food will be available this year, too, thanks to the new kitchen added during remodeling.
“We had an area before that was a concesion,” Sutherland said, “But we didn’t have freezers or a stove.” Sutherland said the new kitchen will be a boon to all the events held at the center, form community ball games to weddings and family reunions.
“We have a dodge ball tournament on the 31st and they’ll use the kitchen at that,” she said.
The kitchen and the new gym are the silver lining to the 2007 flood.
“We are better off than we were before,” Sutherland said. “We never would have gotten the floor that we needed otherwise.”
As for the EXpo, Major sponsors Copy Products, Diebolt Lumber, Personal Service Insurance and Windsor Place of Iola, need to be thanked for their assistance, Taylor said.
“They really make it happen.”
Iolans help spread sight across globe
“And in that day ... the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.” Isaiah 29:18
There is no moment so fulfilling as watching a person whose vision had been blurred for years suddenly see clearly, said Iolan Bob Hawk, who along with local optometrist Ellis Potter has been traveling the world distributing eyeglasses and teaching people in impoverished nations how to construct reading glasses with very simple materials.
One woman told Hawk, “they changed my life.”
The El Salvadoran woman, who needed +400 lenses, now can see to thread her sewing machine and earns a living making doll clothes. She could not see well enough to do the work before, Hawk said.
Potter and Hawk are both members of Rotary International, a service organization that sponsors the trips.
“I’ve been on seven trips,” Hawk said. “The first time, in 1994, I went to Honduras.”
The two go under the auspices of VOSH/International. Groups like Lions Club International collect used eyeglasses, Potter said. These are repaired, then Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity “takes all the donated glasses and delivers them throughout the world where people could use them,” Potter said.
“We put glasses on almost 12,000 people,” Potter said of the six VOSH trips he and Hawk have been on.
New is creating reading glasses on the cheap, a project known as “6110 Vision Quest.”
“We started doing these VOSH trips and then discovered the Vision Quest” Potter said. It was serendipity that introduced the men to the concept at all, Hawk noted.
During a 2007 presentation in Wichita about disaster response, Hawk inadvertently left in a slide from one of Iola Rotary’s VOSH trips.
A woman in the audience came up to Hawk and “said, ‘We have this missionary friend in Florida who teaches people to make reading glasses for 35 cents.’”
After talking with her, she called Dale Rosell, the missionary, and “he called me the next day and I ordered the kit.”
The kits, an evangelical outreach for Rosell, contain a simple jig for making glasses using welding wire, plastic tubing and polycarbonate lenses.
A complete kit with instructions, tools and materials to construct 314 pairs of glasses costs only $250, Hawk said. He began taking the kits on VOSH trips.
“We could leave the kit and they could help themselves,” Potter said.
Though the cost of the kit is reasonable, it is expensive delivering the kits overseas, Hawk said. Shipping the 26 pound boxes outside of the United States costs more than the full kit, he said.
So, Iola Rotary established 6110 Vision Quest Foundation to purchase and distribute kits through international travelers.
“Any time someone is traveling outside of the country, we’d like them to take one of these kits along,” Hawk said. The kit box, smaller than a typical suitcase, can be included as a piece of checked luggage, then delivered to a Rotarian “on the other side,” Hawk said. That Rotarian then trains individuals to test vision and make eyeglasses in communities in need. The glasses cost approximately 45 cents per pair to make, Hawk noted.
A June visit by Hawk to the International Rotary convention in England led to expanding Vision Quest training to India.
Hawk took just a few pairs of glasses and brochures to England with him. He figured the cost of shipping would dampen interest in the kits as an international project. Yet in England, opthamologist Dr. Samar Das and Rotarian Michael Ratcliffe both seized upon the project’s potential.
“You must go to India to train people to make the spectacles and duplicate the project there,” Hawk said Ratcliffe told him.
In November, Hawk and Potter taught Rotary-selected individuals at six Rotary eye hospitals and one community center in Calcutta (now known as Kolkota). “We ended up training 70 people,” Hawk said.
The Rotarians in India selected mainly unemployed young people to train, Hawk said.
“It provides a two-fold benefit because it helps people to see and provides an opportunity for employment,” he noted. “The plan is, they are going to totally replicate this project in India. They ordered enough lenses to make 10,000 glasses,” he said.
The glasses are made from three segments of 1/16 inch stainless steel welding rod bent to form ear pieces and the front piece to hold the lenses. Lenses are notched to snap into place on the frame. It takes about 15 minutes to complete one pair, Hawk said. The glasses require no electricity or water to produce, perfect for developing nations without such infrastructure.
“You’re not linked to the grid” Hawk noted.
Hawk sent the Indian Rotary a jig, plus drawing, with simple changes he has made to finesse the design. The Indians sent back a finished jig that works better than the one that comes with the kit, he said.
With an abundance of raw materials there, “the only thing they’ll have to get is these lenses that come from China,” he said.
In El Salvador, where Hawk brought the kits previously, a church now sells the glasses for $2 a pair. The person making them is paid $1 per pair, he said, noting coffee pickers in the region earn $5 for eight hours of labor.
In India, he said, they hope to sell the glasses for less than $1 per pair.
Potter noted that 60 percent of people with vision problems can be helped by reading glasses.
“It has earnings potential,” Hawk said.
There is no moment so fulfilling as watching a person whose vision had been blurred for years suddenly see clearly, said Iolan Bob Hawk, who along with local optometrist Ellis Potter has been traveling the world distributing eyeglasses and teaching people in impoverished nations how to construct reading glasses with very simple materials.
One woman told Hawk, “they changed my life.”
The El Salvadoran woman, who needed +400 lenses, now can see to thread her sewing machine and earns a living making doll clothes. She could not see well enough to do the work before, Hawk said.
Potter and Hawk are both members of Rotary International, a service organization that sponsors the trips.
“I’ve been on seven trips,” Hawk said. “The first time, in 1994, I went to Honduras.”
The two go under the auspices of VOSH/International. Groups like Lions Club International collect used eyeglasses, Potter said. These are repaired, then Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity “takes all the donated glasses and delivers them throughout the world where people could use them,” Potter said.
“We put glasses on almost 12,000 people,” Potter said of the six VOSH trips he and Hawk have been on.
New is creating reading glasses on the cheap, a project known as “6110 Vision Quest.”
“We started doing these VOSH trips and then discovered the Vision Quest” Potter said. It was serendipity that introduced the men to the concept at all, Hawk noted.
During a 2007 presentation in Wichita about disaster response, Hawk inadvertently left in a slide from one of Iola Rotary’s VOSH trips.
A woman in the audience came up to Hawk and “said, ‘We have this missionary friend in Florida who teaches people to make reading glasses for 35 cents.’”
After talking with her, she called Dale Rosell, the missionary, and “he called me the next day and I ordered the kit.”
The kits, an evangelical outreach for Rosell, contain a simple jig for making glasses using welding wire, plastic tubing and polycarbonate lenses.
A complete kit with instructions, tools and materials to construct 314 pairs of glasses costs only $250, Hawk said. He began taking the kits on VOSH trips.
“We could leave the kit and they could help themselves,” Potter said.
Though the cost of the kit is reasonable, it is expensive delivering the kits overseas, Hawk said. Shipping the 26 pound boxes outside of the United States costs more than the full kit, he said.
So, Iola Rotary established 6110 Vision Quest Foundation to purchase and distribute kits through international travelers.
“Any time someone is traveling outside of the country, we’d like them to take one of these kits along,” Hawk said. The kit box, smaller than a typical suitcase, can be included as a piece of checked luggage, then delivered to a Rotarian “on the other side,” Hawk said. That Rotarian then trains individuals to test vision and make eyeglasses in communities in need. The glasses cost approximately 45 cents per pair to make, Hawk noted.
A June visit by Hawk to the International Rotary convention in England led to expanding Vision Quest training to India.
Hawk took just a few pairs of glasses and brochures to England with him. He figured the cost of shipping would dampen interest in the kits as an international project. Yet in England, opthamologist Dr. Samar Das and Rotarian Michael Ratcliffe both seized upon the project’s potential.
“You must go to India to train people to make the spectacles and duplicate the project there,” Hawk said Ratcliffe told him.
In November, Hawk and Potter taught Rotary-selected individuals at six Rotary eye hospitals and one community center in Calcutta (now known as Kolkota). “We ended up training 70 people,” Hawk said.
The Rotarians in India selected mainly unemployed young people to train, Hawk said.
“It provides a two-fold benefit because it helps people to see and provides an opportunity for employment,” he noted. “The plan is, they are going to totally replicate this project in India. They ordered enough lenses to make 10,000 glasses,” he said.
The glasses are made from three segments of 1/16 inch stainless steel welding rod bent to form ear pieces and the front piece to hold the lenses. Lenses are notched to snap into place on the frame. It takes about 15 minutes to complete one pair, Hawk said. The glasses require no electricity or water to produce, perfect for developing nations without such infrastructure.
“You’re not linked to the grid” Hawk noted.
Hawk sent the Indian Rotary a jig, plus drawing, with simple changes he has made to finesse the design. The Indians sent back a finished jig that works better than the one that comes with the kit, he said.
With an abundance of raw materials there, “the only thing they’ll have to get is these lenses that come from China,” he said.
In El Salvador, where Hawk brought the kits previously, a church now sells the glasses for $2 a pair. The person making them is paid $1 per pair, he said, noting coffee pickers in the region earn $5 for eight hours of labor.
In India, he said, they hope to sell the glasses for less than $1 per pair.
Potter noted that 60 percent of people with vision problems can be helped by reading glasses.
“It has earnings potential,” Hawk said.
SEK-CAP grant helps garden grow
By spring, Elm Creek Community Gardens will almost quadruple the number of plots it offers and double the area currently in use. The changes are courtesy a $24,940.86 grant from SEK-CAP.
The grant is being distributed in two parts. Elm Creek received the first payment, $14,474.49, Monday morning.
Aaron McConnell, SEK-CAP coordinator, said the grant is the first distribution from $500,000 in government stimulus funds the agency will divide among 12 counties in Southeast Kansas.
“A lot of people are wondering how stimulus funds are being used,” said Travis Allen, SEK-CAP Sector 1 Community Capacity Specialist. “This came out of that. People wonder what jobs are being created. It’s also funding a full time garden coordinator and part time bookkeeper.” John Richards is Elm Creek’s garden coordinator, and Gerry Uphoff is bookkeeper.
Because the money comes from the federal government, there are limits on what can and cannot be done with the money. Representatives of the garden signed a contract delineating intended uses.
Primary among them is the garden expansion. Forty-four new 12 foot by 24 foot full-sized plots, plus 24, 40 inch by 48 inch container plots will be installed in the garden by spring. The container plots will be equally distributed between handicapped Iolans and SAFE BASE children. In addition, shade shelters with picnic benches and a memory garden honoring early ECCG participants Jeanie Larson and Vicki Lucas, both deceased, will be created with the funds.
The grant will also purchase tools sized for the SAFE BASE and handicap plots, put in paths, purchase seeds, plants and top soil and seven additional hydrants to provide water to the expanded garden.
“Pretty much the only thing we couldn’t do was concrete,” Allen said of allowed expenditures of the funds.
THAT ELM Creek was awarded the funds — and is the first project fully funded through the stimulus money — was a convergence of priorities for both the gardeners and SEK-CAP.
“The first thing we did,” when it was learned SEK-CAP would administer the stimulus funds, McConnell said, “was send an e-mail to the 240 employees of SEK-CAP” seeking ideas for use of the grants.
A timely article in the Register about the potential fund source sparked interest of Carolyn McLean, who, with her husband Val, have donated the land for the community garden.
“I saw the article in the Register and I said to Val, ‘I’m calling first thing tomorrow morning,’” McLean said.
“This is one of the first projects a community gave us,” plus it was also identified by SEK-CAP employees as a priority idea, McConnell said.
Expanding Elm Creek Community Garden will allow plots being available for those who cannot afford to pay the normal garden fee, or are otherwise unable to grow food where they live.
“That was a good thing for us to approve, because SEK-CAP is trying to eliminate poverty,” Ellis explained.
New plots should be in place by the garden’s opening Feb. 15, Richards said.
ECCG will receive its second grant payment in March.
The grant is being distributed in two parts. Elm Creek received the first payment, $14,474.49, Monday morning.
Aaron McConnell, SEK-CAP coordinator, said the grant is the first distribution from $500,000 in government stimulus funds the agency will divide among 12 counties in Southeast Kansas.
“A lot of people are wondering how stimulus funds are being used,” said Travis Allen, SEK-CAP Sector 1 Community Capacity Specialist. “This came out of that. People wonder what jobs are being created. It’s also funding a full time garden coordinator and part time bookkeeper.” John Richards is Elm Creek’s garden coordinator, and Gerry Uphoff is bookkeeper.
Because the money comes from the federal government, there are limits on what can and cannot be done with the money. Representatives of the garden signed a contract delineating intended uses.
Primary among them is the garden expansion. Forty-four new 12 foot by 24 foot full-sized plots, plus 24, 40 inch by 48 inch container plots will be installed in the garden by spring. The container plots will be equally distributed between handicapped Iolans and SAFE BASE children. In addition, shade shelters with picnic benches and a memory garden honoring early ECCG participants Jeanie Larson and Vicki Lucas, both deceased, will be created with the funds.
The grant will also purchase tools sized for the SAFE BASE and handicap plots, put in paths, purchase seeds, plants and top soil and seven additional hydrants to provide water to the expanded garden.
“Pretty much the only thing we couldn’t do was concrete,” Allen said of allowed expenditures of the funds.
THAT ELM Creek was awarded the funds — and is the first project fully funded through the stimulus money — was a convergence of priorities for both the gardeners and SEK-CAP.
“The first thing we did,” when it was learned SEK-CAP would administer the stimulus funds, McConnell said, “was send an e-mail to the 240 employees of SEK-CAP” seeking ideas for use of the grants.
A timely article in the Register about the potential fund source sparked interest of Carolyn McLean, who, with her husband Val, have donated the land for the community garden.
“I saw the article in the Register and I said to Val, ‘I’m calling first thing tomorrow morning,’” McLean said.
“This is one of the first projects a community gave us,” plus it was also identified by SEK-CAP employees as a priority idea, McConnell said.
Expanding Elm Creek Community Garden will allow plots being available for those who cannot afford to pay the normal garden fee, or are otherwise unable to grow food where they live.
“That was a good thing for us to approve, because SEK-CAP is trying to eliminate poverty,” Ellis explained.
New plots should be in place by the garden’s opening Feb. 15, Richards said.
ECCG will receive its second grant payment in March.
Pennies for Peace counts collected coins
Iola school children collected over 909 pounds of pennies — 29 bank bags worth after counting — for the Central Asia Institute’s Pennies for Peace drive which uses donations to build and support schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The drive was part of the larger Iola Reads spring effort, which used three versions of Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea” for the community read.
Mortenson was a mountaineer who, after being rescued by Pakistani tribesmen in the late 1990’s following a failed attempt climbing the world’s second-highest peak, promised to return to build them a school. That effort led to a change in Mortenson’s life and establishment of the Central Asia Institute, which as of December has built 140 schools in the two predominantly Muslim nations.
Iola schools collected pennies and spare change from Feb. 12, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, through Friday.
Mrs. Hawley’s American Studies class at Iola High School contributed $120 to the cause.
Over 1,000 pounds of pennies were collected overall.
Other collection sites included Allen County Community College, which contributed about four pounds, said ACCC Librarian Steve Anderson, and the Iola Public Library.
In all, $2,073.73 was raised for the educational effort, enough to buy supplies for over 50 students and pay a teacher’s salary for a year.
Community National Bank in Iola plans to add $100 to the total.
USD 257, through librarians Deb Greenwall and Tammy Prather, along with IPL children’s librarian Leah Oswald, led the effort.
The drive was part of the larger Iola Reads spring effort, which used three versions of Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea” for the community read.
Mortenson was a mountaineer who, after being rescued by Pakistani tribesmen in the late 1990’s following a failed attempt climbing the world’s second-highest peak, promised to return to build them a school. That effort led to a change in Mortenson’s life and establishment of the Central Asia Institute, which as of December has built 140 schools in the two predominantly Muslim nations.
Iola schools collected pennies and spare change from Feb. 12, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, through Friday.
Mrs. Hawley’s American Studies class at Iola High School contributed $120 to the cause.
Over 1,000 pounds of pennies were collected overall.
Other collection sites included Allen County Community College, which contributed about four pounds, said ACCC Librarian Steve Anderson, and the Iola Public Library.
In all, $2,073.73 was raised for the educational effort, enough to buy supplies for over 50 students and pay a teacher’s salary for a year.
Community National Bank in Iola plans to add $100 to the total.
USD 257, through librarians Deb Greenwall and Tammy Prather, along with IPL children’s librarian Leah Oswald, led the effort.
Myers moves to Moran
MORAN — Myers’ Iola Greenhouse has changed locations. Penny Snell, granddaughter of former owners Jesse and Agnes Myers, has moved Myers’ to Moran.
When the Myers’ sold their business in the mid-1960’s, it became simply “Iola Greenhouse.” After purchasing the business about a year ago, Snell restored her grandparents’ name to the flower shop.
However, Snell did not own the physical structures at her old location, and the greenhouse needed copious repairs, she said.
“With winter coming on, the utilities were horrendous,” she said. So she began scouting for more affordable options.
Now in Moran, the store boasts a warm, homey atmosphere filled with lush foliage plants, deceptively lifelike silk floral arrangements and a plethora of gifts, including antique pill boxes, prints and furniture. Cut flowers are brought in daily.
A comfortable sofa set awaits customers, too.
That was something Snell wished she could have had in Iola.
“I wanted to do something like this, where people can come in and sit down if they have to order flowers for a funeral or wedding.”
Snell still operates “a full service shop” she said, offering wedding and funeral arrangements, birthday and baby balloons, Valentines and Mother’s day bunches and any other occasion for which one might need flowers or a foliage plant.
She still makes daily deliveries to Iola, too, and “my delivery charge has not changed, it’s still $3.50. My customers came to expect that,” she noted. Snell will deliver to Colony and Garnett as well, she said, for a slightly higher fee.
Moving to Moran is a homecoming of sorts for Snell.
Her mother, Alice Madge Stewart, lived in Moran and “operated a floral shop here,” in the ’70s and ’80s, she said.
Moran is proving a good location for Snell, who said her overhead is one third what it was in Iola. The community has been very welcoming, too, she said, with walk-in traffic and neighboring businesses that all refer their customers to one another.
“It’s true what they say about small towns,” she said. “People care about each other.”
IN THE SHOP, lovely tea sets of English bone and Nippon china are interspersed among floral and foliar arrangements. Crystal rosaries, a cast iron bank and kid gloves in their original wooden glove box all are available for purchase. An 1811 King James Bible will turn 200 years old soon, the same time the state turns 150, Snell observed. It, too, is for sale.
Adding gifts to her inventory is something Snell had always planned to do, she said.
She has been collecting antiques “forever — I can’t pass an antique shop without stopping in,” she said.
Original signed prints form a vintage childrens’ book illustrator line one wall, while Oz memorabilia awaits perusal on a shelf. Nearby, a Phalaenopsis orchid is in glorious bloom. “That’s’ the third time this year it’s bloomed,” Snell observed of the finicky flower; six more buds are on the stem.
On display — and available for purchase — are also Christmas villages.
“I will also be carrying poinsettias,” Snell said. “I will have wreaths,” both artificial and real.
The melange of offerings is an approach that suits the space.
At each turn, new and wonderous objects catch the eye, inviting further inspection. With highly affordable prices, there’s no reason not to impulse buy.
Two pieces of furniture, gorgeous wood and glass tea and chocolate cabinets, already display prominent “sold” tags.
“I do take lay away,” Snell said.
An added bonus to customers brought about by the move is expanded service hours.
“The really neat thing about living here is I’m here 24/7,” Snell said. If someone needs after-hours service, “I just tell them to bang on the door and I’ll answer.”
Snell said she kept the name “Myers Iola Greenhouse” when she moved for two reasons.
One, she was incorporated as that business — all her business cards, checks and accounts were established with the name. Most importantly, though, she said it honors her grandparents’ memory.
“When I first set out to do this, it was for that reason,” she said, “to honor them.”
Though Iola is still technically a part of her business name, Snell truly likes Moran.
“I’m very happy here,” she said. The title of a book on a nearby title seems to suit the transformation well. It’s called “Small Miracles.”
Myers Iola Greenhouse is located at 227 N. Cedar St., Moran, across from the Back Forty. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays 9 to 5; and Sundays through the holidays from 1 to 4 p.m.
Myers can be reached at 620-237-4272.
When the Myers’ sold their business in the mid-1960’s, it became simply “Iola Greenhouse.” After purchasing the business about a year ago, Snell restored her grandparents’ name to the flower shop.
However, Snell did not own the physical structures at her old location, and the greenhouse needed copious repairs, she said.
“With winter coming on, the utilities were horrendous,” she said. So she began scouting for more affordable options.
Now in Moran, the store boasts a warm, homey atmosphere filled with lush foliage plants, deceptively lifelike silk floral arrangements and a plethora of gifts, including antique pill boxes, prints and furniture. Cut flowers are brought in daily.
A comfortable sofa set awaits customers, too.
That was something Snell wished she could have had in Iola.
“I wanted to do something like this, where people can come in and sit down if they have to order flowers for a funeral or wedding.”
Snell still operates “a full service shop” she said, offering wedding and funeral arrangements, birthday and baby balloons, Valentines and Mother’s day bunches and any other occasion for which one might need flowers or a foliage plant.
She still makes daily deliveries to Iola, too, and “my delivery charge has not changed, it’s still $3.50. My customers came to expect that,” she noted. Snell will deliver to Colony and Garnett as well, she said, for a slightly higher fee.
Moving to Moran is a homecoming of sorts for Snell.
Her mother, Alice Madge Stewart, lived in Moran and “operated a floral shop here,” in the ’70s and ’80s, she said.
Moran is proving a good location for Snell, who said her overhead is one third what it was in Iola. The community has been very welcoming, too, she said, with walk-in traffic and neighboring businesses that all refer their customers to one another.
“It’s true what they say about small towns,” she said. “People care about each other.”
IN THE SHOP, lovely tea sets of English bone and Nippon china are interspersed among floral and foliar arrangements. Crystal rosaries, a cast iron bank and kid gloves in their original wooden glove box all are available for purchase. An 1811 King James Bible will turn 200 years old soon, the same time the state turns 150, Snell observed. It, too, is for sale.
Adding gifts to her inventory is something Snell had always planned to do, she said.
She has been collecting antiques “forever — I can’t pass an antique shop without stopping in,” she said.
Original signed prints form a vintage childrens’ book illustrator line one wall, while Oz memorabilia awaits perusal on a shelf. Nearby, a Phalaenopsis orchid is in glorious bloom. “That’s’ the third time this year it’s bloomed,” Snell observed of the finicky flower; six more buds are on the stem.
On display — and available for purchase — are also Christmas villages.
“I will also be carrying poinsettias,” Snell said. “I will have wreaths,” both artificial and real.
The melange of offerings is an approach that suits the space.
At each turn, new and wonderous objects catch the eye, inviting further inspection. With highly affordable prices, there’s no reason not to impulse buy.
Two pieces of furniture, gorgeous wood and glass tea and chocolate cabinets, already display prominent “sold” tags.
“I do take lay away,” Snell said.
An added bonus to customers brought about by the move is expanded service hours.
“The really neat thing about living here is I’m here 24/7,” Snell said. If someone needs after-hours service, “I just tell them to bang on the door and I’ll answer.”
Snell said she kept the name “Myers Iola Greenhouse” when she moved for two reasons.
One, she was incorporated as that business — all her business cards, checks and accounts were established with the name. Most importantly, though, she said it honors her grandparents’ memory.
“When I first set out to do this, it was for that reason,” she said, “to honor them.”
Though Iola is still technically a part of her business name, Snell truly likes Moran.
“I’m very happy here,” she said. The title of a book on a nearby title seems to suit the transformation well. It’s called “Small Miracles.”
Myers Iola Greenhouse is located at 227 N. Cedar St., Moran, across from the Back Forty. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays 9 to 5; and Sundays through the holidays from 1 to 4 p.m.
Myers can be reached at 620-237-4272.
Health equals wellness for 'Picture Us Thin'
For the ladies in Picture us Thin, the focus is holistic. They are attempting complete lifestyle changes, not just modifications.
All three women, Patty Knavel, Crystal Hall and Gayle Thompson, admit they have weight problems. All have been thinner in the past.
“That’s where the name comes from,” said Thompson. Both Thompson and Knavel recall years past when they wore smaller sizes. That, and Hall’s being a photographer, sparked the idea of them picturing themselves as they would like to be.
Unlike some, for whom “thin” is equated with “anorexic,” these women know it’s about health, and what suits your particular body frame.
Knavel “was a size 16 when I graduated high school.”
“I got down to a size 13 after having my son Chad 17 years ago,” Thompson said. “When I got down to that weight, my hip bones were sticking out.”
Thompson doesn’t think that’s necessarily healthy. “I think my ideal weight is 190 pounds,” she said. “I’ve gotten down to 205 before and felt I just needed to lose a little more.”
Knavel concurred. “All the women in my family are heavy. The rest of us are obese.”
Both wish to be thinner than they are right now. “I would just kill to be a size 16 again,” Knavel rued.
Joining the Allen County Meltdown was preluded by health concerns for both Knavel and Thompson.
“I initially began due to high blood pressure,” Thompson said.
Two years ago, she was heavier still. “I lost 70 pounds two years ago, but have gained 20 pounds back,” Thompson said. At that time, “My doctor told me if I (lost weight) I’d be able to get off the medicine, and I did, but after gaining weight back, my blood pressure is back up. That’s why I joined this,” she said of the Meltdown. Plus, she said, “When most people in my family hit 40, they get diabetes.” So far, she has avoided that pitfall.
For Knavel, the wake up call was even more drastic.
“I had uncontrolled diabetes for a long time,” she said. “I had a scare about a month ago.”
Knavel landed in the hospital, near death.
“My blood sugar was at 400 when I was in the hospital,” she said. Normal levels should be below 120. “The doctors only gave me a 20 percent chance for survival.”
Knavel said her friends gave her the incentive to live — and change her lifestyle.
“I was sick for a long time,” she said. “It was everybody’s prayers that got me through.”
Now Knavel is “taking the medicine. I take four shots a day. I’ve lost 40 pounds in the past month with (a controlled) diet — I didn’t know what it felt like to feel good. Now I do.”
Knavel gives much of the credit to her turnaround to her best friend, Thompson.
“We’ve been friends for 20 years,” Thompson said.
“We met when we began to work together” in the kitchen at the Allen County Hospital, Knavel said. Both women work as cooks.
“She used to drown everything in cheese,” Thompson said of Knavle’s cooking.
“Oh, I was hardening the arteries,” Knavel acknowledged.
“We call it the near-death diet,” the women laugh.
“She tried for years to get through to me,” Knavel said, “but I wouldn’t listen.”
After her “near death experience,” though, she has.
“I went back to Curves,” a local women’s health center, Knavel said. “I’ve been going to the free weight management classes there.”
The classes are offered for participants in the Meltdown.
“I’m learning nutrition; how to eat a high protein, low glycemic diet,” Knavel said.
Class members purchase a book on nutrition, she said. It has information on foods’ calories and glycemic index levels.
“I take my book when I go grocery shopping,” she said. “I use it as my list. It makes you think about everything you put in your mouth.”
The change in her has been profound, Knavel said.
“I have energy like I never had before. I sleep better.”
She said, as with a drug, “it takes about two weeks to get the sugar out of your system. It takes that time to detox.”
“I think a lot of women struggle with emotional eating and binge eating,” Knavel said.
The other thing the class has taught the women is portion control.
“Your meat serving is only supposed to be the size of a deck of cards,” Thompson said. “A cup of vegetables is about the size of a baseball.” The visualizations help the women control how much they eat. As a result, Knavel said, she is eating less.
“Now when I eat, I get full.”
THOMPSON “met Crystal when I took my grandbaby to get her picture taken.” The women chatted about health and motivation while Hall took photographs. Recognizing a common interest, Hall joined their Meltdown team.
“Crystal said you have to make time for yourself,” Thompson said. “You have to make time to exercise. She has six kids and she believes that.”
Hall inspired Thompson. She has begun walking daily, and is up to 3 miles a day.
“When I first started walking,” Thompson said, “it took me 45 minutes to go two miles. Now I’ve got it down to 50 minutes for three miles,” she smiled. “I’ve lost 7 pounds so far.”
In addition to walking, “I’ve started doing the free aerobics over at the North Community Building,” Thompson said. The classes, offered as part of the Meltdown, are held every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 5:15 to 6:15.
“I want to do Zumba, but I work every other Saturday,” Thompson said of the Humboldt-based dance class. For her, the new class at 6:30 p.m. Thursday nights at Iola’s North Community Building is the ticket.
“You’ve got to have the exercise in conjunction with the diet to make it work,” Thompson said.
But, she has recently changed her diet, too.
“I used to drink a 32 ounce pop every day after work,” she said. She has given that up completely.
And she is opting for fruit and nuts over prepared snacks.
“I think that’s why America is fat — for convenience reasons. It’s just easier to grab a Pop Tart.”
Even so-called diet convience foods can be a problem, Thompson said. “Those 100-calorie packs,” Thompson said, “if you eat four or five of them, it doesn’t help.”
“To eat healthier is more expensive,” Thompson said. With two teenaged boys in the house, the food goes fast.
Thompson is eating leaner foods at work, too, instead of heavier comfort foods.
“We have the best salad bar in town,” she said of the ACH cafeteria. She uses Salad Spritzers and I can’t Beleive It’s Not Butter spray, “But don’t put it on toast,” she warns. “It makes it soggy.”
“It doesn’t work on popcorn, either,” Knavel adds.
Knavel’s diabetes has gotten her to change her buying habits, too.
“Oh, I love barbecue sauce,” Knavel said, but she has cut back dramatically on her favorite condiment.
She has switched to sugar free drink mixes, as well, and “I’ve thought about sugar free barbecue sauce and sugar free ketchup for diabetics,” Knavel said.
But so far, she doesn’t know of any on the market, so she has to use reserves of will instead.
The women said they have learned to read lables, “and I’ve learned to measure things out,” Knavel said. When she returns to work next week, she intends to take her measuring cups with her.
Knavel said, “I know I’m doing the right thing for myself.”
All three women, Patty Knavel, Crystal Hall and Gayle Thompson, admit they have weight problems. All have been thinner in the past.
“That’s where the name comes from,” said Thompson. Both Thompson and Knavel recall years past when they wore smaller sizes. That, and Hall’s being a photographer, sparked the idea of them picturing themselves as they would like to be.
Unlike some, for whom “thin” is equated with “anorexic,” these women know it’s about health, and what suits your particular body frame.
Knavel “was a size 16 when I graduated high school.”
“I got down to a size 13 after having my son Chad 17 years ago,” Thompson said. “When I got down to that weight, my hip bones were sticking out.”
Thompson doesn’t think that’s necessarily healthy. “I think my ideal weight is 190 pounds,” she said. “I’ve gotten down to 205 before and felt I just needed to lose a little more.”
Knavel concurred. “All the women in my family are heavy. The rest of us are obese.”
Both wish to be thinner than they are right now. “I would just kill to be a size 16 again,” Knavel rued.
Joining the Allen County Meltdown was preluded by health concerns for both Knavel and Thompson.
“I initially began due to high blood pressure,” Thompson said.
Two years ago, she was heavier still. “I lost 70 pounds two years ago, but have gained 20 pounds back,” Thompson said. At that time, “My doctor told me if I (lost weight) I’d be able to get off the medicine, and I did, but after gaining weight back, my blood pressure is back up. That’s why I joined this,” she said of the Meltdown. Plus, she said, “When most people in my family hit 40, they get diabetes.” So far, she has avoided that pitfall.
For Knavel, the wake up call was even more drastic.
“I had uncontrolled diabetes for a long time,” she said. “I had a scare about a month ago.”
Knavel landed in the hospital, near death.
“My blood sugar was at 400 when I was in the hospital,” she said. Normal levels should be below 120. “The doctors only gave me a 20 percent chance for survival.”
Knavel said her friends gave her the incentive to live — and change her lifestyle.
“I was sick for a long time,” she said. “It was everybody’s prayers that got me through.”
Now Knavel is “taking the medicine. I take four shots a day. I’ve lost 40 pounds in the past month with (a controlled) diet — I didn’t know what it felt like to feel good. Now I do.”
Knavel gives much of the credit to her turnaround to her best friend, Thompson.
“We’ve been friends for 20 years,” Thompson said.
“We met when we began to work together” in the kitchen at the Allen County Hospital, Knavel said. Both women work as cooks.
“She used to drown everything in cheese,” Thompson said of Knavle’s cooking.
“Oh, I was hardening the arteries,” Knavel acknowledged.
“We call it the near-death diet,” the women laugh.
“She tried for years to get through to me,” Knavel said, “but I wouldn’t listen.”
After her “near death experience,” though, she has.
“I went back to Curves,” a local women’s health center, Knavel said. “I’ve been going to the free weight management classes there.”
The classes are offered for participants in the Meltdown.
“I’m learning nutrition; how to eat a high protein, low glycemic diet,” Knavel said.
Class members purchase a book on nutrition, she said. It has information on foods’ calories and glycemic index levels.
“I take my book when I go grocery shopping,” she said. “I use it as my list. It makes you think about everything you put in your mouth.”
The change in her has been profound, Knavel said.
“I have energy like I never had before. I sleep better.”
She said, as with a drug, “it takes about two weeks to get the sugar out of your system. It takes that time to detox.”
“I think a lot of women struggle with emotional eating and binge eating,” Knavel said.
The other thing the class has taught the women is portion control.
“Your meat serving is only supposed to be the size of a deck of cards,” Thompson said. “A cup of vegetables is about the size of a baseball.” The visualizations help the women control how much they eat. As a result, Knavel said, she is eating less.
“Now when I eat, I get full.”
THOMPSON “met Crystal when I took my grandbaby to get her picture taken.” The women chatted about health and motivation while Hall took photographs. Recognizing a common interest, Hall joined their Meltdown team.
“Crystal said you have to make time for yourself,” Thompson said. “You have to make time to exercise. She has six kids and she believes that.”
Hall inspired Thompson. She has begun walking daily, and is up to 3 miles a day.
“When I first started walking,” Thompson said, “it took me 45 minutes to go two miles. Now I’ve got it down to 50 minutes for three miles,” she smiled. “I’ve lost 7 pounds so far.”
In addition to walking, “I’ve started doing the free aerobics over at the North Community Building,” Thompson said. The classes, offered as part of the Meltdown, are held every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 5:15 to 6:15.
“I want to do Zumba, but I work every other Saturday,” Thompson said of the Humboldt-based dance class. For her, the new class at 6:30 p.m. Thursday nights at Iola’s North Community Building is the ticket.
“You’ve got to have the exercise in conjunction with the diet to make it work,” Thompson said.
But, she has recently changed her diet, too.
“I used to drink a 32 ounce pop every day after work,” she said. She has given that up completely.
And she is opting for fruit and nuts over prepared snacks.
“I think that’s why America is fat — for convenience reasons. It’s just easier to grab a Pop Tart.”
Even so-called diet convience foods can be a problem, Thompson said. “Those 100-calorie packs,” Thompson said, “if you eat four or five of them, it doesn’t help.”
“To eat healthier is more expensive,” Thompson said. With two teenaged boys in the house, the food goes fast.
Thompson is eating leaner foods at work, too, instead of heavier comfort foods.
“We have the best salad bar in town,” she said of the ACH cafeteria. She uses Salad Spritzers and I can’t Beleive It’s Not Butter spray, “But don’t put it on toast,” she warns. “It makes it soggy.”
“It doesn’t work on popcorn, either,” Knavel adds.
Knavel’s diabetes has gotten her to change her buying habits, too.
“Oh, I love barbecue sauce,” Knavel said, but she has cut back dramatically on her favorite condiment.
She has switched to sugar free drink mixes, as well, and “I’ve thought about sugar free barbecue sauce and sugar free ketchup for diabetics,” Knavel said.
But so far, she doesn’t know of any on the market, so she has to use reserves of will instead.
The women said they have learned to read lables, “and I’ve learned to measure things out,” Knavel said. When she returns to work next week, she intends to take her measuring cups with her.
Knavel said, “I know I’m doing the right thing for myself.”
Pucker up, porky
Pucker Up
For a quarter each vote, Iolans can select their favorite law enforcement officer during Farm-City Days, said Roberta Ellis, coordinator of Project Care. The winning officer must kiss a live pig on Saturday. Proceeds will go to Project Care, which provides Christmas gifts for underprivileged children in Allen County. Competing officers are all members of the Fraternal Order of Police, event sponsor. The pigs can be seen at the FOP booth on the Iola square. Officer Brian Donovan noted the booth is usually located across from Duane’s flowers, but a new coordinator is determining locations this year. Still, he said, they shouldn’t be too hard to find. “We should be the only booth with a pig.”
For a quarter each vote, Iolans can select their favorite law enforcement officer during Farm-City Days, said Roberta Ellis, coordinator of Project Care. The winning officer must kiss a live pig on Saturday. Proceeds will go to Project Care, which provides Christmas gifts for underprivileged children in Allen County. Competing officers are all members of the Fraternal Order of Police, event sponsor. The pigs can be seen at the FOP booth on the Iola square. Officer Brian Donovan noted the booth is usually located across from Duane’s flowers, but a new coordinator is determining locations this year. Still, he said, they shouldn’t be too hard to find. “We should be the only booth with a pig.”
Laughs run in the family at ACCC play
Everyone is familiar with Sir Walter Scott’s admonition, “Oh what tangled webs we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” British Playwright Ray Cooney has built a career of interpreting that idea in farcical comedies. Allen County Community College’s production of Cooney’s “It Runs in the Family” opens tonight, continuing Friday and Saturday. All shows are at 7:30 p.m.
The story line of “It Runs in the Family” is simple enough —and common to popular entertainment. A nurse returns to the hospital she worked at 19 years ago, to inform a now-prominent doctor that he fathered her son.
Doctor Mortimore, played convincingly by Neal Johnston, at first refuses to believe the news. After the thought has incubated the shortest while in his mind, he realizes the offspring of his past dalliance could negatively impact his chance at becoming the hospital’s new head physician — and enrage his wife.
In his befuddled state, the doctor quickly concocts a series of outlandish fabrications to tell his staff — and his intrigued wife — about the mysterious woman in red who refuses to leave the doctor’s common room. The self-serving doctor is quickly caught in his own web. The lies, of course, must be piled on deeper, becoming more foolish as they go. Therein lies the humor.
All the audience, having watched the opening scene, know the truth the good doctor is trying to cover up. That his colleagues and Nurse Tate, the newly-reappeared mother, would so willingly go along with his efforts at deception, might be a little hard to swallow for an American audience. But this is British comedy, and in Britain, propriety is everything.
Fans of Monty Python are familiar with this precept. For those new to the genre, it’s not too much to ask to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy this lovely farce.
There are a smattering of one liners that will make you burst out laughing, sometimes because those little quips speak pure truth amidst the web of lies.
Garrett Skidmore plays the mohawked-teenager Leslie Tate, who has only just discovered he has a living, breathing father. His mother had told him his father was dead, but for his eighteenth birthday decides to tell him the truth. She informs him only his father is a doctor at St. Andrew’s Hospital in London, leaving him to wonder who. After a night of binge drinking, the easily agitated teen goes forth in search of the man.
When high-heeled Jane Tate strides into the doctor’s common room, demanding Mortimore meet his distraught son, the doctor snorts, “I may be alive Miss Tate, but I am not available!”
The teenager’s drinking allows for the addition of a police sergeant to the play, providing a bit of slapstick later.
Tony Piazza, ACCC’s theater director, chose the play for a number of reasons.
“I was looking for a light-hearted show for this time slot,” he said. That the play is set at Christmas time afforded a good fit.
“It’s a good community theater piece because it has a lot of older parts,” Piazza said. At ACCC, however, the cast are all students. Because a number of those students are on theater scholarships, Piazza tries to find plays that match his cast make-up of seven men and five women. Cooney’s farce fit the bill.
“The only drawback is I was looking for an American comedy,” Piazza said. “I couldn’t find quite the right vehicle.”
Piazza said the cast learned their British accents fairly easily, with the exception of the “ah” sound. “The ‘ah’ sound is the tough one. We’re can’t and it’s all cahn’t,” he said.
Johnston, as Mortimore, and Aleisha Weimer as his unsuspecting wife make a wonderful dysfunctional couple. It’s obvious the doctor thinks he can keep the wool over her eyes. But Weimer’s character is honestly endearing in her concern for those she perceives are sad cases at the hospital.
Tyler Bryant as the put-upon Dr. Bonney probably shows the most resiliency in character, as he has to play a fool, a doctor, and chivalrous hero for his cad of a colleague. He’s even asked to become head nurse (called a matron in the Brit parlance).
Mortimore, after first denying his problem, defies his responsibility, then asks his colleague to act in his stead as the boy’s father.
It must be a deep friendship indeed to make someone take on such a cause.
The rapid pace of Mortimore’s inventions might have you, like Dr. Bonney, saying, “I’ve lost all track of what I’ve been covering up.” Regardless, it’s all good fun. And, as another playwright tells us, all’s well that ends well.
The story line of “It Runs in the Family” is simple enough —and common to popular entertainment. A nurse returns to the hospital she worked at 19 years ago, to inform a now-prominent doctor that he fathered her son.
Doctor Mortimore, played convincingly by Neal Johnston, at first refuses to believe the news. After the thought has incubated the shortest while in his mind, he realizes the offspring of his past dalliance could negatively impact his chance at becoming the hospital’s new head physician — and enrage his wife.
In his befuddled state, the doctor quickly concocts a series of outlandish fabrications to tell his staff — and his intrigued wife — about the mysterious woman in red who refuses to leave the doctor’s common room. The self-serving doctor is quickly caught in his own web. The lies, of course, must be piled on deeper, becoming more foolish as they go. Therein lies the humor.
All the audience, having watched the opening scene, know the truth the good doctor is trying to cover up. That his colleagues and Nurse Tate, the newly-reappeared mother, would so willingly go along with his efforts at deception, might be a little hard to swallow for an American audience. But this is British comedy, and in Britain, propriety is everything.
Fans of Monty Python are familiar with this precept. For those new to the genre, it’s not too much to ask to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy this lovely farce.
There are a smattering of one liners that will make you burst out laughing, sometimes because those little quips speak pure truth amidst the web of lies.
Garrett Skidmore plays the mohawked-teenager Leslie Tate, who has only just discovered he has a living, breathing father. His mother had told him his father was dead, but for his eighteenth birthday decides to tell him the truth. She informs him only his father is a doctor at St. Andrew’s Hospital in London, leaving him to wonder who. After a night of binge drinking, the easily agitated teen goes forth in search of the man.
When high-heeled Jane Tate strides into the doctor’s common room, demanding Mortimore meet his distraught son, the doctor snorts, “I may be alive Miss Tate, but I am not available!”
The teenager’s drinking allows for the addition of a police sergeant to the play, providing a bit of slapstick later.
Tony Piazza, ACCC’s theater director, chose the play for a number of reasons.
“I was looking for a light-hearted show for this time slot,” he said. That the play is set at Christmas time afforded a good fit.
“It’s a good community theater piece because it has a lot of older parts,” Piazza said. At ACCC, however, the cast are all students. Because a number of those students are on theater scholarships, Piazza tries to find plays that match his cast make-up of seven men and five women. Cooney’s farce fit the bill.
“The only drawback is I was looking for an American comedy,” Piazza said. “I couldn’t find quite the right vehicle.”
Piazza said the cast learned their British accents fairly easily, with the exception of the “ah” sound. “The ‘ah’ sound is the tough one. We’re can’t and it’s all cahn’t,” he said.
Johnston, as Mortimore, and Aleisha Weimer as his unsuspecting wife make a wonderful dysfunctional couple. It’s obvious the doctor thinks he can keep the wool over her eyes. But Weimer’s character is honestly endearing in her concern for those she perceives are sad cases at the hospital.
Tyler Bryant as the put-upon Dr. Bonney probably shows the most resiliency in character, as he has to play a fool, a doctor, and chivalrous hero for his cad of a colleague. He’s even asked to become head nurse (called a matron in the Brit parlance).
Mortimore, after first denying his problem, defies his responsibility, then asks his colleague to act in his stead as the boy’s father.
It must be a deep friendship indeed to make someone take on such a cause.
The rapid pace of Mortimore’s inventions might have you, like Dr. Bonney, saying, “I’ve lost all track of what I’ve been covering up.” Regardless, it’s all good fun. And, as another playwright tells us, all’s well that ends well.
Plays will startle, amuse
Allen County Community College’s offering of student-directed one act plays presents a mix of humor and drama in five staged vignettes interspersed with brief comedic “commercial” breaks that tie one skit to another.
Two of the plays, “... And a Blueberry Muffin,” and “Commercial: The Play,” were written and directed by ACCC students.
“Muffin,” written and directed by Paige Schauf, tells the tale of a girl who thinks a cute guy is stalking her. She ducks into a bookstore and asks the owner, “Have you seen that guy who’s following me?”
Described only as a guy with “that shirt” and “hair and eyes,” the incredulous owner responds, “I might have seen him, but could you be a little more vague in your description?”
The paranoid Claire, played by Rachel Wiley, noted the guy must be stalking her, because she works in a coffee shop and he comes in every day and orders the same thing: definitely suspicious behavior.
Giving her fears credibility, the guy, played by Eli Waddles, comes into the same book store moments later.
SPOILER alert: there’s violence in these plays.
It pops up in startling places, such as in “English,” a wife’s angst-ridden questioning of whether her husband still loves her. Directed by Elizabeth Otto and Nachele Gonsalez, it conveys the boredom and sense of longing that has crept into one couple’s marriage.
While grease monkey Joey, played by lanky Ben Olson, stares blankly out a window in a broke-down apartment in ’Jersey, his wife Suzy offers him Dinty Moore stew and the repeated query, “Don’t you love me no more?”
To his automatic “sure I do,” Suzy snarls, “sometimes I hate that window.”
When Joey tries explaining his ennui, Suzy retorts, “You’re only worried about your own ill-defined yearnings!”
Wanting his interest to be, instead, in her, she throws question after question at him: her maiden name, her childhood dreams, her father’s mother’s maiden name.
She’s startled by his replies.
“PANCAKES” describes the gap between the haves and have nots, and the extremes to which hunger can drive someone — otherwise rational, otherwise competent — to assuage that desperate need.
Peter Morris directs his actors as iconic personality types.
Darrell Appelhanz, as Sam, stoops to cruelty in mocking his starving roommate, who, though educated, is jobless because “no one is hiring philosophy majors.”
“One day people will wake up with this big spiritual malaise and need me,” Jamarious Wicker, as Buddy, tells the business-minded Sam, who sits with stack upon stack of pancakes before him while his former friend, who has eaten nothing but saltine crumbs all week, grovels and reasons and finally sinks to unthinkable acts in order to eat.
“COMMERCIALS,” written and directed by Lindsey Jarvis, provides raucous, laugh-out-loud humor.
The play spoofs advertisements with imaginative products such as “Crustnol” to remove the “crustees” from one’s morning eyes.
“Cash for Organs” offers easy cash.
“I sold organs I didn’t even know I had!” one now-crippled man boasts.
In what could be an ad for a pheromone-laden perfume, a young man strolls across stage to be suddenly mobbed, with everyone trying to paw him.
The gem among them, though, is the “Reverse Snuggie.” Looking a lot like a traditional bathrobe, it takes care of that annoying gap at the back that regular Snuggies have, the ad touts. In a spoof on itself, the ad is hilariously interrupted by another commercial — this by a woman selling popcorn — “$10 a bag!” she hawks — through the audience.
“Hey! We’re trying to do a play here!” one actress yells from stage, to which the popcorn vendor questions, “Oh? I thought it was just a bunch of commercials.”
THE FINAL act of the night is “Id,” written by Kyle Wood and directed by Garrett Skidmore.
Id is the raucous tale of the fractured parts of one man’s personality at war with themselves over how he should act toward a woman he is dating.
While Confidence does her 400th push-up, Morality serenely sets up a ceramic tea set and begins practicing yoga.
Sex Drive, cocky and self-absorbed, is embodied by the scantily dressed Sean Swanson, who peacocks about oblivious to his affect on others. Meantime, Confidence — Rochelle McGee — tries to reign him in with reminders of past embarrassment.
Emily Wullenschneider’s Morality tries to talk her host body into right thinking, while Stacy Raby’s Inner Child spews self-centered vitriol and Paranoia confounds his actions by constant reminders of his imperfections.
ALL TOLD, the night blends smiles and startles and will not disappoint.
Two of the plays, “... And a Blueberry Muffin,” and “Commercial: The Play,” were written and directed by ACCC students.
“Muffin,” written and directed by Paige Schauf, tells the tale of a girl who thinks a cute guy is stalking her. She ducks into a bookstore and asks the owner, “Have you seen that guy who’s following me?”
Described only as a guy with “that shirt” and “hair and eyes,” the incredulous owner responds, “I might have seen him, but could you be a little more vague in your description?”
The paranoid Claire, played by Rachel Wiley, noted the guy must be stalking her, because she works in a coffee shop and he comes in every day and orders the same thing: definitely suspicious behavior.
Giving her fears credibility, the guy, played by Eli Waddles, comes into the same book store moments later.
SPOILER alert: there’s violence in these plays.
It pops up in startling places, such as in “English,” a wife’s angst-ridden questioning of whether her husband still loves her. Directed by Elizabeth Otto and Nachele Gonsalez, it conveys the boredom and sense of longing that has crept into one couple’s marriage.
While grease monkey Joey, played by lanky Ben Olson, stares blankly out a window in a broke-down apartment in ’Jersey, his wife Suzy offers him Dinty Moore stew and the repeated query, “Don’t you love me no more?”
To his automatic “sure I do,” Suzy snarls, “sometimes I hate that window.”
When Joey tries explaining his ennui, Suzy retorts, “You’re only worried about your own ill-defined yearnings!”
Wanting his interest to be, instead, in her, she throws question after question at him: her maiden name, her childhood dreams, her father’s mother’s maiden name.
She’s startled by his replies.
“PANCAKES” describes the gap between the haves and have nots, and the extremes to which hunger can drive someone — otherwise rational, otherwise competent — to assuage that desperate need.
Peter Morris directs his actors as iconic personality types.
Darrell Appelhanz, as Sam, stoops to cruelty in mocking his starving roommate, who, though educated, is jobless because “no one is hiring philosophy majors.”
“One day people will wake up with this big spiritual malaise and need me,” Jamarious Wicker, as Buddy, tells the business-minded Sam, who sits with stack upon stack of pancakes before him while his former friend, who has eaten nothing but saltine crumbs all week, grovels and reasons and finally sinks to unthinkable acts in order to eat.
“COMMERCIALS,” written and directed by Lindsey Jarvis, provides raucous, laugh-out-loud humor.
The play spoofs advertisements with imaginative products such as “Crustnol” to remove the “crustees” from one’s morning eyes.
“Cash for Organs” offers easy cash.
“I sold organs I didn’t even know I had!” one now-crippled man boasts.
In what could be an ad for a pheromone-laden perfume, a young man strolls across stage to be suddenly mobbed, with everyone trying to paw him.
The gem among them, though, is the “Reverse Snuggie.” Looking a lot like a traditional bathrobe, it takes care of that annoying gap at the back that regular Snuggies have, the ad touts. In a spoof on itself, the ad is hilariously interrupted by another commercial — this by a woman selling popcorn — “$10 a bag!” she hawks — through the audience.
“Hey! We’re trying to do a play here!” one actress yells from stage, to which the popcorn vendor questions, “Oh? I thought it was just a bunch of commercials.”
THE FINAL act of the night is “Id,” written by Kyle Wood and directed by Garrett Skidmore.
Id is the raucous tale of the fractured parts of one man’s personality at war with themselves over how he should act toward a woman he is dating.
While Confidence does her 400th push-up, Morality serenely sets up a ceramic tea set and begins practicing yoga.
Sex Drive, cocky and self-absorbed, is embodied by the scantily dressed Sean Swanson, who peacocks about oblivious to his affect on others. Meantime, Confidence — Rochelle McGee — tries to reign him in with reminders of past embarrassment.
Emily Wullenschneider’s Morality tries to talk her host body into right thinking, while Stacy Raby’s Inner Child spews self-centered vitriol and Paranoia confounds his actions by constant reminders of his imperfections.
ALL TOLD, the night blends smiles and startles and will not disappoint.
Poetry is therapy for Chanute man
Chanute poet Dwain Leon Heilig recently saw his first book of verse hit the press.
After completing the 54-page manuscript, Heilig began to search online for publishing houses.
“I tried large scale publishers, but they weren’t interested,” Heilig said. Further searching led him to PublishAmerica, an on-demand publisher in Maryland that catered to inexperienced authors.
Heilig’s collection is dubbed “uniVERSE.”
The book is described on the PublishAmerica Web site as the “unique insights and ideas of a madman.”
“That was my idea, actually,” Heilig said. “I’m a little crazy after all.”
Heilig said he meant the descriptor both tongue in cheek and seriously.
He suffers from bipolar disorder and writing, he said, “keeps me sane.” In addition to writing, Heilig relies on medication and creating surrealistic art to fend off his bipolar swings.
The 31-year-old Heilig fell back into depression about a year ago after being laid off from Hi-Lo Industries in Chanute, where he had worked for six years building cabinetry for recreational vehicles.
“Its a luxury industry; I understand that,” he said of the downturn in work. Still, the lack of employment got to him.
Publishing “uniVERSE” has “made me feel better and I’m not so depressed,” Heilig said.
Part of his depression comes from having “friends who died over the years,” Heilig said. The writing acts as “a catharsis for me. It gets it out of my head and on paper so I don’t dwell on it.”
More recent writing, he said, “deals with struggles with addiction and abuse.”
Heilig said those burdens are typical for his age group.
“That was my generation — Gen X — alcohol and drugs and the collapse of the family unit, a disillusionment with many things.”
That impact makes his work dark, he said.
“I’ve struggled with spirituality for years,” he said, but “I finally found a spiritual network that makes sense to my world view,” Heilig said. “I’m a Wiccan.”
Wicca is a form of paganism involving ritual use of magic that is loosley based on ancient Celtic practices. Heilig’s interest in the practice reflects his poetic influences. He cites Irish poet William Butler Yeats and Stan Rice as inspirations.
“Yeats was really into mysticism and so am I,” Heilig said. Rice is late husband of vampire novelist Anne Rice.
“I started reading Anne Rice in junior high school and noticed at the beginning of each chapter was a poem by Stan Rice,” Heilig said. He sought out Stan Rice’s poetry. “It was in the free verse form and I really enjoyed it. Yeats is pretty much” also open verse, Heilig said.
Another influence, the English poet and depressive Sylvia Plath, also used free verse.
“In high school I read a lot of Plath,” Heilig said. “A teacher recommended it — I liked the way it was laid out, it was stream of consciousness style open verse.”
Heilig prefers the style.
“I can’t think of words to rhyme ,” he said. “I tried iambic pentameter and different forms of verse and it felt too restrained,” he noted.
He received positive feedback at school, but until recently, did not take his writing seriously. “I just tossed it all.”
With the encouragement of his wife, Tara, he began to save his work. Having found a way to publish it has inspired him to write more, he said.
HEILIG’S life is stable for perhaps the first time.
Born in Winfield, his family moved continuously, following his father’s Navy career, he said.
When his parents divorced, Heilig moved with his mother and brother to Florida, where his mother found work.
“I attended 24 schools before dropping out my junior year of high school,” Heilig said. He completed his General Education Degree the following year.
The family returned to Kansas in 1991 when his grandmother developed dementia. After her death, his mother, Evelena Thomas and her husband Mike, moved to Iola, Heilig said.
His immediate family has expanded to include Tara’s mother, who is housebound, and two dogs.
With support from those around him, Heilig has hope: for his writing, and conquering depression.
After completing the 54-page manuscript, Heilig began to search online for publishing houses.
“I tried large scale publishers, but they weren’t interested,” Heilig said. Further searching led him to PublishAmerica, an on-demand publisher in Maryland that catered to inexperienced authors.
Heilig’s collection is dubbed “uniVERSE.”
The book is described on the PublishAmerica Web site as the “unique insights and ideas of a madman.”
“That was my idea, actually,” Heilig said. “I’m a little crazy after all.”
Heilig said he meant the descriptor both tongue in cheek and seriously.
He suffers from bipolar disorder and writing, he said, “keeps me sane.” In addition to writing, Heilig relies on medication and creating surrealistic art to fend off his bipolar swings.
The 31-year-old Heilig fell back into depression about a year ago after being laid off from Hi-Lo Industries in Chanute, where he had worked for six years building cabinetry for recreational vehicles.
“Its a luxury industry; I understand that,” he said of the downturn in work. Still, the lack of employment got to him.
Publishing “uniVERSE” has “made me feel better and I’m not so depressed,” Heilig said.
Part of his depression comes from having “friends who died over the years,” Heilig said. The writing acts as “a catharsis for me. It gets it out of my head and on paper so I don’t dwell on it.”
More recent writing, he said, “deals with struggles with addiction and abuse.”
Heilig said those burdens are typical for his age group.
“That was my generation — Gen X — alcohol and drugs and the collapse of the family unit, a disillusionment with many things.”
That impact makes his work dark, he said.
“I’ve struggled with spirituality for years,” he said, but “I finally found a spiritual network that makes sense to my world view,” Heilig said. “I’m a Wiccan.”
Wicca is a form of paganism involving ritual use of magic that is loosley based on ancient Celtic practices. Heilig’s interest in the practice reflects his poetic influences. He cites Irish poet William Butler Yeats and Stan Rice as inspirations.
“Yeats was really into mysticism and so am I,” Heilig said. Rice is late husband of vampire novelist Anne Rice.
“I started reading Anne Rice in junior high school and noticed at the beginning of each chapter was a poem by Stan Rice,” Heilig said. He sought out Stan Rice’s poetry. “It was in the free verse form and I really enjoyed it. Yeats is pretty much” also open verse, Heilig said.
Another influence, the English poet and depressive Sylvia Plath, also used free verse.
“In high school I read a lot of Plath,” Heilig said. “A teacher recommended it — I liked the way it was laid out, it was stream of consciousness style open verse.”
Heilig prefers the style.
“I can’t think of words to rhyme ,” he said. “I tried iambic pentameter and different forms of verse and it felt too restrained,” he noted.
He received positive feedback at school, but until recently, did not take his writing seriously. “I just tossed it all.”
With the encouragement of his wife, Tara, he began to save his work. Having found a way to publish it has inspired him to write more, he said.
HEILIG’S life is stable for perhaps the first time.
Born in Winfield, his family moved continuously, following his father’s Navy career, he said.
When his parents divorced, Heilig moved with his mother and brother to Florida, where his mother found work.
“I attended 24 schools before dropping out my junior year of high school,” Heilig said. He completed his General Education Degree the following year.
The family returned to Kansas in 1991 when his grandmother developed dementia. After her death, his mother, Evelena Thomas and her husband Mike, moved to Iola, Heilig said.
His immediate family has expanded to include Tara’s mother, who is housebound, and two dogs.
With support from those around him, Heilig has hope: for his writing, and conquering depression.
Pesky poison plant persistent
It’s probably the “nice, wet winter,” Nita Cummings said, that has poison ivy everywhere this year.
Cummings, an LPN and office nurse at The Family Physicians in Iola said the office has seen a number of patients with the nasty itch this year.
“You can get it from the air or through contact,” Cummings said.
And, said Southeast Kansas Multi County Health Department Public Health Nurse Wendy Froggatte, you can get it by touching something or someone else who has touched poison ivy. Froggattte warned that those with pets can get it when their furry friends come in contact with the vine, which can creep, climb and act as a shrub. The oils of the plant that cause the allergic reaction can linger on clothes up to a year, she said, or be spread when you toss those clothes into a load of wash.
The Web site poisonivy.org warns that one should bathe in cool water after exposure, because warm water can open pores and allow the plant’s oils to more readily absorb into skin, worsening its effect.
Cummings agreed. “A hot shower will make you miserable.”
Reaction to the plant can be almost immediate for those who are very sensitive. Others may not notice a rash for a day or so.
Rashes range in seriousness from mere speckles on the skin to a crusty, scaly red mass or oozing blisters.
Cummings said that oral or injected prednisone, a steroid, is often the only relief for people with severe itching.
A series of vaccinations to prevent a reaction are also available, she said, but “it is expensive. Check with your insurance first,” before scheduling the shots. Three doses are needed, one per week for three weeks, every year.
Cummings suggested using “anything topically to cool down the itch,” once infected, including calamine, which contains bentonite, a highly absorbent clay which helps dry the rash’s oozing. Anti-itch medicines such as hydrocortisone cream can help, while some people find relief through oral antihistamines, Cummings said.
The rash typically lasts from one to three weeks. Scratching can spread the rash if urushiol, the plant’s active oil, is caught under one’s fingernails and carried to previously unexposed skin, she said.
“If you take prednisone and use topical products to reduce the itch, you should notice a lessening in two to six days,” Cummings said.
POISON IVY is fairly easy to identify. The plant has three leaflets in a cluster on a single petiole, or leaf stem. Leaves can be toothed, lobed or smooth and are typically glossy when new. The top leaflet is usually larger than the other two. The lower leaflets are closely attached to the petiole.
Stems can appear reddish, and the whole plant reddens in fall.
Climbing poison ivy forms numerous aerial roots that give the vine a tell-tale fuzzy appearance.
Poison oak is also found in the area and causes a similar reaction to poison ivy. Poison oak is a shurb that also has three leaflets, looking like tiny oak leaves.
Some people confuse poison ivy with Virginia creeper, a vine that has five leaflets in a palm-shaped arrangement.
ERADICATING poison ivy is difficult. All parts of the plant are poisonous and its roots grow deep. Weed-whacking or mowing the vine can release the irritant into the air. Burning will create a toxic smoke that can cause dangerous internal lung irritation or overall skin inflammation.
Oftentimes, herbicides are the only practical approach. According to the KSU Extension Web site, herbicides including glyphosate (Roundup, Poison Ivy and Vine Killer) or triclopyr (Brush-B-Gon Poison Ivy Killer) can be used. Repeat applications may be necessary.
In rural areas, goats have been used to control the weed — they can eat it with no ill effect.
Cummings also noted ticks are heavy this year. Both wood ticks and tiny deer ticks are in the region. Always check for ticks after working outdoors or walking through wooded areas, she said. Be cautious when removing the arachnids so as not to leave mouth parts in the skin. Check for any redness or rash at the attachment site and see your doctor if any irritation arises.
Cummings, an LPN and office nurse at The Family Physicians in Iola said the office has seen a number of patients with the nasty itch this year.
“You can get it from the air or through contact,” Cummings said.
And, said Southeast Kansas Multi County Health Department Public Health Nurse Wendy Froggatte, you can get it by touching something or someone else who has touched poison ivy. Froggattte warned that those with pets can get it when their furry friends come in contact with the vine, which can creep, climb and act as a shrub. The oils of the plant that cause the allergic reaction can linger on clothes up to a year, she said, or be spread when you toss those clothes into a load of wash.
The Web site poisonivy.org warns that one should bathe in cool water after exposure, because warm water can open pores and allow the plant’s oils to more readily absorb into skin, worsening its effect.
Cummings agreed. “A hot shower will make you miserable.”
Reaction to the plant can be almost immediate for those who are very sensitive. Others may not notice a rash for a day or so.
Rashes range in seriousness from mere speckles on the skin to a crusty, scaly red mass or oozing blisters.
Cummings said that oral or injected prednisone, a steroid, is often the only relief for people with severe itching.
A series of vaccinations to prevent a reaction are also available, she said, but “it is expensive. Check with your insurance first,” before scheduling the shots. Three doses are needed, one per week for three weeks, every year.
Cummings suggested using “anything topically to cool down the itch,” once infected, including calamine, which contains bentonite, a highly absorbent clay which helps dry the rash’s oozing. Anti-itch medicines such as hydrocortisone cream can help, while some people find relief through oral antihistamines, Cummings said.
The rash typically lasts from one to three weeks. Scratching can spread the rash if urushiol, the plant’s active oil, is caught under one’s fingernails and carried to previously unexposed skin, she said.
“If you take prednisone and use topical products to reduce the itch, you should notice a lessening in two to six days,” Cummings said.
POISON IVY is fairly easy to identify. The plant has three leaflets in a cluster on a single petiole, or leaf stem. Leaves can be toothed, lobed or smooth and are typically glossy when new. The top leaflet is usually larger than the other two. The lower leaflets are closely attached to the petiole.
Stems can appear reddish, and the whole plant reddens in fall.
Climbing poison ivy forms numerous aerial roots that give the vine a tell-tale fuzzy appearance.
Poison oak is also found in the area and causes a similar reaction to poison ivy. Poison oak is a shurb that also has three leaflets, looking like tiny oak leaves.
Some people confuse poison ivy with Virginia creeper, a vine that has five leaflets in a palm-shaped arrangement.
ERADICATING poison ivy is difficult. All parts of the plant are poisonous and its roots grow deep. Weed-whacking or mowing the vine can release the irritant into the air. Burning will create a toxic smoke that can cause dangerous internal lung irritation or overall skin inflammation.
Oftentimes, herbicides are the only practical approach. According to the KSU Extension Web site, herbicides including glyphosate (Roundup, Poison Ivy and Vine Killer) or triclopyr (Brush-B-Gon Poison Ivy Killer) can be used. Repeat applications may be necessary.
In rural areas, goats have been used to control the weed — they can eat it with no ill effect.
Cummings also noted ticks are heavy this year. Both wood ticks and tiny deer ticks are in the region. Always check for ticks after working outdoors or walking through wooded areas, she said. Be cautious when removing the arachnids so as not to leave mouth parts in the skin. Check for any redness or rash at the attachment site and see your doctor if any irritation arises.
Neighbor helping neighbor focus of meetings
“The thing I felt least prepared for when I came out of seminary,” said Jim Rausch, pastor of Iola’s First Presbyterian Church, “is helping people with limited resources.”
Rausch said he was spurred to look into refining his methods of care after years of dealing with local and transient populations. If assistance doesn’t change the foundation of poverty, he said, it “ends up being a Band-Aid.”
After 12 years in Iola, Rausch has faced up to that problem countless times.
“I’ve felt like in my time here I’ve never found the right approach,” he said.
And so, with the help of Wesley United Methodist’s Trudy Kenyon Anderson and Nancy Maier of the Area Agency on Aging, Rausch has planned two workshops using Beth Lindsay Templeton’s guide, “Loving Our Neighbor: A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty.”
“It struck me during the flood relief that there are a lot of people who want to help but wouldn’t know how. This book has the ABCs of what to do. It would help a person like me to not be so lost,” Rausch said.
The material “contains what I believe to be information too good not to share on a topic that not only touches our hearts, but is highly relevant for our community,” he noted.
Rausch said he believes the sessions will be “something many people in our community will find very useful and compelling.”
Workshops will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday and again from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, both in Community National Bank’s basement conference room. Enter through the east door closest to the library; an elevator is available. Both workshops will offer the same information. There is no cost to attend.
Copies of the book will be available at the workshops for $10 apiece, discounted — thanks to donations — from the cover price of $17.95, Rausch said.
RAUSCH MET Templeton at a Christian educator’s conference in Nashville at a few weeks ago, he said. She made him aware how simple tasks like filling out forms can be perceived differently to those with a limited education. “There’s a perception that you have to get it right. That if you make a mistake, you won’t be helped,” he noted.
The workshops will help make the community aware of the different languages and values of varied classes in our society, Maier said.
“It’s so middle class to be focused on work and achievement, that we miss out on relationships,” Maier said. Even when working multiple jobs to get by, families in poverty focus on maintaining bonds with each other, she said. “When you work with the working poor, you realize, they’ve got this right, I’ve got it wrong,” she observed.
Templeton’s book, Kenyon Anderson said, offers a how-to on dealing with poverty “devoid of our own perceptions.”
“She makes you look at different levels of help, not only meeting immediate needs, but by making people be more self sufficient,” and dissembling “the intergenerational cycles of poverty,” Maier said.
“I think my favorite part of the book is how she takes the beatitudes,” Maier added. “If you follow the teachings in the beatitudes, you have to reach out, you have to care, you have to do something.”
THOUGH Biblically based, the workshops are not only for church-goers, the trio said.
“It has nothing to do with denominational work,” said Kenyon Anderson. Instead, Rausch said, “It’s Golden Rule based, it’s neighbor helping neighbor.”
“As for a plan as to what’s going to happen, it’s going to come out of the workshop. The potential that’s out there will take it forward,” Maier added.
The trio hopes that people from all walks of life — including those with limited resources — will join them for the workshops.
“They have an insight we don’t have,” Maier said. “They’ll help guide the direction.”
Rausch said he was spurred to look into refining his methods of care after years of dealing with local and transient populations. If assistance doesn’t change the foundation of poverty, he said, it “ends up being a Band-Aid.”
After 12 years in Iola, Rausch has faced up to that problem countless times.
“I’ve felt like in my time here I’ve never found the right approach,” he said.
And so, with the help of Wesley United Methodist’s Trudy Kenyon Anderson and Nancy Maier of the Area Agency on Aging, Rausch has planned two workshops using Beth Lindsay Templeton’s guide, “Loving Our Neighbor: A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty.”
“It struck me during the flood relief that there are a lot of people who want to help but wouldn’t know how. This book has the ABCs of what to do. It would help a person like me to not be so lost,” Rausch said.
The material “contains what I believe to be information too good not to share on a topic that not only touches our hearts, but is highly relevant for our community,” he noted.
Rausch said he believes the sessions will be “something many people in our community will find very useful and compelling.”
Workshops will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday and again from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, both in Community National Bank’s basement conference room. Enter through the east door closest to the library; an elevator is available. Both workshops will offer the same information. There is no cost to attend.
Copies of the book will be available at the workshops for $10 apiece, discounted — thanks to donations — from the cover price of $17.95, Rausch said.
RAUSCH MET Templeton at a Christian educator’s conference in Nashville at a few weeks ago, he said. She made him aware how simple tasks like filling out forms can be perceived differently to those with a limited education. “There’s a perception that you have to get it right. That if you make a mistake, you won’t be helped,” he noted.
The workshops will help make the community aware of the different languages and values of varied classes in our society, Maier said.
“It’s so middle class to be focused on work and achievement, that we miss out on relationships,” Maier said. Even when working multiple jobs to get by, families in poverty focus on maintaining bonds with each other, she said. “When you work with the working poor, you realize, they’ve got this right, I’ve got it wrong,” she observed.
Templeton’s book, Kenyon Anderson said, offers a how-to on dealing with poverty “devoid of our own perceptions.”
“She makes you look at different levels of help, not only meeting immediate needs, but by making people be more self sufficient,” and dissembling “the intergenerational cycles of poverty,” Maier said.
“I think my favorite part of the book is how she takes the beatitudes,” Maier added. “If you follow the teachings in the beatitudes, you have to reach out, you have to care, you have to do something.”
THOUGH Biblically based, the workshops are not only for church-goers, the trio said.
“It has nothing to do with denominational work,” said Kenyon Anderson. Instead, Rausch said, “It’s Golden Rule based, it’s neighbor helping neighbor.”
“As for a plan as to what’s going to happen, it’s going to come out of the workshop. The potential that’s out there will take it forward,” Maier added.
The trio hopes that people from all walks of life — including those with limited resources — will join them for the workshops.
“They have an insight we don’t have,” Maier said. “They’ll help guide the direction.”
Workshop opens eyes to needs of poor
About 20 Iolans came together Saturday morning to learn how they can help address the issue of poverty in Allen County.
The workshop, and one to be offered Tuesday evening, was based on Beth Lindsay Templeton’s book, “Loving Our Neighbor: A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty.” A companion DVD, “Servant or Sucker,” was shown at the workshop.
Jim Rausch, pastor of First Presbyterian Church Iola, organized the sessions after hearing Templeton speak a few weeks back at a Christian educators conference.
She offered answers, he said, to his longest-running ministerial concern: appropriately helping those who live in poverty.
“I feel my response has been inadequate,” Rausch said. “I’ve tried different approaches over the years and I thought, why aren’t there classes in this? This book is the first thing I’ve found that addressed that.”
Too often, Rausch said, the problem of caring for the poor falls on the backs of churches or a pastoral organization.
Iola’s prime example is the Iola Area Ministerial Association. Those in need rely on it for food, emergency funds, assistance with securing social services and more.
Yet addressing poverty in Allen County, said Nancy Maier, “is bigger than something each church or each pastor can do.” Instead, she said, it takes a total community approach.
Rausch believes in sharing “funds of knowledge.” His goal, and that of Templeton, is to “help without enabling” the cycle of poverty to be prolonged, he said.
The first step, according to Templeton, is to change the way we think.
Retired social worker Verna Devine noted “the myths that a lot of people have about those we consider poor remain the same as ever.”
The DVD supported that notion. In the video, interviewees noted how they felt when approached by panhandlers. What preconceived notions are held about such individuals? What makes them want — or need —to beg?
Examining these inherent beliefs is at the heart of Templeton’s book. It is only by confronting our own notions on the culture of poverty that we can honestly help, Templeton asserts.
TOO OFTEN, the middle class believe that the poor choose their lifestyle, Templeton notes in her book. There is a belief that anyone can work their way up by finishing school and getting a job. Yet the skills needed to move along that track are missing to many poor, she said.
Children that grow up in chaotic households do not learn the linear thought progression that work leads to reward, the book says. Instead, such people learn to live in the moment, accepting good or bad as fleeting. Such basic survival techniques do not translate into the workaday world.
“What family we’re born into does make a difference,” Templeton noted.
Devine said that her years of working with the poor support that observation.
Devine noted she worked in agencies where those assisting the poor “felt those in need didn’t ‘deserve’ help. The word deserve has been in my mind for years,” she said.
“It’s so middle class to be focused on work and achievement,” noted Maier. Even if working numerous jobs to get by, she said, poor families focus on maintaining bonds with each other. “When you work with the working poor, you realize, they’ve got this right, I’ve got it wrong.”
“It’s one mindset versus another,” Rausch agreed.
Rausch said those who wish to help must have awareness if four ‘i’s’ : intention, ignorance, inheritance and inaction.
Intention addresses our prejudices, he noted. Inheritance is the economic situation we were born into that shapes our cultural thinking. Ignorance is lack of awareness of other ways of thinking, and inaction must be addressed by taking steps to enhance personal awareness and to help others.
Maier noted she works with the elderly, who generally tell her that when they were younger, “everyone was poor.”
At that time, there was a greater social support network, she said. Now, the chasm between the classes has widened. The poor are often hidden among us, working full time jobs, driving nice cares, but living day to day, paycheck to paycheck.
In Allen County, she said, “we have a lot of working poor, people just living hand to mouth.”
Templeton’s premise is to move impoverished individuals into self sufficiency by prioritizing needs such as medical care, shelter, employment, child care and transportation, among others.
Organizers hope workshop attendees will help do just that.
Tuesday’s workshop runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the basement conference room of Community National Bank. Enter through the east door closest to the library; an elevator is available. There is no cost to attend. Copies of Templeton’s book will be available for $10 each.
The workshop, and one to be offered Tuesday evening, was based on Beth Lindsay Templeton’s book, “Loving Our Neighbor: A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty.” A companion DVD, “Servant or Sucker,” was shown at the workshop.
Jim Rausch, pastor of First Presbyterian Church Iola, organized the sessions after hearing Templeton speak a few weeks back at a Christian educators conference.
She offered answers, he said, to his longest-running ministerial concern: appropriately helping those who live in poverty.
“I feel my response has been inadequate,” Rausch said. “I’ve tried different approaches over the years and I thought, why aren’t there classes in this? This book is the first thing I’ve found that addressed that.”
Too often, Rausch said, the problem of caring for the poor falls on the backs of churches or a pastoral organization.
Iola’s prime example is the Iola Area Ministerial Association. Those in need rely on it for food, emergency funds, assistance with securing social services and more.
Yet addressing poverty in Allen County, said Nancy Maier, “is bigger than something each church or each pastor can do.” Instead, she said, it takes a total community approach.
Rausch believes in sharing “funds of knowledge.” His goal, and that of Templeton, is to “help without enabling” the cycle of poverty to be prolonged, he said.
The first step, according to Templeton, is to change the way we think.
Retired social worker Verna Devine noted “the myths that a lot of people have about those we consider poor remain the same as ever.”
The DVD supported that notion. In the video, interviewees noted how they felt when approached by panhandlers. What preconceived notions are held about such individuals? What makes them want — or need —to beg?
Examining these inherent beliefs is at the heart of Templeton’s book. It is only by confronting our own notions on the culture of poverty that we can honestly help, Templeton asserts.
TOO OFTEN, the middle class believe that the poor choose their lifestyle, Templeton notes in her book. There is a belief that anyone can work their way up by finishing school and getting a job. Yet the skills needed to move along that track are missing to many poor, she said.
Children that grow up in chaotic households do not learn the linear thought progression that work leads to reward, the book says. Instead, such people learn to live in the moment, accepting good or bad as fleeting. Such basic survival techniques do not translate into the workaday world.
“What family we’re born into does make a difference,” Templeton noted.
Devine said that her years of working with the poor support that observation.
Devine noted she worked in agencies where those assisting the poor “felt those in need didn’t ‘deserve’ help. The word deserve has been in my mind for years,” she said.
“It’s so middle class to be focused on work and achievement,” noted Maier. Even if working numerous jobs to get by, she said, poor families focus on maintaining bonds with each other. “When you work with the working poor, you realize, they’ve got this right, I’ve got it wrong.”
“It’s one mindset versus another,” Rausch agreed.
Rausch said those who wish to help must have awareness if four ‘i’s’ : intention, ignorance, inheritance and inaction.
Intention addresses our prejudices, he noted. Inheritance is the economic situation we were born into that shapes our cultural thinking. Ignorance is lack of awareness of other ways of thinking, and inaction must be addressed by taking steps to enhance personal awareness and to help others.
Maier noted she works with the elderly, who generally tell her that when they were younger, “everyone was poor.”
At that time, there was a greater social support network, she said. Now, the chasm between the classes has widened. The poor are often hidden among us, working full time jobs, driving nice cares, but living day to day, paycheck to paycheck.
In Allen County, she said, “we have a lot of working poor, people just living hand to mouth.”
Templeton’s premise is to move impoverished individuals into self sufficiency by prioritizing needs such as medical care, shelter, employment, child care and transportation, among others.
Organizers hope workshop attendees will help do just that.
Tuesday’s workshop runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the basement conference room of Community National Bank. Enter through the east door closest to the library; an elevator is available. There is no cost to attend. Copies of Templeton’s book will be available for $10 each.
Stellar prom planned
There will be lots of sparkling, dangling decorations “When the Stars Collide” at the Iola High School junior/senior prom this year.
“The custodians are putting up wires for us to hang about 300 stars,” said high school counselor and prom decorations coordinator Jodi Grover. Silver, black, purple and green balloons will fill the IHS gym, transforming it into a summer night under the stars.
The junior class traditionally organizes decorations for the event, Grover said.
“We’ve been working on it since November or December,” she noted. The group ordered numerous kits that must be put together to create the faux courtyard scene they selected.
“It’s a lot of hot glue and junk and following instructions,” Grover said. “We had to order special lighting,” too, Grover added.
Despite the fact they have copious supplies, by Wednesday, Grover said, students, “will be saying we don’t have enough stuff.”
Local vendors have already vowed to help out, Grover said, offering gazebos and archways and fake trees to help make the scene more realistic.
Grover will help while students work from 5 to 10 p.m. each night this week putting up the decorations, she said.
“We just kind of plunk along,” she said.
“It’s really fun for the kids,” Grover noted, and is the one event where students of all interests “come together for one week,” she said.
Howie Day’s mega-hit “Collide” is this year’s theme song, Grover said.
The prom will run one hour longer than usual, until midnight this year, Grover said, to give students more time to dance.
An after-prom party follows until 3 a.m.
The party, at the Recreation Building in Riverside Park, will keep students active with games, movies, food, prizes and more dancing.
Students are given up to 45 minutes to get from the prom to the Rec. Building, said party organizer Terry Lower. At 12:45 a.m., doors are locked, he said.
Both the party and adjacent parking lots will be supervised for the duration, Lower said.
At the shindig, students can expect Nintendo, Wii and X-Box games on a big screen TV, a climbing wall, bull ride, bungi run — where students try to race wearing bungi cords — and structured pillow fight, Lower said.
Staged photos using “old-time” backdrops borrowed from the Plainsmen will be available. Local disc jockey Cornell Pulley will spin tunes. And “every few minutes,” Lower said, the names of Iola juniors and seniors will be selected in drawings for monetary prizes ranging between $25 and $100.
The party is funded through a previous enchilada sale and pizza party. Prizes are all donated.
“The town has been really fantastic” about supporting the event, Lower said
The after prom party is organized and supervised by parents of high school juniors, Lower said. There are 89 students in this year’s junior class, and most parents help out in some way, he added.
Students who want to leave before the 3 a.m. dismissal time must call their parents, Lower said. Upon approval, they may go, he said.
Most, however, choose to stick it out, Lower said, although they start to get pretty tired around 2 a.m.
There is no cost to attend the after prom party, but students must sign up at the high school office, Lower said.
“The custodians are putting up wires for us to hang about 300 stars,” said high school counselor and prom decorations coordinator Jodi Grover. Silver, black, purple and green balloons will fill the IHS gym, transforming it into a summer night under the stars.
The junior class traditionally organizes decorations for the event, Grover said.
“We’ve been working on it since November or December,” she noted. The group ordered numerous kits that must be put together to create the faux courtyard scene they selected.
“It’s a lot of hot glue and junk and following instructions,” Grover said. “We had to order special lighting,” too, Grover added.
Despite the fact they have copious supplies, by Wednesday, Grover said, students, “will be saying we don’t have enough stuff.”
Local vendors have already vowed to help out, Grover said, offering gazebos and archways and fake trees to help make the scene more realistic.
Grover will help while students work from 5 to 10 p.m. each night this week putting up the decorations, she said.
“We just kind of plunk along,” she said.
“It’s really fun for the kids,” Grover noted, and is the one event where students of all interests “come together for one week,” she said.
Howie Day’s mega-hit “Collide” is this year’s theme song, Grover said.
The prom will run one hour longer than usual, until midnight this year, Grover said, to give students more time to dance.
An after-prom party follows until 3 a.m.
The party, at the Recreation Building in Riverside Park, will keep students active with games, movies, food, prizes and more dancing.
Students are given up to 45 minutes to get from the prom to the Rec. Building, said party organizer Terry Lower. At 12:45 a.m., doors are locked, he said.
Both the party and adjacent parking lots will be supervised for the duration, Lower said.
At the shindig, students can expect Nintendo, Wii and X-Box games on a big screen TV, a climbing wall, bull ride, bungi run — where students try to race wearing bungi cords — and structured pillow fight, Lower said.
Staged photos using “old-time” backdrops borrowed from the Plainsmen will be available. Local disc jockey Cornell Pulley will spin tunes. And “every few minutes,” Lower said, the names of Iola juniors and seniors will be selected in drawings for monetary prizes ranging between $25 and $100.
The party is funded through a previous enchilada sale and pizza party. Prizes are all donated.
“The town has been really fantastic” about supporting the event, Lower said
The after prom party is organized and supervised by parents of high school juniors, Lower said. There are 89 students in this year’s junior class, and most parents help out in some way, he added.
Students who want to leave before the 3 a.m. dismissal time must call their parents, Lower said. Upon approval, they may go, he said.
Most, however, choose to stick it out, Lower said, although they start to get pretty tired around 2 a.m.
There is no cost to attend the after prom party, but students must sign up at the high school office, Lower said.
Film spotlights shift work; debuts Sunday
Two young filmmakers have turned the spotlight on southeast Kansas in a short documentary, “Punch Clock.” The film tells the stories of typical shift workers and the dreams they had before falling into a daily work routine.
The first draft of the film won “Best Documentary Short” in the Southern Winds Film Festival last year, said former Humboldt resident Nathan Cheney. Additional footage for the 20-minute film was shot earlier this year, said co-producer and Iola resident Chance Luttrell.
In homage to their roots, the final cut will debut at a free noon showing Sunday at Iola’s Sterling Six Cinema. Another free showing, at 6 p.m. Monday evening, will be at the old Iola Cinema, now Fellowship Regional Church, 202 S. Washington.
LUTTRELL and Cheney began filming in 2007, shortly before a record flood hit the area. They interviewed subjects in Colony, Chanute, Humboldt and Iola.
“It’s been a process this 2 1/2 years,” Luttrell said. Post-production work just finished in Los Angeles, Cheney added.
Unlike narrative film, with documentaries, “the story is really told in the editing room,” Luttrell said. “A lot of the interviews are over an hour long. We took over 15 hours of footage and made a 20 minute film.”
The interviewees told them about dreams they had prior to becoming shift workers. Those dreams were as varied as being a missionary and a stuntman, Cheney said. None were achieved.
“People you see every day — it’s fascinating to learn what they wanted to be,” Cheney said. “It’s so different from what you see.”
Instead of being depressed or angry about the twists in life that led them to an everyman existence, Cheney said he was surprised so many of the subjects were happy.
“That was a surprise to us younger guys,” Cheney said. “We learned about people and we learned about ourselves in the process.”
Both film makers said they expected to make a downbeat film. Instead, their preconceived notions were shattered.
“When you say dream, people always think it’s gotta be this big ‘I want to be a superstar’ thing. But a lot of them were really simple,” Luttrell noted.
The hopefulness they found while filming “Punch Clock” has left both young men changed.
“You don’t necessarily have to give up your dreams,” Luttrell said. “When I first started, I though these people working 8 to 5 had given up.” But, he noted, “The older you get, the more mature you get, you realize you can fuel your energies in different ways. If you’re a musician, you don’t have to be a rock star.
“I was pretty naive when I went into this,” Luttrell added. “I thought, ‘Here’s all these depressed people who hate their jobs’ — but there’s no unhappiness. They had a lot to be thankful for.”
Not achieving your original dream does not equate with failure, the two realized. Dreams simply change.
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy,” Luttrell noted.
THE BIGGEST barrier to pursuing original dreams was unplanned parenthood, Cheney learned. “Another was not having the resources or not being supported in what they wanted to do,” he said. “For a lot of people, life happens.”
The same might be said for Cheney and Luttrell.
The two got a helping hand in the production of “Punch Clock” from former Humboldt resident Jerry Whitworth, now a Hollywood producer of such television fare as “Survivor” and “Oprah’s Big Give.”
“We started doing the documentary and a woman we were working with happened to be working with Jerry’s mom,” Cheney said. That serendipitous encounter led to Whitworth taking an interest in the fledgling producers’ project.
“He really helped us draw up the story in a more professional manner,” Cheney said. So much so that the two have re-scored the film and finessed it to this final cut.
They feel so confident in the film, in fact, that “all of next year we’ll be submitting “Punch Clock” to different (film) festivals,” Luttrell said. Each submission costs $40 to $75, he said. The two are accepting donations to support the process. The year thereafter involves screening the film, he said.
The multi-year time frame is typical of documentaries, Luttrell said. Still, both he and Cheney prefer the genre to fiction.
“I think it’s much more powerful to see real people with real outcomes,” Luttrell said.
Both are in pre-production on new documentaries.
Cheney, son of Theresa Cheney of Iola and Craig Cheney of Humboldt, is working on, “A Fatherless Generation,” about children of single-parent homes.
“It’s about choice,” he said. “You don’t have to let your past determine your future.”
Luttrell, son of Iola’s Bill and Terri Luttrell, is working on a profile of pencil artist Rick Barkdoll.
Both Cheney and Luttrell said they are living their dreams.
Cheney will graduate in May from Hollywood’s Columbia College with a degree in Cinema and Television with a focus on production. He is currently serving as an intern at ABC television with plans to continue there after graduation.
“I feel blessed to have many opportunities here,” he said.
Luttrell, who played with the alt-rock band Agathy, is pursuing his own, more folk-based, acoustic music now.
“I’m spending more time doing acoustic music and sending it places to try to get it into movies,” he said.
Luttrell works at Pacer Energy Marketing in Humboldt. He no longer punches a time clock.
The first draft of the film won “Best Documentary Short” in the Southern Winds Film Festival last year, said former Humboldt resident Nathan Cheney. Additional footage for the 20-minute film was shot earlier this year, said co-producer and Iola resident Chance Luttrell.
In homage to their roots, the final cut will debut at a free noon showing Sunday at Iola’s Sterling Six Cinema. Another free showing, at 6 p.m. Monday evening, will be at the old Iola Cinema, now Fellowship Regional Church, 202 S. Washington.
LUTTRELL and Cheney began filming in 2007, shortly before a record flood hit the area. They interviewed subjects in Colony, Chanute, Humboldt and Iola.
“It’s been a process this 2 1/2 years,” Luttrell said. Post-production work just finished in Los Angeles, Cheney added.
Unlike narrative film, with documentaries, “the story is really told in the editing room,” Luttrell said. “A lot of the interviews are over an hour long. We took over 15 hours of footage and made a 20 minute film.”
The interviewees told them about dreams they had prior to becoming shift workers. Those dreams were as varied as being a missionary and a stuntman, Cheney said. None were achieved.
“People you see every day — it’s fascinating to learn what they wanted to be,” Cheney said. “It’s so different from what you see.”
Instead of being depressed or angry about the twists in life that led them to an everyman existence, Cheney said he was surprised so many of the subjects were happy.
“That was a surprise to us younger guys,” Cheney said. “We learned about people and we learned about ourselves in the process.”
Both film makers said they expected to make a downbeat film. Instead, their preconceived notions were shattered.
“When you say dream, people always think it’s gotta be this big ‘I want to be a superstar’ thing. But a lot of them were really simple,” Luttrell noted.
The hopefulness they found while filming “Punch Clock” has left both young men changed.
“You don’t necessarily have to give up your dreams,” Luttrell said. “When I first started, I though these people working 8 to 5 had given up.” But, he noted, “The older you get, the more mature you get, you realize you can fuel your energies in different ways. If you’re a musician, you don’t have to be a rock star.
“I was pretty naive when I went into this,” Luttrell added. “I thought, ‘Here’s all these depressed people who hate their jobs’ — but there’s no unhappiness. They had a lot to be thankful for.”
Not achieving your original dream does not equate with failure, the two realized. Dreams simply change.
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy,” Luttrell noted.
THE BIGGEST barrier to pursuing original dreams was unplanned parenthood, Cheney learned. “Another was not having the resources or not being supported in what they wanted to do,” he said. “For a lot of people, life happens.”
The same might be said for Cheney and Luttrell.
The two got a helping hand in the production of “Punch Clock” from former Humboldt resident Jerry Whitworth, now a Hollywood producer of such television fare as “Survivor” and “Oprah’s Big Give.”
“We started doing the documentary and a woman we were working with happened to be working with Jerry’s mom,” Cheney said. That serendipitous encounter led to Whitworth taking an interest in the fledgling producers’ project.
“He really helped us draw up the story in a more professional manner,” Cheney said. So much so that the two have re-scored the film and finessed it to this final cut.
They feel so confident in the film, in fact, that “all of next year we’ll be submitting “Punch Clock” to different (film) festivals,” Luttrell said. Each submission costs $40 to $75, he said. The two are accepting donations to support the process. The year thereafter involves screening the film, he said.
The multi-year time frame is typical of documentaries, Luttrell said. Still, both he and Cheney prefer the genre to fiction.
“I think it’s much more powerful to see real people with real outcomes,” Luttrell said.
Both are in pre-production on new documentaries.
Cheney, son of Theresa Cheney of Iola and Craig Cheney of Humboldt, is working on, “A Fatherless Generation,” about children of single-parent homes.
“It’s about choice,” he said. “You don’t have to let your past determine your future.”
Luttrell, son of Iola’s Bill and Terri Luttrell, is working on a profile of pencil artist Rick Barkdoll.
Both Cheney and Luttrell said they are living their dreams.
Cheney will graduate in May from Hollywood’s Columbia College with a degree in Cinema and Television with a focus on production. He is currently serving as an intern at ABC television with plans to continue there after graduation.
“I feel blessed to have many opportunities here,” he said.
Luttrell, who played with the alt-rock band Agathy, is pursuing his own, more folk-based, acoustic music now.
“I’m spending more time doing acoustic music and sending it places to try to get it into movies,” he said.
Luttrell works at Pacer Energy Marketing in Humboldt. He no longer punches a time clock.
Rivertree: combatting modern isolation
Matt Bycroft admits to liking video games — it’s part of our culture, he said, and he’s OK with that.
“We’re a TV generation. A video game generation. We have short attention spans,” he said.
The seemingly global penchant for the visual is what makes the use of video acceptable in churches these days, he figured.
Bycroft, who pastors Rivertree Church at 301 S. Miller Rd., uses the tool in his services.
The church has two video screens — the one at the front is painted directly on the wall, the back is to post lyrics for the praise team.
“All the Scripture that is read is projected up front,” Bycroft said. “All the words to our songs. The sermon outline is put up there.” Using the screens makes people more comfortable, he said.
“I think it’s a handy thing. It gives people a mental break, or, if done right, it can really drive home a point.”
If he could, Bycroft said, “I’d like to use more, but it’s time consuming and expensive to do that.”
RIVERTREE is a relatively young church. Bycroft has been its only pastor. He moved to Iola to start it, a brainchild of Tyro Christian Church, where Bycroft’s father has pastored for 40 years.
“That’s the mother church,” Bycroft said of Tyro, which is near Coffeyville.
The churches are non-denominational independent Christian churches.
“Each church is independent. We hire our own leadership and staff. We base theology on what’s in the New Testament. We try to do church like they did then, building a bridge between the first century and this one.”
To attract those who might otherwise shy away, Bycroft said, “Our dress code is come as you are.” The service itself is “very light-hearted, but at the same time we try to deal with issues people have and try to reach out to them.”
Bycroft and his wife, Jennifer, moved to Iola in January, 2001.
“We drove around and talked to people at truck stops, restaurants, gas stations; we walked around the square and park and just tried to talk to everyone we ran into,” he said.
What they found was a hole.
“The vast majority of the people we met didn’t go to church at all, so we felt there was room” to proceed with Rivertree.
Rivertree’s first service was the Sunday after 9/11, Bycroft noted.
“A lot of our equipment didn’t show up because planes were grounded,” he said. “We had our first official service the next Sunday.”
It wasn’t easy to begin a new church.
“We were seen as outsiders, as trying to take from other churches. But our intention is to reach people who did not attend or who had stayed away” from church altogether, Bycroft said.
Growth has been steady, but not outlandish.
“Our very first Sunday we had 65. We’ve had 35 steady after that. We grew very slowly, then ... we had big growth,” Bycroft said. The overall result is that about 135 people now regularly attend the 10 a.m. Sunday service.
At Tyro, average Sunday attendance is 800.
“My dad says ‘I’ve been here 40 years and we’ve grown 20 people per year.’ It makes it sound easy, but it’s not.”
Church attendance ebbs and flows with the seasons, Bycroft noted.
“It’s higher during the school year. As soon as it starts getting nice out, people start taking weekends off.”
Rivertree just put a temporary hold on Sunday evening services, which averaged about 40 attendees.
“After the time change, we saw a big shift in that. It’s still light at 8 p.m.,” Bycroft said, which tends to keep people outside.
“We’ll return to the 6:30 p.m. service after the time change in the fall,” he said.
Rivertree’s Sunday evening service attracted shift workers, nurses, hotel employees and others whose jobs keep them away on Sunday mornings, he said.
That reflects current American lifestyles, Bycroft said, noting “20 to 25 percent of the nation’s population isn’t able to go to church on Sunday morning.”
Bycroft keeps abreast of current trends. He noted that “more and more non-denominational churches are offering Saturday evening or even Friday evening services” in addition to or instead of those on Sunday morning.
One Colorado church has its primary service on Friday night, with no Sunday offerings, he said.
At Rivertree, there are no weekday offerings, but there are sports.
Softball, soccer, baseball: all are played on the church’s adjacent fields.
“We have a couple of men’s softball teams; the handicapped kids in the Challengers play every Saturday through the summer; and the city uses the field for games,” Bycroft said. “Several teams from the men’s city league use it through the week to practice,” as well, he said.
The church offers the fields as a public service, not a ministry.
ALTHOUGH HE HAS done so, Bycroft didn’t set out to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I wanted to go into wildlife biology,” he said. “I like science and I like being outdoors.”
But, Bycroft said, “I was in my junior year at Pittsburg State University when God showed me his plan. The next year I went to Ozark Christian College and graduated from there” with a bachelor of Biblical literature.
Bycroft said you can never know God’s plans or timing for your life.
He muses that he and his wife prayed for another child years ago — and only now, when their youngest is eight, are they expecting again.
The Bycrofts have two daughters, Macayla, 10, and eight-year-old Rachel. Bycroft and his wife are both in their 30s. They epitomize the congregation of Rivertree. “It’s mostly younger families,” he said.
That fact at first dictated the style of services, he said.
“When we first came here we thought having the modern sound would appeal, but most people in Iola have some church experience so they relate more to older songs,” he noted. Still, Bycroft said, “we try to have a mix.”
The praise team is made up of high school through young adult members who play piano, guitar, drums and sing.
It has only been in the last couple of years that Rivertree has “developed a deep sense of unity in the church,” Bycroft noted. The revelation has taken hold, he said, that “the building is not the church; we as the body of Christ are the church.”
Bycroft said Rivertree is actively working to combat the isolation that even members of the same congregation can feel.
“Most people come for an hour and leave and never get to know anyone else. Even with 130 people there’s not enough time” to get to know one another, Bycroft said.
“There’s a transition from big front porches to big back decks,” which isolate members of a community, Bycroft said. “There’s a false sense of community through technology like Facebook, Skype, or video chat. There’s not a true sense of conversation or engagement there,” he said. “ATM machines, drive-through foods, self-check outs, Facebook — you can do all these things and never have personal contact with anyone. It’s not just Iola — it’s everywhere.”
Bycroft sees churches as providing a venue to overcome societal loneliness.
“I think it’s incredible to stand on stage every week and know there is no reason (why Rivertree attendees) would ever get together except for that one thing they have in common: Jesus Christ.”
To nurture closeness, Rivertree is “trying to break up into small groups; we’re trying to get people to want to know each other, to see the value in that. As the church grows we’re (trying) to keep that sense of church on a more personal level. And we’re going to continue reaching out.
“We have the power to change things through the power of Christ.”
The goal of the church is simple, Bycroft said.
“Our mission is to make a positive impact on our community by making people fully devoted followers of Christ.
“I think it’s pretty cool that God can use someone like me, or you. Our personalities may not be perfect, or our giftedness.” But, he noted, “Somebody has to be the forerunner. John the Baptist only got to tell people, ‘Jesus is coming.’ If that’s my role, I’m satisfied with that.”
“We’re a TV generation. A video game generation. We have short attention spans,” he said.
The seemingly global penchant for the visual is what makes the use of video acceptable in churches these days, he figured.
Bycroft, who pastors Rivertree Church at 301 S. Miller Rd., uses the tool in his services.
The church has two video screens — the one at the front is painted directly on the wall, the back is to post lyrics for the praise team.
“All the Scripture that is read is projected up front,” Bycroft said. “All the words to our songs. The sermon outline is put up there.” Using the screens makes people more comfortable, he said.
“I think it’s a handy thing. It gives people a mental break, or, if done right, it can really drive home a point.”
If he could, Bycroft said, “I’d like to use more, but it’s time consuming and expensive to do that.”
RIVERTREE is a relatively young church. Bycroft has been its only pastor. He moved to Iola to start it, a brainchild of Tyro Christian Church, where Bycroft’s father has pastored for 40 years.
“That’s the mother church,” Bycroft said of Tyro, which is near Coffeyville.
The churches are non-denominational independent Christian churches.
“Each church is independent. We hire our own leadership and staff. We base theology on what’s in the New Testament. We try to do church like they did then, building a bridge between the first century and this one.”
To attract those who might otherwise shy away, Bycroft said, “Our dress code is come as you are.” The service itself is “very light-hearted, but at the same time we try to deal with issues people have and try to reach out to them.”
Bycroft and his wife, Jennifer, moved to Iola in January, 2001.
“We drove around and talked to people at truck stops, restaurants, gas stations; we walked around the square and park and just tried to talk to everyone we ran into,” he said.
What they found was a hole.
“The vast majority of the people we met didn’t go to church at all, so we felt there was room” to proceed with Rivertree.
Rivertree’s first service was the Sunday after 9/11, Bycroft noted.
“A lot of our equipment didn’t show up because planes were grounded,” he said. “We had our first official service the next Sunday.”
It wasn’t easy to begin a new church.
“We were seen as outsiders, as trying to take from other churches. But our intention is to reach people who did not attend or who had stayed away” from church altogether, Bycroft said.
Growth has been steady, but not outlandish.
“Our very first Sunday we had 65. We’ve had 35 steady after that. We grew very slowly, then ... we had big growth,” Bycroft said. The overall result is that about 135 people now regularly attend the 10 a.m. Sunday service.
At Tyro, average Sunday attendance is 800.
“My dad says ‘I’ve been here 40 years and we’ve grown 20 people per year.’ It makes it sound easy, but it’s not.”
Church attendance ebbs and flows with the seasons, Bycroft noted.
“It’s higher during the school year. As soon as it starts getting nice out, people start taking weekends off.”
Rivertree just put a temporary hold on Sunday evening services, which averaged about 40 attendees.
“After the time change, we saw a big shift in that. It’s still light at 8 p.m.,” Bycroft said, which tends to keep people outside.
“We’ll return to the 6:30 p.m. service after the time change in the fall,” he said.
Rivertree’s Sunday evening service attracted shift workers, nurses, hotel employees and others whose jobs keep them away on Sunday mornings, he said.
That reflects current American lifestyles, Bycroft said, noting “20 to 25 percent of the nation’s population isn’t able to go to church on Sunday morning.”
Bycroft keeps abreast of current trends. He noted that “more and more non-denominational churches are offering Saturday evening or even Friday evening services” in addition to or instead of those on Sunday morning.
One Colorado church has its primary service on Friday night, with no Sunday offerings, he said.
At Rivertree, there are no weekday offerings, but there are sports.
Softball, soccer, baseball: all are played on the church’s adjacent fields.
“We have a couple of men’s softball teams; the handicapped kids in the Challengers play every Saturday through the summer; and the city uses the field for games,” Bycroft said. “Several teams from the men’s city league use it through the week to practice,” as well, he said.
The church offers the fields as a public service, not a ministry.
ALTHOUGH HE HAS done so, Bycroft didn’t set out to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I wanted to go into wildlife biology,” he said. “I like science and I like being outdoors.”
But, Bycroft said, “I was in my junior year at Pittsburg State University when God showed me his plan. The next year I went to Ozark Christian College and graduated from there” with a bachelor of Biblical literature.
Bycroft said you can never know God’s plans or timing for your life.
He muses that he and his wife prayed for another child years ago — and only now, when their youngest is eight, are they expecting again.
The Bycrofts have two daughters, Macayla, 10, and eight-year-old Rachel. Bycroft and his wife are both in their 30s. They epitomize the congregation of Rivertree. “It’s mostly younger families,” he said.
That fact at first dictated the style of services, he said.
“When we first came here we thought having the modern sound would appeal, but most people in Iola have some church experience so they relate more to older songs,” he noted. Still, Bycroft said, “we try to have a mix.”
The praise team is made up of high school through young adult members who play piano, guitar, drums and sing.
It has only been in the last couple of years that Rivertree has “developed a deep sense of unity in the church,” Bycroft noted. The revelation has taken hold, he said, that “the building is not the church; we as the body of Christ are the church.”
Bycroft said Rivertree is actively working to combat the isolation that even members of the same congregation can feel.
“Most people come for an hour and leave and never get to know anyone else. Even with 130 people there’s not enough time” to get to know one another, Bycroft said.
“There’s a transition from big front porches to big back decks,” which isolate members of a community, Bycroft said. “There’s a false sense of community through technology like Facebook, Skype, or video chat. There’s not a true sense of conversation or engagement there,” he said. “ATM machines, drive-through foods, self-check outs, Facebook — you can do all these things and never have personal contact with anyone. It’s not just Iola — it’s everywhere.”
Bycroft sees churches as providing a venue to overcome societal loneliness.
“I think it’s incredible to stand on stage every week and know there is no reason (why Rivertree attendees) would ever get together except for that one thing they have in common: Jesus Christ.”
To nurture closeness, Rivertree is “trying to break up into small groups; we’re trying to get people to want to know each other, to see the value in that. As the church grows we’re (trying) to keep that sense of church on a more personal level. And we’re going to continue reaching out.
“We have the power to change things through the power of Christ.”
The goal of the church is simple, Bycroft said.
“Our mission is to make a positive impact on our community by making people fully devoted followers of Christ.
“I think it’s pretty cool that God can use someone like me, or you. Our personalities may not be perfect, or our giftedness.” But, he noted, “Somebody has to be the forerunner. John the Baptist only got to tell people, ‘Jesus is coming.’ If that’s my role, I’m satisfied with that.”
Girl wants Iola to go dark
Abby Works, daughter of Iolans Fred and Judy Works, spoke at Thursday’s Iola Rotary Club meeting about “Earth Hour,” an annual hour-long energy saving program in which communities around the world are asked to dim their lights for one hour on the last Saturday of March.
While Works noted that shutting off a single light bulb might not create much impact, collective action can lead to great energy savings.
Across the globe, the movement has grown from one location, Sydney, Australia, shutting off its lights in 2007, to 4,000 cities participating in 2009, including 318 in the United States.
This year, Works hopes to add Iola to that list. In so doing, it would join such luminaries as Las Vegas, Dallas, St. Louis, Rio de Janeiro, London and Vatican City.
Works learned of Earth Hour while visiting Maldon, England, for a semester. The Iola High School junior stayed with her mother’s college roommate, Shirley Murphy, in her home there.
“One of the benefits of living in England is it’s really close to everywhere else in Europe,” Works told the group. “I took full advantage of that” she said, by making frequent visits to neighboring countries.
It was on one such flight that Works read an article in an in-flight magazine about “the power of one,” she said.
“If every child in America saved one aluminum can, 24.8 million cans would be saved,” she said. In the same way, she noted, “every person can make one small change that, if multiplied, can really save energy.”
Iola City Administrator Judy Brigham pointed out the city is doing just that. Following an energy audit, Brigham said she was surprised to learn the two biggest ways Iola could save money on its energy costs were to install programmable thermostats in its building and switch to compact fluorescent lighting. She noted that as lights need it, CFLs are replacing incandescent bulbs.
Works’ father, Fred, said that his daughter had never been too concerned with environmental awareness until she learned about rebuilding that occurred after an F5 tornado struck Greensburg, Kansas, where her great uncle Bob had lived.
“She was really impresses by the teenagers’ involvement there,” he noted.
Abby concurred. The teens’ interest in their community and the towns’ consequent decision to rebuild using environmentally friendly green technology struck her, she said.
“Regardless of your opinion on global warming, the world’s population is growing,” she noted, “and its resources are not.”
EARTH HOUR was conceived by the World Wildlife Fund as a pain-free way to make a positive global impact on climate change. It is held at 8:30 p.m., local times, throughout the world on the last Saturday of March. In its first year, 2.2 million participants turned off non-essential lights and electronic appliances. Last year, about 1 billion people dimmed their lights, Works said.
Already this year, 19 states, including Missouri, have signed on to “go dark” for Earth Hour. “It’s the world’s largest mass-participant event,” she noted.
While in England, Works said, she wondered why Maldon and Iola couldn’t also join.
To that end, Works has been drumming up support locally, and has already received positive feedback from throughout the community.
An “unlighting ceremony” is planned on the Iola Square, she noted.
“For one hour, we won’t be afraid of the dark,” she said. “We’ll go for a flashlight walk, or enjoy the full moon,” she said.
Additionally, Fred noted, “Judy Brigham is looking into turning off lights in town. David Toland, of Thrive Allen County, is handling the presentation on the square. And the schools are going to try to minimize electricity use as much as they can on Friday,” March 26, since no classes are held on Saturdays.
“Maybe Iola can be like Greensburg,” Abby said, “and become known as the progressive little town that started Earth Hour in this part of the country.”
More information on Earth Hour can be found at myearthhour.org.
While Works noted that shutting off a single light bulb might not create much impact, collective action can lead to great energy savings.
Across the globe, the movement has grown from one location, Sydney, Australia, shutting off its lights in 2007, to 4,000 cities participating in 2009, including 318 in the United States.
This year, Works hopes to add Iola to that list. In so doing, it would join such luminaries as Las Vegas, Dallas, St. Louis, Rio de Janeiro, London and Vatican City.
Works learned of Earth Hour while visiting Maldon, England, for a semester. The Iola High School junior stayed with her mother’s college roommate, Shirley Murphy, in her home there.
“One of the benefits of living in England is it’s really close to everywhere else in Europe,” Works told the group. “I took full advantage of that” she said, by making frequent visits to neighboring countries.
It was on one such flight that Works read an article in an in-flight magazine about “the power of one,” she said.
“If every child in America saved one aluminum can, 24.8 million cans would be saved,” she said. In the same way, she noted, “every person can make one small change that, if multiplied, can really save energy.”
Iola City Administrator Judy Brigham pointed out the city is doing just that. Following an energy audit, Brigham said she was surprised to learn the two biggest ways Iola could save money on its energy costs were to install programmable thermostats in its building and switch to compact fluorescent lighting. She noted that as lights need it, CFLs are replacing incandescent bulbs.
Works’ father, Fred, said that his daughter had never been too concerned with environmental awareness until she learned about rebuilding that occurred after an F5 tornado struck Greensburg, Kansas, where her great uncle Bob had lived.
“She was really impresses by the teenagers’ involvement there,” he noted.
Abby concurred. The teens’ interest in their community and the towns’ consequent decision to rebuild using environmentally friendly green technology struck her, she said.
“Regardless of your opinion on global warming, the world’s population is growing,” she noted, “and its resources are not.”
EARTH HOUR was conceived by the World Wildlife Fund as a pain-free way to make a positive global impact on climate change. It is held at 8:30 p.m., local times, throughout the world on the last Saturday of March. In its first year, 2.2 million participants turned off non-essential lights and electronic appliances. Last year, about 1 billion people dimmed their lights, Works said.
Already this year, 19 states, including Missouri, have signed on to “go dark” for Earth Hour. “It’s the world’s largest mass-participant event,” she noted.
While in England, Works said, she wondered why Maldon and Iola couldn’t also join.
To that end, Works has been drumming up support locally, and has already received positive feedback from throughout the community.
An “unlighting ceremony” is planned on the Iola Square, she noted.
“For one hour, we won’t be afraid of the dark,” she said. “We’ll go for a flashlight walk, or enjoy the full moon,” she said.
Additionally, Fred noted, “Judy Brigham is looking into turning off lights in town. David Toland, of Thrive Allen County, is handling the presentation on the square. And the schools are going to try to minimize electricity use as much as they can on Friday,” March 26, since no classes are held on Saturdays.
“Maybe Iola can be like Greensburg,” Abby said, “and become known as the progressive little town that started Earth Hour in this part of the country.”
More information on Earth Hour can be found at myearthhour.org.
'Itchy feet' take Ronay to Spain
Like the proverb, Kathryn Ronay began a thousand-mile journey with a step out her door.
Temporary destination? Walmart.
“I walked from my house (near Iola Public Library) to Walmart and back every day to get ready for the Camino,” Ronay said.
The Camino is the Camino de Santiago, an approximately 500 mile-long walking trail from the interior mountains of Europe to the coast in Spain, marking the apparent route that pilgrims took carrying the bones of St. James, Ronay explained.
Although she isn’t churchy, Ronay said, the idea of walking through Europe on a designated trail intrigued her.
So she spent months researching the Camino online and printing off lists of albergues, similar to youth hostels, along the route.
Ronay left Iola in early May, budgeting only $300 for expenses in Europe.
She kept spending to a minimum with spartan eating habits.
“I usually bought a baguette and ate that with butter, plus I brought along little cans of tuna,” Ronay said, a pattern that kept her meals to less than a dollar each. In contrast, restaurant dinners cost about 11 euros, or a little over $13, for “pilgrim’s fare,” a five-course supper catering to Camino travelers, Ronay said. But, she added, “I never can stand to eat that much.” For breakfast, she’d have cafe leche and pound cake, common at the albergues.
Her travel, she noted, is typically on the cheap, with free airline tickets provided by her daughter Amy Ronay, who works for the travel industry.
For Spain, she took only a day pack, a sheet and clothes, including a rain jacket. May in Spain, she learned, is the rainy season.
“It was very muddy,” Ronay said of the path. “Every time you picked up your foot, it was like picking up a five-pound weight.”
Each night, before receiving a bunk at the albergues, hikers — pilgrims as they are known along the “Way of Saint James” — must remove their mud-encrusted boots and store them, with scores of others, on racks provided for the purpose.
“Pilgrims bring these cheap flip flops or Crocs to wear at the end of the day when they’d take off their boots,” Ronay said. “Out in the towns, you could always tell who was a pilgrim because of their footwear.”
In light-weight hikers, she fared better than those in heavy leather boots, she said. “Everyone had many blisters. I just had one.”
Walking was non-stop, from after breakfast through dinner-time, when pilgrims would bed down at the next albergue.
The little rustic bunkhouses were strung along the trail every four or five miles, Ronay noted. Accommodations varied, from room for only a dozen to more than 100.
One notable inn was a converted church, she said.
An Italian couple, veteran pilgrims, had purchased the defunct church and converted it to a way station.
The couple provided a light meal, but first came Mass, and a foot washing ceremony reminiscent of that Jesus did for his disciples at the Last Supper.
With no electricity, the meal was by candlelight.
Other albergues were simply bunk houses, Ronay said, bare rooms crammed with beds. Any luxuries had to be provided by the travelers themselves.
Ronay noted an odd phenomenon. As she traveled from the mountains, towns became poorer.
The countryside changed from mountains to foothills to rolling plains “similar to eastern Kansas,” she said. And although “the size of the towns didn’t change much,” — always about 50 to 60 people — the economic status did.
In the mountains, more amenities were available to travelers. As she moved east-to-west, towns often had only a tavern to provide for travelers’ needs, Ronay said.
And evening Mass, a staple at the beginning of the pilgrimage, became scarce.
“The towns, because they were poor, had to share a priest, so many did not offer Mass every evening,” she noted.
Nonetheless, she said, the altars were resplendent.
“You can’t believe the gold in the churches. You’ll go into these small towns and the altar is nothing but gold.”
She said a fellow pilgrim remarked it was indicative of the people’s piety that, despite their poverty, for thousands of years the churches have stood undefiled, while people eke out a living from the land.
“They’re so devout. I think they’re a lot happier than we are,” Ronay said. “They know what’s important in life.”
RONAY missed an arduous part of the trail due to snow storms and volcanic ash that altered her initial starting point.
“Sometimes, I’d walk for hours and hours by myself, and not see anyone,” she said.
At other times, the 66-year-old said, people would offer her a ride to the next community. One man even gave her a tour of a town, refusing payment for his service.
“Once you said you were walking the Camino, everything slipped into place,” she said of the spontaneous help people offer along the Way.
About midway through her two-week trip, her 21-year-old granddaughter Annika Ronay, of Sonora, Calif., joined her.
“I’m so glad my granddaughter came,” Ronay noted. Annika’s presence helped Ronay weather the miles, which seemed farther than signs allowed, she said.
“I kept thinking that a kilometer is a lot less than a mile,” but slogging up and down hills made it seem more so, she noted.
“If I go back, I’m going to get a backpack with a waist-strap,” to make the walking easier, Ronay said.
Altogether, Ronay covered 277 kilometers — about 172 miles — over two weeks of walking.
“All along the way, you find pictures of the shell,” she noted. The shell is a large scallop shell icon used to denote the trail. It represents the shores of Santiago, where St. James’ bones were taken for burial.
Ronay had a shell, painted with a crusader’s cross, plus a small stuffed turtle tied to her pack. The shell showed she was a pilgrim and “the turtle is because I walk slow,” she laughed.
Another curiosity on the trail is the presence of roosters and hens in many towns — and in some churches, Ronay noted.
Myth holds that hundreds of years ago, an inn keeper’s daughter became besotted with a young pilgrim. Denied permission to marry by his parents, who sought to continue their trek, the girl accused the young man of thievery and he was tried and hanged by the town council.
Heartbroken, his parents continued on their way. Upon their return through the unnamed town, they came upon the body of their son, still hanging in a tree.
He looked at them and asked that they cut him down. Astonished, they approached the town mayor about the task.
At supper, the mayor quipped their son was no more alive than the roast chicken before him.
At that moment, his evening meal stood up and began to crow.
“No one ever mentions what happened to the girl,” Ronay chuckled.
The story states that San Domingo and the Virgin Mary held up the young man during the time his parents were away, allowing him to live.
Such novel tales are what keep Ronay on the road.
“I was born with itchy feet,” she noted. “When I was little, we traveled from Kansas City to California every year.
It wasn’t until “I was in my 40s, after my children were grown,” that Ronay began her global explorations.
She has no plans to stop, and hopes to travel again on the Camino, which wanders through France as well as Spain.
Temporary destination? Walmart.
“I walked from my house (near Iola Public Library) to Walmart and back every day to get ready for the Camino,” Ronay said.
The Camino is the Camino de Santiago, an approximately 500 mile-long walking trail from the interior mountains of Europe to the coast in Spain, marking the apparent route that pilgrims took carrying the bones of St. James, Ronay explained.
Although she isn’t churchy, Ronay said, the idea of walking through Europe on a designated trail intrigued her.
So she spent months researching the Camino online and printing off lists of albergues, similar to youth hostels, along the route.
Ronay left Iola in early May, budgeting only $300 for expenses in Europe.
She kept spending to a minimum with spartan eating habits.
“I usually bought a baguette and ate that with butter, plus I brought along little cans of tuna,” Ronay said, a pattern that kept her meals to less than a dollar each. In contrast, restaurant dinners cost about 11 euros, or a little over $13, for “pilgrim’s fare,” a five-course supper catering to Camino travelers, Ronay said. But, she added, “I never can stand to eat that much.” For breakfast, she’d have cafe leche and pound cake, common at the albergues.
Her travel, she noted, is typically on the cheap, with free airline tickets provided by her daughter Amy Ronay, who works for the travel industry.
For Spain, she took only a day pack, a sheet and clothes, including a rain jacket. May in Spain, she learned, is the rainy season.
“It was very muddy,” Ronay said of the path. “Every time you picked up your foot, it was like picking up a five-pound weight.”
Each night, before receiving a bunk at the albergues, hikers — pilgrims as they are known along the “Way of Saint James” — must remove their mud-encrusted boots and store them, with scores of others, on racks provided for the purpose.
“Pilgrims bring these cheap flip flops or Crocs to wear at the end of the day when they’d take off their boots,” Ronay said. “Out in the towns, you could always tell who was a pilgrim because of their footwear.”
In light-weight hikers, she fared better than those in heavy leather boots, she said. “Everyone had many blisters. I just had one.”
Walking was non-stop, from after breakfast through dinner-time, when pilgrims would bed down at the next albergue.
The little rustic bunkhouses were strung along the trail every four or five miles, Ronay noted. Accommodations varied, from room for only a dozen to more than 100.
One notable inn was a converted church, she said.
An Italian couple, veteran pilgrims, had purchased the defunct church and converted it to a way station.
The couple provided a light meal, but first came Mass, and a foot washing ceremony reminiscent of that Jesus did for his disciples at the Last Supper.
With no electricity, the meal was by candlelight.
Other albergues were simply bunk houses, Ronay said, bare rooms crammed with beds. Any luxuries had to be provided by the travelers themselves.
Ronay noted an odd phenomenon. As she traveled from the mountains, towns became poorer.
The countryside changed from mountains to foothills to rolling plains “similar to eastern Kansas,” she said. And although “the size of the towns didn’t change much,” — always about 50 to 60 people — the economic status did.
In the mountains, more amenities were available to travelers. As she moved east-to-west, towns often had only a tavern to provide for travelers’ needs, Ronay said.
And evening Mass, a staple at the beginning of the pilgrimage, became scarce.
“The towns, because they were poor, had to share a priest, so many did not offer Mass every evening,” she noted.
Nonetheless, she said, the altars were resplendent.
“You can’t believe the gold in the churches. You’ll go into these small towns and the altar is nothing but gold.”
She said a fellow pilgrim remarked it was indicative of the people’s piety that, despite their poverty, for thousands of years the churches have stood undefiled, while people eke out a living from the land.
“They’re so devout. I think they’re a lot happier than we are,” Ronay said. “They know what’s important in life.”
RONAY missed an arduous part of the trail due to snow storms and volcanic ash that altered her initial starting point.
“Sometimes, I’d walk for hours and hours by myself, and not see anyone,” she said.
At other times, the 66-year-old said, people would offer her a ride to the next community. One man even gave her a tour of a town, refusing payment for his service.
“Once you said you were walking the Camino, everything slipped into place,” she said of the spontaneous help people offer along the Way.
About midway through her two-week trip, her 21-year-old granddaughter Annika Ronay, of Sonora, Calif., joined her.
“I’m so glad my granddaughter came,” Ronay noted. Annika’s presence helped Ronay weather the miles, which seemed farther than signs allowed, she said.
“I kept thinking that a kilometer is a lot less than a mile,” but slogging up and down hills made it seem more so, she noted.
“If I go back, I’m going to get a backpack with a waist-strap,” to make the walking easier, Ronay said.
Altogether, Ronay covered 277 kilometers — about 172 miles — over two weeks of walking.
“All along the way, you find pictures of the shell,” she noted. The shell is a large scallop shell icon used to denote the trail. It represents the shores of Santiago, where St. James’ bones were taken for burial.
Ronay had a shell, painted with a crusader’s cross, plus a small stuffed turtle tied to her pack. The shell showed she was a pilgrim and “the turtle is because I walk slow,” she laughed.
Another curiosity on the trail is the presence of roosters and hens in many towns — and in some churches, Ronay noted.
Myth holds that hundreds of years ago, an inn keeper’s daughter became besotted with a young pilgrim. Denied permission to marry by his parents, who sought to continue their trek, the girl accused the young man of thievery and he was tried and hanged by the town council.
Heartbroken, his parents continued on their way. Upon their return through the unnamed town, they came upon the body of their son, still hanging in a tree.
He looked at them and asked that they cut him down. Astonished, they approached the town mayor about the task.
At supper, the mayor quipped their son was no more alive than the roast chicken before him.
At that moment, his evening meal stood up and began to crow.
“No one ever mentions what happened to the girl,” Ronay chuckled.
The story states that San Domingo and the Virgin Mary held up the young man during the time his parents were away, allowing him to live.
Such novel tales are what keep Ronay on the road.
“I was born with itchy feet,” she noted. “When I was little, we traveled from Kansas City to California every year.
It wasn’t until “I was in my 40s, after my children were grown,” that Ronay began her global explorations.
She has no plans to stop, and hopes to travel again on the Camino, which wanders through France as well as Spain.
Lutherans melted the most
The Allen County Meltdown ended Saturday with a finale in Riverside Park. Scores of walkers braved the heat to stroll five miles along the Prairie Spirit Trail. Afterward, final weigh-ins were calculated and prizes awarded at the Recreation Community Building.
A dozen and a half Melters received door prizes ranging from water bottles and Foreman grills to a tennis racket and month-long memberships at Curves gym.
Speakers who’d participated in the quest to help Allen County become a ton lighter told the crowd what motivated them and how they attained their goals.
Most used the time-tested coupling of exercise and dieting.
Sherry Herder, captain of Humboldt’s winning “Lumbering Lutherans Plus One” said her team lost a combined 122 pounds.
Half the 10-member team was already participating in a “biggest loser” challenge when the Meltdown started, she said. For the Meltdown, however, the team — composed of nine Lutherans “plus one Methodist” — made a concerted effort to meet twice weekly for exercise sessions led by Herder.
The meetings quickly became more than just a work out routine for the team.
“It has brought us together,” Herder said of the bi-weekly sessions. “We pray together, about weight loss and other things,” she said, “Because we believe with God we can get through this.”
The women, whose ages range form 19 to 71, plan to continue to meet.
Herder advised others to find a good support system in their quest to change their lives. “Find someone who is enthusiastic about it because that helps,” she said.
Bob Johnson spoke about a heart-attack scare 20 years ago that made him start to pay attention to his diet. He and his wife Beverly attacked the Meltdown mainly through portion control and walking, he said.
“If you cut back on 500 calories a day, you lose a pound a week,” he advised.
“Losing weight is a mind thing,” Helen Ambler said. “Maintaining is just as difficult as losing.”
Ambler informed the crowd that studies show stress and lack of a good night’s sleep contribute to weight gain. “We all know what to do,” she said.
“I’m hoping through the Meltdown we’ve all turned the switch on and next year when we come in here we’ll say, ‘Oh, my, these people are all so thin,’” she concluded.
David Toland, Thrive executive director, said he hoped the teams would continue losing through the coming year.
“This is a lifestyle change,” he said. To encourage that he said, “The scales at the Thrive office will still be available. The Web site will stay up. What you’ve started, keep doing.”
As of Monday morning, the Meltdown Web site tallied 1,800 pounds lost. Meltdown coordinator Sunny Shreeve said final numbers will be available later this week.
The top Meltdown “losing team” was the Lumbering Lutherans Plus One, who lost 6.3 percent of their start weight. The greatest individual loser was Dawn Montgomery of Chunky Dunkers 2, who lost 18.9 percent of her starting weight.
The Lutherans received $750 for their efforts, while Montgomery was awarded $250 for hers.
A dozen and a half Melters received door prizes ranging from water bottles and Foreman grills to a tennis racket and month-long memberships at Curves gym.
Speakers who’d participated in the quest to help Allen County become a ton lighter told the crowd what motivated them and how they attained their goals.
Most used the time-tested coupling of exercise and dieting.
Sherry Herder, captain of Humboldt’s winning “Lumbering Lutherans Plus One” said her team lost a combined 122 pounds.
Half the 10-member team was already participating in a “biggest loser” challenge when the Meltdown started, she said. For the Meltdown, however, the team — composed of nine Lutherans “plus one Methodist” — made a concerted effort to meet twice weekly for exercise sessions led by Herder.
The meetings quickly became more than just a work out routine for the team.
“It has brought us together,” Herder said of the bi-weekly sessions. “We pray together, about weight loss and other things,” she said, “Because we believe with God we can get through this.”
The women, whose ages range form 19 to 71, plan to continue to meet.
Herder advised others to find a good support system in their quest to change their lives. “Find someone who is enthusiastic about it because that helps,” she said.
Bob Johnson spoke about a heart-attack scare 20 years ago that made him start to pay attention to his diet. He and his wife Beverly attacked the Meltdown mainly through portion control and walking, he said.
“If you cut back on 500 calories a day, you lose a pound a week,” he advised.
“Losing weight is a mind thing,” Helen Ambler said. “Maintaining is just as difficult as losing.”
Ambler informed the crowd that studies show stress and lack of a good night’s sleep contribute to weight gain. “We all know what to do,” she said.
“I’m hoping through the Meltdown we’ve all turned the switch on and next year when we come in here we’ll say, ‘Oh, my, these people are all so thin,’” she concluded.
David Toland, Thrive executive director, said he hoped the teams would continue losing through the coming year.
“This is a lifestyle change,” he said. To encourage that he said, “The scales at the Thrive office will still be available. The Web site will stay up. What you’ve started, keep doing.”
As of Monday morning, the Meltdown Web site tallied 1,800 pounds lost. Meltdown coordinator Sunny Shreeve said final numbers will be available later this week.
The top Meltdown “losing team” was the Lumbering Lutherans Plus One, who lost 6.3 percent of their start weight. The greatest individual loser was Dawn Montgomery of Chunky Dunkers 2, who lost 18.9 percent of her starting weight.
The Lutherans received $750 for their efforts, while Montgomery was awarded $250 for hers.
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