Patrick Carman, author of this year’s Iola Reads young adult selection, “Atherton, the House of Power,” regaled Iola schools’ fourth and fifth graders Thursday afternoon with tales of his own childhood shenanigans. He had the audience laughing uproariously at antics such as placing a toy under his mother’s backing-up car while a friend wailed like a run-over cat. “You should have seen her face,” he said. “Crazy-haired Gary and I just laughed and laughed and laughed. Of course, we stopped laughing when my mom’s face peered over the hedge.”
Then he and Gary cut open a goo-filled toy — “let me tell, you, that stuff tasted terrible. It didn’t taste like something you should be eating.” The children — and adults — laughed along, knowing they’d most likely try the same thing.
Carman continued talking to the students about the beauty of reading, how each person’s imagination creates unique pictures in their mind.
“The coolest thing about reading,” he told them, “is you’re the director of your own story. Everything you think or sense about that book is all you. Even if a million other people heave read it before you, when you read it, it’s brand new.”
And, he told them, “not everyone is captivated by the same thing. When you see something that’s interesting to you, write it down, or take a picture of it.”
Carman admitted to being oriented more toward visuals than to the written word. Nonetheless, he encouraged students to keep journals. He said when he first started keeping his own, it was all “words, words, words, words, words, words, words. Sigh. Words, words, words, words, words.” So he changed that, and began drawing on the pages.
“I don’t think I’m an amazing artist,” he told the students, “but I like to draw.”
His trick, he said, was to “put little arrows that say what I think I see in the picture.” A sketch of simple lines becomes “ a dragon. It’s wings are blue. Another arrow points to a line and says, it has huge claws that are going to tear you up.”
In pictures, Carman said, “the big ideas are all right there.”
IT WAS FROM a single sketch, and thinking about the way the earth’s environment is changing, that the idea for the Atherton series was born, he said.
On a plane, talking to someone he met about his ideas for the multi-level world, Carman said the man took out a photograph and said “you’ve got to see this.” It was a picture of a plateau in Greece, where people living at the top use a basket system to receive their goods.
“A lot of (Atherton) started to take shape because I saw this one picture,” he told the students.
Carman told students that Atherton was an anagram about the story. Its moral evolves from the fact that Atherton is a created world.
“In a sense, this guy is playing God, and because he does he creates a lot of problems,” Carman said.
The Atherton books are a cautionary tale about taking care of the earth, Carman said. “I’m actually scared about what’s happening to the earth,” he told them.
BECAUSE people are reading less and less, and because Carman himself enjoys video games and the cyber world, he said, his latest books involve a merging of the two media.
“Ghost in the Machine” has interruptions in the text that require logging on to a Web site and watching segments of the story, he said. Another series, “39 Clues,” is a video game/book combination written by 10 authors, of which Carman is one. Readers log on to the Web-based game and play as a character in the story. “You find one clue in each book, but you have to find 29 online, “ he told the audience.
Despite the blurring between reality and video that seems to be occurring these days, Carman reminded students that books and movies are fiction. “The first thing you have to remember is, I made the whole thing up. The second thing is, its not theat scary.”
In answering questions from students, Carman said all three of his series, Elyon, Atherton and Skeleton Creek, have been optioned as movies. “Studios have bought the rights to make these into movies, but I don’t know if it will happen,” he told them.
Carman told the classes he wrote his first series “for my own kids. I just wanted a good story to tell.” He said, as a child, his first favorite book was “Where the Wild things are.” His second was “The Lorax,” the environmental tale by Dr. Seusss.
“When I got a little older, there weren’t that many books for kids,” he told the students. “Learn to love reading now, while the getting’s good,” he said.
Carman urged students to enjoy reading now, while they had time and attention to do so. And he said, when selecting books to read, find some “just for fun.”
“When you get older, you’ll be surprised how few adults read.”
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Beauty of bugs lures young entomologists
Ask any participant in the 4-H entomology project why they collect bugs, and they’ll all say: it’s fun.
Somehow, there’s nothing like a giant dobson fly with its angry-looking pincers or a saucer-sized cecropia moth to get a child excited.
“They’re interesting and I can tell my friends what they are so they’re not scared of them,” Klair Vogel said of the bugs in her collection.
And, they’re convenient.
“We can’t do cattle and stuff because we don’t live on a farm,” Tyler Holloway said. Bugs, obviously, require less space.
Entomology project classes are determined by a 4-H’er’s age and level of experience. The number of specimens that need to be collected varies with each class.
Participants must identify the insects, mount them according to standards and record the location and month of collection.
That’s not as easy as it sounds, if bugs are collected year round.
“My freezer is always full of bugs,” said 4-H mom Laura Vogel.
Wade Vogel relayed how one giant moth the family collected was ruined because his son was a little eager in taking the ice cream out. Veteran collectors Ethan and Tyler Holloway avoid such mishaps.
“We don’t have food in the freezer where we keep our bugs,” Tyler said. Still, that doesn’t help them remember when or where they caught them, Tyler said. Or prevent other mishaps.
“The biggest bug we got, we broke it when we were trying to mount it,” Tyler said. “It was a polyphemus moth — it was probably eight inches long.”
Each budding scientist has a favorite bug.
For Ethan Holloway, it’s a giant stag beetle he found at church camp in Ottawa. For Tyler, it’s the strikingly handsome olive and black pandorus sphinx moth. Tyler spent a year searching until he found — and collected — one.
Klair’s favorite is her cecropia moth, or maybe the cicada she caught by hand. Isaac Heskett has a dobson fly.
Most of the kids collect specimens around their homes or on family trips. The Holloways got their walking sticks from their garage wall. The Vogels chase insets in their yard.
“Everything we do is a family project,” Wade said. Proving the point, Klair’s sister Shannon grabs their collecting jar and heads to the field, while Klair waves a long butterfly net after a large blue dragonfly. Wade helps secure the captured insects.
Shannon’s catch, a giant wasp called a cicada killer, can give quite a sting, Wade says, quickly capping the jar.
Mom Laura types up the labels for the collection, she said.
Each family has a preferred method to kill their catch. The Vogels freeze their prey. The Holloways use an alcohol-filled “killing jar.”
Big bugs seem preferred over small.
“You start getting little bitty bugs you have to identify them with a magnifying glass,” Wade said.
This year, only the common name, rather than the Latin name for specimens, is required for the fair displays.
“I think we should stick to the scientific name,” Tyler said. “It’s not that hard to find,” he said.
The kids all use the bug bible, “Insects in Kansas” put out by Kansas Dept. of Agriculture. They also use the Internet. And, they network.
“We’ve been at it a few years and we talk with people,” Ethan said.
The young scientists learn a lot in researching their catches, too.
The Vogels have been researching habitats, to make a natural looking display to teach people where to find certain insects.
Ethan learned that female luna moths are translucent, while males are opaque.
And Tyler has an eyed click beetle.
“The eyes are to scare people off so they don’t eat them because they’re kind of a delicacy,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite bugs,” he added.
Tyler said the idea if eating bugs isn’t so weird.
“We ate popcorn flavored beetles at the San Diego zoo last year,” he said.
“They tasted really good.”
Somehow, there’s nothing like a giant dobson fly with its angry-looking pincers or a saucer-sized cecropia moth to get a child excited.
“They’re interesting and I can tell my friends what they are so they’re not scared of them,” Klair Vogel said of the bugs in her collection.
And, they’re convenient.
“We can’t do cattle and stuff because we don’t live on a farm,” Tyler Holloway said. Bugs, obviously, require less space.
Entomology project classes are determined by a 4-H’er’s age and level of experience. The number of specimens that need to be collected varies with each class.
Participants must identify the insects, mount them according to standards and record the location and month of collection.
That’s not as easy as it sounds, if bugs are collected year round.
“My freezer is always full of bugs,” said 4-H mom Laura Vogel.
Wade Vogel relayed how one giant moth the family collected was ruined because his son was a little eager in taking the ice cream out. Veteran collectors Ethan and Tyler Holloway avoid such mishaps.
“We don’t have food in the freezer where we keep our bugs,” Tyler said. Still, that doesn’t help them remember when or where they caught them, Tyler said. Or prevent other mishaps.
“The biggest bug we got, we broke it when we were trying to mount it,” Tyler said. “It was a polyphemus moth — it was probably eight inches long.”
Each budding scientist has a favorite bug.
For Ethan Holloway, it’s a giant stag beetle he found at church camp in Ottawa. For Tyler, it’s the strikingly handsome olive and black pandorus sphinx moth. Tyler spent a year searching until he found — and collected — one.
Klair’s favorite is her cecropia moth, or maybe the cicada she caught by hand. Isaac Heskett has a dobson fly.
Most of the kids collect specimens around their homes or on family trips. The Holloways got their walking sticks from their garage wall. The Vogels chase insets in their yard.
“Everything we do is a family project,” Wade said. Proving the point, Klair’s sister Shannon grabs their collecting jar and heads to the field, while Klair waves a long butterfly net after a large blue dragonfly. Wade helps secure the captured insects.
Shannon’s catch, a giant wasp called a cicada killer, can give quite a sting, Wade says, quickly capping the jar.
Mom Laura types up the labels for the collection, she said.
Each family has a preferred method to kill their catch. The Vogels freeze their prey. The Holloways use an alcohol-filled “killing jar.”
Big bugs seem preferred over small.
“You start getting little bitty bugs you have to identify them with a magnifying glass,” Wade said.
This year, only the common name, rather than the Latin name for specimens, is required for the fair displays.
“I think we should stick to the scientific name,” Tyler said. “It’s not that hard to find,” he said.
The kids all use the bug bible, “Insects in Kansas” put out by Kansas Dept. of Agriculture. They also use the Internet. And, they network.
“We’ve been at it a few years and we talk with people,” Ethan said.
The young scientists learn a lot in researching their catches, too.
The Vogels have been researching habitats, to make a natural looking display to teach people where to find certain insects.
Ethan learned that female luna moths are translucent, while males are opaque.
And Tyler has an eyed click beetle.
“The eyes are to scare people off so they don’t eat them because they’re kind of a delicacy,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite bugs,” he added.
Tyler said the idea if eating bugs isn’t so weird.
“We ate popcorn flavored beetles at the San Diego zoo last year,” he said.
“They tasted really good.”
New views at Center
Some behind the scenes as well as up-front changes have taken place at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center over the summer.
Although the changes are apparent, the sources are not. Most of the improvements are courtesy of anonymous donors, said Bowlus Director Susan Raines.
A new sign in front of the Center provides updated information on programming and events. The scrolling text LED sign was purchased through a combination of $13,000 in private funds and a $9,000 grant from the Friends of the Bowlus Foundation, Raines said.
Inside, a storeroom has been converted to a functional kitchen.
“And we have an ice machine, that’s my favorite part,” Raines said.
Raines previously hauled ice for events and receptions in her car from Iola High School. In addition, there was no water supply to that level of the Bowlus, “so when we made punch or coffee we had to go up and down the stairs with it,” said volunteer coordinator Judy Cochran.
The new kitchen, complete with maple cabinets, ice maker, granite-look countertops and sink are all thanks to donations. Mary Kay and Dave Heard of Western Auto provided a heavy duty industrial microwave oven.
Still more changes are on the way for the Center.
“We have a person — who wants to remain anonymous — who offered to redo all the frames for all the student art work over the course of the next year, Raines said.
“He’s making all the frames himself. We had a donation to pay for the materials and this person is providing the labor,” she said.
Outdoors, a greenscape renewal project may be the only work with definite names attached to it.
The landscaping has been a labor of love by a group of local Master Gardener students, Raines said.
“It started with Don Hillbrandt,” she said. Then the project was picked up by Kansas State University Extension Master Gardener students as the community service portion of their class, Raines said.
The group, Patti Boyd, Nancy Maier, David Lee, Ellery Robertson, Loraine Shirley and Debbie Bearden, provided labor over the past three years, Raines said. Plants were bought with doantions; mulch was a donation of Stinette Timbers, LLC, in Kincaid.
Boyd and Maier still volunteer their time on the plantings, with Boyd regularly bringing her husband Mark and daughters Emily and Clara to help weed, Raines said.
Lobby tiles ruined in recent rain storms and pitted metal doorjambs are two needs of the Center yet to be addressed, Raines said.
Although the changes are apparent, the sources are not. Most of the improvements are courtesy of anonymous donors, said Bowlus Director Susan Raines.
A new sign in front of the Center provides updated information on programming and events. The scrolling text LED sign was purchased through a combination of $13,000 in private funds and a $9,000 grant from the Friends of the Bowlus Foundation, Raines said.
Inside, a storeroom has been converted to a functional kitchen.
“And we have an ice machine, that’s my favorite part,” Raines said.
Raines previously hauled ice for events and receptions in her car from Iola High School. In addition, there was no water supply to that level of the Bowlus, “so when we made punch or coffee we had to go up and down the stairs with it,” said volunteer coordinator Judy Cochran.
The new kitchen, complete with maple cabinets, ice maker, granite-look countertops and sink are all thanks to donations. Mary Kay and Dave Heard of Western Auto provided a heavy duty industrial microwave oven.
Still more changes are on the way for the Center.
“We have a person — who wants to remain anonymous — who offered to redo all the frames for all the student art work over the course of the next year, Raines said.
“He’s making all the frames himself. We had a donation to pay for the materials and this person is providing the labor,” she said.
Outdoors, a greenscape renewal project may be the only work with definite names attached to it.
The landscaping has been a labor of love by a group of local Master Gardener students, Raines said.
“It started with Don Hillbrandt,” she said. Then the project was picked up by Kansas State University Extension Master Gardener students as the community service portion of their class, Raines said.
The group, Patti Boyd, Nancy Maier, David Lee, Ellery Robertson, Loraine Shirley and Debbie Bearden, provided labor over the past three years, Raines said. Plants were bought with doantions; mulch was a donation of Stinette Timbers, LLC, in Kincaid.
Boyd and Maier still volunteer their time on the plantings, with Boyd regularly bringing her husband Mark and daughters Emily and Clara to help weed, Raines said.
Lobby tiles ruined in recent rain storms and pitted metal doorjambs are two needs of the Center yet to be addressed, Raines said.
Far flung worlds fill pages
Iola Reads will broach both fantasy and reality this academic year.
First up, in September, is book one of the “Atherton” trilogy, “House of Power.”
The young adult fantasy is by Patrick Carman, an acclaimed children’s author. It was a 2008 E.B. White Award nominee, and is a nominee for the 2009-2010 Truman award, said USD 257 Curriculum Director gail Dunbar, who coordinates Iola Reads.
In addition, the book was chosen in Kansas as a William Allen White award nominee. Because the selection of W.A. White books is done by state librarians and young readers, Dunbar said she felt the book would be well-received locally.
The world of Atherton has three dimensions: inhospitable highland cliffs, fertile tabletop lands where the agrarian population dwells, and the mysterious and well-guarded flatlands. An orphan living in the tabletop, Edgar, recognizes the realms are collapsing into each other.
“On Atherton, water is the most valuable source of life,” writes Sally Tibbetts on kidsread.com. The water “is controlled by the House of Power.” Below, in the flatlands, live the “dangerous, always hungry beasts known as the Cleaners.” Edgar ventures into their realm seeking a way to save his planet.
Edgar discovers “a book wedged behind some of the rocks leading up to the Highlands. He immediately knows this is part of the puzzle of his life and the mysteries surrounding Atherton,” writes Tibbetts.
Patrick Carman developed the Atherton series through drawings and journal entries he kept while on a “100-day journey,” he notes on the book’s official Web site. Atherton, he says, “became my home away from home, ... the characters my friends.”
“For me Atherton became a real place,” Carman said, “an escape from the road into a world gone wild.”
Dunbar was excited by the book’s interactive Web site that allows readers to play games and learn more about the mysterious planet.
“This is the first science fiction book we’ve done,” Dunbar said, noting the genre is very popular with young adult readers. It should also help reach Iola Reads young adult target population.
“Our main focus is youngt males,” Dunbar said. “We really want to bring that population in. They tend to stop reading when they hit middle school.”
Amazingly, while Carman canceled most of his fall speaking engagements after being named to a national conference in Washington, D.C., he rescheduled his date in Iola.
“On October 15, he’ll be here all day,” said Dunbar.
“He’ll do a presentation with the middle school students in the morning, and an evening presentation for the community,” she said.
Additional activities are still in the planning stage, Dunbar said.
Come spring, “Three Cups of Tea,” by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Greg Mortenson will be featured book of Iola Reads.
“There’s three versions of the book,” — for adults, young adults and a children’s edition based on the story, Dunbar said. That will allow fo ra nice twist on the Raed, books for all reading levels.
“This is the first time we’ve done a family read,” Dunbar said, noting the differing reading levels will allow for fuller community involvement in the program.
“Three Cuips of Tea” is the true story of a man who,a fter climibing “Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain”
First up, in September, is book one of the “Atherton” trilogy, “House of Power.”
The young adult fantasy is by Patrick Carman, an acclaimed children’s author. It was a 2008 E.B. White Award nominee, and is a nominee for the 2009-2010 Truman award, said USD 257 Curriculum Director gail Dunbar, who coordinates Iola Reads.
In addition, the book was chosen in Kansas as a William Allen White award nominee. Because the selection of W.A. White books is done by state librarians and young readers, Dunbar said she felt the book would be well-received locally.
The world of Atherton has three dimensions: inhospitable highland cliffs, fertile tabletop lands where the agrarian population dwells, and the mysterious and well-guarded flatlands. An orphan living in the tabletop, Edgar, recognizes the realms are collapsing into each other.
“On Atherton, water is the most valuable source of life,” writes Sally Tibbetts on kidsread.com. The water “is controlled by the House of Power.” Below, in the flatlands, live the “dangerous, always hungry beasts known as the Cleaners.” Edgar ventures into their realm seeking a way to save his planet.
Edgar discovers “a book wedged behind some of the rocks leading up to the Highlands. He immediately knows this is part of the puzzle of his life and the mysteries surrounding Atherton,” writes Tibbetts.
Patrick Carman developed the Atherton series through drawings and journal entries he kept while on a “100-day journey,” he notes on the book’s official Web site. Atherton, he says, “became my home away from home, ... the characters my friends.”
“For me Atherton became a real place,” Carman said, “an escape from the road into a world gone wild.”
Dunbar was excited by the book’s interactive Web site that allows readers to play games and learn more about the mysterious planet.
“This is the first science fiction book we’ve done,” Dunbar said, noting the genre is very popular with young adult readers. It should also help reach Iola Reads young adult target population.
“Our main focus is youngt males,” Dunbar said. “We really want to bring that population in. They tend to stop reading when they hit middle school.”
Amazingly, while Carman canceled most of his fall speaking engagements after being named to a national conference in Washington, D.C., he rescheduled his date in Iola.
“On October 15, he’ll be here all day,” said Dunbar.
“He’ll do a presentation with the middle school students in the morning, and an evening presentation for the community,” she said.
Additional activities are still in the planning stage, Dunbar said.
Come spring, “Three Cups of Tea,” by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Greg Mortenson will be featured book of Iola Reads.
“There’s three versions of the book,” — for adults, young adults and a children’s edition based on the story, Dunbar said. That will allow fo ra nice twist on the Raed, books for all reading levels.
“This is the first time we’ve done a family read,” Dunbar said, noting the differing reading levels will allow for fuller community involvement in the program.
“Three Cuips of Tea” is the true story of a man who,a fter climibing “Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain”
Iolans Get Fit at boot camp
When Roger Campbell named his business Get Fit, he meant it.
Campbell teaches a fitness “boot camp” every January to meet the resolutions of Iolans wanting to lose weight, tone up and otherwise improve their cardiovascular health. His aerobic workout isn’t for the faint-hearted.
Frantic hip hop tunes set the pace for the class. At 124 to 130 beats per minute, the workout doesn’t let up.
“I’ve already lost nine pounds of fat,” says Gerald Chester. Chester and his wife, Debbie, both joined the boot camp this January. As a retiree who likes to cook and eat, Chester admits “I got ahead on my eating.” He jokes that his wife dragged him in, but he seems to enjoy the non-stop activity. For her part, Debbie, a Gates Manufacturing employee, said she joined to lose weight, too. And she said, the exercise has been helpful in eliminating cravings for cigarettes — she quit January 1.
“Gates is going smoke free in 2010,” she said, “so some of the girls and I decided to get a head start.”
“Getting in on a regular basis allows them to make it an integral part of their lifestyle,” he said.
“It’s a way for people to get involved in their own fitness and health.” Plus, “having a group to work out with lets them share the pain,” he joked.
But some participants said just that.
“I just wanted to work out with a group,” said Saundra Upshaw, a fit and trim senior who joined the club 16 years ago.
“I live right next door so I don’t have a reason not to come,” she said. Having a group to work out with motivates her more than solo work, she said. “You can’t quit when people are watching you.”
Campbell’s boot camp attracts a cross section of Iola. There are college students and retirees. Some, like Upshaw, take the class “to keep in shape. I’m close to 70” she said. But you wouldn’t guess that.
Others, like Lauralee McDermeit, do it for their lifestyle.
“I used to live in Colorado,” she said. “I’d climb a mountain five miles straight up. I skied when it was still affordable.” In Kansas, mountains and skiing are scarce, so when the weather’s inclement and she can’t get on the Rail Trail, McDermeit takes to the gym.
“We do a total body workout every day,” Campbell said. Incorporating aerobic dance, medicine balls, ab work, exercise bands, mat work, weight resistance and stretching, Campbell keeps it fresh.
“It’s a different workout every night,” he said. And there’s a reason for that.
Campbell opened the center in 1993. He taught athletic training before that. He’s discovered through the years that “If you do the same workout every day, your body gets used to it and you plateau: you stop losing weight.”
“If you do something different every day,” he said, “your body never gets used to it. You continue to burn calories and build muscle.”
“We have one gentleman who, since May, has lost 91 pounds,” Campbell said. “People are dropping weight, people are dropping inches.”
McDermeit has lost 34 pounds since last year, but the foremost reason she comes is to get rid of stress, she said. In fact, most of the class participants tout reduced stress levels as a bonus they’ve achieved through regular exercise.
The classes, offered four times each day, run only half an hour. If 30 minutes doesn’t seem long enough for an exercise class, the brevity is made up for by the intensity of the workout.
Curls, crunches, abdominal thrusts, leg lifts, shoulder shrugs, bicep curls, Pilates bridges and weight lifts: the accelerated pace logs a movement every second.
“It’s a hard half hour,” said Sandra Drake, another boot camp regular. She’s been coming to the group for four years now.
By the end of the class, muscles get stiff, so the class winds down with some stretching. Everyone is smiling, and a few women even stick around for the next class.
Joshua Campbell, Roger’s 19-year-old great-nephew, moved here from California. He summed up his reasons for attending. “I just wanted a change in my life,” he said. Hoping to lose weight, he recognizes “You have to actually do it. Just talking doesn’t do anything for you.”
Campbell teaches a fitness “boot camp” every January to meet the resolutions of Iolans wanting to lose weight, tone up and otherwise improve their cardiovascular health. His aerobic workout isn’t for the faint-hearted.
Frantic hip hop tunes set the pace for the class. At 124 to 130 beats per minute, the workout doesn’t let up.
“I’ve already lost nine pounds of fat,” says Gerald Chester. Chester and his wife, Debbie, both joined the boot camp this January. As a retiree who likes to cook and eat, Chester admits “I got ahead on my eating.” He jokes that his wife dragged him in, but he seems to enjoy the non-stop activity. For her part, Debbie, a Gates Manufacturing employee, said she joined to lose weight, too. And she said, the exercise has been helpful in eliminating cravings for cigarettes — she quit January 1.
“Gates is going smoke free in 2010,” she said, “so some of the girls and I decided to get a head start.”
“Getting in on a regular basis allows them to make it an integral part of their lifestyle,” he said.
“It’s a way for people to get involved in their own fitness and health.” Plus, “having a group to work out with lets them share the pain,” he joked.
But some participants said just that.
“I just wanted to work out with a group,” said Saundra Upshaw, a fit and trim senior who joined the club 16 years ago.
“I live right next door so I don’t have a reason not to come,” she said. Having a group to work out with motivates her more than solo work, she said. “You can’t quit when people are watching you.”
Campbell’s boot camp attracts a cross section of Iola. There are college students and retirees. Some, like Upshaw, take the class “to keep in shape. I’m close to 70” she said. But you wouldn’t guess that.
Others, like Lauralee McDermeit, do it for their lifestyle.
“I used to live in Colorado,” she said. “I’d climb a mountain five miles straight up. I skied when it was still affordable.” In Kansas, mountains and skiing are scarce, so when the weather’s inclement and she can’t get on the Rail Trail, McDermeit takes to the gym.
“We do a total body workout every day,” Campbell said. Incorporating aerobic dance, medicine balls, ab work, exercise bands, mat work, weight resistance and stretching, Campbell keeps it fresh.
“It’s a different workout every night,” he said. And there’s a reason for that.
Campbell opened the center in 1993. He taught athletic training before that. He’s discovered through the years that “If you do the same workout every day, your body gets used to it and you plateau: you stop losing weight.”
“If you do something different every day,” he said, “your body never gets used to it. You continue to burn calories and build muscle.”
“We have one gentleman who, since May, has lost 91 pounds,” Campbell said. “People are dropping weight, people are dropping inches.”
McDermeit has lost 34 pounds since last year, but the foremost reason she comes is to get rid of stress, she said. In fact, most of the class participants tout reduced stress levels as a bonus they’ve achieved through regular exercise.
The classes, offered four times each day, run only half an hour. If 30 minutes doesn’t seem long enough for an exercise class, the brevity is made up for by the intensity of the workout.
Curls, crunches, abdominal thrusts, leg lifts, shoulder shrugs, bicep curls, Pilates bridges and weight lifts: the accelerated pace logs a movement every second.
“It’s a hard half hour,” said Sandra Drake, another boot camp regular. She’s been coming to the group for four years now.
By the end of the class, muscles get stiff, so the class winds down with some stretching. Everyone is smiling, and a few women even stick around for the next class.
Joshua Campbell, Roger’s 19-year-old great-nephew, moved here from California. He summed up his reasons for attending. “I just wanted a change in my life,” he said. Hoping to lose weight, he recognizes “You have to actually do it. Just talking doesn’t do anything for you.”
Veteran recalls segregation
Bob Lane is a regular visitor in Bill Shirley’s American History class at Allen County Community College.
Thursday marked his annual visit to reminisce about life in pre-1950s Iola and the U.S. Army, where Lane, who is black, faced institutional discrimination.
Lane graduated from Iola High School in 1938, and from Allen County Junior College two years later, Shirley told his class of 19.
Of 118 graduating JuCo students, only five were black, Lane said.
Due to segregation, even athletic opportunities were limited, Shirley said. “Here in Iola, blacks could only participate in track,” Shirley said. Lane ran the 100 yard dash in 10 seconds. “The fastest man in Kansas,” Shirley said.
After college, Lane worked at Sleeper Furniture Store, where he was taught to lay carpet, linoleum and ceramic tile.
“I made good money off that stuff, but it wasn’t long before I had to go to the service,” Lane said.
Lane was drafted into the Army, where he quickly reached the rank of sergeant.
The vagaries of segregation were apparent from the moment he stepped aboard the troop train, Lane said.
“There was a black curtain across the aisle. All the blacks coming out of the south were on the other side of that.”
When the train arrived at Fort Leavenworth, the black men “were told to unload a boxcar of shoes,” Lane said. The men were promised three day passes for their effort.
“We separated them into sizes — it took us all night. The next morning, we asked for our passes,” Lane said. They were laughed at by the officers who told them they weren’t even soldiers yet, and were told to go to the intake tent.
There, Lane said the men underwent physical exams and target practice to determine placement. Sent to the Washington, D.C., vicinity, the men marched five miles a day in red clay to get in shape, Lane said.
Appointed sergeant, Lane was in command of about 70 men.
Over them was one officer “who did not like blacks, period,” Lane said. He had a habit of intimidating and threatening the men, Lane said.
“My men said, ‘Sergeant Lane, he scares us,’ so I said I would talk to him.”
That night, Lane took over guard duty.
Black soldiers at that time were allowed only two bullets in their clips, Lane said. He had five.
“Around midnight, here he comes,” Lane said.
“I said, ‘Halt! Who goes there?’ but he wouldn’t answer,” Lane said. “He just kept strutting.”
Lane fired a shot. Then another.
He told the officer, “You take another step and you’ll never smile again.”
Unperturbed, the man took a step.
“Boom!” Lane said, saying he took a third shot near the man’s feet. “He started shaking.”
Lane told him the derogatory behavior toward his men was unacceptable, and best be stopped. After reporting the officer’s harassment to his captain the following morning, Lane said, “they got him away from there and got another man in.”
Lane said his captain, who was from Vermont, trusted his judgment.
When Lane sent his troops home for the holidays before they were to be sent to Europe, his captain asked him what he would do if they didn’t return.
“I said, don’t worry, they’ll be back.”
And certain as rain, the week before they were to ship out, all the men returned.
His ability to read and command the men merited Lane an offer to undergo commissioned officer’s training.
At the time, all Army officers, except the chaplain, were white, Lane said.
Nonetheless, he declined the opportunity in favor of sticking with the troops he had come to know.
AFTER leading a battalion of aviation engineers in North Africa, Lane returned to Iola. It was 1946. The war had ended, but segregation still ruled Kansas.
Despite his distinguished service, “I couldn’t get into the National Guard,” Lane said. He was denied entry because he was black. Lane tired joining units in other area towns, also to no avail.
Had he been admitted, Lane would have been eligible to collect a military pension when he retired. As it is, he said, “I don’t get 15 cents.”
Lane also attempted to join the American Legion, and was again denied because of his color. Eventually, he helped found an all-black Veterans of Foreign Wars post, VFW Post 9623.
Lane again worked laying carpet, linoleum and tile for Sleeper Furniture. It was an uncommon trade for a man of color, he said.
His multiple jobs included 31 years as custodian of Presbyterian Church, 31 years at Matt Cole Oil Company, 27 years at Sleeper Furniture and nine years as a custodian for the City of Iola. Lane also freelanced as a carpet and tile layer, he said.
Lane did have some good times in his 90 years, he said. He spent 59 years with the love of his life, his wife Maribelle, who died in 2005. His only child, Stephen, retired from Goodyear and lives in Topeka.
Lane said though many changes have been made since the days of segregation, there is room for improvement.
“There’s confusion all over the world yet, because we can’t get together,” and get past the color issue, he said.
Thursday marked his annual visit to reminisce about life in pre-1950s Iola and the U.S. Army, where Lane, who is black, faced institutional discrimination.
Lane graduated from Iola High School in 1938, and from Allen County Junior College two years later, Shirley told his class of 19.
Of 118 graduating JuCo students, only five were black, Lane said.
Due to segregation, even athletic opportunities were limited, Shirley said. “Here in Iola, blacks could only participate in track,” Shirley said. Lane ran the 100 yard dash in 10 seconds. “The fastest man in Kansas,” Shirley said.
After college, Lane worked at Sleeper Furniture Store, where he was taught to lay carpet, linoleum and ceramic tile.
“I made good money off that stuff, but it wasn’t long before I had to go to the service,” Lane said.
Lane was drafted into the Army, where he quickly reached the rank of sergeant.
The vagaries of segregation were apparent from the moment he stepped aboard the troop train, Lane said.
“There was a black curtain across the aisle. All the blacks coming out of the south were on the other side of that.”
When the train arrived at Fort Leavenworth, the black men “were told to unload a boxcar of shoes,” Lane said. The men were promised three day passes for their effort.
“We separated them into sizes — it took us all night. The next morning, we asked for our passes,” Lane said. They were laughed at by the officers who told them they weren’t even soldiers yet, and were told to go to the intake tent.
There, Lane said the men underwent physical exams and target practice to determine placement. Sent to the Washington, D.C., vicinity, the men marched five miles a day in red clay to get in shape, Lane said.
Appointed sergeant, Lane was in command of about 70 men.
Over them was one officer “who did not like blacks, period,” Lane said. He had a habit of intimidating and threatening the men, Lane said.
“My men said, ‘Sergeant Lane, he scares us,’ so I said I would talk to him.”
That night, Lane took over guard duty.
Black soldiers at that time were allowed only two bullets in their clips, Lane said. He had five.
“Around midnight, here he comes,” Lane said.
“I said, ‘Halt! Who goes there?’ but he wouldn’t answer,” Lane said. “He just kept strutting.”
Lane fired a shot. Then another.
He told the officer, “You take another step and you’ll never smile again.”
Unperturbed, the man took a step.
“Boom!” Lane said, saying he took a third shot near the man’s feet. “He started shaking.”
Lane told him the derogatory behavior toward his men was unacceptable, and best be stopped. After reporting the officer’s harassment to his captain the following morning, Lane said, “they got him away from there and got another man in.”
Lane said his captain, who was from Vermont, trusted his judgment.
When Lane sent his troops home for the holidays before they were to be sent to Europe, his captain asked him what he would do if they didn’t return.
“I said, don’t worry, they’ll be back.”
And certain as rain, the week before they were to ship out, all the men returned.
His ability to read and command the men merited Lane an offer to undergo commissioned officer’s training.
At the time, all Army officers, except the chaplain, were white, Lane said.
Nonetheless, he declined the opportunity in favor of sticking with the troops he had come to know.
AFTER leading a battalion of aviation engineers in North Africa, Lane returned to Iola. It was 1946. The war had ended, but segregation still ruled Kansas.
Despite his distinguished service, “I couldn’t get into the National Guard,” Lane said. He was denied entry because he was black. Lane tired joining units in other area towns, also to no avail.
Had he been admitted, Lane would have been eligible to collect a military pension when he retired. As it is, he said, “I don’t get 15 cents.”
Lane also attempted to join the American Legion, and was again denied because of his color. Eventually, he helped found an all-black Veterans of Foreign Wars post, VFW Post 9623.
Lane again worked laying carpet, linoleum and tile for Sleeper Furniture. It was an uncommon trade for a man of color, he said.
His multiple jobs included 31 years as custodian of Presbyterian Church, 31 years at Matt Cole Oil Company, 27 years at Sleeper Furniture and nine years as a custodian for the City of Iola. Lane also freelanced as a carpet and tile layer, he said.
Lane did have some good times in his 90 years, he said. He spent 59 years with the love of his life, his wife Maribelle, who died in 2005. His only child, Stephen, retired from Goodyear and lives in Topeka.
Lane said though many changes have been made since the days of segregation, there is room for improvement.
“There’s confusion all over the world yet, because we can’t get together,” and get past the color issue, he said.
Iolan donates 100th pint
Iolan Jeannie Cloud quietly crossed a milestone Wednesday as she donated her hundredth pint of blood in the Allen County Hospital Auxiliary Community Blood Center blood drive at the North Community Building.
Cloud has been donating blood “off and on since I was 18,” she said.
“It makes me feel good to do this,” she said. “Besides,” she said jokingly, “I can lose a pound this way — at least for a day.” One pint of blood, the amount collected, weighs about that much.
Cloud also noted that she has “special blood that can be given to cancer patients and babies.” She is considered a universal donor, plus is CMV negative.
Cytomegalovirus is “a virus that most people carry in their blood and I don’t have it,” Cloud explained, “So my blood can be given to very sick people.” CMV poses no problem for those in good health, but can cause problems in immunocompromised individuals. If processed within a day of drawing it, CMV negative blood can be vital to such people.
While it takes only eight minutes for the actual blood draw, the entire donation process, including intake interview, takes about 45 minutes, said CBC phlebotomist Lisa Rothwell. Intake includes a medical history review critical to ensuring the blood collected is safe, she said.
The drives are held every eight weeks at the North Community Center, pushing Iola to win a Community Star award from the CBC. Star awards are given to those centers that exceed CBC collection goals and hold at least six drives per year. ACH Auxiliary blood drive chairwoman B. Ellen Smith will accept recognition for Iola’s efforts at an awards ceremony in Topeka in April.
Smith said the Auxiliary has always organized the drives. “Don’t ask me for how many years,” she said.
Allen County Hospital also gets all its blood products from the CBC, she noted.
The Kansas City, Mo., CBC office serves 73 hospitals in eastern Kansas and Missouri.
Cloud has been donating blood “off and on since I was 18,” she said.
“It makes me feel good to do this,” she said. “Besides,” she said jokingly, “I can lose a pound this way — at least for a day.” One pint of blood, the amount collected, weighs about that much.
Cloud also noted that she has “special blood that can be given to cancer patients and babies.” She is considered a universal donor, plus is CMV negative.
Cytomegalovirus is “a virus that most people carry in their blood and I don’t have it,” Cloud explained, “So my blood can be given to very sick people.” CMV poses no problem for those in good health, but can cause problems in immunocompromised individuals. If processed within a day of drawing it, CMV negative blood can be vital to such people.
While it takes only eight minutes for the actual blood draw, the entire donation process, including intake interview, takes about 45 minutes, said CBC phlebotomist Lisa Rothwell. Intake includes a medical history review critical to ensuring the blood collected is safe, she said.
The drives are held every eight weeks at the North Community Center, pushing Iola to win a Community Star award from the CBC. Star awards are given to those centers that exceed CBC collection goals and hold at least six drives per year. ACH Auxiliary blood drive chairwoman B. Ellen Smith will accept recognition for Iola’s efforts at an awards ceremony in Topeka in April.
Smith said the Auxiliary has always organized the drives. “Don’t ask me for how many years,” she said.
Allen County Hospital also gets all its blood products from the CBC, she noted.
The Kansas City, Mo., CBC office serves 73 hospitals in eastern Kansas and Missouri.
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