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.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Building trades offers skills and fun
Humboldt High School hasn’t had a building trades program “since before my time,” Nathan Ellison said. He graduated from Humboldt in 2001, then from Pittsburgh State University’s Technology Education program in May 2006.
But now, Ellison said, “There’s a big push throughout the state to get kids career-oriented before they leave high school.” And Humboldt is riding that wave.
Ellison is the instructor for Humboldt’s new building trades program. Its inception is something of a god-send for him.
“I taught building trades at Iola for the last two years,” Ellison said. “I was already living here in Humboldt and the opportunity came up to start this program from scratch.”
“It’s pretty fun,” said sophomore Desiree Churning, 17, one of Ellison’s students.
Like some others in the program, Desiree had some previous construction experience. “I helped my dad build five garages. Plus we build sheds,” she said.
While she enjoys construction, she hopes to work in a different aspect of the housing industry. “I really like interior design,” she said. “I’d love to do that.”
Ellison said his group of students is “split about 50/50 of those college-bound and those interested in this as a career.”
The skills the students learn are useful even to those who don’t plan to continue on in the construction field, Ellison said.
“They can save a load of money later on by doing some work themselves,” when repairing their own homes, he said.
Ellison believes such programs can help small, rural communities stay viable, especially when it comes to youth retention.
Ideally, if the students learn enough to give them marketable skills, they may stay in the area and become full time residents after graduation. It’s a goal Ellison would love to meet, even if its not necessarily an objective of the program.
“This is a great area,” he said.
Michael Doolittle, a junior, will be 17 in April. He, too, has some construction experience, but “This is the first time I’m building a house from the ground up,” he said. “I’ve done sheetrocking before, and remodeling,” he said. “I would like to take this up as a career.”
“And it also gets you out of school. That’s two hours you don’t have to put up with teachers,” he said.
Michael has also worked with his father. “My dad remodeled the Farm Bureau — me and him did that.”
Michael is one of a handful of students who live in Iola but drive to Humboldt for school.
“I’m willing to waste some gas to come here — it’s the best school ever. I love the people here, this is fun, I enjoy this,” he said. Still, he said, it’s not a slacker class. “You’ve got to apply yourself.”
Ellison teaches two groups a day. The morning session is from 8 to 10:30 a.m. , and the afternoon from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Older students tend to be in the morning session, Ellison said, because seniors can block their schedule to allow for a three hour class. Next year, Ellison expects some of this year’s juniors to be in the morning session.
“The morning group pours more concrete because we have more time,” Ellison said. “The afternoon group does a little more roofing because of the frost” dissipating with the sun, he said.
“We did everything here,” Doolittle piped in.
“They all think they do more than the other class,” Ellison laughed.
Still, the class has done a lot. They’ve built molds for and finished the concrete of the driveway and garage. They hung particle board and filled walls with fiberglass insulation. They will sheetrock and paint and install cabinets and counters.
“A kid can leave here with a lot of general knowledge,” Ellison said. “These guys do math down here every day and don’t even realize it.”
THE HUMBOLDT class is building a 1,400 square foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home that is “all electric,” Ellison said. “We’re trying to offset the gas costs a a little bit. The electric systems are supposed to be more energy efficient.”
At this point, though, no green technology has been included in the home, “mainly for a cost reason — it’s to try to make the home as affordable as possible. The buyer will be able to get a new home for just under $100,000, which is hard to find in new construction,” he said.
In addition, Ellison said, “this house is on three lots,” making it about 100 feet from the nearest neighbor. It’s a quiet street, he said, great for a family as children could play without worry of passing cars.
“It’s a great neighborhood,” Ellison said. “It’s two blocks from the school.”
That proximity lends itself to a more efficient trades program, too, Ellison pointed out.
“It’s really nice,” he said. “When we forget a tool I can just send a kid back to get it. I don’t have to load everyone on the bus and take fifteen minutes out of the program to do that.”
It’s a way for the students to learn personal responsibility as well, Ellison said. “They know they have ten minutes to get there and get back.”
Joe and Janey Works donated the land to the high school, Ellison said.
“Joe owns B & W Truck Beds in Humboldt. They had this land and they were looking for a use for it.”
“It was a nice way to get the program off the ground.”
The location is so ideal, in fact, that the school board purchased the vacant lot across the street for next year’s house.
Interest in purchasing the house is growing. At least four parties have seriously incquired of the school board, Ellison said.
“If the time line is right, we’ll have our first open house after spring break, at the end of March.” Ellison said. The school board hopes to attract a solid buyer at that time, allowing the purchaser to choose paint and carpet colors before those phases of construction are underway.
“We have a midrange carpet budgeted for, and we’ll keep it very neutral” otherwise, Ellison said.
An early buyer would also have a chance to select their own cabinets, Elllison said, keeping their choice within the school’s budget, of course.
“If they want something outside of what we have budgeted for, they can pay for it and the kids will still install it,” Ellison said.
Student labor is, primarily, why the house can be sold below market value.
When contractors are on site, “they show the kids what they do. We’ve had an electrician on site, but the kids do a lot of the physical work — hanging the wires and (electrical) boxes — but he puts the service panel in and does testing on it,” Ellison said.
“The physical part of the electrical is where we can rack up a lot of bills, but running wire is fun for kids.”
THE CLASS is currently an elective, but Ellison hopes to develop internships or a job credit system for students as years go by.
“There’s a construction engineering program through Pitt State,” he said. Ideally, a program like Humboldt’s will meet some pre-requisites for such programs.
“We’ve had some interest from some larger companies who are interested in it from a (future employee) recruiting standpoint,” he said.
Some of the companies “want to host a career day to show the kids what the larger companies do, and what else is out there” in the world of construction trades, he said.
“Hopefully, they’ll learn something here even if they don’t pursue this as a career.”
But now, Ellison said, “There’s a big push throughout the state to get kids career-oriented before they leave high school.” And Humboldt is riding that wave.
Ellison is the instructor for Humboldt’s new building trades program. Its inception is something of a god-send for him.
“I taught building trades at Iola for the last two years,” Ellison said. “I was already living here in Humboldt and the opportunity came up to start this program from scratch.”
“It’s pretty fun,” said sophomore Desiree Churning, 17, one of Ellison’s students.
Like some others in the program, Desiree had some previous construction experience. “I helped my dad build five garages. Plus we build sheds,” she said.
While she enjoys construction, she hopes to work in a different aspect of the housing industry. “I really like interior design,” she said. “I’d love to do that.”
Ellison said his group of students is “split about 50/50 of those college-bound and those interested in this as a career.”
The skills the students learn are useful even to those who don’t plan to continue on in the construction field, Ellison said.
“They can save a load of money later on by doing some work themselves,” when repairing their own homes, he said.
Ellison believes such programs can help small, rural communities stay viable, especially when it comes to youth retention.
Ideally, if the students learn enough to give them marketable skills, they may stay in the area and become full time residents after graduation. It’s a goal Ellison would love to meet, even if its not necessarily an objective of the program.
“This is a great area,” he said.
Michael Doolittle, a junior, will be 17 in April. He, too, has some construction experience, but “This is the first time I’m building a house from the ground up,” he said. “I’ve done sheetrocking before, and remodeling,” he said. “I would like to take this up as a career.”
“And it also gets you out of school. That’s two hours you don’t have to put up with teachers,” he said.
Michael has also worked with his father. “My dad remodeled the Farm Bureau — me and him did that.”
Michael is one of a handful of students who live in Iola but drive to Humboldt for school.
“I’m willing to waste some gas to come here — it’s the best school ever. I love the people here, this is fun, I enjoy this,” he said. Still, he said, it’s not a slacker class. “You’ve got to apply yourself.”
Ellison teaches two groups a day. The morning session is from 8 to 10:30 a.m. , and the afternoon from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Older students tend to be in the morning session, Ellison said, because seniors can block their schedule to allow for a three hour class. Next year, Ellison expects some of this year’s juniors to be in the morning session.
“The morning group pours more concrete because we have more time,” Ellison said. “The afternoon group does a little more roofing because of the frost” dissipating with the sun, he said.
“We did everything here,” Doolittle piped in.
“They all think they do more than the other class,” Ellison laughed.
Still, the class has done a lot. They’ve built molds for and finished the concrete of the driveway and garage. They hung particle board and filled walls with fiberglass insulation. They will sheetrock and paint and install cabinets and counters.
“A kid can leave here with a lot of general knowledge,” Ellison said. “These guys do math down here every day and don’t even realize it.”
THE HUMBOLDT class is building a 1,400 square foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home that is “all electric,” Ellison said. “We’re trying to offset the gas costs a a little bit. The electric systems are supposed to be more energy efficient.”
At this point, though, no green technology has been included in the home, “mainly for a cost reason — it’s to try to make the home as affordable as possible. The buyer will be able to get a new home for just under $100,000, which is hard to find in new construction,” he said.
In addition, Ellison said, “this house is on three lots,” making it about 100 feet from the nearest neighbor. It’s a quiet street, he said, great for a family as children could play without worry of passing cars.
“It’s a great neighborhood,” Ellison said. “It’s two blocks from the school.”
That proximity lends itself to a more efficient trades program, too, Ellison pointed out.
“It’s really nice,” he said. “When we forget a tool I can just send a kid back to get it. I don’t have to load everyone on the bus and take fifteen minutes out of the program to do that.”
It’s a way for the students to learn personal responsibility as well, Ellison said. “They know they have ten minutes to get there and get back.”
Joe and Janey Works donated the land to the high school, Ellison said.
“Joe owns B & W Truck Beds in Humboldt. They had this land and they were looking for a use for it.”
“It was a nice way to get the program off the ground.”
The location is so ideal, in fact, that the school board purchased the vacant lot across the street for next year’s house.
Interest in purchasing the house is growing. At least four parties have seriously incquired of the school board, Ellison said.
“If the time line is right, we’ll have our first open house after spring break, at the end of March.” Ellison said. The school board hopes to attract a solid buyer at that time, allowing the purchaser to choose paint and carpet colors before those phases of construction are underway.
“We have a midrange carpet budgeted for, and we’ll keep it very neutral” otherwise, Ellison said.
An early buyer would also have a chance to select their own cabinets, Elllison said, keeping their choice within the school’s budget, of course.
“If they want something outside of what we have budgeted for, they can pay for it and the kids will still install it,” Ellison said.
Student labor is, primarily, why the house can be sold below market value.
When contractors are on site, “they show the kids what they do. We’ve had an electrician on site, but the kids do a lot of the physical work — hanging the wires and (electrical) boxes — but he puts the service panel in and does testing on it,” Ellison said.
“The physical part of the electrical is where we can rack up a lot of bills, but running wire is fun for kids.”
THE CLASS is currently an elective, but Ellison hopes to develop internships or a job credit system for students as years go by.
“There’s a construction engineering program through Pitt State,” he said. Ideally, a program like Humboldt’s will meet some pre-requisites for such programs.
“We’ve had some interest from some larger companies who are interested in it from a (future employee) recruiting standpoint,” he said.
Some of the companies “want to host a career day to show the kids what the larger companies do, and what else is out there” in the world of construction trades, he said.
“Hopefully, they’ll learn something here even if they don’t pursue this as a career.”
Shirley seeks to stay on commission
In just a few days, on April 7, Iola’s citizens will have the choice of deciding who helps lead them in the coming years. Two men are running for a three-year term on the City Commission. Former police chief Jim Kilby has challenged two-term incumbent Bill Shirley for that right. In other years, the choice might not effect too much change. This year, when one candidate espouses enlarging the commission and the other does not, each citizen’s vote might also impact the make up of their government.
At heart, though, stand each man’s views on issues.
Bill Shirley’s opponent accused him of waffling over issues, especially his decison to rebuild the flood-inundated pool at Riverside Park. But Shirley said that’s not the case.
“I certainly listen to everyone,” he said of the approach he thinks spurred the criticism. And, he said, “I like to let people know my thinking.”
Consider the rebuilt pool at Riverside Park, for instance. While some grumble that Shirley decided the matter at a meeting where the issue wasn’t on the agenda, he said that’s not so. “It was on the agenda,” he said. Plus, he said, it all came down to timing.
No one will debate that the pool needed replacing, he said. Opting for an outdoor pool when he did allowed the city to snag Federal Emergency Management Act funding available after the flood of 2007. That funding helped pay for the pool — or will, once the rebuild is approved, he said.
FEMA dollars were available to repair the pool, Shirley said, but the city determined the pool was beyond the point of repair and opted to rebuild it instead, making FEMA repair money unavailable.
Shirley asked City Administrator Judy Brigham to explain.
“FEMA refers to an alternate project,” Brigham said. “You can take the funds and do an alternate project that the community deems important, so that’s what we did.”
The city decided to use $1.5 million in funds FEMA earmarked to repair the city’s steam generation plant to rebuild the pool at Riverside park, she said. “We should hear back in a couple of days if that’s approved.”
Typically FEMA provides 75 percent of a project’s cost, Brigham said, and the state provides another 10 percent. The city covers the remaining 15 percent of the project’s total cost. So far, work on the pool has cost $1.95 million, Brigham said.
“Since we’re asking for an alternate project, we’re only getting 90 percent of the 75 percent,” or $1.35 million, she explained. Money to get the pool to its current point was taken from the city’s utility reserve fund, she added.
Shirley never considered using the FEMA funds for a year-round pool and recreation center. “I said from the beginning I was for an outdoor pool.”
And he said the location was a no-brainer, too.
“That’s where our park is. The community building is there, our track is there, our fair is there.” Plus, Shirley added, “It is not a flood zone. If water does come in, well, pools are built to hold water.”
SHIRLEY’S platform is simple. “What I want to see is a reversal of our population, to start building our population up again; to have jobs for workers, the infrastructure in town, keeping utility rates down.”
Prompted for specifics, he cites “a long range plan we went through 2-3 years ago,” that addresses “streets and sewers.”
“Sewer lines need upgrading,” he said, and “we do have some streets that are in pretty poor repair.”
In addition to sewers and roads, Shirley would like to revive a program where the city split the cost of sidewalk installation with homeowners. While the city owns the right-of-way for sidewalks, Shirley said he doesn’t see the sense in putting in sidewalks along an entire street at once. Instead, he feels it is each individual property owner’s choice. “To do broad coverage of sidewalks is expensive,” Shirley said. “We have to be so careful with how we spend our money.”
Regarding the business community, Shirley said “It is very important to do everything we can to keep the industry we have open. We have brought in new industry, we work very closely with Iola Industries to bring in businesses. It’s a real concern to all of us when we have that many people laid off, but state-wide this is happening. I’m hoping Gates and Haldex can put them back to work.”
Shirley wasn’t aware of infrastructure such as wifi or municipally supplied Internet other towns have used to lure in small businesses, but said he was open to listen to such ideas. Still, he figured those were expenses better left to businesses.
“We are a community of single parents, a lot of senior citizens,” he said. “We do have hunger in Iola.”
To help keep money in people’s pockets, Shirley believes in not raising taxes, and “keeping utility rates as low as we can.”
SHIRLEY wasn’t swayed by the 300-plus voters who signed a petition to increase the commission’s size, he said.
“I think the city commission as it is now has proven that it governs well. We haven’t raised taxes in six years. We have some of the lowest utility rates in the state. And I think during the flood of 2007 we showed how effective a small council is — we were reactive to the emergency response.” And he said expansion of commission size would cost the city money, if commissioners are paid a salary as they are now. City commissioners are currently paid $250 per month to attend two afternoon meetings, Shirley said. The mayor earns $300. Many municipalities avoid the issue by having volunteer councils.
Shirley will not comment on the ongoing city-county ambulance issue, saying it’s too close to being reconciled for him to speak publicly on the matter. “Right now our mayor and County Commissioner Francis are in negotiations. From the briefings I’ve received, it’s been very positive.”
He will say that “I think it’s important for Iola to have its own professional fire service — including ambulance service. The citizens of Iola are served best that way. Our city workers do a good job. I think we’re fortunate to have the city workers we have.”
Overall, Shirley said he takes just one approach to deciding Iola’s future: “I like to make informed decisions. It’s not that I don’t make mistakes. But if they’re pointed out, I will correct them.”
At heart, though, stand each man’s views on issues.
Bill Shirley’s opponent accused him of waffling over issues, especially his decison to rebuild the flood-inundated pool at Riverside Park. But Shirley said that’s not the case.
“I certainly listen to everyone,” he said of the approach he thinks spurred the criticism. And, he said, “I like to let people know my thinking.”
Consider the rebuilt pool at Riverside Park, for instance. While some grumble that Shirley decided the matter at a meeting where the issue wasn’t on the agenda, he said that’s not so. “It was on the agenda,” he said. Plus, he said, it all came down to timing.
No one will debate that the pool needed replacing, he said. Opting for an outdoor pool when he did allowed the city to snag Federal Emergency Management Act funding available after the flood of 2007. That funding helped pay for the pool — or will, once the rebuild is approved, he said.
FEMA dollars were available to repair the pool, Shirley said, but the city determined the pool was beyond the point of repair and opted to rebuild it instead, making FEMA repair money unavailable.
Shirley asked City Administrator Judy Brigham to explain.
“FEMA refers to an alternate project,” Brigham said. “You can take the funds and do an alternate project that the community deems important, so that’s what we did.”
The city decided to use $1.5 million in funds FEMA earmarked to repair the city’s steam generation plant to rebuild the pool at Riverside park, she said. “We should hear back in a couple of days if that’s approved.”
Typically FEMA provides 75 percent of a project’s cost, Brigham said, and the state provides another 10 percent. The city covers the remaining 15 percent of the project’s total cost. So far, work on the pool has cost $1.95 million, Brigham said.
“Since we’re asking for an alternate project, we’re only getting 90 percent of the 75 percent,” or $1.35 million, she explained. Money to get the pool to its current point was taken from the city’s utility reserve fund, she added.
Shirley never considered using the FEMA funds for a year-round pool and recreation center. “I said from the beginning I was for an outdoor pool.”
And he said the location was a no-brainer, too.
“That’s where our park is. The community building is there, our track is there, our fair is there.” Plus, Shirley added, “It is not a flood zone. If water does come in, well, pools are built to hold water.”
SHIRLEY’S platform is simple. “What I want to see is a reversal of our population, to start building our population up again; to have jobs for workers, the infrastructure in town, keeping utility rates down.”
Prompted for specifics, he cites “a long range plan we went through 2-3 years ago,” that addresses “streets and sewers.”
“Sewer lines need upgrading,” he said, and “we do have some streets that are in pretty poor repair.”
In addition to sewers and roads, Shirley would like to revive a program where the city split the cost of sidewalk installation with homeowners. While the city owns the right-of-way for sidewalks, Shirley said he doesn’t see the sense in putting in sidewalks along an entire street at once. Instead, he feels it is each individual property owner’s choice. “To do broad coverage of sidewalks is expensive,” Shirley said. “We have to be so careful with how we spend our money.”
Regarding the business community, Shirley said “It is very important to do everything we can to keep the industry we have open. We have brought in new industry, we work very closely with Iola Industries to bring in businesses. It’s a real concern to all of us when we have that many people laid off, but state-wide this is happening. I’m hoping Gates and Haldex can put them back to work.”
Shirley wasn’t aware of infrastructure such as wifi or municipally supplied Internet other towns have used to lure in small businesses, but said he was open to listen to such ideas. Still, he figured those were expenses better left to businesses.
“We are a community of single parents, a lot of senior citizens,” he said. “We do have hunger in Iola.”
To help keep money in people’s pockets, Shirley believes in not raising taxes, and “keeping utility rates as low as we can.”
SHIRLEY wasn’t swayed by the 300-plus voters who signed a petition to increase the commission’s size, he said.
“I think the city commission as it is now has proven that it governs well. We haven’t raised taxes in six years. We have some of the lowest utility rates in the state. And I think during the flood of 2007 we showed how effective a small council is — we were reactive to the emergency response.” And he said expansion of commission size would cost the city money, if commissioners are paid a salary as they are now. City commissioners are currently paid $250 per month to attend two afternoon meetings, Shirley said. The mayor earns $300. Many municipalities avoid the issue by having volunteer councils.
Shirley will not comment on the ongoing city-county ambulance issue, saying it’s too close to being reconciled for him to speak publicly on the matter. “Right now our mayor and County Commissioner Francis are in negotiations. From the briefings I’ve received, it’s been very positive.”
He will say that “I think it’s important for Iola to have its own professional fire service — including ambulance service. The citizens of Iola are served best that way. Our city workers do a good job. I think we’re fortunate to have the city workers we have.”
Overall, Shirley said he takes just one approach to deciding Iola’s future: “I like to make informed decisions. It’s not that I don’t make mistakes. But if they’re pointed out, I will correct them.”
Big Read in motion
“The act of reading is an indispensable part of what makes us human,” said Susan Raines at Monday’s Big Read kick-off at the Iola courthouse.
Yet District Judge Daniel Creitz said that reading among Americans has declined 28 percent since 1982, the largest decline being young adults.
That, Iola Commissioner Dick Works said, is why Iola participates in the Big Read, a National Endowment for the Arts initiative.
“This project has as its expressed goal the purpose of revitalizing the role of reading in Allen County and its communities through the use of outstanding American literature, specifically the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.”
Through group discussions, social events adn theater performances, the Big Read aims to unite a community in discussion of a single book. Iola’s Big Read commitee “purchased over 1,000 copies of the regular paperback,” which will be distributed free of charge, said Raines. In addition, all area libraries (including school libraries) have received copies of To Kill a Mockingbird in audio book, large print and spanish formats, as well the companion books “I am Scout” and “The Story Behind to Kill a Mockingbird.”
In addition, many area high school, middle school and college English and History classes are going to focus lessons on the book this month.
A full schedule of area events can be found at http://www.neabigread.org and clicking on the communities link, or check the calendar listing in the Register.
Yet District Judge Daniel Creitz said that reading among Americans has declined 28 percent since 1982, the largest decline being young adults.
That, Iola Commissioner Dick Works said, is why Iola participates in the Big Read, a National Endowment for the Arts initiative.
“This project has as its expressed goal the purpose of revitalizing the role of reading in Allen County and its communities through the use of outstanding American literature, specifically the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.”
Through group discussions, social events adn theater performances, the Big Read aims to unite a community in discussion of a single book. Iola’s Big Read commitee “purchased over 1,000 copies of the regular paperback,” which will be distributed free of charge, said Raines. In addition, all area libraries (including school libraries) have received copies of To Kill a Mockingbird in audio book, large print and spanish formats, as well the companion books “I am Scout” and “The Story Behind to Kill a Mockingbird.”
In addition, many area high school, middle school and college English and History classes are going to focus lessons on the book this month.
A full schedule of area events can be found at http://www.neabigread.org and clicking on the communities link, or check the calendar listing in the Register.
Wartime memories recalled
Remembering our pasts can be like opening Pandora’s box — there’s so much in there, we might not know how to winnow the information down.
Beckye Parker, special needs consultant at the Iola Public Library, understands that, and has a number of devices to help walk memories along a specific path.
The library offers Bi-folkal kits — large, small and photo versions — that elicit stories from those who use them.
The kits all have specific themes, Parker said, plus, “we have all the holidays.” A full kit fits comes in a bowling bag.
“All your sensories are in here,” Parker noted. Tactile items, scented cards, song books and cassettes. There are replicas or authentic vintage items, such as perfume bottles or ration cards from World War II. Aside from the artifacts, “everything in here is reproducible,” Parker said.
Short stories, craft how-tos and fill-in-the-blank cards with statements such as “Our kitchen table was made of ______” and “My first morning chore was ________” stir recollections.
“First Writes” are sets of reproducible cards with statements about daily life regarding religion, birthdays, kitchen memories, movie stars, relatives and more. They can be used as a parlor game, with people around a circle taking turns filling in the blank. “My favorite relative ____ had _____ colored hair,” is one example.
Bi-folkal kits can be used by anyone. Each comes with an activity guide. There is even a 25-piece percussion band with bells, tone blocks, rhythm sticks and cymbals. Photo kits are particularly good at sparking memories, Parker said, as viewers recall clothing styles, the price of shoes and world events of the pictured era, she said.
“The nursing homes have a hard time getting the men involved,” in activities, Parker said. “But so many of them around here were farmers,” that they respond readily to the pile of seed packs, placard of different grains and classic red bandana in the “Remembering Farm Days,” kit, Parker said.
While schools and assisted living facilities are most aware of the kits, Parker said, “you don’t have to be special needs to check this out. It’s great if a person wants to do something with their mother, their dad. This is definitely inter-generational, from age 2 on up.” The band-in-a-box is particularly popular for mixed-age groups, she said.
Puzzles, toys, balls that light up when bounced — all are available for check out, Parker said. Some groups check out puppets and put on shows. Foam Frisbees, plastic vegetables and oversized dominoes for the visually impaired are also available.
“The funniest thing we have is a rubber chicken,” Parker said.
One college student planned on checking out items for her birthday party, Parker said.
The kits are wonderful tools during family gatherings or reunions, to get quiet members of the family talking or to keep conversation going when minds might otherwise might turn to TV, Parker said.
“It’s all conversation starters. Whatever can stimulate memories, talking, laughter.”
GUEST HOME Estates and its activity director, Phyllis Coltharp, regularly use the Bi-folkal kits.
On a recent afternoon, the activity room was packed with residents remembering the impact of World War II on life in Iola.
“I remember picking milkweed for the latex,” offered Bill Scheivmeir.
“I remember a comic strip of Captain Easy — he fought the Germans,” Scheivmeir added.
Coltharp prompted Scheivmeir about his family’s profession, beekeeping, while the group discussed replacements for white sugar, which was rationed during the war. Instead of sugar, people used honey for baking, many of the women in the group recalled.
“They gave you booklets (of ration coupons) for sugar, shoes and gasoline,” said Dorothy Hurst.
“You could purchase the items at the store, but only what you had coupons for,” added Russell Zornes.
But, let on Andrew Still, “B rations gave you twice as much as A rations.”
Still was a physician, and as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service during the war, he received the extended rations. His profession was considered crucial to the war effort.
“The more important you were to the government, the more gasoline you got,” he said.
Talk of the hardships imposed by the war led to other recollections.
“If you went swimming in dirty water, your legs would stop moving so well,” said Rosa Neal. Polio was common in the war era, and it was spread through unclean water.
Home remedies abounded.
“My dad would come with a cup of chopped up onion mixed with sugar in the middle of the night and say ‘eat this’ because you had the croupy cough,” Zornes recalled.
“My uncle would give you a hot pepper and it produced an artificial fever and you’d just sweat it out,” recalled John Jessamore of his family’s cold cure.
His mention of cod liver oil elicited a collective groan from the group. “And castor oil would clean you out,” he added.
Lye soap was used to dry the weeping rash of poison ivy, Coltharp noted.
It was also used to wash clothes.
“On wash day, you’d catch all the rain water you could,” said Pearl Green. “You’d put the suds in that, then you’d hang out the clothes to dry,” she said.
Neal noted her mother made their family soap of lye and bacon grease.
“If you got the lye on your hands and got it wet it would eat a hole in your hand,” she said of the caustic substance.
Russell noted his mother washed clothes in a washboard in the river.
Families — often the children — had to haul water from creeks and rivers to houses for daily use, said Green, and children bathed in washtubs in the yard. Water was heated on stoves stoked with coal, “Or whatever you could find to burn,” she said.
“I was born in the ’40s, so I grew up that way,” she added.
OTHER TIDBITS of daily life were remembered by looking at artifacts in the Bi-folkal kit.
An ad for leg makeup prompted Dorothy Hurst to inform “you didn’t have any hose during the war. The material was used for parachutes.” Instead, women used leg makeup, she said, which made their skin appear tan.
“If you got a sunburn you were all right,” joked Green.
While the group moaned at how much taxes have risen — they were $13.44 a year in Allen County in 1944, according to the kit —
overall, they are pleased things have changed.
Hilda Kimzey summed it up.
“It was hard living,” she said.
Beckye Parker, special needs consultant at the Iola Public Library, understands that, and has a number of devices to help walk memories along a specific path.
The library offers Bi-folkal kits — large, small and photo versions — that elicit stories from those who use them.
The kits all have specific themes, Parker said, plus, “we have all the holidays.” A full kit fits comes in a bowling bag.
“All your sensories are in here,” Parker noted. Tactile items, scented cards, song books and cassettes. There are replicas or authentic vintage items, such as perfume bottles or ration cards from World War II. Aside from the artifacts, “everything in here is reproducible,” Parker said.
Short stories, craft how-tos and fill-in-the-blank cards with statements such as “Our kitchen table was made of ______” and “My first morning chore was ________” stir recollections.
“First Writes” are sets of reproducible cards with statements about daily life regarding religion, birthdays, kitchen memories, movie stars, relatives and more. They can be used as a parlor game, with people around a circle taking turns filling in the blank. “My favorite relative ____ had _____ colored hair,” is one example.
Bi-folkal kits can be used by anyone. Each comes with an activity guide. There is even a 25-piece percussion band with bells, tone blocks, rhythm sticks and cymbals. Photo kits are particularly good at sparking memories, Parker said, as viewers recall clothing styles, the price of shoes and world events of the pictured era, she said.
“The nursing homes have a hard time getting the men involved,” in activities, Parker said. “But so many of them around here were farmers,” that they respond readily to the pile of seed packs, placard of different grains and classic red bandana in the “Remembering Farm Days,” kit, Parker said.
While schools and assisted living facilities are most aware of the kits, Parker said, “you don’t have to be special needs to check this out. It’s great if a person wants to do something with their mother, their dad. This is definitely inter-generational, from age 2 on up.” The band-in-a-box is particularly popular for mixed-age groups, she said.
Puzzles, toys, balls that light up when bounced — all are available for check out, Parker said. Some groups check out puppets and put on shows. Foam Frisbees, plastic vegetables and oversized dominoes for the visually impaired are also available.
“The funniest thing we have is a rubber chicken,” Parker said.
One college student planned on checking out items for her birthday party, Parker said.
The kits are wonderful tools during family gatherings or reunions, to get quiet members of the family talking or to keep conversation going when minds might otherwise might turn to TV, Parker said.
“It’s all conversation starters. Whatever can stimulate memories, talking, laughter.”
GUEST HOME Estates and its activity director, Phyllis Coltharp, regularly use the Bi-folkal kits.
On a recent afternoon, the activity room was packed with residents remembering the impact of World War II on life in Iola.
“I remember picking milkweed for the latex,” offered Bill Scheivmeir.
“I remember a comic strip of Captain Easy — he fought the Germans,” Scheivmeir added.
Coltharp prompted Scheivmeir about his family’s profession, beekeeping, while the group discussed replacements for white sugar, which was rationed during the war. Instead of sugar, people used honey for baking, many of the women in the group recalled.
“They gave you booklets (of ration coupons) for sugar, shoes and gasoline,” said Dorothy Hurst.
“You could purchase the items at the store, but only what you had coupons for,” added Russell Zornes.
But, let on Andrew Still, “B rations gave you twice as much as A rations.”
Still was a physician, and as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service during the war, he received the extended rations. His profession was considered crucial to the war effort.
“The more important you were to the government, the more gasoline you got,” he said.
Talk of the hardships imposed by the war led to other recollections.
“If you went swimming in dirty water, your legs would stop moving so well,” said Rosa Neal. Polio was common in the war era, and it was spread through unclean water.
Home remedies abounded.
“My dad would come with a cup of chopped up onion mixed with sugar in the middle of the night and say ‘eat this’ because you had the croupy cough,” Zornes recalled.
“My uncle would give you a hot pepper and it produced an artificial fever and you’d just sweat it out,” recalled John Jessamore of his family’s cold cure.
His mention of cod liver oil elicited a collective groan from the group. “And castor oil would clean you out,” he added.
Lye soap was used to dry the weeping rash of poison ivy, Coltharp noted.
It was also used to wash clothes.
“On wash day, you’d catch all the rain water you could,” said Pearl Green. “You’d put the suds in that, then you’d hang out the clothes to dry,” she said.
Neal noted her mother made their family soap of lye and bacon grease.
“If you got the lye on your hands and got it wet it would eat a hole in your hand,” she said of the caustic substance.
Russell noted his mother washed clothes in a washboard in the river.
Families — often the children — had to haul water from creeks and rivers to houses for daily use, said Green, and children bathed in washtubs in the yard. Water was heated on stoves stoked with coal, “Or whatever you could find to burn,” she said.
“I was born in the ’40s, so I grew up that way,” she added.
OTHER TIDBITS of daily life were remembered by looking at artifacts in the Bi-folkal kit.
An ad for leg makeup prompted Dorothy Hurst to inform “you didn’t have any hose during the war. The material was used for parachutes.” Instead, women used leg makeup, she said, which made their skin appear tan.
“If you got a sunburn you were all right,” joked Green.
While the group moaned at how much taxes have risen — they were $13.44 a year in Allen County in 1944, according to the kit —
overall, they are pleased things have changed.
Hilda Kimzey summed it up.
“It was hard living,” she said.
Wartime memories recalled
Remembering our pasts can be like opening Pandora’s box — there’s so much in there, we might not know how to winnow the information down.
Beckye Parker, special needs consultant at the Iola Public Library, understands that, and has a number of devices to help walk memories along a specific path.
The library offers Bi-folkal kits — large, small and photo versions — that elicit stories from those who use them.
The kits all have specific themes, Parker said, plus, “we have all the holidays.” A full kit fits comes in a bowling bag.
“All your sensories are in here,” Parker noted. Tactile items, scented cards, song books and cassettes. There are replicas or authentic vintage items, such as perfume bottles or ration cards from World War II. Aside from the artifacts, “everything in here is reproducible,” Parker said.
Short stories, craft how-tos and fill-in-the-blank cards with statements such as “Our kitchen table was made of ______” and “My first morning chore was ________” stir recollections.
“First Writes” are sets of reproducible cards with statements about daily life regarding religion, birthdays, kitchen memories, movie stars, relatives and more. They can be used as a parlor game, with people around a circle taking turns filling in the blank. “My favorite relative ____ had _____ colored hair,” is one example.
Bi-folkal kits can be used by anyone. Each comes with an activity guide. There is even a 25-piece percussion band with bells, tone blocks, rhythm sticks and cymbals. Photo kits are particularly good at sparking memories, Parker said, as viewers recall clothing styles, the price of shoes and world events of the pictured era, she said.
“The nursing homes have a hard time getting the men involved,” in activities, Parker said. “But so many of them around here were farmers,” that they respond readily to the pile of seed packs, placard of different grains and classic red bandana in the “Remembering Farm Days,” kit, Parker said.
While schools and assisted living facilities are most aware of the kits, Parker said, “you don’t have to be special needs to check this out. It’s great if a person wants to do something with their mother, their dad. This is definitely inter-generational, from age 2 on up.” The band-in-a-box is particularly popular for mixed-age groups, she said.
Puzzles, toys, balls that light up when bounced — all are available for check out, Parker said. Some groups check out puppets and put on shows. Foam Frisbees, plastic vegetables and oversized dominoes for the visually impaired are also available.
“The funniest thing we have is a rubber chicken,” Parker said.
One college student planned on checking out items for her birthday party, Parker said.
The kits are wonderful tools during family gatherings or reunions, to get quiet members of the family talking or to keep conversation going when minds might otherwise might turn to TV, Parker said.
“It’s all conversation starters. Whatever can stimulate memories, talking, laughter.”
GUEST HOME Estates and its activity director, Phyllis Coltharp, regularly use the Bi-folkal kits.
On a recent afternoon, the activity room was packed with residents remembering the impact of World War II on life in Iola.
“I remember picking milkweed for the latex,” offered Bill Scheivmeir.
“I remember a comic strip of Captain Easy — he fought the Germans,” Scheivmeir added.
Coltharp prompted Scheivmeir about his family’s profession, beekeeping, while the group discussed replacements for white sugar, which was rationed during the war. Instead of sugar, people used honey for baking, many of the women in the group recalled.
“They gave you booklets (of ration coupons) for sugar, shoes and gasoline,” said Dorothy Hurst.
“You could purchase the items at the store, but only what you had coupons for,” added Russell Zornes.
But, let on Andrew Still, “B rations gave you twice as much as A rations.”
Still was a physician, and as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service during the war, he received the extended rations. His profession was considered crucial to the war effort.
“The more important you were to the government, the more gasoline you got,” he said.
Talk of the hardships imposed by the war led to other recollections.
“If you went swimming in dirty water, your legs would stop moving so well,” said Rosa Neal. Polio was common in the war era, and it was spread through unclean water.
Home remedies abounded.
“My dad would come with a cup of chopped up onion mixed with sugar in the middle of the night and say ‘eat this’ because you had the croupy cough,” Zornes recalled.
“My uncle would give you a hot pepper and it produced an artificial fever and you’d just sweat it out,” recalled John Jessamore of his family’s cold cure.
His mention of cod liver oil elicited a collective groan from the group. “And castor oil would clean you out,” he added.
Lye soap was used to dry the weeping rash of poison ivy, Coltharp noted.
It was also used to wash clothes.
“On wash day, you’d catch all the rain water you could,” said Pearl Green. “You’d put the suds in that, then you’d hang out the clothes to dry,” she said.
Neal noted her mother made their family soap of lye and bacon grease.
“If you got the lye on your hands and got it wet it would eat a hole in your hand,” she said of the caustic substance.
Russell noted his mother washed clothes in a washboard in the river.
Families — often the children — had to haul water from creeks and rivers to houses for daily use, said Green, and children bathed in washtubs in the yard. Water was heated on stoves stoked with coal, “Or whatever you could find to burn,” she said.
“I was born in the ’40s, so I grew up that way,” she added.
OTHER TIDBITS of daily life were remembered by looking at artifacts in the Bi-folkal kit.
An ad for leg makeup prompted Dorothy Hurst to inform “you didn’t have any hose during the war. The material was used for parachutes.” Instead, women used leg makeup, she said, which made their skin appear tan.
“If you got a sunburn you were all right,” joked Green.
While the group moaned at how much taxes have risen — they were $13.44 a year in Allen County in 1944, according to the kit —
overall, they are pleased things have changed.
Hilda Kimzey summed it up.
“It was hard living,” she said.
Beckye Parker, special needs consultant at the Iola Public Library, understands that, and has a number of devices to help walk memories along a specific path.
The library offers Bi-folkal kits — large, small and photo versions — that elicit stories from those who use them.
The kits all have specific themes, Parker said, plus, “we have all the holidays.” A full kit fits comes in a bowling bag.
“All your sensories are in here,” Parker noted. Tactile items, scented cards, song books and cassettes. There are replicas or authentic vintage items, such as perfume bottles or ration cards from World War II. Aside from the artifacts, “everything in here is reproducible,” Parker said.
Short stories, craft how-tos and fill-in-the-blank cards with statements such as “Our kitchen table was made of ______” and “My first morning chore was ________” stir recollections.
“First Writes” are sets of reproducible cards with statements about daily life regarding religion, birthdays, kitchen memories, movie stars, relatives and more. They can be used as a parlor game, with people around a circle taking turns filling in the blank. “My favorite relative ____ had _____ colored hair,” is one example.
Bi-folkal kits can be used by anyone. Each comes with an activity guide. There is even a 25-piece percussion band with bells, tone blocks, rhythm sticks and cymbals. Photo kits are particularly good at sparking memories, Parker said, as viewers recall clothing styles, the price of shoes and world events of the pictured era, she said.
“The nursing homes have a hard time getting the men involved,” in activities, Parker said. “But so many of them around here were farmers,” that they respond readily to the pile of seed packs, placard of different grains and classic red bandana in the “Remembering Farm Days,” kit, Parker said.
While schools and assisted living facilities are most aware of the kits, Parker said, “you don’t have to be special needs to check this out. It’s great if a person wants to do something with their mother, their dad. This is definitely inter-generational, from age 2 on up.” The band-in-a-box is particularly popular for mixed-age groups, she said.
Puzzles, toys, balls that light up when bounced — all are available for check out, Parker said. Some groups check out puppets and put on shows. Foam Frisbees, plastic vegetables and oversized dominoes for the visually impaired are also available.
“The funniest thing we have is a rubber chicken,” Parker said.
One college student planned on checking out items for her birthday party, Parker said.
The kits are wonderful tools during family gatherings or reunions, to get quiet members of the family talking or to keep conversation going when minds might otherwise might turn to TV, Parker said.
“It’s all conversation starters. Whatever can stimulate memories, talking, laughter.”
GUEST HOME Estates and its activity director, Phyllis Coltharp, regularly use the Bi-folkal kits.
On a recent afternoon, the activity room was packed with residents remembering the impact of World War II on life in Iola.
“I remember picking milkweed for the latex,” offered Bill Scheivmeir.
“I remember a comic strip of Captain Easy — he fought the Germans,” Scheivmeir added.
Coltharp prompted Scheivmeir about his family’s profession, beekeeping, while the group discussed replacements for white sugar, which was rationed during the war. Instead of sugar, people used honey for baking, many of the women in the group recalled.
“They gave you booklets (of ration coupons) for sugar, shoes and gasoline,” said Dorothy Hurst.
“You could purchase the items at the store, but only what you had coupons for,” added Russell Zornes.
But, let on Andrew Still, “B rations gave you twice as much as A rations.”
Still was a physician, and as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service during the war, he received the extended rations. His profession was considered crucial to the war effort.
“The more important you were to the government, the more gasoline you got,” he said.
Talk of the hardships imposed by the war led to other recollections.
“If you went swimming in dirty water, your legs would stop moving so well,” said Rosa Neal. Polio was common in the war era, and it was spread through unclean water.
Home remedies abounded.
“My dad would come with a cup of chopped up onion mixed with sugar in the middle of the night and say ‘eat this’ because you had the croupy cough,” Zornes recalled.
“My uncle would give you a hot pepper and it produced an artificial fever and you’d just sweat it out,” recalled John Jessamore of his family’s cold cure.
His mention of cod liver oil elicited a collective groan from the group. “And castor oil would clean you out,” he added.
Lye soap was used to dry the weeping rash of poison ivy, Coltharp noted.
It was also used to wash clothes.
“On wash day, you’d catch all the rain water you could,” said Pearl Green. “You’d put the suds in that, then you’d hang out the clothes to dry,” she said.
Neal noted her mother made their family soap of lye and bacon grease.
“If you got the lye on your hands and got it wet it would eat a hole in your hand,” she said of the caustic substance.
Russell noted his mother washed clothes in a washboard in the river.
Families — often the children — had to haul water from creeks and rivers to houses for daily use, said Green, and children bathed in washtubs in the yard. Water was heated on stoves stoked with coal, “Or whatever you could find to burn,” she said.
“I was born in the ’40s, so I grew up that way,” she added.
OTHER TIDBITS of daily life were remembered by looking at artifacts in the Bi-folkal kit.
An ad for leg makeup prompted Dorothy Hurst to inform “you didn’t have any hose during the war. The material was used for parachutes.” Instead, women used leg makeup, she said, which made their skin appear tan.
“If you got a sunburn you were all right,” joked Green.
While the group moaned at how much taxes have risen — they were $13.44 a year in Allen County in 1944, according to the kit —
overall, they are pleased things have changed.
Hilda Kimzey summed it up.
“It was hard living,” she said.
Belly dancing — for women only
If Ruth St. Clair could convey only one idea about belly dancing, it would be this: belly dancing is not erotica.
“It’s not a sexual thing,” St. Clair emphasizes. “It’s about women spending time with other women, having fun together.”
St. Clair, who has studied the dance form since 2005, has learned something of the dance’s history.
“Men were not allowed to see belly dancing,” St. Clair said. “The only time a man would see belly dancing was on his wedding night.”
Instead, St. Clair said, the dance was done by women, for women.
“When a woman would give birth, all the women would dance with her, and the movements would help bring the baby down,” she said. “Little girls would see their mothers and grandmothers dance, and when they reached puberty they would be welcomed into the circle.
“As Americans, we were the ones who changed it from being a historical dance to the ‘sex thing,’ people now think of it as.”
St. Clair, who recently returned to Iola after living in Alaska, had been teaching belly dance there as a way for women to get together, especially in the dark months of winter when outdoor activities eluded them.
“We had a good time,” she said of her Alaskan troupe. “You don’t have to be a size 2. It was a fun way to show them how to do something for themselves.”
In Alaska, St. Clair worked for the Office of Children’s Services.
“I investigated child abuse up and down the Aleutian coast,” she said.
One island community, Adak, had only about 100 year-round residents. Yet “Adak has these amazing facilities because it’s an old navy base,” St. Clair said.
Beside the gym and a fish processing plant, though, St. Clair said “It’s a pretty miserable place to be.
“It was a drinking community. The parent got drunk and abused their children.”
St. Clair asked herself, “What’s something I can show them to do besides drink?”
The women on Adak “found out I danced,” and the answer was obvious.
St. Clair began to teach them belly dancing “during my time off,” she said.
All 15 to 20 women of Adak, from teenagers to the elderly, took her class, she said. They began to focus on their health and community rather than on drinking.
St. Clair plans now to teach belly dancing in Iola.
“It’s low impact,” she said of the sinuous movements. “This a great thing to do, especially for a gal that might not try a hard aerobic activity. We can take it slow,” she said.
It also helps with back pain and “helps as you get older to keep the joints loose,” she noted. And, St. Clair said, because the movements replicate the rhythms of birth, “you exercise wen you have cramps and it helps.”
BELLY dancing originated about 6,000 years ago. It spread with gypsy dancers and was especially popular in the middle east.
In Turkey, “the women who were approaching marriageable age would come down from the mountains to the bigger cities and dance in the street,” St. Clair said. “People would throw coins at them and they would sew them into their veils.
“When the women went back to the mountains, the women who had collected the most coins were the most desired. They were the best dancers,” she said.
Belly dancing is distinctive in that “you dance barefoot,” St. Clair said. Dancers wear hip scarves tasseled with golden discs, representing the coins itinerant dancers collected. Flowing gossamer veils are sashayed about the head and body.
“Everything you do behind the veil is pretty because it adds an element of illusion,” St. Clair said.
There are various forms of belly dancing, she said, including tribal, which sports heavy belts and multi-layered costumes, to cabaret, with lighter fabrics and faster steps. A tribal belly belt might weigh about five pounds, whereas one for cabaret, which St. Clair teaches, weighs about 6 ounces.
In addition, St. Clair said, “There’s a a lot of shimmies in cabaret. To me, there’s a lot more movement.”
Belly dancing requires control. Legs and back and belly muscles are all involved. Arms are strengthened through swirling the veil. And posture is improved as dancers learn to stand with their pelvis tucked, St. Clair said.
Anyone, of any size, can learn, St. Clair said.
Some of the best dancers worldwide, she said, are, in fact, large women.
“We put too much value on women who are size 2,” she said of modem American culture. “Traditionally, those are not the women who were beautiful at all.”
ST. CLAIR’S belly dance class is being taught through the Iola Recreation Department. It begins Jan. 5 and runs six Tuesdays, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Cost is $35; veils and hip scarves will be provided. Interested women can register by calling the Iola Recreation Department at 365-4990. “If six or more women want a different time slot, I’m open” to teaching an additional class, St. Clair said.
And every woman is welcome, regardless of size, St. Clair noted. “As we said in Alaska, ‘Every belly is beautiful.’”
“It’s not a sexual thing,” St. Clair emphasizes. “It’s about women spending time with other women, having fun together.”
St. Clair, who has studied the dance form since 2005, has learned something of the dance’s history.
“Men were not allowed to see belly dancing,” St. Clair said. “The only time a man would see belly dancing was on his wedding night.”
Instead, St. Clair said, the dance was done by women, for women.
“When a woman would give birth, all the women would dance with her, and the movements would help bring the baby down,” she said. “Little girls would see their mothers and grandmothers dance, and when they reached puberty they would be welcomed into the circle.
“As Americans, we were the ones who changed it from being a historical dance to the ‘sex thing,’ people now think of it as.”
St. Clair, who recently returned to Iola after living in Alaska, had been teaching belly dance there as a way for women to get together, especially in the dark months of winter when outdoor activities eluded them.
“We had a good time,” she said of her Alaskan troupe. “You don’t have to be a size 2. It was a fun way to show them how to do something for themselves.”
In Alaska, St. Clair worked for the Office of Children’s Services.
“I investigated child abuse up and down the Aleutian coast,” she said.
One island community, Adak, had only about 100 year-round residents. Yet “Adak has these amazing facilities because it’s an old navy base,” St. Clair said.
Beside the gym and a fish processing plant, though, St. Clair said “It’s a pretty miserable place to be.
“It was a drinking community. The parent got drunk and abused their children.”
St. Clair asked herself, “What’s something I can show them to do besides drink?”
The women on Adak “found out I danced,” and the answer was obvious.
St. Clair began to teach them belly dancing “during my time off,” she said.
All 15 to 20 women of Adak, from teenagers to the elderly, took her class, she said. They began to focus on their health and community rather than on drinking.
St. Clair plans now to teach belly dancing in Iola.
“It’s low impact,” she said of the sinuous movements. “This a great thing to do, especially for a gal that might not try a hard aerobic activity. We can take it slow,” she said.
It also helps with back pain and “helps as you get older to keep the joints loose,” she noted. And, St. Clair said, because the movements replicate the rhythms of birth, “you exercise wen you have cramps and it helps.”
BELLY dancing originated about 6,000 years ago. It spread with gypsy dancers and was especially popular in the middle east.
In Turkey, “the women who were approaching marriageable age would come down from the mountains to the bigger cities and dance in the street,” St. Clair said. “People would throw coins at them and they would sew them into their veils.
“When the women went back to the mountains, the women who had collected the most coins were the most desired. They were the best dancers,” she said.
Belly dancing is distinctive in that “you dance barefoot,” St. Clair said. Dancers wear hip scarves tasseled with golden discs, representing the coins itinerant dancers collected. Flowing gossamer veils are sashayed about the head and body.
“Everything you do behind the veil is pretty because it adds an element of illusion,” St. Clair said.
There are various forms of belly dancing, she said, including tribal, which sports heavy belts and multi-layered costumes, to cabaret, with lighter fabrics and faster steps. A tribal belly belt might weigh about five pounds, whereas one for cabaret, which St. Clair teaches, weighs about 6 ounces.
In addition, St. Clair said, “There’s a a lot of shimmies in cabaret. To me, there’s a lot more movement.”
Belly dancing requires control. Legs and back and belly muscles are all involved. Arms are strengthened through swirling the veil. And posture is improved as dancers learn to stand with their pelvis tucked, St. Clair said.
Anyone, of any size, can learn, St. Clair said.
Some of the best dancers worldwide, she said, are, in fact, large women.
“We put too much value on women who are size 2,” she said of modem American culture. “Traditionally, those are not the women who were beautiful at all.”
ST. CLAIR’S belly dance class is being taught through the Iola Recreation Department. It begins Jan. 5 and runs six Tuesdays, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Cost is $35; veils and hip scarves will be provided. Interested women can register by calling the Iola Recreation Department at 365-4990. “If six or more women want a different time slot, I’m open” to teaching an additional class, St. Clair said.
And every woman is welcome, regardless of size, St. Clair noted. “As we said in Alaska, ‘Every belly is beautiful.’”
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