Encore Magazine December 2016 by Encore Magazine

The History of a House

December 2016

Eileen’s English Toffee

Meet Karen Trout

Uber-local Gifts

Southwest Michigan’s Magazine

A Guiding Light Fetzer Institute works for a more loving world

up front encore

the power of

one On its own, one gift can seem powerless. But when one

gift is added to another â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and another and another â&#x20AC;&#x201D; there is power in one. We support communities in every corner of Kalamazoo County. They all add up to one community. Our vision is for this community to be one where every person can reach full potential. When this vision is a reality, this community will be one where we all love to live. Your one gift can help. Text GIVE to 269.359.3376 or give online at www.kalfound.org/give.

2 | Encore OCTOBER 2015

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Eileen’s English Toffee

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December 2016

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The History of a House

A Guiding Light Fetzer Institute works for a more loving world

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olga bonfiglio, kara norman, emily townsend, robert m. weir

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www.encorekalamazoo.com 117 W. Cedar St. Suite A, Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Telephone: (269) 383-4433 Fax: (269) 383-9767 Email: Publisher@encorekalamazoo.com The staff at Encore welcomes written comment from readers, and articles and poems for submission with no obligation to print or return them. To learn more about us or to comment, visit encorekalamazoo.com. Encore subscription rates: one year $36, two years $70. Current single issue and newsstand $4, $10 by mail. Back issues $6, $12 by mail. Advertising rates on request. Closing date for space is 28 days prior to publication date. Final date for print-ready copy is 21 days prior to publication date. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by those interviewed and published here do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Encore Magazine or the official policies, owners or employees of Encore Publications.

December

CONTENTS 2016

FEATURES The History of a House

Toward a More Loving World

A little sleuthing can uncover a house's secrets

Fetzer Institute seeks to heal divisions through spiritual connections

DEPARTMENTS 6 Contributors

Up Front 8 First Things — Happenings in SW Michigan 10 Gifts Handcrafted Here — Great locally crafted gifts to give and get

Good Works

Savor Screaming for Eileen’s — Richland couple crafts mouth-watering toffee treats

Enterprise

Musical Medicine — Music therapy is hitting the right note with patients

The Value of Art — Kendra Eberts offers an appraising view of art

46 Back Story

Meet Karen Trout — This librarian helps to get people Reading Together

ARTS

36 The Reality Factory Renovations and imagination turn old factory into

creative incubator

40 Events of Note

On the cover: Steam rises from an obelisk that doubles as a cooling tower on the Fetzer Institute grounds. Photo by Brian Powers.

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CONTRIBUTORS

encore

Olga Bonfiglio There’s something about provenance in Olga’s writing this month. Not only does she introduce us to local fine art appraiser Kendra Eberts, who looks at the history behind art pieces (their “provenance”), but Olga also writes about the many area resources available to research the provenance of one’s house. In a story in a different vein, Olga explores the Western Michigan University music therapy program and research by Professor Ed Roth.

Kara Norman

Kara grew up on the East Coast and moved to Kalamazoo from Colorado two years ago. This month she writes about Eileen’s English Toffee, which, she says, really is the best toffee she’s had in her life. (She says their cookies are also out of this world.) Kara also reports on The Reality Factory, Dan and Emily Kastner’s whiz-bang small business incubator in the North Side neighborhood of Kalamazoo. As punk rock as Dan’s creative roots are, Kara says, he and Emily are completely engaging and, best of all, have great senses of humor. Read more of Kara’s work at karanorman.com.

Emily Townsend

What writer doesn’t like to be told to go shopping for a story? Emily embraced our challenge to fine “uber-local” gifts for holiday giving. From socks to lotion to spice packets and coloring books, she details some of the best ideas to give a little piece of your local heart to your loved ones. You can read more of her writing at soundandscrawl.com.

Robert M. Weir

Robert first explored the work of the Fetzer Institute in Encore’s February 2007 issue. After nearly a decade, he wanted to return to the institute to see how its mission had evolved. From working toward making the world a more loving and spiritual place to exploring how to heal American democracy, the institute is as inspiring today as it was 10 years ago, he says. Find more of Robert’s writing at robertmweir.com.

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up front encore

First Things Something Rockin’

Spend some time with the Million Dollar Quartet From Dec. 2-18, The Little Theatre will

be transformed into a rocking and rolling Sun Record Company recording studio for an impromptu jam session by Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley. Farmers Alley Theatre's presentation of Million Dollar Quartet, a Tony Awardwinning musical, will capture the historic 1956 recording session by the super group, which is considered a seminal moment in American music history. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays and tickets are $37. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit farmersalleytheatre.com or call 343-2727.

Something Musical Check out a rising star in the piano world when 27-year-old pianist Pavel Kolesnikov performs Dec. 4 in Kalamazoo. Now London-based, Kolesnikov was born in Siberia into a family of scientists. He studied both the piano and violin for 10 years before focusing solely on piano. He currently attends the Royal College of Music and won international attention with his 2013 award-winning album, Tchaikovsky: The Seasons. His newest album, Chopin Mazurkas, has been praised as “trippy.” Kolesnikov’s performance, which is part of The Gilmore’s Rising Stars series, begins at 4 p.m. at Wellspring Theater, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall. Tickets are $25, $6 for students. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit thegilmore.org/ rising-stars or call 342-1166.

8 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

Colin Way

Russian pianist to perform

encore up front

Something Unusual Get weird with Bell’s

Other cities may want to "stay weird,” but Kalamazoo is happy to be the most eccentric city in the U.S. thanks to Bell’s Brewery’s Eccentric Day. The annual “Come as You Aren’t” party where the norm is abnormal, everyone dresses as weirdly as possible and strange foods are on the buffet will be held Dec. 9 at Bell’s Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. In addition to more weirdness than you can shake a stick at, the event also offers a night of music from Flynt Flossy & Turquoise Jeep, The All American Funk Parade, Saxsquatch & Bridge Band, M. Sord, Analog Ancestry and other performers. The party starts at 9 a.m. and carries on until 2 a.m. Admission is free, but be prepared for waiting lines out the door and down the block as the evening progresses. But, then again, standing around with a bunch of other weirdly dressed people is part of the fun. For more information, visit bellsbeer.com/event/eccentric-day or call 382-2332.

Something Kind

Underwear Party benefits the homeless Underwear and party are two words that aren't necessarily meant to be uttered together in the same breath, but Ministry with Community does so successfully and tastefully. For 17 years, Ministry with Community’s annual Underwear Party has raised awareness, money, winter clothes and underwear for Kalamazoo's homeless population. This year, they will do it again on Dec. 5 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel, 100 W. Michigan Ave. The event, held from 5-7 p.m., will feature live music, a cash bar, appetizers and a 50/50 raffle, where the winner and the organization split the pot. Attendees are encouraged to bring a donation of new winter apparel and undergarments. Cash donations will also be accepted. For more information, visit ministrywithcommunity.com or call 343-6073.

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up front encore

Handcrafted Here

Great uber-local gifts to give and get this season by

Emily Townsend

If you love Kalamazoo, there’s no better way to share your hometown pride with others

this season than by giving them a little piece of the Mall City or its nearby environs. We’ve done the legwork to find great local items to give as gifts or to take to gatherings (because that’s what we do during the holidays — give and gather). And with everything from caramels to coloring books, socks to salad tongs, we’ve got all ages and tastes covered.

For Giving

3. The Original Michigan Salad Servers

1. Dragon Fruit Two-Tone Tie-Dye Socks

These handcrafted utensils are made with Southwest Michigan maple, cherry and walnut wood.

Hip tie-dye? Not an oxymoron. These flamboyant footsies are custom-dyed and made from bamboo.

Made by: Rutgers Wooden Spoon and Utensil Co., Kalamazoo Price: $45

Made by: Bambüz, Kalamazoo

Buy at: Food Dance Market, 401 E. Michigan Ave.; Sticks & Stones, 124 S. Kalamazoo Mall; Natural Health Center, 4610 W. Main St.

Fun gifts for anyone and everyone

Price: $12 Buy at: Sawall Health Foods, 2965 Oakland Drive; Love Your Mother, 39 N. Main St., Three Rivers

4. Mad Love Hat

2. Handcrafted Hand Lotion

This cotton, seven-panel hat with a woven label patch features a flat bill, brass metal eyelets and a premium leather strap in the back. The hat is designed and printed by Handmade Kalamazoo.

Made by: Opulent Blends, Kalamazoo Price: $8 Buy at: Tromblay, 627 S. Burdick St.; People’s Food Co-op, 507 Harrison St. Website: opulentblends.com

5 6

Website: etsy.com/shop/ rutgerswoodenspoon

Website: bambuzsocks.com

Opulent Blends body products are made with natural ingredients and are grease-free and silky. Try the Lavender Essentials lotion to feel calm and spoiled at the same time.

Price: $24 Buy at: Handmade Kalamazoo, 509 W. Vine St. Website: handmadekalamazoo.com/hats/ mad-love-panel-hat

10 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

encore up front

5. Born & Raised Youth Tee

8. Spice Packets

Let the little ones show off their roots with incredibly soft T-shirts that say “Born & Raised Kalamazoo”. The shirts are made in WRAP-certified (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) facilities, which means they are made without sweatshop labor or child labor. The artwork is designed and then printed on the shirts at Handmade Kalamazoo.

These spice packets let do-it-yourselfers bake up a batch of kale chips in their own kitchen. They also make great seasonings for vegetables, popcorn, marinades and dressings.

Price: $15 Buy at: Handmade Kalamazoo Website: handmadekalamazoo.com/youth/ born-raised-youth-tee

6. Kalamazoo Coloring Book Color Kalamazoo your way with this coloring book featuring 31 drawings of the city by graphic artist and Kalamazoo native Simon Kalil Borst.

Made by: Simon Kalil Borst, Kalamazoo Price: $15.95 Buy at: Bookbug, 3019 Oakland Drive

Website: bookbugkalamazoo.com

Made by: Kaleamazoo Chips, Kalamazoo Price: $3 Buy at: Irving’s Deli, Juicy Leaf, People's Food Co-op, Sawall Health Foods Website: mkt.com/kaleamazoo-chips/

9. The Mitten Cider This Michigan cider is a blend of last season's pressed apples, aged in bourbon barrels for up to one year, then sweetened with this year's fresh-pressed apple juice. It has notes of vanilla, caramel and charred oak and comes in 765-milliliter bottles. Made by: Virtue Cider, Fennville Price: $19.99 Buy at: Tiffany’s Wine & Spirits, 1714 W. Main St.; Virtue Cider, 2170 62nd St. (just south of 122nd Ave.), Fennville Website: virtuecider.com/themitten

For Gathering

Great items to give your hosts or share with guests 7. Kale Chip Gift Jar Michigan kale and organic ingredients are handcrafted with love into a delicious and healthy snack. This jar makes for a great gift or potluck contribution, and the label peels off for easy reuse. Made by: Kaleamazoo Chips, Kalamazoo

Price: $20 Buy at: Irving’s Deli, 125 S. Kalamazoo Mall; Juicy Leaf, 316 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Suite 104; People's Food Co-op; Sawall Health Foods

10. J uniper, Lime and Mint Caramels These milk chocolate caramels are created with fair-trade organic chocolate using original recipes by chocolatier Dale Anderson and made by employees who have barriers to regular employment. Made by: Confections with Conviction, Kalamazoo Price: $15 for a box of nine Buy at: Confections with Conviction, 116 W. Crosstown Parkway Website: confectionswithconvictions.com

Website: mkt.com/kaleamazoo-chips

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Good works encore

‘Seems Like Magic’

Music therapy can be medicine for the brain by

Olga Bonfiglio

n the 1990 film Awakenings, Robin Williams plays a neurologist who treated catatonic patients who had survived the 1917-28 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica but had been in comas for decades. When he gave them doses of the drug L-Dopa and music, the patients “woke up,” moved their bodies and even danced. “This was a clear result of the patients’ interaction with music,” says Dr. Edward Roth, professor and researcher of music therapy at Western Michigan University. “Back in 1969, when the film takes place, no one knew what the underlying mechanisms were to explain the changes in behavior.” Today’s brain research shows that rhythm affects dopamine, a neurotransmitter that organizes behavior, stabilizes movement and affects mood states like motivation, joy and happiness. “People have been using music in this way for millennia,” says Roth. “It’s not a newfound phenomenon. What we do is explore and understand the physiology of mood fluctuations that result because of the music.” Roth’s research focuses on children who have experienced trauma, and it may expand to include children who have autism. A phenomenon that occurs with both of these groups is known as alexithymia, where the children are unable to use speech to express their emotions. Through the use of music, they are provided a tool to be able to express themselves. For example, children will practice the basic components of interaction with one another by extemporaneously creating music at the piano and on pitched percussion instruments. Children improvise interactively with each other and the music therapist to emulate verbal dialogue in a way that is often much more emotionally salient than verbal discussion. “We try to understand the underlying neurological, physiological and psychological processes that provide for an experience of trust, social connectedness and bonding through improvisation experiences

12 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

Client Kaley Severson, left, engages in a drumming session during music therapy with WMU professor Ed Roth.

that allow participants to express emotions,” says Roth, whose research has taken him to conferences and teaching assignments in Australia, Canada and Europe. “The idea behind this is that if we can explain the mechanisms, then we can build better interventions and increase access to services.” Music has been shown to have a profound impact on the human brain due to the diffuse activity that it evokes and that is required when one is listening to and performing music. It lends itself to repetitive types of therapies because of the inherent temporal and pitch patterns that take advantage of the brain’s plasticity (adaptability to change), resulting in modification of thoughts, behaviors and emotions, says Roth. For example, in a healthy social interaction, one person talks while the other listens — and vice versa. This interaction also mirrors the

“trading fours” sequence found in jazz music, when individual musicians alternate playing four bars of music, followed by the whole band playing large sections together. “Music is different than spoken language, but it’s governed by most of the same rules and structures,” says Roth. “It’s not a metaphor but the same kind of process we engage in in real life.” Music therapy research has grown over the past 15 years. It used to be rooted in social science, but with the use of technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the field has allied itself more with the neurosciences. As a result, clinicians have better tools to monitor and treat their patients — and they are seeing better outcomes for them as well. “That’s part of our purpose,” says Roth, “to apply scientific rigor to understand what music has been used for since ancient times. In this way we are able to observe people’s reactions to music and apply objective analyses and explanations. This can contribute

to more holistic diagnoses and provide therapies that include greater predictability toward meaningful improvement in a patient’s life.” Music has always played an important role in Roth’s life. As a percussionist, Roth learned through music how to feel connected, be on a team and go through the repetitive process of practice. As a high school football player, he experienced similar outcomes. “Sports develops one’s focus, motivation, determination and assertiveness, while music requires all of that as well as a wider diversity of emotional flexibility such as sensitivity and openness to the will of others,” says Roth. “Both are important in children’s development.” That’s why Roth is concerned when music programs are cut from school curricula. Music is a legitimate subject in its own right, he says, and it seems to help students perform well in other subjects. Ed Roth is researching how music therapy helps children who have experienced trauma.

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Good works encore

“Music is life,” he says. “Real life is practiced and takes place within musical structures, not in a poetic way, but through nearly identical processes.” WMU has one of the nation’s top music therapy programs, attracting not only U.S. students but students from other countries to its bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. The program has grown from 40 students in 2000 to nearly 130 students today. When provided by a national-board-certified music therapist, therapeutic music interventions are structured to address a wide variety of patient needs, including motor, communication, cognitive and socio-emotional rehabilitation. Music therapists often employ techniques to alleviate pain, increase self-regulation of mood, improve academic performance for children with intellectual impairments, and manage stress. Music therapy is also used to ease respiratory distress, help people with cancer cope with the disease, improve attention and memory functioning in individuals with dementia, and inspire life review in palliative and end-of-life care. Music therapists can be found in nearly every area of the helping professions. Many of them are employed in state psychiatric hospitals, while others work with patients in hospitals, cancer centers, schools, substance abuse recovery programs and correctional facilities. Music is also believed to provide social cohesion. Early humans used music to protect themselves against aggressors by banging

More Info on Music Therapy For more information about music therapy, contact WMU’s Music Therapy Clinic at www.wmich.edu/musictherapy/clinic. sticks together to make themselves seem larger in number. This would give would-be attackers the notion that their enemies were organized, big, mean and loud and dissuade them from attacking. The military has used music for similar purposes since the 16th century, when war ballads described particular conflicts or leaders wanted to motivate their armies to support a patriotic cause. “We feel closer, more connected, when we chant or play rhythmically together,” says Roth. “The use of music as therapy is amazing and seems like magic,” he adds, “but through science we try to understand the mechanisms without making the process any less magical. In this way, basic science and clinical research have the same end game: to increase the effectiveness of therapy and to create better access for those who need the therapies.”

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savor encore

Screaming for Eileen’s

Toffee makers say customers crave their no-stick sweets by

Kara Norman

Brian Powers

adies come to my table and just go crazy. They scream.” There are not a lot of 60-year-old men who can say that, but Phil Bauman, co-owner of Eileen’s English Toffee, can. Bauman and his wife, Lisa, say they get that reaction a lot when they sell their wares at craft shows and festivals — whether it's for their crisp, smooth toffee squares, luscious soft toffee brownies, buttery toffee cookies or just plain crumbles of crunchy goodness inside crinkly cellophane bags. At their 3-year-old shop inside a cozy Colonial-style cottage in Richland, delectable edibles perch on immaculate shelves, lit like starlets on a stage. The Baumans bake their treats daily, so everything is fresh. Their toffee, made in 18-pound batches, is $6 per quarter pound, $11 per half pound and $20 per pound. The Baumans are sticklers about the quality of their toffee’s four ingredients — sugar, chocolate, almonds and butter — which add up to what they describe as toffee “made to crumble in your mouth and not stick to your teeth!”

16 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

encore Savor

Above: Lisa and Phil Bauman make and sell their toffee treats in a Richland cottage. Opposite page: Samples of Eileen’s toffee look as good as they taste. At far left is the namesake for their business, Phil Bauman’s mother, Eileen.

Toffee that does stick to your teeth is a big, um, sticking point for them. “Eight out of 10 dentists recommend our toffee for their patients that eat toffee,” jokes Bauman. His wife chuckles at his joke, but the nostickiness factor is something the makers of Eileen’s English Toffee take seriously. “In London, the toffee will break your teeth. They sell it with a small hammer actually,” Bauman says as he piles squares of toffee, brownies and butter toffee cookies onto a glass plate, insisting they be consumed. “I hate to do this to you,” he adds, with a bit of a twinkle in his eye. “We’ll start off with toffee, then we’ll go to cookies and brownies.” Eileen’s is named after Phil’s deceased mother, who was a nurse for the British

Women’s Royal Navy during World War II and a hostess and cook who always served dessert with dinner. She met Phil’s father, Arthur Bauman, in Italy during the war. He was the personal photographer for U.S. Navy Adm. Henry Kent Hewitt at the time. After marrying in Naples, Bauman’s parents settled in Washington state to raise a family. The toffee recipe is a family one hailing from Camberly, in the County of Surrey, England, where Eileen grew up. It produces a product that avoids being overly sweet, says Phil. “I’ll see people from London pass my table at shows and say, ‘Oh, we have the best toffee in London,’” he says. “I’ll say, ‘Thirty-six miles south of London in Camberly, Surrey, it crumbles in your mouth and doesn’t stick.’ They try it and often say, ‘This is the best toffee I’ve had in my life.’” The dainty treat doesn’t appeal just to the ladies. Bauman says men buy their toffee all

the time. “And not for their wives either,” he insists. “They buy it for themselves.” When Bauman explains their toffee’s origins — how his mother used to make it for friends and family in Washington — he slips into the slightest hint of a faux British accent (he was raised in the U.S.). Then he switches to an intense sales pitch that could make a QVC host blush: “We bake our toffee into the best brownie you’ve ever had in your life, or your money back. We crumble it into our coffee in the morning and our ice cream at night. We even put it in our pancakes and our porridge. We also make beautiful macaroons with salted caramel English toffee and coconut and beautiful dark chocolate.” Before starting Eileen’s, Bauman sold insurance to U.S. military personnel in Japan and built English gardens in California, Colorado and Richland. He met Lisa, who is from Plainwell, 28 years ago while landscaping homes in Richland and proposed marriage to her over the phone from Japan so they would stop racking up $600 phone bills. In 2000, Lisa’s brother, Steven DeLoof, built Shagbark Golf Club in Plainwell and the Baumans left Japan to start The Lodge restaurant on its grounds. The restaurant prospered, but when Lisa’s brother died from colon cancer in 2004, the Baumans closed it. They thought about opening a new restaurant, but with liquor licenses costing $250,000, they changed course. Phil went back to landscaping and Lisa worked for her sister, Laurie Pruitt, who owns Folio Salon & Boutique in downtown Kalamazoo. The couple started making toffee for friends, one of whom commissioned them to make it as a Christmas present. The friend sent it to 100 people all over the U.S. “That’s really what jump-started this,” Lisa says. “We realized we had something. Those

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Eileen’s English Toffee Location: 8814 Gull Road, Richland Hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday– Saturday; winter hours: 11a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday–Saturday Phone: 269-352-5102 Website: EileensEnglishToffee.com people wanted to order more, and word started spreading.” “And my back was getting tired of landscaping,” Phil adds. In 2012, Eileen’s English Toffee was born in the Baumans’ home. A year later, they opened the shop on Gull Road, which has a kitchen where they now make their products. In addition to the namesake product, the shop carries lemon bars, honey lavender cookies and artisan blended teas. And it also sells gourmet dog treats, which are made by hand and include such wholesome ingredients that a human could safely eat one. The Baumans share their fully licensed kitchen with Phil’s cousin Ruth Lingbeek, who runs Pick-Me-Up Pies and on a misty morning in late September was busy sending out 20 pies for a wedding. With help from the shop’s other employee, Western Michigan University student Joshua Gray, Lingbeek keeps both businesses running from January through March every year while the Baumans winter in Florida and sell their toffee at craft shows. In Florida, the Baumans meet people from all over the country who go home in the spring and, much like the rest of their craft show customers, continue ordering toffee all year long.

encore Enterprise

Evaluating Value

Kendra Eberts takes an appraising view of art by

Olga Bonfiglio

The art of art appraisal has changed a lot, thanks to technology, she says. “There are hundreds of art appraisers all over the country who conduct appraisals from about 60,000 categories of paintings, sculpture, pottery, furniture, etc.,” she says. “In pre-eBay days there were only 600 popular categories.” When Eberts is working to put a value on a collection, she relies on set systems that have protocols, uniform standards of professional appraisal practice and, of course, regulations for IRS tax purposes. Such work requires much research. That’s because the art market isn’t static. It moves with changes in taste and overall economic trends. Eberts, however, isn’t afraid to admit that she doesn’t know everything about every category of art. “Appraisers and collectors alike develop areas of specialization, and my experience began with photographs and fine-art prints. I’ve built Art appraiser Kendra Eberts evaluates the value of a variety of fine art, funriture and decorative items.

Brian Powers

eople have collected artistic objects since antiquity, but who tells them if their collections are worth more than sentimental value? That’s Kendra Eberts’ job. Eberts, the owner of Key Art Group, is one of a handful of art appraisers in southwestern Michigan. She researches and establishes the value of fine art, furniture and decorative items for insurance and IRS-related purposes, such as estate-tax filing and non-cash charitable contributions. She also helps collectors by providing market evaluations and collectionmanagement services. In addition, she helps artists with the business side of their art career by managing their inventory, doing marketing and providing guidance about gallery relationships. Eberts grew up in Kalamazoo and studied art and art history at Kalamazoo College. She received a certificate in appraisal studies in fine and decorative arts through New York University after earning a master’s degree in fine and decorative art from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York. She returned to Kalamazoo and opened her business in 2012.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 19

up my knowledge of decorative arts and household items and become a generalist. If there is an extraordinary object to appraise outside of my area of comfort, I can consult an expert within my network of appraisers from the Appraisers Association of America.” Eberts says many factors help determine the value of an art piece, such as the acclaim of the artist or maker, the style and medium of the piece, its condition and its subject matter. One of the most important ways to assess the value and authenticity of an art piece is by its “provenance,” she says, “which is the ownership and financial history of an object.” Appraisers are required to consider the provenance of fine and decorative objects to rule out the possibility of the items being looted or stolen property. Today, with the legal and ethical issues surrounding antiquities as cultural property and bans on art made from elephant ivory, questionable provenance negatively affects an artwork’s value, and some appraisers will decline such assignments. In other instances, provenance can add “associational value.” “A famous example,” says Eberts, “is Sotheby’s sale of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ triple-strand faux pearl necklace. It was estimated at $500 but sold for $200,000 because she made pearls iconic. That’s the celebrity factor of provenance adding to the value.” The majority of objects Eberts appraises don’t have this “Jackie effect,” but in determining a work’s value, she does consider whether it was owned by a notable family, collector or institution. Beyond provenance is the comparison of an object with the overall art market. Fair market prices are often established based on selling prices for art made public by auction houses such as Sotheby’s in London and Christie’s in New York, and sometimes those prices can be high. “It’s more difficult to find information to compare for valuations based on past sales in the Midwest because there are fewer markets here than in New York, San Francisco and Santa Fe, for example,”

Brian Powers

Enterprise ENCORE

Left: Eberts studies works of art, such as this portrait, for clues on the piece’s history. Above: Eberts is qualified to appraise a variety of art objects.

says Eberts. “I gather information by building relationships across the country as well as with local dealers and artists in southwestern Michigan, especially in art hubs like Saugatuck and Douglas.” Art appraisers also look at the primary and secondary markets for comparison. The “primary market” is the place where art is sold for the first time by the artist or an art dealer. Art sold in the “secondary

20 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

EXHIBITIONS

market” has traded hands beyond the initial buyer, such as through auction houses like Sotheby’s, Christie’s, DuMouchelles in Detroit or Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago. Other secondary markets include galleries, estate sales and even flea markets. Eberts says her own time training at Sotheby’s was invaluable to her career. “I had a wonderful hands-on experience with all kinds of art and decorative objects. In addition to learning the object’s context in art and social histories, I was trained in art handling, how to detect condition issues, and dealing with the legal, tax and insurance aspects of the business.” And while there are undoubtedly great opportunities in bigger markets, Eberts says Kalamazoo offers its own unique environment. “There are hundreds of art appraisers and thousands of galleries in New York,” she says, “but I found meaningful opportunities here in Kalamazoo, a city known for supporting the arts.” In Kalamazoo, Eberts says, she is able to promote art appreciation and local artists. She is chair of the KIA Kirk Newman Art School Holiday Sale Committee, which plans a three-day sale of student and faculty artwork and is the school’s main fundraising event. In addition, she is a member of the Art Committee for Bronson Methodist Hospital, where she facilitates its annual employee art show. “I really enjoyed being able to do that,” she says. “It was fun to see a variety of works that people created. Showcasing employees’ talents is an excellent way to promote workplace engagement, and the employees were excited to see what their colleagues created.” For more information about Eberts, visit keyartgroup.com.

Scaled Up: Sculpture by Marcia Wood Poetry of Content: Five Contemporary Representational Artists (right) Luminescence: From Salvage to Seascape, Sculpture by Sayaka Ganz (left) Wadada Leo Smith: Ankhrasmation, The Language Scores, 1967-2015

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The

History of a House

A little sleuthing can help uncover a home’s past story by

Olga Bonfiglio

photography by

Brian Powers

One family’s history lesson: Learning from the layers

hen Elizabeth and Aaron Lane-Davies bought a house at 611 Park Street, they knew it was in a historic district and that it was old. Relics left in the house’s rock-wall basement — including a giant steam press for ironing bed linens and antique furniture — told them that. What they didn’t know, though, was what the house looked like when it was originally built in the 1870s and that the house they bought wasn’t just one house but three. “Back then, labor was cheaper than materials, so when the owners wanted to expand their house, they bought two smaller houses and moved them and tacked them onto the original structure,” says Elizabeth Lane-Davies.

24 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

The house’s original staircase, obscured by renovations over the years, has been opened up by the Lane-Davieses.

This knowledge came from a little sleuthing using historical resources that are surprisingly abundant in Kalamazoo, thanks to excellent collections kept by Western Michigan University, the Kalamazoo Public Library, government offices and other institutions. “It’s like detective work, where you find bits of information and put together a puzzle,” says Lynn Houghton, WMU regional history collections curator. “You may not find all the pieces, but you gather what you can and maybe down the road you find out more. It’s always a work in progress when you do a ‘genealogy of a house.’” w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 25

The Lane-Davies family has lived in Kalamazoo for the past 17 years, since they came here for Aaron’s medical residency at what was then the Kalamazoo Center for Medical StudiesBronson. Aaron, a native of Kalamazoo, is now the chief of staff at Bronson Methodist Hospital. Two years ago the couple decided to buy a historic house in the Vine neighborhood that they could restore and eventually rent out. Because of the house’s proximity to the WMU medical school and based on their own experiences during Aaron’s time as a medical student, the couple hoped they could provide housing attractive to the school’s students. “We came and we stayed, and we believe it’s important for medical students to be comfortable when they are going to school,” Elizabeth says. “Providing housing for them is a way of keeping good talent in Kalamazoo, so we became landlords in the Vine neighborhood. We love this old neighborhood.” It turns out that medical students favor this neighborhood not only because it is a walkable and bikeable distance to downtown Kalamazoo and the medical school’s campus, but also because it is abundant with character. When finished, the LaneDavies house will have an apartment for a couple on one side and a larger space on the other side, encompassing the first and second floors, for six other renters to share. Aaron and Elizabeth hope that the co-housing unit will be used by medical students because research has shown, Elizabeth says, that medical students who live with other medical students have a higher level of success, due to increased support, connections and accountability. But before the couple launched into renovating the house, which has certain historic district restrictions on what can be done to the exterior, they enlisted the help of their twins, Hayden and Hannah, 17, to research the house’s history. The family is living in the house while they work on it, and having the twins use their research skills to discover the history of the house helped engage them in the project. While such research might seem like a daunting task, Hayden says he was rather unruffled by it. “I spent some time on the second floor of the Kalamazoo Public Library, where I got opinions about where to look for this information,” he says, referring to the library’s local history department located on its upper level. 26 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

Hayden looked at microfilm records and picture books of the city’s oldest houses and found evidence of the original Park Street house as a genteel single-family dwelling. The house was later divided into smaller rooms to be used as a boarding house. Hayden also checked telephone books and Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for background on the house and its owners. “There was a surprising amount of information available,” he says. “What it took at this point was visualizing the house as it was, based on the physical evidence, imagining what it used to look like and studying a bit of architectural history of the period.” (continued on page 28)

This page, clockwise from top left: Differing cornices and moldings gave clues to the house’s history; a women's boot found inside a wall during renovation; under layers of paint and wallpaper, the owners discovered horsehair plaster walls and water damage; the window on the stairway is partially obscured by an outside porch added to the home after it was built. Opposite page, left to right: Lynn Houghton with many of the historic maps and books one can access for information on a house; Beth Timmerman helps a patron view microfilm at the Kalamazoo Public Library.

Resources for researching the history of your house include photographs and details such as the number of rooms and prices the house sold for over the years.

Kalamazoo Public Library A wealth of reference materials can be found at the library, including: • Census data collected by the U.S. government. In addition to population census information, the library has the Agricultural Census, which starts in 1850 and lists a farmer’s name, the crops growing on the farm, the number and type of animals the farm had, and the quantity of products produced. “The 1880s were especially interesting times, and you see how people lived,” says Beth Timmerman, local history reference librarian at the Kalamazoo Public Library. “Lots of people were coming to Kalamazoo from the East, and there were also a lot of immigrants. Personal information was collected through the government census, and now, after 72 years (dictated by privacy laws), it is available to the public.” • Kalamazoo city deeds, from 1831-1903 are available on microfilm.

Brian Powers

One of the most common questions local history reference librarians get is: What is the history of my house? Typically they will answer with a question: What do you already know? The pervasiveness of the Internet has led people into thinking that all they need on the history of their house is readily available. Ancestry.com and Google are helps, but they are just a starting point, says Lynn Houghton, regional history collections curator at WMU. “Sources were produced for a reason,” she says. “At the time, people and businesses collected information for their own purposes, not for historic reasons. There is a lot on the Internet, but not everything. That’s why we store files and files of records in the archives." Among the local reources you can tap into are:

WMU Archives and Regional History Collections Located at the Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center on Oakland Drive, the collection holds university, local and regional government records, including: • Polk City Directories, which start in the 1860s, list a person’s address, phone number, occupation and place of employment as well as various businesses that existed at the time. • Chad maps (named after the company that produced them) show housing developments and plats in the area, beginning in the 1830s. • Sanborn Maps were produced for fire departments and insurance companies. Sanborn Maps of downtown Kalamazoo date from 1887-1932 and are digitally accessible. The maps can indicate the type of building and its materials. • Bird’s-eye view maps are artistically sketched maps that were precursors to aerial maps. Although they are an artist’s rendition of the city, they are useful in finding individual houses on a block and to see what the city looked like in a particular period. • Real estate listing cards detailing homes for sale were produced from the last half of the 19th century until the early 1970s and

• Vital statistics such as the county’s birth and death records are on microfilm at the library, along with marriage records that date back to the 1830s. • Newspaper obituaries are a useful source for piecing together relationships that can be of help in identifying owners of houses. The Kalamazoo Telegraph covers the years 1845-1916 while the Kalamazoo Gazette starts in 1837. • Historical documents for the city of Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo County are listed under H977.418 and include many records and photos that are digitized, posted and downloadable on Archive.org. • Genealogical records of many people who once lived in Kalamazoo are at the library as well, including The Meader Collection (920.M481), put together by Robert Meader, a minister who started a collection of brief biographies and photographs of World War II veterans of Kalamazoo. He later included other people in town. (continued on page 29) w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 27

He also talked to the previous owners of the house, from whom he learned that Edna Ferber, author of So Big (1924), Showboat (1926), Cimarron (1929) and Giant (1952), had lived in a house next door as a toddler before her shopkeeper parents moved the family elsewhere. The house later burned down and was replaced by two other houses. When the Lane-Davieses tackled the interior renovation of their house, they learned that what is now their first-floor “media room” was once a kitchen with a crawl space. “The foundation of a house below the rooms is key to understanding the shape of the house,” says Elizabeth, who learned that trick from Sharon Ferraro, coordinator of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. “Sharon was an invaluable help to us.” Renovating a house can reveal other information, like its age and the materials used. Peeling back old wallpaper and seeing the colors of previously used paint showed the Lane-Davieses that the house was really three houses put together. This fact was confirmed by the different kinds of molding used around the windows in different sections of the house and by the difference in wood flooring from one room to the next. In one part of the house, the Lane-Davieses tried to save the plaster and in the process learned that it was made with horsehair. “We try to protect and preserve as much of the old materials as possible,” says Elizabeth. They also uncovered pocket doors unique to the period of the house that had been hidden in the walls during one of many renovations of the structure, and they uncovered the original wood shake shingles on the roof. The house also has a majestic curved staircase that had been obscured when the home was divided into apartments. The Lane-Davieses removed closets to open it up and uncovered a window on the staircase that was covered over. That’s when they discovered the house’s wraparound porch was not original to the structure but added on sometime between 1910 and 1920, after the three houses had been joined together. As a result, the porch's roof blocks the lower half of the window on the staircase. “People used to cobble things together in their house to meet particular needs,” says Elizabeth, who says the thought is that the wrap-around porch was added to make the structure “more stately” like the homes built a few blocks away on South Street. In September, at a garage sale, the Lane-Davieses happened upon an 1883 illustrated drawing showing a bird’s-eye view of Kalamazoo. The illustration shows not only its home’s original shape but the homes of their neighbors. They found that not only did their house not have a porch, but it had a third-floor tower above the entryway that is no longer there. They are now thinking about restoring the tower. 28 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

Brian Powers

Lessons (continued from page 26)

Counter-clockwise from top: New materials in a renovated kitchen capture the house’s historic feel; a decorative shutter may be covering what was once a window on the staircase; an interior view of one of the home’s rooms; a wraparound porch was added about 40 years after the house was built.

But through it all, a renovation which is taking years, rather than the months they hoped, the LaneDavieses are sticking to one principle: “We are trying to bring back and highlight the original beauty of the house,” says Elizabeth.

Resources (continued from page 27) • The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) collection of information of families whose sons and daughters served in both world wars (H940.53). • Historical photos of Kalamazoo, notably The Mamie Austin Collection, which came from a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project of the 1930s and the Wallace White Collection which documents Kalamazoo buildings in the late 1800s.

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• City clerks' offices have building permits that indicate changes in reconstruction and renovation. These offices also keep track of deeds and vital records. Deeds can include information on buyers, sellers, wills, property descriptions and probate records and, sometimes, Have Southwest Michigan’s inventories of household items. HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR favorite magazine • Tombstone inscriptions canPARTICIPATING be helpful CONTRACTOR CO-OP ADVERTISING BONNIE JO delivered to PROGRAM your home or office! CAMPBEL since death records were not kept by the L state government until 1867. Resources Subscribe online at available for each of the county’sPRINT nearly 80ADS—COMFORT MESSAGE OPTIONencorekalamazoo.com cemeteries can be found at kpl.gov/localPlacement suggestion—Horizontal Ad: 5.5” Xor5.5” call 269-383-4433. history/kalamazoo-county-cemeteries. • Tax records at city or county assessors’ offices can provide information about a house and its owners, including when a property was purchased and sold. • Oral histories from neighbors may give clues about a house’s exterior and interior features and the people who lived there. Contacting those who lived in the neighborhood as children can be helpful. • Special institutional collections provide valuable information as well. For example, Your ad goes here Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. records are especially good for rural areas and are available through the Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society. In addition, other institutions collect Correct the weak spots that are stealing your comfort and money information on the city’s history and Encore readers call today for 50% off a comprehnsive energy audit (Reg. $450) work with the library to assist patrons in (269) 383-7862 • thebetterworldbuilders.com researching their houses. For example, knowing about the interior of a house is always a challenge. Although the Kalamazoo Valley Museum collects * period artifacts and textiles and has more Get rebates up to $3,500* from than 20,000 photos that can provide an Consumers Energy for Home Performance idea of what interiors looked like during a with ENERGY STAR®Program improvements. particular time period. “We are so lucky that people did care about saving these things so that we can Funds are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. This offer is valid for Learn more at Consumers Energy residential customers only. Not valid for new home construction. No cash value. Limit one redemption per Consumers Energy account. ConsumersEnergy.com/myhome have them today,” says Timmerman. How Beads Help Kids with Canc er

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An Illuminating Mission

30 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

The Fetzer Institute is working toward a more loving world story by

Robert m. weir

Brian Powers

ohn Fetzer wanted to build a better world and set the foundation for it by establishing The Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo in 1954. The broadcast media executive was devoted to unconditional love, which he said “is the unifying energy field that mobilizes the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual resources in the caring and sharing with one another.” Fetzer’s vision of utilizing what he saw as the high-vibrational energy of unconditional love to help build a more spiritual, more loving world is the cornerstone of the work of the Fetzer Institute. Based on what the institute’s leaders and staff have learned by bringing together futuristic thinkers for meaningful dialogue, the institute has implemented and funded a number of programs that focus on “mind-body-spirit connection,” “love and forgiveness,” and integration of one’s “inner life of mind and spirit” with one’s “outer life of action and service.” Admittedly, such philosophical and even esoteric paradigms can be a challenge to implement in a world in which many business, political and social models still adhere to a Darwinistic dog-eat-dog mindset, but the institute is undaunted in its mission. Bob Boisture, CEO and president of the Fetzer Institute, notes that today’s global physical world includes advanced technological resources that “could enable every person on the planet to live in dignity, sufficiency and security.” However, fueled by racial conflicts, religious phobia and polarization in the democratic process, “we also have the power to destroy ourselves and the planet in multiple ways,” he adds. “Our future is in our hands, but it is much more in our hearts. We need to be courageous in affirming that the only adequate answer is love.” A former attorney in Washington, D.C., specializing in assistance to nonprofits, Boisture was an advisor to the Fetzer board from 1993 to 2011, when he officially became a member of the board. He stepped into the top leadership position in March 2013. Since he has taken the helm, Boisture says, the institute has striven “to talk more about our The Fetzer Institute’s building glows on an autumn night. w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 31

His Life and Legacy The Fetzer Institute, founded in 1954, is the living legacy of John Earl Fetzer. Born in 1901 in Decatur, Indiana, Fetzer was a radio pioneer who built Southwest Michigan’s first radio station, WEMC in Berrien Springs, in 1923. In 1931, he moved the station to Kalamazoo, renaming it WKZO. He founded WKZO-TV in 1950. An avid fan of the Detroit Tigers since his youth, when he listened to games on a wireless receiver, Fetzer was among a consortium of businessmen who bought the Tigers in 1956. In 1961, he became the sole owner, holding that role until 1983. He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. Raised in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and later a 33rd Degree Mason, he was also a spiritual seeker, serving on the board of directors of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and becoming an avid student of the book A Course in Miracles. He meditated, practiced yoga and funded research into Eastern alternative medical and energy modalities. Fetzer’s personal exploration of unseen energies seemingly began with his awareness that radio waves, though invisible, could carry the frequencies of human voice through the atmosphere for many miles. Later in life, he said, “I began to wonder if there were other, more subtle waveforms that we can’t see with our eyes.” He was particularly fascinated by the human aura, “an energy operating in a part of the spectrum yet to be discovered.” In the Fetzer Institute, he envisioned “a community of freedom” as a form of spiritually grounded organizational life. Using the words “God,” “Spirit” and “Love” synonymously, he often said, “Love is the core energy that rules everything. Love is the one ingredient that holds us all together.” He advocated for “dedicated people all over the world who are willing to search, to research, to contribute and to become one in Love.” 32 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

spiritual identity and to live more deeply from our core.” The Fetzer paradigm holds that the path to a loving world begins with individuals opening their hearts in love. The Fetzer Institute has worked toward that loving world by initiating dialogue among visionaries throughout the world. Its programs, mostly based in the U.S., touch the local community but also extend their reach globally. For example, in 2014, building on several years of work, the institute brought together an international group of visionary healthcare leaders and practitioners that coalesced into the Global Network for Spirituality and Health. This network successfully advocated for the World Health Organization to officially recognize the importance of ministering to the spiritual as well as physical needs of medical patients. This recognition led to an initiative to create training that would enable healthcare providers to meet these new standards of comprehensive, compassionate care. As part of its commitment to this endeavor, the institute is exploring the potential for

bringing such education into the curricula of the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker School of Medicine.. Another institute program, the Wellbeing Project, focuses on helping social activists who work for the public good to avoid burnout. Contrary to popular belief, social activists are not superheroes capable of bucking the status quo year after year without wearing out. The project helps them find and nurture a deeper sense of well-

Courtesy

John Fetzer:

being within themselves and connect more meaningfully with their community of peers. “Social transformation doesn’t happen in a laboratory; it happens in the world,” says Linda Grdina, Fetzer’s program officer for this project. “Informed by current research, the Wellbeing Project provides an opportunity to learn how inner development can be cultivated and sustained to generate positive action at the individual, organizational and sector levels.”

The Fetzer Institute’s most recent initiative focuses on healing American democracy. “How can we listen in a way that helps us find common ground essential for cooperative action?” Boisture asks. The answers involve “the hard spiritual work of democracy,” he says. The institute’s contribution “is to bring people together in a space that allows us to listen deeply.” (See sidebar, this page.) Other institute programs, past and upcoming, involve helping teachers deal with professional burnout, encouraging the spiritual development of children and youth, and supporting personal spiritual practices through Web-based resources. “Some programs may focus more explicitly on work with individuals while others may focus on group or community, but ultimately we aspire to foster the understanding that these are inextricably linked, that the well-being of any one of us depends on each of us and all of us together,” says Deborah Higgins, an institute vice president who oversees programs. Top: Fetzer Institute CEO Bob Boisture facilitates conversation at a recent meeting on healing democracy. Bottom: Fetzer staff, board members and guests contribute to the healing democracy conversation.

Institute investigates how to heal the heart of the American democracy In October, a month before this nation’s very contentious presidential election, the Fetzer Institute hosted a gathering of 15 internationally known experts, writers and speakers to address the issues and challenges of how to heal democracy in America. The purpose of the discussion was to identify and name the spiritual and moral underpinnings necessary for a healthy democracy and to develop an understanding of the principles that would guide this work toward a more functional American democracy. The participants represented the fields of institutional advancement, international relations, interreligious engagement, spirituality, social change, philanthropy, inclusion and diversity, youth and family programs, mindfulness, gender justice, organizational strategy, mediation, negotiation and political compromise. The participants considered their commitment to the integration of the inner life with outer work, the importance of holding a bold vision and decentralized approach, and the essential need to work

with many others and be inclusive and open to all perspectives and voices. Some offered their interpretations of a healthy democracy: • “Democracy is leading with mercy in relationships and everyday actions. I connect with you to learn from you. I am better because I know you,” said Usra Ghazi, a foreign affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs who also works in the nonprofit sector on interreligious development. • “The practices of healthy democracy are love, forgiveness and knowing one’s self — you are good, you belong, you are no better than anyone else,” said Patricia Moore Harbour, an author and expert on leadership and innovation in public education. • “Democracy is about how you raise your kids, how you treat your partner, how you make your household decisions,” said Kavita Ramdas, senior advisor to the president of the Ford Foundation and an advocate of equitable development, gender and racial justice, and social change philanthropy. • “Democracy is not ‘we won,’ but ‘we’re one.’ Let’s unleash the truth of our human

nature, which is goodness, and move from doubt to possibility to probability to inevitability,” said the Rev. Deborah Johnson, founder of a large omnifaith spiritual community. Currently, the Fetzer Institute’s program team is synthesizing and integrating the ideas from this discussion into an overall plan that will involve more discussions and actions by both internal program personnel and external experts. According to the program’s mission, the institute hopes these efforts over the next four years will bring citizens and governmental leaders at all levels to realize that “to heal our democracy we must recognize the sacred dignity and worth of every person; bring to civic life a wholehearted commitment to the greater good; admit that we, too, are fallible and must be open to having our minds changed by those with whom we disagree; recognize that, in a democracy, principled compromise is a virtue, not a vice; and see that we are all in this together and that, in the long run, none of us can prosper unless all of us prosper.” w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 33

Fetzer Institute’s Guiding Purpose “To awaken into and serve Spirit for the transformation of self and society, based on the principles of wholeness of reality, freedom of spirit, and unconditional love, and the integration of the inner life of mind and spirit with the outer life of action and service.”

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Choosing to walk its talk, the entire institute community, from top executives to hourly employees, participates in a threehour meeting each week to engage with the ideas and practices behind its mission and programs. The topics discussed center on respect, compassion and love in the workplace; support for individual spiritual paths; and exploration of contemplative practices. “Our workplace is a microcosm of what we encounter beyond our walls,” Boisture says. “With employees who practice diverse faiths — Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, modern alternatives and indigenous traditions — the challenge both at work and in our programs is to find a common spiritual ground.” From this challenge came a commonground statement: “We are drawn into community by our shared experience that there is more to reality than the physical realm, and that this ‘Something More’ binds us to each other and to all that exists in a deeply interconnected, meaningful and sacred way, and calls us to a life of love.” The Fetzer staff has internalized this statement in many ways. Administrative assistant Kim Hillebrand notes that living the Fetzer paradigm involves a change in perspective. “Two years ago,” she says, “we were all looking around at each other trying to figure out how we could create a healthy and vibrant community. Over time we came to see that what we want starts within ourselves, as individuals, in our minds and in our hearts.” “The basis for everything we do here is love,” says Mary Marshall, special projects assistant. “We care for each other. We care for ourselves. When we do that as a community, we can take it out into the world.”

TED Prize strategist John Cary listens to the discussion.

For some, personal development within the organization has carried forward to family life. “I’ve never been in a work environment where we talked intentionally about parenting and the spiritual development of children (so) they might flourish and explore their potential and passions,” says Interim Program Director Mohammed Mohammed. The Fetzer Institute’s overall “theory of change” requires that the institute keep spirit (aka God, love) at the center of its work and, among other strategies, leverage a movement-building model and contribute to a “new narrative.” This fresh worldview “combines a scientific understanding of physical reality with a deep spiritual understanding of the sacred reality within and beyond physical reality,” Boisture says. “We are encouraged that there is a movement emerging and that many individuals and organizations are working from a deeply spiritual place to contribute to the greater good. Across cultures and wisdom traditions, there are many spiritually grounded efforts focusing on social, economic and environmental issues. Our strategy is really about how we do our part, small but mighty, to help us all see each other and to accelerate the growth and strength of this comprehensive, spiritually grounded movement for societal transformation. “We also invite people to go into a sacred space … (and) listen to … the voice or presence that calls them to a sacred sense of oneness with that presence, with each other and with the natural world, to live from that place of oneness rather than a place of ego.”

IT’S CAST IN CONCRETE. Since 1933, local ownership has been the key to Consumers Concrete Corporation’s success. Its commitment to remain locally owned continues today. In order to sustain that tradition, the company has, for the first time in its 83-year history, selected someone from outside the company to lead and facilitate the transition to the next generation. J. Bruce Blair brings more than 30 years of industry experience to his new position as President and CEO at the company. Consumers has a proven track record as an early implementer of industry-leading technologies and as a leader in the development of new generation concrete products. Now that it has added the experience and expertise of Bruce Blair, its future as a locally-owned business and industry leader is truly cast in concrete.

Consumers Concrete Corporation (269) 342-0136 www.consumersconcrete.com

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 35

Arts ENCORE

The Reality Factory

Couple turns old building into creative incubator Kara Norman

Brian Powers

hen 39-year-old Daniel Kastner bought a two-story factory on the north side of Kalamazoo in 2012 to house inventory for his online moped business, the aging brick structure needed some work. His wife, Emily, who was pregnant at the time with their second child, told him, “Good luck!” The building, which was constructed in the 1930s and is located at 213 E. Frank St., was once home to a pattern company, a skirt manufacturer, a corset producer and a rug company. Since Kastner took ownership, it has become the site of two moped companies, a professional ceramics studio and a nonprofit organization called Read and Write Kalamazoo (RAWK). 36 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

Above: Emily and Dan Kastner used a lot of sweat and imagination to turn an old factory into a creative incubator. Opposite page: Dan’s business, 1977 Mopeds, is located in a warehouse adjacent to the building.

He calls the building The Reality Factory, a reference to the fact that his scouting efforts included a “fantasy factory” that he passed up. His wife, who co-founded RAWK with her friend Anne Hensley in 2012, laughs when recounting her first reaction to the building. “It was great, though,” she says. “Renovations happened very quickly.” Kastner lets out a big sigh. “It took a minute,” he says. When they bought the building, it was full of old machinery. Upstairs, woodworking devices were bolted to the floor, and there

encore Arts

were large holes in walls and ceilings from a dust-collecting system that once wove throughout the building. Kastner was so busy repairing the building’s flooring, putting up sheet rock and tearing out the old electrical system, he says, that

he couldn’t even think about working on his second kid’s nursery at home. (The couple now have three children — Jack, 7, Mabel, 3, and Louise, 16 months.) The work paid off, though. The Kastners have filled the factory a few times over with artist friends who need space to work. They’ve also given flight to their own successful ventures. Adjoining the main building is a warehouse where workbenches and shelves are lined with moped parts. An American flag hangs from the rafters, and the smell of gasoline hangs in the air. “It smells like work in here,” jokes Emily. A pin near the lapel of Dan’s jacket reads: Swarm and Destroy. It’s the motto for Moped Army, a website he started with two friends in 1997, the same year he moved to Kalamazoo to attend Western Michigan University. Moped Army has more than 600 members, and the site publicizes moped-related events in cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Moped Army’s slogan sounds more nefarious than it is. “It means safety in numbers,” explains Dan. “Riding in a big group, little bugs — little mopeds — are more powerful than a car.” Dan grew up on a horse farm in Sturgis that had a motorcycle shop on the property. He graduated from WMU with a B.F.A. in ceramics but, after his first art show, quickly realized “being a ceramic artist is a long, hard path.”

In 2003, he launched 1977 Mopeds. When business got slow, he added a new source of income, opening The Rocket Star Café, a coffee shop near WMU’s campus where he met Emily, a frequent customer. Although the Rocket Star Café is no longer in business, “coffee shops are near and dear to our heart,” says Emily, who once owned a farmers’ market stand called Whisk Bake Shop and writes for the recipe-driven magazine Gather Journal. She points to tables with smooth, black slate slabs — old science lab tables bought at a WMU surplus sale — that sit in a space on The Reality Factory’s first floor. They are for what the Kastners hope will be a coffee shop open to the public. The tabletops go with the industrial vibe of the old building and with Emily’s personal history. She holds an education degree in science and English from WMU.

“Everyone in the world wants to be an English teacher,” she says. “I studied both because I thought it would make me super-marketable when I graduated.” She was right. After teaching in Battle Creek for a year, she and Dan made a leap to San Francisco, where she landed a job as a science teacher a few weeks before the 2007-08 school year started. She says she loved teaching earth science in San Francisco — earthquakes, the ocean, the mountains — but after a few years, and one baby, she and Dan moved back to Kalamazoo. w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 37

The move came about partly because, in a place like Kalamazoo, Dan says, you can still work as a barista and pursue artistic dreams without going broke in two seconds flat. This was not something he and his friends found to be true in larger cities around the U.S. “The dream of the ’90s is alive in Kalamazoo,” he jokes. He’s referencing a Portlandia episode in which Fred Armisen sings Carrie Brownstein a song about the artistically inclined, under-ambitious 1990s. The decade’s Generation X malaise and grunge culture (captured in movies like Reality Bites) is a spirit that, as Armisen sings in the skit, “is alive in Portland.” Dan has convinced friends from as close as Ann Arbor to as far away as the West Coast — people like Jeb Gast, owner of Kalamazoo’s electric scooter manufacturer Fido Motors — to relocate and “incubate” their businesses at The Reality Factory. “I called him up and said, ‘You gotta move here, man. It’s super-cheap and you can get free college for your kid,’” Dan recalls. Over time, Fido Motors outgrew its space at The Reality Factory and bought property at 1415 Fulford St. Grayling Ceramics is another success story born of Dan’s ability to rope friends into whatever he cares about. This studio, launched in 2014 by fellow WMU alumnus Shay Church and his wife, Maura, crafts hefty, earth-toned ceramic beer mugs, growlers and steins. Shay Church renovated the space in The Reality Factory’s basement, which Dan says

38 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

“was horrible.” Church power-washed, sealed and painted it and put two kilns in one corner that pretty much heat up the whole building, making it cozy in the winter. (It’s a different story in the summer.) And now Grayling is outgrowing its spot, too. “It’s bittersweet, you know?” Emily says. “We really feed on the energy in the space. It’s cool to bring students into our small workshops because they’re like, ‘Wait. What’s going on? There’s a moped?’” Her nonprofit, RAWK, which serves the Kalamazoo youth population and is located on the second floor of The Reality Factory, is another organization in the building that is expecting to one day outgrow its

Above: Shay Church coverted the building’s basement into a studio for his Grayling Ceramics. Opposite page: Participants work at Read and Write Kalamazoo, a nonprofit writing center for youth located on the building’s second floor.

current locale. Modeled on the nonprofit organization 826 National, a collection of after-school tutoring and writing centers cofounded by the author Dave Eggers, RAWK hopes to one day combine retail space and tutoring services, creating income through commerce while offering free services to kids who need them. While Hensley and Emily Kastner see RAWK’s writing workshops, summer camps, in-school programs and special events as supplements to the educational efforts of

Since Dan purchased the building, which he discovered by cruising around on a bike while listening to music, the two have been amazed — and disappointed — to see so many buildings like it in the neighborhood torn down. “I think we’re suckers for the sentimentality of the history here,” Emily says. “Hopefully we’ve bought it some time,” Dan adds.

Kalamazoo Public Schools, the creative energy represented in a space like The Reality Factory aligns with the nonprofit’s focus on teaching kids to get in touch with “the story they want to tell.” Whereas traditional writing methods emphasize grammar, punctuation and other editing skills, RAWK recognizes that these steps can inhibit rather than encourage young people still developing their confidence as writers. In the end, though, RAWK’s mission comes down to the word “community,” something both Dan and Emily care about.

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MUSIC Bands & Solo Artists In Flames & Hellyeah — Heavy-metal bands, 6:50 p.m. Dec. 1, State Theatre, 404 S. Burdick St., 345-6500. May Erlewine — Michigan singer/songwriter performs folk, country and rock, 9 p.m. Dec. 1, Bell's Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382-2332. PERFORMING ARTS THEATER Musicals A Christmas Carol — Dickens’ holiday classic, 22 performances through Dec. 28, New Vic Theatre, 134 E. Vine St., 381-3328; see thenewvictheatre.org for times and dates. Next Stop, Broadway! — Featuring Broadway and TV star Patrick Cassidy and WMU Music Theatre Performance Class, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1–3, University Theatre, WMU, 387-6222. A Christmas Story: The Musical — 1940s story about Ralphie, his family and his Christmas dream, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2–3 & 9–10, 2 p.m. Dec. 4 & 11, Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St., 343-1313.

Live at Old Dog Tavern: Hired Hands — Acoustic ensemble performs jazz, blues, folk, country, rock and R&B, 6–9 p.m. Dec. 2, Old Dog Tavern, 402 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 381-5677. Rumpke Mountain Boys — Cincinnati bluegrass band, 9 p.m. Dec. 2, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332. Glitter & Doom: A Tom Waits Tribute Night — Featuring Megan Dooley, Olivia Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe and others, 8 p.m. Dec. 3, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332. A Very Merry Christmas with Joel Mabus — Christmas concert accompanied by guitar, banjo and mandolin, 3–5 p.m. Dec. 4, Transformations Spirituality Center, 3427 Gull Road, 381-6290.

Million Dollar Quartet — Farmers Alley Theatre presents the Broadway musical about a recording session with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, 8 p.m. Dec. 2–3, 9–10 & 16–17; 2 p.m. Dec. 4, 11 & 18; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 & 15, Little Theatre, WMU, 343-2727.

Soul-Filled Sundays at Arcadia Ales — Retro Pop Shuffle, hits with a twist and favorite holiday songs, 6–8 p.m. Dec. 4; Dede Alder & Josh Holcomb, folk/world-music singers/songwriters, 4–6 p.m. Dec. 11; Sarah Brunner, soulful folk-rock, 5–7 p.m. Dec. 18; Arcadia Ales Kalamazoo, 701 E. Michigan Ave., 276-0458.

Christmas Cabaret — Pop classics and sacred family favorites, 7 p.m. Dec. 9–11 & 16–18, 2 p.m. Dec. 10–11 & 17–18, Barn Theatre, 13351 W. M-96, Augusta, 731-4121.

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe — American funk and jazz saxophonist, flutist and vocalist performs with his band, 9 p.m. Dec. 8, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Mechele Peters & 'Til the Cowboys Come Home — The singer/songwriter and her band perform music rooted in country and Americana, 9–11 p.m. Dec. 10, Arcadia Ales Kalamazoo, 276-0458. Tuba Christmas — Tuba and euphonium players gather to play Christmas music, 2 p.m. Dec. 11, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332. The Bad Plus — American jazz trio, 8 p.m. Dec. 13, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332. Wizards of Winter — Classical/progressive rock band, 8 p.m. Dec. 15, State Theatre, 345-6500. Dopapod and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong — Rock and pop bands, 9 p.m. Dec. 15, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332. Alex Mendenall — The soul/folk songwriter performs as part of Music Hop, 6–9 p.m. Dec. 16, Arcadia Ales Kalamazoo, 276-0458. Seth Bernard & Sam Corbin — Folk and country guitarists, 9 p.m. Dec. 16, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332. Jon McLaughlin — Pop rock singer/songwriter, 9 p.m. Dec. 22, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332. Christmas Eve at Old Dog Tavern: Live Music from Megan Dooley — Kalamazoo singer performs swing, soul, R&B and jazz, 9 p.m. Dec. 24–1 a.m. Dec. 25, Old Dog Tavern, 381-5677. The Werks — Rock and electronic funk band, 9 p.m. Dec. 29, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332. Ultraviolet Hippopotamus — Progressive improvisational band, 8 p.m. Dec. 31, State Theatre, 345-6500.

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Orchestra, Chamber, Jazz, Vocal & More Violinist Greg Maytan and Cellist Theodore Buchholz — Guest artist recital, 8 p.m. Dec. 2, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-2300. Christmas with Angel Blue — The soprano soloist performs in the KSO's “Sounds of the Season” concert, 8 p.m. Dec. 3, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 349-7759. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas — The KSO Burdick-Thorne String Quartet performs, 3 p.m. Dec. 4, Milwood United Methodist Church, 3919 Portage St., 349-7759. A Choral Christmas: University Chorale, Cantus Femina and Collegiate Singers — WMU choral groups, 4 & 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4, First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St., 387-4667. BachFest Christmas — Kalamazoo Bach Festival Chorus, Arcato Chamber Ensemble and organist Carl Witt, 4 p.m. Dec. 4, Stetson Chapel, Kalamazoo College, 337-7407. Eastside Holiday Concert — Kalamazoo Children's Chorus concert, 4 p.m. Dec. 4, St. Mary's Church, 939 Charlotte Ave., 547-7183. Pianist Pavel Kolesnikov — The Gilmore presents the Russian pianist performing works of C.P.E. Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy, 4 p.m. Dec. 4, Wellspring Theater, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Suite 204, 359-7311. University Percussion Ensemble — 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-4667. Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular — Acrobats and aerialists perform with the KSO, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9, Wings Event Center, 3600 Vanrick Drive, 345-1125. Snow Place Like Home — Kalamazoo Concert Band performs with vocalist/pianist Karrin Allyson, 8 p.m. Dec. 9, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 806-6597.

p.m. Dec. 11, Grace Harbor Church, 811 Gorham Lane, kalamazooringers.org. The Night Before Christmas — Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra's Family Discovery Concert, 3 p.m. Dec. 18, Chenery Auditorium, 349-7759. A Brass Celebration of Christmas — WMU brass ensembles perform, 8 p.m. Dec. 18, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-2300. Kalamazoo Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra — A plucked-string ensemble of mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, guitars and bass, 9–11 p.m. Dec. 31, Ladies Library Association, 333 S. Park St., 345-6664. DANCE Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker — The Moscow Ballet performs with the WMU University Symphony Orchestra, 7 p.m. Dec. 6, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-2300. WMU Fall Showcase — Choreography of WMU students performed by first-year dancers, 3 & 7 p.m. Dec. 10, Dance Studio B, third floor, Dalton Center, WMU, 387-5830. VISUAL ARTS Kalamazoo Institute of Arts 314 S. Park St., 349-7775 KIA Exhibits Scaled Up: Sculpture by Marcia Wood — An exhibition of works by the late Kalamazoo sculptor, through Dec. 31. Poetry of Content: Five Contemporary Representational Artists — Works of representational imagery by five painters, through Feb. 19. Wadada Leo Smith: Ankhrasmation, The Language Scores, 1967–2015 — The jazz musician and artist exhibits musical scores composed of color, line and shape, through March 5.

Candlelight Reflections Concert — The Kalamazoo Singers perform holiday favorites, featuring Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, 7 p.m. Dec. 10, First Presbyterian Church, 373-1769.

Luminescence: From Salvage to Seascape — Sayaka Ganz’s sculptures created from repurposed objects, through March 19.

Harmony Holiday Concert 2016 — Kalamazoo's Mall City Harmonizers barbershop chorus, Mid-Lakes Sweet Adelines chorus and Battle Creek's Cereal City Barbershop Chorus and Sweet Adelines chorus, 7 p.m. Dec. 10, First Baptist Church, 315 W. Michigan Ave., 615-8796.

KIA Holiday Sale — Purchase art created by art school students and faculty, 4–8 p.m. Dec. 2, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Dec. 3.

Kalamazoo Children's Chorus Holiday Concert — 3 p.m. Dec. 11, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., 547-7183. Christmas Journeys — The Kalamazoo Ringers perform Christmas hymns and holiday tunes, 4

KIA Events

ARTbreak — A weekly program about art, artists and exhibitions: Footnotes to a Painting with Don Marek, talk and demo, Dec. 6; The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels, video, Dec. 13; both sessions begin at noon, KIA Auditorium. Book Discussion: The Last Painting of Sara de Vos — Discussion of the book by Dominic Smith, 2 p.m. Dec. 14, Meader Fine Arts Library, 585-9291.

DECEMBER FIRST-RUNS OPENING DECEMBER 9 OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY OPENING DECEMBER 16 ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Will Smith in COLLATERAL BEAUTY OPENING DECEMBER 21 Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt in PASSENGERS Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon in SING DECEMBER SPECIALTY DECEMBER 2 & 5 NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION DECEMBER 3 & 8 Will Ferrell in ELF DECEMBER 4 Cary Grant in THE BISHOP’S WIFE DECEMBER 6 LOVE ACTUALLY DECEMBER 8 A CHRISTMAS STORY DECEMBER 10 Natalie Wood in MIRACLE ON 34th STREET DECEMBER 11 Barbara Stanwyck in CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT DECEMBER 13 WHITE CHRISTMAS DECEMBER 19 & 21 IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE Visit drafthouse.com/kalamazoo for showtimes and tickets

DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE PLEASE CHECK DRAFTHOUSE.COM/KALAMAZOO FOR UPDATES

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 41

Richmond Center for Visual Arts Western Michigan University, 387-2436 Annual Faculty Exhibition — Through Dec. 8, Monroe-Brown Gallery. Art is Serious Business: Finding Humor in Art — Prints from WMU’s Permanent Collection, through Dec. 8, Netzorg and Kerr Gallery. 17 Days: Vols. 8 & 9 — Works of 17 video artists play continuously on 50-inch plasma screens, through May 1, Atrium Gallery. Other Venues Art Hop — Art at locations around Kalamazoo, 5–8 p.m. Dec. 2, 342-5059. LIBRARY & LITERARY EVENTS Parchment Community Library 401 S. Riverview Drive, 343-7747 Parchment Book Group — Discussion of Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd, 7 p.m. Dec. 5. Holiday Chocolate & Parchment Wassailing — Enjoy cocoa and cookies and ride the Holly Jolly Trolley, 6–8 p.m. Dec. 7. Second Sundays Live Concert Series — The KSO Burdick-Thorne String Quartet performs, 2 p.m. Dec. 11. Front Page: Donuts and Discussion — A current events panel discussion with local media, educators, politicians and special guests, 10:30 a.m.–noon Dec. 17.

Open for Discussion — Tips and tricks to get downloadable e-books and digital audiobooks, 10:30 a.m. Dec. 20. PDL Writers Workshop — Local authors share and writers free-write, 6–8 p.m. Dec. 20. Other Venues First Saturday @ KPL — Family event with stories, activities, guests and door prizes, 2–3:30 p.m. Dec. 3, Kalamazoo Public Library, Central Branch, 315 S. Rose St., 553-7844. December Book Group — Discussion of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande, 7 p.m. Dec. 8, Richland Community Library, 8951 Park St., Richland, 629-9085. Holiday Open House — Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra's Jazz Trio, Mrs. Claus, crafts, games and live reindeer, 1–3 p.m. Dec. 10, Comstock Township Library, 6130 King Highway, 3450136. MUSEUMS Gilmore Car Museum 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, 671-5089

Portage District Library 300 Library Lane, 329-4544

The Golden Age of the Sports Car — Exhibition featuring sports cars of the 1940s–60s, through April 30.

Friends of the Library Book Sale — 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Dec. 3.

Kalamazoo Valley Museum 230 N. Rose St., 373-7990

Local Author Expo — Published local authors showcase their work, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Dec. 3.

Season of Light — Explore historical, religious and cultural customs of the holiday season, 11 a.m. Mon.–Fri., 1 p.m. Sat., through Jan. 6, Planetarium.

Holiday Music from the Living Room Musicians — Renaissance, Celtic, folk, gospel and pop music played on hammered dulcimer, recorders, guitar and percussion, 2:45–4:45 p.m. Dec. 4. Science Fiction and Fantasy Geek-off — Games and tasks challenge participants' knowledge of Star Wars, Star Trek, zombies, manga and superheroes, 7 p.m. Dec. 5. Cookie Connoisseur — MacKenzies' Bakery shares decorating tips, 2–3:30 p.m. Dec. 7. International Mystery Book Group — Readers' choice of a Christmas/holiday mystery, with a book and cookie exchange, 7 p.m. Dec. 8. Top Shelf Reads — A young professionals' book group discussion of Not My Father's Son, by Alan Cumming, 7 p.m. Dec. 12, Latitude 42 Brewing Co., 7842 Portage Road, 585-8711.

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Countdown to Kwanzaa: Celebrating Family, Culture and Community — Learn about the holiday that blends African heritage with African-American values and culture, 3 p.m. Dec. 17.

Mystery of the Christmas Star — Discover a scientific explanation for the star the Wise Men followed, 3 p.m. Sun., Mon., Wed., Fri. & Sat., through Jan. 6, Planetarium. Sustainable Shelter: Dwelling within the Forces of Nature — An exhibit investigating ways that humans extract, use and discard energy, water and other natural resources, through Jan. 8. Let's Dance — An exhibit about dance bands, dance halls and clothing in Kalamazoo from the 1920s to 1980s, through Jan. 16. Kalamazoo Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra — A plucked-string ensemble performing classical, ethnic and mandolin music, 6 p.m. Dec. 2.

Sunday Series: Preserving Your Family's Textiles — Museum staff Regina Gorham and Sarah Humes give tips for care and storage of textiles, 1:30 p.m. Dec. 11.

Christmas at Wings Arts & Crafts Show — 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Dec. 3, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Dec. 4, Wings Event Center, 3600 Vanrick Drive, 345-1125.

Karen Czarnik — Storyteller, musician and teaching artist, noon Dec. 27.

Candy Cane Hunt — Candy canes, arts, crafts and Santa, noon–2 p.m. Dec. 3, Homer Stryker Field, 251 Mills St., kzooparks.org.

Benjammin — The musician presents singing, dancing and instrument playing, noon Dec. 29.

Vicksburg Nighttime Holiday Parade — 7–9 p.m. Dec. 3, downtown Vicksburg, 649-1648.

NATURE

Holiday Teas — Enjoy tea in the decorated Manor House: Mrs. Claus Tea, Dec. 4; Holiday Spice Tea, Dec. 6; Poinsettia Tea, Dec. 7; Mistletoe Tea, Dec. 11; Holly and Ivy Tea, Dec. 13; Dickens Tea, Dec. 14, 3–5 p.m., W.K. Kellogg Manor House, 671-2400.

Kalamazoo Nature Center 7000 N. Westnedge Ave., 381-1574 Buy Local Art & Gift Fair — 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Dec. 10. Holidays at the Homestead — Discover the origins of holiday traditions from the 1800s, 1–4 p.m. Dec. 11, DeLano Homestead, 555 West E Ave., 381-1574. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary 12685 East C Ave., 671-2510 Birds and Coffee Walk — A morning bird walk and discussion over coffee, 9–10:30 a.m. Dec. 14. MISCELLANEOUS Run Through the Lights — A festive 2.4mile run/walk through the downtown holiday lights, 6–9 p.m. Dec. 1, Bronson Park, gazellesports.com Holiday Gifts & Greens Sale — Kalamazoo Garden Council offers fresh green wreaths, centerpieces and more, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Dec. 2, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Dec. 3, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 2900 Lake St., 349-4227. Holiday Walk and Market — Tour the decorated Manor House and buy handcrafted gifts, noon–5 p.m. Dec. 2–3, 9–10 & 16–17, W.K. Kellogg Manor House, 3700 E. Gull Lake Drive, Hickory Corners, 671-2400.

Kalamazoo Indoor Flea & Antique Market — New and used items, antiques and handcrafted items, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Tues. & Wed., Dec. 6–28, Kalamazoo County Expo Center North, 383-8761. Scholastic Book Fairs Warehouse Sale — Large sale of discounted books, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Dec. 8, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Dec. 9, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Dec. 10, Kalamazoo County Expo Center North, 800-843-0112. Dining at the W.K. Kellogg Manor House — Enjoy holiday food and décor of the Manor House: Holiday Lunch, noon–1:30 p.m. Dec. 8 & 15; Winter Wonderland Dinner, 6:30– 9 p.m. Dec. 9; Comfort and Joy Dinner, 6:30–9 p.m. Dec. 16; Holiday Brunch, 10:15 a.m.–1 p.m. Dec. 18, W.K. Kellogg Manor House, 671-2400. K-9 Fanciers Dog Show — UKC multi-breed dog show, 3–11 p.m. Dec. 9, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Dec. 10, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Dec. 11, Kalamazoo County Expo Center South, 989-860-9845. Christmas Expo & Craft Show — 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Dec. 10, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 903-5820.

Of Christmas Past — Experience Christmas in the 1800s, noon–5 p.m. Dec. 10 & 11, Historic Charlton Park, 2545 S. Charlton Park Road, Hastings, 945-3775. Kalamazoo Record & CD Show — Collectorquality records, music memorabilia and supplies, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Dec. 11, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, Room A, 734-604-2540. Black Arts & Cultural Center's Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration — The Black Candle, film viewing and discussion, 5:30–8:30 p.m. Dec. 15; RBG (Red, Black and Green) Party, 9 p.m. Dec. 16– 1:30 a.m. Dec. 17; Kwanzaa Bazaar, vendors, food, music, art and culture, noon–5 p.m. Dec. 17, Girls Scouts Heart of Michigan, 601 W. Maple St., 349-1035. ZooLights — Binder Park Zoo is decorated for the holidays, 5–8 p.m. Dec. 16–23, 7400 Division Drive, Battle Creek, 979-1351. Smitten in the Mitten — K-Wings game sponsored by Buy Local to support the local community, 7 p.m. Dec. 16, Wings Event Center, 345-1125. Holiday Kalamazoo Indoor Flea & Antique Market — Holiday items, antiques and handcrafted items, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Dec. 17, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 383-8761. Kalamazoo Reptile & Exotic Pet Expo — Buy, sell or trade reptiles, amphibians and small mammals, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Dec. 17, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, Room A, 779-9851. New Year's Fest — Performing arts, fireworks and food to bring in the new year, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 31–1:30 a.m. Jan. 1, various venues in downtown Kalamazoo, 388-2830 or newyearsfest.com.

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KEEPCALM AND

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WMUK

102.1

Kalamazoo Valley Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Lewis Reed & Allen, PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Maple Hill Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Masonry Heater Design House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Mercantile Bank of Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 18 Meyer & Allwardt, PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 New Year’s Fest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Portage Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Precision Printer Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Principle Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Spirit of Kalamazoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Tempo Vino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Terrapin World Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 V&A Bootery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

WMUK IS NPR FROM WMU

Vandenberg Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Vandersalm’s Flowershop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Varnum Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 WMUK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

44 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

BACK STORY (continued from page 46)

“I keep joking we’re in the big leagues now,” says Trout, a Kalamazoo native and mother of college-age triplets. “We’re excited because Kareem is trying to be more visible with libraries and we’ve gotten a little extra support from the Gilmore Foundation and Friends of the Library to help make it happen.” How did you get where you are today? When I was little, I worked in the school library and got to stamp the books at checkout, and I loved doing that. Flash forward 30 years and I was volunteering in a school library, and being in that environment made it all come flooding back. I thought, “I really I love this.” I went back to school to get a master’s in library science, enrolling in an online program through the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. It was the perfect solution. I “attended” class online at the same time the class was going on — we didn’t have video streaming then — and went to campus once a semester for a full-day session. I did my practicums at the Kalamazoo Public Library and got my first permanent job here in Teen Services. After five years, I switched to Adult Services when they combined the Reading Together position and a position for adult fiction to create one job. I’ve been doing it now for six years. How does the Reading Together selection get made? A selection committee made up of library staff and trustees starts in late spring and early summer reading books from suggestions I collect throughout the year. We look at themes and content and want to choose something that has relevant themes to the community. We wanted to have this year’s book bring the community together to talk about some difficult, sensitive issues. Kareem’s book addresses so many different topics — race, religion, gender, politics, Generation Z. Each chapter covers a different topic. With everything going on in our country right now, we can’t not talk about those things; we can’t not be a catalyst to bring the community together. Having the common experience of reading the same book is the perfect springboard for those kinds of conversations.

What do you like most about what you do? I like reaching out into the community to plan the programs. I like the project management of getting the author here and the details to make that happen, but I love to tap into the people that I know in the community to serve on our steering committee that helps us with topics and people for workshops. I am also a huge fan of Kalamazoo and like that I have the opportunity to give back to Kalamazoo through representing the library to the rest of the community. Have you had a favorite Reading Together program? I’ve been really fortunate that I’ve had great experiences with authors — I usually meet them at the airport and take them around town. I loved Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North. He was just so overwhelmed by how great Kalamazoo is. I also loved The Living Great Lakes program with Jerry Dennis, who is from Traverse City. I like to think we give all authors warm and sincere welcomes. It’s fun to show off my hometown. What do you do for fun? Well, I just finished a Senior Readers' Theatre production at the Civic, singing in The Pirates of Penzance. I am sort of an occasional performer at the Civic. You sing? Yes, I was a vocal music major at St. Olaf College, but when I saw all the discipline the other music majors had, I knew I was in trouble. I was already taking classes in music, theater and dance, so I got a degree in fine arts.

BC What’s your dream role?

Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha. You know, she’s a whore, but he thinks she’s this beautiful maiden. Although I think, at this point in my life, I am probably way beyond being able to play that role. (She laughs.)

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w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 45

BACK STORY encore

Karen Trout

Reading Together coordinator and selection librarian Kalamazoo Public Library

Karen Trout says her position is

“the dream library job.” Trout oversees selection of adult fiction for the library and is the coordinator of the annual Reading Together program, which encourages community members to all read the same book and participate in programs organized around the themes of the book. This is the 15th year of the program, and Trout says this year’s will be quite different from previous programs. The book is Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White, by NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who will visit Kalamazoo in March. Trout says the organizers expect this year’s program to attract attention from readers of all ages, races and genders.

Brian Powers

(continued on page 45)

46 | Encore DECEMBER 2016

encore up front

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