Encore September 2016

Comfort Volunteers at WMCC

Rick Hale’s clock sculptures

September 2016

Their Blood Runs Blue The Mitchell family’s blueberry legacy

Meet Jason Luke

Becoming Rootead

Southwest Michigan’s Magazine

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“Ben was 8 when he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. At first we tried to manage it through diet, but by fifth grade his weight had dropped to only 40 pounds and he wasn’t growing. It was a pretty scary time. Since he started going to Bronson Children’s Hospital, he’s doing so much better. It took a while to get things under control, but Ben is putting on weight, he’s growing again and his energy levels are up. We are so lucky to have a doctor who specializes in Ben’s condition right here in Kalamazoo. It means he can get the treatment he needs and doesn’t have to miss school or extracurricular activities. He’s able to be a kid again.”

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CONTENTS

September

2016

FEATURES Their Blood Runs Blue

18

Comfort for Cancer Patients

24

Four generations of Mitchells fuel blueberry farm's success

Hugs, encouragement and cookies among the support volunteers provide

DEPARTMENTS 7 Contributors

Up Front 8 First Things — What’s happening in SW Michigan 10 75 Years of Song — Mall City Harmonizers celebrate diamond anniversary

14

Good Works

Becoming Rootead — Nonprofit combines drums, dance and doulas to empower families of color

38 Back Story

Meet Jason Luke — Making an impact with kids is what this guy is all about

ARTS 28 Clockwright Rick Hale

The art of timekeeping shows in his intricate wooden

clocks

31 Events of Note

On the cover: Dale Mitchell tends to blueberries grown on his family’s farm, which has been growing the fruit for four generations. Photo by Brian Powers.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 5

Comfort Volunteers at WMCC

Rick Hale’s clock sculptures

Meet Jason Luke

Becoming Rootead

BUSINESS COVERAGE Commercial Property Commercial General Liability Workers Compensation Business Automobile Commercial Umbrella

September 2016

Southwest Michigan’s Magazine

Their Blood Runs Blue The Mitchell family’s blueberry legacy

Publisher

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marie lee, lisa mackinder, kara norman, emily townsend, robert m. weir

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Distribution

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Encore Magazine is published 12 times yearly. Copyright 2016, Encore Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial, circulation and advertising correspondence should be sent to:

An exhibit celebrating 50 years of Kalamazoo Valley Community College, which has enriched the lives of students and communities through quality educational programs and services.

September 2016 FREE kalamazoomuseum.org | 269.373.7990 The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is operated by Kalamazoo Valley Community College and is governed by its Board of Trustees

6 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

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, you may visit www.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.

ENCORE CONTRIBUTORS

Lisa Mackinder

For her story, Volunteer Comfort, Lisa sat down with some of the many volunteers at the West Michigan Cancer Center. “These volunteers truly demonstrate what it means to give of oneself freely and with a happy heart,” Lisa says. “They give their time, their empathy and their support without reservation.” The volunteers even coordinate vacations around their schedules at the cancer center, she says, and they make it clear that everyone can help out in some way — even if it is something as simple as offering a smile and a “Good morning” to someone in need of encouragement.

Emily Townsend

Emily has always loved working on organic farms, so it was a natural fit for her to explore the history of the Mitchell family, which started its own blueberry farm in 1968 in Grand Junction. Since the first berry bush was planted, the Mitchells have weathered challenges and celebrated successes, always as a family. “I love how digging deep into one family’s, one farm’s history can reveal so many larger political and social issues that affected our entire community, our entire nation,” Emily says. You can read more of Emily’s writing at soundandscrawl.com.

A Fresh Start for Fall

Kara Norman

This month Kara covers two people who are passionate enough about what moves them that they’ve created their own enterprises. First is Rick Hale, who sculpts large wooden clocks and will be part of ArtPrize in Grand Rapids this month. Second is Kama Mitchell, whom Kara interviewed for her story about Rootead, a Kalamazoo nonprofit for which Mitchell serves as executive director. Kara says she was moved to tears several times as Mitchell described her work advocating for African-American mothers and assisting at births. “At one point, Kama reached over and put her hand on mine,” Kara says. “No wonder women beg her to attend their births! She is truly comforting to be around.” Find more of Kara’s writing at karanorman.com.

Robert M. Weir

Ideas for stories come at unexpected times, in unanticipated places, and sometimes at fortuitous moments. Such was the case when Robert heard the Mall City Harmonizers perform at Kalamazoo's New Year's Fest last December. Listening to the magnificent harmonies of more than 30 male voices, Robert immediately thought, "Encore!" In this case, the word had a double meaning for him: this magazine as well as his desire to hear more. This year is the barbershop group's 75th anniversary, and Robert’s article is perfectly timed as an invitation to enjoy the group’s celebratory concert.

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UP FRONT ENCORE

First Things Something Wild

Celebrate Asylum Lake Preserve Home to 455 plant species, 117 bird species, six varieties of frogs, six kinds of turtles

and many white-tailed deer, Asylum Lake is a natural treasure in the heart of Kalamazoo.

The Asylum Lake Preservation Association invites you to celebrate this natural splendor from 1—5 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Drake Road entrance to the Asylum Lake Preserve.

The celebration will include ecological and history tours, music by the acoustic quintet The Hired Hands and refreshments provided by Sarkozy Bakery. The gathering is free.

In tandem with this event, Sarkozy Bakery, 350 E. Michigan Ave., will host an art exhibit showcasing scenes from the preserve. The exhibit runs through the end of the month.

For more information about the preserve, visit asylumlakepreservationassociation.org.

Something Good

Feel good about running 0.1K Tighten your laces for the most extreme 0.1 kilometer of your life. The Ultimate Extreme Ultra

Point 1K​Spoof Run (yep, that’s its name) lets runners and walkers of all ages, shapes and sizes compete in a grueling 329-foot race, eat great food, play games and simultaneously raise money for Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan.

Race festivities are set for 10 a.m.—2 p.m. Sept. 24 in Bronson Park, with the race kicking off at noon. The Civic Theatre will have costumes to borrow, Down Dog Yoga will lead pre-race stretches and the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts will host a scavenger hunt after the run.

The first 500 competitors to register will receive a T-shirt, a race bag and an ultimate trophy. The race fee is $25 per competitor, but a Kids Fun Run and Special Friends Run are free. Register online at www.point1k.com. For more information, visit Facebook.com/Point-1k.

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Something Musical

Head out to Oklahoma!

There’s nothing quite like humming along to “Oh, What a

Beautiful Morning” to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

You can capture that feeling — or get it for the first time — at one of the Civic Theatre’s performances of Oklahoma! The show runs from Sept. 23—Oct. 9.

The iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein love story of Curley and Laurey, set in Indian territory after the turn of the 20th century, will feature plenty of singing and dancing and a chance to shout out “O - K - L - A - H - O - M – A” along with the cast.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at the Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St. For tickets or more information, visit kazoocivic.com.

Something Spontaneous

Take an improv class Learning to do improv is good for you — it can increase your confidence,

speed your decision-making and help fight the onset of Alzheimer's. And, thanks to Crawlspace Theatre Productions, local folks can get in on that goodness.

Crawlspace is offering classes at four skill levels beginning Sept. 11 at the Crawlspace Theatre Training Center, in the Park Trades Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave. Each class meets once a week for three hours over the course of six weeks.

Classes cost $150. For more information or to register, go to crawlspacetheatre. com/classes or contact Crawlspace at dann@crawlspacetheatre.com or call 599-7390.

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UP FRONT ENCORE

75 Years of Song

Mall City Harmonizers celebrate diamond anniversary ROBERT M. WEIR

Courtesy

by

"H

ow do you hit all the high spots of 75 years in a couple of hours?” asks Michael Sobel, president and vice president of marketing for the Mall City Harmonizers, a male a cappella chorus that has been bringing tunes to Southwest Michigan since 1941.

The answer will ring forth in song at the Harmonizers’ Diamond Jubilee concert, set for 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at Western Michigan University’s Dalton Center Recital Hall.

“We’ll sing iconic songs that represent the history of those seven decades,” says Sobel. Among the tunes will be the group’s signature song, “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo,” which Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded 74 years ago and which the chorus sings at every performance.

The Harmonizers sing in barbershop style — a sound that, according to Harmonizer literature, involves “unique tuning” known as “chord busting,” “ringing chords” or “the angel’s voice” that can be attained only with human vocal cords.

The barbershop genre grew out of the minstrel shows of the late 1800s. It became “official” in 1938 when Owen C. Cash of Tulsa, Oklahoma, convinced his musical colleagues to create the Society

10 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

The Fence Center at for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America Inc. (SPEBSQSA). Three years later, men in Kalamazoo formed the nation’s 13th chapter. The parallel women’s singing organization, Sweet Adelines International, was founded in 1945.

Today SPEBSQSA is known as The Barbershop Harmony Society. The local male chorus chose its current moniker in 2010. “We wanted to have people link us with Kalamazoo’s nickname, the Mall City,” says past president Ludwig Ouzoonian.

The name is apropos. One of the Harmonizers’ favorite venues is the Kalamazoo Mall, specifically for Art Hops, Mall City Harmonizers’ Diamond Jubilee concert When: 7 p.m. Sept. 17 Where: Dalton Center Recital Hall, Western Michigan University How much: $15, or $12 each for orders of five tickets or more More info: barbershopharmony.org

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where they roam like minstrels, to the great delight of passersby.

In addition to the main chorus, whose 25 members range in age from late teens to 70s, the Harmonizers include three barbershop quartets: By Design, the facially haired Four Got To Shave and a younger foursome known as Remix.

The chorus performs more than twice a month, says Sobel, who estimated its annual audience at more than 15,000 in 2015. Big events for the chorus include the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair in Bronson Park, WMU basketball games, holiday sing-outs and occasional appearances at Kalamazoo’s New Year’s Fest. The group also offers Singing Valentines and Christmas caroling every year.

Top: The full chorus of the Mall City Harmonizers.

Bottom: One of the Mall City Harmonizers’ quartets, By Design, includes, from left, Jerry Ditto, Michael Sobel, Ludwig Ouzoonian and Jim Paul.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 11

The Harmonizers also perform for military personnel at the WMU ROTC Military Ball and for veterans of World War II. “There’s an organization in Southwest Michigan, Talons Out Honor Flight (associated with the national Honor Flight Network), that flies World War II vets to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial twice a year,” Sobel says. “They leave the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek Airport at 6:30 a.m., and we’re there to sing ‘God Bless America,’ the ‘Armed Forces Medley’ and other patriotic songs. This is a great honor for us.”

In addition, Sobel says, the group has donated to other programs supporting

including proceeds from its annual Holiday Harmony show.

“Even though we are nonprofits, barbershop choruses have some altruistic purpose,” says Sobel.

For their Diamond Jubilee concert this month, the Mall City Harmonizers will be joined by members of barbershop choruses from Grand Rapids, Lansing, Battle Creek, Holland and Muskegon. More than 50 male voices will join in song and the concert will also feature Patch Chords, a humorous, award-winning quartet, and The Gagie School's Good Vibes Chorus.

BC The quartet Remix will be one of several who will perform at the Diamond Jubilee concert.

military men and women. The Harmonizers donate money to Broncos for Heroes, which is WMU’s ROTC program that sends care packages to U.S. military members overseas.

In 2015, the chorus gave more than $1,000,

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GOOD WORKS ENCORE

Drums, Dance and Doulas

Rootead aims to reduce infant mortality and enrich families KARA NORMAN

Brian Powers

by

14 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

ENCORE GOOD WORKS

I

n 2002, Kama Mitchell was visiting a cousin who was in labor when her cousin asked her to stay behind as everyone else left the room. Mitchell was surprised. She had never seen a woman besides herself have a baby. She had no qualifications. Nonetheless, she stayed behind and watched her cousin give birth.

The experience “blew her mind,” Mitchell says. Having already earned certification to teach yoga and in the midst of studying African drum and dance, Mitchell left the hospital and added “birth work” to her career goals.

Now the 41-year old Mitchell is combining all three of her passions — yoga, African drum and dance, and birth work — as the executive director of Rootead (pronounced ROOT-ed), Left: Kama Mitchell leads a yoga class at Rootead’s studio on Fulford Street. Above: Kama Mitchell holds a shekere, a percussion instrument from Africa that Rootead uses in its African drumming and dance classes and performances.

a new nonprofit that aims to address infant mortality and social justice in the greater Kalamazoo area. Rootead offers body awareness through yoga, drumming and movement classes, and birth-work services in Kalamazoo and the surrounding communities.

How do yoga and drumming relate to pregnant women — and to social justice, for that matter?

In 2014, Mitchell attended meetings organized by the YWCA of Kalamazoo where she learned about racial disparities in Michigan’s infant mortality rates: The rate for black babies is three times higher than for white babies (18.2 deaths per 1,000 live births vs. 6 deaths per 1,000 live births) and twice as high for Native American babies than for white babies (13.4 deaths vs. 6.0 deaths per 1,000 live births), according to Michigan Department of Community Health statistics. A year later, Mitchell was participating in a Black Midwives and Healers conference in Portland, Oregon, when she heard the theory that the “black infant mortality rate is caused by stress.”

The source of that stress is twofold, Mitchell says. “It comes from generational weathering on black women and general stress from being a black person in this society.”

That’s when Mitchell reflected on how empowered she feels when she dances and practices yoga. “I started thinking: Maybe that’s why black babies are dying, because the women carrying them don’t feel empowered. They’re stressed,” she says.

In addition, says Mitchell, many African-American mothers are wary of hospitals and doctors. A 2015 report by the Centers for Disease Control’s Division of Vital Statistics showed that African-American mothers are 2.3 times more likely than white mothers to wait to begin prenatal care until their third trimester of pregnancy or to not receive prenatal care at all.

Mitchell, who is currently training to become a certified doula, a professional who provides support to birthing mothers, sees herself as an advocate for women who might feel intimidated or misunderstood by hospitals and doctors.

To that end, Rootead works to connect pregnant women in the community to doula services and teaches a doula course that discusses social justice. Mitchell says Rootead wants to elevate levels of “cultural competency” in the community by educating people about “meeting young black mothers exactly where they are, not dismissing them.”

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 15

“There’s all these different reasons why black babies are dying,” Mitchell says. “When you go into a hospital and you don’t feel supported because of your race, but you have an advocate there who is culturally the same as you and can speak for you so you can do the work of having a baby, it just makes all the difference.”

Birth work is just one aspect of Rootead’s efforts to empower low-income families of color. The organization’s dance, yoga and other movement classes, as well as its drumming and teen programs, focus on using “body awareness” to help individuals — female and male, young and old and of all races — feel stronger and more empowered.

Using her background in African drum and dance to empower others has been a goal of Michell’s since she and her cousin, Heather Mitchell, began performing African drum and dance at Kalamazoo-area libraries, museums and public places six years ago with their dance collective, Dunuya Drum and Dance.

In December 2013, the two cousins won a small grant — $750 — from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation to offer yoga and dance programs for women under the auspices of Dunuya. They called the effort Rooted Queens.

In the spring of 2013, they received a grant for $25,000 from the State Farm insurance company and put it toward renting and refurbishing a space for the organization to hold classes and programs. Unfortunately, problems with the building they were in, including the space being flooded, resulted in their having to leave and start over somewhere else.

That’s when Matt Lechel, who serves as the executive director of Kalamazoo Collective Housing and with whom Kama Mitchell served on the People’s Food Co-Op board of directors, suggested she start her own nonprofit.

Left: Many drums are used in Rootead’s classes and performances. Above: Mitchell shakes a shekere with Ashley Espinosa, Rootead’s director of doulas and Espinosa’s daughter, Gia, while intern Quantre Jennings plays along on a drum.

So she did, naming it Rootead. The unusual spelling came about in two ways, says Mitchell.

“At our events we offer tea — it’s to calm the

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body and is a ceremonial gesture,” she says.

“It’s also for marketing purposes. If you Google the word “rooted,” there are so many other organizations with that name. With Rootead, we are the first one that you see.”

In June, Rootead signed a two-year lease on a space at 1501 Fulford St., in the Edison neighborhood, where it offers African dance, drum and other movement classes and family enrichment programs. They offer some programs for children, including a summer Roots of Hip-Hop camp, which taught art, dance and the history of the African roots of hip-hop music. But a pivotal part of Rootead’s efforts will be to connect pregnant women of color in the community with doula services.

In addition to Kama Mitchell, Rootead’s staff includes Ashley Espinosa, a certified birth doula from Kalamazoo training to become a certified midwife who manages operations for Rootead and serves as its director of doulas. Heather Mitchell, who has been a performer of African diasporic dance in Kalamazoo for almost 10 years, serves as the nonprofit’s director of dance.

“I never had any intention of starting a nonprofit,” Kama Mitchell says. “I’m an artist.

Some days I wake up and tell myself, ‘You are crazy.’ But I can’t stop now. I just do what I can and pray a lot. And dance.”

For more information, visit rootead.org or the organization’s Facebook page at facebook.com/ rootead.

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Their Blood Runs Blue

18 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

Four generations cultivate success of Mitchell’s Blueberries story by

EMILY TOWNSEND

photography by

BRIAN POWERS

B

lueberries are nothing new to Dale Mitchell and his nine siblings.

“We’ve been around blueberries our entire lives.

Before we had our farm, our neighbors had them. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have access to a blueberry field,” says the 59-year-old co-owner of Mitchell’s Blueberry Farm in Grand Junction.

Mitchell’s Blueberry Farm, started nearly half a century ago on just five acres, today is one of a handful of certified organic blueberry farms in the region. Last summer 10,000 pounds of the farm’s organic blueberries were picked and sold fresh and frozen at farmers’ markets and grocery stores and to u-pickers.

It’s hard to tell that the operation started out small and slow.

In 1968, when Dale was starting middle school, his father, Philemon, worked for Bohn, a South Haven manufacturer of automotive pistons, and his mother, Jeanne, was a schoolteacher. Phil wanted to invest in land and plan for retirement. He looked around at his neighbors and saw blue.

“Dad started the farm as a retirement business, but it ended up being my mom’s summer vacation business,” says Josephine Woods Brown, one of Dale’s sisters and another co-owner of the Van Buren County farm. “Dad managed the fields, and Mom was more in charge of harvesting. She managed the shed. She managed the pickers.”

“He saw that there was financial gain to be made,” Dale says. “He also enjoyed working in nature. It was therapeutic for him to work the field.”

Dale Mitchell, left, "cleans the bush" of ripe blueberries with his sisters, Marie Mitchell-Dunning and Josephine Woods Brown. The buckets looped to their belts allow them to use both hands to "roll" berries off a branch. w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 19

Many, Many Mitchells Jeanne and Philemon had 10 children: Jeanne Baraka-Love, Josephine Woods Brown, Florence Mitchell, Naima Abdul-Haqq, Philemon Mitchell Jr., Maurice Mitchell, Dale Mitchell, Veronica Cook, Marie MitchellDunning and Jill Buford.

In Jeanne Mitchell’s 2013 obituary, her son Phil — a former Kalamazoo Gazette photographer — said he and his seven sisters and two brothers have been successful in life because of their parents.

"Everybody's doing well, and that's because of the great influence of her (his mother) and my father," he said.

Four of the Mitchell daughters, like their mother, had careers as educators. The oldest child, Baraka-Love, was director of multicultural affairs at Kalamazoo College, taught ethnic relations at Western Michigan

University, and in 1993 started Ujima, a nonprofit organization that supports AfricanAmerican children in Kalamazoo County.

In addition, Woods Brown was the human resources director of Kalamazoo County, Abdul-Haqq served on the South Haven Arts Council Board, Dale Mitchell and Marie Mitchell-Dunning are close to retiring from lifetime careers as healthcare workers, and Maurice Mitchell played as a wide receiver for two NFL teams.

The grandchildren are just as active. Two of them — Kama and Heather Mitchell — are featured on page 14 in a story about Rootead, a nonprofit organization they formed that uses drums, dance and doula services to promote “birth justice and family enrichment” for families of color.

Trailblazers The Mitchells’ operation was unusual from the get-go.

“There have been African-American farmers throughout history, once slaves were free, but to be organic farmers — and this is the second and third generation owning this blueberry farm — is kind of unusual,” Jo says.

However, before the land was even purchased in the late 1960s, the odds were stacked against Phil’s dream of owning a farm.

He was affected by “redlining,” a practice that started during the Great Depression. Bank lenders refused to lend money to AfricanAmericans looking to buy property in white and affluent neighborhoods, based on a federal rating system that ranked non-white neighborhoods as fiscally hazardous.

Urban areas across the United States, like Kalamazoo, were notoriously affected, says Donna Odom of the Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society.

Land loans in rural areas were a little different, but the practice remained discriminatory. It was nearly impossible for African-American farmers to buy land with highly rated soil, and they were forced to buy land near one another, say historians Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton in their book, American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass.

“All of the black families (farming in Southwest Michigan) are or were in this area,” 20 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

Jo says. “This was a former swampland. Dad moved a lot of the dirt, but you can still tell in some low-lying areas that it was swamp. But I always say, ‘Man made it for evil, but God made it for good.’”

With the help of neighbors, Phil Mitchell was able to move soil and create an irrigated orchard, Jo says, “so our berries are exceptionally good because of what used to be here. It turned out to be great for the plants.”

Dale notes that support for the farm was strongest in the immediate AfricanAmerican farming community in and around

Top: Despite sitting down, siblings, from left, Marie Mitchell-Dunning, Dale Mitchell and Josephine Woods Brown are still working, discussing organic spraying deadlines, the grandchildren's work schedules and the picking team's pay. Bottom: Philemon and Jeanne Mitchell’s great-grandchildren, from left, Leo Galasso, Ahsan Dolly, Naaz Allison and Naim Dolly, sort berries in the processing shed.

Grand Junction. Other farmers taught his family how to farm.

“When we planted another field in ’91, we had the field dug up by a neighbor, because at the time I didn’t have a rototiller,” Dale says. “We were out there digging holes with shovels to get the plants in when another African-American farmer — name of Osborne

Brian Powers

Jeanne Mitchell’s Blueberry Pie Crust: 4 cups of flour 2 cups of shortening A little salt • Mix with fork.

• Add 1 cup of water or enough to moisten all the flour.

• Roll into ball and then take ²/³ and roll out to cover bottom and sides of pan.

Pie filling: • Enough blueberries to fill ¾ of the pie pan • 1½-2 cups of sugar spread over the blueberries • 1½ cups of flour poured over the sugar and berries • Sprinkle the juice of 1 lemon over the top of all.

• Cut ²/³ of a stick of butter into small squares and lay on top of berries.

Top: • Roll out the remaining dough and cover the filling, making small slits in the dough with a knife.

Jones — stopped by and told me about a single plow that creates a trench far easier. From the very beginning, people would assist each other in that way.

“Dad didn’t have enough acreage at the time, nor was (the land) cleared,” Dale continues, explaining that his father used the small piece of land he could afford to start a nursery of blueberry bushes. “To get them started, he put them closer together than they should be.”

Jo, who is 10 years older than Dale, was grown and living across the state in 1971 when their father decided to move the young starter plants into a bigger field. “When they transplanted the plants from the nursery to the fields, I came home that summer,” she says.

“I rode in the back of the tractor, dropped the flats off. Then the boys would cover the plants and get them ready for the field.” Three years later, the bushes were bursting with fruit.

The Mitchells joined the Michigan Blueberry Growers Association but maintained a relatively small operation, farming just five acres.

It wasn’t until 1990, when Jo moved back home, that she and Dale bought another 4 1/2 acres.

As the Mitchells’ business grew, so did the family. By the time of Jeanne’s death in 2013, she and Phil had 100 living descendants. The farm became a place of huge family reunions and a landscape for memories.

Heather Mitchell, Dale’s 34-year-old daughter, now lives in Kalamazoo with her children and works as a dance teacher and choreographer. She remembers the farm idyllically, from “epic blueberry fights with my cousins to walking through rows of bushes looking for the biggest and sweetest berries.”

Heather says she learned important life values on the farm. “My grandfather said, ‘He who don’t work don’t eat.’ It sounded reasonable to me.”

A new niche According to the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, July marked the centennial celebration of the first profitable crop of blueberries in the world, cultivated by the daughter of a cranberry farmer in New Jersey. Southwest Michigan was the leading global producer of crop blueberries until 2014, when it was surpassed by Georgia and then by the state of Washington.

By the time the Mitchells’ bushes had matured and started producing fruit in 1971, blueberries were an iconic Fourth of July treat, and Violet was turning violet in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. In that movie, Gene Wilder shook his disapproving top hat and said, “It happens every time — they all become blueberries.” From pop culture to kitchens, blueberries had become ubiquitous and ordinary.

• Melt the remaining¹/³ stick of butter and brush on top.

• Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Baking instructions: • Bake at 350 degrees in a conventional oven until the crust browns.

Note from Jeanne Mitchell’s daughter Josephine Woods Brown, who provided the recipe: “Mom did not use measurements and so this is as exact as possible.”

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 21

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For years, the Mitchells weathered a rollercoaster blueberry market. “You’d have a good year or two and then there would be an abundance of blueberries,” Dale says. If the frozen market had not cleared out, then the prices would be lower. In addition, U.S. growers were competing with blueberries from other countries like Mexico.

After a lull in the market in 2007, the Mitchells hit upon a new niche to make them more competitive — their business became the first organic blueberry farm in Van Buren County. Even though they rarely used pesticides through the years, it took three years of chemical-free farming to transition to certified organic crops.

“That three-year period is a difficult time to transfer over,” Dale says.

During that transition, most farms take a loss, according to the USDA. While consumers won’t pay more for products labeled “pesticide-free,” more and more shoppers don’t mind the upcharge for “certified organic.”

“After we got our organic certification, things really started picking up. We started to sell in health-food stores,” Jo says.

In 2015, the Mitchells sold all of their organic berries fresh, and they are in the process of transitioning more of their acreage to organic. Mitchell’s Blueberries are for sale in Kalamazoo at the People’s Food Co-Op, Sawall Health Foods, the Natural Health Center and the Kalamazoo Farmers’ Market.

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Brian Powers

A sister company of

Siblings, from left, Josephine Woods Brown, Dale Mitchell and Marie Mitchell-Dunning, walk among blueberry bushes planted nearly 50 years ago by their father.

Many of the original 10 Mitchell siblings worked in the farm’s production shed, and now many of their children have continued the tradition. Heather’s 13-year-old son is working on the farm this year for the first time. “He will be working alongside his older cousins just like I did when I was his age. He will teach my younger sons to pick the berries and let them roll off their fingers like my grandpa taught me,” Heather said prior to blueberry season.

“The farm is our legacy.”

And 48 years after Philemon and Jeanne decided to become farmers, Dale still gets excited about blueberry season. “I like going out there. I have a lot of nice pictures of the berries when they are green. Then they turn so blue! I just watch the bees pollinate. The whole process of seeing them develop season after season has been a part of my life since a time when I was quite young.”

But this year Dale made a hard decision.

After 25 years as an owner of Mitchell’s Blueberries, he will retire and sell his house and a share of the business to two of his sisters, though he says he’s not ready to let go of blueberries entirely. “My wife and I are just going to keep one acre right close to the house because I enjoy doing it,” he says. “Blueberries have always been a part of who I am.”

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Volunteer Comfort story by

Cancer center patients get hugs, support from those who’ve been there

lisa mackinder

photography by

“I’ll volunteer until the day I can’t.”

Bob Bos, one of approximately 70 volunteers at the West Michigan Cancer Center in Kalamazoo, says these words with emphasis. The Vietnam veteran with a steady, caring gaze has been on the front lines of the cancer battlefield. He lost his wife to cancer and understands how a smile and kind word carry great weight in providing comfort.

As a security volunteer at the center, Bos is one of the first faces that patients and their loved ones see as they approach the building. Bos greets people, assists them with wheelchairs, escorts them to the correct floors and provides anything else they might need — even a hug. And he gives out many hugs.

He says he asked for this particular volunteer position for a reason: “Because when you’re coming across that parking lot for the first time, I’ve seen so many tears come down gals’ or guys’ cheeks, knowing that they’re entering in for the first time the cancer center. And the first face they see is someone that is going to say, 'Good morning. How we doing today? Can I help in any way?'”

Providing encouragement Samantha Carlson, director of social services at the cancer center, believes that the center’s volunteers are priceless. Every patient who walks through its doors has been traumatized, she says, whether they are coming to find out if they have cancer, if they remain a survivor or if cancer has recurred. The volunteers help alleviate that stress. Carlson believes they amplify the staff’s ability to serve patients.

“They contribute humanity and care that we cannot do as clinicians or staff,” Carlson says. “Even though we feel the same empathy, having walked the walk — a lot of them are survivors or caregivers — that’s super-important.”

On Thursday mornings, people entering the cancer center receive a heartfelt greeting from volunteer Alan Sarver. A cancer survivor, Sarver knows the emotions associated with a cancer diagnosis: fear, worry, apprehension. When Sarver received treatment at the center, he remembers, the staff and volunteers put him at ease and made him feel welcomed. That stirred his soul to provide the same support to others.

24 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

BRIAN POWERS

“If I can smile and say good morning to somebody, I’ve done something at least,” Sarver says.

Sitting at the table next to Bos and Sarver, coffee cart volunteer Paul Eddy nods in agreement. When fighting his own cancer battle, Eddy says, two people stood out on his first day at the center: a knowledgeable oncology nurse and the friendly greeter at the front door.

“I remember — I think it was you, Bob — at the front door saying 'good morning' and with this big smile,” Eddy says. That simple act grounded him, Eddy says, and in those four seconds conveyed that these were real people who cared.

Eddy now provides encouragement by offering coffee, cookies, crackers, a warm smile and willingness to listen. His late father-in-law, Bob Elwell, also volunteered at the center for many years. Eddy proudly points at the many decorative pins that came from Elwell that now adorn Eddy’s volunteer vest.

He has been pushing the cart for only about two months and admits to feeling nervous his first few days.

“I had no idea what to say to folks or what to do,” Eddy says.

Now Eddy offers two words to those considering a volunteer position: “Be bold.” Do that even if it falls outside of your comfort zone, he advises. Take action, step in and say, “Use me. I’m here.”

In Eddy’s case, Marilyn Schutter, a 19-year coffee cart volunteer, showed him the ropes. And who better to do so?

Schutter started the center’s volunteer program nearly 20 years ago when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatment in Ann Arbor. One day as they waited, a man came by and offered cookies and conversation. Schutter was impressed by such a considerate gesture, and after her daughter received a clean bill of health, Schutter called the West Michigan Cancer Center to see if they needed help. They did, but in the office.

A retired middle school secretary, Schutter had had enough of paperwork. She wanted to be on the floor, but the volunteer program didn’t yet exist, so Schutter and another woman took Clockwise from far right: Volunteer Marilyn Schutter was instrumental in starting WMCC’s volunteer corps; artist Evelyn Greathouse works on a piece as patients watch; Paul Eddy provides coffee and snacks; and Bob Bos offers a friendly greeting to arriving patients.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 25

action, purchasing Famous Amos cookies, tracking down a cart and rolling up their sleeves. Those actions were infectious.

“I have three kids and they all like to volunteer for things and help people,” Schutter says, “and hopefully that will go down to your grandchildren and maybe your great-grandchildren. It isn’t something that you tell them to do, but maybe they want to do it because there’s joy in it.”

People gifted in the arts also donate their time at the cancer center.

In 2012, a friend who played the piano at the center approached Susan Noble about also playing piano there. Noble, whose husband had had cancer 30 years before, jumped at the chance.

“It’s a joy to me to help somebody else,” Noble says. “That’s why I do it.”

Noble often plays old music and military tunes. For the older patients, it resurrects memories. When Noble takes a break, they reminisce about “old music and old times.” The center needs more piano players, Noble says, adding that music brings comfort to the patients.

Evelyn Greathouse, a local veterinarian and pastel artist who also volunteers at the center, says Noble’s music lightens the atmosphere in the room. “It almost sounds like you are at a USO joint,” Greathouse says, smiling.

Greathouse, a cancer survivor, says when she was receiving treatment at the cancer center, she drew for three hours while hooked to an IV line. That gave her an idea: Maybe others would like to watch her draw. Every Wednesday she sets up her easel in the lobby.

“Just to look these people in the face and acknowledge them as human beings, you give them so much,” she says. “And it’s not as scary as (you) might anticipate — doom and gloom and all that stuff.

It’s not that way. We’re all in this together, and I think it increases your own humanity.”

Juggling tasks The first thing you notice about Debra Chesney, volunteer coordinator at the WMCC, is her warm smile and affable nature.

After speaking with her colleagues, you discover she has another gift: juggling (tasks, that is). Orchestrating the volunteer program means interviewing potential volunteers, coordinating background checks and interviews, training, keeping volunteers updated on annual compliance, providing ongoing communication of process changes at the institution, coordinating the daily schedule of more than a dozen volunteers on-site or in the community, assisting with program coordination and networking in the community. Oh, yeah, and making sure 30-plus pots of coffee get brewed each day.

“Deb has an amazing skill set of organization, people skills, and empathy that is hard to find,” Carlson says.

For all that Chesney gives, she receives much more in return, she says. The volunteers at the WMCC have helped her grow personally, she says, due to their commitment, their stories and how they handle life’s problems.

“Volunteers inspire me to be a better person,” Chesney says, “to take time for others in need that may only need a few minutes of encouragement. When you work in a health-care setting, you find out that life can be short, so we need to make sure we are taking time for people. My volunteers have inspired me in this area.”

26 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

From left: WMCC staff members Samantha Carlson and Deb Chesney work with WMCC volunteers, including Paul Eddy, Bob Bos, Alan Sarver, Marilyn Schutter and Evelyn Greathouse.

Chesney also interacts with patients and their families. A particular patient stands out in her mind. While working the new host volunteer position in the infusion area, Chesney was pushing a cart filled with magazines. Chesney offered them to a man in his 50s. He declined — until his eye caught the sports magazines. Before Chesney knew it, the patient opened up, talking about never expecting this to happen and how he still loved to watch and play sports.

“Cancer had taken a toll on his body but not his spirit,” she says. “He still enjoyed watching sports and participating when able. I was amazed at his will to fight his cancer and still enjoy what he loved to do.”

Training volunteers Between 60 and 70 percent of WMCC volunteers have been patients at the center or have a loved one who was a patient there.

Before being sent onto the floor, every new volunteer receives four hours of training, which includes topics such as HIPAA (the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and its patient confidentiality requirements, infection control, and what cancer patients experience. Ongoing training occurs quarterly. The center brings in speakers on subjects such as grief and veterans’ services in sessions that are open to both volunteers and patients.

Seeing so many people come through the doors isn’t always easy for volunteers, Chesney says, but the volunteers bring incredible joy to the patients.

“Training is quite intense,” Chesney says. “They need to be prepared for what they see when they go out on the floor, and that can be scary for some. We have volunteer shadows (for new volunteers). That has helped a lot to make them feel comfortable and know, ‘I can do this.’”

The couple has sent Bos invitations to family sports events and barbecues. Although he declines these invitations, it shows the connectedness that develops between volunteers and patients and their loved ones. Bos regularly receives Christmas cards from families as well.

Brian Powers

Deep dedication

Special encounters Bos, a volunteer since 2009, provides a story that sheds light on the emotionally intense experiences volunteers encounter. It also highlights the volunteer program’s significance. One day Bos witnessed a woman get out of her car in the parking lot and start weeping. The woman’s husband wrapped his arms around her. Bos approached them and asked if he might help in some way. The man explained that his wife had Stage 4 cancer. This was their first time coming to the cancer center, and Bos sensed their immediate need. “‘You need a hug to let you know that I’m here for you,’” Bos says he told them, “‘that the center is here for you, that we care about you.’

And she collapsed in my arms,” he says, “put her head on my shoulder and just wept, and she said, ‘Thank you so much.’”

The program touches the lives of approximately 450 to 650 patients per day. Bos, Eddy, Sarver, Schutter and Noble alone have put in more than 6,000 hours in the last year. And Chesney doesn’t recruit volunteers — they come to her with dedication that runs so deep they plan activities around their volunteer schedule. Sarver, a retiree, enjoys vacationing with his wife, but he returns by Thursday so he doesn’t miss his shift. In the event that something unexpected arises, another volunteer always steps up, Sarver says.

“The substitute list here is very long,” he says. “If you can’t make it here on your shift, (you) tell Deb, she puts out an email and that thing is filled within the next day or two.”

Lynne Emons, marketing coordinator at the cancer center, finds her job humbling. The volunteers have been through painful situations, she says, yet they return every week. Emons likens their work to “tours of duty.”

“They go over and over, back to this place where they faced a lot of difficulties,” she says. “Somewhere they’ve been able to draw this strength, give others strength to get through this, and it just strikes me.”

In 1994, Emons was a patient herself at the center. She remembers the fear and how she cried for a week, so she recognizes the strength it takes for volunteers to do what they do.

But the volunteers wouldn’t have it any other way, as Bos can attest.

“I guess to sum it up, in a nutshell, I’m here because people should volunteer in some way, somewhere,” Bos says. “I don’t care if it’s the cancer center, the hospital, (or) the local food kitchen over here. It’s amazing how you can touch people’s lives and feel so good inside afterwards.”

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ARTS ENCORE

The Art of Timekeeping

Rick Hale’s intricate wooden clocks are showstoppers by

KARA NORMAN

Twenty-six-year-old Rick Hale collects antique horology books, not

Brian Powers

as art, not as a hobby, but because his future may depend on them.

The books are about the science of measuring time, and Hale is a self-taught clockmaker who designs and builds handcrafted analogue clocks for his Kalamazoo-based business, Clockwright.

Hale also studies 17th-century timepieces, loves Windsor chairs and waxes rhapsodic about a pneumatic sander from the 1970s that

he has in his wood shop, a space just north of downtown Kalamazoo that he shares with fellow woodworkers Gerren Young, of Young’s Generation Custom Drums, and Ben Aldrich.

Hale can get really nerdy about woodworking and clockmaking, but one look at his products — such as a 6-foot-tall wooden wall clock that ticks every two seconds instead of one — and you understand that he’s sort of a mad scientist, a young dreamer dedicated to old-

28 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

Courtesy

fashioned things but with more than a little Doc from Back to the Future rattling around in his soul.

In his shop he displays his design for a 10-foot-tall clock that is part of this year’s ArtPrize, Grand Rapids’ annual international art competition. “The math tells me that this should require 70 pounds for the drive weight,” he says, referring to a mechanism that keeps a clock’s pendulum swinging.

“Seventy pounds for a drive weight is intense,” Hale explains. “Most of my clocks use 10- to 12-pound drive weights, so you can just lift them up, no problem.” For this clock, he may design a pulley or crank system “to make it easier on whoever’s winding it,” he says, laughing.

If Hale himself is somewhat of a mad scientist, a clock made by him is anything but freakish. It looks instead like the love child of an exquisite artist and an accomplished mathematician.

Left: Rick Hale cuts each intricate piece for his wooden clock sculptures by hand. Above: A finished clock constructed by Hale. Right: By cutting gear teeth for his clocks on a “contraption” he designed and built, Hale will save himself hours of work.

Brian Powers

ENCORE ARTS

Smooth hardwoods like cherry and walnut arc and turn in circles or shoot out in sculpted, arrow-like shapes from his clocks.

Anything metal is covered with wood. At the same time, what looks totally natural has been engineered down to single degrees inside a circle. If any calculation is off, the magic stops.

Such calculations are where all those old horology books come into play. Hale has learned everything about clockmaking on his own. Antique books on clockmaking lend themselves well to the way Hale makes clocks now. “I’m basically trying to make 17th-century and 18th-century clocks,” he says.

In addition to making one-of-a-kind timepieces, Hale is also the drummer for Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers, a nationally touring band with three full-length albums (Encore, February 2015). Hale has nearly 6,000 followers on Instagram. A Kickstarter campaign he started in December raised

$27,588, most of it in one week, and got boosted to the front page of Kickstarter’s website.

In other words, the guy’s no slouch.

His Instagram feed includes videos of a mechanical contraption he built to cut multiple sets of wooden gear teeth at one time. It took six months to complete, but Hale estimates it will save him hours of work per clock. He shows off the apparatus and his designs for clocks and describes each matterof-factly, as if everyone in the world draws clocks in Moleskine notebooks and then stays up for days at a time making them a reality.

“I’m excited because it will give me more time for actual designing,” he says of the teeth-cutting device. “If I can free up time in repetitive tasks like this, I can spend more time conceptualizing bigger designs and just coming up with more interesting ideas.”

Hale, who grew up in Wayne, attended Michigan State for jazz studies but says he “got bored” and switched to English. He graduated

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 29

30 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

Brian Powers

in 2011 with a degree in English and creative writing and started driving a forklift. “Classic English major job, right?” he jokes.

He also learned how to make drums in Young’s workshop, taught drum lessons and worked for the Kalamazoo Public Library. But in 2012, after his father died suddenly, Hale stumbled upon a clock design online when he was looking for a way to process his grief.

Inspired, he headed into Young’s workshop and built his first clock. He loved the process so much he went back to school to study mechanical engineering at Western Michigan University and balanced playing in a band, attending school and working as an intern at FEMA Corp., a hydraulic engineering company in Portage.

Hale says he loved studying engineering and would have continued if Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers hadn’t started doing so well.

Last year the band embarked on a national tour that had Hale on the road for weeks at a time, so he put school on the back burner.

“Professors of engineering don’t really appreciate people in bands that travel,” Hale says, smiling. Then he adds that his instructors were generally forgiving, but he personally felt it was too much to tour and stay in school.

For now, Hale plans to continue making clocks and playing in the band. If neither of those gigs take off, he says, he’ll go back to school for engineering, something he wishes he had discovered long ago.

See Hale’s work at ArtPrize A work by Rick Hale will be one of the more than 1,400 works of art exhibited during the 2016 ArtPrize art competition in Grand Rapids Sept. 21—Oct. 9.

What: against oblivion, a giant wood clock created by Hale Where: J.W. Marriott Grand Rapids Hotel, 235 Louis St. NW, Grand Rapids More info: artprize.org/63865

Hale attributes his perseverence and work ethic to his father. He says his dad, who was a mechanic at Ford Motor Co. for 34 years, would often show him how to fix a truck or car in the family garage. Sometimes something would break, leading to a whole new problem.

“In my mind, I would think, ‘This is horrible,’” Hale says. “‘How are we going to spend another six hours doing this?’ My dad would just laugh.”

That kind of level-headedness infuriated Hale then, but now he understands it. “At a certain point, you can choose to either be happy about the way things are or beat yourself up and have a horrible time,” he says.

“He taught me the persistence of going at something and going at it until you can’t go at it anymore. And then to keep going at it, you know? That’s not something you can teach yourself.”

Hale credits his mom, a school secretary, for the risks he takes now. “My mom is the most encouraging, do-what-you-love person of all time. She has always said, ‘You don’t have to be a doctor. You don’t have to fulfill some expectation. You just have to do what you love.’

“It’s easy to let your creative stuff fall away when you have so much other stuff to worry about, but it’s the worst to do that. If that’s the one thing that gives you fuel, you have to keep that at all costs.”

PERFORMING ARTS THEATER Plays Red, White and Tuna — Joe Aiello and Scott Burkell star in a comedy about a small-town high school reunion, 8 p.m. Sept. 1–3, 5 p.m. Sept.

4, Barn Theatre, 13351 West M-96, Augusta, 731-4121.

Baby with the Bathwater — A satirical comedy exploring the journey of parenting, children and the world, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23–24, 29–30, Oct. 1, 7 & 8; 2 p.m.

Oct. 2, York Arena Theatre, WMU, 387-5360.

Musicals Cotton Patch Gospel — A musical retelling of the life of Jesus set in modern-day rural Georgia, 8 p.m. Sept. 9–10 & 16–17, New Vic Theatre, 134 E. Vine St., 381-3328.

Oklahoma! — Civic Theatre presents this classic love story set in Indian territory after the turn of the 20th

century, 7:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Sept. 23–Oct. 9, Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St., 343-1313.

California Honeydrops — American blues and R&B band, 8 p.m. Sept. 8, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

1776 — Farmers Alley Theatre presents the Tony Awardwinning musical about the birth of our nation, 7:30 p.m.

Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Sept. 30–Oct. 16, Little Theatre, corner of Oakland Drive and Oliver Lane, 343-2727.

Back to the ‘90s — R&B and rap hits featuring Naughty

by Nature, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Rob Base, Lisa Lisa, Whodini and Debbie Deb, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9, Wings Event Center, 3600 Vanrick Drive, 345-1125.

Dirty Dancing — The classic love story of a young woman and a camp’s dance instructor, 8 p.m. Sept. 30, 3 & 8 p.m. Oct. 1, 1 p.m. Oct. 2, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 349-7759.

MUSIC Bands & Solo Artists

Crime Funk Collective — The funk band performs with Yolonda Lavender, 9 p.m. Sept. 9, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Make America Rock Again — American hard rock with Trapt, Saliva, Saving Abel, Alien Ant Farm, 12 Stones, Crazy Town and Tantric, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11, Wings Event Center, 345-1125.

Red Tail Ring with Joel Mabus — Folk, traditional and Americana music, 8:30 p.m. Sept. 1, Bell's Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382-2332.

Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas — Detroit-based soul and pop band, 8 p.m. Sept. 15, Bell's Eccentric Café, 3822332.

Keller Williams & More Than a Little — Acoustic funk band, 9 p.m. Sept. 2, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

The Collingsworth Family — Contemporary gospel group, 7 p.m. Sept. 16, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., 337-0440.

Ultraviolet Hippopotamus — Grand Rapids-based rock band, 9 p.m. Sept. 3, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

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Arcadia Brewing Company’s 20th Anniversary Party — Five bands, food and beverages to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters, 5–11:59 p.m. Sept. 17, Arcadia AlesKalamazoo, 701 E. Michigan Ave., 276-0458.

Fareed Haque with Psychedelic Elephant Machine Gun — The guitarist with the electronic funk/jazz band, 9 p.m. Sept. 22, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Tony Fields & Doug Decker — Blues, soul and Motown duo, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Mangia Pizza & Pasta, 3112 S. Ninth St., 226-3333.

SEPTEMBER FIRST-RUNS OPENING SEPTEMBER 2 Michael Fassbender & Alicia Vikander in THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS OPENING SEPTEMBER 9 Tom Hanks in SULLY OPENING SEPTEMBER 16 BRIDGET JONES’S BABY OPENING SEPTEMBER 23 Denzel Washington & Chris Pratt in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN OPENING SEPTEMBER 30 Tim Burton’s MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN SEPTEMBER SPECIALTY SEPTEMBER 6 Gryphon Place presents THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK SEPTEMBER 10 & 15 John Waters’ MULTIPLE MANIACS SEPTEMBER 14 MAMMA MIA! Movie Party SEPTEMBER 18 Greta Garbo in NINOTCHKA

The Verve Pipe — West Michigan alternative rock band, 9 p.m. Sept. 24, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Nashon Holloway — The singer's album release show, 9 p.m. Sept. 30, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Chamber, Jazz, Vocal & More Cool Concerts on Thursday Nights — Cellist Lillian Pettitt of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, 8 p.m. Sept. 1, First Baptist Church, 315 W. Michigan Ave., 345-2195.

Bronfman Plays Tchaikovsky 2 — Pianist Yefim Bronfman performs Tchaikovsky’s Second Piano Concerto with the KSO, 8 p.m. Sept. 16, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 349-7759.

Mall City Harmonizers’ Diamond Jubilee — A cappella barbershop chorus, 7 p.m. Sept. 17, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 615-8796.

Gilmore Rising Star Sean Chen — The American pianist performs works of Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Ravel, 4 p.m. Sept. 18, Wellspring Theater, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, 342-1166.

Kalamazoo Singers’ 40th Anniversary Gala Celebration — Preview of anniversary season, with selections of opera and theater performed by soloists, plus wine and refreshments, 7 p.m. Sept. 23, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, 314 S. Park St., 373-1769.

Pianist Brad Mehldau & Saxophonist Joshua Redman — Fontana presents the Grammy-nominated jazz musicians, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 382-7774.

KSO Burdick-Thorne String Quartet — Noon Sept.

28, Garden Atrium, Bronson Methodist Hospital, 349-7759.

COMEDY Kathleen Madigan: The Mermaid Lady Tour — The panelist from Comedy Central's Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore shares her brand of humor, 8 p.m. Sept. 30, State Theatre, 404 S. Burdick St., 345-6500.

Thursday Evenings — Alone in the Universe, film by Joshua Courtade, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 8; Meditation in the Galleries with Osel Chogyal, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15; Walk & Talk: A Community Conversation about “Renee Stout: Tales of the Conjure Woman,” 6 p.m. Sept. 22; Conjuring Spirits, Crossing the Waters: An Afro-Caribbean Historical Journey with Dr. Kristina Wirtz, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29.

Get the Picture: Renee Stout's “Marie Laveau” — A discussion with Michelle Stempien, noon Sept. 15.

Book Discussion — Discussion of the novel Season of Migration, by Nellie Herman, 2 p.m. Sept. 21, Meader Fine Arts Library, 585-9291.

Richmond Center for Visual Arts Western Michigan University, 387-2436 Jason Bernagozzi: Citystream — A multi-channel video installation about the city of Syracuse, New York, Sept. 2–Oct. 2, Atrium Gallery.

After the Thrill is Gone: Fashion, Politics and Culture in Contemporary South African Art — Sept.

8–Oct. 28, Monroe-Brown and Netzorg-Kerr galleries.

Other Venues Art Hop — Local artists and musicians at various venues in Kalamazoo, 5–8 p.m. Sept. 9, 342-5059.

LIBRARY & LITERARY EVENTS Kalamazoo Public Library First Saturday @ KPL — Stories, activities and door prizes, 2–3:30 p.m. Sept. 3, Central Library, 315 S. Rose St., 342-9837.

Parchment Community Library 401 Riverview Drive, 343-7747 Reel Wheels — View a car from the 1920s and watch The Great Gatsby, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 7.

Crossroads Resurrection Blues Band — Performance

by Kalamazoo blues, jazz and funk band, 2 p.m. Sept. 11.

Genre Book Group — Discussion of Spartan Gold, by Clive Cussler, 7 p.m. Sept. 14.

Historical Walking Tour through Parchment with Lynn Houghton — 1:30 p.m. Sept. 24, meet at Parchment Library.

A Postcard Trip Through Parchment History — Visit sights, sounds, food and stories from Parchment’s rich history through a postcard exhibit, 2–4 p.m. Sept. 25.

Portage District Library 300 Library Lane, 329-4544

VISUAL ARTS

Come Forth Into the Past: Demonstrations of Medieval Skill — Learn about life in the medieval era, watch armored combat and experience music of the past, 1–4 p.m. Sept. 10.

SEPTEMBER 22 WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts 314 S. Park St., 349-7775

Fall TV Preview: SciFi/Fantasy Discussion Group — Preview the fall sci-fi/fantasy TV shows, 7 p.m. Sept. 12.

SEPTEMBER 24 TIME BANDITS L L L A CLOCKWORK ORANGE L L L PHANTASM

Barbara Takenaga: Waiting in the Sky II — A collection of abstract paintings by a prominent contemporary artist, through Sept. 18.

Top Shelf Reads — A young professionals’ book group discussion, 7 p.m. Sept. 12, Latitude 42 Brewing Co., 7342 Portage Road, 585-8711.

Eternal Beauty: Egg Tempera Paintings by Fred Wessel — Fifteen of Wessel's realist portraits, through Oct. 2.

Open for Discussion — Discussion of the short-story collection Flying Carpets, with author Hedy Habra, 10:30 a.m. Sept. 20.

Renee Stout: Tales of the Conjure Woman — The artist explores African cultural traditions in contemporary America, through Oct. 23.

PDL Writers Workshop: Importance of Setting — Workshop with local author Mark Love, 6–8 p.m.

Sept. 20.

Reaching into Infinity: Chul Hyun Ahn — Sculptures by the Korean artist, through Nov. 6.

Book and a Movie — A panel discussion of the novel The Girl on a Train, by Paula Hawkins, 7 p.m. Sept. 29.

ARTbreak — A weekly program about art, artists and exhibitions: The KIA is Listening! with Executive Director Belinda Tate, talk, Sept. 6; Southwest Michigan Printmakers Community: 10-Year Anniversary, talk, Sept. 13; Unfinished Spaces, video on Cuba’s National Art Schools project, Sept. 20; Ai WeiWei at Large with Joy Light, talk, Sept. 27; all sessions begin at noon, KIA Auditorium.

Other Venues

Visit drafthouse.com/kalamazoo for showtimes and tickets

DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE PLEASE CHECK

DRAFTHOUSE.COM/KALAMAZOO FOR UPDATES

32 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

September Book Club — Discussion of The Girl on a Train, by Paula Hawkins, 7 p.m. Sept.

8, Richland Community Library, 8951 Park St., 629-9085.

GeekFest 2016 — A comic book/gaming/cosplay convention, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Sept. 17, Antwerp Activity Center, 24821 Front St., Mattawan, 329-4544.

Consumers’ Education Series: Identity Theft and Online Security — Learn to recognize identity theft and fraud and protect your personal information, 11 a.m. Sept. 21, Comstock Township Library, 6130 King Highway, 345-0136.

MUSEUMS Air Zoo 6151 Portage Road, 382-6555 POPnology — Hands-on exhibit of pop culture’s impact on technology, through Oct. 2.

Gilmore Car Museum 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, 671-5089 Drive-in Movie Fundraiser — A cruise-in at 6 p.m., with American Graffiti shown at 8 p.m., Sept. 9.

Muscle Cars PLUS Show & Swap Meet — Classic muscle cars and other vehicles, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Sept. 11.

Model A Day — Model A show and swap meet, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Sept. 17.

Cadillac-LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center Fall Festival — A national meet of Cadillac and LaSalle enthusiasts, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Sept. 24 & 25.

Kalamazoo Valley Museum 230 N. Rose St., 373-7990 LEGO Travel Adventure — Use LEGOs to think creatively and build vehicles, through Sept. 11.

Kalamazoo Valley at 50 — An exhibit celebrating 50 years of Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Sept. 1–30.

The Rose Ensemble, Oct. 30

Michigan Festival of Sacred Music Oct. 29 through Nov. 2 5 days, 10 events at various Kalamazoo venues Tickets now on sale at www.mfsm.us

Art Hop Visual Artist: Marlena Smith — The artist’s Alphabet Medley Mixed-Media Exhibition, 5–8:30 p.m.

Sept. 9.

Art Hop Musical Artists: Kaitlin Rose & Rachel B — Local guitarist Kaitlin Rose and singer/songwriter Rachel B of Traverse City present a musical doubleheader, 6–8:30 p.m. Sept. 9.

Sustainable Shelter: Dwelling Within the Forces of Nature — An exhibit investigating ways that humans extract, use and discard energy, water and other natural resources, Sept. 24–Jan. 8.

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NATURE Kellogg Bird Sanctuary 12685 East C Ave., Augusta, 671-2510 Native Pollinators Workshop — Learn about native bees and how to improve habitat, 9 a.m.–noon Sept. 10.

Duck Banding Workshop — Learn about banding from local DNR staff, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 13.

Birds and Coffee Walk — A morning bird walk and discussion over coffee, 9–10:30 a.m. Sept. 14 & 17.

Other Venues "The Amazing Sky" Featuring Alan Dyer — The astrophotographer gives a tour of the sights in the sky through images and time-lapse movies, 7 p.m. Sept. 9, Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center, 600 W. Vine, Suite 400, 337-0023.

Asylum Lake Preserve Celebration — Music, tours and interactive displays by local environmental organizations, 1–5 p.m. Sept. 17, Drake Road entrance to Asylum Lake Preserve, south of Stadium Drive, 344-0836.

Climate Framing Workshop — Learn strategic ways to communicate with others about climate change, 9 a.m.–noon Sept. 23, Kalamazoo Nature Center, 7000 N. Westnedge Ave., 381-1574.

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MISCELLANEOUS Kalamazoo Farmers' Market — 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Tues., Thurs. & Sat., through Oct. 27, 1204 Bank St., 359-6727.

Lunchtime Live! — Food trucks, pop-up vendors and live music: Shelagh Brown Band, Sept. 2; Ed Lester, Sept. 9; Mark Sala, Sept. 16; TBA, Sept. 23 & 30, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., Bronson Park, 337-8191.

Walking Tour Series: Downtown Kalamazoo Breweries — Learn about the local beer culture, noon– 4:30 p.m. Sept. 3, starting at Central City Tap House, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall; Sept. 10, starting at Shakespeare's Pub, 241 E. Kalamazoo Ave.; Sept. 17, starting at Old Burdick’s Bar & Grill, 100 W. Michigan Ave., 350-4598.

Hop Harvest Beer Tour — Learn about hop harvesting in Michigan, noon–6:15 p.m. Sept. 3, starting at Shakespeare's Pub, 241 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 350-4598.

Portage Farmers’ Market — Noon–4 p.m. Sept. 4, 11, 18 & 25, Portage Senior Center, 320 Library Lane, 359-6726.

100-Mile Farmers’ Market — Fresh produce grown within 100 miles of Kalamazoo, 3–7 p.m. Sept. 7, 14, 21 & 28, People's Food Co-op, 507 Harrison St., 359-6727.

Bell's Movie Night in the Beer Garden — A double feature of Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 8 p.m. Sept. 7, Bell's Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382-2332.

Antique Engine & Tractor Show — Antique farm equipment, parades and flea market, 9 a.m.–8:30 p.m.

Sept. 8; 10 a.m.–8:30 p.m. Sept. 9; 9:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m.

Sept. 10; 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sept. 11, Michigan Flywheelers Museum, 06285 68th St., South Haven, 269-639-2010.

Gazelle Sports Historic Walks — Walking tours focusing on area history and architecture: West Main Hill, 8 a.m. Sept. 9, meeting at Monroe Street and Grand Avenue; Hotels & Motels in Kalamazoo, 8 a.m. Sept. 23, meeting at Gazelle Sports, 214 S. Kalamazoo Mall, 3425996.

NSRA Street Rod Nationals North Plus — Street rods, muscle cars and custom vehicles, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Sept.

9–10, 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m. Sept. 11, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 2900 Lake St., 303-776-7841.

Paw Paw Wine & Harvest Festival — Winery tours, contests, carnival and bicycle trip through vineyards, Sept. 9–11, downtown Paw Paw, 655-1111.

Bicycle Tour Series: Downtown Kalamazoo Breweries — Ride through downtown and learn about the beer culture, noon–4:30 p.m. Sept. 10, starting at Central City Tap House, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall; Sept. 17, starting at Old Burdick’s Bar & Grill, 100 W. Michigan Ave.; Sept. 24, starting at Shakespeare’s Pub, 241 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 350-4598.

A Night in Gotham — The Kalamazoo Jaycees' costume party, includes auction, raffle and dance-

off, 8 p.m. Sept. 10, Martini’s, 832 S. Westnedge Ave., 340-0033.

Kalamazoo 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb — A climb in honor of the firefighters lost on 9/11, 9 a.m. Sept. 11, Wings Event Center, 3600 Vanrick Drive, 345-1125.

Kalamazoo Food Truck Rally — Food trucks, booths, music and networking, 10:30 p.m.–1 a.m. Sept. 16– 17, Water Street, between Rose and Church streets, 388-2830.

Bangor Apple Festival — Farmers’ market, kids’ activities, classic car show and entertainment, Sept. 17, downtown Bangor, 269-427-5831.

Hometown Sports Card Show — Vendors showcasing sports cards and memorabilia for sale or trade, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sept. 17, Wings Event Center, 345-1125.

Kalamazoo Reptile & Exotic Pet Expo — Buy, sell or trade reptiles, amphibians and exotic pets, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Sept. 17, Kalamazoo County Expo Center North, 7799851.

Be Fit! Family Health Festival — Health-encouraging activities for the family, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Sept. 17, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 349-4485.

New Victorian Tea — 2–4 p.m. Sept. 17, New Vic Theatre, 134 E. Vine St., 381-3328.

Tillers' Community Harvest Fest — Educational and community-building event related to local farms and food, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Sept. 18, Cook's Mill Learning Center, 10515 East OP Ave., Scotts, 626-0223.

Community Homeworks Furnace Fest — A fundraiser to bring heat to low-income families, with food, music, auctions and Gimme Shelter ale, 6–11 p.m. Sept. 23, Boatyard Brewing Co., 432 E. Paterson St., 998-3275.

Michigan Martial Arts Festival — Vendor booths at 9 a.m. with main event at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Wings Event Center, 345-1125.

SPCA Sixth Annual Doggie Dash — Walk or run the park trails to raise money for the SPCA, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

Sept. 24, Spring Valley Park, 2600 Mt. Olivet Road, 344-1474.

Fall Expo & Craft Show — Crafters, artists and vendors from across Michigan, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Sept. 24, Kalamazoo County Expo Center South, 903-5820.

Point 1K Spoof Run and Duck Derby Raffle — A 329foot flat course plus family activities, live music and Duck Derby raffle to benefit Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan, starts 10 a.m., with race at noon, Sept. 24, Bronson Park, 345-0273.

Bronson Children’s Hospital Run & Walk — A 5K run and walk supporting the children’s hospital, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Sept. 25, starting at Bronson Methodist Hospital parking lot, corner of John and Lovell streets, 341-8100.

Trusted since 1942, Constance Brown Hearing Centers, where personalized service and technology meet Kalamazoo 1634 Gull Rd. Suite 201 269.343.2601 Portage 4855 W. Centre Ave. 269.372.2709 www.cbrown.org 34 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

VOLUNTEERS

ENCORE EVENTS

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of WMCC

When they arrive for their appointment, you are there with a smile to greet them.

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West Michigan Cancer Center Volunteers Years of Service 15+ Years Elsie Copeland Marilyn Schutter 10+ Years Linda Black Alyce Bosma Lestra Hazel Roy Howard Barb Miller Jeri Myers David Nesius Patti Vesey 5+ Years Cynthia Alves Bob Bos Tom Cleveland Beverly Finnerty Walt Goodrich Barb Howard Donna Payerle Gary Pritts Anna Reddy Jackie Stults

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36 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2016

BACK STORY (continued from page 38)

How did you get where you are today?

I started as an English and communications teacher at a tech center in Van Buren County, where I really found my heart in helping atrisk kids. It was small and very one-on-one with the students, and it led me to know I wanted to be a counselor. I got a counseling degree at Andrews University and then worked as a counselor at Plainwell High School for four years and Vicksburg High School for 10 years.

A counseling position opened up at EFE, and my experience in Van Buren really made me appreciate career and tech ed because, for a lot of young people, it is a great path to realize strengths they have that maybe aren’t recognized in traditional education. I took the EFE job, and it led into an administrator role for the program.

What do you do?

EFE has over 30 career programs, and I oversee these programs with the Vicksburg, Portage and Galesburg high schools. I work to make sure young people have a great, meaningful experience in EFE. I also oversee Project Lead the Way, the project-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs that we have in every middle school in the county this upcoming year. The program approaches education differently — more problemsolving and project-based learning to develop inquiry-based, higher-level thinking skills. I connect with the schools, find funding

and arrange program training for teachers.

This has been a great partnership between industry and business and education.

What has been your biggest challenge?

If you believe in something wholeheartedly, you wish you had more of yourself and more people to stand with you. We’re dealing with a “four-year college for all” mindset and want to give equal light to options like two-year associate’s degrees, technical degrees and apprenticeships so that young people who want to be an EMT (emergency medical technician), dental hygienist or CAD (computer-aided drafting) operator feel their choice is seen as having value.

My No. 1 thing has been dropout prevention and helping young people find the good in who they are. Sometimes kids don't do so well in the four core subject areas of school (English, math, science and social studies), and then combine that with some baggage they might have, and they have a tough road. A quarter of our kids nationally don’t graduate from high school — we are losing one out of four kids. We need to do strength building with those kids — less paper-pencil work and more relationship and connecting — to show them how they are talented and how to build on their strengths.

What kind of kid were you?

I had an interesting childhood. My mom dropped out of high school and had me at 18, and I never knew my biological father. I lived with my grandparents quite a lot growing up, while my mom, who had drug and alcohol

issues, was on her own journey. The man whom I consider my dad came into my life when I was 9, but my mom had been married three other times before that. My last name changed four times. Imagine going to school and one year your last name is Elms, the next it’s Plumb. In third grade a kid sitting next to me said, “What’s your last name again? Last year you were Jason Plumb, now you are Jason Luke. What’s up with that?” It took a toll on my identity for sure.

As a teen I had some struggles, went through a mild rebellion period and was expelled from school. I had to overcome my demons and deal with who I was. You wonder why your course in life is what it is, but I know it made me better in the long run. It gave me real empathy for kids who struggle and enabled me to look beyond where a teenager is in the moment to see that they have great things in them.

What word would you use to describe yourself?

Action. I like to find things that are meaningful and make them happen for people and find resources for others to help them.

What do you do for fun?

I love hanging with our kids, who are 15, 13, 10 and 8, playing board games or out in the yard and any crazy game we can come up with to just enjoy being together. I don’t want to have any regrets as a dad. I want to give them everything I have.

What wealth management should be.

Setting a clear path forward.

Michael Brundage & Michelle Eldridge, CFA,CPWA® Wealth Management Partners

259 East Michigan Avenue, Suite 105 • Kalamazoo 269.381.1700 • www.clearridgewm.com w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 37

BACK STORY ENCORE

Jason Luke

Program Administrator Education for Employment J

ason Luke has a thing for making a positive impact on young people’s lives. From his days as a high school counselor to his current role with the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA), the 46-year-old Portage resident says his “No. 1 passion is to connect people to their passions and their interests.”

Luke will have a hand in doing just that for more than 16,000 kids in Kalamazoo County this year through Education for Employment (EFE) programs that introduce local high school students to technical and other careers and through Project Lead the Way, a project-based program in local middle schools.

Brian Powers

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