Encore Magazine October 2019

Favorite Haunted Places

October 2019

‘Happy’ Produce at Soil Friends

The Art of Photosynthesis

Meet Anika Johnson

Southwest Michigan’s Magazine

Hometown at Heart Personal passion drives transformation of Vicksburg mill

EQUITY STARTS AT

HOME Every individual in Kalamazoo deserves the opportunity to provide a decent livelihood for their family, which includes high quality education and care for their children, a safe and affordable home, and the ability to earn a living — no matter zip code, race or gender.

Kalamazoo Community Foundation envisions our county as the most equitable place to live, with the mission to remove barriers so people can reach full potential. We support many Kalamazoo County nonprofit partners’ projects and initiatives focused on education, housing, healthcare and many more.

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Favorite Haunted Places

‘Happy’ Produce at Soil Friends

The Art of Photosynthesis

October 2019

Meet Anika Johnson

Southwest Michigan’s Magazine

Hometown at Heart Personal passion drives transformation of Vicksburg mill

Publisher

encore publications, inc.

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Editor

marie lee

Designer

alexis stubelt

Photographers brian k. powers

Contributing Writers

jordan bradley, elizabeth kerlikowske, chris killian, lisa mackinder, lynn pattison

Copy Editor/Poetry Editor margaret deritter

KITCHENS BATHS ROOM ADDITIONS LOWER LEVELS

Events hope smith

Advertising Sales janis clark celeste statler krieg lee

Distribution

gregory macleery

Office Coordinator hope smith

Encore Magazine is published 12 times yearly. Copyright 2019, Encore Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial, circulation and advertising correspondence should be sent to:

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. 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.

4 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

ENCORE EDITOR'S NOTE

From the Editor Some people really love their hometowns.

That is obvious in the Herculean effort made by Vicksburg native Chris Moore to save that community’s iconic paper mill from demolition. Moore is reimagining the 420,000-square-foot historic facility, planning breweries, museums and large indoor and outdoor concert venues. But the successful entrepreneur has done more than just imagine — he’s put his money on the table. The project’s total cost is estimated to be $80 million, and while some may say it’s a Don Quixote-type endeavor, a $30 million incentive package kicked in by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. signals its faith in the project’s potential.

While Moore and his Paper City Development are working toward a brighter future for his hometown, another group is working to save history in Kalamazoo. The Grave Issues Squad is assessing gravestones and obelisks in Mountain Home Cemetery, with the mission of recording, cleaning and ultimately restoring those they can. It’s a lovely effort to honor those long-departed souls who helped build our community in so many ways.

We also have a story about Comstock native Ben Martin and his fiancée, Sarah Luetzow, who, when they decided to become farmers, chose to do so just outside of Galesburg. Now their Soil Friends Farm & Market has become a popular destination for folks from all over the area.

And then there’s Anika Johnson, profiled in our Back Story, who has chosen Kalamazoo to be her new adopted hometown, launching two enterprises here: Soccer Shots Kalamazoo, which teaches kids the basics of soccer with doses of confidence and teamwork built in, and Great Lakes Thrift Co., a thrift/vintage clothing store in the Park Trades Center.

When the Baroda native was asked why Kalamazoo, she said, “I love Kalamazoo. It's just as simple as that. It's the perfect amount of city, urban and rural.”

We agree. And it doesn’t matter where you’re from — loving where you live is contagious, so enjoy this month’s issue, which will introduce you to several more things you can love about our special place on Earth.

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October

CONTENTS 2019

FEATURES 'Going in Big'

Chris Moore’s plans to revitalize his hometown’s mill include breweries, concert venues, museums and more

24

5 From the Editor 8 Contributors

The Museums at the Mill Saving and displaying the histories of beer, papermaking and old stoves take center stage at The Mill

DEPARTMENTS

28

10 First Things Happenings and events in SW Michigan

14

Five Faves

16

Good Works

20

Savor

46

Back Story

Paranormal devotees select favorite haunted places in Southwest Michigan

A Grave Issue — Volunteers working to save headstones in Mountain Home Cemetery

Got Good Dirt?— Soil Friends Farm focuses on ‘happy’ produce

Anika Johnson — She’s found a common thread between vintage clothing and teaching kids soccer

ARTS 34 Photosynthesis Solution — Vegan artist turns to the sun to avoid using animal products 38 Events of Note 43 Poetry On the cover: The team making The Mill at Vicksburg happen is, from left, Jackie Koney, Chris Moore and John Kern.

Photo by Brian K. Powers.

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CONTRIBUTORS ENCORE

Jordan Bradley

Elizabeth Kerlikowske

In this month’s issue, Elizabeth wrote about local photographer/artist Joe Smigiel, who is currently involved in The Photosynthesis Project, an ongoing project of local artists and writers working with the theme of photosynthesis and planning an exhibition in early November. Elizabeth is also a participant in the project. She wrote 73 poems over the course of a year and a half and collaged them into a 90-page book called The Scavenger’s Almanac, which she says she can barely lift. One of her short pieces was just nominated by KYSO Flash for Best Microfiction 2020. She is president of Friends of Poetry and The Poetry Society of Michigan.

Jordan has never been a sports lover, but she was interested in speaking with entrepreneur Anika Johnson, owner of Soccer Shots Kalamazoo and Great Lakes Thrift Co. “I loved Anika's story about her first business venture,” Jordan says. “She was about 10 years old, and she sold candy out of a pink shoebox in her dad's veterinary office.” Johnson credits her dad's encouragement of her young entrepreneurial spirit and her mom's support throughout her soccer days (her mom coached her high school soccer team) for inspiring her business ventures, Jordan says. Jordan is the editorial assistant at Encore.

Chris Killian

Lisa Mackinder

For this month’s cover story, Lisa spoke with Chris Moore, Jackie Koney and John Kern of Paper City Development, which is repurposing the former Fox River Paper Co. mill in Vicksburg into a mixed-use campus called The Mill at Vicksburg. One thing stood out when Lisa spoke with each of them: passion for this project. That’s especially true, she says, of Moore, an entrepreneur who grew up in Vicksburg. “You can’t meet Chris and not feel the exuberance he has for his community — past and present,” Lisa says. “Moore’s ancestors have been in Vicksburg for 150 years. He wants to do right by them and by future generations.”

Lisa also wrote our Savor feature on Soil Friends Farm & Market, in Galesburg.

Chris has a story in this issue about the Grave Issues Squad, which is assessing and creating an inventory of the historic gravesites in Mountain Home Cemetery.

He says he finds visiting old cemeteries intriguing. Chris also loves to travel and write, and his work has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Detroit Free Press, Grand Rapids Press and Kalamazoo Gazette and on radio station WMUK.

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Southwest

Michigan Behavioral Health (SWMBH), in partnership with Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (KCMHSAS) and Family Health Center (FHC), is excited to announce they have been awarded a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund for a two-year pilot project aimed at aiding older adults (ages 55+) in Kalamazoo County who have Medicaid but are not enrolled in a Medicaid Health Plan and have a mental illness and one or more chronic medical conditions. This voluntary program will merge the participants’ physical health requirements with their mental health needs by coordinating services into one integrated healthcare plan.

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FIRST THINGS ENCORE

First Things Something Tiny

See ‘microsculptures’ at museum Be ready to be amazed when you gaze through

a microscope at the unbelievably tiny, handmade sculptures by world-renowned sculptor Willard Wigan on display at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum Oct. 12-Jan. 26.

The exhibit, Willard Wigan Microsculptor, will feature 10 of Wigan’s microscopic sculptures, including those so small they fit inside the eye of a needle. In addition there will be interactive stations and multimedia presentations about Wigan’s life, achievements and working process.

For a schedule of events and museum hours, visit kalamazoomuseum.org.

Something Classical

Tetzlaff and Vogt to perform together Don’t miss a chance to see and hear two of the most prominent performers in classical music — Christian Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt — performing together in Kalamazoo on Oct. 26.

Tetzlaff is internationally recognized as one of the most sought-after violinists on the scene today. He will be accompanied by Vogt, whose versatility as a pianist ranges from a classical repertoire of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms to the romantics Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.

Their performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Judy Jolliffe Theatre, in the Epic Center. Tickets are $30, with a limited number of student tickets available for $15. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit fontanamusic.org/ event/tetzlaff-vogt.

10 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

ENCORE FIRST THINGS

Something Legendary

Pared-down Camelot at Farmers Alley Craving a little King Arthur? Well, Farmers Alley Theatre has just that with its pared-down version of the Broadway classic Camelot.

This reimagined chamber version of Lerner and Loewe’s soaring musical, running Oct. 4-27, will have a smaller cast but still feature the rich score made famous over 60 years ago, with songs like “If Ever I Would Leave You,” “I Loved You Once in Silence” and, of course, “Camelot.” Equity actors Dave Anthony Vogel, Sarah Ellis and Kevin Toniazzo-Naughton will star as Arthur, Guenevere and Lancelot, respectively.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Oct 4, 5, 10-12, 17-19 and 24-26 and 2 p.m. Oct. 6, 13, 20 and 27. Tickets are $15-$37. For tickets or more information, visit farmersalleytheatre.com.

Something Bearded

ZZ Top to rock Wings Stadium "That Little Ol’ Band From Texas,” the longestrunning major rock band with original personnel intact, ZZ Top, will roll into Kalamazoo Oct. 30.

The three-man band, which has been together for 50 years, will perform at 7:30 p.m. at Wings Event Center. The band is known for such hit songs as “La Grange,” “Tush,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs,” which landed it in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Tickets are $36-$122. For more information, visit wingseventcenter.com/events/2019/zz-top.

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FIRST THINGS ENCORE

Something Country

Say hello to Farewell Angelina Take four powerhouse vocalists, dynamic songwriters and accomplished multiinstrumentalists, put them together and you’ve got what Rolling Stone called “one sonic knockout punch."

That punch is Farewell Angelina, an allfemale country group (named for a Bob Dylan song) that will perform Oct. 19 at Miller Auditorium. After touring as the opening act for various bands, including the Bacon Brothers, Maroon 5 and local favorite Frankie Ballard, the quartet is headlining its own “Women and Wine Tour.”

Tickets are $22-$27 and available at millerauditorium.com.

Kevin Yatarola

Something Literary

Fiction authors to read at WMU Fiction writers Samuel Ligon and Robert Lopez will be the first writers on tap for the annual Gwen Frostic Reading Series when they do a joint reading Oct. 4 at Western Michigan University.

Ligon recently finished a serial novel, Miller Cane: A True & Exact History, which appeared in 50 installments in Spokane’s weekly newspaper, The Inlander, as well as on Spokane Public Radio and as a podcast. He is the author of four previous books of fiction, including Wonderland and Safe in Heaven Dead.

Lopez is the author of three novels, Part of the World, All Back Full and Kamby Bolongo Mean River, named one of 25 important books of the decade by the online literature magazine HTML Giant. His fiction, nonfiction and poetry have appeared in dozens of publications, and he teaches at The New School, Pratt Institute and Columbia University, all in New York City, and at the Solstice Low-Residency M.F.A. Program at Pine Manor College, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The reading is set for 7 p.m. in Room 157-159 of the Bernhard Center. For more information, visit wmich.edu/english/events/ frostic.

Samuel Ligon

Robert Lopez 12 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

Something Daring

FBI art detective to share tales Art

detective Robert Wittman recovered more than $300 million in stolen art and cultural property during his 20 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and you can hear tales from his career Oct. 16 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

In his 7 p.m. talk, hosted by the Kalamazoo Art League and titled Priceless: True Tales from the FBI’s Real Indiana Jones, Wittman will share stories of notorious heists and daring undercover recoveries. A reception with Wittman will follow his presentation, and copies of his bestselling book, Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures, will be available for purchase and signing.

The cost to attend his talk is $10 for KIA members, $12 for nonmembers, $3 for students and free for Art League members.

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Something Spooky

Go on a Halloween Bar Crawl Afraid this Halloween you’ll be all dressed up with nowhere to go? Well, the Monster March Bar Crawl on Oct. 26 will make sure that doesn’t happen.

The fun begins at 7 p.m. at Old Burdick’s Bar & Grill, and from there you can visit eight other downtown bars for drink specials as well as have the opportunity to take part in costume and dance contests. You must be 21 to participate, and a costume is highly encouraged. Tickets are $10-$20 and available at bit.ly/2lVVhnz.

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FIVE FAVES ENCORE

Five Faves

Devotees select favorite haunted places in Southwest Michigan

BY NICOLE AND ROBERT DUSHANE

Michigan’s past is saturated with innovation, victories, mayhem and tragic events — the perfect mixture for creating haunted locations. Here are five of our favorites in Southwest Michigan:

Civic Auditorium, Kalamazoo

Hopkins House, Kalamazoo Built in 1896 by famed Michigan architect David S. Hopkins, the Hopkins House, at 704 S. Park St., was a wedding gift to his son, Honorable George P. Hopkins and his bride Ella. The Hopkins families were high-ranking members of the Freemasons, the Knights Templar and the Eastern Star. This large Queen Anne-Victorian is still home to at least three spirits: George Hopkins; his mother, Mary Hopkins; and Asa, the family’s butler. George Hopkins seems content to stay in his master bedroom, where he died in 1933, while Mary has made her presence known in the former servants’ room, where she died in 1905. The neighborhood gets to enjoy the ghost of Asa, an African-American man, who is often seen in his white shirt staring out of the attic windows. The sounds of footsteps throughout the second floor and servants’ stairway are a daily occurrence, as is someone unseen attempting to open doors, sometimes mischievously while you’re in the bathroom. For a donation to the house’s restoration fund, you can spend the night in this haunted abode.

14 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

Thelma Mertz is the female actress-turned-ghost who haunts the Civic Auditorium. Legend tells of a young actress who jumped to her death at Chenery Auditorium after being passed over for a role. Her spirit followed the Civic Players back to the Civic Auditorium after her death.

Thelma is known as a very mischievous spirit who loves to steal props, sometimes as the productions are taking place. Whenever something strange occurs, or another prop disappears, the staff typically says, “Thelma did it.” Several Haunted History of Kalamazoo Tour patrons have testified to their own paranormal experiences at the Civic, a fact that has helped the ghostly legend to be talked about well beyond the city limits of Kalamazoo.

Old Allegan Jail, Allegan This museum in downtown

Allegan was an active jail and sheriff’s residence from 1906 to 1963. Several cell areas have been left intact since the 1960s, giving visitors a glimpse of 20th-century Allegan justice. The rest of the building belongs to the Allegan County Historical Society. There have been many reports of paranormal activity throughout the building, including strange noises, running footsteps, and touches by an unseen entity, as well as the apparition of a woman believed to be the sheriff’s wife still cooking for the inmates. The feeling of being watched is even more intense in the solitary confinement area, nicknamed the “hot box.” The museum is free of charge and has allowed paranormal groups inside to investigate.

ENCORE FIVE FAVES

Felt Mansion, Saugatuck This 17,000-square-foot mansion was built in 1928 by Dorr E. Felt

for his beloved wife, Agnes. Sadly, she died in her bedroom only six weeks after moving in. Heartbroken, Mr. Felt died just over a year later. His surviving daughters took control of the Felt Estate. The girls' mismanagement of funds and other hardships led to the estate being sold off in 1940 to the Catholic Church, which built a large dormitory on the grounds to be used as a boys’ school, while cloistered nuns lived in the mansion. In 1977 the State of Michigan purchased the property and renovated the dormitory into the Dunes Correctional Facility, a minimum-security prison. At least three murders took place during the prison days — of one guard and two inmates. Due to budget cuts, the prison closed in 1995. Laketown Township now owns the fully restored mansion. Neither Dorr nor Agnes ever left their mansion and still make their presences known in Dorr’s study and Agnes’ private bedroom. A dark, misty figure haunts the ballroom, and balls of light have been seen hovering around the estate grounds.

Pantlind Hotel, Grand Rapids The epitome of wealth and hospitality of the early and mid-

1900s was the grand Pantlind Hotel. Over the years, as buildings tend to do, the hotel began to deteriorate. In 1978, the Pantlind was purchased by the Amway Corp., which restored it to its historic beauty, and it became part of the Amway Grand Plaza.

The Pantlind was host to several memorable deaths. Some of the best known are Amelia, the proprietor’s wife, who died in their hotel living quarters; Hiram Mills, a well-known surgeon who died in 1906, shortly after arriving at the hotel; a servant girl who was horribly mangled and decapitated by an elevator; and reporter Lueve Purcell, who, in pursuing a “hot story,” found that his twin brother, Charles, had choked to death in the dining room. It’s believed that both brothers haunt the hotel, as they were inseparable in life. Visitors have reported the sensation of being watched while they wait in the glorious lobby, and the ghostly figure of a woman has been sighted in the old “smoking section” of the hotel. The spirit of a young boy is often reported to be following guests down the corridors. Additionally, a couple in Victorian clothing has been seen waltzing in an old ballroom.

About the Authors Nicole DuShane, formerly known as Nicole Bray, grew up in a haunted house in Ionia. She formed the West Michigan Ghost Hunters Society in 1999. Robert DuShane, an ordained minister, formed WPARanormal Investigations in 1993 to investigate the paranormal and later created WPARanormal Talk Radio, in 2003. Robert and Nicole met in 2004 and began authoring the Paranormal Michigan book series in 2008. After being together for 10 years, the couple married and established Paranormal Michigan Inc., which offers several books and runs historical ghost tours. The two are also the owners of the Hopkins House and are currently restoring it for use as a bed-and-breakfast.

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GOOD WORKS ENCORE

A Grave Issue

Volunteers working to save headstones in Mountain Home Cemetery

Brian Powers

BY CHRIS KILLIAN

A

recently organized effort to clean headstones and obelisks marking the graves of some of Kalamazoo’s most well-known departed residents is helping to save local history.

Whereas gravesites used to be on church properties or a family’s land, a movement in the 1830s sought to create cemeteries that were more open and park-like, where families of the departed could enjoy an afternoon picnic while remembering their loved ones.

Such was the case for the historic Mountain Home Cemetery, off West Main Street in Kalamazoo. In the older sections of the graveyard 16 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

there are tall obelisks and elaborate headstones clutching the hillsides, some containing the surnames of some of the city’s most well-known residents: Ranney, Ransom, Patterson, Upjohn, Gilmore.

But there are also headstones in various states of disrepair. Some are knocked over, others are cracked or crumbling, and still others are worn and weathered, the names and dates eroded over the years by wind and water so that some are barely legible.

It just so happened that earlier this year the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission was looking for an activity that could

ENCORE GOOD WORKS

attract community volunteers for short sessions, with the idea that people could donate a few hours of time while learning about historic preservation. The commission decided to form a volunteer corps called the Grave Issues Squad to help out in local cemeteries.

Starting this past spring, 16 volunteer members of the Grave Issues Squad assessed the condition of each headstone in an older section of Mountain Home Cemetery, detailing its shape and size, its material composition, the number of carved surfaces, and the carving technique used, among several other variables. Photos were taken of each headstone that was assessed, and the assessments of the headstones and the work that needed to be done to them were manually recorded on a sheet of paper. Technology staff members at the Kalamazoo Public Library are now working on a smartphone app that will enable volunteers to record the same information on their phones and upload it directly to city staff. The goal is to have an inventory and assessment of each headstone, with one section of the cemetery being completed per year.Â

Brian Powers

Opposite page: An aerial view of the section of Mountain Home Cemetery being assessed by volunteers. This page, top: A headstone in need of repair. Bottom: Members of the Grave Issues Squad, from left, Suzanne Rowland, Beth Timmerman, Regina Gorham and Sharon Ferraro, walk through the headstones and memorials in the cemetery.

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Brian Powers

GOOD WORKS ENCORE

Left: Headstones in various conditions dot the cemetery. Above: Grave Issues Squad members make notes on such things as a headstone’s condition, carvings and age.

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ENCORE GOOD WORKS

“This is really about getting folks involved in historical preservation in a hands-on way,” says Sharon Ferraro, historic preservation coordinator for the city of Kalamazoo. “It’s a way of literally preserving the past, the memorials to some of Kalamazoo’s best-known and most important names.”

Data collected from these volunteer efforts will be used by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission staff to develop a plan to restore and preserve these literal landmarks of those who first made history in the city. Cleaning efforts are scheduled for sometime this fall, when workers will spray headstones covered in dirt and debris with a special solution that can be rinsed off, avoiding scrubbing if at all possible.

“If you clean too much, you can actually open up the headstone to moss and lichen and hasten its breakdown,” Ferraro says.

There is also talk of contacting the Plainwell High School powerlifting team to volunteer to heft heavy headstones that have fallen off their foundations.

Headstones that are cracked or otherwise in need of significant repairs will be left alone, as officials decide how to move forward and where funding would come from to do any repair work. Currently, the only costs associated with the program are the cleaning solution and bottled water, Ferraro says, adding that funding for major repairs still needs to be identified.

Regardless of whatever plan is made for potential repairs, the headstones themselves are the property of the family of the deceased, and contact must be made with any surviving loved ones, since most repairs or changes to a headstone need family permission, Ferraro says. But any active safety hazards can be dealt with without permission, she adds.

But what if all the members of a family are deceased? Then the city attorney would have to be involved to ensure that moving forward with any work was done in a legal way, Ferraro says.

“We aren’t talking about rehabilitating a historic building here,” she says. “These are sacred sites that deserve our utmost respect.”

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SAVOR ENCORE

Got Good Dirt?

Soil Friends Farm focuses on ‘happy’ produce

BY LISA MACKINDER

B

en Martin stumbled into farming and couldn’t be happier.

“I worked a landscape job outside weed whipping,” the 28-year-old Martin says about a job during college that revealed his love of the outdoors. “I really liked working outside, but I didn’t like weed whipping.”

Now Martin, with his fiancée, Sarah Luetzow, owns Soil Friends Farm & Market in Galesburg, a 22-acre vegetable farm with a farm market and community-supported agriculture (CSA) that focuses on healthy soil to produce nutrient-dense food.

As Martin describes his accidental journey toward a career in agriculture, he juggles helping customers and weighing vegetables and appears totally in his element.

In the nearby pasture, 30 goats bleat and frolic.

Martin’s landscape job led him to plant a vegetable garden, he says, and then other indicators continued pointing him toward farm life. A big factor: He met an Amish farmer selling baked goods.

“He took me and introduced me to the growers throughout Michigan and Indiana,” Martin says. “From there I’ve been as far as Kentucky to meet Amish farmers and learn how they do it.”

Dreaming of produce Martin, who grew up in Comstock Township, had enrolled at Western Michigan University as a business major, but, while in a business class one day, he couldn’t stay focused.

“They were talking about something and coffee, and I was dreaming about produce,” he says, laughing.

He switched his major to food and consumer packaging. From there, Martin and Luetzow — who was his high school sweetheart — learned about the food system and what they saw as the problems with it. They both gravitated toward a natural approach to a healthy life, he says, and bought their farm in 2015, a year after Martin graduated from WMU. Although Soil Friends

Brian Powers

This page: In front of hemp plants they grow, Sara Luetzow, left, and Ben Martin, right, hold some of their farm’s healthy soil. Far right, top: Tomatoes thrive in a hoop house. Bottom: Soil Friends has become a popular farm market destination.

20 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

ENCORE SAVOR

Amish-taught

is not certified as organic, its produce is free of pesticides and herbicides, Martin says. “(It’s) my own ethics of what I want to feed my family and my kids,” he explains, noting the couple has four children. “The same refrigerator that I go shopping out of, my customers do (too) and we can all share that together.”

Martin chose to study under Amish instruction because he admired the way Amish farmers care for the land and focus on the nutritional content of food — not to mention the amazing smell and appearance of their food, he says. While learning from Amish farmers in three states and interning with an Amish field consultant, Martin studied biological activity in the soil and how certain practices produce high-quality soil, which produces nutritious food.

“People think a tomato is a tomato is a tomato, and that’s so far from the truth,” Martin says.

The more nutritious the food, he says, the better tasting it is. Soil Friends focuses on nutrient-dense foods and utilizes the Brix system. Brix is the sum of the pounds of sucrose, fructose, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, hormones and other solids in 100 pounds of plant juice, according to the Bionutrient Food Association (BFA), which advocates for vital soils to nourish food and people.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 21

SAVOR ENCORE “(With) food — just like wine — you can measure the amino acids, the sugars, the dissolved solids in the food,” Martin explains. “And there’s a tool you can use — a refractometer — and that tool in itself will show you that food from one piece of fruit to the other, grown on different farms, can be different.”

Making sure his farm’s vegetables are “happy,” he says, requires a high management level. At Soil Friends, they are in the fields every day. He says flavorful produce depends on factors like: What was the farmer’s attention to detail on that crop? How often did the vegetables get dry? How often did it get too cold? Did the farmer pick at peak maturity?

“Our stuff is peak,” Martin says. “It is picked when it’s ready. Fresh, red strawberries. Fresh, red tomatoes. Fully ripened. So it’s not only growing it right, it’s harvesting at the right time too.”

Martin’s best reviewers are children because “they’re honest,” he says. If a cantaloupe doesn’t taste good, he says, they’ll be the first to let someone know — and vice versa if they like it.

“That’s what we’ve been able to see with our kids,” Martin says. “They’re stealing peppers off the counter while we’re cooking dinner to eat a raw pepper.”

When Martin and Luetzow started Soil Friends in 2015, they concentrated on creating a wholesale commercial farm. The excitement of the two oldest of their four children about the farm and their desire to bring families there inspired them to open a farm market.

“That’s our goal — to have a family farm and a family destination spot where a family can come and enjoy the farm, see the goats, take a peek at where their food was grown, eat some good food, (and) get some good value-added produce and products to take home,” Martin says.

22 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

Brian Powers

A real family farm

Above: Ripe, colorful produce greets visitors to Soil Friends Farm Market. Right: Goats not only get to frolic in pastures but are the stars of goat yoga classes at the farm.

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Open May through December, but only on weekends in November, Soil Friends’ market serves seasonal, hot prepared foods, such as fried green tomatoes and asparagus, from a food trailer. Throughout the year the market offers special events and foods, such as a pancake breakfast, BLTs and hard cider, kids’ music around a campfire, s’mores and ice cream, and Sam’s Superslime — Interactive Fun for Children. One Saturday per month Down Dog Yoga Center, of Kalamazoo, holds goat yoga at the farm. It’s so popular that customers must register in advance.

“You go out into a pasture where there’s grass growing and there’s goats grazing, and you do yoga right along in there,” Martin says.

Public response to Soil Friends has been positive, the owners say. Traffic to its farm stand, at 1701 N. 33rd St., never stops, Martin says, and outside of business hours he has to make sure to close the gate.

“Sometimes when I’m trying to get stuff done, people are pulling in and I’m heading out back,” he says, “and I’m kicking myself because someone forgot to close the gate.”

But Martin feels blessed by such enthusiastic reactions. “That’s a whole heck of a lot better than no one ever coming, you know?”

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One

BY LISA MACKINDER

day in March of 2014, Chris Moore’s mother, Sue Moore, editor and publisher of the South County News in Vicksburg, called him in Seattle with disheartening news: Vicksburg’s historic paper mill was scheduled for demolition. Though abandoned since 2001, when the sprawling facility’s last owner, Fox River Paper Co., pulled up stakes, the mill had for many decades thrived and infused lifeblood into the small community 15 miles south of Kalamazoo. Many Vicksburg residents had family members who had worked inside the iconic structure, including Moore. His mom’s tearful announcement clenched his heart.

“I remember thinking, ‘Well, that’s too bad,’” says the 54-year old Moore, who grew up in Vicksburg and founded Concord Technologies, a cloud-based documentprocessing company for health care and other industries, and co-founded Old Stove Brewing Co., both in Seattle. “There’s nothing I can do. I have a business in Seattle and I come back occasionally. How could I do anything?’”

He pauses, smiles slightly and adds, “Well, I came up with a few ideas eventually.”

The former paper mill in Vicksburg offers 420,000 square feet of building space.

Inspiration strikes

Brian Powers

With plans for event spaces, breweries, museums and more, a hometown boy takes on the revitalization of Vicksburg mill

Those “few ideas” have evolved into The Mill at Vicksburg, a massive undertaking to revitalize the entire mill site by repurposing

the 420,000-square-foot structure and its grounds into a mixed-use campus to include multiple indoor and outdoor concert venues, craft brewing and distilling, residential units and a hotel, craft food and beverage production, beer gardens, a community taproom, and museums (see story on museum plans on page 28). At the same time, Moore’s plans include restoring and renovating several buildings in Vicksburg’s downtown.

The “genesis” of this project was his mom’s tearful phone call, Moore says, but the first “inkling of entrepreneurialism” occurred when he returned home and toured the mill with his parents and former Vicksburg village manager Ken Schippers. When the group stepped onto the roof above what once had been the mill’s machine room, inspiration struck.

“I was like, ‘That would be a good place for a concert,’” Moore says.

A few months later, Moore initiated the purchase of the mill property from the Kalamazoo County Land Bank, established Paper City Development LLC and began assembling a team to tackle the project.

In 2016, he purchased an adjacent 80acre parcel and started acquiring vacant historic buildings in downtown Vicksburg for restoration.

“The commitment took hold in me pretty fast,” he admits.

It’s not like Moore lacked things to do. In addition to running Concord Technologies, Moore was in the midst of launching his second business, Old Stove

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 25

Brewing Co., located in Seattle’s worldfamous Pike Place Market, which gets 20,000 to 40,000 visitors daily. In 2014, the brewery won the right to become the anchor tenant in the market’s new $74 million expansion, Pike Place MarketFront. Old Stove Brewing Co. opened in 2016 in a smaller space and moved to the MarketFront in 2017.

“Taking on a third project … I wasn’t sure how I could get it done,” he admits.

But Moore’s passion to save the mill overrode his reservations. A successful entrepreneur who was named Ernst & Young’s 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year in the Mold Breaker category in the Pacific Northwest Region, he applied his business acumen to the mill project. And if his track record is any indication, he’ll rise to the occasion with The Mill at Vicksburg.

“What I do as an entrepreneur is build good teams of people that are inspired by the project,” he says. “That is the case for the daytime job — Concord Technologies — and that’s the case for Old Stove Brewing, and that’s certainly the case here for the Vicksburg mill.”

A good team Enter Jackie Koney and John Kern. Moore tapped Koney, 53, his best friend since meeting her at the University of Michigan in 1984, to be Paper City Development’s director

26 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

Brian Powers

Courtesy

of Vicksburg operations. Koney had years of experience leading nonprofits, including working as the development director for the Salzburg Global Seminar, a national nonprofit whose mission is to challenge current and future leaders to shape a better world.

Koney’s face breaks into a grin as she describes how she and Moore first met: Moore just wandered into her dorm room and plopped down on a couch.

Top: The mill and its expansive grounds can be seen in this sunset shot. Bottom: Found-object sculptures by one of The Mill’s resident artists, Penelope Anstruthe, adorn the mill’s former finishing room. All of the pieces of the sculptures, except for the cloth, were found in the mill. Right: Among the interior features of the mill are wood slat ceilings, wood floors, brick walls and sky lights.

“We were like, ‘Does anyone know this guy?’” Koney says she and her roommates asked. Nobody did, but Koney and Moore have been best friends since.

“The kind of passion he exudes is infectious,” Kern says. “That’s item No. 1, without question.”

Brian Powers

A noble cause

Moore called Koney to tell her about the mill, and they had long brainstorming sessions over the phone about its possibilities. Moore hadn’t mentioned anything about her participation, so finally Koney cut to the chase.

She recalls saying, “You know, Chris, I’ve never said this to you before, and I’ll never say it again, but I’m so jealous of this project.

This is going to be the greatest thing ever.”

Moore replied, “I’m not talking to you about this to make you jealous. I want you to run it.”

The second person Moore had in mind was Kern, Koney’s husband.

Kern had an extensive 27-year background in teaching and public speaking, and Moore tapped him to be the project’s community outreach and education coordinator. The couple came to Vicksburg in the summer of 2015 to evaluate the new career opportunity, and their decision was swift.

“It’s impossible not to see the potential of the place and the things that are planned,” Kern says, “so in taking the tour and just being around it, I guess I knew right away I wanted to be part of it.”

Koney calls overseeing the mill project “a dream job.”

“It puts together everything that John and I have ever done in our careers,” she says.

Also, both are Michiganders — Koney grew up in Troy, and Kern in Muskegon Heights — and welcomed returning to their home state.

But both say what truly attracted them was Moore.

The mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since the first meetings with architects, site planners, mechanical engineers and others involved in the project, Moore has emphasized one thing: the honor in working on the project.

“I’m not sure how we’re going to pull it off just yet,” he says he told the team at those initial group meetings “but we’re doing this for all the right reasons: preserving history, recharging an economic engine in Vicksburg, and allowing an ‘Oh, my goodness’ moment for that fourth-grader (who visits the future gardens and museums).”

“The cause is noble” might be deemed the project’s unofficial motto. Moore says the nobility of the endeavor attracts people and inspires the team to reach its goals. Plus the “sheer audacity” of the project attracts top talent from around the country. “For pretty much everybody working on the project it’s a once-in-a-lifetime project for them, the biggest thing they’ll ever do,” Moore says.

The team includes HopkinsBurns Design Studio, an Ann Arbor architecture firm specializing in historic preservation that has done projects for the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and the Michigan State Capitol; the Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio, also in Ann Arbor, a landscape architecture firm that emphasizes environmental sensitivity and sustainability; and Frederick Construction, a Vicksburg-based general contractor and construction management company.

“We’re so lucky to have Frederick Construction right here in Vicksburg with us shoulder-to-shoulder all the way,” Moore says.

Past, present, future Many Vicksburg residents still remember hearing the long, drawnout whistle announcing shift changes at the local mill. The whistle first blew in 1905, when Lee Paper Co. completed construction and started churning out fine writing paper from cotton rags that had been shredded, cooked and processed.

“It was rags that had come from New York and Chicago, from the clothing-making business,” Koney explains. “They (the workers) would sort rags, get rid of buttons or zippers and kind of prep all of the material to then go to the next stage, which would be a process of getting it wet, bleaching it, cutting it down into smaller and smaller pieces (and) getting it ready to go into the paper process.”

After World War II, the mill began making paper from wood pulp and merged with Simpson Timber Co. to form Simpson-Lee Paper Co. In 1996, Fox River Paper Co. purchased the mill; in 2001 it shut its doors. The mill fell silent until that day when Moore stepped out onto the roof. Now a sign posted on the fence outside the mill announces his intentions: “A Thriving Vicksburg for Generations to Come.”

“Every time we have a meeting Chris will say, ‘This is a 100- to 200-year plan, not a five-year or a 10-year plan,’” Koney says. “The mill was the key economic and cultural driver for this community for 100 years. He said, ‘I want it to be that again … long after I’m gone.’” (continued on page 29)

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 27

The Museums at The Mill Setting aside space to honor history

his father, Tim Moore, worked there as a purchasing manager. And before that, Moore’s grandfather, Gordon Moore, worked his way up from janitor to mill engineer.

For the Papermaking Museum, Moore says, he doesn’t possess many artifacts, because those who owned the mill before him removed and sold everything.

Former employees have donated some items, but the museum will be “guided tours where we walk through the mill, seeing where the machine room was and where the beater room (a room with beaters that chopped up paper or cotton to get bleached, boiled and turned into a slurry) was and have information about how that worked,” Moore explains. “We have big, cool black-and-white photos of certain rooms (and) what certain areas of the mill did.”

Inside the offices of Paper City Development in downtown Vicksburg, Chris Moore’s enthusiasm about the mill, his hometown and its history are palpable. It’s fitting that photographs of Vicksburg’s past share space on the walls beside renderings of the future Mill at Vicksburg.

“People don’t know how much insanely wonderful history we have here (in Vicksburg),” Moore says. “You’ve got to paw back at it a little bit and expose it.”

And Moore — whose family has been in Vicksburg for 150 years — plans to expose the mill’s history via a planned museum on the site at The Mill at Vicksburg, along with museums for two other things he is passionate about: old stoves and beer.

Papermaking Museum Chunk, chunk, chunk, chunk. Moore still remembers that sound that the rolls of paper created as they ran through the cutting machines in the Vicksburg paper mill’s finishing room when he worked there summers from 1983-88.

Workers would stick an orange tab between every 100 pieces cut and stack them on pallets. Then the pieces were wrapped, with 100 sheets per pack. As a “young buck college kid” amid the older regulars, Moore wondered just how many packages he could wrap during a shift.

“A normal pace was like 350 (packages), and I wrapped over 700, just because I wanted to see how far I could push it,” he says. “They put me in the little monthly flier for setting the record for the most packages wrapped. But the old guys weren’t real happy with me.

Nobody should work that hard all of the time because you’d break your body.” Moore shakes his head and adds, “I was 22 and needed a challenge.”

Honoring Vicksburg’s papermaking history with a museum makes sense because, to many community members, including Moore, the former paper mill has familial roots. Before Moore worked at the mill,

28 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

Stove Museum When Moore was growing up, his family heated their home with a Kalamazoo Stove Co. parlor stove.

He fondly recalls piling on winter clothes and trudging to the woodpile, with his dog Streaker riding shotgun in the wheelbarrow. Over the years, Moore’s interest in Kalamazoo Stove Co. stoves has only heightened. Even in Seattle, his love of these stoves is no secret.

“We have a big, beautiful Kalamazoo stove at the brewery (the Old Stove Brewing Co., which he owns, in Seattle), in the taproom,” he says.

Stoves are the first great American appliance, he says, because once stove technology caught hold it was a must-have item, eliminating cooking over a fire on a hearth.

“Michigan became the state with the most production of stoves,” Moore says. “Beckwith, out of Dowagiac, had a brand called Round Oak. They were huge — huge, huge, huge. Then you had Jewel and Garland (stoves) out of Detroit, (and) Peninsular. And, of course, you had Kalamazoo Stove Co.” Besides a museum dedicated to the advent of the stove, there will also be a stove restoration business in the mill. “We’ve got a lot of old rusty stoves right now set to be restored,” Moore says.

The Mill (continued from page 27)

Big plans

Brewery Museum In the late 1970s, like many kids, Moore started collecting beer cans — not for the 10-cent deposit, but because breweries, beer marketing and brand-name beer art fascinated him. Also fueling Moore’s interest in breweries is his love for his home community.

Case in point: In 1986, Moore saw a sign that said “Kalamazoo Stout 6-pack” on a party store sign in Ann Arbor. It piqued Moore’s interest, because at the time local breweries were disappearing, and the breweries that did exist made “the same basic beer water.”

Moore detoured and pulled into the party store. How could he not, he asks now, “being so into beer and loving Kalamazoo so much”?

Moore hurried inside. And there they sat in the cooler: six-packs by the Kalamazoo Brewing Co., which later became Bell’s Brewery.

“There’s the 12.7-ounce bottles with the label that you could tell was put on there by hand and had the pen-and-ink drawing of an old guy. I was so enthralled,” he says, “and the beer was so great.”

Like Moore’s love of his hometown and beer, breweries and their communities once went hand in hand. Prior to good highways and refrigerated trucks, communities of any size had a brewery, he says. The brewery sponsored local sports events, and people identified themselves with the brewery where they worked.

“The larger Brewery Museum at the Mill is going to be all about these local breweries and what they meant to their communities,” Moore says.

The museum will highlight 50 to 100 breweries in the United States, displaying artifacts and video interviews with people in various cities that know about particular breweries. Moore uses Pfeiffer Brewing Co., in Detroit, as an example. Established in 1889, Pfeiffer was deeply involved with the city of Detroit and sponsored the Detroit Tigers.

“That’s going to be a pretty extensive project with that effort,” Moore says, “and we’re well underway. There’s a real enthusiastic response from collectors around the nation.”

Paper City Development’s master plan utilizes dynamic phrases to describe the mill’s transformational conclusion: a commercial engine, regional powerhouse and national destination.

Vicksburg officials have also embraced the plan.

“We believe that is exactly what will happen long term,” says Alex Lee, director of community outreach and communication for the Village of Vicksburg, “and the Village of Vicksburg is looking forward to being a part of the journey every step of the way.”

In July, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Michigan Strategic Fund also demonstrated faith in this outcome, awarding Paper City Development a $30 million incentive package to move forward with the project. It is only the second development in the state to be granted the Transformational Brownfield Package (TBP).

The project’s total cost is estimated to be $80 million, Koney says, which includes approximately $60 million in construction costs.

To make the mill a robust economic engine, Moore navigates along a timeline of past, present and future. He plans to honor the past with a papermaking museum, an old stove museum and a brewery museum inside the mill while launching a new economic beginning for the village with three proven regional market winners — event and exhibit space, music, and beer, including his own Old Stove Brewing Co..

“He is a visionary,” Koney says. “There aren’t that many people out there that are so deeply connected to their hometown that they’re willing to put everything on the line for it.”

Much of the work done so far to the mill has been emergency stabilization, including replacing portions of the roof, adding security lighting and temporary interior lighting, and performing masonry work on two of the buildings. An entire corner of the East wing has been removed and will be replaced.

“It’s very visually compelling,” Koney says, indicating that these buildings will house Old Stove Brewing Co. and Old Stove Event Space, estimated to open in mid-2021.

Koney estimates the entire project will be completed by 2024. She anticipates there will be at least 220 non-construction jobs at the mill upon completion. “Obviously, the construction, indirect and induced jobs number is much higher,” she says.

The project’s economic impact on the Kalamazoo County economy during the three years of construction and first five years of operation will be $182 million in new wages and $357 million in new value added through gross regional domestic product, says Koney. The project will also provide an estimated increase in state tax revenues of $60.5 million through 2053, she says.

The village’s Lee says “the economic impact will be profound. Jobs, increased property values and visitor dollars in our local economy will have a positive effect on both the local and regional economies.

But the environmental impact in our area, in terms of cleanup and reuse, instead of landfill disposal, will be equally impressive.”

‘Going in big’ In Moore’s acceptance speech for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Pacific Northwest 2019 award, he confessed to doing something atypical when speaking with Ernst & Young’s panel: w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 29

He followed the rules. Moore admits his M.O. is more about breaking rules.

The mill is no exception. Instead of using it for “regular old stuff” like warehousing, Moore and his team brainstormed completely different uses.

“The vision we have for it is a little bit out of this world,” he admits. “We’re going in big.”

What started with Moore’s rooftop inspiration has morphed into three primary commercial ventures: events, beer and music.

“They’ll cross-pollinate really well,” Moore says.

Events and concerts In planning for events and concerts, Moore took time to research and learn from the best. He traveled to the 2019 Coachella Festival in California to meet with Jim Tobin, owner of Jim Tobin Productions, which manages festivals such as the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in Florida, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee, and the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City, and was providing services at Coachella.

“He was able to tour me around all the infrastructure,” Moore says. “I was very happy to be visiting the outdoor bathrooms, see where the water comes from, where the power comes from, how the shuttles are organized, looking at the video screens and where all the buses are, security and the parking people, traffic management.”

Moore has seen events where promoters quickly throw it together, make bold promises and then hope they can deliver.

“That’s the inverse of my style,” he says. “I want to take five years to figure it out and do it just right. (The) walk-before-you-run sort of thing.”

Beer and breweries Breweries — including Moore’s awardwinning Old Stove Brewing Co. — will also reside inside the mill. There will be production brewery spaces, laboratories, grain storage, canning/bottling/kegging, cold storage and shipping, distilleries, and taprooms. Moore’s plans are to replicate the success of Seattle’s Old Stove Brewing, providing a “highcaliber experience” in food, beer, service and aesthetics.

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Brian Powers

Plenty of space exists within the mill for events, exhibitions and concerts: 154,000 square feet of flexible, indoor event spaces, 60,000 square feet for indoor concert/event venues and a planned capacity of 40,000 people for outdoor concert venues.

It won’t be standard, sterile event space, Moore says, describing the buildings will have restored century-old wood floors, wooden truss ceilings, massive windows and masonry walls. Outside there will be gardens and walking trails.

Those planning events at the mill will deal with one vendor for everything from booking to services and support. The technical infrastructure will provide for the network, communications and electrical and mechanical needs of every show, conference and exhibition.

“We want to give people in our area a really Class A experience with Class A products and an incredible building to boot,” Moore says.

While Old Stove Brewing’s Seattle locale has a more modern design, the Vicksburg mill’s historic architecture will provide an interesting space that can accommodate 450 people. “The building itself is incredible, and then what we do inside of it will be super high-quality,” Moore says.

He thinks that the brewing facilities at the mill will also attract other brewers that need a cost-effective way to expand production at a lower cost or those that seek a Midwest presence.

“We’re going to find just the right people who we think fit well with our ideals,” he says.

Top: From left, Ryan Collins of Frederick Construction, Chris Moore and Jackie Koney look over blueprints for the mill’s renovation. Bottom: An architectural rendering shows how the mill’s space will be used for new ventures.

Art and education too With so much to be done and completion years away, Koney, Kern and Moore sought ways to make the project more immediate, to “start living what we want it to be, right now,” says Koney. The answer came in the form of art and education.

The Prairie Ronde Artist Residency program at The Mill at Vicksburg was created, housing an artist in the Village of Vicksburg and providing a $500 travel stipend and $2,000 for living expenses. The residency is four to seven weeks, during which the artist must do one community engagement project and leave one piece of art for the mill’s collection.

The program has attracted artists from Venezuela, Great Britain, and across the United States. By the end of this year, 13 artists will have gone through the program. Paper City Development wants the community to get to know these artists from outside Vicksburg and for the artists to start talking about Vicksburg when they return home.

“We’ve gotten texts and people are like, ‘Hey, we just saw this new person at the bar. Is this your artist?’” Koney says. “It’s a really fun thing. The community now knows they have an artist resident that is here all the time.”

At the same time, Paper City Development began involving local students in the mill project. In 2018, Kern reached out to local school contacts, including Noreen Heikes, an agri-science and veterinary science teacher at Vicksburg Community Schools. A week after an initial outreach meeting, Heikes “showed up at the follow-up meeting with six pages of notes of possible project ideas,” Kern says. “And this is exactly what I’d hoped for when we started these conversations — just a deep sense of ownership. And it’s happening.”

Heikes and Kern shared a similar idea for the mill: a pollinator project. They reactivated agricultural land adjacent to the mill that had never been used for anything mill-related. A local farmer cleared 16 acres and planted some oats and daikon radishes “to get the soil moving.”

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Galilee Baptist Church, on North Westnedge Avenue, hopes to create a serenity garden on property at 430 W. “Then last we from planted acres of Paterson St.,year across theeight church.

The buckwheat, is a nitrogen mixture Land Bankwhich Adopt-A-Lot program leases (a nitrogen-fixing is very good for the properties forcrop) use asthat green space and soil,” Kern says.

“And then we planted eight gardens. acres of sunflowers.” “”When we heard that the property This season people we willthought be able ittowould see the would be available, sunflowers full for bloom when driving along be a good in place a serenity garden,” Boulevard Street, he says. says William Roland, a church elder for Vicksburgministry High School’s horticulture class outreach and board chairman. also in a yearlong study to create “Weparticipated want to make it aesthetically anpleasing edible forest. a site review and a They placeperformed for peaceful for a proper location, tested soil samples reflection, and members of the church and worked with a nursery on tree varieties. will maintain the garden.”

Currently, they are working on the second So far, there have been 12 Adoptphase the study.

A-Lotofleases as part of the Land Bank’s “We’re hoping to program. be able to create Community Garden something where we can be harvesting fruit Last year Boring approached from August into October,” Kern says. “And residents in the 1500 block of East it’s all student-driven.”

Michigan Avenue, where there were Kern also worksandwith Vicksburg High three empty lots, asked if they would School’s engineering classes, which created be interested in having a garden space athere. model“They of the anbut educational notmill onlyusing agreed said version of thelove game Thisbuilding year, the they would to Minecraft. take over the school’s product design students will use a and maintenance,” she says.

3D printer to make a model of what the The result is the Trybal Revival mill will look like in the future.with more than Eastside Eco-Garden, “This whole place is a classroom,” Koney 100 plantings and 28 species of mostly says.

“He (Kern) istrees turning placeFunds into a food-producing and this shrubs. place-based experiential facility, whether for the garden came from the Kalamazoo you’re 2 years old or 102.” one of many Community Foundation, Land Bank partners.

Revitalizing downtown “The neighbors have been great A “symbiotic” relationship — partners,” Boring says. geographically, economically and culturally As the Land Bank and its partners — existed between the mill and downtown look across the Kalamazoo landscape, Vicksburg historically and still does, say the they see the fruits of their labors — developers. The mill owners want — and need new homes, rehabilitated homes and — downtown Vicksburg to also thrive. lush gardens where dangerous eyesores To that end, Paper City Development once stood — and know that they purchased several vacant buildings in have changed the face of Kalamazoo in downtown Vicksburg with plans to restore profound and lasting ways.

and renovate them. One of these, the former Hill’s Pharmacy building on Main Street, will soon undergo a facelift, receiving new arched brick facades, balconies and windows. “Half the pigeons in Vicksburg lived in there,” Moore says about its deteriorated condition.

Originally this expansive space was built as three separate buildings. Paper City Development plans to return it to that historic state, Moore says.

Revitalization is already evident as one drives down East Prairie Street in downtown Vicksburg: Storefronts of the former Boer’s Dress Shop and Doris Lee Sweet Shop

have been returned to their 1880s glory.

Frederick Construction removed the existing storefronts and reconstructed them back to the original design, including oversized doors, period-correct hardware and mahogany trim.

Eventually the interiors will reflect their vintage exteriors, Moore says.

Among their features will be a parlor stove.

“Back in the old days in Vicksburg every business had a parlor stove, and that kept them warm during the winter,” he says.

Paper City Development is counting on this historic character and charm to draw mill visitors to downtown Vicksburg.

“You go to a conference and walk a few blocks and guess what? You’re enjoying downtown historic Vicksburg,” Moore says.

“You get these people from big cities who aren’t used to seeing nicely fixed-up 1880 buildings.”

To create a thriving downtown, Koney says, placemaking — making a place where people want to be and linger — is key. A downtown area should have a variety of retail options, places to sit, flowers and trees. To learn what other communities are doing to revitalize their downtowns, Koney and Kern attend Main Street conferences, such as the Small Town and Rural Development Conference at Crystal Mountain near Traverse City, and have visited towns that have proven successful at downtown revitalization. One of those, Biddeford, Maine, also had a former mill site that suffered from blight and a downtown that succumbed to stagnation but bounced back after a developer began repurposing the mill.

“People were fearful that it would take business away from the downtown,” Koney says. “However, the exact opposite happened.

His (the developer’s) investment led to more investment by downtown business owners and new developers.”

That additional investment, along with best-practice placemaking initiatives, she says, has led to higher rents and lower vacancy rates for residential and commercial spaces.

“This is not unique to Vicksburg, what’s happened here,” Moore says of downtown.

“But I think that the key thing is fighting back and doing so intelligently. And doing so by looking around the nation to what has been successful in other communities in their Main Street programs to save their downtowns.

“So that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

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ARTS ENCORE

Photosynthesis Solution

Vegan artist turns to the sun to avoid using animal products

BY ELIZABETH KERLIKOWSKE

Brian Powers

J

oe Smigiel likes to wear suspenders, but his suspenders, unlike most, do not have a leather triangle where the straps cross in back.

His are naked because, from his suspenders to the soles of his canvas shoes, Smigiel is a vegan.

Like most vegans, who do not eat or use animal products, Smigiel (rhymes with “eagle”) does not want to be a part of causing any animal’s suffering.

“After the best steak dinner of my life, I went home and randomly watched a YouTube video about slaughterhouses and decided to be a vegetarian," he says. “That lasted 10 days.” After he investigated even “good” farms, he says, their practices made him decide to “go all the way to vegan.”

But being vegan was a challenge when it came to his artistic life as a photographer.

Smigiel is an educational specialist at Kalamazoo Valley Community College who has taught photography and digital imaging as well as geology. Before becoming vegan, he, like most photographers, used film having a gelatin solution, and gelatin is derived from the hooves, bones and connective tissue of animals. In fact, gelatin is so important to photography that George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak Co., had the Peabody Gelatin Factory, a slaughterhouse, built right next door to his photography plant in Rochester, New York, so that the plant would always have a ready source of gelatin.

Above: Artist and photographer Joel Smigiel holds one of his favorite cyanotypes of three visually impaired boys he met while working at a camp. Top left: A vegan, Smigiel’s suspenders don’t have the traditional leather patch where the straps cross. Right: Smigiel makes cyanotypes on different types of paper to show what can be done.

34 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

ENCORE ARTS

Eating and living in a conscientious, thoughtful way proved easier for Smigiel than doing photography without gelatin.

“I became a vegan due to animal welfare concerns in December 2014, and that really changed my artistic aspirations toward being a wannabe painter,” he says. “It forced me to give up traditional silver-gelatin-based (film) photography.”

The list of animal products used in the visual arts is long and surprising. Along with products many peoples are aware of, such as albumen (from eggs), beeswax, animal fur/ bristles and gelatin, the visual arts use rabbit skin glue for the canvases and linen that artists paint on, ox gall and urine to color paint, and isinglass adhesive from sturgeon for various purposes. Even pig bladders were once used as containers for paint.

Although digital photography essentially solves the animal-products problem for a vegan, since electronic imaging, digital negatives and vegan exhibition-quality inks are available for inkjet printers, Smigiel sought a different way around the animal-products conundrum: photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis occurs when cells convert energy from the sun into chemical energy, and it is largely responsible for producing and maintaining the oxygen content of the Earth's atmosphere. Smigiel says that, having “always been drawn to antiquated photographic printing processes such as cyanotypes and Van Dyke brown printing,” he started making cyanotypes — photographic prints that use the sun, not gelatin, to create images.

Cyan means blue. For cyanotypes, the photographic paper is treated with ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, which are light-sensitive. When

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 35

The Photosynthesis Project What: An exhibition of works by artists and writers participating in The Photosynthesis Project When: Opens Nov. 2 Where: KVCC Center for New Media, 100 E. Michigan Ave.

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Participating artists: Melody Allen, Susan Badger, Justin Bernhardt, Maryellen Hains, Tamara Hirzel, Anna Ill, Alexa Karabin, Elizabeth Kerlikowske, Helen Kleczynski, Dave Middleton, Lynn Pattison, Linda Rzoska, Joe Smigiel, David Stokes, Vicki VamAmeyden and Randy Walker it’s time to make a print, objects or a digital negative is placed on the paper, and then these elements are left out in the sun for three to seven minutes. When the exposure is “done,” the objects are removed from the paper. The paper is then immersed in water, and the shadows of the objects remain paper white, while the background is blue. Cyanotypes can be enhanced using simple household products such as peroxide or baking soda that can have a profound effect on the final print. Even pouring old coffee on the paper can yield a beautiful result.

Several of Smigiel’s cyanotype photos look like traditional photos, that is, they have high definition and sculptural qualities. One of his

Brian Powers Top left and left: Smigiel makes cyanotypes with everyday items like lace doilies and leaves and flowers.

Above: Workshop members, from left, Dave Middleton, Maryellen Hains, Linda Rzoska, Helen Kleczynski, Elizabeth Kerlikowske and Joe Smigiel watch as Kleczynski’s cyanotype develops.

favorite cyanotype photographs is of three blind boys taken when Smigiel taught an art camp for visually impaired youth in Greenville, Michigan.

“That was the best experience of my life!”

Smiegel recalls, smiling. “The blind kids in a darkroom, well, they were totally at home.”

In August, Smigiel conducted a workshop on cyanotypes as part of The Photosynthesis Project, in which invited artists and writers in Southwest Michigan, myself included, have

been exploring the subject of photosynthesis.

An exhibition of work created for the project opens Nov. 2 at KVCC’s Center for New Media.

Putting the cyanotype prints into water, workshop participants really had no idea what was going to show up. Some people used plants. I used a straw wreath, some rings and a hunk of crystal. When the print was finished, it looked like the birth of the universe.

For the final moments of the cyanotype workshop, Smigiel had prepared some fabric for printing. After sunset, he mixed up the chemicals and the cloth in a five-gallon bucket and hung the cloth to dry outside. He got up at 5 a.m. to take it down before the sun came up.

The cloth waited in a bag in a box, but time ran out before it could be used in the workshop.

Smigiel’s undergraduate studies of physical geography and geology and a master’s degree in environmental studies are now leading him in new directions. He is exploring making paint from natural substances. For The Photosynthesis Project, he “intends to create a painting integrating my long-term interests in visual art and geology together.”

But lest anyone think Smigiel is a perfect vegan, he confesses this: “I enjoy playing eight-ball at seedy establishments (cue tips use animal products), and I serve two felines at home.” And they eat meat.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 37

The Crane Wives — Grand Rapids folk-rock band, 9 p.m. Oct. 11, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Ballyhoo! — Baltimore alt-rock band, 8 p.m. Oct. 12, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

PERFORMING ARTS THEATER Plays

Ann — A no-holds-barred comedy about Ann Richards, legendary governor of Texas, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11, 12, 18 & 19; 2 p.m. Oct. 13 & 20, Carver Center Studio, 426 S. Park St., 343-1313.

Musicals

Amadeus — Tony Award-winning story of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4, 5, 10, 11 & 12; 2 p.m. Oct. 13, Shaw Theatre, WMU, 387-6222.

Camelot — A chamber version of Lerner and Loewe's musical about King Arthur, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4–5, 10–12, 17–19 & 24–26; 2 p.m. Oct. 6, 13, 20 & 27, Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley, 343-2727.

Matilda — The story of a girl who immerses herself in books, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4, 2 p.m. Oct. 5 & 6, The Civic, 329 S. Park St., 343-1313.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde — A doctor conducts an experiment that brings out the dark side of his inner self, 8 p.m. Fridays & Saturdays, Oct. 11–Nov. 2, New Vic Theatre, 134 E. Vine St., 381-3328.

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience — Based on the children's book about being comfortable in your own skin — or suit, 10 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. Oct. 12, 19 & 26, Farmers Alley Theatre, 343-2727.

The World Goes 'Round — Civic Reader's Theatre presents an evening of hit-parade numbers, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 18, 19, 25 & 26; 2 p.m. Oct. 20 & 27, The Civic, 343-1313.

The Rocky Horror Show — A parody of horror and sci-fi movies combining a rock show and a transvestite chorus revue, 8 p.m. Oct. 18 & 25; 5 p.m.

Oct. 19, 20, 26 & 27; 9 p.m. Oct. 19 & 26, Barn Theatre, 13351 West M-96, Augusta, 731-4121.

Urinetown: The Musical — Tony Award-winning musical about a town suffering under a severe water shortage and the hero who leads the town to freedom, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25, 26, 31, Nov. 1 & 2; 2 p.m.

Nov. 3, Williams Theatre, WMU, 387-6222.

Other The Magic of Stuart MacDonald — The magician from the TV show Fool Us offers fun with magic, ghosts, spirits and special effects, Oct. 12, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., 337-0424.

MUSIC Bands & Solo Artists Reverend Horton Heat — Three-piece psychobilly band, 8 p.m. Oct. 1, Bell's Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382-2332.

May Erlewine, Second Sight CD Release — Folk, country and rock singer/songwriter, 8 p.m. Oct. 5, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Gull Lake Jazz Orchestra — Big-band jazz, 7 p.m.

Oct. 9, The Union Cabaret & Grille, 125 S. Kalamazoo Mall, 268-9199.

City of the Sun — Indie rock, folk and blues band, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 10, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

38 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

2nd Sundays Live: Shelagh & Robbie — Shelagh Brown and Robbie Koets perform, 2 p.m. Oct. 13, Parchment Community Library, 401 S. Riverview Drive, 343-7747.

Moon Hooch — Jazz, funk and electronic dance music, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 16, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Star Kitchen — Philadelphia-based funk band, 9 p.m.

Oct. 17, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Mustard Plug — Ska, rock and punk band, 8:30 p.m.

Oct. 19, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Ben Folds and a Piano — The pianist and singer/ songwriter performs pop and rock, 8 p.m. Oct. 23, State Theatre, 404 S. Burdick St., 345-6500.

Bachtoberfest — Kalamazoo Bach Festival presents DBP3 and the Susie Parr Trio, 7 p.m. Oct. 24, Hornet Suite, Kalamazoo College, kalamazoobachfestival.org.

Borr McFerrin, Bottle Makes Three Album Release — Folk, Americana and country duo, 9 p.m. Oct. 25, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Pokey LaFarge — Country blues and jazz solo artist, 8 p.m. Oct. 26, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

Tauk — Progressive rock, hip-hop and jazz band, 8 p.m. Oct. 27, Bell's Eccentric Café, 382-2332.

ZZ Top: 50th Anniversary Tour — Rock & Roll Hall of Fame rock band, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30, Wings Event Center, 3600 Vanrick Drive, 345-1125.

Orchestra, Chamber, Jazz, Vocal & More University Jazz Orchestra — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-2300.

Don't Look Down — Percussion ensemble, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 5, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-4667.

University Symphony Orchestra with 2018 Stulberg Finalist Cellist Nathan Le, 3 p.m. Oct. 6, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-4667.

Gilmore Rising Stars Aliya Alsafa & Jeffrey Chin — The pianists perform works by Mozart, Ravel, Chopin, Beethoven and Scriabin, 4 p.m. Oct. 6, First Congregational Church, 345 W. Michigan Ave., 342-1166.

Mojatuba — Tuba and dance fusion ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9, with pre-concert talk at 7 p.m., Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-2300.

Gospel Fall Fest — The Guardians Quartet, The Mark Trammell Quartet, Greater Vision and the Second Half Quartet reunion, 7 p.m. Oct. 10, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., 337-0424.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi — See the film as the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra performs the score, 8 p.m. Oct. 11, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 349-7759.

University Wind Symphony — 3 p.m. Oct. 13, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-4667.

University Symphonic Band and University Concert Band — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-4667.

Rahim AlHaj + Sahba Motallebi — Iraqi oud master with Iranian tar virtuosa, presented by Connecting Chords Music Festival, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 247 W. Lovell St., ccmusicfest.com.

Farewell Angelina — All-female country vocalists and multi-instrumentalists, 8 p.m. Oct. 19, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-2300.

Icarus at the Edge of Time — KSO presents this multimedia work with a modern twist to a classic myth, 3 p.m. Oct. 20, with pre-concert activities at 2 p.m., Chenery Auditorium, 349-7759.

Gilmore Rising Star Lukas Geniušas — The RussianLithuanian pianist performs, 4 p.m. Oct. 20, Wellspring Theater, Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, 342-1166.

Fujin Raijin: Music of Japan — Organ, marimba and Taiko drumming, presented by Connecting Chords Music Festival, 4 p.m. Oct. 20, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 1747 W. Milham Ave., Portage, ccmusicfest.com.

Trombonist David Binder — Guest artist recital, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-4667.

Leahaliza Lee — Sephardic vocalist, presented by Connecting Chords Music Festival, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23, Congregation of Moses, 2501 Stadium Drive, ccmusicfest.com.

Lecturer Cristina Fava and Pianist Lori Sims — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23, with pre-concert talk at 7 p.m., Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-2300.

Ken Koshio — Taiko drummer, folk singer/songwriter, presented by Connecting Chords Music Festival, 7 p.m. Oct. 24, Parchment Community Library, 401 S. Riverview Drive, ccmusicfest.com.

Jazz Masters: Bassist John Patitucci — 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 24, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-2300.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night — Kalamazoo Concert Band presents a Halloween-themed concert, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26, Chenery Auditorium, kalamazooconcertband.org.

Gershwin: Rhapsodies — Pianist Kevin Cole joins the KSO, 8 p.m. Oct. 26, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 3497759.

The Passion of Joan of Arc — Classic silent film with live soundtrack performance, presented by Connecting Chords Music Festival, 2 p.m. Oct. 26, Dalton Theatre, Kalamazoo College, ccmusicfest.com.

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff & Pianist Lars Vogt — Fontana presents the duo performing works by Beethoven, Shostakovich and Franck, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26, pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m., Jolliffe Theatre, Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, 382-7774.

Collegiate Singers, Cantus Femina and University Chorale — 2 p.m. Oct. 27, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-4667.

Bronco Marching Band — 4 p.m. Oct. 27, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-2300.

Organ with Local Musicians — Guest organist David Lauer, presented by Connecting Chords Music Festival, 4 p.m. Oct. 27, First Baptist Church, 315 W. Michigan Ave., ccmusicfest.com Community Zikr — Ceremonial chanting led by Murshid Muhammad Ichlas, presented by Connecting Chords Music Festival, 7 p.m. Oct. 28, Unity of Kalamazoo, 1204 Whites Road, ccmusicfest.com.

KSO Artists in Residence — KSO musicians perform works by Britten, Mendelssohn and Mozart, 7 p.m.

Oct. 29, First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St., 349-7759.

ENCORE EVENTS Birds on a Wire — WMU’s new-music ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30, with pre-concert talk at 7 p.m., Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-2300.

DANCE Peridance Contemporary Dance Company — Joins WMU dancers in the premiere of a new work by choreographer Yin-Yue, 8 p.m. Oct. 11, Multimedia Room, Dalton Center, WMU, 387-5830.

Dancing with the WMU/Kazoo Stars — WMU dance students pair with local celebrities in ballroom dancing competition, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-5875.

COMEDY

Rising Star Wei Luo, 2018 Gilmore Young Artist © Chris McGuire

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live — The hit TV comedy presents The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-2300.

Deanne Smith — Award-winning comedian, writer and columnist, 8 p.m. Oct. 4, State Theatre, 404 S. Burdick St., 345-6500.

VISUAL ARTS Kalamazoo Institute of Arts 314 S. Park St., 349-7775 Exhibits Moments of Peace: Watercolors by Sunghyun Moon — Large-scale watercolor works painted in the style of mid-20th-century American Action painters, through Oct. 13.

Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem — Traveling exhibition of works by artists of African descent, through Dec. 8.

Resilience: African American Artists as Agents of Change — An exhibition of works from the KIA's permanent collection, through Dec. 8.

Where We Stand: Black Artists in Southwest Michigan — Works by nine artists working in sculpture, photography, painting, ceramics and printmaking, through Dec. 8.

Events ARTbreak — Weekly program about art: Reflections on Black Refractions, talk by Rehema Barber and Amy Passiak, Oct. 1; Art21 Films, film about artists featured in Black Refractions Oct. 8; Black Americana: A Black Woman Speaks, Tanisha Pyron talks about her work in Where We Stand, Oct. 15; Murphy Darden at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, talk by Tammy Barnes, Oct. 22; Storytales and Paper Dolls: The Art of Ulysses Marshall, talk by Greg Waskowsky, Oct. 29; sessions begin at noon, KIA Auditorium.

Recititaf: Art as Performance — Black Refractions artist Steffani Jemison performs in collaboration with a local musician, 5–8 p.m. Oct. 4.

Unreeled: Film at the KIA: The Black Artists Series — A film screening and discussion about the craft and journey of local black artists, led by filmmaker Tirrea Billings, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 10.

A Night of Music and Theatre — Original music and theater by Last Gasp Collective and Face Off Theatre, inspired by three fall exhibitions, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 11.

Robert Wittman — The founder of the FBI's National Art Crime Team shares stories of art heists and undercover recoveries, 7 p.m. Oct. 16.

Artist's Talk by Kori Newkirk — The Black Refractions artist talks about his practice, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17.

Motawi Tile Trunk Show — Nawal Motawi talks about producing tiles, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 26, trunk show in Gallery Shop noon–5 p.m.

Richmond Center for Visual Arts Western Michigan University, 387-2436

> 1: Celebrating Design + Community — Graphic design exhibition, through Oct. 13, Monroe-Brown Gallery.

Spiral: Up & Out — This exhibition highlights stylistic tendencies and ways members of the New York City arts alliance Spiral responded to their experiences as black artists fighting for civil rights in the 1960s, through Oct. 13, Kerr Gallery.

Visiting Artist: Eric Souther — Video and new media artist, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 3, Room 2008.

WMU Scholar: Ashley Atkins — The WMU professor speaks on "Race and the Politics of Loss: Revisiting the Legacy of Emmett Till," responding to the exhibition of Dana Schutz's painting Open Casket, 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4, Room 2008.

Visiting Art Critic Lecture: Jerry Saltz — The senior art critic and columnist for New York magazine, 6 p.m.

Oct. 28, Room 3502, Knauss Hall, WMU. WMU Faculty and Staff Exhibition — Oct. 30–Dec. 8, Monroe-Brown Gallery.

Cat Crotchett: Together — This exhibition combines Indonesian batik textile processes with abstract patterns, Oct. 30–Dec. 8, opening reception 5–7 p.m.

Oct. 30, Netzorg and Kerr Gallery.

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EVENTS ENCORE Other Venues

The Honeycomb Scriptures — Etchings by Ladislav Hanka, enhanced by bee-created honeycomb formations, through Oct. 6, Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 230 N. Rose St., 373-7990.

Portage Community Art Award Exhibition — Art by award winner June Belitz and other original works, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., through Oct. 31, Portage City Hall, 7900 S. Westnedge Ave., 329-4522.

Art Hop — Art at various locations in Kalamazoo, 5–8 p.m. Oct. 4, 342-5059.

Art Hop South & Recycled Art in the Park — Stroll through exhibitions featuring various art mediums, 5–8 p.m. Oct. 4; recycled sculptures on display through Oct. 12, Celery Flats, 7335 Garden Lane, Portage, 329-4522.

Carol L. Myers — Mixed-media works, Oct. 4–25, with Art Hop opening 6–9 p.m. Oct. 4, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite A, 373-4938.

Artists in Action: James Palmore — The artist will work each day on a piece as part of the KIA exhibition Where We Stand: Black Artists in Southwest Michigan, 2–4 p.m. Oct. 7–10, with special program 5 p.m. Oct. 7, Eastwood Branch Library, 1112 Gayle Ave., 553-7810.

Arts and Eats Tour — A self-driving tour of Allegan, Barry, Calhoun and Van Buren counties to experience art, local food and agriculture, Oct. 19 & 20, artsandeats.org.

Artists in Action: Tanisha Pyron — The artist will work each day on a piece as part of the KIA exhibition Where We Stand: Black Artists in Southwest Michigan, 2–4 p.m. Oct. 28–Nov. 1, with special program 5 p.m.

Oct. 30, Washington Square Branch Library, 1244 Portage St., 553-7970.

LIBRARY & LITERARY EVENTS Kalamazoo Public Library

Confronting Violence: Improving Women's Lives — A traveling exhibit from the U.S. National Library of Medicine on the efforts of health care workers to identify violence against women as a serious health care issue, through Nov. 2, Central Branch, 315 S. Rose St., 342-9837.

Unicycle Show — Watch cyclists from Open Roads and the Redford Township Unicycle Club, 10:30 a.m. & 1 p.m. Oct. 5, Alma Powell Branch, 1000 W. Paterson St., 553-7960.

Page Turners Book Club — Discussion of The Radium Girls, by Kate Moore, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 7, Oshtemo Branch, 7265 W. Main St., 553-7980.

Sister Pie — Lisa Ludwinski, owner of Detroit's Sister Pie, talks about her bakery and cookbook, 6 p.m. Oct. 8, Oshtemo Branch, 553-7980.

Exploring Basic Crystal Use — Tasleem Jamila of My Soul Speaks Institute on the basics of crystal and gemstone use, 6 p.m. Oct. 15, Alma Powell Branch, 553-7960.

Meet the Author: Sarah Steele — The author reads from her book The Monsterbet: The ABCs Don't Scare Me, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 19, Oshtemo Branch, 553-7980.

Michigan, My Michigan: Early Years of the Automotive Industry and World War — Lynn Houghton shares Michigan's colorful history, 7 p.m.

Oct. 21, Van Deusen Room, Central Branch, 342-9837.

A Night with the Paranormal — Carl Wickett of the Michigan Paranormal Research Organization discusses paranormal activity in Southwest Michigan, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 23, Washington Square Branch, 1244 Portage St., 553-7970.

Meet the Author: Charmane Echols — The author reads from her new book, The Adventures of Kimberlite: A Glorious Shining Star, 11 a.m. Oct. 26, Oshtemo Branch, 553-7980.

Parchment Community Library 401 S. Riverview Drive, 343-7747 Parchment Book Group — Discussion of The Red Address Book, by Sofia Lundberg, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 7.

Donuts & Discussion: Is This a Scam? How Can I Tell? — Discussion with representatives from the Kalamazoo Township Police Department and Advia Credit Union, 10:30 a.m.–noon Oct. 19.

Mystery Book Club — Discussion of The Lost Man, by Jane Harper, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21.

Yum's the Word: Party Food for Fall Events — Chef Jennifer from The Fountains Banquet Center on how to make parties pop, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23; registration required.

Portage District Library 300 Library Lane, 329-4544 Stephen Mack Jones — Award-winning novelist reads from his work, 7 p.m. Oct. 1.

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

Oct. 5.

Family Music with Samuel Nalangira — Dancing and drumming by Ugandan musician, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 9; registration required.

International Mystery Book Discussion: New Zealand — Discussion of Cemetery Lake, by Paul Cleave, 7 p.m. Oct. 10.

Zombie Asylum Murder Mystery — Be a guest at the asylum and try to make it out alive, 7–9 p.m. Oct. 11; registration required.

Open for Discussion — Discussion of Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 15.

NEW LOOK. SAME FIRM.

40 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

Mel Starr — Reads from his novel and discusses writing with historical accuracy, 7 p.m. Oct. 15.

An Inspired Life: John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age — A discussion of Fetzer's metaphysical journey amid his worldly achievements, 7 p.m. Oct. 24.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Steve Salaba shares this classic 1931 movie, 2–4 p.m. Oct. 26.

Richland Community Library 8951 Park St., 629-9085 The Dust Bowl — This presentation examines the causes and personal experiences of those who lived through this ecological disaster, 7 p.m. Oct. 2.

Lisa Ludwinski — Meet the bakery owner and author of Sister Pie, 7 p.m. Oct. 9.

Book Club & Dessert — Discussion of Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, 7 p.m. Oct. 10.

Friends of the Library Book Sale — 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Oct. 11, 9 a.m.–noon Oct. 12.

Other Venues Natalie Eilbert and Hedy Habra — Kalamazoo Book Arts presents these poets, 7 p.m. Oct. 12, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite A, 373-4938.

ght i n e t Da ily fun

Paranormal Michigan — A multimedia production on area hauntings, along with an E.V.P. (electronic voice phenomenon) and videos, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 16, Comstock Township Library, 6130 King Highway, 345-0136.

Fam iends r f h t i w Evening

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MUSEUMS Air Zoo 6151 Portage Road, Portage, 382-6555

Apo11o — This new permanent exhibit shows the teamwork it took to put people on the moon via the Apollo 11 mission.

D-Day 75: En Route by Place and Parachute — This new permanent exhibit shows D-Day through the eyes of POWs, glider pilots and through artifacts from the Air Zoo's collection.

Memories and Milestones: 40 Years of the Air Zoo — A celebration of four decades of flight, spacecraft, science and education, through December.

Kalamazoo Valley Museum 230 N. Rose St., 373-7990 Mindbenders Mansion 2 — Puzzles, brainteasers and interactive challenges to test the brain, through Jan. 5.

Build a Native Bee Hotel — Learn to build and manage a bee hotel to support local tunnel nesting bees, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Oct. 5, KVCC Food Innovation Center, 224 E. Crosstown Pkwy.

Chemistry Day — Area chemists explore the chemistry of metals in this family program, noon–4 p.m. Oct. 12.

Willard Wigan Microsculptor — Artwork so small it must be viewed through a microscope, Oct. 12–Jan. 26.

Filling in the Gaps: The Art of Murphy Darden — Art focused on black cowboys, Darden's personal experiences in Mississippi, civil rights heroes and Kalamazoo's African-American community, Oct. 12– March 29.

The Rise and Fall of Allied Paper — Jeremy Winkworth presents the little-known history of this important Kalamazoo industry, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 13.

NATURE Fall Bird Banding — Visit bird banders with the first birds of the day, 8 a.m. Tues., Thurs. & Sat. through October; meet at the Kalamazoo Nature Center Banding Barn, 7000 N. Westnedge Ave., 381-1574.

Kal-Haven Trail Birding Walks — Audubon Society of Kalamazoo hosts a 5-mile walk to enjoy the trail's sights and sounds, 9–11 a.m. Oct. 1, 8 & 15, starting at the trailhead on North 10th Street, between G and H avenues, 375-7210.

Fall Hiking for Families — Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy and the Lillian Anderson Arboretum share information on local preserves, and Skip Lee, of Lee's Sporting Goods, shares tips for safe hiking, 6–7 p.m. Oct. 7, Oshtemo Branch, 7265 W. Main St., 5537980.

Dessert with Discussion: Heroes to Hives — Agricultural entomologist Dr. Adam Ingrao will discuss beekeeping, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, 3700 E. Gull Lake Drive, Hickory Corners, 6715117; registration requested.

MISCELLANEOUS Kalamazoo Farmers Market — 8 a.m.–1 p.m.

Tuesdays, 2–6 p.m. Thursdays, through October; 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturdays, through November, 1204 Bank St., 359-6727.

TICKETS & concert info KalamazooSymphony.com 269.349.7759

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Portage Market — 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 13, 7900 S. Westnedge Ave., Portage, 359-6727.

Senior & Caregiver Expo — Kalamazoo County Area Agency on Aging presents information on community resources, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 1, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 373-5147.

Vintage in the Zoo Hop-up Block Party — Local vendors, music and community art project, 4–8 p.m.

Oct. 4, Bates Alley, downtown Kalamazoo, 344-0795.

Kalamazoo Late-Night Food Truck Rally — Food trucks, artisans and music, 9 p.m.–midnight Oct. 4, 201–299 W. Water St. (between Rose and Church streets), 388-2830.

Open House at Drake Farmstead Park — Tour the historic Drake House, activities and arts and crafts, noon–4 p.m. Oct. 5, 927 N. Drake Road, 553-7800.

Kalamazoo Tweed Ride — A turn-of-the-centurythemed bike ride, ending in an old-timey party; 26mile route begins at noon, 4.5-mile route begins at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 5, starting at Open Roads, 1523 Riverview Drive, openroadsbike.org.

Haunted History of Kalamazoo Tour — A paranormal history of the city, 8–10 p.m. Oct. 5, starting in Bronson Park, 220-9496.

Walking Tour of Downtown Kalamazoo Breweries — All about the local beer culture, noon–4:15 p.m.

Oct. 5, starting at Central City Tap House, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall; Oct. 12, starting at Kalamazoo Beer Exchange, 211 E. Water St.; Oct. 19, starting at Shakespeare's Pub, 241 E. Kalamazoo Ave.; Oct. 26, starting at Old Burdick's, 100 W. Michigan Ave.; 350-4598.

Panel Discussion: Three Visionary Leaders in Local Higher Education — Three local college presidents share their approaches to diversity, equity, access and inclusion, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, 314 S. Park St., 349-7775.

Kalamazoo Craft Fair — Fall, Halloween and holiday shopping, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 12, Kalamazoo County Expo Center South, 903-5820.

Bonteboktoberfest — Beer-tasting event after zoo hours, 5–10 p.m. Oct. 12, Binder Park Zoo, 7400 Division Drive, Battle Creek, 269-979-1351.

Senior Safari — Seniors 60+ receive free admission for activities and games at the zoo, Oct. 16, Binder Park Zoo, 269-979-1351.

Zoorific Kids Day — Guest vendors, mascots, demonstrations, activities and animal encounters, Oct. 19, Binder Park Zoo, 269-979-1351.

Geek Fest — Gaming, cosplay, technology, gaming, artists and illustrators, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 19, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, facebook.com/ SWMGeekFest.

Stroller Safari — Play stations, pumpkin coloring and kids' activities, Oct. 22, Binder Park Zoo, 269-979-1351.

Harvest Celebration — Harvest-themed enrichment for the animals and antique tractors inside the zoo, Oct. 26, Binder Park Zoo, 269-979-1351.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show — The 1975 film, enhanced by WMU Musical Theatre students, 6:30 & 10:30 p.m. Oct. 26, State Theatre, 404 S. Burdick St., 345-6500.

2019–20 Freedom Speaker Series — Art Critic Jerry Saltz on "How to Be an Artist, or at Least Think More Freely and Creatively About Your Everyday Life," 6 p.m.

Oct. 28, 3502 Knauss Hall, WMU, 387-1811.

42 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

ENCORE POETRY

Lora has been hidden in the tree trunk

for an hour. The game is over; her cousins have forgotten she was even playing.

She doesn’t mind. It’s quiet, now that the others have gone; no one is shouting Ollie, Ollie, in free. She breathes in moist earth-wood smells. The torn trunk is high enough for her to stand inside. Turn. There are holes in the stump near her shoulders—threading her hands through, she reaches into sunlight. Delight!

For the first time this year, she does not feel alone. As if she smells Mom’s neck again, hears Dad whistling. Everything slows. When she pulls her hands back inside, she feels a little twinge of disappointment—she shoves them back out again. The tree’s insides adjust to her shape; they support her all around. She doesn’t tire of standing. Her bare feet are almost buried in spongy, loose stuff.

She wiggles her toes down to a warm spot. No one has been able to soothe her like this in the face of all she has lost. The trees nearby unfurl new leaves to the sun. Her arms and fingers take on a greenish tint, and she sings to herself.

There’s a creaking, crackling sound, very low, and excitement flows up through her—a warm river. Something hums. She feels she is going to grow tall. She cries a little and doesn’t understand why. When she licks the tears from her upper lip she is surprised that they are thick and sticky-sweet. Her face feels rough. I don’t want to leave. The last time her thoughts are framed in words.

Pattison is one of the participants in The Photosynthesis Project, for which she wrote this poem. She lives in Kalamazoo and is on the board of Friends of Poetry. (Learn about The Photosynthesis Project in this month’s Arts feature on artist Joe Smigiel, Page 34.)

— Lynn Pattison

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INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Arborist Services of Kalamazoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Betzler Funeral Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Brink, Key & Chludzinski, PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Bronson Healthcare Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Constance Brown Hearing Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Cornerstone Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Dave’s Glass Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 DeHaan Remodeling Specialists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 DeMent and Marquardt, PLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Fence & Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 First National Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Four Points by Sheraton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 The Gilmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Gilmore Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Halls Closets & More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Kalamazoo Bach Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport . . . . . . . . 48 Kalamazoo Community Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

all through October while supplies last

Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

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LVM Capital Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 North Woods Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Park Village Pines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services . . . . . . . . . . .18 Portage Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Ray Financial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Jeff K. Ross Financial Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Sherman Lake YMCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Southern Michigan Bank & Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Trust Shield Insurance Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

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University Center for the Humanities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Vandenberg Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Varnum Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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Anika Johnson (continued from page 46)

eventually landing a job with Trunk Club, an online subscription clothing service. But the amount of waste in the fast-fashion industry turned her off from the job, she says, so she opened Great Lakes Thrift Co. in 2018 to find cool clothes that still have life left in them.

Still, something was missing, so she opened Soccer Shots Kalamazoo in March of this year.

What do you love about soccer?

Soccer provides an outlet to just be yourself. You can be competitive. You can be confident. You can get some energy and adrenaline out. In life, things happen and it can be hard sometimes, but soccer can be this protective bubble of fun energy, teamwork, friendship and growth.

At Soccer Shots we call our soccer field "Soccer Island," and I think of it as that.

Once you're on Soccer Island, you're just happy and energetic and ready to go. And we always say to the kids, to make sure they don't run away (she laughs), "It's safe on Soccer Island." And it really is in my mind, not just from a safety aspect, but even a mental (and) emotional safety net. You can be sad, angry, happy, whatever, and we're going to support you through that.

What is special about Soccer Shots?

Soccer Shots is an intro-to-soccer program that creates engaging, fun and exciting confidence building in younger kids.

Our primary business model is to provide an

elective enrichment program for child cares and day cares. We have 30-minute sessions where we teach soft skills and character words like teamwork, responsibility, confidence, determination. There's always a theme, such as the zoo, so we practice running fast like a cheetah and getting our bear noises out.

It’s sparking imagination while teaching the basics of soccer and about being an athlete and part of a team.

going to take time, to make sure we have all of our coaches trained and ready to go, location set up, equipment ready so the product we're offering to them is consistent throughout.

Sometimes I get anxious for growth and expansion and have to tone it down a little bit, saying, “Let's just bring these 100 kids that we have right now the best experience, then grow that with time.”

What is your personal coaching technique?

Would you say that also applies to the Great Lakes Thrift Co.?

I would say energetic. That's part of my personality, but it's put on to hyperdrive when we're on Soccer Island. Having a lot of energy and positivity helps make sure the players are having fun and letting go of their shyness, because we have a lot of kids who don't want to look silly or embarrass themselves.

There can be a lot of negativity with sports.

"Try harder, score more goals.” “Oh, you lost.

You’re a loser." Those are words that are never, ever on Soccer Island. Never. I say, "You're working so hard; I love how hard you're working" rather than "You're the fastest soccer player." Being a hard worker can be applied to anything, whether it’s athletics or academics, relationships, whatever.

Oh, 100 percent, because I would love to have this huge warehouse with all the clothes and tons of music and a fun environment, but in reality you’ve got to take baby steps.

I'd really love to be downtown — on the mall would be awesome.

What is the biggest challenge facing you in this job?

Being patient in expansion. I want to impact a thousand kids. I want to go, go, go, get to every school, get to every kid. That's

What’s the connection between the two businesses for you?

I worked in the corporate fashion world (at Trunk Club) and realized how wasteful it was. I thrifted and found all these awesome things, and I just wanted to share that. So that's how the thrift shop/vintage shop evolved.

I like to bring joy and confidence to people, whether it's 2-year-olds with the soccer ball or 22-year-olds with some awesome denim (she laughs).

— Interview by Jordan Bradley and edited for clarity and length

Willis Law attorneys give back 10% of their time to the community through pro bono legal services and non-profit volunteer activity. Verelle’s practice areas include civil litigation, personal injury, estate planning, Medicaid, and military justice.Verelle volunteers and gives his time back to the community as follows: - Represents pro bono, clients at Kalamazoo Gospel Mission - Represents pro bono, domestic violence and trafficking victims at the YWCA - Serves as 1st lieutenant in the JAG Corps Michigan Army National Guard

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(269) 492-1040 | www.willis.law w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 45

BACK STORY ENCORE

Anika Johnson

Owner, Soccer Shots Kalamazoo & Great Lakes Thrift Co

Brian Powers

A

46 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2019

t 27, Anika Johnson is the owner of two businesses: the Kalamazoo franchise of Soccer Shots, an organization that teaches kids 2 to 8 years old the basics of soccer while creating a solid foundation of confidence and teamwork, and the Great Lakes Thrift Co., a thrift/vintage clothing store in the Park Trades Center.

Johnson will be the first to tell you that her journey to becoming an owner of a Soccer Shots franchise was not linear. “I will say my journey's kind of crazy, but not in a bad way. My path, it took a lot of turns, which is OK,” she says.

Johnson, originally from Baroda, played soccer from the time she was a toddler. She played for the former Kalamazoo travel soccer team TKO Premiere from 2007 to 2010. In 2012, she joined Swedish soccer team Mariebo, but her soccer career was cut short by a hip injury and a severe concussion. After surgery, Johnson decided to complete her bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising at Western Michigan University, (continued on page 45)

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