Encore October 2013

OCTOBER 2013

southwest michigan’s magazine

Does this look like a library?

Libraries morph to match the times

KIA Art School Director

Denise Lisiecki

Community Healing Centers

Driven to meet area’s mental health needs

love where you live Love where you live and help make life better in Kalamazoo County with a gift to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s Spirit of Community Fund. Your gift will create opportunities that touch lives in every corner of our community. When you give, our community thrives. learn more at www.kalfound.org or 269.381.4416. facebook.com/kalfound

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OCTOBER 2013

southwest michigan’s magazine

Does this look like a library?

Libraries morph to match the times

KIA Art School Director

Denise Lisiecki

Community Healing Centers

Driven to meet area’s mental health needs

Financial planning for all the seasons of life

Publisher

encore publications, inc.

• Retirement Planning* • Estate Planning* • Financial Planning* • Estate, Divorce & Financial Settlements* • Retirement Rollovers*

Editor

marie lee

Designer

alexis stubelt

8145 Valleywood Lane, Portage (269) 321-5047

Photographer

Find a wealth of information, market news, tools and calculators at

derbyfinancial.net

HOS_Encore_August-2013_Encore 8/13/13 12:30 PMMember Page 1 *Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through ING Financial Partners, SIPC. Derby Financial Associates, LLC, is not a subsidiary of nor controlled by ING Financial Partners.

erik holladay

Sandy K. Derby

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Chartered Financial Consultant™

You have a choice.

Copy Editor/Poetry Editor margaret deritter

Contributors

zinta aistars, kit almy, theresa coty-o’neil, margaret deritter, tiffany fitzgerald, marie lee, robert m. weir

Contributing Poets

jennifer clark, danielle favorite

Advertising Sales/Business Manager krieg lee

If you or a loved one need hospice services, remember you have a choice.

Advertising Representative celeste statler

Office Manager ron dundon

Encore Magazine is published 9 times yearly, September through May. Copyright 2013, Encore Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial, circulation and advertising correspondence should be sent to: www.encorekalamazoo.com

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4 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

117 W. Cedar St. Suite A Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Telephone: (269) 383-4433 Fax number: (269) 383-9767 E-mail: Publisher@encorekalamazoo.com The staff at Encore welcomes written comment from readers, and articles and poems for submission with no obligation to print or return them. To learn more about us or to comment, you may visit www.encorekalamazoo.com. Encore subscription rates: one year $27, two years $53, three years $78. Current single issue and newsstand $4, $10 by mail. Back issues $6, $12 by mail. Advertising rates on request. Closing date for space is 28 days prior to publication date. Final date for print-ready copy is 21 days prior to publication date.

CONTENTS

October

2013

FEATURES Community Healing Centers

16

Libraries Remade

22

Doing whatever is needed to meet the community’s mental health needs.

Libraries reinvent themselves to meet the changing times.

Denise Lisiecki

Director of the KIA Art School and a watercolorist, Lisiecki creates art on many canvases.

DEPARTMENTS 6 Up Front

Dead and Buried —– Local historian digs up tantaliz ing history of Kalamazoo’s early cemeteries.

8 The Cranes Are Coming —– CraneFest offers an opportunity to witness the sandhills’ stopover on their journey south.

30

10 Enterprise

Park Street Market —– These Northside grocers view their business and neighborhood as all in the family.

12 14

46

Savor

Milk in the Raw —– Moo-nique Dairy is milking a growing demand for unadulterated milk.

Good Works

Milwood Challenger Little League —– Organization has a hit making sure that those with disabilities can play ball.

The Last Word

Lessons from a Brain Tumor —– Having brain surgery was as enlightening for our essayist as it was traumatic.

ARTS

34 ‘The Disappearing City’

Photographer Jim Griffioen captures the emptiness of the ruins of Detroit.

36 Poetry of the Mitten

New anthology highlights Michigan poets and poems of Michigan.

38 Events of Note 41 Poetry On the cover: Teenage boys play a video game in the Teen Room at the Kalamazoo Public Library. Photo by Erik Holladay

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 5

savor UP FRONT up front ENCORE

Dead and Buried

Historian offers glimpse of area’s early cemeteries by

Tiffany Fitzgerald

There are nearly 300 graves below the grounds of South Westnedge Park from the time it was a burial ground in the 1800s.

When you sit on a bench among the oaks

and lawn of the Vine neighborhood’s South Westnedge Park, it’s hard to imagine you are lounging above the graves of more than 300 of Kalamazoo’s earliest residents.

The three-acre lot was once West Street Cemetery, Kalamazoo’s first burial ground established in 1832 and located a mile from the city’s center.

“One of the first things that a township or settlement would do would be to determine where they would bury their dead,” says Tom Dietz, curator of research at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. “Burying the dead was a fact of life. One of the first issues a village or township faced was establishing a common burial ground for many reasons, including public health.”

Dietz will discuss the early cemeteries of Kalamazoo County in a program called Bring Out Your Dead! The History of Cemeteries in 6 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

19th Century Kalamazoo County, set for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at the museum.

Before the establishment of the thenprivately owned Mountain Home Cemetery (on West Main Street) in 1850 and the publicly owned Riverside Cemetery (on Riverview Drive and Gull Road) in 1862, the area’s dead were buried in small family plots on their farms or homesteads, in the city’s cemetery on Westnedge or in small church cemeteries. In fact, Dietz notes that the website www.rootsweb.ancestry.com lists 60 cemeteries in Kalamazoo County, ranging from one in Oshtemo Township that has just two burials to Fort Custer National Cemetery, which has more than 25,000.

“There are far more cemeteries in Kalamazoo County than people would realize, and it’s amazing how many small cemeteries there are with just a few people buried in them,” Dietz says.

But back in the 1830s, burying the dead didn’t carry the sentimentality and ceremony that it does today.

“In the early 19th century, a burial ground was just a place for the dead. Someone died, you buried them and they were gone,” Dietz says. “The whole idea that cemeteries were a place to go to remember and honor our dead didn’t really come into being until around the 1860s or so.”

West Street Cemetery, which has alternately been called South West Cemetery and Pioneer Cemetery, was nearly at capacity when the city closed it in 1862. In 1884, the city’s boundaries had expanded to the once-outlying area of the cemetery and the city decided to turn the burial ground into a park. Some remains were relocated to other cemeteries, but many people’s remains were left where they were laid to rest.

“So all the city did was turn over the remaining markers, most of which were made of wood, brought in dirt and turned it into a park,” says Dietz.

Having a park on a burial ground apparently didn’t seem off-putting to 19thcentury Kalamazooans, who picnicked and held political rallies there.

Across town, the city’s newer cemeteries were also quite parklike, but by design, Dietz says. Located on hillsides with scenic vistas and curving roads, Mountain Home and Riverside cemeteries were symbolic of the shifting attitudes about death that began in the 1840s. Cemeteries became idyllic settings so the dead could rest in eternal peace amid customized marble and stone headstones.

Dietz says that cultural shift continues even today. “While some cemeteries still feature elaborate tombstone architecture, others require all markers to be flat for ease of maintenance. I’ve even seen some (cemeteries), that have small mausoleums specifically for cremated remains.”

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up front encore

The Cranes Are Coming!

Folks flock to witness sandhills’ migration south Margaret DeRitter

Roy Van Loo Jr.

by

Sandhill cranes come in for a landing at Baker Sanctuary during their annual stopover during migration.

8 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

A

s afternoon slides into evening on a cool October day at Baker Sanctuary, north of Marshall, the skies fill with the distinctive profiles of sandhill cranes, their long necks stretched out straight in flight, their legs dropping low for a landing as they descend to the wetlands of Big Marsh Lake.

If you’re lucky enough to have binoculars or a high-powered scope, you can see the sun catch the bright-red patches on their foreheads and crowns. But observing the fall stopover of these huge migratory birds is not just a unique visual feast. It’s also an unforgettable auditory sensation, as the air reverberates with their loud, fluttering calls.

Last year more than 9,400 sandhill cranes stopped at Baker Sanctuary on their way south to states stretching from Tennessee to Florida. That number is especially impressive when you consider that this ancient species almost became extinct in the 1930s because of the pesticide DDT.

The cranes that stop over at Baker Sanctuary come mostly from northern Michigan, but a few may fly in from Canada, says Wendy Tatar, program coordinator for the Michigan Audubon Society.

Some of the birds start to trickle into southern Michigan during the summer, but the largest numbers begin arriving in October. How long they stay depends on the weather. “As long as they can find food here, they stay,” Tatar says. ”Last year they left in mid-December and were back by the end of January.”

The marshy areas of the 900-acre Baker Sanctuary provide a perfect habitat for the birds, which stand as tall as 5 1/2 feet. “They want to roost in water of a certain depth,” Tatar says. “One of their main predators is coyotes, and the water keeps coyotes away.”

Every fall since 1995, the Michigan Audubon Society and the Kiwanis Club of Battle Creek have celebrated the birds by hosting the Sandhill Crane & Art Festival — CraneFest for short. The event, which draws as many as 7,000 people, is held at the Kiwanis Youth Conservation Area, overlooking Big Marsh Lake.

This year’s CraneFest is Oct. 12 and 13. It will feature an exhibit by Michigan nature artists, guided nature walks, hillside nature chats, a nature bookstore, hay rides and kids’ nature crafts, among other activities and exhibits.

The centerpiece of the festival, of course, is the cranes. Their daily fly-in begins at about 4 p.m. Some birds arrive from up north, and others return to the lake after a day of foraging. The largest number of cranes can usually be seen between 5 p.m. and sunset.

CraneFest

When: Noon to 7 p.m. Oct. 12 and 13.

Where: Kiwanis Youth Conservation Area, 22300 15 Mile Road, Bellevue, adjacent to Bernard W. Baker Sanctuary.

How much: Admission is free, but parking is $4.

How to get there: Take I-94 west to I-69, then head north on I-69 to Exit 42. Go west on N Drive North a half-mile to the blinker at Cornwell’s Turkeyville, then turn north (right) onto 15 1/2 Mile Road and go 3.4 miles (along the way, you’ll make a slight right as 15 1/2 Mile joins 15 Mile Road). The sanctuary is on the right.

More information: cranefest.org Festival days are not the only time you can see the cranes, however.

On Saturdays and Sundays following the festival, the Kiwanis area is open for crane viewing from 4 to 7 p.m. through Nov. 10.

Sometimes you’ll see the cranes flying directly overhead, but the greatest numbers are in the wetlands, about 100 to 200 yards away from the viewing area. So don’t forget binoculars. But even if you do, no need to worry: There’s often someone with a telescope who is willing to share the magnificent view. And as for those cries of the cranes, no amplification needed.

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Enterprise ENCORE

A Family Affair

Brothers behind Park Street Market embrace their Northside neighborhood by

Tiffany Fitzgerald

From left, brothers Kiar and Tom Gamsho and Kiar’s brother-in-law Sam Shina operate the Park Street Market in the city’s Northside community.

The Park Street Market’s opening in 2010 wasn’t your typical grocery

store opening. The market replaced the Felpausch Food Center at 512 N. Park St., on Kalamazoo’s Northside, in a location that had been vacant for a year.

Felpausch’s arrival on the Northside in 2003 was a much-celebrated event; after all, the neighborhood had been without a grocery story for a number of years. However, Felpausch closed the store six years later. The city of Kalamazoo paid to keep the building maintained during the vacancy, but, because of the financial assistance the city had already provided as an incentive for Felpausch’s original

10 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

occupancy, many Kalamazoo residents were wary of the cost to fill the space again. It seemed to many people that no grocery store would make it there.

In short, store director Kiar Gamsho and his family had their work cut out for them.

“A lot of people said we were crazy to try an urban location, to move in where a store had failed,” says Gamsho, one of the store’s directors. “The real estate is tough, sure. We’re not surrounded by houses, like the D&W, but we get all walks of life in here and we offer a lot that everyday big-box stores don’t.”

Gamsho is convinced that the very thing that caused worry when the market moved in – that they were coming into a small, urban neighborhood without a successful grocery store – was what made him and his family so successful, because it gave them the chance to offer what had not been offered before: a grocery store designed to meet the specific needs of Kalamazoo.

“Big-box stores have a huge demographic,” he says.

“They work with large-scale distributors so they can only offer the same selection of product at every location, regardless of local demographic. We work with Spartan, obviously, since we’re a Spartan store, but we also have local distributors that we’ve worked with since my father started those relationships in the late 1970s (when he began working in the grocery business). So we can offer different ethnic foods, for a diverse urban demographic, and offer them affordably.”

Gamsho says Park Street’s niche is its meat department, which boasts fresh, local, affordable meats. Keeping an eye on the “meat and potatoes” allows Gamsho to create

a specialty market to drive in business from the entire Kalamazoo community, not just the Northside neighborhood.

Jim Spica, the head butcher for Park Street Market, says that although the meat department does stand out as the backbone of the store, it works with all the other departments to provide a market that’s welcoming, offers a variety of foods and has both good quality and good prices. Not to mention, says Spica, the Gamshos are a great family to work for.

“They treat the employees well. I’ve been in the grocery business 40 years, and I can’t say that I’ve seen a grocery store run as well as this one. This one is run like a family. I live in Grand Rapids and drive a long time each day to work here. That’s because I prefer working here to anywhere else.”

Employees like Spica are integral to the business, says Gamsho, who notes that the market hires many employees from the Northside neighborhood and has a very low turnover rate. Because the market treats employees like family, he says, he has friendly employees who inspire customers to return.

It’s no wonder the employees feel like family: They’re working beside Kiar and his family every day. Kiar, his brother Tom, father Sam, and brother-in-law Dean Sadek all work in and help manage the store.

And Kiar is also the brother-in-law of Sam Shina, who co-directs the store with the Gamshos and whose company, The Shina Group, operates as a buying group for the Park Street Market and 14 stores in metro Detroit. The Shina Group works with Spartan as a franchise, meaning the stores offer Spartan-brand foods and generic options but have the freedom to make individual location decisions.

Working with so many members of the family can be stressful and sometimes challenging, says Tom, but in the end very rewarding.

“We’re always here together. Always,” he explains. “So sometimes there’s stress – we all have our different approaches to business. You have to leave family out of it when you walk in, though, and treat it like a business. If it’s not here, we’re not here. Bottom line.”

Sadek agrees, and adds that the family dynamic helps to define the store and connect it to the community of Kalamazoo.

“We’ve become a part of the community because we treat everyone like family,” he says. “We want to keep growing in the community too. We want to stay here as long, well, as long as I’m alive, I guess.

Kalamazoo is a great place to live.”

Park Street Market’s niche is its meat department, run by head butcher Jim Spica.

Kiar, Tom, and Sadek all note how welcome they’ve felt and how much the Northside neighborhood has grown to embrace the store.

Overall, the community has made it possible for the market to succeed, they say. In January, the Shina Group signed a new longterm lease to continue running the store at its current location.

“There’s a lot of support here, and everyone has got your back,” Tom says. “It’s a good thing, and why we feel so connected. We know all our regulars by their first names. We go to their functions. It’s been a nice transition from Detroit.”

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savor ENCORE

From Cow to Cup:

Customers drinking in Moo-nique Dairy’s raw milk by

Tiffany Fitzgerald

Raw milk pours into a pail at the Moo-nique Dairy, in Vandalia.

Opposite page: Dairy owners Nadine and Tyler Stutzman are seeing an increase in customers wanting raw milk.

You’ve got to have a cow – or a loophole – to drink raw milk.

Raw milk is illegal to buy or sell commercially in Michigan since it does not adhere to normal pasteurization standards. However, it is not illegal for farmers to drink raw milk produced by their own cows, including cows owned in part through a herd-sharing program, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture policies.

Therefore, Michiganders may purchase a share of a cow at a local farm and then drink raw milk from that cow, as part owners.

12 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

“That’s the loophole,” Tyler Stutzman says. “That’s what our lawyers tell us, anyway.”

Stutzman owns and operates Moo-nique Dairy, in Vandalia, with his wife, Nadine. Through their program, herd share owners pay an annual fee of $10 and a monthly fee of $26 to receive a gallon of milk per week. The fees cover the cost of raising the cows, feeding them, maintaining them and housing them. The milk produced by the cows is then free to the share owners and delivered to three locations in Kalamazoo and locations in Paw Paw and Portage for pickup.

One of the first questions most people have about raw milk is whether it’s safe, since it’s not pasteurized. The Food and Drug Administration says it’s not, stating on its website that raw milk can harbor dangerous microorganisms that can pose serious health risks. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that unpasteurized milk is 150 times more likely to cause food-borne illness, resulting in 13 times more hospitalizations than illnesses involving pasteurized dairy products.

But Nadine and Tyler, who say they are well-versed on the safety issues, are decidedly in favor of raw milk: They drink it themselves, and so do their four kids.

“Our own beliefs about raw milk and its health benefits influenced us to start offering it to consumers,” Tyler says. “And the share program is more financially viable too because it eliminates the middleman, so we’re able to produce milk that’s cheaper than store-bought organic milk.”

The Stutzmans are adamant about health safety. Neither believes that raw milk should be distributed to stores on a wide scale, since it would have to be combined with other farms’ milk, making it impossible to trace the source if there were a contamination problem.

One of the reasons raw milk shares work, Tyler says, is that they are small-scale so consumers get to choose where their milk comes from by developing relationships with local farmers.

“With only 30 acres, we couldn’t have the 60 to 100 cows we’d need to gain financially and also pasture the cows,” Nadine says.

“We’d have to confine them, which we don’t want to do. This way, we can have 30 cows on 30 acres and direct-market the shares.”

“Because our cows can be on the pasture, they’re very healthy,” Tyler adds. “Not all raw milk is created equal, and that’s why you want to make sure you know where yours comes from.”

The Stutzmans say that their shareholders claim they can feel the difference when they drink raw milk.

“It’s such a super food,” Nadine says. “Raw milk is teeming with good bacteria, which is so important for our gut and immune systems.

We hear stories continually of people with leaky gut syndrome or

lactose intolerance, which are so prevalent today, and they can drink raw milk and feel better.”

Because probiotic-rich foods are becoming more popular due to research on the benefits of “good” bacteria, according to the National Institute of Health, raw milk and raw milk products, like raw milk cheese, are increasing in popularity as well.

In fact, while the sale and consumption of pasteurized milk has been on the decline nationally for almost 40 years, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, the sale of raw milk has increased in the last three years in states that offer it commercially, particularly in Arkansas, California and Pennsylvania, according to their respective state agriculture officials.

Raw milk may not be new (ParmesanReggiano, which has been around since the Middle Ages, must come from raw milk to be called Reggiano), but the awareness of the difference between raw milk and pasteurized milk has caused a spike in the raw milk market, which the Stutzmans have noticed, since their business continues to grow quickly.

One satisfied customer, Kelly Zajac, owner of Tudor House Tea and Spice, is also a local chapter representative for the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping American

consumers find local, healthful whole-food options based on the research of Price, a noted nutritionist and dentist. As part of its mission, the foundation helps educate consumers about raw milk.

“It’s been wonderful getting our milk from the Stutzmans,” Zajac says. “I go out to the farm every year, so I’m familiar with how their farm is run and kept, and I see them every week for pickup. I have a relationship with Nadine and Tyler, and I know that their family drinks the milk too. I know exactly where my milk comes from.”

Zajac has noticed the raw-milk trend is picking up, not just nationally but locally. “More and more people are dissatisfied with their health and the answers they keep getting to help them,” she says. “People are looking for other alternatives, and raw milk is one of those options.”

Tyler Stutzman says that the interest in raw milk shown by Kalamazooans has fostered his business’s growth, noting that Kalamazoo is the perfect market for this backto-the-farm movement.

“Kalamazoo has been fantastic for us – it’s a college town with a lot of farmers’ markets, local restaurants and breweries, and great food programs. It’s a town that cares about local, healthy foods.”

For more information about Moo-nique, visit MooniqueDairy.com. To contact Tyler and Nadine Stutzman, send e-mail to info@mooniquefarms.com.

Great flavor comes from deep roots.

bellsbeer.com

© Bell's Brewery, Inc., Comstock, MI

since 1985

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 13

good works ENCORE

A Chance at Bat

Challenger Little League lets those with disabilities play ball Theresa Coty-O’Neil

Terri Williams

by

Seventh-grader Chris Brandt’s interest in baseball first developed

when he was a young child watching his older sister Megan play softball at the Lawton Little League complex. Chris, who has cerebral palsy, liked playing catch with his dad, Gary, in their yard but didn’t think he’d ever have the chance to join a team.

Seven years ago, however, the Brandt family was approached by Steve Thomas, who was then president of the Paw Paw Little League and was starting a Challenger Little League program in that town. A diehard baseball fan and former Little League coach, Thomas noticed there were a lot of area youths with disabilities who might appreciate an opportunity to play the game. Chris jumped at the chance, and now at 13, is a regular on the Paw Paw Challenger team.

The Challenger Little League was chartered in 1989 by the National Little League as a separate division that would enable young people ages 6 to 26 with physical or cognitive disabilities to play baseball.

Since then, more than 30,000 children have participated in 900 Challenger divisions worldwide, including District 15 Challenger

14 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

Little Leaguer Chris Brandt gets some assistance from Paw Paw varsity baseball team member Colton Moldovan, who volunteers as a Buddy for the Paw Paw Challenger Little League.

in Paw Paw and District 2 Challenger in Milwood. The Milwood Challenger division was started in 1997 and now has 78 players involved in three teams of different levels.

“When your own son is playing, you gotta be gung ho, yelling on the side and all that,” Thomas says. “With these kids, the parents sit on the sidelines and are excited just to see their child go out and hit the ball and run the bases. It gets the kids outside, and it gets them moving. They get to be with other kids and just play ball.”

In the Challenger Little League, games typically last two innings, with each player having a chance to bat. Everyone gets to first base, there are no outs, and no score is kept. “Our goal is to achieve the maximum amount of independence on the field as possible,” says Amy Knapp, chair of the Milwood Challenger Little League. For that

An unexpected benefit of the league is reason, Milwood has three leagues based on development rather than age. Those who the camaraderie that has developed among need assistance get it through the help of players’ families. “It ends up being a good Buddies, who may run non-ambulatory resource for the parents too,” Knapp says. players around the bases or help them make plays.

“Am I making an impact? I don’t Knapp’s daughter Natalie, now 18, has know any other way to measure been playing in the Challenger league since she was 12 and has accumulated a wall of that than by how big a smile it is trophies to prove it. Natalie has epilepsy and that they have on their faces. And cognitive impairments but began playing I get lots of hugs too.” ball on a mainstream T-ball team at Portage — Coach Steve Thomas West Little League. “Baseball is her sport,” Knapp says. “We realized after a while that her reaction time wasn’t there. The kids she “They can share what they have gone through played with were wonderful, but there was a as they navigate the educational system.”

For the Brandts, Challenger baseball need for her safety.”

At the Milwood Little League Complex in quickly became a family affair. Chris’ sister Kalamazoo there is a designated field that Megan participated as a Buddy, and Gary, a is handicap-accessible, allowing those in member of the Saladin Kalamazoo Shriners, wheelchairs to easily reach the field. “The kids encouraged his organization to support the look forward to game day,” Knapp says. “They league through the purchase of uniforms.

Chris, whose favorite position is batter but absolutely love it. We watch the weather all OC_Encore_August-2013_Encore 8/13/13 1:13 PM Page 1 who is also partial to playing in the pitcher week.”

and catcher positions, says he loves to play baseball. “We get to go out in the field and learn how to actually play the game. I like being able to run the bases and being able to hit the ball.”

Chris already has set some goals for next season: “I want to hit the ball farther.

I usually get it into the infield, and I want to get it into the outfield.”

Coach Thomas loves being part of the joy the kids experience on the field. “You have kids who can’t communicate with you,” he says. “I have a kid, Alex, who is in a wheelchair, and all he can do is squeal, but the faster you push his wheelchair around the bases, the bigger his smile gets. Am I making an impact? I don’t know any other way to measure that than by how big a smile it is that they have on their faces. And I get lots of hugs too.

“When I was a kid I played baseball. My son Josh played baseball. But this is the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball.”

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Executive Director Sally Reames has been at the helm of the Community Healing Centers since 2004.

16 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

Community Healing Centers

Playing well with others to meet community needs by

kit almy

photography by

ERIK HOLLADAY

I

t’s difficult to make a five-minute elevator pitch about the work of Community Healing Centers. When CHC Executive Director Sally Reames is asked what the organization does, she replies, only partly tongue-in-cheek, “Well, what do you need?”

CHC provides a variety of treatment, counseling and educational programs related to addiction, abuse and mental and behavioral disorders, but it has a history of adding new services as needs are discovered. “A little bit of what defines us is that we’re always kind of changing and growing,” Reames says. “We are really about learning and feel there’s a strength in bringing things together or looking at things from a new direction.”

CHC was formed in 2004 through a merger of Michiana Addiction and Preventions Services (MAPS) and the Kalamazoo-based Guidance Clinic, which provided psychological counseling for children. At the time, Reames was executive director of MAPS, which had several treatment centers in the region, including what is now the Gilmore Community Healing Center near Borgess Medical Center.

The former Guidance Clinic building on Stadium Drive became CHC headquarters.

This facility, now named the Elizabeth Upjohn Community Healing Center, is also where most of CHC’s family and children services are based. Set in a wooded area, it provides a soothing environment for counseling sessions and outpatient treatments.

CHC now serves more than 4,500 people a year throughout Southwest Michigan.

In addition to its two Kalamazoo locations, CHC has centers in Niles and Sturgis that provide outpatient addiction treatment for adults and families, and a home in Sturgis for women in the early stages of recovery. “Hope House (in Sturgis) is a great place for women who are needing a fresh start and a chance to get their feet on the ground,” w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 17

Retired Judge William Schma was pivotal in the formation of drug treatment courts in Kalamazoo County.

Coming Together:

Conference seeks to raise addiction awareness, reduce stigma

I

n working to address substance abuse, Community Healing Centers and the Drug Treatment Court Foundation team up to present an annual conference. The event is aimed at educating interested citizens and professionals such as lawyers, social workers and educators about issues related to addiction.

CHC began holding its own annual conference in 2008, focusing on addiction in the context of families. In 2011, the two organizations began holding a joint conference.

In November, the third annual Coming Together conference will take place at Western Michigan University, which is also a co-sponsor.

“We especially want to remove the stigma associated with substance abuse, whether it’s alcohol or addiction to other drugs,” says Judge William Schma, president of the DTCF. The formal educational portion of the conference will be held Nov. 21 at WMU’s 18 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

Fetzer Center. It will include professional speakers and panelists as well as individuals who’ve experienced addiction.

The keynote speaker will be Carlo C. DiClemente, Presidential Research Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “He’s really known in the treatment field as the guy who has identified the stages of change” that people go through when attempting to change a behavior such as substance abuse, CHC Executive Director Sally Reames says.

Stand-up comedian Mark Lundholm will appear at WMU’s Dalton Center Recital Hall on the evening of Nov. 20 in an event open to the public and conference attendees.

Lundholm has appeared on national television numerous times, and his one-man show, Addicted... A Comedy of Substance, played off-Broadway.

Lundholm, who is in recovery himself, has produced DVDs that are used by treatment centers, “because the truth is, humor is

sometimes the best medicine,” Reames says.

Schma says such celebrity guests — last year’s conference featured actor Martin Sheen — help address the stigma of addiction and recovery. “They help people to understand the human side of addiction and the human side of recovery, and for that purpose they are particularly relevant to the community at large.”

Reducing stigma and dealing with the problems of substance abuse realistically and positively are also the principle purposes behind drug treatment courts, Schma says.

Kalamazoo was a pioneer in the formation of the first such courts more than 20 years ago, and its Drug Treatment Court Foundation, which supports the treatment courts, is the only one in the nation. After the rise in the mid- to late 1980s of drugrelated crimes, which overloaded courts and jails, officials began to realize that “we had a public health problem on our hands; it was not simply a criminal justice problem,”

says Schma, now retired from Kalamazoo County’s Ninth Circuit Court.

The first drug treatment court was established in Miami-Dade County, Fla., in 1989, and when Schma and other criminal-justice colleagues established the Kalamazoo County Women’s Drug Treatment Court in 1992, it was the nation’s 12th drug treatment court and the first that was gender-specific.

Kalamazoo now has an array of “problem-solving courts,” including separate programs for women, men, juveniles and families, as well as sobriety and mental health courts. In addition to judicial supervision, problem-solving courts offer “wrap-around services,” including counseling, education, health care and family support, such as are offered by CHC. Drug treatment courts have been highly successful, Schma says. “There’s been a complete turnaround of the outcomes in the affected populations,” he says, “because instead of 80 to 90 percent of the people that go through the system relapsing and returning to the system, you’ve got 80 to 85 percent who are not returning to the system and are going on to lead successful lives. The costs are dramatically lower. … The cost of treatment is just a fraction of the cost of incarceration.”

The DTCF was established in 2003 to raise funds to support Kalamazoo County’s drug treatment court programs, when it became clear that government funding would not be able to do so on its own.

“It’s raised a substantial endowment that will provide a sustainable base for drug treatment courts in the future in Kalamazoo County,” Schma says. Consequently, the private citizens who run the DTCF have decided to transfer the foundation’s endowment to a Drug Treatment Court Fund at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.

Even after the DTCF itself ceases to exist, the Coming Together conference and the partnership behind it will continue. Reames says the conference is “a great example of how bringing two organizations together on one project can expand and enrich the program beyond our wildest dreams.” ­— Kit Almy

Reames says. “Sometimes they’re coming out of abusive relationships or dangerous relationships, and in order to keep their kids or get their kids back they need a safe place to live.”

Addiction treatment is “a signature program” of CHC, according to Reames. The Gilmore Community Healing Center is the only medically-monitored detoxification and residential treatment center in the region. CHC also provides various forms of outpatient addiction treatment and therapy and helps families and friends with the intervention process.

Services for children and families include early intervention for infant mental health, individual therapy for children and adolescents, and marital and family therapy.

CHC’s Children’s Advocacy Center provides ongoing treatment for children who have been sexually abused.

A growing need The need for these CHC programs seems to be increasing. The rate of confirmed victims of abuse and neglect ages 0 to 17 increased by 56 percent in Kalamazoo County from 2005 to 2011, according to last January’s Kids Count in Michigan report produced by the Michigan League for Public Policy and Michigan’s Children. Reames says that while this increase might partially be due to improvements in reporting and identifying abuse and neglect, “It doesn’t take away the fact that it is happening at astounding rates.”

In Kalamazoo County 31 out of 1,000 children in 2011 were victims; only eight other counties had a higher rate of abuse and neglect. Reames says young children are particularly in jeopardy. “Thirty-two percent of that (abuse) happens to children the age of 4 and under.”

Economic stress is a large factor in child well-being, and abuse and neglect are also often linked to drug abuse. “At one time not too long ago, 40 percent of the kids in foster care were there because of methamphetamines being used in their home,” Reames says.

There also has been a rise in heroin use in the region, Reames says. “Over half of the people we’re seeing right now in detox are coming in with heroin addiction,” she says.

“It’s a whole new ‘generation’ of heroin users.

They are generally now Caucasian middle-

Sally Reames and retired Judge William Schma work closely to help those in treatment for addiction and recovery.

class young adults who may have started out (using) opiates or painkillers.”

Overdoses, both fatal and nonfatal, are also on the rise, Reames says. “If this was any other kind of disease happening at this level, it would be declared an epidemic by the public health department ... but it’s a difficult one to talk about because there’s so much stigma attached.”

An integrated approach Reames says CHC’s treatment programs are governed less by “the old-school medical model” than by “the new integrated behavioral health services approach.”

“There certainly is no surplus of psychiatrists in the greater Kalamazoo area,” she says, “so a lot of work is done with psychologists and licensed social workers and professional counselors with consultant help from psychiatrists.”

CHC’s methods are family-centered and outreach-oriented. “Whether it be on substance-use disorder or the challenges of adolescence or a whole range of things, (we are) understanding now that it is not just the person with the symptoms or the particular diagnosis, but the whole family system (that) gets touched,” says Reames.

Consequently, CHC specializes in “(taking) our work to where the person is or the family is.” It has recognized a host of advantages to treating people in their homes, including easier access for individuals who have difficulty finding transportation.

On-site services have been especially effective in the infant mental health program, which involves therapists visiting the homes of families with infants who are (continued on page 42) w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 19

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‘The Front Porch of the world’ L i bra r i e s a dap t to m e e t c h a n g i n g t i m e s by

22 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

Zinta Aistars

Not only have libraries’ offerings changed with the times, their architecture has as well. At left is the exterior of the Allegan Public Library, established in 1914 as one of the original Carnegie libraries. Juxtaposed with it on the right is the very modern interior of the Kalamazoo Public Library.

hen Marsha Meyer first entered a library as a child, she saw “the yellow pools of light on the tables between the bookshelves” and knew she had “dropped into heaven.”

The library of today, however, has changed a great deal from the library of Meyer’s childhood.

With a wave of constantly advancing technology, digitization of books and other materials, and patrons who are used to instant and easy access to information, the modern library has changed its role in the community.

In fact, libraries have evolved a great deal from the luminous havens with wooden bookshelves, tables and card catalogs of decades ago. Today’s w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 23

Erik Holladay

W

24 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

In Kalamazoo, the public library promotes literacy and focuses on the college readiness of the city’s students. In Portage, the library does much the same but also serves a devoted adult audience that comes to it for special events and programs. To the northwest, in Allegan, a small, largely rural community with limited broadband access, the library serves as the area’s Internet hub.

Laura Wright, head of youth services at the Portage library, sums up the current role of libraries by describing them as “a conduit, a community presence that is no longer defined by the building we are in.”

Taking the community’s pulse When Christy Klien became interim director of the Portage library in January (she was named director in April), one of her first tasks was to gather her staff of librarians and take the pulse of the Portage community.

“We looked at where our focus should be, at the services we offer, our age population, and we determined our priorities,” Klien says. “We took an especially hard look at our younger population.”

The staff knew that many patrons came in to use computers and that the demand for e-books was on a fast climb, but they found that patrons were coming to the library for a wide range of other services as well, including the variety of events the library offered. In addition,

Renee Samis, with son Maxwell in her lap, works on a computer with daughter Olivia in the Kalamazoo Public Library’s Children’s Room.

Erik Holladay

libraries are more likely to have long banks of computers; shelves of DVDs, graphic novels and audiobooks; and plush sitting areas for reading. They also are likely to offer programs and events that draw patrons from across the community.

“We are the front porch the world is now missing,” says Meyer, program and events coordinator and reference librarian for Portage District Library since 1980.

Libraries of today are more than just book lenders. Long ago, librarians realized that the needs of their patrons were changing – whether because of the rise of technology, economic shifts within their communities or changing community needs. More than just places that lend books and provide reference materials and information, libraries now are about providing access to information.

“The entire concept of a public library is brilliant … is vital,” says Meyer. “If you had free libraries everywhere, you would give everyone access to the world!”

“The trend now is that the library is no longer providing information as much as we are facilitating (access to) information,” agrees Lawrence Kapture, head of adult services at Portage District Library.

World access begins on the front porch, librarians agree, and that means libraries now are increasingly becoming community centers.

They check on the needs of the community and respond to those needs.

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literacy was found to be a growing concern in schools, as test scores had dropped. The library staff wanted to respond to all of these needs and concerns.

“PDL is the first library in the state to have a dedicated room for preschoolers,” Klien says. “We want to help children to read at their grade level, and we can help them understand the concept of reading early. Working with Portage schools is an important part of our strategic plan.”

Wright, head of youth services, adds: “We build around the needs of the community. We want to establish meaningful services that reach people. School readiness is a large part of that.”

“Everything in the library has a reason for being here,” Klien finishes.

With regard to adult services, the library needed to make changes as the local economy changed, says Kapture, head of adult services.

“When the economy suffered or area organizations downsized,” he says, “people came to the library looking for employment resources, to get resume critiques or to learn about starting small businesses.

New retirees came in wanting to learn about retirement investments.”

On a typical day at the library, once the front door opens, all 18 of the computers on the main floor are quickly put to use by patrons, says the staff. Other patrons come in with their own laptops to access free wireless connections. Laptops are circulated internally, and a dozen computers are dedicated to teens.

With the advent of the Internet, it might seem that the circulation of books might drop. Not so, the Portage librarians say. Their report of climbing circulation numbers for both print and non-print materials is mirrored by nearly all libraries in the area.

“Nontraditional materials are on the rise,” Klien says. “Adults are very interested in e-books, but that (trend) hasn’t reached children as much yet. Picture books don’t translate as well to e-readers. Parents own devices, but they aren’t yet buying them for their children. We look at statistics monthly, and although fiction numbers are down, e-book numbers in general are up. ”I don’t think e-readers have changed how we read as much as our borrowing habits have changed. For instance, some of our patrons go south for the winter, but they now continue to check out materials from our library from afar.”

“People can check out e-books in their pajamas, right from home,” Wright says, laughing, “although the library is a judgment-free zone if anyone wants to come in in their PJs.“

Portage District Library features art by local artists in exhibitions that change frequently during the year.

It’s person-to-person contact that continues to be the library’s strongest suit, she says. “If there is one aspect in which I believe we excel, it is in the customer service we provide. It’s why I wanted to work here — the friendliness,” Wright says. “For all the digitization, it’s still what makes us special.”

Setting priorities The same is true at Kalamazoo Public Library’s downtown location and its four branches, Director Ann Rohrbaugh says. Nothing replaces human touch and friendly assistance, she adds.

Like Portage District Library, Kalamazoo Public Library launched a planning process that resulted in a strategic plan to guide future programs and operations. Five objectives rose to the top: create young readers, stimulate imagination, connect to the online world, build successful enterprises and help patrons to discover their roots.

“Libraries don’t compete,” Rohrbaugh says. “We all serve our communities, and every community is unique. What makes us unique is what we do in terms of localization.”

Kalamazoo Public Library has become highly focused on college readiness as a community need, Rohrbaugh says. This priority, she says, resulted from the Kalamazoo Promise, a pledge by an anonymous group of donors to pay college tuition for Kalamazoo Public Schools graduates who attend public colleges and universities in Michigan.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 25

Erik Holladay Randy Powell, left, and Chester Stevenson access the Internet through computers available in the Teen Room at the Kalamazoo Public Library.

Opposite page: libraries are responding to the rising demand for e-books.

26 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

“We are building a college-going culture here,” Rohrbaugh says. “That’s what we heard from the community that they want from their library. Literacy is a top priority.

Illiteracy in Kalamazoo is shockingly high, and KPL collaborates with Kalamazoo Public Schools to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk.”

As a result, KPL is providing more programs, services and materials for young readers. The library collaborates with nearby Bronson Methodist Hospital on newborn and toddler programs to introduce children early to reading. Library programs are designed to help children prepare for school. Spaces for

teens to study or just enjoy a good book have been created with a sense of fun. And summer reading programs have been expanded.

On another front, the automation of card catalogs — remember those? — has been a long and involved process, Rohrbaugh says, as has the expansion of the library’s databases for reference use. As more electronic resources have become available, the number of reference books on the shelves has been steadily shrinking, she says.

Movies and audio books, though, continue to be popular items, Rohrbaugh says. “And, of course, the demand for e-books and digitization has gone up,” Rohrbaugh says.

“Every month we see our circulation for e-books grow, but it’s still only a fraction of general circulation. Patrons don’t realize that (with e-books) it is still one book, one user.”

KPL also offers Freegal for checking out music and Zinio for checking out magazines for digital devices..

“Circulation in general has gone up by 9 percent this year and keeps going up, “ Rohrbaugh says, “Even so, it’s harder than it used to be to pull in patrons. There’s a lot of competition for people’s time.”

In aiming to remain relevant to Kalamazoo amid a changing economy, KPL works with nonprofit organizations through a program called ONEplace @ kpl.(ONE stands for Opportunities for Nonprofit Excellence). ONEplace provides information, resources, training and referrals for those who lead, manage and support nonprofit organizations in Kalamazoo County.

Other areas of KPL that see a lot of activity are its Law Library, located on the lower floor of the central location.

The professional legal collection is available for use not only by professionals but by anyone interested in learning more about legal rights or looking for information on divorce and child custody, power of attorney, credit reports and repair, small-claims court, or landlord and tenant issues. Up a few flights is KPL’s Local History Room, a hot spot for area genealogists.

In addition, KPL offers a long list of programs for all ages, including its ever-popular summer reading programs and its annual Reading Together program, a kind of book club for the entire community that typically involves a visit by the author of the selected book.

The library also offers MeLcat, a system

that allows patrons to borrow materials from hundreds of other participating Michigan libraries and have them delivered to KPL.

Finding a niche Allegan District Library may not have the programs or elaborate offerings of the bigger libraries to the south, but it does provide some very important community services.

“In Allegan, we have a population of about 5,000, but we serve an area of about 18,000, and many of our patrons live in such rural areas that they aren’t able to get broadband,” says Ann Perrigo, director of the Allegan District Library, “so they come here.”

On a little hill on the banks of the Kalamazoo River, the Allegan District Library is the picture-perfect small-town library. Inside, Perrigo can’t help but show off a recent acquisition — the new print edition of the World Book encyclopedia.

While other libraries have moved to electronic reference databases, which this library has done too, Perrigo still couldn’t resist acquiring the new set of traditional reference books. She opens one of the volumes to a particular entry to illustrate why.

There, under “Library,” is a photograph of the Allegan District Library.

Perrigo bursts into delighted laughter.

“We are in one of the classic Carnegie buildings,” she says. “Aside from these encyclopedias,

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(continued from page 16) construction, many will be left as green spaces.

“We can sell the property to neighbors for a very reasonable price, or residents on the block can opt to create garden space for vegetables or trees and bushes and places to sit and enjoy the surroundings,” Boring says.

Galilee Baptist Church, on North Westnedge Avenue, hopes to create a serenity garden on property at 430 W. Paterson St., across from the church. The Land Bank Adopt-A-Lot program leases properties for use as green space and gardens. “”When we heard that the property would be available, we thought it would be a good place for a serenity garden,” however, our reference section has shrunk by says William Roland, a church elder for two bookshelves, and those bookshelves now outreach ministry and board chairman. belong to the teen section.”

“We want to make it aesthetically Teen reading is not a problem in Allegan. pleasing and a place for peaceful Inreflection, fact, the teen section is the hottest one and members of the church inwill the maintain library, Perrigo says. She attributes its the garden.” popularity to the library’s collaboration with So far, there have been 12 Adoptlocal schoolteachers who encourage youth FNBM Encore ad A-Lot leases as part of the Land Bank’s book clubs and a general love of reading.

Community Garden program.

Oct. 2013 Otherwise, “some days I feel like a video Last year Boring approached store,” she says. residents in the 1500 block of East But technology has been a great asset to Michigan Avenue, where there were the library, Perrigo admits. “We now have three empty lots, and asked if they would thousands of books available for download, be interested in having a garden space we have laptops that patrons can borrow inthere. “They not only agreed but said house, and patrons can scan, e-mail, fax and they would love to take over the building print here.” and maintenance,” she says.

Seated in front of the shrinking reference The result is the Trybal Revival section is reference librarian Linda Koch, Eastside Eco-Garden, with more than whose work is anything but shrinking. Koch 100 plantings and 28 species of mostly helps many patrons with genealogy research, food-producing trees and shrubs. Funds along with providing other reference and for the garden came from the Kalamazoo computer assistance. Requests for genealogy Community Foundation, one of many help come in daily, she says.

Land Bank partners.

“We“The all wear many hats here,” Koch says. “I neighbors have been great help with whatever people need. People think partners,” Boring says. they can get good information online, but we As the Land Bank and its partners help people distill good information from too look across the Kalamazoo landscape, much information.” they see the fruits of their labors — Just north of Allegan, two tiny village new homes, rehabilitated homes and libraries also report growing activity. In lush gardens where dangerous eyesores fact, both Hopkins District Library, headed once stood — and know that they byhave Natalie Bazan, and J.C. Wheeler Library changed the face of Kalamazoo in inprofound Martin, and led lasting

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Kalamazoo College’s Upjohn Library still offers a peaceful place for students to study and socialize.

booming interest in e-books. But they see growth in other areas too. While other libraries are boosting technology, these two are growing seed-lending programs.

Patrons borrow seeds, plant them, harvest seeds and return them to the library — with no fines for overdue materials (see more on these programs in the September 2013 issue of Encore). Other creative and inventive programs serve the unique needs of these small communities, expanding the libraries into all-purpose community centers.

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Still a campus resource The Upjohn Library at Kalamazoo College serves as something of a community center too. “We see our students come here for that community feeling,” says library director Stacy Nowicki.

But this academic library, which serves both students and faculty, is more about research than pleasure reading, Nowicki says. She visits all first-year classes to talk to new students about how to use an academic library and how to do research. “We have students coming in thinking that National Geographic is the end all, be all,” she says, smiling. “We introduce them to our Cache.

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Arts encore

Painting is better than any vacation, says KIA Art School director by

Margaret DeRitter

photography by

D

ERIK HOLLAdAY

enise Lisiecki sits down with a student in her watercolor class and gives her a minilesson in perspective. She gets out a ruler and shows the woman how to make the windows of a building she’s painting line up properly.

Another student asks her advice on creating a shadow on the birdhouse she’s painting.

“Let me show you,” Lisiecki says, then sits down and begins to use the woman’s paintbrush to demonstrate a watercolor technique known as a flat wash. But Lisiecki hops up quickly and goes into another room to get her own brush. “She can’t stand my brushes,” the woman says.

Lisiecki is not only a self-described “queen of perspective” when it comes to drawing, but she’s a master of control at watercolor. And to help her students achieve similar levels

30 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

Denise Lisiecki, KIA Art School director, finds a moment to work on one of her large watercolor paintings in her home studio. w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 31

up front encore

Above, Lisiecki gives student Ella Watson some tips during a watercolor class at the KIA. Opposite page: Lisiecki is preparing works, like this one, for an exhibition in Cleveland in the coming year.

32 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

of control, she emphasizes the importance of certain techniques and tools in watercolor painting.

“Use a sable brush,” she advises. “It will hold the paint properly.” To do a flat wash, meaning to paint over something but allow what’s underneath to come through, “hold your brush at a 45-degree angle to the paper.

Take the pressure of the brush and release the paint onto the paper.”

As she explains this during the first session of an eight-week watercolor class at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Lisiecki is wearing a flowing navy and red skirt that looks a lot like an abstract watercolor.

And the rest of her look, like her paintings, involves bold color choices: red top, bright blue necklace, red sandals, red toenails.

Yes, Lisiecki is an artist right down to her toes. “I was always drawing or painting as a child,” she says. “I would watch Captain Kangaroo on TV, and there would always be a little craft project. I’d get out my scissors and crayons and paints.”

Lisiecki went on to become a watercolorist who is nationally recognized for her brightly colored, carefully composed still-lifes and

whose painting techniques allow her to create a high degree of realism. Her works are in museum and corporate collections throughout the country, and she has been featured in the former American Artist and Watercolor magazines.

She’s also been teaching art at the KIA for 30 years and been the director of the Kirk Newman School of Art there since 1997, after a year as interim director. “When I was hired (as director),” she says, “the director of finance said, ‘You have to take the job — you’re one of the few artists who can read a spreadsheet.’”

When asked if juggling these three roles is difficult, she shakes her head no. “I’ve done it for so long,” she says. “I think with the personality I have, the stimulation of all the parts makes it work. I just have a personality that thrives and can do many things.”

Lisiecki finds that teaching watercolor classes helps her with her own art. “When you teach, you can start articulating what you’re doing visually. It starts to clarify things for you. Problems and situations come up in the students’ work and I’m solving them for them so it expands my repertoire.”

Many of her students take her classes multiple times. Carol Leigh, a retired teacher who taught art for 37 years at Gull Lake Middle School, says she first took a class from Lisiecki after seeing “a huge, beautiful painting she had done.”

“Her class was called ‘Less Intimidation, More Control,’” Leigh says. “She did stilllifes where watercolor was used in such a controlled way. I had done watercolors but had never felt comfortable with them. The techniques she teaches are just great. Now I take the classes for fun.”

Marlene Williams, who has a doctorate in religion and worked mostly as a counselor, has been taking Lisiecki’s classes for three or four years. Williams had one of her watercolors accepted into this year’s Art Prize competition in Grand Rapids. “She’s an excellent teacher,” Williams says. “She’s very patient. When I came in, I didn’t have a clue about anything. My real work started with Denise, with this apple I thought I’d never get right.”

Lisiecki, though, has changed at least one of her teaching methods over the years. She used to show her students examples of works by nationally recognized watercolorists. But one of her students, Gail Wheaton, went to the KIA office after her first class and asked for her money back, feeling she would never be able to create such wonderful work.

Lisiecki overheard the request and persuaded her to persevere.

“That was when I first started teaching watercolor,” Lisiecki says. “I thought it would be inspirational to show those works, but it was just discouraging.” Now she tells her students she has postcard images of her work if they’d like to see them, but she doesn’t pass the cards out in class.

Watercolor, Lisiecki says, is a very unforgiving medium — you can’t go back and paint over something the way you can with oils. She, in fact, wasn’t as interested in watercolors as in oils when she was younger.

“Wet the paper and let it flow — I didn’t care about that,” she says. She wanted more control of the movement of water and paint on paper. “But I don’t want everyone to paint in the style that I do,” she says. “That’s why I’m happy we have three watercolor teachers at the KIA who all paint very differently,” the others using a much “looser” style than hers.

Sealing her fate

Growing up in Cleveland, Lisiecki attended a junior high and high school that both had strong art programs. One of her high school teachers, in fact, trained his students to have a portfolio ready so that they could get into the Cleveland Institute of Art. But it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that art would become Lisiecki’s chosen profession.

She was one of the top chemistry students in her high school. “I was wild about it,” she says, “and my teacher was ecstatic that there was a girl who loved chemistry.”

She loved French too, but when she began attending Miami University in Ohio, she decided to study psychology. “I thought it would be more of a science, and I became disillusioned with it. I took some art classes and thought, ‘Maybe I’ll go into art.”

The summer between her sophomore and junior years she was accepted into Kent State University’s Kent Blossom Art program, “this fabulous program that only took 40 visual art students from across the U.S., both graduate and undergraduate.”

“That’s where I met Ken,” she says, referring to Ken Freed, the artist she’s been married to for 39 years. “That sort of sealed my fate in art.”

In graduate school at the State University of New York at Oswego, she did a lot of figurative painting using dancers as models, since she herself did some ballet and modern dance. But she also became interested in printmaking, screen-printing in particular.

When she began working at the KIA, she taught printmaking, and for 10 years she would do her own screen-printing eight hours every day. At that time, the ink used was oil-based and the fumes highly toxic.

When Lisiecki became pregnant with her son (who’s now 29), she had to give it up.

She was looking for a gift one day for a friend who wanted books by women artists when she happened upon a book on watercolors by Sondra Freckelton.

“She approached watercolors the way I approached screen-printing,” Lisiecki says. “After that, I did a huge watercolor painting just like that. That painting got into a national watercolor show and was purchased by a museum in Alpena.” Lisiecki has been painting watercolors ever since.

Her predominant subject matter has changed, too, over the years. When she moved to Michigan in 1976, she began focusing on flowers. “We lived on a property with an amazing floral collection,” she says.

“There were flowers from all over the world.

For a long time I used just flowers as subject matter.” Then she began incorporating more objects into her artwork, and “now I’m getting a little more into the landscape again.”

Lisiecki often chooses objects for her stilllifes based on their symbolic significance to her. “A lot of times I’ll like to tell a story with a painting,” she says, “but the story is not important to the viewer.” The viewer will bring his or her own meaning to it, she says, “since objects evoke emotions and attachments.”

She speculates that people are drawn to her work for this reason but also because “it has a lot of movement and flow to it. The composition is quite dynamic. The colors are bold.”

Sometimes Lisiecki is asked to do commissioned work. A company might commission her to do a still-life for a retiring executive that incorporates some of that person’s favorite objects. Recently a beer distributor asked her to create paintings of (continued on page 43)

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arts encore

The ‘Disappearing City’

Photographer’s work captures emptiness of Detroit’s ruins by

Kit almy

Jim Griffioen never set out to become a photographer. It just

happened when he moved to Detroit after quitting his job as a corporate lawyer in San Francisco to stay home with his children. “I just started pointing the camera I bought to take pictures of my children at all the amazing things we saw in our everyday lives,” he says.

Griffioen’s photographs primarily portray Detroit’s abandoned neighborhoods and ruined buildings. He will discuss the work in a talk titled The Disappearing City at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. The program opens the Kalamazoo Art League’s 2013-14 lecture season.

Griffioen, who studied English literature at Western Michigan University and Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, as well as law 34 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

Jim Griffioen’s photograph Feral House 13 will be featured in the exhibition From Copley to Kentridge: What’s New in the Collection, Sept. 14 - Dec. 1 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. Griffioen will speak at the KIA Oct. 9.

at the University of Michigan, grew up west of Kalamazoo in an area that was “fairly rural” at the time but has since been turned into residential and commercial developments. By contrast, in Detroit he found the wilderness encroaching on the city. “I was struck by how it didn’t feel at all like a city,” he says. “It somehow felt more like the country than the world of farms and forests that surrounded me growing up.”

“I began taking photographs to document this strange wilderness we found within the city — vast stretches of overgrown streets and sidewalks; wild animals, including

pheasants, foxes, badgers, beavers, hawks and feral dogs; and trees and vines completely overwhelming human-built habitations.”

Reflecting on the changes that have taken place both in suburban Kalamazoo and downtown Detroit, he says, “I’m very interested in this idea of how development reflects our values as a society — and how it’s not always positive. The Detroit metro area, with its vast and often wealthy suburbs, its extreme exurban environments, and the disappearing infrastructure of the city proper are really an acute example of how we’ve failed to get it right.”

As an artist, Griffioen has struggled to get it right himself: to depict the artistic qualities and historical importance of Detroit’s ruins without exploiting the city and its residents.

“The ruins make a fantastic subject, and they are such a huge part of Detroit’s landscape. But I have been fairly critical of myself, as well as the gaggles of professional photographers who’ve come to Detroit to take pictures of the abandoned buildings and then blowing them up to sell for $10,000 in some Chelsea gallery for patrons who know nothing about Detroit.

“People live among the ruins. I live here. I am raising my family here. I have a responsibility to my neighbors and my community to tell our part of the story honestly.”

Griffioen fell in love with Detroit in part because he found the people there

friendlier, more family-oriented and less materialistic than people in other big cities.

When people say to him, “But it’s Detroit! It’s dangerous!” he offers a simple comparison between Detroit and the countryside outside Kalamazoo where he grew up: “Yeah, but

‘The Disappearing City’ What: An Art League lecture by Detroit photographer Jim Griffioen When: 7 p.m. Oct. 9 Where: Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, 314 S. Park St. How much: $12, or free for Art League members (must be KIA members), $10 for other KIA members, $3 for college students with a current ID. More information: kiarts.org or (269) 349-7775 mostly it’s empty, and it’s the emptiness I try to capture.”

“My photographs show a world where nature proves its resilience — even its indifference to our existence on the planet,” he explains. “As my pictures of what was once one of America’s greatest cities show, we can do our best to leave a mark upon the world, but in the end nature will always win.”

Barbara Brose, co-chair of the KIA Art League’s programs committee, is excited about

Griffioen’s art and his upcoming talk. “We are all concerned and worried about Detroit and for good reason,” she says. “And yet, here is somebody who is approaching the city from such an interesting position. Of course, that’s what art can do — help us look at and understand things in new ways. I think it’s going to be a really great talk. “ The Kalamazoo Art League is a volunteerdriven organization that is separate from but affiliated with the KIA. It supports the KIA’s work and presents enrichment programs and activities for its members and the community.

All six of this year’s Art League lectures feature Michigan art and artists. Brose says the Art League program committee aims to provide a variety of programs that will appeal to longtime members and newcomers alike.

In addition to the lecture series, the Art League leads field trips, called “depARTures,” to private art collections, regional museums and galleries. The week after Griffioen’s appearance, a trip to “Dynamic Detroit” will include several art-related stops, including one at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Besides taking photographs, Jim Griffioen writes a blog called Sweet Juniper, at www. sweetjuniper.com. His business card, shown on his blog, describes him as a “Gentleman of Elegant Leisure.”

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 35

arts encore

Poetry of the Mitten

Anthology of Michigan poems, art conveys sense of place by

Margaret DeRitter

Since

its founding in 1996, Western Michigan University’s literary press has published dozens and dozens of poets from the state and across the nation. This month New Issues Poetry & Prose will celebrate Michigan poetry with the release of an anthology titled Poetry in Michigan / Michigan in Poetry.

The hardcover, full-color book, which also features Michigan artwork, does not involve a compilation of poems previously published

by New Issues. In fact, more than half of the

The anthology Poetry in Michigan, Michigan in Poetry, the cover of which is above, will be released this month by Western Michigan University’s New Issues Poetry & Prose. In addition to poetry, the book features artwork by Michigan artists such as Erin Scott’s painting Snow Bloom, at left, and Floating City, a painting by Nancy Wolfe at right.

90 poets featured in the book have not been published before by the WMU press.

The idea for the anthology came from New Issues Editor William Olsen. “Larry Bell (owner of Kalamazoo-based Bell’s Brewery) was interested in helping to underwrite a project,” Olsen says, “so I proposed an anthology and came up with the idea of an anthology of Michigan poets or poets whose poems speak to Michigan in one way or another. I don’t think there’s another state that has quite as cohesive a sense of poetry as Michigan does.”

Olsen enlisted retired Hope College professor Jack Ridl, whom he describes as “a much beloved figure in Michigan poetry and a terrific poet,” to help solicit work and make final selections.

36 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

“We decided to throw out a wide net and do what we could to represent as many points on Michigan’s mitten as possible,” Olsen says, “and to represent as many styles as possible, for the sake of diversity but also for the sake of interest.”

Some of the poets in the anthology — such as Stuart Dybek, Dan Gerber, Jim Harrison, Rhoda Janzen, Laura Kasischke, Philip Levine and Thomas Lynch — have attained literary acclaim that goes far beyond Michigan. And many of the writers, like Dybek, are either from Kalamazoo or have strong Kalamazoo connections, including Nancy Eimers, Robert Haight, Conrad Hilberry, Elizabeth Kerlikowske, Kimberley Kolbe, David Dodd Lee, Gail Martin, Kathleen McGookey, Amy

Newday, William Olsen, Susan Blackwell Ramsey, John Rybicki, Diane Seuss, Alison Swan, Daneen Wardrop and the late Julie Moulds, Herb Scott and John Woods.

Olsen says he and Ridl weren’t looking for commonalities in the poems submitted; they were simply looking for good poems.

But in the final product, common themes do emerge that reflect the geographical and spiritual character of the state.

Poet and Detroit native Jim Daniels, who wrote the anthology’s introduction, observes in the poems a strong sense of place, an intense interest in seasonal changes, an attraction to water, and a sense of humility in the face of economic hardships and extreme weather.

“The groundedness of these poems is reassuring,” Daniels writes.

“The Michigan in them is a place with no room for idle word-play — snow has to be shoveled, leaves have to be raked, and somebody has to bring home a paycheck.”

Olsen makes similar observations. “I think there’s a kind of fidelity to experience and the life lived, an emphasis that art speaks for life rather than life existing for art,” he says. “They’re not rarefied poems.

They’re not word-play poems. They’re poems that take life with humor, humility and a recognition that we live in a gorgeous state that has dramatic changes of seasons and intense weather. There’s an honesty in the work that life can be tough and why hide that?”

The new book also presents works by 22 Michigan artists, including the Kalamazoo area’s Mary Brodbeck, Ladislav Hanka, Katie Platte and Mary Whalen. The art was solicited and selected by Olsen, Eimers and Kolbe, the managing editor of New Issues.

“We wanted to have a good representation of what Michigan looks like, what the people are like,” Kolbe says. “But in the same way that we would pick poetry by poets whose work we admire, it was the same thing for the artists. There is some abstract art in the book that could be anyplace (not just Michigan).”

Nevertheless, Olsen noticed that “there does seem to be the same sort of allegiance to place in Michigan painting as there is in poetry.”

For both writers and painters, place becomes a muse, and “happily so,” he says.

New Issues is planning to print at least 1,000 copies of the anthology, maybe 2,000. “That’s a lot for poetry,” Olsen says, “but this is a book that will have mainstream appeal.” Proceeds will go toward keeping New Issues Poetry & Prose alive and thriving.

Book launch For: Poetry in Michigan / Michigan in Poetry When: 2 p.m. Oct. 20.

Where: Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. Details: Some of the featured poets will give readings, and copies of the anthology will be available for purchase.

More information: New Issues Poetry & Prose, (269) 387-8185.

Reading For: Poetry in Michigan / Michigan in Poetry When: 7 p.m. Dec. 5.

Where: Portage District Library, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave.

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PERFORMING ARTS Plays

Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley.

343-2727.

Glengarry Glen Ross — Western’s University Theatre presentation of David Mamet’s powerful drama about four real estate agents and their cutthroat selling tactics, 8 p.m. Oct. 3-5; 2 p.m. Oct. 6, York Arena Theatre. 387-6222.

Les Misérables — A new production of the popular musical about 19th-century ex-convict Jean Valjean, from Victor Hugo’s novel, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3-5, 11 & 12; 2 p.m.

Oct. 6 & 13, Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St. 343-1313.

Giving Up the Ghosts — A new Johnston & Percy play about two ghosts who appear only on Halloween and need help to gain release from their purgatory, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, Nov. 1 & 2, New Vic Theatre, 134 E. Vine St. 381-3328.

Fancy Nancy: The Musical — Fancy Nancy and her friends prepare and perform their first show, Deep Sea Dances, in this show based on a children’s book series, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Oct. 19, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 387-2300.

Mark Twain Tonight — Hal Holbrook’s legendary one-man show about the beloved author, 8 p.m.

Oct. 5, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 387-2300.

Noises Off — University Theatre stages this play within a play full of onstage catastrophe and backstage antics, 8 p.m. Oct. 1012, 17-19; 2 p.m. Oct. 20, Shaw Theatre. 387-6222.

Little Women — An adaptation of the classic novel about the tribulations of four sisters during the Civil War, 8 p.m. Oct. 11, 12, 17-19, 25, 26; 3 p.m. Oct. 19, What A Do Theatre, 4071 W. Dickman Road, Springfield. (269) 282-1953.

Nancy Drew: Girl Detective — Presented by the Civic Youth Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18, 25; 1 & 4 p.m. Oct. 19, 26; 2 p.m. Oct. 20; 9:30 a.m. Oct. 23, 24; noon Oct. 23 & 24, Parish Theatre, 426 S. Park St. 343-1313.

Pride and Prejudice — University Theatre presents this classic novel adapted for the stage with all its desperate spinsters, determined bachelors and nosy neighbors, 8 p.m. Oct. 24–26, Nov. 1, 2; 2 p.m.

Oct. 27 & Nov. 3, Williams Theatre.

387-6222.

Musicals Ring of Fire — A revue of the music of Johnny Cash, with his greatest hits featured, 8 p.m. Oct. 3-5, 10-12; 2 p.m. Oct. 6, Farmers 38 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

The Addams Family — A macabre musical that brings to life all the characters from the famous television show, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 & 23, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 387-2300.

Kiss of the Spider Woman — Fancy Pants Theater presents this musical about two prisoners, their fantasies and their harsh realities, 8 p.m. Oct. 25, 26, Nov. 1, 2; 5 p.m.

Oct. 27 & Nov. 3; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31, Studio 246, 246 N. Kalamazoo Mall. 599-6437.

Dance Dance Showing — Free, informal performances by WMU dance majors, noon–1 p.m. Oct. 18, Dalton Dance Studio B, WMU. Symphony The World of Britten — Maestro Raymond Harvey and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra explore the life and times of composer and pianist Benjamin Britten, 3 p.m.

Oct. 6, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 349-7759.

University Symphony Orchestra — Joined by violinist and Stulberg silver medalist Ariel Horowitz, 3 p.m. Oct. 6, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave. Brahms and Mozart — The KSO and the Bach Festival Chorus perform Brahms’ Song of Destiny, along with Mozart’s Jupiter and other works, 8 p.m. Oct. 12, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave. 349-7759.

WMU School of Music Centennial Celebration — The University Symphony Orchestra and WMU’s Grand Chorus present a free concert, 8 p.m. Oct. 25, Miller Auditorium, WMU. The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber — The KSO performs hits from the musical mastermind, 8 p.m.

Oct. 26, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 349-7759.

Other Instrumental Music Dalton Wed@7:30 — A series of WMU School of Music concerts: Sphinx Virtuosi, string orchestra, Oct. 2; Regina Carter Quartet, Oct. 9; University Jazz Orchestra with Christine Guter, Oct. 16; faculty composers Rathburn, Biggs and Coons, Oct. 23; Western Winds, Oct. 30. All concerts at 7:30 p.m., Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 387-2300.

Guest Artist Recitals — Free concerts: violinist Routa KroumovitchGomez, violinist and violist Alvaro Gomez and pianist Michael Rickman, 8 p.m. Oct. 11; Betsey Biggs, composer and visual artist who works with music, sound, video, installation and performance, 8 p.m. Oct. 12; Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. University Symphonic Band — A free concert featuring trumpeter David Haglund, 3 p.m. Oct. 13, Miller Auditorium, WMU. Kreisler Trio — Using period instruments to perform works

by Mozart, Beethoven and more, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16, Olmsted Room, Mandelle Hall, Kalamazoo College.

337-7070.

Brooms, Goons and Toons — Halloween concert by the Kalamazoo Concert Band, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave. Gilmore Rising Stars Series — British pianist Ivana Gavric performs Grieg, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and more, 4 p.m. Oct. 27, Wellspring Theater, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall. 342-1166.

Vocal Music Hildegard of Bingen & the Living Light — International mezzo soprano Linn Maxwell stars in this one-woman play on the extraordinary life of the 12th century German prophet, healer, composer and saint, 3 p.m. Oct. 6, Transformations Spirituality Center, 3427 Gull Road. 381-6290.

Nicholas Phan — Fontana Chamber Arts presents this young tenor, with Myra Huang on piano and Gail Williams on horn, as part of the series Acts of Creation: A Celebration of Benjamin Britten, 8 p.m. Oct. 19, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 382-7774.

Solo Recital — Lyric soprano Rhea Olivacce accompanied by pianist Christina Gorter, 4 p.m. Oct. 20, Dalton Theatre, Kalamazoo College.

337-7070.

Gold Company Sneak Preview — WMU vocal jazz group performs, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. Miscellaneous Sinbad — The actor and comedian returns to his West Michigan roots for this one-man show, 8 p.m.

Oct. 11, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 387-2300.

The Price Is Right Live! — Contestants are pulled from the audience and all the favorite games are played, including the Showcase, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 387-2300.

Music Without Borders — A concert of global music and Indian dance performed by local groups, 3 p.m.

Oct. 27, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 1747 W. Milham Ave. VISUAL ARTS Richmond Center for Visual Arts, WMU, 387-2436 Division of Labor — Works by Anne Wilson, John Paul Morabito and Fernando Orellana, through Oct. 11, Monroe-Brown Gallery.

encore events

Adriane Little: A Very Easy Death — A series of images projected and moving, using literature as a source of visualization, through Oct. 11, Netzorg & Kerr Gallery.

The Gift: The Print Portfolios of Exit Art — An exhibit featuring 30 years of work from the New York nonprofit cultural center Exit Art, Oct. 17-Nov. 15, Monroe-Brown Gallery.

Karen Bondarchuk: Kith and Kin — Sculptures and drawings exploring the contrasts and boundaries of human/animal interaction, Oct. 17-Nov. 15, Netzorg & Kerr Gallery.

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, 349-7775 Copley to Kentridge: What’s New in the Collection — The latest additions to the KIA’s collection, through Dec. 1.

Mountains and Waters: Landscape Paintings from China — Paintings selected by guest curator Joy Light from the collection of Joy and Timothy Light, through Feb. 2.

Boo! Images of the Macabre — The KIA brings out its most spooky and unnerving works, Oct. 5-Jan. 26.

ARTbreak — Free presentations on art-related topics: Meet the KIA Faculty: Randy Walker, Oct. 8; The Search for The Scream, Oct. 15; Meet the KIA Faculty: Lauren Tripp, Oct. 22; Meet the KIA Faculty: Alexa Karabin, Oct. 29. Guests may bring a lunch to these noon sessions.

Miscellaneous Art Hop — Works and performances by local artists at venues and galleries in downtown Kalamazoo, 5-9 p.m. Oct. 4. 342-5059.

LIBRARY & LITERARY EVENTS Kalamazoo Public Library, 553-7879 or 342-9837 Wade Rouse — In honor of National Coming Out Day and LGBT History Month, humorist Rouse will discuss his memoir America’s Boy, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8, Oshtemo Branch.

Autumn Colors: Poetry & Music — Friends of Poetry presents local poets Scott Bade, Hedy Habra, Denise Miller, Janet Ruth Heller, John P. Abbott and Marianne Houston reading their work, with music provided by John C. Griffin, Josh Holcomb, Zachary Boyt and John P. Abbott, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 8, Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S. Rose St. In Concert: Andru Bemis — Guitar, banjo and fiddle player, 7 p.m. Oct. 16, Central Library.

Kalamazoo Area Boys in Blue, 1861–1865 — Author John Urschel shares his knowledge of the five most heavily recruited Civil War regiments from the Kalamazoo area, 7 p.m. Oct. 23, Central Library.

Anna-Lisa Cox — The author shares her history of the multiracial town of Covert, Michigan, and reads from her book, A Stronger Kinship: One Town’s Extraordinary Story of Hope and Faith, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 24, Powell Branch.

Portage District Library, 329-4544 Combat Veterans Writing Group — A semi-monthly workshop for writing poetry, essays or fiction for veterans who have been in combat, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 8 & 22, West Lake Room.

International Mystery Book Group — Join the discussion of Death of a Mantis, by Michael Stanley, 7 p.m. Oct. 10, Long and Gourdneck Lake rooms.

Open for Discussion — This book discussion group talks about Annie’s Ghosts, by Steve Luxenberg, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 15, West Lake Room.

Meet the Chef — Karla Richards, kitchen manager for Water Street Coffee Joint, will make sweet and savory dishes from Michigan fall fruits, 2 & 7 p.m. Oct. 23; registration required.329-4542, ext. 600.

Miscellaneous Notes from the Front Lines of the Climate Fight — A lecture by Bill McKibben, activist and author of

Oil and Honey, on climate change, from the impact on local food to the fight against the fossil-fuel industry, 7 p.m. Oct. 10, Miller Auditorium, WMU.

Schlitz Creek, Double Strung, Third Coast Ensemble and more, 1-5 p.m. Oct. 6.

Deb Olin Unferth — The author of National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Revolution presents as part of the Gwen Frostic Reading Series, 8 p.m., Oct. 25, Room 157 Bernhard Center, WMU.

Kirtland Warbler Initiative — A talk

by Abigail Ertel, coordinator of the Huron Pines Kirtland Warbler Initiative, 7 p.m. Oct. 28, People’s Church, 1758 N. 10th St.

MUSEUM Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 373-7990 The Search for Freedom — An exhibit covering the history and archaeology of the Michigan Underground Railroad and Ramptown, a small settlement of African-Americans who found freedom in southern Michigan, through Oct. 31.

Decades of Dazzling Dresses — An exhibit from the museum’s costume collection, featuring dresses and accessories from 1880 to 1920, through Jan. 19.

Music at the Museum — Stuart Shaw and the Valley Runners, 6-8 p.m. Oct. 4, free; K’zoo Folklife Organization acoustic jam, 2-4:30 p.m. Oct. 6, free; Chuck Whiting and His Rowdy Friends, 7 p.m. Oct. 11, $5; Boheme Tribal Belly Dance with Wisaal, 7 p.m. Oct. 18, $5.

Safe Halloween — Visit Bronson Park from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. for activities hosted by Kalamazoo Parks & Recreation, then come to the museum from noon-4 p.m. for more spooky hands-on activities and shows, Oct. 26.

Bring Out Your Dead — Curator Tom Dietz will explore the stories of some of the earliest cemeteries in Kalamazoo County, 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 27 (see story, page 6).

Audubon Society of Kalamazoo, 375-7210

Kalamazoo River Valley Trail 373-5073 Fall Color Cruise — A bicycle cruise for all ages with two out-andback loops, family activities and refreshments, noon-4 p.m. Oct. 13; register by 3 p.m. at Markin Glen County Park, 5300 N. Westnedge Ave. Trick or Trail Fun Run/Walk — A 5krun/walk at 10 a.m. Oct. 26, starting at Markin Glen County Park, 5300 N. Westnedge Ave., followed by a one-mile all-ages trickor-treating run/walk at 11 a.m.

Event includes costume contest.

Register between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. at the park for 5k or 9:30 and 10:45 a.m. for one-mile. Registration fee required; call 373-5073.

W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Dessert with Discussion — A discussion on The Kalamazoo River Oil Spill: Catastrophe and Recovery, led by MSU aquatic ecologist Stephen Hamilton, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8, KBS Academic Center Auditorium, 3700 E. Gull Lake Drive. 671-2015.

Birds and Coffee — A short hike to search for birds, followed by coffee and discussion, 9-10:30 a.m. Oct. 9, Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, 12685 East C Ave. 671-2510.

Birds of Prey Live — Learn about owls and see one up close, 1 p.m.

Oct. 20, Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, 12685 East C Ave. 671-2510.

NATURE Kalamazoo Nature Center, 381-1574 Music in the Woods — A free benefit concert sponsored by the K’zoo Folklife Organization to support the KNC Camp Scholarship Program, with music from w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 39

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poetry encore Morning Conversation

Minutes into a Three-Hour Journey

He did not understand why she coughed up traces of old rose petals.

She tried to explain:

Side effect of being a hopeless romantic.

He stirred more sugar in his coffee and said,

But roses do not bloom in the heart, they twist around the brain stem.

Are we there yet? our son asks as the car window frames

row upon row of cornstalks the color of sand.

Like bitter fingers

they poke through hardened earth bent and hollow now,

having given up months ago plump, baby kernels nestled in fine silk.

Are we there yet?

Still, rows flicker by.

Snow like spilled diamonds glitters amongst the broken

husks of hands that hold nothing but time, barely rustling the same story.

Are we there yet?

Perhaps we are.

Let us stop for a moment,

jump over barbed-wire fencing and run with abandon.

Let us say we are here.

She gently put down the newspaper and replied, Dear, logic belongs folded in your socks, and we all walk barefoot in our brains.

He brought the mug to his lips and before drinking said, Lovely, you may not wear socks, but I certainly do.

She glanced out the window at a neighbor chasing a runaway poodle, then back to her husband.

How can you possibly feel your thoughts with socks on?

He blew steam off his coffee and propped a leg on the other knee.

Rose petals and socks look awfully similar.

To which she replied:

I’d rather cough up bits of flowers than laundry.

He paused, slightly nodded in agreement, and then added a bit more sugar.

— Jennifer Clark Clark is director of community relations for Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo. Her first book of poems, Necessary Clearings, will be published by Shabda Press in 2014.

— Danielle Favorite Favorite is a Kalamazoo resident who graduated from Western Michigan University with a major in creative writing. “Morning Conversation” appears in her first book of poems, Meraki, which was released in July by Olivia Eden Publishing.

Encore invites area poets to share their work with Southwest Michigan readers. For consideration, submit your poetry and a short personal profile by e-mail to editor@encorekalamazoo.com or by mail addressed to Poetry Editor, Encore Magazine, 117 W. Cedar St., Suite A, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007. w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 41

Libraries (continued from page 29) and scholarly work by Kalamazoo College faculty, staff and students.”

Upjohn Library often exchanges materials with WMU’s Dwight B. Waldo Library through interlibrary loan and reciprocal lending privileges. Upjohn Library also offers databases for research, including a free search engine called Google Scholar. E-books are popular in the academic world too. “We reported 102,970 electronic books in our collection on last count,” Nowicki says.

“Most of our resources can be accessed from campus, of course,” says Greg Diment, chief information officer at Kalamazoo Community (continued from page 19) at risk for various developmental delays and emotional disorders. Reames says that by making home visits, therapists are “in on the ground level. You can learn so much more about what’s happening in the environment if you’re actually there. What kind of things is this parent up against? What is the neighborhood like? What are her natural supports? What are the challenges? What other children are there in the family?”

College, “but what’s really great is that our students can access the library from study abroad too, from wherever they might be in the world.”

Places for sharing Yet, it’s the sense of hanging out on the front porch that brings most people to the modern-day libraries of Southwest Michigan.

Curled up comfortably in the crook of a purple couch in the Portage District Library atrium, Marsha Meyer makes notes of ideas for future library events.

“Libraries have become a place to showcase Recognizing how critical early intervention with infants and parents is to children’s development, CHC has put a lot into developing infant mental health services over the past year,, doubling its caseload, Reames says. “There’s more and more evidence that the more we do, the earlier we do it, the better everybody’s chances are,” she says.

CHC has a history of working with other organizations to meet the community’s needs, and infant mental health is a prime

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local talent and to bring your passion to share it with others,” she says.

Meyer is committed to giving local writers and artists a place to share their work. The events she offers at the Portage library are known to become standing room only.

She oversees several book clubs and group gatherings on any number of topics. If there’s an interest, she’ll organize an event for it.

“It’s so interesting to be on this cusp of our changing libraries,” she says. “Whatever the changes, libraries will always be a place of discovery. Your curiosity will always be fed here. You don’t ever have to go home hungry.” example. Partners in early intervention include Bronson and Borgess hospitals, Kalamazoo Community Mental Health, the Kalamazoo County Family Court, the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Services Agency (KRESA) and the Michigan Department of Human Services. CHC also works with the Kalamazoo Literacy Council and Loaves & Fishes to provide families with additional support in the form of food packets and free books.

Because of this remarkable example of cooperation, “we got all of our therapists pastel-colored long-sleeve T-shirts that say, ‘We play well with others,’” Reames says.

“We are not at all territorial about our work,” she adds. ”There’s plenty to be done, and the more partners we can have, the stronger we think the services become.”

The agency works closely with law enforcement officials and the judicial system. The Elizabeth Upjohn Community Healing Center is a forensic interview center for children who have been sexually or physically abused. It also hosts courtmandated supervised visits for parents whose children have been put in foster care.

CHC also has a close relationship with Kalamazoo County’s drug-treatment court and sobriety court, which place people who have committed substance abuse-related nonviolent offenses in addiction treatment programs (see sidebar, page 18).

Managing and funding the work Reames has worked in nonprofit administration for her entire career and has been with CHC and its predecessor organizations for more than 20 years. She says that “(good) business practices don’t

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come naturally to nonprofit management, but they’re essential.”

CHC is accredited by a variety of national organizations, and Reames says the accountability this requires is part of what makes CHC successful.

The agency has a $5 million annual budget and relies on diverse sources to for funding including Medicaid and insurance payments, Kalamazoo Community Mental Health, HUD, the United Way, local foundations and private donations. “That is in part by design, because if one goes away or dries up, we don’t fold.

We’re not entirely dependent on one source,” Reames says. “We’re trying to be financially nimble.“ Being nimble and adaptable is certainly something CHC does well. The organization was asked recently to sponsor the production of Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning Next to Normal at Farmers Alley Theatre.

Reames, at first uncertain about the idea, says now, “it was a perfect fit for us because it was about family, it was about bipolar disorder, it was about drug use and adolescence and treatment and all that stuff that we’re doing, and it brought the conversation out, and people are still talking about it.

“You find partnerships in the most unusual places.”

MUSIC LOCAL ARTS &NEWS

Lisiecki (continued from page 33) the company’s buildings in Michigan and New Jersey.

“This is something I would never choose to do on my own, but I like the challenge and satisfaction of creatively trying to figure out how to do it,” she says. “I had never painted a building before, and now I have multiple commissions. One year I did almost all commissions. That was good because of the money but bad because I couldn’t do my own work.”

Teaching and running the KIA’s art school also take time away from her art. And even though she enjoys those responsibilities, making art is her lifeblood.

“If I don’t get into the studio for awhile, I can feel it psychologically,” she says. “It’s almost an addiction … it’s the only place where I can control everything. It’s like a little sanctuary. If something goes really crazy, I can go in there and close the door and start painting and get away. It’s better than any vacation.”

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encore The Last word The Last Word (continued from page 46) generation and is now deceased, listened to my gripes for a few moments, then said, “Get dressed, Mister. It’s Sunday, and I’m taking you to church. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

Later that day, Dala and I sat on the deck of my home in rural Plainwell, eating deli chicken. With enthusiasm, I presented my new life model to her. “Without health, we can’t do anything,” I proclaimed. She thought a moment, then said with motherly kindness, “True, health is important, but I would put God at the center. Without God, I can’t do anything.” We talked more, and Dala helped me see another lesson: People are more important than things.

Eventually, I realized that the brain tumor was one of the most beneficial events in my life. It awakened me to mortality and ways I had been wasting time. It smacked me like a two-by-four in the forehead and reminded me to better utilize my talents, to cherish my relationships.

I learned to be more careful with words, to realize their power. One day I consciously stopped using the phrase “my tumor” and began to think of “the tumor” as a colony of benign but unwelcome cells, distinct from me, that had once entered my body, lived there for about 20 years, slowly grew to a size larger than a golf ball, affected my thinking and my behavior, and eventually precipitated diagnosable blackout seizures. But it was

not my tumor. It had had its own life as a parasite. And now it was gone, completely, forever, for good.

I originally titled my manuscript Good Is Coming from This, which was one of the lessons and a belief that I still affirm. But when I published the book, I simply called it Brain Tumor: Life • Love • Lessons, a title inspired by my four key supporters during that traumatic time — Mandie, Dala, a neighbor Will, and my relationship partner, April — and the artist who created the cover, kc.

I had given a copy of the manuscript to kc at a writing workshop about two years after the surgery so she could critique it. When she returned it, she also offered tears, a hug and a drawing in chalk on speckled art paper. Her creative expression consisted of a red/orange ball surrounded by a faint yellow glow on a thick horizontal line of the same colors. The line was somewhat bounded by a slightly askew black frame. The ball was the tumor.

The line was its trajectory. The frame was the period when the tumor existed within me.

But the tumor is no more. It is gone. I was blessed by its presence and more greatly blessed by its absence. And so often since, I’ve encountered people, sometimes by chance on a sidewalk or in a store, who are also experiencing a cranial malady. Simply talking with them affirms for each of us: We are not alone.

Robert M. Weir is a writer, book editor, author’s coach and speaker who is available to talk about his experiences. He has been contributing articles to Encore since 1996. His book Brain Tumor: Life • Love • Lessons is self-published and available at Kazoo Books, Michigan News Agency, amazon.com and www.robertmweir.com.

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THE last word encore

Learning from a Brain Tumor by

Robert M. Weir

Lesson No.1: You are not alone.

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that. Look around. Witness family and friends, the beauty of nature, the grace of God … and we can surely see that we are not alone. Yet brain trauma, including depression, can easily lead us to believe the opposite.

I know. A tumor once grew in my cranium. It was surgically removed. Mood swings followed. Many days I knew that I was alone in the world. No, more than alone — abandoned. I was the only person who had ever experienced such a nightmare. No one could possibly understand.

Then I called the hospital’s Health Answers Department. A wonderful attendant provided a life-saving brochure published by the American Brain Tumor Association. It contained a list of typical brain trauma symptoms. I identified with 80 percent of them. I held the brochure before me and cried with relief. I was not alone. If these symptoms were documented, then they must be common to others.

“I am not alone!”

Prescription steroids kept me awake 20 hours a day. Unable to sleep at night, I would get out of bed, turn on my “Dr. Computer,” and journal until I became exhausted sometime close to sunrise.

I captured the events and conversations of the day, my moods of the moment. My writing style changed from apprehensive prior to surgery to simplistic during initial recuperation to poetically elegant weeks later.

Once home after surgery, I journaled about what my first thought had been in the recovery room while I was still sedated. My daughter and primary caregiver, Mandie, had brought in a CD player. I became aware of nature sounds. I can think. Good. Yes, I can think. Peaceful Pond. The CD. I remember the name. Good. Very good. I slept. The lesson I later ascribed to that day was: Be grateful for medical technology.

I transformed that journal into a book manuscript, ending each of the 44 chapters with a lesson, many of which continue to guide my life today: • Listen to friends; they can save your life.

• Ask for help.

• Involve your children; they will grow, even through the pain.

• Find something to laugh about.

• Resolve past misunderstandings.

• Don’t force anything or anyone, especially yourself.

• Reach out, even at the risk of disappointment.

46 | Encore OCTOBER 2013

• No matter what happens, be not angry.

• Be careful about major decisions.

• Take time to heal.

• Grow past the past.

• Value love.

• Choose positive.

With much ongoing contemplation, I drew a schematic to illustrate priorities for my new life. It consisted of a center circle with the word Health inside. From that circle, I extended five lines that led to five more circles, one each for Family, Friends, Residence, Occupation, Recreation. And from each of these came more lines, tipped by circles with names of family members, best friends, household responsibilities, types of writing and my favorite pastimes.

One beautiful autumn day, three months after surgery, I awoke in a foul mood. I telephoned a woman who was both my best friend and my unofficially adopted “Mom.” Dala, who was of my parents’ (continued on page 45)

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