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Can Webster City Become The City of Music?
Here’s one new development: The Webster City flute ensemble
Tamiann Parrott has been obsessed with the flute since she was two years old. Her mother played flute; her father, piano. When she was four, they began instructing her on both instruments. By the time she entered kindergarten, she could read music and execute finger exercises on the piano. She continued studying and perfecting her flute technique in elementary, middle and high schools, joining a community college orchestra while she was 15 and still in 11th grade.
When she and her family moved to Webster City in 2022, she began dreaming of starting a flute ensemble.
By Robert E. Oliver
On May 15, 2024, that dream came true.
Since then, three flutists have been practicing most Sunday evenings, preparing a program for the Community Christmas Concert in December. In addition to Parrott, the ensemble presently includes two high school flutists: Gabbie Sebert and Jackson Meyer.
The word flute actually describes a family of related instruments.
Tamiann Parrott shared this photo of her own collection. From left they are: a piccolo, bass flute, C-flute (the most commonly-seen and heard), and alto flute.
A small group of around 25 lucky listeners were invited to an informal concert put on by Webster City’s new flute ensemble. The musicians, from left to right, Gabbie Sebert and Jackson Meyer, both students at Webster City High School, and Tamiann Parrott, have been practicing all summer for a solo appearance at this December’s Community Christmas Concert.
What the ensemble needs now is new members.
“We can, and certainly will, play in the Christmas concert, even if there are only three of us,” Parrott said. “But with four or five, we can be more ambitious in the music we select.”
The most likely new members are adults who once played flute in high school or college and are looking for an opportunity to play again.
Having your own flute isn’t required, though; a loaner is available. But if you’ve got a flute in your attic, you’re just the person who’s needed.
Parrott compares joining an ensemble to being on a sports team.
“Playing music with others is rewarding; you become a part of something bigger. Music moves people. It brings memories; it brings love. There is no human emotion that is exempt from the influence of music.”
A City of Music is Already Emerging Here
The new flute ensemble is only one example of new music in Webster City. This summer has seen the comeback of a long-time Webster City institution: the Community Band.
Also, the annual Christmas Concert, always popular, saw notably more participation from younger musicians and singers in 2023. Larger orchestras and choirs, more bell ringers, a much-improved sound system at Trinity Lutheran Church, the traditional venue for the Christmas concert, and this year, a flute ensemble solo, all raise the bar even higher.
And, The Shades, a Webster City-based band that has been playing together since 1966, performed at Market Night this summer, showing they still have what it takes, and serving up a classic rock soundtrack for the classic cars on Second Street.
Another, two generations younger Webster Citybased band, Humble Beginnings, also played at Market Nights, and created an evening of entertainment in June, outside the Seneca Street
Playing music with others is rewarding; you become a part of something bigger. Music moves people. It brings memories; it brings love. There is no human emotion that is exempt from the influence of music.
Community Band Rehearsal WC Community Band
Saloon, which people are still talking about with the hope it will be repeated.
Two members of Humble Beginnings were asked how they envision A City of Music, Webster City-style. Both enthusiastically endorsed the idea.
Greta Nelson, choir director at Webster City High School, said: “It’s already happening. We keep it going by continuing to collaborate at every opportunity. This includes schools, the Chamber of Commerce, community theatre, musicians and singers of all ages and abilities; all of us looking for more opportunities to be together, to play and sing.”
Nelson is also artistic director for the Fort Dodge Choral Society; she plays keyboard and sings for Humble Beginnings.
Nelson brought up another fresh idea: greater use of Prem Sahai Auditorium at Webster City High School as a showcase for new, local musical talent.
“With its fine acoustics and greatly improved sound system, we can present music of all kinds better than ever. A series of concerts there, aimed at an audience beyond our traditional school performances, would better utilize the incredible, first-class venue we have at our disposal.”
Dane Barner teaches music in Webster City Community Schools, directs the worship band at Trinity Lutheran Church and The Community Christmas Concert, and plays acoustic guitar for Humble Beginnings.
He believes music “derives from a purpose. You plan a gathering or event, and you realize, hey, we need music. When that music is local, it all feeds on itself.”
Barner, too, feels a powerful, growing groundswell interest in playing and enjoying music that “crosses all age groups, music genres, and tastes.”
Describing what he sees and experiences in Webster City every day, he simply says; “as a lifelong musician, it’s all terribly exciting.”
Music cities aren’t a new idea. Vienna has been the acknowledged center of excellence in classical music for more than 200 years. It’s the city where Brahms, Schubert, Mozart, Strauss and Hayden lived and did some of their finest composing. Classical music and opera performances bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city each year.
In this country, Nashville serves much the same purpose in that it is the self-proclaimed “Music City USA.” Its Grand
The Shades reunited for Market Night in June
Dave Lubbers, Humble Beginnings
Eric Hanson, Humble Beginnings
Greta Nelson & Dana Barner in Humble Beginnings
Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame and Ryman Auditorium — “the mother church of country music” — have made the city one of the nation’s top tourist destinations.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — UNESCO — officially lists 66 cities in its “Cities of Music” network. The list includes many that aren’t household names: Ambon, Indonesia; Hamamatsu, Japan; and Recife, Brazil; but also it lists Liverpool, England; Seville, Spain; and Kansas City, Missouri. According to the UNESCO website, all its Cities of Music “have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.”
Now, there’s a big idea: using creativity to spur economic development.
Could it, will it, happen in Webster City?
Plenty of good people are working to make it so.
In November 2019 Tamiann Parrott, third from left, posed with a flute choir she helped organize in Palm Springs, California. At the time little could she imagine she and her family would move across the continent to Webster City to be near their family, and she’d be heading up a new flute ensemble here.
why it’s important to flush fire hydrants on an annual
why it’s important to flush fire hydrants on an annual
• • allows staff to document and make repairs to any hydrant that isn’t working properly. In the event of a fire we don’t want to learn about a faulty or broken maintenance is the key to our community’s safety.
•
•
• • From a firefighter’s perspective, a very important reason that hydrants must be flushed is to test
CITY SCENE CITY SCENE CITY SCENE
•
• From a firefighter’s perspective, a very important reason that hydrants must be flushed is to test
make repairs to
any hydrant that isn’t working properly. In the
learn about a faulty or broken community’s safety.
•
• inside faucet and let the cold water run until it’s clear.
• From a firefighter’s perspective, a very important reason that hydrants must be flushed is to test
inside faucet and let the cold water run until it’s clear.
• • • allows staff to document and make repairs to any hydrant that isn’t working properly. In the event of a fire we don’t want to learn about a faulty or broken maintenance is the key to our community’s safety.
• inside faucet and let the cold water run until it’s clear.
very important reason that hydrants must be flushed is to test
• maintenance is the key to our community’s safety.
Our Hometown Recipe Corner
A favorite chocolate flavor shines through
This recipe for “Force Noire Ganache” from “Chocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor)” (Stewart, Tabori and Chang) by Michael Recchiuti & Fran Gage showcases the predominant taste of rich chocolate and not much more. It’s certain to melt in the mouth.
Force Noire Ganache
Makes about 50 dipped squares or round truffles
1⁄2 cup (4 ounces) heavy whipping cream
1⁄4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (41⁄2 ounces by weight) invert sugar (stir before measuring)
1 Tahitian vanilla bean, split horizontally
12 ounces 61 to 70 percent chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons (11⁄2 ounces) unsalted butter with 82 percent butterfat, very soft (75 F)
About 1⁄4 cup melted tempered 61 to 70 percent chocolate, if dipping squares
Tempered 61 to 70 percent chocolate for dipping squares, or unsweetened natural cocoa powder for rolling truffles
Stir the cream and invert sugar together in a medium saucepan. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the bean into the pan and then add the bean. Bring to a boil over medium heat, remove from the heat, and cover the top of the pan with plastic wrap. When the cream has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with plastic wrap.
Put the chocolate in a medium stainless steel bowl and set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate melts and registers 115 F on an instant-read thermometer. Lift the bowl from the pot.
When the chocolate is almost at 115 F, remove the cream from the refrigerator. Strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan and heat it to 115 F, stirring occasionally.
Pour the chocolate and cream into a 1-quart clear vessel. Blend with an immersion blender using a stirring motion, making sure you reach the bottom of the vessel. The ganache will thicken, becoming slightly less shiny, and develop a puddinglike consistency. Add the butter and incorporate it with the immersion blender.
Pour the ganache into the lined pan. Spread it as evenly as possible with a small offset
spatula. Allow the ganache to cool at room temperature until it has set, 2 to 4 hours. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to dip squares or roll truffles.
Lift the square of ganache from the pan, turn it over onto a work surface, and remove the plastic wrap. If you are dipping squares, apply a thin coat of melted untempered chocolate to one side of the ganache square with a small offset spatula. (If you are making truffles, don’t apply the chocolate coating.) Let the chocolate harden. Turn the ganache square over and trim the edges. Cut the ganache into 1-inch squares with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry before each cut and wiped clean after each cut.
If you are dipping squares, temper the chocolate and then dip the squares. Store the dipped chocolates in a cool, dry place, not in the refrigerator.
If you are making truffles, dust your palms with cocoa powder, roll the ganache squares into balls, and then coat with cocoa powder. Place the truffles in a bowl or plastic bag that contains enough cocoa powder to keep them from sticking together. Store in the refrigerator, but remove them 30 minutes before serving.
LANDMARKS
Please include the name of the building icon on which the Landmark is located, your name & phone number. Submit your entry jcurtis@freemanjournal.net or deliver to The Daily Freeman-Journal at 720 Second St., Webster City, IA
Photo #2
by Jim Miller
What Are the Early Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes?
Dear Savvy Senior ,
What are the early signs and symptoms of diabetes? I’m 60 years old, and in pretty good shape, but was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. What did I miss?
Dear Dan,
The signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be so mild that many people miss them. That’s why testing is so important. Here’s what you should know.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than 38 million Americans have diabetes today, and another 97 million have prediabetes, but many of them don’t even know they have it.
Type 2 diabetes is a disease that develops slowly over decades. Most people have prediabetes for a long time before the disease becomes full-blown diabetes, and even then, it progresses gradually.
Diabetes occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. This excess blood sugar damages blood vessels and affects circulation, putting you at risk for a host of ailments, from heart attack and stroke to blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage.
Signs and Symptoms
So how can you tell if you have diabetes? The earliest signs, which are usually subtle, including urinating more frequently (often at night), being thirster and hungrier than usual, weight loss without trying, feeling very tired, having dry itchy skin and blurry vision.
And the symptoms that can indicate advanced diabetes and long-term damage has occurred includes cuts or sores that heal slowly, having more infections than usual, and pain or numbness in your feet or legs.
Who Should Get Tested?
Because prediabetes typically causes no outward symptoms, and the signs of early type 2 diabetes can easily be missed, the only way to know for sure if you have it is to get a blood test.
Everyone age 45 years or older should consider getting tested for diabetes, especially if you are overweight with a body mass index (BMI) above 25. See CDC.gov/bmi to calculate your BMI.
If you are younger than 45 but are overweight, or have high blood pressure, a family history of diabetes, or belong to an ethnic group (Latino, Asian, African or Native American) at high risk for diabetes, you should get checked too.
To help you determine your risk for diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has a quick, online risk test you can take for free at Diabetes.org/risk-test.
Diabetes Tests
There are three different tests your doctor can give you to diagnosis diabetes. The most common is the “fasting plasma glucose test,” which requires an eight-hour fast before you take it. There’s also the “oral glucose tolerance test” to see how your body processes sugar, and the “hemoglobin A1C test” that measures your average blood sugar over the past three months. It can be taken anytime regardless of when you ate.
Most private health insurance plans and Medicare cover diabetes tests, however, if you’re reluctant to visit your doctor to get tested, an alternative is to go to the drug store, buy a blood glucose meter and test yourself at home. They cost around $20.
If you find that you are prediabetic or diabetic, you need to see your doctor to develop a plan to get it under control. In many cases lifestyle changes like losing weight, exercising, eating a healthy diet and cutting back on carbohydrates may be all you need to do to get your diabetes under control. For others who need more help, many medications are available.
For more information on diabetes and prediabetes or to find help, join a lifestyle change program recognized by the CDC (CDC.gov/diabetes-prevention). These programs offer in-person and online classes in more than 1,500 locations throughout the U.S.
Parting Shot
Dr. Wilke specializes in primary and revision hip and knee replacement surgeries. He also specializes in both knee and hip arthritis, bone and soft tissue tumors, treating patients with metastatic disease and amputee care.
