ADA HUB OCTOBER 2019 by Shawnee Outlook

OCTOBER 2019 Vol. 10 Issue 1

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A Song to Sing COMMU

An Original Music Docuseries

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adahub COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

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CONTENTS

OCTOBER 2019

FEATURES

Managing Editor David Dinsmore Featured Writer Sunnie Dawn Smith Ad Sales Brad Carter Art Direction Fawn Wilson-Olivarez Photography Nicholas Geisler

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Downtown ghost tour to help scare up funding, donations for local animal welfare

Veterans Upward Bound helps connect former military to their goals

Musician finding harmony after focusing full time on creative careerSpider-Man

Singer pursues passion since childhood amid duties as wife, mother, employee

Klean 10

Artist’s evolving work draws from early comic book, graffiti interests

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Downtown ghost tour to help scare up funding, donations for local animal welfare By Sunnie Dawn Smith

da has a rich and vibrant history. The first family settled here in the late 1880s, and it was officially incorporated in 1901. It is a history filled with self-determination and perseverance. And with all of that, there are bound to be a few ghosts lurking about. When Amy Childers Elliott was on a historic downtown tour of Ada led by Lisa Bratcher during Leadership Ada, an idea began to haunt her: Ada should have a ghost tour of historic downtown Ada in order to raise money for the Pontotoc Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which is currently in need of donations. So many locations in Ada have ghost stories attached to them and some of them just by their age can be super creepy. In particular, Elliott and the other participants found the basement of the Sugg Clinic to be eerie. It has old medical equipment in it and is dark and damp. It is like something straight out of a horror film. However, due to the releases and waivers that everyone would have to sign, it will not be on the Ghost Tour of Ada. The tour will take place on Nov. 2 beginning in the parking lot behind the McSwain Theater at 10th and Broadway. Tours are available starting at 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. They will last approximately 45 minutes, so those daring to go should be sure to wear comfortable shoes and dress warmly. Each tour is limited to 25 people, so get advanced ticket reservation is recommended. Planners want to keep this tour family friendly, so it is not a scary event. It will focus on the folklore, stories, myths, legends and ghosts of Ada. There won’t be any jump scares – or at least there shouldn’t be, if the ghosts behave. Tickets can be obtained on eventbrite.com under “Walking Ghost Tour Historic Downtown Ada.” While the tour is technically free, donations are greatly appreciated, so each person should pay what they think is 4 • www.adahub.com

Organizers have put together a walking tour highlighting downtown Ada’s ghost stories will happen at 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 starting in the parking lot behind the McSwain Theater at 10th and Broadway to help raise funds for the Pontotoc Animal Welfare Society. PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER.

reasonable when they come the night of the walking tour. All donations are taxdeductible because PAWS is a recognized non-profit organization. While monetary donations are always greatly appreciated, people can also bring other items, such as dog food, cat food, toys, collars, leashes, bowls and blankets. If someone would like to donate but not go on the tour, they can always bring their donations to the parking lot behind the McSwain Theater and drop them off with the tour organizers. While this tour will be limited to downtown Ada, there are many other ghosts lurking about outside of the downtown area.

Dorothy Summers theater in Old Science Hall on the East Central University campus is one of the more well-known local spirits, but some say that the auditorium at Ada Junior High School also has its own ghosts. Wintersmith Park is said to be haunted by two separate spectors – the ghost of Frances Wintersmith who is a kindly apparition all in white who looks over her park and a mean old man who hangs out below the dam. Other people talk of various old houses in town that have unexplained things happen in them – doors closing and opening, strange sounds, drafts when no windows are open and a host of other things. Then, there is the house that used to be on the corner of Cradduck and 18th, where allegedly a woman was murdered and the house burned down, leaving only the chimney. Some people say that every full moon you can hear her cats yowling at the moon, waiting for their master to return. For more information about PAWS or to donate directly to the organization, call (580) 332-5233 or stop by at 1200 Sandy Creek Drive.

Veterans Upward Bound helps connect former military to their professional, educational goals By Sunnie Dawn Smith

eaving the military and integrating back into civilian society can be a difficult process to navigate. Many people have a whole host of skills learned while in service, but they may not know how to market these in search of employment. Others may not know what they want to do with their lives beyond military service. This is one of the reasons Veterans Upward Bound exists – to help these veterans figure out how to make their dreams a reality or realize what their dreams are in the first place. Mary Meeks – director of the Veterans Upward Bound program for the past 20 years – may not be a veteran, but she does know something about following your dreams. As a young woman, she thought the only jobs available to her would be as a teacher or receptionist, but through the guidance and mentorship of many individuals, she eventually became the coordinator for the McNair Scholars Program at East Central University and now leads Veterans Upward Bound. Meeks along with her talented, knowledgeable and compassionate staff – program coordinator John Engel, an Army and Army National Guard veteran, Nancy Page at their satellite office at Rogers State University and academic counselors and instructors Nancy Page and Angel Bartholow, a Navy veteran – do more than a job; they change lives. The program is completely free of charge, and there is no obligation to participate even after the paperwork is complete. All they want to do is to have veterans come in their doors, sit down and chat with them about their goals, even if they aren’t entirely sure what those goals are. Sometimes, someone will come in and say they just need a job. They just need money coming in to keep gas in the car and the lights on in the house, but they may not be thinking down the road in a big picture kind of way. This is where Meeks and her colleagues come in. The first step is to fill out intake paperwork, but they don’t just hand the veteran a stack of papers and tell them to come back. They sit down with them and help them fill it out, answering all their questions and getting to know them along the way. The entire process is very personalized. Among the paperwork is a sheet that talks about career goals. If the person is still exploring these, they have tools to help them. They use a couple difference career assessments to help their client figure out what they want to do with their life. Even though their office is located on ECU’s campus, they actually serve 39 different counties in Oklahoma and help people go to school wherever would be best for them. Sometimes it is ECU, but other times it might be vocational or technical school. Perhaps they want to go to truck driving school. Maybe it is cosmetology or studying the culinary arts or want to pursue the dream of going to medical school at the University of Oklahoma. It doesn’t matter where or what, Veterans Upward Bound is there to help these veterans reach their professional and educational goals.

The staff at Veterans Upward Bound focus on the professional and educational goals and dreams of those who have served in the military and are looking for a place in civilian life that is rewarding and fulfilling. PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER

After helping their participants choose the path that’s right for them, the next step is finances. While some prospective students have access to the GI bill, not all of them do. There are many different ways to help these veterans access financial aid benefits. One former participant, Josh Sisco, needed help going for his master’s degree in sports administration. Not only did they help him figure out how to apply and pay for school, Engel was even able to find a program to help him with gas money to get to and from school. “I had no idea what Veterans Upward Bound was and am so glad that I was referred to them,” Sisco said. “If I hadn’t done that, I have no clue what I would be doing now.” Sisco – in addition to working on his master’s – is also the tight end coach for ECU football. While Veterans Upward Bound does not pay for school, they will pay for some things like admissions fees, transcript fees and other admission related fees, such as to take the ACT or SAT. For everything else financial related, they are a great place to find resources and get help navigating the system. If someone is homeless, they can’t perform well in school. If someone has no electricity, it can be difficult to focus on their studies. If someone has no childcare, they may not be able to attend classes. While the staff at Veterans Upward Bound cannot solve these problems, they can direct people to the appropriate resources in order to get the help they need. And if people need help brushing up on their academic skills, they have trained professionals to help with that as well. For more information or to get help, call the Veterans Upward Bound office at (580) 559-5459 or stop by their office in room 155 in the Lanoy Education Building on the ECU campus. They also have a website at www.ecok.edu/trio/vub. www.adahub.com • 5

Musician finding harmony after focusing full time on creative career By Sunnie Dawn Smith

enny Pitts didn’t know where his life was going to go when he got his first guitar at age 17. His family had been really into music. They would sing on car rides, and because his parents were 30 years older than him, his brother 10 years older and his sister 7 years older, he was always exposed to more than just the top 40 hits. As a teenager in the 90s, he was still into the new rock coming out, and he wanted to be a guitar player, learning basic rock and heavy metal. He would learn new music and then use it to create his own riffs, but he realized that even though he liked the challenges of rock and roll, his heart started leaning more toward country, folk and singer-songwriter types of music. “Learning a popular heavy metal song was technically learning the different intricate parts, but when I started learning country, 6 • www.adahub.com

it was just strumming and singing at that point,” Pitts said. There was something about it that spoke to his soul. While he was studying at East Central University, he had his first band, Super Heroes in Training, with one of his filmmaker friends, Adam Hampton. While Pitts loved music and was a musician at heart, acting and filmmaking took over his life. He is a member of Outsiders Productions with fellow ECU graduates Jason Alexander and Adam Hampton and his hometown friend, Chad Matthews. He joined Outsiders Productions officially in 2004 during Hampton and Alexander’s senior project, but the three of them had been working together in the years previous. Pitts graduated from ECU with two degrees, one in mass communications and the other in exercise science.

His film and acting career is quite extensive. He has been an actor and producer for all of the following films and projects: “Rough Cut,” “The Unusual (Calling) of Charlie Christmas,” “Charlie Christmas: Corndogs and Justice,” “A Beautiful Day,” “Killing Yourself Slowly,” “Looking for Home,” “Bowlin’ Alley,” “ The Cellar” and “When I Find Bin Laden.” Hard work and determination have directed his life, influenced his film career and spilled over into his music when he decided to take his life in a new direction. After working with Outsiders Productions as a producer on their Emmy Awardwinning documentary, “Play it Loud,” Pitts immersed himself in the music culture featured in the production, and it relit his fire for songwriting. Pitts developed a relationship with the Ada resident behind the band, The Nixons, at the 2018 Oklahoma Songwriters Fest. Pitts eventually quit his day job, went to Nashville to record his first EP and has committed his life to his creative pursuits. All of the songs on his first album are original and written by Pitts. One song, “99 Problems but a Horse Ain’t One,” was co-written with Zac Maloy after Pitts asked for his help. This song is described as “being about the Apocalypse at its coolest.” The next song on the EP, “Ada,” is “the essence of 90s country and Oklahoma Red Dirt with some old school Alabama feel.” “Cage Fighter” recounts the true story of an encounter in a small town Oklahoma bar. “The Other Side of Eden” explores the ideas of finding yourself far from where you thought your life would go. The final song, “My June,” was written in a single night as an ode to June Carter Cash. The subjects of his songs cast a wide net over the breadth of human experience, but that is because in his creative process he holds nothing back. He will examine every idea he has and isn’t afraid to brainstorm creatively with no restrictions or inhibitions. While film is still a very important part of his life, Pitts is devoting the majority of his energy to music. His band, Kenny Pitts and the Raging Peacemakers, features Wade Anderson on bass, Russell Anderson on lead guitar and Chad Franklin on drums, and the group has taken off with gigs at Norman Music Festival and other Oklahoma festivals leading up to a CD release party at VZD’s in Oklahoma City this past September. Pitts’ solo album, titled “SOLO,” can be purchased online and is on Spotify. His

Kenny Pitts is fully focusing on his music career after studying and working in a variety of creative fields with recording projects and shows lined up in parts of Oklahoma along with a gig in Nashville. PHOTOS SUBMITTED.

band, however, is going beyond Oklahoma with an upcoming gig in Nashville. People in Ada will have a chance to hear them live on Jan. 17th at Vintage 22 at 800 E. Main St. It may have been difficult for Pitts to take the leap to devote himself to his art, but he had to do it because it fits in completely with his philosophy of life.

“You have got to go out and do it,” Pitts said. “No one is going to do it for you. A lot of people can be nice and will help you, but if you are not working hard at it and helping yourself, those who are working hard for themselves may pass you by. You have to show others respect but have enough respect for yourself to focus on your goals too.” www.adahub.com • 7

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Singer pursues passion since childhood amid duties as wife, mother, employee By Sunnie Dawn Smith

urniture shopping can make for a very long day when you are 9 years old. However, for Haley Miller, it turned into a life-changing excursion. She had gone shopping with her parents and was bored. Then she saw a karaoke machine. She slipped off from her parents, mesmerized by this new device. She picked up the microphone and started experimenting with it. When her parents found her, she was singing “Walking After Midnight” by Patsy Cline, surrounded by a small crowd of people. Miller – who had sung around the house all the time – now had a new love and appreciation for singing as performance. “This is fun; I like this,” she said while recalling her thoughts at age 9. The next year she got to see Reba McEntire in concert, and that solidified what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to sing on stage and perform for a live audience. Miller started entering talent shows and taking voice lessons with Judy McClellan at the McSwain Theater when she was about 15 years old. McClellan told her about the auditions they have at the McSwain, and Miller jumped at the chance. Singing on that stage had been a particular dream of hers. When she finally had the opportunity, it was a dream come true. Now, Miller has been performing there for 18 years, and every time is just as exciting for her as the first. Miller loves the fact that she gets to sing at the McSwain so often. “It is like being at home,” she said. “Even though I still get the butterflies and the nerves, it is still very comfortable. It is like family.” There are many people who come to every show and sit in the same seats every time. For Miller, it is like being able to perform for friends and family, and every time she wants to do her very best. One of the high points for her, though, was in October 2018 when she won the female vocalist of the year. She had competed the two years previous, but it was in 2018 when she finally won. One of the things that makes it particularly special is

Haley Miller has been performing as a singer since she first discovered the joy of it using a karaoke machine during a furniture shopping trip with her parents when she was 9 years old. PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER

that the decision is made based on audience votes. It was incredibly gratifying to her that the audience appreciated and loved her so much that they would give her that honor, especially because she does everything she can for the audience. In addition to being a regular at the McSwain, Miller has also been singing at the Oklahoma Centennial Rodeo Opry – formerly called the Oklahoma Opry – since her 18th birthday. She also regularly sings the national anthem at Oklahoma City Dodgers and Tulsa Drillers baseball games. For both of these opportunities, Miller had to audition. She also sings the national anthem for many Army National Guard events, including homecoming ceremonies. This may be one of her favorite things to do, especially because she knows the dedication and challenges of military life. Her husband, Troy, is an Army National Guard warrant officer.

Even though Miller is very comfortable with her performance staples, she is still not afraid to try new things. This past summer she heard about auditions for the Chickasaw Nation Musical Revue, “Try to Remember.” She knew it was going to be a Broadway-style performance and at first she didn’t think she would audition, but her family and friends encouraged her. She showed up for auditions and sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She was amazed by the talent at the auditions and didn’t think she would even hear back from the showrunners, but the next day she received an email telling her she was in. She had the opportunity to sing in several ensemble pieces, one duet and one solo. She felt humbled to be among the other talented singers, all of whom had been trained in musical theater or classical vocal performance. She stepped out of her comfort zone and fit in with them completely. She learned a lot about a different style of music and performance from the director and other performers and is looking forward to applying her new knowledge to her country music career. For Miller, music is therapy. “It doesn’t matter what I am going through; music is always there,” Miller said. “The words of a song show that someone else has been there and been through this. And that means you aren’t alone.” While it is challenging finding the time to do what she loves along with being a wife and mother of two with a full time job, Miller makes sure to find the time, especially when she sees the effect it has on her children. They see her following her dreams and that gives them a great example to follow. She never gives up, and her children are learning that lesson from her, which for Miller is even more fulfilling and rewarding than all the awards and applause in the world. www.adahub.com • 9

Artist’s evolving work draws from early comic book, graffiti interests By Sunnie Dawn Smith

urtis Baldinger’s work has evolved so much since he first realized he was an artist. It all began with comic books. Baldinger was living in Kansas City, Missouri, where his friends and he wanted to make their own comic books. It was 1997, and they were big fans of Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon. They would draw those characters until they came up with their own unique creations. Baldinger did not stay a comic book artist though. By 2003, Baldinger was living in Reno, Nevada, and he took up graffiti. “It was just something a lot of us teens were doing, and I was putting a lot of work into it,” Baldinger said. However, it was more the graffiti style that he was interested in. His work ended up being more works on paper, canvas and clothing as opposed to tagging buildings and trains. Baldinger’s work evolved once again when he came to East Central University and studied art. He graduated in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. While some artists flourish in chaos, this does not apply to Baldinger. He thrives in a clean and organized environment. It 10 • www.adahub.com

helps him put forth his own artistic intentions more clearly. He needs that space to think and create, especially because he usually has more than one project going at a time. Baldinger said that most of the time he has three to four projects he is undertaking simultaneously, including two personal or studio works, one graphic project and pieces for a select few annual events like the Taste of Ada. Baldinger seems to work in spurts, sometimes creating for 6-10 hours a day but other times taking a few weeks before getting back to it. What Baldinger loves the most about art is the freedom it affords. “I feel very fortunate to have many people before me open the horizon for what art can be and who can make it,” Baldinger said. This freedom is reflected in his diverse interests and evolution as an artist – from comic books to graffiti to collegiate level studio art and graphic design. However, as much as he loves the freedom art provides, there are also challenges – mostly regarding funding. He has to work a full time job in order to buy the supplies, pay entrance fees for shows and other costs associated with his art, but a job also limits the amount of time that he can

Curtis Baldinger developed an interest in a variety of art forms on his journey to studying graphic design at East Central University. PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER

actually create. It is truly a labor of love, “The passion for art and creativity isn’t always enough to get it done,” Baldinger said. Even still, Baldinger can’t help but create art. He is inspired by the world around him – not just his personal experiences but how he experiences the world. “Can a texture, a color, an idea be made into something else, appreciated in a different way?” he asked to illustrate how he approaches creating new pieces. This way of analyzing the world around him leads him to create truly unique works of art that are a personal reflection of his own vision. Despite his intensely individualized approach to creation, there are many other artists and individuals with whom he has collaborated or learned. He has recently had chances to collaborate on drawings and paintings with artists Chance Brown, Christian Colbert and his brother, Kyle Baldinger. However, there are also several other local artists who he wants to work with in the future, such as Jonathan Hoff, Cody Wilson and Erica Eppler. Others have been highly influential in his development – artists like Brad Jessop and Paul Walsh in particular. “I would like to thank them for their professional dedication

to the visual arts in this region of Oklahoma and for helping me personally to be a better well-rounded artist,” Baldinger said. It isn’t just other artists who have affected Baldinger, though. His wife, Tandy, is very supportive of his work. “She gives me the clarity to see value in my time and artwork,” Baldinger said. Also, his family of friends, coaches and mentors at Conquer BJJ fitness center have also been supportive and influential for Baldinger. Though he has only been training as a fighter for six months, it has affected the way he looks at the world, which in turn affects his art. “I have learned more about believing in myself, not giving up and being committed to getting better at whatever I do,” Baldinger said. www.adahub.com • 11

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