April 10, 2013 • Volume 4

PROGRESS UPDATECommunity

2013

The Valley News • Wednesday, April 10, 2013 PROGRESS/COMMUNITYPAGE2C

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By TESS GRUBER NELSONStaff Writer

For the past 12 years, Shenandoah’sHispanic Center has been helping localHispanic residents meld into the commu-nity, state and country.

It was former English as a SecondLanguage teacher for Shenandoahschools, Sue Jones that initiated starting aprogram.

“I was getting phone calls from my stu-dents and they had a plumbing problem orthey needed a doctor or they needed some-body to call and set up an appointment,”Jones said. “They needed a liaison to helpthem; that’s when I knew there was aneed.”

Recognizing that many of her students,as the only English speakers in theirhouseholds, were pulling double duty asfamily translators and often missingschool to help their parents conduct fami-ly business motivated Jones to establishthe Shenandoah Hispanic Center. Since itstarted more than 10 years ago, the centerhas helped dozens of families find jobs,housing, food, medical care and legalassistance, learn English, and generallybecome more acculturated into the com-munity.

“It gives them a little boost, a littlehelp,” said Jones.

Though the center hums along now inits comfy basement room in theShenandoah First United MethodistChurch’s Wesley Hall, Jones said when

the idea first arose she wasn’t exactly surehow to get it off the ground. She talked toRev. Roger Madden and together theyexplored funding options within thechurch and throughout the community.

“We really do appreciate the MethodistChurch because we could not afford torent a building,” Jones said.

With gathered support from churchsources like the Matthew 25 Fund and the

Hispanic Ministries Fund and local bene-factors like the Rotary Club, HockenberryFoundation, Cy Rapp and Carolyn RappTrust, Eaton Corporation and various areachurches, the organization has grown eachyear.

The hard work and generosity hasallowed the center to expand its offeringsto include health fairs, a youth summerprogram, a Christmas party, college schol-arships, assistance with school suppliesand clothes, and English language instruc-tion for adults as well as kids. They alsotake donations of food, clothing andhousehold appliances and furniture,though for larger items like couches,which can’t be stored in the office, theycoordinate delivery directly from thedonor’s home to the family’s.

Jones said it’s all in service to peoplewho have taken an ultimate leap of faithand simply need a little help to get on theirfeet.

“People come into town with nothing,just looking to make a better living fortheir families. You’ve got to be prettybrave to do that,” Jones said.

The Shenandoah Hispanic Center islocated at 200 Church St., in the basementof Wesley Hall. Hours of operation areMonday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridayfrom 10 a.m. to noon. To arrange for assis-tance or to schedule a large item donation,call 246-2153. Drop-ins are welcome, aswell.

Shen’s Hispanic Center is growing stronger each year

TOUR... One of the many activities offered at the Hispanic Center is a youth summer program, wherekids tour local businesses, like the KMA Radio station, above.

Sense of community.People care about one anoth-

er. We know our neighbors, weknow the children who livearound us. We buy popcorn fromthe Boy Scouts and cookies fromthe Girl Scouts and candles fromthe school children raisingmoney for their library and wetell them that they do well andwe like it when they stop by.

One of our good friends wrotea letter of thanks and praise toour children when they weresmall praising what they haddone. Sometimes just a name inthe newspaper brings out cardsand phone calls--be it somethinggood that has happened or some-thing unpleasant. And we makeJell-o salad and scaolloped pota-toes, pies and cakes to take to thefamilies who have lost a lovedone or are ill.. In the rural areasthe men go help if the farmer issick or hurt and get in their cropsand milk their cows. These arekind actions that have been donefor generations of SouthwestIowa folks.

In many ways they share theirlives. This isn’t just the everydaysort of people but the shakers andthe movers--like Earl May andHenry Field, Gertrude May andLeanna Driftmier. It continues on

into this generation-- ChuckOffenburger comes to mind asone of the great locl “boys” whohas shared many aspects of hislife with all of us with his writtenwords and his radio broadcasts.

And we share with each other.Just take the flood of two yearsago as a good example of neigh-borliness--people who sharedtheir homes, shared their church-es, prepared meals. And thiscontinued on with the aftermathof the Thurman tornado.

Education is one of the mostimportant part of this area’sstrength. We want the best educa-tion possible for our children. Wehave good schools and we havecaring teachers and we pay atten-tion to what is happening.

This is a healthy place to raisechildren where they can learnabout nature, and yet we offeropportunities to travel and learnand expand our horizons.

We keep our traditions alive--someone has said, “we need toknow where we came from toknow where we are going”--andwe appreciate the effort so manypeople make in this direction.

Recreation is an important partof this area--the Wabash Trace,our wonderful Waubonsie StatePark in the midst of the amazingLoess Hills--one of a kind--almost. (My grandchildren wholive in the midst of oceans andmountains love to go to the parkand climb the hills and find thewildflowers, and hava a picnicsamong the tall trees and see thewild life: owls and deer and wildturkeys and small squirrels...etc.Every town has a fine swimmingpool, baseball and football fieldsand gymnasiums.

And the fresh produce and thefarmer’s markets that we all loveso much--and the stores andrestaurants that use locally grownfoods. We live in one of the rich-est soil areas in the entire UnitedStates-the reason we had somany nurseries grow up here,and still have, plus the orchards

etc. Renewable energy, growingindustry, forward looking.

Son Craig said this is a happyplace to grow up.

I like that thought especially, itis a happy place.

Enough for now...Evelyn-o00o-

You can contact Evelyn at herwebsite: www.evelynbirkby.com

What I like about Southwest Iowa

By EvelynBIRKBY

UP A COUNTRY LANE

evelynbirkby@gmail.com

IMPRESSIVE... Regardless of the season, the Wabash Trace is a great placeto exercice or just relax and take in nature.

By JASON GLENNStaff Writer

Growing up in Washington, D.C., I had many friendswho would spend their summer vacations in typical EastCoast getaway locales like Martha’s Vineyard, Maineand the beaches of Delaware. I always got a special,extra-long glance and pause when I told them I wasgoing to Sidney, Iowa to see the rodeo.

Though I was born in New York City and grew up atthe southern end of the eastern megalopolis in ournation’s capital, Fremont County has been my family’shome for more than a century and my family has beenconnected to the rodeo almost since it began.

My grandfather was a farmer and horseman who wasthere as a young man when they circled cars to shinetheir headlights on the early contests of skill, strengthand courage. My mom was Sidney Rodeo Queen in 1959and in the 1990s helped the all-volunteer, AmericanLegion owned and operated event turn the corner from

some lean years and prosper into the 21st century. Mydad, though not a rodeo athlete, played his home highschool football games for the Sidney Cowboys in the dirtand mud of the rodeo arena and, also in the 1990s, sangwestern classics with Reunion, his high school quartetre-formed in later life, at rodeo performances and on atribute album.

These are all reasons why I’m eagerly anticipating theopening, hopefully in time for the 90th anniversarySidney Rodeo in late July and early August, of the long-awaited Iowa’s Championship Rodeo Museum.Originally conceived in 2006, the museum has been awork in progress ever since - plans drawn up, fundingsecured, memorabilia from its nine-decade history col-lected and catalogued and a beautiful new building con-structed to serve as its home. What’s more, the museumwill serve as a keystone linking an entire block of vibrantand active local history, from the Fremont CountyHistorical Society building on the Sidney town square tothe Gathering Place, a performance end educational

space crafted out of the old First Baptist Church on CassStreet.

Featuring exhibits on everything from the Wild Westshows of the late 1800s and how they grew into the dis-plays of cowboy guts and guile known as rodeos to thevolunteers, queens, high school musicians and profes-sional athletes of Sidney’s one-of-a-kind annual event,for me the museum will hold many personal memoriesand connections from childhood summers spent in anenvironment my friends could only dream about. Ofcourse, I was never in the rodeo band or saddled up onthe arena floor, but I spent the majority of that week“helping” my grandma down at the Methodist Churchfood stand, running around with the other kids in thepark behind, cruising the midway, and catching mybreath after that first startling cannon blast thatannounced the grand entrance was almost underway.

The town square and historical society building itselfwas a huge part of my rodeo experience each summer.My grandma owned a farm management and accountingbusiness located just one door down from the originalmuseum and we would sit in front of it to watch theannual rodeo parade, me scurrying pell mell into thestreet to scoop up candy as the Shriners and float-riderswould fling it on their swing past. I remember craningmy neck to see my cousin Toby march past with the restof the Sidney High School Band, feeling like I knew acelebrity and looking forward to watching him play laterthat evening for the cowboys as they raced from thechutes to rope a calf or wrestle a steer barehanded to itsback.

Of course, my childhood memories are far fromunique. Thousands of people, local, transplanted andonce-a-year visitors, share them and will be drawn backinto that special time as they roam the halls of the muse-um when it opens. Adding to the connections will be anarea devoted to the genealogy of Fremont County, givingthose with family roots in the area an even broader anddeeper sense of their link to the past.

Less than a decade in the making, the museum, likethe rodeo itself, has its own wild and woolly past. Slatedto open last year, windstorms caused extensive damagein early 2012 and one more roadblock had to be over-come before it could realize its full fruition. But last fall,after the floor had been installed on the main level, anopen house was held and visitors got their first chance tosee the grandest new addition to a Sidney’s rich traditionof keeping local history fascinating and accessible intothe future. As my children grow and the Sidney Rodeobecomes a part of their life story, I know it will be a won-derful experience to take them through the museum hallsand bring that sense of family so many hold dear to yetanother generation.

PROGRESS/COMMUNITY The Valley News • Wednesday, April 10, 2013 PAGE3C

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On Saturday, April 14, 2012, a F2 torna-do, with winds of 120-miles per hour hitthe small town of Thurman. Almost a yearlater, a lot of work has been done to repairthe town, but the memories of that after-noon will certainly outlast any damage.

Rod Umphries had only been mayor ofthe town with a population of under 250people for three months when the tornado,said to be a half-mile wide, swept throughtown.

“It’s still really surreal,” said Umphries.“To think that something like that wouldhappen here. You always think it won’thappen to you.”

Umphries was sitting at home, watchingtelevision with his family the afternoon thetornado hit.

“My son (Mason) was sitting beside meand the TV started to flicker. That’s whenhis Code Red went off on his cell phone.He said, ‘Dad you’d better go blow thesiren’ and that’s when my pager went off –a couple second later,” Umphries recalled.“I was actually sitting in our ambulancewith our fire chief getting ready to headout on a rescue call on the intestate whenthe tornado actually hit.

“It seemed like it took forever, but fromthe Code Red call it took me a minute toget to the fire station, where I blew thesiren for 3 minutes, then I hopped in theambulance and started to pull out, andthat’s when the tornado hit, so it all hap-pened within 5 minutes.”

There was not one structure in town notaffected by the twister, Umphries said.Some buildings received minor damageand others, were complete demolished.

“The town is a half mile wide and a milelong so 100 percent of the homes in townhad some damage. However, it was thenorthwest side of town that really got it theworst. The path came right through thecity park, and exited town right in myfront yard.”

Following the storm, Umphries said itwas amazing to see all the good come outof something so terrible.

“The people that came and volunteered– we would not be where we are at now ifit weren’t for them. From not being able todrive around town that night to having 900to 1,000 people show up the next day to

help; with more than half of them notknowing anybody in town,” Umphriessaid. “The Salvation Army, Home Depot,American Red Cross – there’s no way wecould have made it without them. There’sa special place in my heart for the peoplethat came out to help this town.”

Umphries said there were three peoplethat he was more impressed with from allthose that came to help. Mary Kesterson, aThurman city council member, CaraMarker Morgan, a Fremont CountySupervisor, and Mike Crecilious, FremontCounty Emergency Management Director.

“They were here every day, from sun upuntil everyone else went home,” he said.

With the town heavily damaged, there asa lot of cleanup and work to be done.Umphries home, in particular, sustained$115,000 to $120,000 worth of damage.

However, almost a year later, bigchanges have been made, for the better.

“The town looks a lot different. Tenhomes were lost completely; four are backwith rebuilds. We replanted trees in ourpark, since all but one tree was destroyedthere. People have their siding fixed, newwindows and roofs replaced, and recentlywe demolished our community building,which was the old school gym so we’relooking forward to building a new com-munity building and getting new play-ground equipment in our park.

Additionally, Umphries said they planon redoing the streets in town in a fewmonths, since all the traffic and heavyequipment did a lot of damage.

“We’re getting there.”And as the buildings in town are

repaired, so do the people that reside inthem.

“It’s something that will be stuck in ourmemories for a long time. You go aroundtown and you can’t get away from it –there are houses that are gone and housesthat still aren’t repaired; trees that aregone…it’s just a lot different.”

Editor’s note: On March 13 Ron andMason Umphries were awarded theDisaster Response Award from theAmerican Red Cross Nebraska/SW IowaRegion 13th Annual Heroes in theHeartland Awards for their actions alert-ing the citizens of Thurman a tornado washeaded their way.

Thurman still rebuilding after tornado last April

DEBRIS... Wayne Reeves, a member of the Iowa Army National Guard, removes items from his par-ents home, destroyed by the tornado.

TOUGH LOSS... The majority of the Thurman Cemetery was destroyed by trees brought down bythe tornado.

Sidney’s rodeo museum to put history on display

HISTORY... Iowa’s Championship Rodeo Museum, which will tell the story of the Sidney Rodeo and some of the thousands of peo-ple who have been a part of its colorful history, is scheduled to open this July, just before the 90th anniversary of the event.

The Valley News • Wednesday, April 10, 2013 PROGRESS/COMMUNITYPAGE4C

A’s have been in Clarinda for almost 60 years By KENT DINNEBIER

Teamwork, both onand off the field, hasbeen the key to the suc-cess of the Clarinda A’ssummer baseball pro-gram for nearly 60 years.

Under the direction ofmanager Ryan Eberlyand assistant coach CraigHindman, the ClarindaA’s will be starting their59th season of action inMay. With the coopera-tion of various local busi-nesses, the A’s scheduledwill be highlighted againthis season with varioussponsor nights includingthe annual fireworks dis-play on July 3.

Although the ClarindaA’s have built a strongreputation for playingwinning baseball over theyears, the community’sconnection to the sportactually dates back to theearly 20th Century. In theearly 1900s Clarinda andmany other communitiesin the area had variousforms of town-team base-ball.

However, with the startof World War II, thoseteams virtually disap-peared. Baseballremained absent fromClarinda until 1955 whena group of local busi-nesses men lent theirsupport to a team of localplayers call theMerchants. Four yearslater the team name waschanged to the Athleticsand eventually shortenedto the A’s.

Playing on those firstteams, before spending ayear as the catcher forthe Class D HoldregeWhite Sox in 1957, wasMerl Eberly. The follow-ing season Eberlyreturned to his hometownto play and coach forClarinda. He was namedthe team’s manager in1961 and went on tospend 37 years the helmof the club before leav-ing the dugout to serveas general manager ofthe program.

Eventually, in 2003,Merl Eberly saw his sonRyan take over as man-ager of the A’s.

“I grew up in the pro-gram serving as a batboy, a player and then acoach. When Bo(Bogdanski) no longerwanted to coach, Ithought I would step in.It has turned out to be aspecial opportunity tocarry on the history andtradition of the program,”Ryan Eberly said. “It is agratifying feeling to real-ize you are making animpact on young peo-

ple’s lives. That is whatour program has been setup for since we startedusing collegiate players.”

Clarinda started thetransition to a summercollegiate program in1969. Then, nationwiderecruiting efforts werestarted in 1974, whenMerl Eberly and WaltPritchard attended theannual convention of theAmerican BaseballCoaches Association inSt. Louis, Mo.

“We have continued togo to those types of con-ventions and are alwaystrying to find new mar-kets to draw playersfrom,” Ryan Eberly said.“This can be a big step-ping stone for young

men who are looking totake their game to thenext level and pursue aprofessional baseballcareer. They get a goodfeeling for what minorleague baseball is likewhen it comes to travel-ing on buses and playingnearly every day.”

Another benefit ofspending the summer inClarinda for the colle-giate players is theopportunity to use wood-en bats. Making theswitch from aluminumbats, which are used atthe high school and col-lege level, to woodenbats is an important tran-sition for any playerlooking to enter profes-sional baseball.

“In the last couple ofyears since they modifiedthe aluminum bats it hasbeen easier for them, but

prior to that it was cer-tainly an adjustment for alot of players. But, if youcan hit, you can hit withanything,” Ryan Eberlysaid.

While those early con-tacts helped place theClarinda A’s on thenational baseball map,Ryan Eberly said theprogram now also leanson referrals from formerA’s players that havejoined the coaching ranksat the collegiate level. Inaddition, he said the A’sreceive referrals fromscouts and other baseballofficials that have sup-ported the program overthe years.

“Having former play-ers who are now coachesrecommending their kidscome here to play hasbeen a big benefit for us.Since they played in the

program they know whatkind of kids we’re look-ing for and recognizewho can handle the rig-orous schedule that isinvolved,” Ryan Eberlysaid. “A lot of newleagues have also poppedup in the last 20 years.That has made recruitingeven more challenging,so having coaches we arewilling to refer players isall the more important.”

At the same time,Ryan Eberly said thegrowth of the computersand the advent of theInternet has also had adramatic impact on theway players are recruit-ed. “We receive a lot ofemails from colleges.They send us their playerlists and are looking for aplace to send their play-ers for the summer,” hesaid.

Besides recruitingcollegiate players, theClarinda A’s also allowsplayers to join the clubas walk-ons. Althoughthere is not a try-outprocess for the A’s, RyanEberly said the teamfocuses on securing awell-rounded lineup eachsummer.

“Once we sort out whois coming back from theprevious season, we eval-uate our needs at eachposition and determinewhich new players wewill be inviting to jointhe program,” RyanEberly said. “First, wecontact the schools thathave been good to us inthe past to see who theyhave available and thenwe branch out to theother schools.”

Since the ClarindaA’s made the transition tocollege players, thou-sands of athletes fromacross the country haveclaimed the communityas their summer home.However, finding livingaccommodations forthose players in a smalltown proved challengingfor the program initially.

Among the earlyoptions the team utilizedwere refurbishing a homenear Clarinda City Parkand later housing playersin the dorms at theClarinda campus of IowaWestern CommunityCollege. Then, in 1976, anew program was startedthat has created a lastingbond between the citi-zens of Clarinda andplayers.

“We talked to some ofthe other programs wewere playing and theytold us about the houseparent program. That washow it was born,” PatEberly said. “It’s a won-derful program where theteam and communitycome together.”

By living with a houseparent, Pat Eberly saidthe players are betterable to integrate into thecommunity and oftentimes lasting friendshipsare forged.

“The program allowsmembers of the commu-nity to open their homesso the players can seehow small town peoplelive. Many of our playerscome from cultures thatare very different thanwhat we have here in theMidwest,” Pat Eberly

said. “It also makes theplayers more visible inthe community and getsthe house parents moreinvolved in the program.”

“Our house parents arethe backbone of the pro-gram and we are alwayslooking for new peopleto get involved. It is agreat life experience foranyone that takes in theseyoung men because theyoften develop lifelongfriendships with thoseplayers,” Ryan Eberlysaid.

Over the years, theClarinda house parentshave watched proudly asthe players they onceopened their home to goon to enjoy a career inMajor League Baseball.The most famous ofthose was Hall of Fameshortstop Ozzie Smith ofthe St. Louis Cardinals.Smith played two years,1975-1976, in Clarinda.

Other major leagueplayers who have takenthe field for the A’sinclude Jose Alvarez,Andy Benes, Bud Black,Scott Brosius, JameyCarroll, Andrew Cashner,Daniel Descalso, VonHayes, ChuckKnoblauch, JamesMouton, Gary Weiss andMark Williamson.

In 1981, the ClarindaA’senjoyedtheir mostsuccessfulseason infranchisehistory asthey wontheNationalBaseballCongressnational

championship. The A’sposted a 46-14 regularseason record and thenwon the state tournamentwith a 3-0 record toadvance to the 47thAnnual NBC NationalTournament in Wichita,Kan.

Locked in a 7-7 tiewith Liberal, Kan., in thechampionship game, theA’s already had two outsin the bottom of the 11thinning when Shenandoahnative Rusty Pontiousdug into the batter’s box.In his first at bat of thetournament the secondbaseman, who hadplayed at Iowa WesternJunior College inClarinda before transfer-ring to Texas Wesleyan,delivered a double downthe right field line.

That brought BobWaite to the plate and hehit a grounder deep inthe hole at shortstop. Thethrow to first basebounced in the dirtallowing Waite to reachbase safely as Pontiousscored standing up on theplay.

Given the many signif-icant contributions MerlEberly and his familyhave made to the com-munity through theirinvolvement with theClarinda A’s organiza-tion, the Clarinda CityCouncil voted in 2010 toofficially renameClarinda MunicipalStadium as ClarindaMunicipal Stadium –Eberly Field.

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By KRISTAN GRAYStaff Writer

“Any society that doesnot continually support thecollective need for humaninteraction through cre-ative means, (the arts) willlose its ability to functionproperly, for the creativeneed is the base of allhuman motivation.”

That’s according to RickAshcroft, who is not fromany of those towns, but is awell-known opera singerand actor in the Southwest.Ashcroft was formerlywith the San Diego Opera,and most recently with thePhoenix Theater inArizona.

“The ability to share ourideas creatively with oneanother is paramount toour ability to live and growindividually and collec-tively,” Ashcroft stated.“Every problem that hasever been solved by thehuman race has had it'sroots in the ability to imag-ine a solution before theresolution has been com-pletely realized.”

Ashcroft continued,“Without desire, inspira-tion, imagination, and theability to manifest theseemotions through the cre-ative processes of the arts,we may as well not exist atall, in my humble opinion.A life without the ability tocreate isn’t worth living,”he said. “In short, art givesus a means and motivationto teach ourselves how togrow intellectually, spiritu-ally, emotionally andallows us to becomegreater than the sum of ourparts (selves).”

Local thespians inClarinda, Shenandoah andRed Oak agree withAshcroft and are sharingtheir passion on the impor-tance of supporting ourcommunity playhouses.

Clarinda CommunityTheatre

Carol Bellairs is

Clarinda CommunityTheatre’s past presidentand theatre historian.Bellairs is grateful for thefinancial support patronsoffer. “We’re nonprofit andbasically break-even finan-cially every year, but wedon’t have our own build-ing,” Bellairs explained.“I’m so jealous of othertowns that have a station-ary facility!”

Without a home, the the-atre troupe has borrowedor rented over 12 differentbuildings for productions.“Summer musicals takeplace at the high school,”she said. “We do a big

summer musical everyyear, and sometimes weget to present a Christmasshow and a spring show,depending on whether ornot we can get a director.”

“Whether they’re partic-ipating in community the-ater on stage or are behindthe scenes, it is a wonder-ful experience for youth tostrengthen their communi-cation and memory skills,’Bellairs said. “Whilethey’re learning roles forperformance, they learnfrom experienced actorshow to stay in character,and so much more.”Bellairs cited middle-

schooler Hunter Crawfordas an example. “Hunter isthe youngest member ofthe group, he is a juniorboard member, and servedas stage manager for“That’s So Totally 80s.” Hegave excellent direction tothe adults who gladly tookhis ideas,” she added.

Another benefit to par-ticipating in theater,Bellairs said, is learning tothink on your feet and totake direction from author-ity. “When someone dropsa line, it’s important toknow how to act improvi-sationally. It helps in everyarea of life.”

She also feels that thepeople involved become atight company during thetime spent working on theproduction. “It’s my pas-sion and I do it for the loveof it. If I could get paid forthis it would be my dreamjob.”

Southwest Iowa TheaterGroup

“It exercises the imagi-nation by encouraging theaudience to ‘believe’ whatthey are seeing,” saidSouthwest Iowa TheaterGroup President NancyBonefas. “The greatestproductions are thosewhere, for even a moment,you forget that it's a play.”

Theater is a unifier ofpeople groups and spawnsfamily interaction. A play’sstoryline with typicaltragedy and comedy, teachconflict resolution.(Consider Shakespeare’splays, Honk, and OnGolden Pond, etc.)Opening night often fea-tures a special social hourat no additional charge,further unifying peoplewith the common groundof food.

Theater supports histori-cal education. (The Diaryof Anne Frank and TheSound of Music, for exam-ple.)

“One of the most histor-ical productions thatSWITG has done was“1776,” said Bonefas.“This is a musical aboutthe writing and signing ofthe Declaration ofIndependence. The person-alities and the politics ofthe day are brought to lifein a fun format.”

Whether an actor isexpanding his craft, adirector is practicing hispeople development skills,a stage hand is communi-cating his woodworkingskills, or the support staffis sharing their organiza-tional abilities, the teamclicks together for a com-mon goal by doing whatev-er’s best for the sake of theproduction.

Theater also inspires alove of music. (Take songsfrom “Annie,” “Joseph andthe TechnicolorDreamcoat,” “Oz,”“Wicked,” and “The LionKing,” to name a few.)

Bonefas feels that musi-cal theater in our area iswell attended. “Musicalsare usually just plain fun tobe involved in and towatch,” Bonefas said. “Theamount of talent inSouthwest Iowa is amazingand the fact the all thesetalented people are willingto volunteer their time foreach production is fantas-tic.”

Theater serves as ahealthy entertainmentoption. It gets people outof the house and out fromin front of a computer,game console or TVscreen, and out where actu-al living breathing peopleare.

Theater supports thelocal economy, too. Mosttheater tickets inSouthwest Iowa are rela-tively inexpensive and sim-ilarly priced to what wouldbe spent on other forms ofentertainment – and thedollars stay local. Theaterbrings people from othercommunities and hopeful-ly they are eating at localrestaurants, maybe buyinggas, or even getting a fewgroceries while in town.

Red Oak’s WilsonPerforming Arts Center(WPAC) is a new state-of-the art facility offering abroad range of options forarts enthusiasts.

Executive Director Kara

Sherman said, “We haveregional, local and interna-tional performers of allages that have graced ourstage; 15,000 people havebeen through the theatresince we opened four yearsago,” she said. “We alsooffer private lessons forvoice, piano, percussionand guitar, we offer danc-ing classes for adults andchildren, and do a lot ofcollaboration with localbusinesses, churches, andschool districts to provideeducation and entertainingopportunities.”

Sherman said WPACserves about a dozen com-munities, “Often thosefolks are coming to partici-pate in our community the-ater, so when we say ‘com-munity theater,’ it really isthe Southwest Iowa com-munity theater. It’s a veryfamily oriented business;numerous families partici-pate in the productions aswell as the educationalcomponent of the facility.”

Like the other theaters,numerous volunteers cre-ate a dynamic unifiedeffort.

One unique aspect ofWPAC is the lobby artgallery. In one week, thebuilding vibrates withabout 100 students, and ifeach show sells out, then500 people pass throughthe lobby – providing localartists a large audience.

Like other theaters, theWPAC can be rented forconventions and meetings.

Although "TheGathering Place" theater inSidney is much smallerthan it’s sister city’s,enjoyable performancesstill abound. Two wordsbest describe the perform-ing arts offerings there:variety and quality. Theremodeled facility willaccommodate 80 peoplecomfortably for a cateredmeal, or 110 in a theaterstyle seating arrangement.

When you’re in themood for an evening out,you may consider one ofthe four theaters inSouthwest Iowa:Shenandoah’s SouthwestIowa Theatre Group, theClarinda CommunityTheatre, The WilsonPerforming Arts Center inRed Oak, or "TheGathering Place" inSidney.

You’ll be a part of some-thing much bigger than,“just going on a date.”

The Valley News • Wednesday, April 10, 2013 PROGRESS/COMMUNITYPAGE6C

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7 Reasons supporting local theater is important

TALENT... Members of the Clarinda Community Theatre perform “Honk” last summer. The theater group has done well over the years despite not having their own facil-ity. The group has used several buildings. “Honk” was performed at Clarinda High School. (Herald-Journal file photo)

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