West Side Story
Thanks to Sherry May, volunteer, a donation of eight tickets were made to Jacob’s Village for the Old National Bank presentation of the Public Education Foundation Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation’s 18th production of their 2006 Summer Musical - ‘West Side Story’. The musical/stage play was being performed by city high school drama students on Thursday, July 13 thru Sunday, July 16 at the Centre, in Downtown Evansville, IN. The tickets reserved for Jacob’s Village were for the Sunday matinee finale at 2:00pm. Every Sunday after church services, the Jacob’s Village bunch get back together at home about 12:30pm. So, to make it to the show on time we had a quick lunch of sandwiches and loaded up in the vans. By the time all residents: Wanda, Donna Kay, Debbie, Mike, Michael, Scott, and home coordinators Gloria and Joe made it to the Centre; the parking lots were filling up and many, many people were making their way along the sidewalks to the Centre’s entrance. The lobby was crowded with attendees walking shoulder to shoulder, getting their tickets punched, and locating their seats in the 1300 seat capacity auditorium. We made it inside and every seat was filling up quickly. Later, we learned that there was about a 1200 count that attended the show. The seating arrangements were about 12 rows up from the front of the stage in the middle of the room. There was a lot of squeezin’ in and squeezin’ out with toes being stepped on before the lights dimmed, but there’s not a bad seat in the house. Scott, on his scooter, had a luxury box seat with the shows’ ushers along the wall and right inside the auditorium’s doorway. All of the talented high school students delivered an outstanding performance in a musical well done.
'Jesus Freaks' Concert
A couple of weeks back, Jacob’s Village received an invitation to a concert to benefit Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, IN. The Jesus Freaks, a Christian Teen Band led by Todd Seibert, is a talented group of musicians from the local area consisting of six high-school age members. Three guys, four gals: Todd Seibert, Roger Dunkelbarger, Jessica Kempf, Amelia Mader, Kristen and Jennifer Cox. They perform an assortment of worship songs, classic hymns, and today’s latest Christian pop/rock tunes. The Jacob’s Village bunch was first introduced to The Jesus Freaks at a St. Paul’s UCC German Township function last year and enjoyed their music. The groups coordinating managers are Todd Seiberts’ parents Patrick and Susan Seibert, Susan being the organizer while Patrick takes up the role as a ‘Roady’. Todd has been entertaining since his debut performance at Charles & Sally Huck’s ‘Aunt Sallie’s Soda Shoppe’ in New Harmony when he was 4 years old in 1997. This benefit concert was held Saturday evening, July 15, 2006, at 6:00pm at Murphy Park in New Harmony, IN. The Jesus Freaks played for an hour and a half for a crowd of about 80 in attendance. They offered lemonade, snacks, and for anyone donating $10.00 or more to Riley Children’s Hospital received a CD they had recorded live at St. Paul’s UMC Vacation Bible School on June 25, 2006. Scott, Michael, and home coordinator Joe were the only ones able to attend this enjoyable concert on this pleasant warm Summer evening at Murphy Park in New Harmony, IN.
Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes, Yes Lord…AMEN
2006 Drums on the Ohio
Earlier in the month, Ron Faust, President of The Evansville Downtown Civitan Club, Brian Price, member and Chairman of Drums on the Ohio 2006, and Jeff Eckels, member and ticket distributor, donated 12 tickets for Drums on the Ohio to Jacob’s Village. The 29th Annual Drums on the Ohio, 2006 was held Tuesday evening June 27th, beginning at 6:30p.m. in the Reitz Bowl of the F.J. Reitz High School. The Evansville Downtown Civitan Club - Civitans Serving Drums and Our Community - has sponsored this fund raising event for 27 years to benefit the Evansville community specifically children’s groups and persons with disabilities. The proceeds from this years event will benefit The Advertising Club of Evansville and Jacob’s Village.
Tuesday is always a busy day for the resident’s of Jacob’s Village. Donna Kay and Scott travel to New Harmony at noon where Donna Kay helps with the laundry at the Charles Ford Memorial Home for Women while Scott is a tour guide at the Rapp Granary/Owen Laboratory. They return home about 4:00p.m. Wanda and Mike spend the day working at their employers’ and no sooner than they get home, Community Connections from EARC arrives, picks them up and takes them on an outing. The arrangements are made for once a week and they are taken someplace, for example, on occasion to the Vanderburgh County Humane Society. Michael and Debbie work through the day as well and they catch a ride home together but don’t arrive until 4:30p.m., later than anyone else. We had an early evening meal to give us enough time and make it to the show on Reitz Hill at the football field overlooking the Ohio River. Residents Wanda, Donna Kay, Debbie, Mike, Michael, Scott, Home Coordinators Carol, Halleck, Barry, Program Director Karin met Doug, Director of Operations and Cheryl, Executive Director, all of Jacob’s Village, at Reitz High School. Charles Huck, Jacob’s Village Board of Director’s member, was also there to assist in the ‘Bucket Brigade’. Initially, it was talked about, there would be Jacob’s Village representatives at the event’s entrances with buckets to accept donations for Jacob’s Village. For an assortment of different reasons, it didn’t work out as well as planned, but enough was collected to pay for a ‘Drums on the Ohio’ program guide.
The Drum Corps International (DCI), founded in 1971, is headquartered in Addison IL. DCI has no affiliation with any school or university, although, they were originally part of a VFW or an American Legion Post. After WW I, veterans organized drum and bugle corps to perform in parades to display the “Stars and Stripes”. Through the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s they evolved from a quasi-military units to competitive marching and music units. Today, DCI is a cross between a Broadway musical and a marching band show, a modern day junior drum and bugle corps.
There is more than 250 corps operating in the U.S. and Canada, with an additional 100+ around the World. Members of these teams must be 14-22 years of age. All competing unit teams fit into one of three divisions: A Division I Corps has 90 to 128 members, a Division II Corps has 30 to 128 members, and Division III Corps must have between 30 and 60 members. A competing corps’ season begins in November when they line up a teams placement. The teams have up to six weeks of rehearsal that includes marching practice on a football field. The rehearsals end up with an eight-week North American city-bus tour and the DCI Championships in August.
There are three forms of Drum Corps: Brass, Percussion, and the Color Guard. The Brass is made up of five different instruments that have a slightly odd construction to them compared to normal. These consist of Trumpets, Mellophones, Baritones, Euphoniums, and Contrabass, which weighs in at whopping 60 lbs. The Percussion is made of many types of drums and tympanis that consist of two subsections; the back battery, a drum line that marches out on the field with the Brass and the front ensemble called a pit percussion that is an assortment of drums, cymbals and keyboards which is hauled in on trailers to the 50yard line. The Color Guard consists of 30 members weaving in and out of the band to a choreographed routine with flags, rifles, sabers, and other props.
Teams perform to an 11 minute production. Each competing unit within their division is judged on a different scale of achievement, creativity, and content. There were six teams from the South and Midwest and the Boom Squad from The New Hope Music Academy in Evansville, IN. The Boom Squad was the first to perform and filled in when needed. The winners on this night were The Cadets sponsored by Yea! PA., in Division I, and the Bluecoats from Canton, OH, in Division II.
