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vi BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION I first met Martie MacDonell sometime in 1977 or 1978 after I became the director of the Ohio Arts Council. My background was in comparative literature and theater, and I had been the chair of the division of comparative literature at the Ohio State University. I didn’t know much—if anything—about community arts. State arts councils had been established only ten or so years earlier to fund performing and visual arts. Community arts funding was not part of most state arts councils’ missions.It was in these early years that communities across the country were waking up to the reality that utilizing the arts in their schools and in their everyday lives could change their communities for the better and ought to receive public funding. Community arts councils had been around since the 1940s, but they had little support from the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts councils, or their local governments. We all had much to learn in the years to follow. And into my life walked (no, marched) Martie.Ira Weiss, director of performing arts at the Ohio Arts Council, introduced me to this woman from the Lima Area Arts Council. He said she was amazing and energetic and had this idea about a long-term residency program with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in the schools in Lima. This project had no precedent in Ohio. I met the founders of Ririe-Woodbury when Martie brought them to my office. I agreed to fund the residency, and the Ohio Arts Council entered into a coalition of folks from Lima to support the residency program. It was a tremendous success—one that engaged the students and families and made me realize that anything was possible when you had a person like Martie in your community. We became lifelong friends, and I began to see her as my mentor in how local leaders could use the arts to build healthy communities.PREFACEHomage to Martie

HOMAGE TO MARTIE viiIn retrospect I think Martie was a perfect example of someone who understands Tao, a concept featured in the fifth century BC book, Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu. Tao means how: how things happen, how things work. The book greatly influenced the way I taught and now gives me insight into Martie’s Tao—her method of leadership. Martie led by being open to how things happen, how things work. She was unbiased and able to be gentle with all factions, and she led without dominating. Martie was always balanced, clear, and down to earth (we called her the earth mother of Ohio).As I think back, the principles of Tao were all there in Martie. We never discussed this philosophy, and I don’t think Martie read about it, but I cannot think of a single project she took on or brought to us that did not necessitate an open mind. And she never acted alone. She always acted on behalf of the whole and introduced us to all the folks in Lima (whether it was the local arts council or someone in the school system) who were part of her projects. She was and remains the least selfish person I know. Martie was centered and grounded and because of that could work with erratic people (and there were a few) and in critical group situations.The dance residency in schools with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company was not an easy project, but one that included and engaged so many locals. The Willie Nelson concert—what chutzpah it took to ask him to perform for free at the county fairgrounds for the economically hurting community. Tears flowed in the audience as well as from Martie on stage. All for Lima and the community—the entire community. Pops at the Lima Locomotive Works—again, an arts event in a place where once there were many jobs. Meaningful projects included so many locals and were planned to remind people what Lima once was and could become. These were daring projects when you think about it.A reunion at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City, Utah to celebrate the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s 50th anniversary, April 25, 2014. Left to right: Jena Woodbury, Shirley Ririe, Joan Woodbury, Martie MacDonell, and Molly Weis. COURTESY OF M. F. WEIS

viii BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONI remember our meetings about funding the Sojourn Theatre to take part in multiyear community dialogue-oriented theater residencies to tackle race issues. The Tao of an open mind and prejudices set aside to bring together scores of community leaders. Always, Martie brought ideas to the table for all—for others and for herself. In my mind, one of the biggest projects was the one where she believed that the arts could help remake Lima’s downtown. It took a few years, but the idea worked; Martie and other community leaders helped to open the new civic and convention center. Of course, a 60-ton Army tank, built in Lima, was placed at the front door of the civic center in time for its gala opening celebration. Martie understood the how.When I want a good smile, I think of Chile and Martie. I brought a group of Chilean arts leaders to Ohio to show them around the state and made sure Lima was on the tour. Lima was no stranger to the visitors; some of them knew the architect of the civic center as we had sent him to Frutillar, Chile to help them build their new arts center. As we pulled up to the civic center, there stood Martie to welcome each person as only she could do. Martie brought in students from the Ohio Northern University music department to entertain everyone at lunch with songs from Broadway musicals. The leader of the Chilean delegation then invited Martie and the students to Chile to perform. And so a new collaboration between Chile, Ohio Northern, and Martie began.There are so many stories to tell, so many laughs, and so many good memories: Martie calling me to say she was not going to pay income taxes if the Feds cut the arts budget; and her hiring an airplane to drop hearts into the downtown on Valentine’s Day that said “Put your hearts in the arts and support the budget for the arts.”Martie always led in a nurturing manner and without being possessive; she was always helpful without taking the credit; she led without coercion. She knew how to let process unfold on its own. Lima, the state of Ohio, and the nation are enriched by her actions in community development. Personally I am a better person because I know and worked with and love Martie.Read the story of Lima and Martie and what the arts can do to enhance and enrich a community.Wayne P. Lawson PhDDirector Emeritus, Ohio Arts Council andGraduate Professor Emeritus, Arts Administration, Education and Policy, The Ohio State University

BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION ix I ’ve been interested in Lima, Ohio, ever since my pal Judith Chalker, community arts development specialist at the Ohio Arts Council many years ago, told me that the arts leadership there was something special. “There are women there who love Lima, and love the arts, and are putting these passions together in really important ways,” she would tell me. “Communities need to pay attention to Lima.”I wish I’d asked her more. I should have. But now, in reading this manuscript, I’m learning what she might have told me.As Molly Weis tells the history of local community arts development in Lima starting in the 1970s, I hear the story of Martie MacDonell—and Judy and Barbara and Earl and Cathy and Lee, and so many others who were helping Lima attend to its well-being. They incorporated big-picture community development ideas into their work. Some played leading roles, while others were behind the scenes—the countless people whom the public may not even know to applaud, but who enable the show to go on.I’m reminded of a performance piece by Bitsy Bidwell, former community arts development manager at the Washington State Arts Commission, that described the beauty within arts administration.“Ad means to, toward, near, adjacent to.Minister means to attend to the needs of, provide something positive.Art means to be, as in ‘Thou art.’So, to administer art is to move toward attending to the needs of being. A pretty high calling, I think.”The leaders and volunteers in Lima joined in because all the community arts projects deeply held this definition. They worked endless hours because it enhanced Lima’s well-being.FOREWORDThe Lima Story

x BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONSurely everyone will be amazed at the bold stories of Lima. A free Willie Nelson concert? Multiyear dance residencies? Music performances at the shuttered Locomotive Works? Multiyear community dialogue-oriented theater residencies that tackled race? Envisioning that the local arts council could spark the makeover of downtown? Pulling together scores of diverse community leaders? Community arts leaders were doing things that most local arts agencies of the time were not doing. Lima well deserved its Governor’s Awards in Arts Education in 1981 and Martie received the award in Arts Administration in 1983. I see in the story of Martie and her colleagues the attributes and skills that are the timeless hallmarks of great community arts developers. Contemporary leaders, take notes as you read. These stories have meaning and relevance to your current work.The love of a home place.The recognition that for a place to be truly home, every person must have the chance to be an active participant in homemaking, not merely a passive resident.The fearlessness to recognize that history may not have all been pretty, but it is the reality from which to start. Ask, “How can we use this reality to celebrate what we share, to understand what we don’t, and to move forward with new understanding, vision, and purpose?” Say, “Let’s start with your questions, not by stating what you think you know.”The lifting up and the active empowering of the hidden leaders who have been there all along, unknown by the general public. The youth leaders. The African American leaders. The labor leaders. The education leaders. And so many others. Martie and her compatriots were not using these individuals to market events to their peers and deliver audiences; they truly wanted to hear their voices, and they truly knew that their community could not be its true self unless all voices were loud and clear.The comfort with blurring boundaries. Is it dance or is it education? Is it enter- tainment or is it art? Is it economic development or a love affair with downtown? Who cares? These questions are simply means to bigger ends: Does every child have an opportunity to engage? Does the event bring joy, confidence, or insight? Is our city better for it?The unwavering commitment to the big picture, as well as skill in managing details.

THE LIMA STORY xiThe insights into power-brokering and use of community politics to get things done. Start with the recognition that these things are based on mutually respectful relationships. Perhaps start with a meal together in one’s home. Develop relationships in which people can slip out of their comfort zones, in which they can—as philosopher Baker Brownell said—know one another as whole people.The embodiment of what one of my professors in graduate school called the planning attitude. Ask “What if?” and “Why not?” See everything as a chance to learn more about the community, even apparent failures.The commitment to the long run. Pete Seeger, drawing on Ecclesiastes, wrote in “Turn, Turn, Turn,” “There is a season and a time to every purpose, under heaven. A time to build up, a time to break down, a time to dance, a time to mourn, a time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together.”Times come and go. The meaning of these stories remain. Today’s arts administra-tors have the responsibility to ensure that these meanings are applied in the context of today’s community formation and issues.My husband often says, “The community that dances together will take chances together.”This story of visionary arts administrators in Lima is a parable for our field. By their example, they are leading us in the dance.Maryo Gard EwellDirector of Community Impact, Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley (Colorado)and Board Member, Robert E. Gard Foundation

xii BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONAn Abbreviated History of Community ArtsImportant community arts movements surfaced in the United States in different forms throughout the twentieth century. As the century began, American sociologist and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois was writing about cultural equity, and social activists like Jane Addams—the mother of social work—were embracing the power of the arts. A little later, American philosopher and education reformer John Dewey wrote about experiential education that included the arts. Professors in college extension departments encouraged ordinary people to write plays about their lives, issues, and communities. The Federal Theatre Project was a New Deal program that exposed millions of Americans to the arts, often for the first time. Harlem was serving as a vibrant center of African American culture.The story of community arts councils (now known as local arts agencies) typically begins in the 1940s, but it is only one subsection of the community arts development story. The early glimmers of arts councils flickered simultaneously in several communities. The Winston-Salem (North Carolina) chapter of Junior League hired Virginia Lee Comer, senior vice president for community arts at the National Junior League, to study the state of the arts in town and craft a plan and infrastructure so that the arts could move forward. Visionary arts patron and musician George Irwin gathered the local arts groups in Quincy, Illinois, into a coalition of mutual support. From then on, the number of these councils grew, ultimately forming the National Assembly of Community Arts Councils (now Americans for the Arts).These councils tended to serve as umbrellas for local arts groups and artists. They brokered information, coordinated community arts calendars, offered art classes, and provided cultural enrichment opportunities for artists, students, and audiences that might not otherwise have taken place. At this point in time, they generally did not cross into larger community issues of education, race, gender, or class.In the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, the Civil Rights movement used the arts to build internal solidarity and expand public awareness of issues of race, gender, and class. The notion of different intelligences was gaining traction as it was being recognized that experiential learning could enhance overall student achievement. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) gave grants to state organizations to help America “rediscover and cherish” its rural communities. The number of community arts councils grew dramatically in the mid and late 1960s. The use of the arts to engage with its community was now the norm. In 2015, Americans for the Arts studies showed that 57 percent of local arts agencies use the arts for a wide range of community development issues, from homelessness to cultural districts; 89 percent are involved in arts education in some way; and 92 percent maintain at least one partnership with a group such as a school district or a social service agency. In addition, Americans for the Arts itself had fostered Animating Democracy, a program that assists local communities and groups to engage the arts in addressing vital local issues of race, voice, and equity.There are always leaders of communities who are the bellwethers. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, some were incorporating—consciously or unconsciously—some of John F. Kennedy’s ideal of asking what we can do for our country. They were trying out programs that most of the rest of us weren’t, yet, trying. They saw the role of the arts in their community in a different way from most of the community arts councils of the time.The community arts projects of Lima, Ohio, illuminate this pioneering talent. — Maryo Gard Ewell

BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION 1 C uriosity got the best of me. In 2010, I started to gab-away with Martie MacDonell about her years of civic leadership. In part, I suppose, I was comparing my own community work to hers and gaining a few bits of wisdom—as she was heading into her late 70s. And in part, she is my Aunt Martie. We were chewing the fat and had fun comparing the mutual lessons from the school of hard knocks.Over the years when I spent time with Aunt Martie, I had often heard Martie reminisce with friends that she met while doing errands about town about the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company elementary school residencies from the late 1970s. So much time had passed, nearly forty years. Why were people still recalling this community arts project? Were these Midwestern folks just being polite? Was there something special about Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury, the co-directors?My career has been with small nonprofit organizations working in community arts programming in Lima and Boston. On the editorial side, I helped start up the Nonprofit Quarterly. In my college days, I gained a love of stories and research when my professor Kent Maynard coached me through a year-long senior research in cultural anthropology. On the civic side, I was surrounded by civically engaged parents, aunts, and uncles in Lima. Being a dutiful kid, I hauled plenty of folding chairs for festivals.I suggested that Martie and I contact some teachers who had been part of the Ririe-Woodbury residency to ask them why it had been so special. They had their whole careers to inform their judgment and would answer us straight. If we discovered something, then we might make an effort to record their wisdom and pass it on to the next generation of educators. During these interviews, the teachers spoke about the power of professional artists in their classrooms and how the residencies had enhanced their own instructional methods and had dramatically enhanced student learning. The clincher statement: “What I learned in those dance residencies, I used my whole career.”INTRODUCTIONBeginnings If we discovered something, then we might make an effort to record their wisdom and pass it on to the next generation of educators.

2 BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONfor the Arts of Greater Lima) from the schools into the community at large. In the mid-1970s, the community was feeling the effects of a shifting economy—the central business district was losing ground to suburban malls and manufacturing jobs were declining. Art leaders recognized that arts programming, at it best, had a community purpose. During this founding era, Martie, as board president of the arts council, along with executive directors Barb Shively Saeger (1975–1977) and Dean Gladden (1977–1980), created a new children’s theater series in a vacant movie house, expanded a summer festival in Town Square, and hosted numerous artists in the community. Momentum kept building. More and more people volunteered as they witnessed how these projects enhanced Lima’s well-being.Chapter three tells the story of Willie Nelson performing free for the hard-pressed residents of Allen County. After a discouraging front-page story in the March 3, 1982 issue of the Wall Street Journal contrasting Lima’s fifteen percent unemployment rate to the four percent rate of San Angelo, Texas, the arts council responded. Martie called San Angelo Chamber of Commerce for a favor—a free concert from Willie. He said yes. No one in Lima had ever produced an event of that scale, and it was all hands on deck for five months.During the same time period, the mid–1970s to the mid–1980s, civic leaders sought to find new uses for the vacated downtown. Chapter four This community arts work felt remark-able. We expanded our interviews. I traveled to Salt Lake City to meet Joan and Shirley and learn more about the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Artists in Schools Dance program (AIS-Dance), which funded the residency. I learned that Joan and Shirley were part of the founding team that designed and launched AIS-Dance and were special because they were trained in both dance and education.As the learning widened through more interviews and more research of primary documents, I found that the local leaders also were quite remarkable. Some of the out-of-town leaders (for instance, Joan and Shirley from the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and Ira Weiss and Wayne Lawson from the Ohio Arts Council) noted that the art programs in Lima were far more reaching and the audience far more involved than in other towns.I was hooked. We began to research the other major community arts projects in Lima and Allen County from the late 1970s through 2003. For the next several years, we completed seventy interviews and gained a deeper appreciation of the passion and legacies of these projects.Chapter one features the process of securing and holding the NEA AIS-Dance residencies in the Lima City Schools, beginning in 1977, and the resulting legacies.Chapter two tracks the expansion of the community involvement of the Lima Area Arts Council (now the Council Chapter OneChapter TwoChapter Three

BEGINNINGS 3which explored how art could play a role in moving Lima forward.Community members volunteered countless hours because they recognized that these projects enhanced the heart and soul of Lima and Allen County. They wanted a community with human spirit, vitality, and pride, and directly witnessed the positive outcomes of their efforts. Their vision for what could be was particularly challenging and often felt overwhelming as one of Lima’s continuing narratives has been loss—loss of local industrial manufacturing to global markets and production. Civic leaders remained determined to address community challenges with these projects. These projects complimented the other realms of a community—education, health, faith, public services, natural resources, and employment. This publication is a communal memoir of community arts in Lima, Ohio that looks back in time by sharing a personal and emotional sense of the work. Through personal narratives, we share their journeys from conception to completion of projects that approached a community’s well-being, in part, through the use of arts and culture. follows the planning, fundraising, and building of the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center, which opened in 1984.By mid-1980s, Martie and Marilyn McKinley, program director for the arts council, had decided to leave the arts council to pursue a new civic question: Could the local traditions of the past be connected to the desired future of enhancing economic development and community pride? Chapter five delves into the launch of American House in 1986 by Martie and Marilyn and the opening of the Memory Engines oral history office in a yellow and blue Baltimore & Ohio caboose in Town Square. American House staff interviewed former craftsmen of the Lima Locomotive Works and workers for the rail service to understand the community’s railroad heritage and created events to share these memories community-wide. Building on this heritage, American House also explored saving landmarks such as Lima Locomotive Works and the Stippich Hardware building.In 2000, a common topic within Allen County was why the nearby town of Findlay was growing and Lima was not. What was holding back Lima? Martie and Judy Gilbert, both with thirty years of civic leadership, were interested and concerned. Through continued deliberation, they began to question if community arts could cross boundaries with economic development. Chapter six features the launching and legacy of Allen County Common Threads, Chapter FourChapter FiveChapter Six

BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION 41No one in Lima knew if Willie Nelson would arrive. No written contract existed and many doubted that he would show.No one in Lima knew if Willie Nelson would arrive. No written contract existed and many doubted that he would show.No one in Lima took anything for granted, especially economically. So to imagine that Willie, a nationally acclaimed artist of country music, would sing a free concert on July 30, 1982, was difficult to fathom.“We need to help bring some sunshine to Lima.”The idea of Willie’s performance began when the staff, artists in residence, and volunteers of the Council for the Arts of Greater Lima explored ideas to restart Square Fair, which had not been held the prior year due to lack of funds. Judy Chalker, the Ohio Arts Council coordinator for community arts, had seen how arts festivals seemed to key into current community issues. While visiting Lima, she asked the arts council what issue it would address with the next Square Fair. To the arts council the answer was clear.In 1982, unemployment in Allen County was at fifteen percent, the highest recorded to date.1 Square Fair would be mindful of the discouraged laid-off workers and would provide music to help alleviate their hurt and humiliation. Mike Paplow, who had grown up in Lima and was architect in residence, suggested Willie. Everyone agreed that he would be a great antidote to the community’s pain. Martie MacDonell, executive vice-president of the arts council, had Willie’s agent’s telephone number in her desk drawer.2 She was stumped on how Lima could afford a performance by Willie. He played to enormous and energetic crowds, and “Always on My Mind” was fourth on the Billboard country music singles chart.3On March 3, 1982, the Wall Street Journal featured a front-page article comparing Lima’s economic decline to the rise of San Angelo, Texas, and noted that “the regional balance is shifting from the Midwest and Northeast to the South CHAPTER THREETexas Sunshine“Worlds Apart: Trumpeted Recession, Severe in Lima, Ohio, Spares a Texas Town.” Wall Street Journal, March 3, 1982, front page. COURTESY OF M. S. MACDONELL.

42 BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONSam Lewis holds Michelle, one of the twelve armadillos he brought to Lima from Texas to race during Square Fair the day after the Willie Nelson concert. Sam was the one to ask his friend Willie Nelson to perform at a free concert for Lima residents. COURTESY OF THE LIMA NEWS.and Southeast.” The article reported on Lima’s fifteen percent unemployment rate, a job loss of seven thousand over two years, James Zimmerman closing his Dodge dealership, and listed other dour economic measures like an empty downtown, area banks beginning foreclosures, and the concern of the City of Lima about meeting its payroll.4Now the whole world knew Lima’s economic status. The reaction in Lima was fierce. “You can imagine how angry, embarrassed, and depressed we were in Lima,” recalls Martie. The community felt helpless in restoring its pride and resilience.In contrast, San Angelo had a bright future—only four percent unemployment and a gain of three thousand jobs over the past two years.Martie and Bud Jones, chair of Square Fair and owner of a local restaurant, called Grady Elder, the executive director of San Angelo’s Chamber of Commerce, and led with the Wall Street Journal article. Martie proposed that San Angelo could help Lima by sending its native son, Willie Nelson, to sing a free concert over the Square Fair weekend for all of Lima’s unemployed workers.After a long pause, Grady said in his melodious Texan drawl that the chamber had a board member named Sam Lewis who was a good friend of Willie’s parents.5 Grady would see what he could do to have Sam reach out to Willie.Sam, who called himself the armadillo racing king of San Angelo, was soon

TEXAS SUNSHINE 43He advised them on every logistical element of the concert.On April 20, Lima Mayor Harry Moyer publicly announced the benefit concert. In fact, San Angelo Mayor Tom Parret invited Harry to their festival, Fiesta del Concho, which was taking place June 19.8Martie and Marilyn broke down the work to be done into committees: parking, police protection, publicity, safety, site planning, technical expertise for the stage and sound systems, ticket distribution, traffic, and hospitality for Willie and his crew. Martie reached out to people in the community whom she knew could help. Many had worked with the arts council on Square Fair or other arts programming. They included members of the Lima Chamber of Commerce, unions, service clubs, and even the Boy Scouts. More than seven hundred community members signed up to help and their unwavering commitment was amazing.9 City officials and arts council representatives then deliberated about the concert site. They initially thought that they’d host Willie in Town Square. During the first meeting, however, community and police officials were concerned about vandalism, crowd control, and the ability to secure the stage.10 Admittedly, the square could handle only ten thousand people, and the projected crowd for Willie’s concert was between ten thousand and thirty-five thousand. Next they considered Faurot Park, which could hold twenty on his way to Willie’s ranch with the Wall Street Journal article and a letter of request from the arts council.6 It wasn’t long before the phone rang, and Sam told Martie that Willie had read the materials and agreed that “we need to help bring some sunshine to Lima. Sure, we’ll play a free concert for their festival.” Not only that, but Sam would bring his twelve armadillos to Lima. “We’ll race them at your festival and give y’all a good old Texas time.”Martie worked with Mark Rothbaum, Willie’s agent, on the concert details. In one memorable exchange, Mark insisted that the arts council pay for the sound. Martie told him that the council had no money. After a long silence Mark said he would call Willie and hung up. A bit later, the phone rang. Willie would pay for the lights and sound.By April 9, Martie and Mark had a verbal agreement in place for Willie to perform on Friday, July 30, 1982. That gave the arts council three months to prepare. Jubilation slowly turned to panic at the arts council office. The council knew it was good at developing and staging children’s arts programs and expert in hosting professional artists in community residencies. But hosting the most popular country singer in the nation?Marilyn McKinley, program director, reassured Martie. “You’ll be alright. We can do this.” Together, they started to work methodically on the event. The arts council hired Brian Hansen, a young rock concert consultant with Chicago Productions of Cincinnati.7 Willie had read the materials and agreed that “we need to help bring some sunshine to Lima. Sure, we’ll play a free concert for their festival.” Not only that, but Sam would bring his twelve armadillos to Lima. “We’ll race them at your festival and give y’all a good old Texas time.”

44 BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONThen there was Willie’s outlaw image. Although seen as a country musician, in the 1970s he moved from Nashville to Austin and began to play “outlaw country” that mixed rock and folk music and was less polished than Nashville country music.14 The police department had some unease about the potential damage the “unsavory Willie Nelson followers” would incur on the community.The local and regional newspapers challenged the arts council to confess that the concert was uncertain because no written contract had been received. The arts council board and staff realized the risk, but felt they could deliver the huge redemptive experience the concert would create. Residents could celebrate a renewed pride and push back from the troubling descriptions of its dismal economic status. “Our community had suffered too long,” recalls Martie. She remembers that the council’s purpose was very clear—to lead the community into a healthy, creative, and productive place. Country music, Willie’s music, expressed the art that the community needed.Pat Huber, a member of the Lima Chamber of Commerce executive committee, took on parking. He spent hours measuring the fairgrounds to find out how many cars could fit. Willie had stipulated that the arts council couldn’t sell concert tickets, but it could sell tickets to park. The council estimated that six to seven thousand cars would come and decided to charge five dollars a car, ten dollars a van, thousand to thirty thousand. By May, the arts council concluded that the Allen County Fairgrounds racetrack infield was the place. It could accommodate thirty thousand.11 Don Klingler, the general manager of the fairgrounds, was initially anxious about the timing of Willie’s concert, which would be six weeks before the Allen County Fair. He did not want this benefit concert to impact attendance at the fair’s country music concert. After consideration, he decided to provide the fairgrounds to the arts council. Martie was grateful for Don’s participation. As a retired US Marine, he was calm, cool, and very positive, a demeanor for which Martie was very appreciative prior to and during the event.The pace picked up. For several long weeks everyone worked systematically. The office was humming and sometimes chaotic. Sometimes they locked the front door so that they could work uninterrupted by media representatives. And endlessly the media asked Martie if she had received Willie’s contract. The mayor had a similar experience; he received an average of three calls a day from news media outside of the Lima area.12Speculation about how many people would attend grew rampant. The Lima News interviewed concert promoters, with some estimating twenty-five thousand, others forty thousand or even a hundred thousand. Mark, Willie’s agent, told the council that the usual size for a concert with tickets of less than ten dollars was ten thousand.13 The council’s purpose was very clear—to lead the community into a healthy, creative, and productive place. Country music, Willie’s music, expressed the art that the community needed.

TEXAS SUNSHINE 45“Sam was the old guy who wouldn’t give you a handshake when a hug would do better.”The outreach and friendship of the San Angelo leaders were remarkable, Sam Lewis most of all. Sam was as generous as Willie and as much of a legend in Texas. As Grady Elder shared, “I didn’t even know Willie Nelson. Sam Lewis was the key to the entire thing. He was always bragging about knowing Willie. When he said he was going out to [Willie’s] ranch and ask, I did not have a great deal of confidence. But when Sam called us up collect, I knew we had him.”18 Journalist Dave Thomas recalled Sam this way: “If you’d been to most any big event in Luckenbach, San Angelo, or Terlingua, Sam was there racing armadillos or selling t-shirts. Short, slight, big glasses, and a variety of broken-in hats, he was the old guy who wouldn’t give you a handshake when a hug would do better. It didn’t matter if he knew you or not.… I just think that if Sam had something to give and someone to give it to, that made him happy.… ‘Come on over here, you’ve got to meet this person,’ is probably what I heard most from Sam throughout the years, maybe right after ‘let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.’”19 That was Sam—a wonderful Texan who didn’t blink an eye when Martie made a wildly creative phone call for help.When Sam heard that Martie would be attending the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies annual convention and twenty-five dollars per bus. Pat recruited sixty members of the Fraternal Order of the Police Associates to assist with parking and, in return, the arts council paid FOPA five percent of the parking fees. Another fifty United Auto Workers volunteers signed on to usher and help manage the crowd, and—for a thousand dollars—three Boy Scout troops provided seventy people to clean up the fairgrounds after the concert.15The arts council oversaw site planning. Martie arranged to borrow approxi- mately three miles of snow fencing from the Ohio Department of Transportation, Duff Truck Lines donated three trucks, and the Childers brothers spent three days hauling and installing the fence around the concert site.Dorothy Clark coordinated hospitality for Willie and his crew. She and the Grace United Methodist churchwomen used vegetables from Dorothy’s garden to create a Midwestern Thanksgiving menu. “I want him to get the flavor of the areas,” she said at the time. The preconcert menu was fresh fruit salad, oven-baked chicken, potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, tomatoes, baked beans, cornbread, and strawberry pie.16 The women even cut out musical notes for table decorations.Dennis Baker volunteered to manage the stage for Willie’s concert. He had worked for several years as stage manager for fiddler Vassar Clements and persuaded him to open pro bono for Willie.17“I did not have a great deal of condence. But when Sam called us up collect, I knew we had [Willie].”— Grady Elder

46 BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONto the small San Angelo airport for a flight back to Lima.Sam later shared that as a promoter he usually deals with a single group. In Lima, he dealt with the whole town. “It will stay with me the rest of my life. Everyone worked together to put Lima back on its feet. This is one show where everyone benefited.” 22 Sam told Willie how thrilled the Lima community was about his upcoming concert and kept him updated on how Lima was preparing for the event.“At that moment, I knew we were successful, by all odds, in fulfilling our purpose to use music to restore pride and enrich our community.”Thirty thousand tickets would become available on July 11 at the Allen County Fairgrounds on a first-come, first served basis for Lima and Allen County residents and limited to four per person. The Council for the Arts of Greater Lima limited publicity about tickets to the community, but other media picked it up and distributed the news beyond Lima. The arts council found computers so that the volunteers handling ticketing could enter names and check against duplicates.Lines began to form the night of July 10. Two hundred people waited overnight, played bluegrass music, and grilled hamburgers. By the next morning, two thousand people were in line. By 10:30 am, the waiting crowd had grown to five thousand. No one knew if they could distribute tickets to everyone that day, in early June in San Antonio, he immediately invited her to San Angelo to meet everyone and introduce her to “Texas ways.”20Their first stop was a San Antonio haberdashery where he bought a dark blue felt cowboy hat for Martie. The next stop was Luckenbach, a small town sixty miles north of San Antonio that was basically a dance hall and general store and which Waylon Jennings had immortalized in song.21 Sam and Martie drove to a small worn cottage with a rickety front porch, where they joined a circle of cowboys sitting on a low stonewall, playing their guitars, and singing. Sam poured himself and Martie mugs of whiskey and they joined in singing.Afterwards, they drove about hundred miles northwest to San Angelo and toured the downtown, hospital, newspaper office, chamber of commerce, courthouse, and the “old folks” home. When they arrived at Sam’s house, Martie found that Betty, Sam’s wife, had prepared a cozy bedroom for her with soft, hand-embroidered sheets. She said goodnight and immediately climbed in.In the morning, Sam knocked on Martie’s door and hollered with his Texas drawl, “Let’s have a big Texas breakfast, and then I want to show you off.” By late morning, most everybody in San Angelo knew what was going to happen in Lima and that Sam was driving cross-country with his armadillos to host races at Square Fair. At the end of the day, Sam drove Martie

TEXAS SUNSHINE 47A view from the bleachers behind the stage. COURTESY OF MARILYN MCKINLEY.The concession equipment, primarily from local restaurants, also rolled in that day. Stage banners with a rainbow of Texan lone stars made by intern Anya Firszt were unfurled and hung by fire trucks. And placards reading “We love Willie” were posted everywhere.Motorcycle riders were a segment of Willie’s followers that particularly worried the arts council and community. Brian Hansen, the concert consultant, suggested that the motorcycles be parked up front, where the owners could keep an eye on them.That evening, when Martie returned with Tracey Moulton, chair of Square Fair’s Saturday activities, to see the progress in preparations, the motorcyclists in their black leather jackets rolled in and asked where they could park. Tracey thought, “No one would believe this in a million years. They were lovely guys.” Martie and Tracey visited with them a bit, and but volunteers worked hard and spirits were high.23People had a good time waiting. Dennis Baker, the stage manager, brought out a stereo amplifier and reel-to-reel to play Willie’s music. The amp kept shutting down from the heat, but he managed to play music all day. Everyone knew the lines would be long and came prepared. People brought snacks, playpens, and strollers. Since the fairgrounds are less than a mile from Interstate 75, the major corridor between Detroit and Miami, truckers pulled in when they heard they could pick up a few tickets. Dennis thought the line of people would never end. “I’ve work at a lot of shows in my life, and I’ve never seen another line like that day.”If the line wasn’t enough of a spectacle, a helicopter from the Dayton TV station hovered above.On the morning before the scheduled concert, Martie went to the fairgrounds to check on the preparations. She was worried about the absence of a written contract with Willie. While she was cleaning the bathroom in the backstage area, a volunteer who had been assigned as a lookout rushed to her side. He was breathless and shouted that two white semitrucks had just turned into the fairgrounds. Martie ran outside to look. The two huge trucks were loaded with sound equipment. Willie had kept his promise. “At that moment, I knew we were successful, by all odds, in fulfilling our purpose to use music to restore pride and enrich our community.”

48 BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONanything like it. Sam truly brought his own zest for life to Lima.On the day of the concert, people were having fun even before Willie came out. Folks with campers tailgated all day, which actually helped to fill up the fairgrounds slowly. On Lakewood Avenue in Lima, in advance of the concert, neighbors had a block party.26 Willie’s buses pulled into Ohio at dawn. They rested in Sidney, about thirty miles south of Lima, and at five in the afternoon the band rolled into the fairgrounds. Then Poodie Locke, Willie’s tour manager, came and found Martie. A big guy with long blond hair gathered into a knot and a diamond stud in his left ear, he introduced himself and guided Martie and Tracey to the enormous stage. He found them chairs on stage right, behind the performers space. “I’ll take care of you,” he said to Martie, with a pat on her arm. He hovered over them, explaining every moment.“I looked down from the stage to see a massive crowd of thirty-five thousand happy people, roaring for Willie, their hero of the common man—the guy who experienced the pain of hopelessness,” said Martie.Then Willie and his band appeared on stage. He opened with “Whiskey River.” Martie remembers looking out at the crowd and thinking that she had never seen so many faces in her life. They appeared to her to be a sea of swaying people.Martie gave them her telephone number with an invitation to call her if they needed blankets or anything. They were sleeping on the ground. That evening Martie did receive one phone call—from Memorial Hospital. A motorcyclist had had a diabetic attack. When asked by the hospital staff if he knew anyone, he replied, “Martie MacDonell” and gave them her number. “That was my motorcycle moment,” said Martie. “Don’t’ ya love it?”As a way to celebrate Square Fair, Lima and San Angelo had a sister-city exchange all weekend with both mayors and the leaders from both chambers of commerce and convention bureaus in attendance. The two mayors raced Sam’s twelve armadillos Friday noon sharp during the Square Fair welcome ceremony in Town Square.24The essence of an armadillo race is this: One armadillo might dash to the finish line, one would meander around, and one would probably never move within their six foot by twenty-four foot course. The human tenders followed behind, but could not touch their charges. The tenders could only coax verbally or blow on the hair on the back of the armadillos’ legs.25When Martie had visited Sam in Texas, he had suggested that the Lima Rotary Club invite him to speak and show off “a few prize critters.” And sure enough, that did happen. Sam was the featured guest during the July monthly meeting. He was on the floor with the Rotary members in their coats and ties racing armadillos. Martie had never seen

TEXAS SUNSHINE 49someone bit an officer’s arm.28 Acts of kindness were the norm. A two-year old wandered off from his mother at 2:00 pm and was reunited at 8:45 pm. Jim Fisher lost his wallet during the show and was amazed and thankful that someone had returned it to his home.29 In fact, the concert was produced by everyone’s generosity led by Willie’s deepest honor and empathy.“I’m proud to live here.”Immediately before the show, Willie said, “I’m glad to be here. I’m glad it’s not costing [the audience] anything. Sometimes you do benefits and you don’t know if anyone benefits.”30 The Council for the Arts of Greater Lima benefited. It earned $22,000 in parking and fees for future programing.31 And then Waylon Jennings, a friend of Willie’s, showed up unannounced. None of the volunteer security com-mittee knew Waylon and initially wouldn’t let him in. The motorcyclists, who had so intimidated the community initially, were on hand to help. When the crowd started to push into a small fenced-off area near the stage, the motorcyclists—who had arrived the prior day and naturally were in the front of the standing section—calmly controlled the crowd. Martie panicked for a moment when Easter Straker, a beloved local television show host, fell, but the motorcyclists were gentlemen and lifted her up.Willie and his band performed nonstop for two and a half hours. The sound was deafening, expressing joy and venting the frustration of hard times and hopelessness.“Lima had our day in the sun,” said Martie.Folks traveled from neighboring towns, and every age attended. Dr. John Walther led seventeen Villa Convalescent Home residents from Troy, Ohio, ages 59 to 90, to the concert. Mary Brown, who was nearly 88, swayed her head to the music and rested in her wheelchair. She had never seen Willie or been to an outdoor concert and thought, “this is fun. I’m glad they brought us.”27 There were only three arrests made that day: someone carried a gun, someone climbed the stage scaffolding, and Willie Nelson performing at the concert in Lima. COURTESY OF MARILYN MCKINLEY.

50 BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONOpposite page: Concert memorabilia includes a concert ticket and backstage pass, both signed by Willie Nelson (COURTESY OF DENNIS BAKER) and a newspaper clipping of Willie Nelson performing. (COURTESY OF THE LIMA NEWS).EPILOGUEOn July 30, 1982, the same day as the concert, Ford Motor Company announced a new production line in Lima for a three-liter, V-6 engine.33 After the success of the Willie Nelson concert and with Don Klingler at the helm, the Allen County Fairgrounds developed a ten thousand-seat arena with portable chairs. It was able to have bigger shows, and even sold some out.Other small kindnesses continued. Poodie Locke, Willie Nelson’s tour manager, invited volunteer stage manager Dennis Baker to join the band at the next four shows in Pine Knob, Michigan. Dennis thought, “It’s not every day you get a personal invitation from the Willie Nelson Band.” Sure enough, Poodie welcomed him to that show and for many years to come—whenever Dennis worked on or attended a show that Willie performed. “I always appreciated his generosity,” recalls Dennis.In 1991, some folks decided to return a favor and organized “Chili for Willie – Willie Nelson Appreciation Day” on April 27. Nelson owed more than sixteen million dollars to the Internal Revenue Service. They hosted a chili cook-off and armadillo races at the Lima Mall. Sam Lewis brought seven armadillos and kids had fun racing them. Willie received twelve hundred dollars from the festive day and, yes, he sent a thank note, recalls Fred Odum, chair of the event. The following day, Square Fair festivities continued downtown all day with a full roster of craft booths, children’s art, ethnic food, dance, and music.Pat Huber recalled that, in all his years of civic leadership, he had never see anything like it: how collegial and hard the local volunteers worked to produce the weekend. “I remember hardly any controversies on our committee. We all worked together. Everyone wanted it to happen. It turned out better than we anticipated. The fun people had that evening was immense.”Local resident Diane King, in a letter to the editor, said, “The Square Fair was another festival in itself with much to do for young and old alike. From the Children’s Art Park and armadillos to food and music, there was a good time for all. The Square was alive. Lima natives showing ‘we care.’ Special thanks to Sam Lewis, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and the people of San Angelo for all the joy they brought to Lima. Your piped-in sunshine made me reaffirm what I strongly feel. Lima, Ohio—I’m proud to live here.”32 Yes, a concert can have meaning for a community.Yes, community art matters.Sam Lewis (sitting in a yellow shirt) and Martie MacDonell (in a white shirt and cowboy hat) cheer on at a Square Fair event. COURTESY OF MARILYN MCKINLEY.

BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION 51

BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION 137The love of a community is the soul of this memoir.This is a story of steadfastness through adversity. Residents of Allen County recognized that shifting industrial production from local to global had dire consequences for one and all. Living in West Central Ohio—a region that is more rural than urban—meant resources were limited. With a bit of serendipity, the role of the arts in the community began to shift, too. Martie MacDonell and others noticed the expansion of the Ohio Arts Council and immediately pursued every opportunity through its remarkable program opportunities for education, economic development, and enhancing a community’s overall well-being. The combination of newly available state support and Martie’s open and inclusive leadership style made a powerful combination that ignited a mutual passion among many other community members. Once they experienced the strength of community arts, they rolled up their sleeves and began to use it to address the challenges of the times.The mutual passion of those involved at all levels of the projects included in this book enabled the projects to achieve excellence and legacy. Each chapter recounts how people’s enthusiasm unfolded at the community level, but many also shared their passion at a personal level. People wanted more in their lives beyond their occupations.George Dunster and his late wife, Gwen, loved theater. They jumped at the opportunity for more theater, especially those designed for families and young audiences, and became involved with the Kibby Corners Playhouse. George’s passion for his avocation never waned. He’s directed or produced nearly a hundred local plays.ConclusionA reunion in 2019. Left to right: Hans Houshower, Martie MacDonell, Miriam Adams, and Molly Weis. COURTESY OF M. F. WEIS.

138 BEYOND OUR IMAGINATIONKaren Quatman, Pat Morris, and others noted how the new arts programming brought wonderful opportunities to the community. They didn’t have to wish they could see professional artists in the major cities that were, at minimum, sixty miles away. “That is why I stuck around and, oh, lending a hand was fun,” said Karen.The passion for improvement of the whole community meant citizens engaged in complex challenges that faced them all. The projects required years of development, which in turn sharpened people’s skills and the building of lasting civic relationships. In addition, in using the arts and occupational heritage to cope with local issues, volunteers gained a new way of looking at themselves and the possible roles they could hold in remaking their community.Hans Houshower mentioned this most succinctly, but I heard this sentiment often. “We operated with the absolute care and respect for the people who we were celebrating. We were authentic in listening to people and accurately retelling their stories.” This often meant producing very challenging events—Pops at Locomotive Works; Willie Nelson’s concert; the Gala Opening of the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center; Hats, Handkerchiefs and Fans: Telling the African American Story in Lima, Ohio, 1900–1950; Passing Glances: Mirrors and Windows in Allen County; and so on. The authenticity and the high level of volunteer involvement originated from community pride. As I heard everyone speak, I sensed a graciousness of spirit that people held for their fellow volunteer colleagues and for the community.Many people noted how much they appreciated meeting other people in town. Some of the new relationships lasted a lifetime. They acknowledged that the projects were a ‘heck of a lot of work” and equally “filled with joy.” Out-of-town folks noticed the high level of involvement and passion of the volunteers in Lima.I recognized, in listening to everyone’s stories, that giving up was not an option when faced with a challenge. “‘No’ was not in our vocabulary. We found another way,” as Dean Gladden recalls. “Lima didn’t have funds to pay for Willie Nelson, but Martie called anyway.” The same held true for all the other volunteers; everyone picked up the phone and asked others to lend a hand.There were disappointments. Probably the most memorable was the demolition of the former Lima Locomotive Works. Initially the project felt attainable, but after years of planning and analysis and a ten million dollar commitment from the State of Ohio, the scale of the property and the additional monies needed proved insurmountable. On balance, though, the legacy of the community’s striving is noteworthy.

CONCLUSION 139Many folks, myself included, tend to look forward in time: the next project, the next dream, the next stage of life. For this book, Martie and I spent nearly five years interviewing nearly seventy people. What an honor and delight. Honestly, we are surprised by the legacies we found quietly woven within the community that clearly had historical ties to the founding projects. Martie only knew of the cordial conversations she had at the grocery store.I had heard a few stories over the years and read a few books about community arts, but none of them featured the more personal side of civic leadership nor the longer legacy of community arts efforts I unearthed in Lima.We know the legacy resides in Lima today on a daily basis. Student learning and comprehension has been significantly enhanced. Restored and new landmark properties continue to add economic and cultural value. Dialogue and collaboration continue to add economic and cultural value. Authentic celebrations offer deep pride and hope any time, but especially during challenging times.Thank you to the leaders of Lima and Allen County who had enough guts and vision to recognize that the expansion of community arts could enhance a community’s well-being.

BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION 141 M artie MacDonell started my theater company.Sort of true.She certainly breathed life into it.Sojourn Theatre was an idea in 1999—seven of us in Blacksburg, Virginia starting an impossible venture together. By the time we relocated to Portland, Oregon, in late 2000, Martie MacDonell and I had started a conversation. She reached out to me because my friend and mentor Bill Rauch (he was, at the time, the artistic director of Cornerstone Theater) had pointed her my way since Cornerstone didn’t have the capacity to come to Lima when Martie reached out. So, Martie—with trust in Bill and, I suppose, in me after some calls—invited us to Lima for the first time.Those calls, that first trip, and all our work in Allen County gave our company something we so urgently needed in our first years—a sense of purpose that existed beyond our imaginations and ambitions. In Allen County, we were artists working across a community with a clear, articulated agenda of public good. Martie gave the project that gravitas and gave us that credibility, because she willed it so. And in so doing, she willed us into believing we were worthy of her faith.I have not worked with a producer, a community advocate, a funder, or a collaborator with the vision and determination of Martie MacDonell before or since. When difficult conversations about the art came up, she was there to listen and to advise. When getting a tricky interview with a community member needed some extra support, she made it happen. When I was hospitalized for an illness while working in Lima, she made sure I received good care and that I did not leave town in medical debt (no small feat on behalf of a 33-year old uninsured and underemployed theater artist).I, and all of us at Sojourn Theatre, feel extremely lucky to have crossed paths with Martie, to have worked with her, to call her our friend. Sojourn Theatre is nearly twenty years old now, and not a project goes by where we don’t, at some point, refer to an adventure we had, a lesson we learned, in Lima. We know we are just a small part of her vast story, and we are proud. We hold Martie dear in our hearts. We always will.AFTERWORDA Sense of PurposeMichael Rohd Founding Artistic Director, Sojourn Theatre