Community

As we soon approach Veteran’s Day, I’ve been thinking about what it means to support our veterans. I have never served in the military, although I have friends and family whose spouses were those who served. And although I will never personally know what they went through, I feel that the best way to support them is to recognize their sacrifices.  

Before I was born, my dad had enlisted in the Army National Guard. He and my mom were stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in the early 1960s during the Berlin crisis. Although my father never talked about this time in his life, my mother told me that one night my dad and his unit were boarded on military trains and waited for several hours to be deployed to Berlin. I often think back on her words and wonder how I would have handled it. I know I would have been frightened. I know I would have been frantically worried about my newly married husband’s safety. I know I would have anxiety about what I wasn’t being told and worried about the unknown future. I think about my dad too.

On this Veteran’s Day, I hope that when we think of the actual “veteran,” we can look past our preconceived notions and see the real individual. People rarely empathize with titles, but when we look at that one person and listen to them, we see our similarities; we see what makes us all human. I believe that when we empathize, we begin to understand the need to support our veterans truly. Every veteran and their families have their own stories, their fears, and their sacrifices. I believe that they only want to be heard and acknowledged.

Maybe it’s just a sign of the times, but I often wonder if the things we say “we are doing to support veterans” are just to support ourselves instead. In 2015, Sioux Falls renamed a road, “Veterans Parkway.” Their sole reason for the rename was for the following: “For people that are new to Sioux Falls, they would see that it’s Veteran’s Parkway, and that would demonstrate the high regard we have for veterans here in Sioux Falls,” Councilman Kermit Staggers said. (the Mitchell Republic, Jul 15th, 2015) I understand that image has become an essential factor in promoting a community, but I wonder how veterans of the Sioux Falls area feel about this? When they drive down this road, do they think that our community is supporting them? 

So how can we truly support our veterans? The simplest way is to get to know veterans in your inner circle: your neighborhood, church, or employment. Then ask them how you can show your appreciation. Tell them why you want to show your appreciation. I’ve found that there is one thing that most veterans have all sacrificed – their time. During their service, they needed to put their life plans on hold. Ask them what they would have been doing if they had not served. Get to know the person within the uniform. 

The following websites may give you some ideas as well.

https://www.military.com/veterans-day/8-ways-to-express-appreciation-on-veterans-day.html

https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org

The veteran is not the only member of a family to sacrifice their time to serve. Parents, spouses, and children also made sacrifices, while their loved one was serving the country. They are the primary caregiver when the veteran returns home. If you know of a veteran family in need, the following website has resources for housing, dental, child care, etc.

VeteransFamiliesUnited.org

https://www.military.com/memorial-day/support-troops-and-families.html

I’ll end this post by asking readers to do something. When you thank a veteran for their service tomorrow, think of them as a person; a person who chose to make sacrifices so that you can live your life uninterrupted in the United States. Thank you.  

My initial fascination with Frank Lloyd Wright’s design began when I worked for a Sioux Falls stained glass company. For those acquainted with stained glass design, the element of line is essential, and it is “line” that brings repetition, movement, and rhythm to these refractive compositions. As a designer and stained glass artisan, I soon recognized that Wright had an innate ability to use lines to bring nature into their most basic geographic forms. FLW also connected his design philosophy directly to nature; his belief was, “A building can only be functional when integral with the environment and so formed in the nature of materials according to purpose and method as to be a living entity.” This philosophy of “form should follow function” is one that I strive to use in my designs.

Wright used the repetition of squares connected with lines to depict the theme of hollyhocks. He consistently used “strips” of glass to represent the stems of flora.

Wright used repeating chevron motifs to represent the prairie sumac or the pendant flowers of the wisteria.

Wright used softened hues of nature: golden hues and muted green colors. However, he also incorporated the unexpected jewel tones of purple and turquoise.

The “tree of life” motif was one of Wright’s most typical designs, which suggests a tree’s upward branching.

Although straight lines rarely occur in nature, Wright used this motif to combine natural hues and shapes to create a formal, symmetrical composition.

In the past, I struggled to find a balance between too little or too much editing. I sometimes have felt the need to use all of my ideas, and as a result, I created a confusing message to the audience. The designs of FLW have reminded me of the importance of reducing structures to their simplest forms. If a shape, typography, color, etc. is not for the purpose (or functionality) of the design, (e.g., to reach a target audience), it should be removed. As a media design student, FLW’s thoughts about design have inspired many of my printed and web-based projects.

Growing up in Sioux Falls, SD, I have taken for granted the numerous parks and statues for which my city is known. One of these parks, Fawick Park, is one of the most notable and has been a topic of controversy. On my daily commute through downtown Sioux Falls, I would find myself glancing at the statue of David and began to wonder who the person that this park was named?

Thomas L. Fawick, born in Sioux Falls in 1889, was an inventor and engineer of 300 patents, a composer, and a musician. Although he never went beyond the 7th grade, his accomplishments are incredible. At the age of 11, he taught himself to play the violin. And at the age of 19, he designed and built the country’s first four-door automobile.
The “Fawick Flyer” was one of the first automobiles built in the US. Early auto builders could use any materials and place the steering wheel on either side. Fawick put the steering wheel on the right side and used aluminum rather than steel. Considering that the speed limit in Sioux Falls at that time was seven mph, the “Fawick Flyer” was probably named so since it could travel at 60 mph. Only eleven of these automobiles were built in a workshop on West 13th Street in Sioux Falls, SD. The first “Fawick Flyer” is currently located in the lobby of the Old Courthouse Museum.

In addition to Fawick’s automobile endeavors, he also contributed to the WWI and WWII war efforts when he designed clutches for amphibious landing crafts, tractors, and ships. Most notable are the clutches he created for warships, which could reverse these massive ships’ direction in ten minutes. During WWI, England purchased 900 tractors that Fawick had designed.

As I reviewed the extensive list of Fawick’s additional designs, I found that he was a designer who focused on each of his projects’ functionality. Whether creating rubber components for industrial machinery or rubber grips for golf clubs, Fawick’s designs always centered around the targeted purpose. Also, a gifted musician and composer, Fawick created a method for aging the wood used for his violin designs. Many of his designs are still used in manufacturing today.

Other designers and inventors, including Michelangelo, influenced Thomas Fawick. In the early 1970s, he donated the statue of David, which resides in Fawick Park and the Moses statue, located on the campus of Augustana College. According to Paavo Rasmussen, an educational assistant at the Old Courthouse Museum, Fawick wanted to thank the city of Sioux Falls for the support he received when he was a young automobile designer.

I’m hoping that the readers of this post realize that I have taken GREAT literary liberties in the title of this essay. As an assistant to a master framer for the past five years, I can assure readers that nothing could be farther from the truth. On the contrary, framers are given the privilege to shortly peer into other people’s lives and create a safe place for keepsakes and create displays for admired works of art. From personal experience, I can attest that even the most strongly refrained framers cannot help but smile in admiration when seeing an original Harvey Dunn sketch or a Carl Grupp lithograph.

During this time of COVID-19, however, I’m reminded of the times I assisted Mary Selvig in handling and framing several historically significant art pieces. First, we planned; we laid out the tools and materials needed and also thought about how we were going to flip or turn the art safely. To assure that no oil or foreign substance touched these pieces, vinyl or white cotton gloves were worn. We never talked while working on these art pieces since we knew that this seemly harmless action could direct accidental water droplets onto these expensive artworks. (We were probably smiling on the inside.) Although the silence could be a little awkward at times, we altered our behavior because it was – necessary. Necessary, because we were entrusted with these valuable items which could not be replaced.

Currently, I feel like I’m being bombarded with “social distancing” limitations; it’s awkward, and I’m being asked to alter my behavior and go outside my comfort zone. But looking back on the responsibility of framing those precious keepsakes, I can see the similarities to the responsibilities of social distancing. This time, however, I am being entrusted with the most valuable and irreplaceable type of artwork – those people within my community.

Each year around the first of May, I could hear music and announcers from the “Avera Race for a Cure” event but never really knew much about this event. I live in a neighborhood which is about a mile from the Avera Wellness Center and once a year, on a Saturday in May, I would listen to the preparation announcements, music and tributes to those who were participating in this activity; but since I didn’t live on the route, I had no idea as to the large numbers of people who ran or walked in this event.

This year, I began to walk on Bahnson Avenue heading south toward 41st Street. There were a few people who lined the street waiting for the racers to pass, but I wondered if I had missed the race since only two or three runners were actually on the street. The intersection of Bahnson an d 41st Street had been blocked off, but as I began to turn right onto 41st to the Avera Wellness Center, one of the volunteers advised me to walk on the other side of 41st since “the runners are coming.” The front runners looked like they had obviously participated in other marathon events, but as I watched the runners that followed, I was amazed at the diversity of this group.

As I experimented with my camera aperture, the runners kept coming over the hill from the Avera Wellness Center. Seeing the multitudes of pink tutus and the runner’s expressions of camaraderie reminded me that this event is not about the race itself but coming together as a community.