Tag: Northwest Michigan Folklife Center

By Gretchen Eichberger of the Northwest Michigan Folklife Center

Editor’s Note: Gretchen, along with Tim Joseph of the Spirit of the Woods Music Association, organized the 3-part concert series “Well May the World Go” to honor the legacy of folk music icon and social activist Pete Seeger (1919-2014). Gretchen and Tim graciously offered to donate the proceeds of these events to FLOW, and we are honored to be a part of the great community that has come together to celebrate Seeger’s legacy. Read Gretchen’s blog on her site here. All photos credit Gretchen Eichberger.

This simple white building, perched atop a hill in northern rural Manistee county is the humble home of some of the sweetest community gatherings I’ve yet to witness. Within these four walls, ideas are discussed, music is made and strong community connection are formed. This past Saturday night, citizens gathered to sing out together honoring the legacy of Pete Seeger.

Brown Town Hall in Manistee, MI

Every chair in the hall was occupied. People stood in the kitchen lulling babies to sleep, sipping tea, and clearing platters from the potluck. The Nephews- Tim and Bryon Joseph along Marlene Zylstra opened the evening with a rousing rendition of WELL MAY THE WORLD GO. And the people sang out with them. The singing was spirited and soulful, sincere and peaceful. It filled our hearts and brought smiles upon each face.

The jubilant crowd

Well may the world go,
The world go, the world go,
Well may the world go,
When I’m far away.

Well may the skiers turn,
The swimmers churn, the lovers burn
Peace, may the generals learn
When I’m far away.

Sweet may the fiddle sound
The banjo play the old hoe down
Dancers swing round and round
When I’m far away.

Fresh may the breezes blow
Clear may the streams flow
Blue above, green below
When I’m far away

The songs continued, led by veteran song leaders along with presentations by young and flourishing musicians Jaimie Herbert, Galen Grabowski and Marley Jablonski. Jaime sang her original songs that inspired authenticity and celebration. Galen introduced the Beehive Design Collective, an artistic group that creates graphics, share stories, tours, connects with local to global efforts, and shapes our collective experience together. Marley led the group in a joyous singing of our second National Anthem by Woody Guthrie, THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND.

Galen

Jaimie

Marley

Seasoned folk musicians Victor McManemy and Carol Voights led in HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING, SOMOS EL BARCO, RAINBOW RACE, and  I CAN SEE A NEW DAY.  Stories and poems were sprinkled between the songs with Victor sharing his encounters with Pete, as well as his song experience as a song leader with Green Peace. Carol read her original poetry honoring Nelson Mandela and Pete Seeger, and Byron Joseph read excerpts from a Pete Seeger biography.

Carol Voights sings out

Victor

John Storms-Rohm sang the lyrical OLD DEVIL TIME.

John Storms-Rohm

The evening concluded with the Nephews and Marlene returning to the stage for a emotional TURN TURN TURN AND WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? We all bookended the evening with WELL MAY THE WORLD GO. Trevor Hobbs and John Storms Rohm accompanied the ensemble on keyboard.

Marlene with The Nephews

The people stood together applauding one another. Chairs were quickly stacked and stored, dishes were gathered, and we all departed energized and happy. Donations were accepted at the door, with proceeds benefitting FLOW for Water. And so… the legacy of Pete Seeger lives on. We are spreading the word of social justice, and speaking and singing out against pollution which is crucifying our noble and beautiful Great Lakes. It is through this gentle force of goodness and our courageous acts of citizenship that we strive to make our world better for our future generations. You can join in the singing on March 23 at the Mills Community House in Benzonia, and on Sunday, April 13 at the Inside Out Gallery in Traverse City.

By Gretchen Eichberger of the Northwest Michigan Folklife Center

Editor’s Note: Gretchen, along with Tim Joseph of the Spirit of the Woods Music Association, organized the 3-part concert series “Well May the World Go” to honor the legacy of folk music icon and social activist Pete Seeger (1919-2014). Gretchen and Tim graciously offered to donate the proceeds of these events to FLOW, and we are honored to be a part of the great community that has come together to celebrate Seeger’s legacy. Read Gretchen’s blog on her site here. All photos credit Gretchen Eichberger.

Throughout the nation and around the world, people are gathering to celebrate the life and legacy of Pete Seeger.  A revered folk musician and activist, Mr. Seeger championed for many environmental causes and social justice. He believed in the power of song and the power of community.   Here in northwest lower Michigan, we are rallying together to keep Pete’s spirit and cause alive, as there is so much to work for in THIS PLACE. The spirit of community  filled the century old Mills Community House with the songs, stories and poetry honoring legendary folk music musician and activist, Pete Seeger.   Approximately 120 people filled in the late afternoon.   As the concert ended,  the light of the setting sun poured in through the windows.

Singing out at the Mills

This series of concerts could not come at a more timely fashion.  Along with celebrating the life of this American icon,  the concert series is taking donations at the door, with proceeds benefiting FLOW for Water.    Flow’s mission is to advance Great Lakes policies that protect our common waters.  Flow educates decision makers and communities about the public trust doctrine and the commons as a ways to protect the priceless Great Lakes.  We were fortunate to have both Liz Kirkwood and Jim Olson, of FLOW to share the organization’s important work. Jim spoke of the work of late Joseph Sax, a University of Colorado law professor.

Sax asked:  “How come there’s no public dimension to natural resource law, and the public who uses these areas and actually owns most of them doesn’t have a say in what goes on? His answer, in 1970, was “The Public Trust Doctrine in Natural Resource Law:  Effective Judicial Intervention,” in the Michigan Law Review — a piece that went on to become one of the most influential law review articles ever.   To read a about Joseph Sax’s quest, click here.

The final concet of this series (although we hope there will be more) is slated for 3:00 pm, Sunday, April 13 at the INSIDE OUT GALLERY in the Warehouse District, Downtown Traverse City.  We welcome all singers, poets, and storytellers to sign up to lead and inspire and build community. Please visit this page to be part of this project.

FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood and FLOW Founder and President Jim Olson speak to the group about the public trust doctrine and the commons as a way to protect our great lakes

http://fox17online.com/2014/03/25/bp-confirms-oil-spill-into-lake-michigan-from-whiting-refinery/#zdeo6c59ezxkXu8E.01

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/25/294454330/bp-says-oil-spill-in-lake-michigan-has-been-contained 

Luan shares her encounters with Pete Seeger

A captivated audience for John

A heart-felt thank you to all the musicians, storytellers, poets who shared their voices with us. Tim Joseph, Marlene Woods, Victor MacManemy, Luan Lechler, Renee Herman, Carol Voights, Ingemar and Lisa Johansson, Sue and Gary Wood, Marley Jablonski-Demers, John Storms-Rohm, Fred Kraimer, Patrick Niemsto, Tim Burke, Barbara Stowe, and Michael Hughes.

A trio of powerful women before the show

Carol on accordion and John on mandolin

Jacob Wheeler of the Betsie Current inquiries with Jim Olson, Founder of FLOW

By Gretchen Eichberger of the Northwest Michigan Folklife Center

Editor’s Note: Gretchen, along with Tim Joseph of the Spirit of the Woods Music Association, organized the 3-part concert series “Well May the World Go” to honor the legacy of folk music icon and social activist Pete Seeger (1919-2014). Gretchen and Tim graciously offered to donate the proceeds of these events to FLOW, and we are honored to be a part of the great community that has come together to celebrate Seeger’s legacy. Read Gretchen’s blog on her site here. All photos credit Gretchen Eichberger.

THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AROUND…… BY SONJA…

The INSIDE OUT GALLERY was the site for the final concert of the WELL MAY THE WORLD GO  concert series.  We sincerely hope there are more, as all around the nation and world, people continue to gather and pay tribute to Pete Seeger.  Sponsored by Spirit of the Woods Music Association, Northwest Michigan Folklife Center, and Institute for Sustainable Living Art and Natural Design, these concerts celebrated the life and legacy of Pete Seeger, a champion for civil rights and environmental protection.

FLOW for Water was our beneficiary, and we are proud to say that through these concerts,  generous financial support was raised for their mission of protecting our Great Lakes.

Regional folk music artists Robin Lee Berry, Ingemar and Lisa Johannsen, Tim Joseph, Byron Joseph, Patrick Niemisto, Norm Wheeler, Luan Lechler, Sonja Shoup, Glenn Wolf, John Storms Rohm,  Tim Burke, Marley Demers, Peacemeal, Bob Downs, Frank Youngman, Michael Hughes, and Victor McManemy along with many others, turned out to lead the Traverse City community in a high energy afternoon of singing and activisim.  The singing built more emotional ties and harmonies- literally and figuratively.  It appears we as a people in this little pocket of Michigan are a strong unit  – proud and strong of our homeland and the waters that give us life.

At the halfway mark, Liz Kirkwood, Executive Director of FLOW for Water and it’s Founder, Jim Olson, spoke to us about their work.  They are truly folk heros, working for our common good, educating the PEOPLE about the PUBLIC TRUST.

A sincere THANK YOU to everyone who came to sing out , contribute their hard earned money, build community and advocate for our most precious natural resource – WATER.

I recently  stumbled upon the most recent issue of The Sun, and I wish to include this interview excerpt by Howard Jay Rubin with Pete Seeger in 1981 for The Sun magazine. The interview was reprinted in the 2014. April/May issue

HR: Do you think we’re really making progress in this fight against pollution?

PS:  To a certain extent we kid ourselves by thinking we are having successes.  Perhaps we are only slowing down inevitable disaster.  It’s perfectly possible. T.S. Elliot says  “This is the way the world ends/  Not with a bang but a whimper.”

Maybe we’ll just poison ourselves to death.  On the other hand who knows?  We have made progress.  The middle Hudson is swimmable now, where it was not swimmable ten years ago.  And now CLEARWATER is trying to organize a petition campaign in New Jersey and New York State to demand that the cleanup be continued, no slowed down simply because President Reagan wants to balance the budget a little better. There are lots of ways to balance the budget. It’s going to take about 1 billion more to complete the sewage plants along the Hudson, and that’s a lot of money.  It’s five dollars for every man, woman, and child  in the USA.  But we spend a couple of billion dollars on sking; we spend a couple of billlion on T-Bone steaks and fancy foods; we spend more than a couple of billion on vacation homes for our well-to-do people, and several billion dollars on pleasure and boating and trips.  Don’t let anybody tell you that America cannot afford $1 billion to make the water that flows past the Statue of Liberty swimable again.

LOOKING DOWN FROM PYRAMID POINT, LAKE MICHIGAN – LATE APRIL 2014