Morris & UMM aim for rebound from sleepy summer

Refurbished Edson Auditorium to honor Morrison family further

We're on the doorstep of fall, a season that begins rather like a whiff of smelling salts in this community. Summer here never seemed as quiet as it did in 2018. It wasn't just me feeling this. Prairie Pioneer Days drooped to the point where it appears it will never again be held in summer. PPD has been like a marker for us. It's the midsummer marker in this community. We jump from that to the county fair and then we anticipate fall with its expected signs of renewed life for our community.
We breathe a sigh of relief as normalcy returns for ol' Motown. Our regular friends are more likely to be around. First Lutheran Church used to have one Sunday service in summer before going back to two for fall. The smelling salts worked! But the church retreated, just as PPD has done, and now it has one service year-round. Can we always count on the flower to bloom with the start of fall, that our adrenalin will pump a little more?
We saw the start of Cougar football as an exciting sign of vitality. But then the news reports built up showing we should all turn our backs on football, based on what happens to the players out there. Any sensible person would behave accordingly. If fans stop coming to the games, there will be no more football. Football's last bastion will probably be the U.S. Southeast. We still have high school football.
"Friday Facts" told us about the upcoming "welcome picnic." What I find curious is that this display notice does not mention UMM. It merely announces the "welcome picnic" to be held at East Side Park. (Or is it "Eastside Park?" Both spellings are used.) Down below we read that the purpose is to welcome "new members to our community." We can surmise that the thrust of this is for UMM. Maybe it's a broader celebration of Morris getting back to normal with the many "lake people" now more likely to be around town. Maybe this is the reason why Prairie Pioneer Days is moving to fall next year. Years ago I would have been flabbergasted if anyone told me this was going to happen. PPD was brimming with vitality at one time. Seems to me the early-fall picnic was once actually billed as a "welcome UMM" event, but at age 63 my mind may not be as reliable recalling things.
 
A meal and maybe a performance?
"Friday Facts" says there's a free meal set for the August 27 picnic, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. There's a good chance we'll see the Killoran stage being used by someone. I have lately indicted the decision to even have the stage built. A picnic performance would be a rare example of how it can be used. But if the sun's out, don't look for many people sitting close to the stage. The stage should not have been built unless there was a comprehensive plan to ensure that performances would be enjoyable for all.

The Killoran stage, normally a quiet place

The Killoran stage has something in common with the cemetery chimes that caused a ruckus in this town. City planners would never have envisioned either of these things on their own. These things came into being because of someone wanting to donate them. Such donations are not as clear-cut as they might seem. I once read an op-ed that advised us to be careful about accepting new donated facilities on college campuses, for example an art gallery. The writer actually said "something superfluous like an art gallery." Sorry. Seems like a beneficial thing. However, these facilities require maintenance which can have an appreciable pricetag. I saw a construction crew at the Killoran thing not long ago. New shingles? I'm not sure but it was an appreciable task. The original donors rarely if ever provide money for maintenance. Assuming the city pays for this, is it justified for a structure like the Killoran stage that obviously gets so little use? I present a rhetorical question.
Maintenance wasn't a cost issue with the cemetery chimes but hoo boy, there were other issues. I feel sorry for everyone who had to live close to those things. It was an unnecessary and divisive controversy. Does anyone really miss them? Can you imagine those chimes still there with the big new apartment units right next to the cemetery? I don't know if Ted Storck was forced to remove his chimes. Or, if he was induced by substantial pressure. I was once told he initially offered to donate the chimes to UMM and UMM said "no." Installing them at the cemetery amounted to the same thing.
Mr. Storck feels that news articles about the Manafort trial should not mention Donald Trump. Storck is part of that segment of the U.S. population mesmerized as if so many zombies by Trump.
 
Another unfortunate scheduling conflict
There is a problem with the August 27 date for the welcome picnic - OK let's call it the "welcome UMM" picnic. It's on the same night as the Hope and Healing picnic presented by the funeral home at Pomme de Terre City Park. How do we end up with these schedule conflicts in Morris? Horticulture Night was on the same night as the Irondale marching band's fabulous exhibition at Big Cat Stadium.
I have been to the Hope and Healing picnic once before, after the death of my father. This year unfortunately I'm invited again. My mom died on April 24. I'd like to attend the welcome picnic because of my ties to UMM, but Hope and Healing has to take priority, surely. Each deceased person has a family member say a few words. I'm concerned because there's a good chance I'll choke up right away. After Dad died, I managed to get a few words out. I struggled when trying to speak on behalf of my late aunt Viola at the Glenwood nursing home once.
We will release balloons in honor of our departed loved ones.
 
Dedication event set at UMM
Another event I have on my calendar is for September 21 at UMM. This is the dedication for something new on campus, although I'm not exactly sure what it involves. I do know its name. It's another facility, in addition to the art gallery (not superfluous) that will have the Morrison name. It's in the building where we find Edson Auditorium. Edson Auditorium will apparently retain its name. That name represents a connection to UMM's WCSA past. The Morrison name will adorn something called a "performing arts center" at that building. I scratch my head though.

Liz (left) and Helen Jane Morrison

How is the Morrison facility to be differentiated from Edson Auditorium? The auditorium, as the place is now configured, has non-arts things around it. We have the cafe, we have Oyate and we have a student lounge. What exactly will be encompassed in the performing arts center? I'd appreciate some edification. (I remember being on the sidelines at Ithaca NY next to a UMM football parent who had a camera, and he said he was just taking pictures for his own "edification.")
I hate to have my cynical impulses rewarded on this. I'm wondering if the whole thing is rather nebulous and being put forward mainly to get more exposure for a name that is associated with money being donated to UMM.
I first heard about the Edson Hall project from someone who said the money was coming from an anonymous donor. Was the anonymity cancelled? I have to wonder if we might be getting a little overkill with the Morrison name at UMM. No disrespect intended obviously.
 
What could have been
Once I got the news about the Morrisons, I emailed Jim Morrison to tell him that had I known about the Edson project from the outset, I might have tried to outbid his family. Ha ha. Nice joke, eh? Oh, but I wasn't kidding, I really wasn't. My father directed concerts at Edson before the HFA was built. He was the only music faculty in UMM's historic first year. He did more than his contract called for - don't tell the union. The historic UMM men's chorus presented unforgettable concerts at Edson and put out a record album.
I have told people that had I purchased naming rights, I might do something unconventional. I might actually suggest calling the place "Williams/Johnson" because those were the two early mainstays in UMM music. The Johnson family would have to approve their name being second. My father would not be ecstatic about this because I think some of the typical professional friction or rivalry between the two existed. It's all over academia. My sense on the issue is political and about what is proper, something instilled in me through years in journalism which puts you at a realistic and even cynical plane. Jim Morrison would understand as he and I were journalistic colleagues for a long time.
Well congratulations Jim and to Helen Jane - you'll get well-deserved increased visibility now. The Morrisons were in the group of community people who were vigilant in ensuring that UMM would sprout. And then my dad and others came here to make the launch reality. And I was just a little kid who most people thought wasn't supervised well enough. I remember "Charlie the cop" on campus with his neighborly demeanor. Quaint, in contrast with the totally "by the book" campus security of today. I know what motivates that: our litigious society. Back in 1961 we were more like Mayberry.
I remember the snow sculptures on the campus mall in winter. The mall was flat then, so we could enjoy the hippies flying kites on the mall in spring - the most surefire sign of spring! I watched basketball games at the P.E. Annex. I sat in on a Vietnam protest "moratorium" at Edson.
I know a lot about UMM for never having attended there. And that's a curse I will always carry, that I didn't attend UMM. I suppose there are some psychological reasons. Frankly I would have had trouble with math/science requirements. I'm proud to say I played with the UMM band back in '68 or '69, as a "ringer" from the public school. That technically makes me a UMM band alum. I was in the band for graduation. My life became less happy after that, sorry. Well, you all have your own problems.
 
Man, will I look proper?
The invitation to the dedication of the Morrison thing, whatever it is, says we should dress in "cocktail attire." (Expletive) didn't they realize that alcohol-motivated behavior and language are archaic? I don't drink so I don't really know where they're coming from. A hillbilly like me has to be careful attending an event like this.
A program is set for 3 p.m. on September 21. We will hear the Morrisons extolled again. Ed Morrison has departed for that big newspaper office in the sky. We'll honor Helen Jane and Jim.
At the dedication of the art gallery (not superfluous), I think I was the only Sun-Tribune person there outside of the Morrisons themselves. I was proud to have that distinction.
We indeed are on the threshold of a brand spanking new academic year. An informed source tells me there is cause for worry about the expected UMM enrollment. Between 1400 and 1500? Man, I remember when the goal was 2000 and I think we at least flirted with that. The overall question is: Will Morris resume its normal level of activity for fall, to rebound from the always-sleepy summertime? That's the theme of this post, folks. Smelling salts at the ready.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com