The ArtBoy Chronicles

Membership was created to help supporters of Windhover Center support Windhover Center.

But, and there is always a big but somewhere around here, when resources are limited membership can be like having a tiger by the tail.

Say you’re a not-for-profit arts organization and you’ve got a good number of loyal members and all want to hear from you. But many arts organizations do not have the resources to be responsive to their member needs. Volunteers are required to administer the membership program, but volunteer hours are limited and typically staffed by more than one volunteer. More than one person doing the same job breeds chaos. “I thought you were handling this!” “I thought you were!!” In the meantime, members are calling wondering where their member cards, renewal reminders, or newsletters are!

All of the above played out at Windhover Center. All are cringe worthy moments. Here are a few other of my “favorite” cringe moments: Some of our best ticket purchasers weren’t members. Why? Cuz they never heard from us. Cringe. Or they did hear from us and it took 2 months to receive their member card! Cringe.

Just say no to Cringe.

With some of the resources that are now available, Windhover Center can now say no to cringe. Hopefully our members have noticed an increase in communication from Windhover. New software is being implemented so we can stay connected with our members like never before. We also have a few more hands helping. Certainly, more qualified hands, such as Jacqui Corsi our new marketing director. Her marketing initiatives have nearly doubled our membership rolls in the first quarter of 2013 alone!

March 29 is indeed, Good Friday. Davina and the Vagabonds make their annual pilgrimage to Fond du Lac this Friday – and it’s got me all wistful….Wistful even a word? Maybe wussful?

The last few blogs were really a tongue in cheek review of Windhover Center’s history. Not everyone is as familiar with the Masons and Gerard Manley Hopkins as a certain anonymous reader, but hopefully the message that all of the current progress is built upon the very early days of the Arts Council. Windhover’s rise to prominence has also been built upon a series of fairly high profile concerts featuring such diverse performers as Eric Bibb, Marcia Ball, Eugene Rousseau, Asleep at the Wheel, Bonerama, and, of course, Davina and the Vagabonds.

In my last blog I promised I would finally answer “what the hell is a Windhover?”

The Windhover is an Archaic name for the common kestrel, so named due to its habit of beating the wind (hovering in air). According to RSPB Handbook of British birds by Holden and Cleeves, the Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel". See the pretty picture below.

Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame established him among the leading Victorian poets. His experimental explorations in prosody (especially sprung rhythm) and his use of imagery established him as a daring innovator in a period of largely traditional verse. His most famous poem is titled…..wait for it……The Windhover. The Windhover is a love poem directed at life itself. Written in 1877, the poem still resonates to this day, and inspired a young Harry Quadracci to soar to great personal heights and to great accomplishments.

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In the first installment of the Artboy Chronicles I teased that I would blog a bit of history – Downtown Fond du Lac Art Center history.

So, here is a short, history of nearly everything.

I was born in the back of a circus wagon in Kalamazoo Michigan and my first memory concerns a clown and a goat…….actually the story goes further back than my blessed birth. Windhover’s story goes all the way back to 1906. You remember 1906? The year that brought you the San Francisco Earthquake, Jack London’s White Fang, the world’s first feature film The Story of the Kelly Gang, and the Masonic Temple on the corner of Sheboygan and Marr St. Yes, I work in a temple. But “my temple” had no heat in 1906. No running water. No elevator. And for the love of god, NO BAR!! All that came later…. running water arrived in the twenties -- everything else in the late nineties.

But I sense your curiosity regarding the Masons. Were they not a secret society dedicated to the destruction of Nicolas Cage? Absolutely. But they are better known for being a fraternal organization with origins in the late 16th to early 17th century that focused on charity and community events. Freemasonry continues to thrive all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million and a still active temple here in Fond du Lac now located at 500 W. Arndt Street.

In 1994, the Fond du Lac Free Masons elderly membership had a difficult time traversing the Grand Staircase to the Great Hall where the majority of rites, ceremonies, and other communal activities took place. To accommodate their older members, the Fond du Lac chapter moved to their present location on Arndt Street.

This is where the arts and a Ten million dollar investment in the heart of downtown Fond du Lac comes in….

With all of the earth-shattering, jack-hammering, street-ripping alterations occurring at Windhover Center, it's been requested that I give you an account of what's happening behind the scenes and blog about the experience. I've always wanted to be a blogger.....ever since yesterday. Since this is the first blog, I need to set some parameters for myself.