July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Something the community can celebrate (10/13/07)
Editorial
Looking for something to celebrate this weekend?
How about the 40th anniversary of the founding of Arts Place?
Okay, quibblers will point out that it's not the exact anniversary and that the organization had some growing pains that interrupted its early years.
But, just the same, it's transformed itself from a cockeyed dream into the kind of institution other communities envy.
Born in 1967, it was known in those days as the Portland Society for the Arts, a pretty fancy name for what was essentially a film series.
In those pre-cable, pre-video, pre-DVD days, anyone with a hankering for anything more sophisticated than the latest John Wayne movie was pretty much out of luck. You not only couldn't find that sort of fare in Jay County. You couldn't find it in Muncie. And you could only rarely find it in Indianapolis. Chicago was your best bet.
In that climate, facing ridiculous odds and the likelihood of being ridiculed, the film series was born.
It helped immeasurably that Skip Mallers and local banker John Jaqua Jr. were involved. John brought the energy and the capital, and Skip's family owned the Hines Theatre, where the series would be shown.
In many ways, those early years were too good to last. And they didn't.
By the early 1970s, the Portland Society for the Arts was dormant. Some would say it was dead, but resurrection was possible.
That came with the help of the Indiana Arts Commission in 1975.
Through a somewhat improbable grant, the arts commission offered communities like Jay County the chance to see college productions of plays and musicals. The theory was that the students needed a broader audience, and communities like Jay County needed some better cultural opportunities.
Before that program had run its course, a guy by the name of Eric Rogers came to town.
Eric was finishing up a project for the Indiana Arts Commission under a federal jobs program and was looking for something new. His proposal was simple. If Jay County could come up with $1,000 in matching funds, its local arts organization - now dubbed the Jay County Arts Council - would have a full-time executive director, him.
Fortunately, there was enough left in the bank account of the old Portland Society for the Arts to make the match possible.
The rest, in many ways, is history.
Eric quickly had success landing additional grants, bringing a batch of artists to the community for several months. Programs were launched - most notably Arts in the Parks - and the performance series was transformed from something two steps away from embarrassment into something to be proud of.
To Jay County's lasting benefit, Eric also made this community his home. And instead of using it as a stepping stone to somewhere larger, he settled in.
That he did so is a tribute both to his vision and to the potential he saw in the rest of us.
The path of progress began humbly, in donated office space above a storefront in downtown Portland. Then to a little green-shingled house on East Walnut Street. Then to the first Center for the Arts, the former I&M building on East Main Street. And finally - with a new name and a more regional vision and mission - to Arts Place in its current location.
Today, it's safe to say that Arts Place is one of the finest facilities of its type in rural America.
Today, it's also safe to say, Arts Place is one of those assets that sets this community apart from the pack and becomes a catalyst for further development.
It's been a remarkable ride and a wonderful adventure.
And who knows what the future will bring? - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
How about the 40th anniversary of the founding of Arts Place?
Okay, quibblers will point out that it's not the exact anniversary and that the organization had some growing pains that interrupted its early years.
But, just the same, it's transformed itself from a cockeyed dream into the kind of institution other communities envy.
Born in 1967, it was known in those days as the Portland Society for the Arts, a pretty fancy name for what was essentially a film series.
In those pre-cable, pre-video, pre-DVD days, anyone with a hankering for anything more sophisticated than the latest John Wayne movie was pretty much out of luck. You not only couldn't find that sort of fare in Jay County. You couldn't find it in Muncie. And you could only rarely find it in Indianapolis. Chicago was your best bet.
In that climate, facing ridiculous odds and the likelihood of being ridiculed, the film series was born.
It helped immeasurably that Skip Mallers and local banker John Jaqua Jr. were involved. John brought the energy and the capital, and Skip's family owned the Hines Theatre, where the series would be shown.
In many ways, those early years were too good to last. And they didn't.
By the early 1970s, the Portland Society for the Arts was dormant. Some would say it was dead, but resurrection was possible.
That came with the help of the Indiana Arts Commission in 1975.
Through a somewhat improbable grant, the arts commission offered communities like Jay County the chance to see college productions of plays and musicals. The theory was that the students needed a broader audience, and communities like Jay County needed some better cultural opportunities.
Before that program had run its course, a guy by the name of Eric Rogers came to town.
Eric was finishing up a project for the Indiana Arts Commission under a federal jobs program and was looking for something new. His proposal was simple. If Jay County could come up with $1,000 in matching funds, its local arts organization - now dubbed the Jay County Arts Council - would have a full-time executive director, him.
Fortunately, there was enough left in the bank account of the old Portland Society for the Arts to make the match possible.
The rest, in many ways, is history.
Eric quickly had success landing additional grants, bringing a batch of artists to the community for several months. Programs were launched - most notably Arts in the Parks - and the performance series was transformed from something two steps away from embarrassment into something to be proud of.
To Jay County's lasting benefit, Eric also made this community his home. And instead of using it as a stepping stone to somewhere larger, he settled in.
That he did so is a tribute both to his vision and to the potential he saw in the rest of us.
The path of progress began humbly, in donated office space above a storefront in downtown Portland. Then to a little green-shingled house on East Walnut Street. Then to the first Center for the Arts, the former I&M building on East Main Street. And finally - with a new name and a more regional vision and mission - to Arts Place in its current location.
Today, it's safe to say that Arts Place is one of the finest facilities of its type in rural America.
Today, it's also safe to say, Arts Place is one of those assets that sets this community apart from the pack and becomes a catalyst for further development.
It's been a remarkable ride and a wonderful adventure.
And who knows what the future will bring? - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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