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Next on Heartland Highways � we�re ending season 11 with a look at three very different
groups and places. The first story�s a ringer as we learn all about the Illinois State Horse
Shoe Pitcher�s Association. Then we�ll treat you to a special behind-the-scenes look
at a colorful show that visited Eastern Illinois University�s own Doudna Fine Arts Center.
And finally we revisit the Lilly House and Gardens in Indianapolis. That�s coming up
so stay tuned! [music]
>>Kate: Here we are for our final episode of Season 11 here on Heartland Highways. >>Lori:
We�ve got an eclectic collection of stories for you today that range from a one man show
to a historic house. >>Kate: But first we meet a group you might not hear of every day.
Our guest storyteller this week is Kacie Berry, a graduate student here at WEIU. >>Lori: Kacie
introduces us to the Illinois State Horseshoe Pitchers Association, a group keeping the
traditional game fresh and fun. >>Kate: They meet in various places throughout the state
and even host a state tournament every year. Take a look.
>>Floyd: So I started throwing shoes when I was 9-year-old.
>>Kacie: While Floyd Tenill began pitching at a young age, Joel Hicks didn't start pitching
horse shoes until he was a little older. >>Joel: I've been throwing horse shoes for
about 11 years now. Started in a guy's backyard, just started throwing, and I went to a couple
of small tournaments and realized there's a lot of people throwing in major tournaments.
So I got me a card and I started throwing in them.
[horseshoe clinking metal rod] >>Kacie: But Hicks isn't the only pitcher
in his family. His wife, Chris Hicks, throws a few shoes herself.
[horseshoe clinking metal rod] >>Joel: She beats me all the time, let's put
it that way. I used to beat her, and then, see, she's only been throwing three years
and she's been the state champion the last three years. She caught right on to it and
she hasn't looked back since she caught on to it, either.
>>Kacie: Now regardless of how many more points his wife scores than him, Hicks says only
one thing is important. >>Joel: Oh we have fun doing it, as long as
I stay out of her way when she's throwing. She gets a little serious when she's throwing.
I've gotta stay out of her way. (laughs)
>>Kacie: But it's not all fun and games. Some people who come out play to win. Scoring can
get a bit complicated when pitching horse shoes, but George Huntington breaks it all
down. >>George: You get three points for a ringer
and one point for a closed shoe. And when you both throw, we normally play a game called
cancellation. So, my opponent throws a ringer and I throw a ringer, there's no score. So
if there's a close shoe, then someone gets a close shoe. And on our website, we have
a calling code that everybody utilizes so everybody's on the same page. But when you
throw back and forth, if you tie on ringers, there's no points. It's when you don't tie
that you gain your points. >>Kacie: Huntington says preparation for tournaments
is key. >>George: Well what I like to do is I don't
pitch the day before. It's just something that in all my sports, I like to just, kinda,
cool it. But you work on timing. Timing is a big thing in any sport. In horse shoes,
timing is almost everything. If you don't have timing ... (shakes head) ... ya know.
And on our website, it'll tell ya that when you're first starting out in horse shoes,
you've gotta have the shoe land open and flat. That's your first order of business. Then
you worry about hitting the stake, 'cause if the shoe comes in there sideways, you're
not going to get a ringer, and that's the idea ... to get ringers.
>>Joel: I just try to get loose and, you gotta remember not to get all tensed up when you
get out there. Just go out there and have fun. That's the best way to do it. Just go
out there and throw like you're gonna have some fun ... 'cause you get all tensed up,
and you start throwing all over the place and everything ... but that's the best thing
... just loosen yourself up and have fun. >>Kacie: And several pitchers throw their
hands and make some big points. >>Joel: I'm right at 40% ... a lot of these
people out in these first three courts here, I mean, they throw 70 and 80%. There some
of the best throwers we have in Illinois, matter of fact.
>>Kacie: But to get there takes a lot of practice. >>Joel: You figure, we practice three or four
times a week, me and my wife do, and we'll throw 200 to 300 shoes a night, so that's
about what you throw here is two to 300 shoes. No we're kinda used to throwin' that many
shoes, so it's not so bad. When it gets real hot, it's a little bit harder, but like days
like today it's great. Sit out her and throw ... I could sit out here and throw all day
and it wouldn't bother me. >>Kacie: So you may be wondering ... how much
does it cost to pitch horse shoes? >>George: It's a fairly cheap sport. Horse
shoes cost about 50 to 70 bucks. So, that's about it.
>>Floyd: There's no thing ... no other sport that's as cheap as horse shoes is, as far
as playing and entering and things like that, so ...
>>Joel: It's a good sport for the older people and younger people because there's not a lot
of physical, you know, there is some physical to it, but it's not enough ... an older person
can do it and throw 40 to 50 shoes at a game and rest a little bit and go throw out and
throw 40 more and you get a lot of walking exercise.
>>Kacie: Huntington says he gets in as much pitching time as possible.
>>George: In national league tournaments, I get in about maybe 3 a month, but I pitch
about 5 or 6 days a week. I have a court in my backyard ... full concrete and everything.
I only pitch for like November ... December ... then I go south for three months and I
pitch where it's warmer. (laughs) >>Kacie: Hicks and Huntington say the more
they get involved, the more friends they make ... and the more friends they can bring along,
the more fun they'll have. >>George: You try to introduce them, let them
pitch some, ya know? And they'll ... well a lot of times they'll say, 'Well this is
not too bad.' And the people are great, so it's like campers. You don't hardly find a
bad apple. >>Joel: All the people we've ever met are
just so nice, and just like they've known you ... everybody's known you your whole lifetime,
you know? They're just that nice of people. >>Kacie: So how can you get involved?
>>Floyd: Get you a pair of shoes and come out and the courts are always open any time
you want to play, practice, or whatever to get started. And like they say, practice makes
perfect. >>Joel: Get on the Illinois Horse Shoe Pitchers
Association website ... and that will give you all the information about where horse
shoes are being thrown in your area and who you need to talk to about it. Anybody who's
interested, we'd be more than happy to get them started in it, for sure.
>>Lori: In the winter of 2013, Eastern Illinois Universities Doudna Fine Arts Center hosted
the national preview tour of Kaleidescopika: The Art of unfolding. This stage presentation
is the creative fusion of the Cordis Ensemble and the Lehrer Dance Company. The result is
a visually stunning show that combines music, dance, lights, Ariel arts and multimedia.
Dwight Vaught, Director of the Doudna Fine Arts Center brings us this story.
[music] >>Jon: I want to leave the audience with a
sensory experience like they�ve never felt before. In every sense.
[music] >>Richard: Whenever you come in, whether it�s
your birthday or you�re dealing with some darker things, whatever it is that brought
you to the theater you�re in that by the time you leave everyone is on the same page.
Everyone has the same feeling; the same energy. That�s what we want to bring.
>>Dwight: Those are the words of Jon Lehrer and Richard Grimes, the creative forces behind
Kaleidescopika. The show is a combination of live music by the Cordis ensemble and contemporary
dance and aerialists from the Lehrer Dance Company. How these two groups came together
to form this show, was really by accident. >>Jon: It�s very interesting how this came
about. I�ll start there and then I�ll give you my input on the name and stuff. We
were performing at a showcase in Pennsylvania at one of those presenter showcases where
you go and get bookings. And we did our little thing and then they have cocktail parties
afterwards where you schmooze and stuff and Richard came up to me at that cocktail party
and he told me about this thing that he had this idea for; Kaleidescopika. He wanted cordis
to be more than cordis. He wanted to create a bigger show but he needed a dance company,
he needed a dance company and he couldn�t do it. He said, he came and saw us at the
showcase and said you guys are it. You�re exactly what we�re looking for. The funny
thing is this, he didn�t come to see us. He came to see the company that was on before
us. I won�t say who they were, but he was sent there by various people to look at this
other company for Kaleidescopika and once he saw us he said, �no, no, no, it�s gotta
be Lehrer Dance.� >>Richard: So when I saw Jon�s showcase,
I turned to the agent I was with, not Meredith but our other agent and I said, �That�s,
this is the one.� And I went to Jon the next day and I proposed the project to him
and I shared some of the music with him and he got back to me later that night and game
on! [music]
>>Jon: I then dove into it artistically with Richard to create what it actually will be.
And what that is for us is that whole thing of Kaleidescopika uh for me definitely starts
with the visual of a kaleidoscope. The idea that different shapes are unfolding and folding
before your eyes and that we�re adding the artistic integrity to that by combining dance,
music, aerial arts, and tremendous lighting. We�re bringing four things together to become
something than any of them can be by themselves. And that to me is the art of unfolding, so
this one thing unfolds like it cannot by itself. >>Dwight: The four piece Cordis ensemble is
based in Boston. They are known for their contemporary chamber music and unusual instrument
choices, like the cymbolim, which is the national instrument of Hungary.
>>: The cymbolim is a zither type instrument. In the U.S. we have Appalachian dulcimer which
is a smaller type of zither, it�s just stretched horizontal string.
>>Dwight: Small hammer hitting a string. >>: Yeah, hammer with cotton on wood hitting
the string. Sometimes in the Middle East, the zithers they play there are called quantums,
they pick them with plastic picks. Either way, it�s all kind of from the same mother
lode. I play an electric cymbolim, it�s not, and that is the only one in the world.
We had that designed, I had it designed for the group and it kind of fits in with the
texture of what we sound like so I play an electric cymbolim. Um you go down the line
to Andrew Miel, who is our percussionist, and that�s one of the largest percussion
setups in North America. It�s enormous. You go down the line one step further and
you have Jeremy Harmon who plays electric and acoustic cello. Um so that kind of grounds
the group. It�s not some crazy instrument, you know what that. He plays electric which
is kind of crazy, but he plays acoustic too um so it brings it back to something familiar.
And then at the end of the line is Brian O�Neill. He plays piano, he plays keyboard and once
again it�s a standard instrument that you recognize, but so we have a little bit new
and little bit familiar. >>: The Cordis kind of has its double side.
So we have our acoustic side and we have our electric side. So it�s a traditional setup
of 88 key piano and keyboards, synthesizer and that type of thing, so.
>>Dwight: The Lehrer Dance Company, based out of Buffalo New York consists of 8 dances,
4 men and 4 women. Their style has been described as organically athletic.
>>Jon: Both the men and the women are very strong and can do amazing things. But what
we do with this athleticism is we make it very organic. So we always say it�s the
approach of modern dance combined with the athleticism and virtuosity of jazz and ballet.
And we combine those things together to create a hybrid form that has really become our signature
and we call it organic athleticism. >>Rachael: You know, I have classical ballet
training whereas Teddy breakdances and Kurt tap dances, so every day I think with him
and with each other we are feeding off this immense amount of passion for dance whatever
style I think we chose to be in. So I think that�s what really sets us apart is how
different we are from, each and every one of us from each other and from uh any other
company really. [music]
>>Dwight: The music of Cordis and the aesthetic of Lehrer work well together. However dancing
to live music is a challenge that both groups embrace.
>>Jon: Just like anything live, they may take liberties on certain things that aren�t
in that studio recording so, �wait, wait, what just happened here, I thought this was
the� you know so it�s that�s the challenge. So we know and now because we�ve been kinda
working on this for about a year and cultivating it, the dancers and I know that, �okay,
we�re rehearsing to this but we know that some things are going to sound different.�
And there might be extra phrases that weren�t on that recording. We�re ready to do it
and when we get on stage together we have hashed that out, you know. So that�s really
the challenge. But above all, performing to live music is such an amazing thing and uh
to be able to do a whole show that�s based on live music and with them on stage, they�re
not in the pit, they�re right there behind them! It�s just fantastic.
>>:When we bring the dancers and we adjust to them because it�s a lot harder for them
to... If you�re doing a toss, or something like that, you can�t, �could you just
slow down that toss when you toss that person,� �No!� So we have to cognizant of that
and I think my percussion background helps with that and having a company of people.
We�re all kind of tuned into that stuff so it�s great and I love having a group
where 75 percent of us are drummers so we�re really clued into stuff with time and really
making sure stuff locks in and adjusting on the fly and that type of thing.
>>Dwight: The performance of Kaleidescopika: in January of 2013 at the Doudna Fine Arts
Center was the national preview tour, meaning this was the first time the show has been
performed outside of their New York home. >>: Nothing can replace that raw energy of
doing something for the first time. And when you have a group of professionals that are
so skilled at their individual craft, that no matter what, that energy�s going to shine
through in this show and it�s very exciting for us to to actually be on the road with
the show and seeing where it�ll go. >>Rachael: I think the intensity that we feel
when we�re dancing and this passion that we have for this movement that we�re given,
as well as this incredible sound that we�re surrounded by, especially because we�re
right there on stage with these band members, is so incredible for us to experience as dancers
that we really just want the audience to feel that same amount of passion and excitement
that we bring to the stage or we believe that we bring to the stage.
>>Jon: For us in Lehrer Dance, we strive to bridge the gap between artistry and accessibility.
And really bring them together to create something more than either of them. And that�s what
we believe in in Lehrer Dance, but that�s also what this show does more than we could
ever do by ourselves. [music]
>>Lori: Now you can watch Heartland Highways online anytime. Check us out on youtube.com/weiutv.
Once you�re there just look for the Heartland Highways playlist which will take you to a
list of full episodes from seasons 7 through 11. And if you subscribe to our channel, you�ll
automatically be notified of when new programs are available to view, so sign up today.
>>Lori: This final story is one of my favorites from season 8. We traveled to Indianapolis
to the Lilly House and Gardens, which is part of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This getaway
within the city offers visitors a chance to experience life as it was during the American
Country Place Era. (Narrator) During the late 1800�s and early
1900�s, well to do businessmen and industrialists constructed expansive country estates as weekend
getaways. Here in the Midwest one of the most notable and well preserved examples still
exists. The estate is really part of uh the country place era uh that began back in the
1890s and continued on until about the onset of World War II. And I think what makes this
property so very special is that it�s almost entirely intact from the way that it was built
uh back in 1912. And uh it�s an expensive properties and 26 acres and total but has
a wide range of types of gardens throughout from the very formal to the very informal.
(Narrator) Two Indianapolis families lived in the house. The Landons were the original
builders and occupants of what they called Oldfields. Um Mr. Landon was involved in the
Indianapolis water company and he and a partner were looking for land that might have served
as a reservoir, but later uh there interests became diverted one might say and they undertook
a land development here on some of the highlands uh nearby and this became a town of Woodstock.
It was about 52 acres originally. Well, Mr. Landon chose to build um in sort of a simplified
French chateau style. So, you�ll see it has some of those typical characteristics
the hipped roof the projected pavilions. At the time the house was built it had a ground
floor entrance that was combined with a stair tower in one of those projecting pavilions.
And all of those are characteristics taken directly from French chateau architecture.
(Narrator) Once the house was completed, landscaping plans were underway that would eventually
provide magnificent views from all directions. The initial layout of the property was done
by a Scotsman uh George McDougal uh who work with the Landon family not only with this
property but a number of other ones here in the north side of Indianapolis. And he laid
out just a general scheme of uh driveways and things to get the family to the house
itself. But, laid out the formal garden uh somewhat like we see today but with some revisions
later on. (Narrator) Designer Perceville Gallagher, who worked for the well-known Olmsted Brothers
Landscape Architects in Brookline Massachusetts, was hired by the Landons to further develop
the property and gardens.Uh he revised the formal garden, uh made it a bit more formal
than it had been before, added some other sculpture elements including the arbors that
are there now, a um a very formal limestone bench. But, the ravine garden was really done
from scratch. That was really just a drainage ditch for the whole property. When it rained
heavily like it did last night here all of that water would have cascaded down the hillside
down into the river below, but he formalized that with a series of curving pathways, put
a bridge over the creek that he created, uh had three pools built all rock lined that
would catch that water and let it cascade down. The land in front of the house was really
quite undifferentiated at the time uh Mr. Gallagher came here and he viewed that as
inappropriate and incomplete. Now there were these open views distant views to the west
that he thought were quite attractive sort of in the home steady tradition of open wilderness
and he wanted something at the front of the house to act as a foil to counter balance
that. And so he created this allee feature out the front that sort of gives structure
and formality and balance you might say. So you have formal to the front and formal to
the rear. And flanking that (LA) were border gardens or strolling gardens that you view
much more close closely. It�s a more intimate setting. You view the plants at a closer distance.
(Narrator) In the early 1930�s, Hugh Landon sold the estate to JK Lilly Junior, grandson
of Col. Eli Lilly, founder of Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals. The Lilly�s became the stewards of the landscape
that the Landons had built and maintained it, but didn�t really change it dramatically.
There were some areas where they made additions. You know there were other buildings built
on the estate and then smaller landscapes developed around them. But, the landscape
around the Oldfield�s residents remained much as Gallagher designed it. (Narrator)
Mrs. Lilly passed away in 1965 and Mr. Lilly the following year. The estate and its furnishing
were donated to the Art Association of Indianapolis by the Lilly children. In 1970, the estate
opened to the public as a museum space for the newly renamed Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Today the IMA campus of 152 acres includes the primary museum building and art galleries,
the Lilly House, the surrounding gardens and more. We think that it offers a visitor an
opportunity to have different sorts of experiences at their IMA visit or sort of rhythms to an
experience. Perhaps someone would go to the main museum to see an exhibit or just see
the permanent collection and then feel like it might be refreshing to have a walk in garden
say or to have the opposite visit the house visit a garden and say, �You know I�d
like to see what American paintings were like from that time period.� I think it really
offers visitors a way to vary their experience. (Narrator) An extensive restoration of the
Lilly House was completed in 2002, which brought the home back to its 1930�s appearance.
Visitors who tour the home today will find eight furnished historic rooms on the main
level. We are fortunate to have the majority of the furniture in the house actually to
have been to have belonged to the Lilly family. Of course, at the time the art museum accepted
the gift in the 1960s the house was furnished and so many of the things transferred directly
into the museums collection. (Narrator) The upper level offers interactive and historical
displays. Throughout the home are incredible views of the gardens and the landscape. And
as you go through the house almost everywhere you look there�s an access that you can
look out upon. Uh the library with the view off to the formal garden, very importantly
that view out the front door or from the family�s bedrooms up on the second floor looking down
that grand (LA), down at the fountain, beyond uh really spectacular views and even out the
backside looking down. Uh Mrs. Landon and Mrs. Lilly later on looked down into that
ravine garden and to me it is one of the best views on the whole property.(Narrator) What
started as a county getaway for two families is now a treasured jewel for everyone to enjoy.
The gardens and grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk and admission to the IMA gallery
and Lilly house is free. It�s a must stop for any nature, art or garden enthusiast.
Well people who come to visit have the opportunity to see uh what that sense of integration between
architecture and landscape was in the American country place era when many many wealthy Americans
built properties with highly developed landscapes and so you can see this aesthetic of combining
different garden experiences of combining different architectural styles with in this
large large type of setting. And it�s quite unusual that uh in an estate of this size
and caliber exists in the middle of the Midwest. Um on the east coast and even out in the west
coast there are many large estates that have been well preserved. But, out here in the
Midwest they are very few. So, for this museum to take this on and uh treasure it as a work
of art, which it really is with it�s architecture and it�s furnishings and it�s landscape
design it is really quite remarkable. Well this closes out another season of Heartland
Highways and it�s been a great journey and we�re so glad you shared it with us. We
hope to see you out there on the heartland highways sometime and remember, every mile
is an adventure. Thanks for watching. [music]