Overcoming Challenges

Have you ever seen a person who found a way to overcome a challenge that seemed impossible?

It's inspiring, right?

Well, today we're visiting with a few individuals that have found unique ways to overcome their own personal challenges.

In our first story, not only did this individual earn a coveted position in one of the best marching bands in the country, he also became the first blind member to ever accomplish this feat.

Here's a story of Greg Daniel.

I was born three months early.

I was a premature baby.

I was a partially sighted child until I was six years old.

So I know what colors and people and things like that are.

But when I was six, my optic nerve disconnected.

And so I've been totally blind person ever since I've been six years old.

I've loved music all my life.

I was a student at School for the Blind from 1958-68.

And while there, I took six years of piano, one year of organ.

I learned to play my coronet there at the end of freshman year.

I went home to high school for three years and Shelby, Ohio was in the concert band, the choir.

Everything musically I could get my hands on.

I had never marched until I went to Shelby to high school and they said, Hey, would you like to be in the marching band?

So I tried out and they showed me how to march.

And it's like riding a bicycle, you know, you get that feel of the 8 to 5 with your lifting your feet and making those turns.

And I marched part time my sophomore junior year and my senior year I marched pregame and halftime and that's when I first had the idea because I knew I was going to go to Ohio State why don't you try out for the marching band.

My first contact with Greg was a letter that he wrote to me when he was a senior at Shelby High School.

And it's the first time anybody wrote and said, I'd like to be a part of the issue marching band, but I'm totally blind.

Some letters you can answer right away and others you just have to sit and think about it for a while.

And I finally said, Greg, you can come, but you're going to be treated like everybody else.

And he immediately wrote back and said, That's the only way I'm coming.

So that was the start.

We knew that it was going to be a challenge for both of us.

So I showed up for tryouts and the first day we were outside that to learn all the moves.

And of course, Ohio State's marching techniques were all different from what I was used to in high school.

The only thing it was the same was the memorization of music, really.

But when we got outside, they would describe all the things we need to know, like crazy moves that the band makes for when they come on the field for the ramp and things like that.

Somebody would take me aside and show me what those moves were with my feet, my hands.

And those guys had never been around a blind person before, but you never would have known that we have a system and audition system.

You are graded over a period of two days on your marching skills.

You are receiving at least one sit down audition.

We have these grades and we have them on little tags and the tags are up on the board and the director is the one who looks at the tags and with others in the room says, I think this is one we need to cut the marching scores and the playing scores are below average.

And then you get somebody with extremely high playing grades but low marching grades or the other way around.

And you really have to decide what's the potential here.

And with Greg, when it came down to when his name was on the board, the marching grades were there, the playing grades were there.

And it was kind of like, what are we discussing this for?

Because if we believe in our own system now, we know he's limited.

We know he can't do everything that others can do, but he can contribute and let's take it and see what happens.

And he went through it not only the first time, but for years.

He had to qualify every year to stay a member of the band.

And I never wanted to have a marching assistant on the field.

And the mistakes I made weren't mistakes of omission.

They were mistakes of commission.

Because, for instance, for facing movements, I might turn 89 degrees instead of 90.

It was correcting those mistakes.

That was a problem because of course the band moves at 180 beats a minute and correcting any mistake at that speed is difficult.

You really did everything the band did except marching a standard pre-game and halftime show.

Any of the pep rallies on campus?

We used to do script Ohio after football games, we put him in the revolving block "O", and he was about the last one out.

So he didn't have to go around the big O in the H, and the I, in the O and you'd never find Greg in there.

And he wouldn't even say, there's some guy that, you know, he looks like he's lost.

I marched the Rose Parade three years, 73, 74, 75, and the inaugural parade in 1973.

I marched in that, too.

Then I marched all the time during rehearsals, or somebody was absent.

In 1974, and we knew it was going to be Greg's last season in the marching band, and we really wanted to get him on the field for part of a halftime show.

And of course, the formations and the drills are very complicated, but we ended up with one was pretty much a standstill in the finale of the show.

And Greg squad leader came up and said, you know, I have a position right close to the field.

And he said, I could march off and Greg could march on and take my spot.

That day was a big day for me because I knew that was my last game like challenge for three years.

Every week, challenged to try to get on that field.

It was such a big thrill to to march out and finally be a part of the block band and play two songs and march off with the block band.

My last game.

Greg's appearance in the band and his membership.

It showed us that there are some special people and here's somebody who doesn't fit the norm, and he's there.

And a couple of years later, there were women that didn't fit the norm.

We'd been an all male band for almost 100 years, and I think it just opened up our minds to the possibilities that somebody can come in from a different background and still be successful as a member of the band.

Everybody pitched in in the marching band, the military band.

It was a new experience, obviously, for them as well as for me.

I didn't know what to expect.

They didn't know what to expect.

I always wanted to make it and do the things that I could do and go as far as I could.

Go on my own.

But everybody helped me to do it.

From then until now, those are all still my friends and they all pitched in forever to help me enjoy that experience as much as they did.

This was the Woody Hayes era, and Woody said, You can't pay back, but you can pay forward.

Now, let me tell you what Greg has done to pay forward.

He, of course, marched in the band for four years.

He regularly attended the OSU marching band alumni and marched.

Later, Greg was elected president of the TBDBITL alumni club.

All the marching band alumni.

They elected Greg.

He is our we call him president for Life of the Script Ohio Club, which is a fundraising arm.

Several years ago, this group called The Hyper Band, which is band alums, small groups that play at wedding receptions and birthday parties.

Greg coordinates that.

It's an absolute example of what can be done.

Rendville, Ohio was once a thriving coal mining town in Perry County.

Residents left once the coal mining industry went away and the town was mostly abandoned.

But that didn't stop one organization from seeing the potential in an old church.

Architecture Historians Jeff Darbee and Nancy Recchie traveled to Rendville to find out more.

Well, we're headed back to coal country down in the little cities of Black Diamonds region that they once were, 70 communities that were the center of coal mining in southeastern Ohio.

And we're going to go down to Rendville, established in 1879 by a Chicago businessman named William Rend.

What was interesting about this particular community was it was African-American.

In fact, it was integrated and it was the only one that was the other.

Coal mining communities were pretty much all white.

And this particular mine owner was willing to hire African-Americans.

And that was kind of unusual at the time.

And very tiny little town now, a very small population.

But at one time, I think maybe there were about a thousand people that lived here.

So it's always interesting to visit this region, which was so.

Important.

During the Industrial Revolution and really the mining that fueled Ohio becoming one of the major industrial states.

Let's go have a look.

It sounds great.

Oh, the town hall.

Dr. Rendville here.

The town hall is looking pretty good.

Remember, we came here some years ago and helped paint it?

Yeah, it's missing a window, but it's still here.

And they have historic markers up now, which is great.

It's about Rendville, but also Richard Al Davis, which is important for people coming here today to really understand that history.

And the local historical folks have this House for preservation purposes.

And then, of course, the Rendville artworks and the old First Baptist Church.

Which is always a really interesting place to visit.

Looking forward to seeing what's new here.

Hi, Katie.

Happy to meet you.

Hi, Nancy.

I'm Jeff.

Hi, Jeff.

See this beautiful, historic church.

So.

Yeah.

1861.

1861.

Is that when the church was built?

Yes.

The church dates back to then when it closed.

It was just recently, probably in the nineties.

And then we started here in 2002.

That's when our program here was founded.

What a.

Great use.

And and it has beautiful details.

It has this great tin ceiling and these windows and a big open space which is really conducive to this kind of use.

It is it has a lot of natural lighting, which obviously is awesome for an art gallery and space.

And the open floor plan kind of keeps a communal feel with all of the artists.

It's very much a family setting here, but giving each other enough space to create.

Tell ss the idea behind the behind the artwork is how it got started.

And it started as a pilot program by Joel Yeager and Wayne Savage, and they used a state grant to start a art program for people, artists with developmental disabilities.

And so that was a great success.

And so out of that became Rendville Artworks.

And so we purchased the building and Joel Yeager and Wayne did a lot of the remodeling and, and turns.

They took a footprint of what you see.

So you have you have a space that's perfect for what you have, which makes it permanent.

So you went from a pilot project to this wonderful place for many years.

It really gives us, you know, a really strong connection to the community to Rendville's history.

We participate in the Emancipation Day every year.

We're open.

We've donated to the local government here and it really gives us a strong connection to the history.

The people who have lived here often come back, walk in and tell us all kinds of great stories about when they used to attend church here.

This is such a vital center of activity for Rendville, but for the region as well.

And you can tell that this really is an artist's studio.

Look at all the art supplies that are around and artworks on the wall.

Yeah, it's a it's a studio in gallery space.

We do have an open house here every spring where we invite the community in and, you know, serve refreshments.

And it's, it's a great opportunity for people in the surrounding areas, not just our family and friends, but really art collectors and, you know.

Supporters that you have a real following.

We do.

They do each artist says, too.

It's really neat to meet people who say, yeah, I collect.

I have a bunch of Rufus, you know, paintings, so I have a bunch of Glenn stuff and they're very excited.

And you see their face light up when they talk about what they've already purchased and and kind of what it means to them.

So let's take a walk and I'll show you guys some of the stuff.

We have a lot of artists and they all have their different styles, just like any other artist.

This is a really important thing to this community.

Art is such a.

Wonderful.

Thing to be involved in because it's it makes an even playing field for everybody.

It doesn't matter your disability, it doesn't matter your education level, it doesn't matter your religion, your age, anything.

You know, art comes from within.

It comes from your own talent.

And when somebody looks at this art, they don't know about the artist.

They don't know what they can or can't do.

They don't have that prejudice that you have when you see somebody with a disability.

And it's interesting to see the different styles of the different artists.

They might do use different materials.

They have a different style, maybe different subject matter.

And so they all have their own.

Yeah, personality.

I mean.

That comes across just.

Like any other artist they have you paint what you love and you know, we have Susie loves her cats.

And so you can see, you know, the vibrant colors.

And that's very much reflective of her personality.

She's very bright.

She's very outgoing.

Roy loves wildlife.

He loves all kinds of animals, very exotic animals.

And so you're.

So is that one of his?

It is.

He has his chimps, you know.

How many artists do you work with here?

We have about 19 artists that total and we have about nine a day.

That gives us enough space that we have enough space for everybody to work.

But it's still very, you know, a relaxing, calm, creative atmosphere.

So it looks like everybody has a station where they work, too.

They just set up their own little space and make yeah.

We don't really have an assigned space for anybody.

I mean, this isn't school.

Everybody's an adult.

They take care of their own, their own space.

But just like everybody else, we have our own.

You know, I like here, this is my safe spot.

This is where my things are.

So they'll come in and they'll set up their own space and we help them with that and their tools and materials that they'll use.

And a lot of the artist, you are two dimensional, but you also have three dimensional works around, I'm noticing.

So people, these artists work with all kinds of materials.

They do.

We've done sculpture before, we've done woodworking and burning.

As you can see right behind you, we have this really awesome snake, Angel did that.

That's one of her, her big ones.

There's a lot of landscaping, a lot of outdoor, mature.

Lots of flowers, a lot of nature.

And you can see that the a lot of your artists are sort of tuned into current culture.

What's going on on TV, in the movies?

Yeah, there is we've we've even had some political cartoons people have done.

It's funny.

Yeah.

This is actually your way.

It is.

This is something Teresa is working on and it's something that we kind of call a forgery.

She likes to take and she's found been very good at taking famous paintings and kind of redoing them, finding inspiration for them.

She loves Vincent Van Gogh, and so you're going to see a lot of classic stuff rework.

On the way.

Starry, starry night the sunflowers, everything.

I mean, like, it's really awesome that the artists and the classics, they take it further and.

She's improving on Van Gogh.

Absolutely.

Well, Katy, thank you so much.

We have been here before, but you've told us things we didn't know and really expanded our understanding of what the artworks does.

And it's been just wonderful.

Absolutely.

You guys come any time.

Thank you for visiting and helping us share what we do.

Happy place.

Thank you for what you do.

Thank you.

When you hear 4-H, many times raising animals is one of the first things that comes to mind.

But 4-H actually goes beyond that and tries to create programing to develop important life skills.

In this next story, two local 4-H educators saw a need for creating programing and discussions around mental health for teenagers.

4-H was started in 1902 by A.B.

Graham, and the whole reason he started 4-H was because he had new agricultural practices that the adults in his community were not accepting.

And he was like, All right, if the adults won't listen to me, I'm going to talk to the kids.

And that's how 4-H got its start.

And we found in our community that mental health was really, really similar.

Adults are just shy about talking about it.

It's kind of taboo.

And so we were like, You know what?

We'll just talk to the kids about it.

And so we're hoping that by having kids learn more about mental health, be open to discussions about it, that not only will they talk to their parents, but in our future we'll have a generation of leaders who put mental health at the forefront.

I think a lot of people don't know that 4-H more than livestock.

When I first started, I served with my grandma for the first like seven years and I got to come to the state fair all the time and I really enjoyed it and then when I got into high school, I decided to start taking projects more towards my career path or what I thought I would want to do.

So I completely branched out and I took Self-determined sign language and I took diversity.

This year I took a leadership project.

I had like a bunch of life changing events that happened my eighth grade year, and I didn't really know what I was feeling.

And then they do this thing at my school called TeenScreen that your parents can sign you up for.

And it's like evaluating your answers to some questions and then I answered it, and then they pulled me into another room.

They were like, So here's the deal.

You need help.

And that basically got me started on like a mental health journey.

In our community in Harding County.

We're very rural, we only have 33,000 people.

And so there aren't very many resources in terms of counselors or mental health providers, clinicians.

We were talking about what do you do if you have diabetes?

We were talking about how do you sell a garment?

We were talking about how do you build a robot?

How do you feed your pigs?

There was a whole gamut of different things that we were doing, but we weren't talking to people about the fact that sometimes our brains don't fire the way that our brains should fire.

Well, if my brain's not working correctly, my brain controls my entire body, then what do we do?

We wanted to make sure that we could provide a tool that meets Ohio educational standards that teachers can use in their classroom, but that youth can also use all summer and 4-H projects as well.

So the project book that we wrote meets a lot of educational standards for mental health, both nationally and for Ohio.

In the three years that the books have been published, there have been over a thousand 4-H's that take this project and a lot of our club leaders select it as a club project as well.

So they'll do one activity at every club meeting.

So every single member in their club learns that project and gets to have those safe discussions with their adult leader.

Here we were definitely challenging some of the norms and some of the societal norms and engaging in a different way.

So if I'm learning how to sew a skirt, for example, that is a definite skill that I am gaining.

The activities in this project book encourage you to wrestle with your own thoughts and your own ideas about what mental health looks like, about what the stigmas are that exist.

And then there's a challenge in the book where we encourage them to build an info graphic and to do something within their community to help break that stigma.

Phones and social media can be like, terrible for you.

So if people are struggling in some way using those hobbies that they are passionate about and staying away from what they know hurts you, it makes such a big difference.

Whoever is using this curriculum, if they only learn one thing from this book, what I want them to learn is that it is okay to talk about mental health.

It's okay to share your emotions.

All of us, no matter who we are, where we come from, what we like, doesn't matter.

We all experience the spectrum of emotion, and the more we talk about our emotions and how we're feeling, the easier it is when we have a struggle.

So you will come across a lot of things that may be really, really hard for you, but you can make that choice to grow outside of your comfort zone.

If you or someone you know is in emotional crisis, call or text 9-8-8 or go to chat 988Lifeline.org.

Any time for confidential free crisis support.

WOSU's Curious Cbus answers your questions about our region, its history and its people.

J Hoster wrote in to ask about the local history of Cromwell Dixon, a child prodigy who became the first pilot to fly across the continental divide.

Dixon grew up in Columbus University District, where his engineering talent made him a local celebrity.

He started by building complex contraptions in his backyard, including a roller coaster and a motorcycle.

Eventually, he turned to aviation.

At the time, airplanes were just starting to get off the ground.

Large gas filled balloons called dirigibles, were much more common.

Dixon designed his own dirigible made of bicycle parts and an enormous silk balloon.

He began construction of his sky cycle in 1905 at the age of 13.

He spent two years perfecting the aircraft and ran test flights on Ohio State's campus.

Dixon became so well known among the university students that he was the Ohio State football mascot in 1906, long before Brutus Buckeye was created.

Funding the construction of the airship was very expensive.

Most of the initial investments came from his mother, who was able to raise $10,000 from wealthy investors in St Louis.

Dixon completed his sky cycle, which he named "The Moon" in 1907.

His first flight was a leisurely hour long float above the Columbus Driving Park racetrack, now home to the Driving Park neighborhood.

After several successful flights at the racetrack, Dixon began performing daily at Olentangy Park, an amusement park in Clintonville.

Over the next three years, Dixon took the moon to Airshows in Boston, Chicago, Saint Louis and beyond, where thousands flocked to see his sky cycle in action.

In 1911, Dixon started a new chapter in his aviation career.

He ditched the dirigible in favor of the fixed wing airplane and became the youngest person in the world with a pilot's license.

He was 19.

That year, he performed daring flights at exhibitions across the Midwest and worked as a brand representative for the up and coming airplane manufacturer, Glenn Curtis.

On September 30th, 1911, he took off from Helena, Montana, flew over the Rocky Mountains and became the first person to fly across the continental divide.

Unfortunately, Dixon's career was cut short by a fatal accident just three days later at an exhibition in Spokane, Washington.

His plane hit a powerful gust of air, flipped over and fell 100 feet into a rocky ravine.

Dixon's remains were transported back to Columbus, where he was laid to rest at Greenlawn Cemetery.

Newspaper accounts of his funeral detail, the boy's tremendous popularity, noting the church was completely filled with mourning neighbors.

Though his career ended far too early, Cromwell Dixon is remembered today as a trailblazer in aviation history.

Do you have a question for Curious Cbus?

Head over to WOUS.org/curious to submit your idea vote on which question we should investigate next and see what we've covered so far.

Thanks for being with us.

And remember, you can catch all our episodes on Columbus neighborhoods dot org.

Plus see our stories on the WOSU mobile app and you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We'll see you back here next week on Columbus Neighborhoods.

It is tough.

So in your heart for not just me, but for thee running confidants where you stay so very far away.