1234.

Get my shoes in.

Out the door.

Five.

I'm lost.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Feels great.

I'm gonna shine.

After I do what I'm gonna do.

I do it again.

Yeah.

Look at the sky with the beautiful color.

But never just for me.

You gotta share it with another.

I got to show, to give.

Let I want singing show.

Take a look and say a beautiful morning that turns into a beautiful evening.

And together make beautiful art.

And if you wanna see that, come along with me.

That's right.

Hey it's Irish Dave and welcome to Experience Michiana.

I'm here at the South Bend Racket Club.

They are doing a fundraiser where they're combining pickleball and the Alzheimer's Association, and it's a really great event.

We're going to talk a little bit more about that.

You're also going to get to see me sweat as I play pickleball.

So that should be fun to stay around for.

We're also going to be going out to Elkhart, to the Elkhart County Visitor Bureau to find out about their well crafted series.

But first, this is something that happened last week, and I actually know one of the people that's up on this wall.

So it was very close to my heart.

So we wanted to go out onto Lincoln Way in South Bend to find out about a new piece of art that is on display for everyone to see.

I'm here on Lincoln Way in South Bend, and I'm here with Oscar.

Oscar.

You created all of this behind me.

Tell me a little bit about what this is and why you did it.

Yes.

Thank you for having me.

So this is.

So this mural is a tribute to these four icons here, as well as the community in Lincoln Way West.

It was done in the span of 11 days, about almost close to 100 hours, with spray paint and and house paint altogether.

Nice.

And as you can see, I've got my daughter here with me today and she wants to jump in the shot.

So I know the first one, Harold Brazier, because I know brazier pit boxing.

So tell me about all four who's in them.

Sorry.

No.

Harold Brazier, world champion, critically acclaimed.

Jim.

Then we also have Gladys Glass Muhammad, who is a social advocate.

Everyone.

Everyone says she's kind of like the unofficial mayor of South Bend.

We got Charles Martin, educator, scholar, people that he's trying a lot of people to come entrepreneurs.

And then we got the late, great Rosemary Sanders, one of the first black violinist in the symphony orchestra.

How do you even go from just like, the vision to, like, making sure it all fits on the wall properly?

Like, I feel like it's just, like, so intense to like to see it in a small scale, but then make it this big.

I mean, it must just take a lot of effort and work.

So yeah, we just do magic.

We just do the magic, and then I'm kidding.

So we do this thing called a squiggle grid or goofy grid.

So it's a bunch of letters, symbols and what have you kind of like throughout the wall.

And you use a mixture of either Photoshop or Procreate, and you have your sketch, you're finished drawing and you compose it to where to compose it with your goofy grid, and you draw wherever it lands on the grid.

Nice.

And so do you have other work around the city?

Are you from South Bend originally?

Yes, I grew up in South Bend and I went to Clay High School.

I'm currently living in Chicago for the past 15 years, and I do have one more piece from Mural Mania two years ago at the South Bend Museum of Art garage.

Awesome.

And so is this.

Staying up indefinitely like this is going to be here forever.

Like, this is just something that's obviously this.

This is not going to be ever drawn over.

You're hoping this is here as long as the walls here.

Oh, absolutely.

Okay.

Yeah.

It's going to be here for a long, long time.

I pledge to the Murdochs who own the church of Faith deliverance, as well as the Institute of Social Concern.

There's like, there's anything that happens to it.

Please let me know so I can go fix and repair it.

Awesome.

Well, thank you so much.

It's so impressive.

And I know we're about to have the official launch of it here, and hopefully we get to talk to some of the family members from this as well.

So thank you so much.

I appreciate boss.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you.

Today is a big culmination of a years long process.

Tell me what started it and how we got here.

Yeah, well, we'd have to go back to the the fall of last year when we were completing a different mural on Lincoln Way West, and the Murdoch stopped by and said, hey, what's going on here?

And so we got to talk in and one conversation led them next.

And then we got pretty serious about the possibility of doing what the institute is committed to, which is telling local stories with local artists that really lift up the dignity of our neighbors and celebrate the common good of our neighborhoods.

And so this was really a great match of of people and conversations that led to the with great intention, the story we wanted to tell on Lincoln Way.

West Lincoln Way is Lincoln Highway, its historic, connecting San Francisco to New York, and this was an original segment of it.

And there's so much history and culture here.

And so to to gather around the table and have one conversation after another, to think through what would best represent our community and, and then reaching out to different neighbors and getting feedback with the Murdochs, taking the lead and then getting connected to Oscar Jojo, South Bend Zone, who is now a prominent muralist in Chicago but a Clay High School graduate and incredibly talented.

And so then when he came to the table, we knew that we were we had something special.

And so then eight, nine months later, after 100 hours of painting, here we are with this mural.

So I'm here with Harold Brazier, world champion boxer from South Bend.

How does it feel to be on the wall here and just have this moment?

It's a great time.

What do you think of one of the keys to everybody?

Love recognition.

Until a person doesn't like recognition and then somebody else is getting to much of it.

Well, I like it.

I know your son pretty well.

And I will say you pass down your humor to him, which I really like.

So when you talked about your wife here today and you talk about your family, but, you know, it's a it's been a long journey for you and you still actually teach boxing fit and still to this day.

Right?

So we do we have that was my passion is to help.

We got started off with a baby boomer to get in shape.

Yeah I'm a baby boomer and they helped all baby boomers.

But then the trickle down and then the lady started coming in and the kids started coming.

Now just growing up.

And even I started coming as well.

Now I'm only recently back, so don't take my body shape for his success.

Okay, so but this is amazing again.

And what's your favorite thing about South Bend and being from here and all the time that you've spent here?

Well, my family, I come from a big family.

14 you know, we we didn't have a lot of cousins, but we had a lot of brothers and sisters and grew up together.

And you just, you know, being there for the procedures, I love that.

Yeah.

It's all kind of things to do.

One of the better places to raise the family.

Yeah.

You know, all the all the commotion and all the other city, big cities.

So there's no more perfect way to family.

Well, I know some of your kids, and I know you and your wife have done a great job raising those kids.

And you've got some great grandkids as well.

They're amazing.

Great grandkids and five great grandkids.

And I've got my daughter here today as well.

So that's why I got to go to Brazier Fit, because I got to be around a long time for her, you know.

Well thank you so much and congratulations.

It's wonderful to see everybody out here tonight.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, you're a great guy.

So thank you.

So, Gladys, what does it mean to have been selected to be on this wall?

It's a it's an honor.

And I appreciate it because my people did it.

I appreciate that the church did it.

And the people that I know in the community, all of them coming together, it just makes me feel so proud.

So in addition to you being there, there are some people that you know that surround you.

Can you tell me some of those people?

There's a picture of my sister Barnett, who was my my roadie, my sidekick.

Everywhere I went, she went to.

And then there's Harold Brazier.

When I did the Red Ribbon March Against Drugs, I needed a famous person.

There was Harold right there to help me, and I was so glad to.

Charles, mine was just a wonderful, wonderful human being.

I don't know anybody better than Charles Mine, who dedicated his life to save the lives and young people in our community.

And the lady from the symphony.

Oh, I was so glad to meet our relatives.

And you know, when the lady was in the symphony, Doctor Curtis told me they didn't even show her face.

Didn't show her face.

But today, all of our faces are here.

So what do you hope people take away from seeing this?

I mean, there's history, but where do you hope it leads them?

I think they'll be proud because everybody knows Charles mine's name, and everybody knows my name.

I was driving my car down the street, and I didn't know the mirror was up.

And there was a young lady walking down the street, and she missed Mohammed.

Miss Mohammed, your picture is on the wall.

And that made me feel good because they recognized me and they can get on the wall to one day.

So what will you tell to the next generation if they see this and know that you can be successful?

What's your message to that next generation?

My message is that you can too.

You can do it.

I did it.

I grew up with 17, 16 brothers and sisters on the west side of town near the city dump.

And I grew up and I did it.

And you can do it too.

So now we're chatting with Helen.

Helen, this is your mom behind us here.

Can you tell me a little bit about her and why she ended up here on this wall?

Well, I tell you, you'd have to go away back to the early 40s.

She was kept in the back, hidden from the rest of the orchestra.

She had auditioned and got in.

Yeah, but she remained in the back.

So she was a violinist.

She was a first violinist.

And she was excellent.

She was pretty close to a prodigy.

Yeah, because she picked up things fast.

Yeah.

Tunes, music.

I mean, that was her love, you know?

And so she was the first African American to be accepted into the symphony.

Is that correct?

Yes.

But as you said, was she kept behind the scenes obviously due to segregation or maybe the audience wouldn't wouldn't accept it?

Yeah.

Even some of the players, I'm sure, probably wouldn't accept it.

But she was one.

Her strength was in her silence.

Well, I'm so glad that she, along with the three other people that are being honored here with this mural.

So thank you for sharing her story.

All right?

Yeah.

So, Nick, you're the president of this club.

Can you tell me where we are today and what's going on inside of here?

We're at the South Bend Racket Club on Hickory, and we play a lot here.

And so traditionally, it was more tennis that happened in here.

But obviously with the rise of pickleball and this has become such a popular sport now as well.

Right.

Yes.

And so, so obviously that's where we are here today again, because we're doing a rally against Alzheimer.

So, Amy, you're on the board of this organization.

Can you tell me a little bit about your role and about Rally Against Alzheimer's as well?

Sure, absolutely.

So initially I was just in charge of membership.

Yeah.

Which is pretty exciting because we have about 800 members.

Yeah.

And I just also happened to be a federal advocate for Alzheimer's.

So I kind of married the two together.

And our board really got behind me to run an event where we could raise funds for the Alzheimer's Association.

And so is that something that's personal to you in your own life?

Is that why you are passionate about it?

Yes.

So I have several members of my family that passed away from Alzheimer's my grandmother, my uncle, my mom.

And so as soon as my mom passed away, I just decided I'm going to do something that's helpful.

And I knew that the Alzheimer's Association spends a lot of time advocating to get funds for research.

Yeah.

And I thought, okay, I'm going to work hard to try and help find a cure.

So I'm going to join and be an advocate and tell me specifically about Rally Against Alzheimer's.

When is that happening?

What how can people sign up?

Absolutely.

It is August 29th and we'll be here all day.

The South Bend Racket Club donated the entire facility for the day.

Nice.

And we're going to play doubles in the morning.

It's all women's doubles, and then it's followed by men's.

And then it's a mix, but a male partner and a female partner.

So a lot of people might have passed here just off Hickory and.

And Edison, isn't it?

Yeah.

And so maybe have never come in.

And so this isn't just open to members.

Right.

This is open to anybody in the community.

Exactly.

This fundraiser is open to anybody in the community.

And we have all different levels.

So you will play with somebody who's actually your level.

Yeah.

So you don't need to worry about getting in a game against somebody who's, you know, a professional like Jaylen.

He's holding back right now just for this.

Like he's trying not to make me look bad.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So you'd be playing with your people your own rating level.

And we have two different age groups and anybody can sign up.

It's actually on our website which is Michiana Pickleball Club.

There's an events tab.

And on the events tab there's a rally for Alzheimer's event.

And you can go there and find a link to sign up.

And you can actually just donate.

Okay.

And so how much does it actually cost to sign up.

Is there a set amount or is it just donate whatever you want.

So it's $45 to register, and that entire $45 goes to the Alzheimer's Association.

And if you want to play a second event, it's $15 for the next event.

And that all goes to the Alzheimer's Association also.

And again, you know, we work with other organizations that help people with Alzheimer's.

And it's it's actually such a disease that's impacting, you know, some people have it more severe, but they say it's impacting way more people than ever before.

And that at some point most people will get some form of dementia or Alzheimer's.

So this is not something that only impacts a small number of people.

Right, exactly.

And if you aren't personally impacted by the disease, most likely you are a caregiver.

Yeah.

Which first, being a caregiver can be yeah.

Really tough on people as well right.

Yeah.

Especially as the disease starts to change the personality of the person a little bit as well.

And so.

Right.

And I know I'm just wondering if I was watching this on TV right now.

Would I be like, dizzy, like watching this?

I'd probably have to close my eyes and just listen to what we're saying so you can try.

Okay.

My daughter wants to try.

She's next.

Okay.

Do I get an extra point?

All right.

Are you ready?

Here we go.

One.

Two.

Three.

Swing it when you see the ball swing.

Oh!

Good job.

So, Jalen, tell me a little bit about this facility.

And like this club because again a lot of people may have never come in here.

So what makes it unique.

So Southland Racket Club was actually built in 1972.

It was strictly just pickleball tennis and racquetball.

When it first opened up.

And then over time, they have changed the racquetball courts into pickleball courts.

Yeah.

Just because pickleball has been on the rise since Covid 2020.

Yeah.

And so it's just been booming in the Midwest.

And so we kind of had to change up and change the pickleball.

That's why we made these two private championship courts.

Yeah.

They're phenomenal.

Oh yeah.

Oh I love I love these courts.

And we have a whole bunch of pickleball events that go on because of MPC.

And we also have clinics and drills that go on as well.

Just to get everyone an opportunity to get out and try pickleball and play.

Absolutely.

And so we've talked a lot about here, but we're also going to talk to Sarah and talk a little bit about where the money is going to be going and the impact that it's going to have.

So thank you so much for this.

I'm not as out of breath as I thought I might be, but I appreciate you being a one man team over here and just letting me hit the odd one.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for having me here.

Much appreciate it.

Thank you.

Now, it's great talking about pickleball, but obviously we want to talk about Rally against Alzheimer's and where it's actually going to.

So I'm here with Sarah who is the walk director.

So there is a walk actually coming up with the Alzheimer's Association in September here in Mishawaka.

Is that right?

Yes.

So and so the money from this is going to go towards that and kind of boost it.

Exactly.

So the Watson dollar sign happens every year in over 600 communities nationwide.

And we're fortunate enough to have one of those walks here in Michiana.

Yeah.

So our walk will be on September 27th at Central Park.

There's a one mile and two mile walk option when we walk the Riverwalk, which is a beautiful day.

So yeah, I wonder if the goats will still be out there.

We heard about these goats out there.

Goats or the geese?

One of the two.

Well, the geese will definitely be there.

They make their mark very well known on the Riverwalk.

And so, again, not to get confused with this, but we've got the rally against Alzheimer's.

What's happening here?

But again, the proceeds from that sorry, my daughter here and the proceeds from that will go towards the walk, which again, it's great to have a fundraiser like a walk, and then it's great to have a second fundraiser that's actually going towards like boosting that.

Yeah.

So we have several teams that join us on walk day and that's really the foundation of our walk.

We have family teams, friends and family teams, company teams that all register for free for our walk.

They come out, they support their loved ones, they support people that they've lost along the process of this disease.

And all those teams kind of do their own individual fundraisers.

So Amy is fantastic, putting this amazing fundraiser together for us.

And I know that it's something you're very passionate about because your grandfather passed away from Alzheimer's.

Yeah.

So that's obviously why you're motivated to work in this industry.

That's exactly why I took the job with this organization, living that life and seeing what this disease does to not only the individual, but the family and seeing the impact on the caregivers, that it's huge.

So and so when it comes to like a national organization like the Alzheimer's Association, a lot of the time when people are giving, they like to give local.

And so how do you kind of bridge that gap between fundraising local, but then going to a national organization, like, how do people know some of those funds are coming back to this community?

So we're so fortunate here in Michiana.

We have so many amazing organizations here locally that really help our caregivers.

But what the Alzheimer's Association really does is we're putting an end to this disease.

A lot of our funds go back into care and support programs.

Absolutely.

But the majority of it goes back into the research.

We're in a new era of treatment with this disease.

In the last two years, we've had two new treatments come out, which is not stopping the disease, but it is delaying the onset and the progression of the disease.

So we're in a new era of treatment, and now is the time to really continue to back that research.

Yeah.

Well, I'm going to go back to dealing with my daughter here.

I know you're having your own day because your eldest is a junior in high school now.

So we're we're all going through the faces of life here today.

We're all just.

I'm emotional because she keeps hitting me in the face with this flower.

So thanks for giving her that.

Yeah, I'm going down.

Hey, I'm here at the Elkhart County Visitor Bureau because we're doing a partnership with our well crafted video series, and we're going to be showing you one of their great videos coming up here in a couple of minutes.

But I'm here with Terry at Terry.

Celebration Under the Stars is coming up.

Can you tell me a little bit about that?

I know you've got some some good music lined up and ready to go for that.

Yeah, we're all really excited about celebration of their stars.

So August 29th Saturday evening, second free concert in downtown Elkhart.

This year we're going to feature Boys to Men and the Jacksons.

So it's going to be a great event.

How many of us still think fondly of cooling the gang and the Commodores from last year?

And I think we're upping the game this year with boys to men.

Melissa, I could name like at least five boys boys to man songs, so I actually think they're great.

You know, end of the road, I'll Make Love to you.

Motown, Philly, they've got they've got a lot of good songs, so I'm excited for that.

And what about the Jacksons then as well?

I mean, there's still a couple of the original members, right?

Yeah.

So I think it's going to be a great nostalgia of the staging event for people who remember the music of the Jackson five and the their Motown sound from the 70s.

And so it's going to be a great evening of music.

Absolutely.

And so why is it important to the visitor bureau in Elkhart in general to have, like, free concerts like this?

Like, why not charge like what's what's the payoff for the city to do that?

Well, so events like these really drawing people from all over the region, many of them might choose to stay overnight, which helps many of our small businesses, obviously hotels and motels, but then also people will eat out or they'll do some other activities during the day, visit a park or do some shopping.

So being able to draw people in for a day or more really benefits Elkhart County business.

Now with this well crafted series last year, you also had videos that you did, and one of them was with a potter that was in Goshen.

Can you tell me a little bit about him and what he does?

And then also some exciting news about that industry in general?

Yeah.

So Mark Goertzen has a wonderful shop in a in Goshen at the Bag factory.

And so he not only features his own work, which includes like practical pieces like platters and coffee mugs and vases and pictures, but he also features other artists because Goshen has a really deep history of clay art, a lot of talented artists who are practicing, and so that one is a great place to visit and just admire the, the, the talent that we have in Elkhart County.

But there's also recently that they received a grant to be able to build something in Goshen for, for this industry, which is really great.

Yes.

So Mark Guertin with many others, are member of an organization called the Northern Indiana Clay Alliance.

So really just an organization of clay artists.

And they recently won the state grant to renovate a space in downtown Goshen for a clay center.

So it's going to be studio space for artists.

It's going to be retail space for these artists to display their works, and they'll probably end up being the the central location for the Michiana Pottery Tour, which is an extremely popular event coming next month that takes over a weekend.

There are 30 some artists who are at locations all over Michiana South Bend, Mishawaka, Goshen.

So it's a fun weekend.

And last year in your maker series, you got to well crafted series.

You got to sit down with Mark Gertz and talk to him and find out a little bit more about his craft.

So let's check that out right now here on Experience Michiana.

In 1989, the former owner of the studio, Dick Lehmann, was looking for somebody.

I was at the same pottery conference.

He was with my professor and and he asked my professor when he knew anyone who wanted to work here.

And my professor pointed at me even though I hadn't said anything about my future.

And so I happened to come up here just to to work for a year.

And I've been here ever since.

The pottery that I sell here in store is 90% high fired, stoneware glazed work in a gas kiln.

And then I have two kilns at my home that I use, and we call that atmospheric firing.

And then there would fueled.

So the wood ash goes through the kiln and deposits on pot.

Each pot is really individual, and most of the time it's like Christmas opening that kiln.

And big advocate of buying handmade stuff because of the person who made it.

Their spirit is in the work.

In essence, there's there will be never the same one twice.

Even if you look at my pots, even the same form, they're related, but they're never perfectly the same.

Also, you get a lot more esthetic choice from people who make handmade work.

I like not being static like I sometimes you can get a line and that's all you do.

People that have been here know that my work constantly evolves.

I guess it's the best way to say that my process of work here is, kind of collaborative with customers.

There's some things I make because I know they're popular and there's some things I make more one of a kind things, and to sort of feed my soul a little bit.

And then often I can blend the two into things that I know will sell that also I can make my own way.

And that's that's a fun, creative process.

The whole sense of making gives me a sense of fulfillment that I'm really, really enjoy and really appreciate that it's been that I can do that and be supported by the community.

And, and we get a fair amount of travelers through as well.

And I also like that the studio is right to the showroom.

And so people can come in and see what we're doing that day.

It's an opportunity to, to to educate that it's that you can't just make it and fire it.

It takes about three weeks to get from start to finish.

My showroom consists of about 50 or so different products, meaning mugs to serving bowls to baking dishes of various sizes, casseroles, vases along those lines of production and with varying colors.

So there's a lot of choice out there.

And then I have some sections of wood fired work that are more one of a kind and some sort of fired work, which is also an atmospheric firing.

That is more one of a kind work.

Goshen is is a good community for artists.

It the community around really supports the work of artists, and there's a fair amount of lovely little shop.

And Elkhart County in general has a lot of good crafts and things to see that I think is pretty incredible for the for the community, its size, it's got a high rate of makers in this area.

Very grateful for the community support of keep buying handmade stuff for for gifts and their own homes.

All right.

So I think my daughter was in the show this week just as much as anyone else.

Right.

Kennedy.

You were in the show this week.

High five.

Watch out.

It's okay, honey, it's all going towards your college tuition.

But thank you so much for listening in and watching Experience Michiana.

If there is anything that you think we should show or go and visit on next week's show, make sure and send us a message on Facebook.

Search for Experience Michiana and watch show.

Indeed.

Kennedy.

Are you ready to go home?

Okay.

This WNIT local production has been made possible in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.