« June 1998 | Main | August 1998 »
July 03, 1998
The evolution of Aral: A Folk Opera: The story behind the production
By Anne-Marie Oomen
Sun contributor
There’s a murder in our past. For those of us who live in Benzie and Leelanau counties, the story of the town of Aral is the story of murder and mayhem laced with romance. It alternately sounds like a soap opera, gothic romance, faded Western, old-fashioned melodrama and serious dramatic literature. But the fact of the matter is — it’s history — though some of the facts have been blurred by time.
Based on the three versions of the story I have read, it goes something like this: In 1886, Dr. Arthur O’Leary leased his logging mill at Otter Creek (in the bustling town of Aral) to Charles Wright who ran it successfully for the next three years. Wright was apparently a big personality, a drinker, singer, big talker, but also a good businessman. However, at some point, Wright stopped paying the taxes on the mill logs. In 1889, after several warnings, Sheriff Case from Frankfort sent two deputies, Frank Thurber and Neil Marshall, with a Writ of Attachment to close the mill and take possession of the logs. In the confrontation that followed, Wright shot and killed both men. He was eventually caught when an Ottawa named Lahala, under torture, betrayed where Wright was hiding (this part of the story comes into question; in one version Case’s men found Wright before Lahala told). Despite a lynch-mood mentality of the townspeople, Case managed to get Wright to the Frankfort jail before things got out of hand. Wright was sentenced to life in prison.
One would think that would be the end of a sad story ... not so. Unbelievably, after twelve years, Wright was paroled and returned to Aral where, according to one version of the story, he visited his former wife (she had divorced him) and won her back with a song. Though there are other versions of this final visit, this one claims they returned to Wisconsin where they lived out their days.
There’s a lot more to the story, but if you want details, you’ll have to attend a very special event — this year’s premier production of Aral: a Folk Opera, to be performed by local poets and sayers, the Beach Bards and the dynamic and eclectic musicians who work under the name the Lizard Lickers, for the Manitou Music Festival on July 26 at the Lake Street Studios.
Making a Folk Opera: How it came about
I first discovered the Aral story several years ago when Norm Wheeler, Beach Bard and colleague in storytelling and poem-saying, handed me a newspaper clipping written by Larry Wakefield, regional historian. Mr. Wakefield’s article gave us the basic plot of this fascinating tale of murder and romance which took place in Aral, a town that has long since disappeared, but which was originally located near the mouth of Otter Creek. Norm thought the story would be a good one for the Beach Bards to tell at the Friday night bonfire, our local forum for stories and poems. Though the story met our need for local tales, we didn’t get our version written that summer, or the next, or even the next. We set it aside, though both Norm and I continued to talk about the story. Norm even began to tell the story at informal gatherings. And last summer, I wrote an English style ballad, “The Aral Murders,” for the four voices of the Beach Bards, but even then, we agreed the ballad didn’t do justice to the tale. Again, we set it aside.
Early this summer we found reason to resurrect the project. Crispin Campbell, director of the Manitou Music Festival, approached the Beach Bards about a collaboration concert between the Bards and the band, The Lizard Lickers. Crispin, who for several years has put together the festival as a luxurious mix of serious, classical and contemporary music, wanted to try something different, and with the renewed interest in poetry in the community, he suspected combining original poetry and music in concert would be unique and appealing. Then the Aral story came up. Would the story, with it’s hot-tempered and hard-driving energy, along with some sweeter moments, make a good combination piece for the two groups? That’s when Crispin coined the term “folk opera” — visualizing it as a lush mix of original poetry and music. We would tell the story as poetic narrative in parts, but would retain the friendliness of the “folk” tale by writing music for it.
When both groups met informally, the creative juices started running wild. We discovered that not only would the story lend itself to such a format, but once we began planning, we found that the story had more to offer than history. Interpreting the tale became a way for us to talk about some universal concerns. “The story actually connects us with ideas and problems we’re thinking about today,” said Bronwyn Jones, newest member of the Beach Bards. “Themes of land, stewardship, our relations to the native people — all come to the surface through the story.”
Eventually, in one of our most exciting rehearsals, we discovered that one of the minor characters, Lahala, the Ottawa who may have helped Charles Wright hide, was actually a very important character. “As we developed the characters, he was the only one who could speak the spiritual consciousness of the piece,” explained Gary Warden, musician, who first suggested we look closer at Lahala’s role in the plot. As a result of the demands of creativity and good story-telling, the version which will be performed on July 26th will be an interpretation of the historical events, but should not be considered a history play per se. “We’ve taken these characters and given them form, energy and especially music, but we know there are places where the truth has turned a bit. In those cases, we’ve tried to honor the spirit of the story. Even so, the characters seem more real to us now than when we first read about them,” said Norm Wheeler, who plays the role of Sheriff Case in the folk opera.
From my perspective as a writer, one of the finest aspects of this process is how it breaks down the myth that we write alone. The pleasure in this writing project came from collaboration. Though I wrote the first raw draft, I left large gaps for other performers to fill in as we discovered more about the characters. The Bards wrote their own monologues and rearranged passages to fit the voices which were coming alive in their heads. Then we began meeting with the musicians who found ways to make the instruments assist and assume the voices as well. “The great thing about this piece is that the music is completely intertwined in the process of the storytelling, just as you would find in an authentic opera,” said Ray Nargis, who plays the murderer, Charles Wright. But everyone involved is quick to put the emphasis on the “folk” aspect of the Aral production. “It’s not Italian; it’s pure American,” said musician Rick Jones.
Aral: a Folk Opera will premier as part of the Manitou Music Festival on July 26 at 8:00 at the Lake Street Studios.
Posted by editor at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
Safety regulations, liability prevent fireworks
By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
To children all across the United States, Fourth of July fireworks are an annual event almost as memorable as opening presents on Christmas morning. Millions of tykes stay up past there bedtimes to watch the colorful aerial explosions, trading yawns for ooooohs and aaaaaahs, as red, white and blue fill up the festive sky. Over the years the Independence Day excitement in Glen Arbor has been no different ... until now.
There will be no fireworks in Glen Arbor this year, ending a local tradition that has persevered for more than 30 years. Stringent safety regulations that Glen Arbor Fire Chief John DePuy says have not been followed in the past, coupled with the Township Board’s banning of a public fireworks display have made it impossible for the usual thousands of people to watch any fireworks over Lake Michigan from the edge of Lake Street.
"The Township will not take part in putting on fireworks that use volunteer firemen or don't meet National Fire Protection Agency safety standards," said Board member Robert Hawley. "I'm a volunteer fireman myself, and we have never been properly trained for these types of things."
Glen Arbor’s fireworks cancellation is timely, following a major accident at the Venetian Festival in Charlevoix, MI last July 26 that killed one man and wounded several others. The tragedy occurred when a shell exploded in its steel firing tube, showering the crowd of thousands with shrapnel. Since then, police have speculated that the spacing of the launch tubes and the distance spectators were kept from the launch area didn't comply with fireworks safety guidelines, the Traverse City Record Eagle reported.
The accident in Charlevoix served as an eye-opener for Glen Arbor, especially since the local fireworks displays in past years haven't even come close to following NFPA standards. DePuy, who ran the fireworks from the end of Lake Street last year estimates that onlookers sat only 200 feet away from the dangerous cannons, and more than 1,000 people watched from the nearby stretch of beach. "We shot eight inch mortars last year," DePuy said. "With that size you'd need a minimum secure distance of 1120 feet. You'd have to send people all the way to Glen Haven or to the Homestead for them to be safe." DePuy also admits that the Fire Department has used outdated material to shoot off the displays in past years. "We lit them with flares at the end of a bamboo pole. We were supposed to use an electrical charge."
A more difficult NFPA obstacle for Glen Arbor to work around was the houses near the beach, directly behind the cannons. Those are and have always been immobile, making aerial fireworks sent from the shore all but illegal in Glen Arbor. The one exception would be fireworks shot off from National Park land, where there is enough room in certain areas on the lake.
Faced with the knowledge that the National Park would never allow fireworks on its preserved land, the Glen Arbor Fire Department decided not to shoot off a display this year. But it never placed an outright ban on fireworks in Glen Arbor. In a letter that DePuy sent to Township Board Clerk Bonnie Quick on March 20, he stated that he had "no problem with having a fireworks display in the township providing that the following items are complied with:
1. The Glen Arbor Township is held harmless from any liability with regard to the fireworks display,
2. The Glen Arbor Fire Department or any of it's members do not have any involvement in a fireworks display of any kind,
3. The fireworks display must conform with all the NFPA 1123 standards 1995 edition,
4. The Township Fire Chief has the right to inspect the site of the display to insure that it meets the NFPA 1123 standards, and has the authority to deny the use of the fireworks if it does not comply with the NFPA 1123 standards.
5. The Township Fire Department is to be provided a copy of the insurance policy showing that the Township is held harmless 60 days prior to the setting off of the display."
Upon hearing the news that the Glen Arbor Fire Department would not provide the public with a fireworks display this year, Chamber of Commerce President Brad Anderson began searching for an alternate way to have them in town. "We talked it over as a Chamber group last winter and decided it would be in the best interest of the community as a whole to have them because of tradition and heritage," Anderson said. "For the Township Board to pull the plug on something that celebrates this country's independence without public interest is a travesty for this democracy — the very thing we're celebrating."
Anderson said he contacted a private fireworks company out of Grand Rapids and began preparing for them to put on a show. Meanwhile he asked Township Board Supervisor Ben Whitfield to rescind the Board's ban on fireworks in Glen Arbor. But Anderson's plea was rejected at the next Board meeting. "I had a contract lined up; I had liability insurance lined up," Anderson said. "Then Ben faxed over the minutes from the spring meeting saying the Township Board was not going to rescind the ban — even after he told me 'if you do these things, we'll let you have fireworks.'"
Anderson claims the Grand Rapids group he wanted to hire was certainly capable of adhering to NFPA guidelines. But the Chamber President thinks he just wasn't given a chance to put on fireworks without the Fire Department's help. "We would've found a spot to do it," he said. "My guy would have done it from a barge in the lake, or a pontoon boat if necessary. The fact is it didn't get that far."
Brad Anderson's proposal to save the Glen Arbor fireworks never quite made it on the agenda at a Township Board meeting. That's because "the Chamber didn't come to the Board with a formal proposal," said Board member Bob Hawley. "You have to get on the agenda three or four days ahead of time. You can't just talk to one person on the Board." This, it seems, is where the Glen Arbor fireworks took their last gasps of air. Above all else, fear for human safety and fear of the town's liability prevented the kids their Fourth of July excitement.
The issue of liability has taken on a very serious tone since the filing of numerous lawsuits against city officials in Charlevoix. Victims of last summer's accident have sued the owner of Fireworks North — the group that held the fireworks display at the Venetian Festival — three crew members, the City of Charlevoix, the Charlevoix Area Chamber of Commerce and various public officials, including the city manager and the police and fire chiefs, the Traverse City Record Eagle reported. As a result of the accident and its aftermath, Charlevoix will not hold any fireworks this year.
In lieu of the Glen Arbor Fire Department's reasonable inability to follow NFPA safety standards, DePuy claims it had decided last summer not to put on fireworks this year, even before the Charlevoix tragedy. "The biggest reason our fire department can't do it is public safety," he said. "What happened in Charlevoix was just the frosting on the cake. We had already made up our minds before that."
Actually, fireworks displays put on by the Glen Arbor Fire Department have not been completely trouble free. During the middle of the show ?? seven ?? years ago a launching box blew up as it was about to be sent into the sky. Local photographer Ken Scott took a picture of the explosion and, though no one was injured, the photo is framed and hanging on the wall of De Puy's office today — a subtle reminder that the tragedy in Charlevoix could just as easily have happened in Glen Arbor.
Posted by editor at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)