Reflecting on the building, and builders

Yesterday was a day of cleaning and pitching at the Niswonger. I’m sure you do this at your home.  You set aside a day of cleaning up and pitching things that have accumulated over the year(s) that you no longer have need of.  Well, the same occurs in workplaces; even a performing arts center.

It has been nine years since we began operating the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. Over those years, we have been blessed with little turnover of personnel, although there are some no longer with us and a few new faces. One new face we have recently added is in our office area and we need to make room for another desk (workstation).  If you have been to the Niswonger in the past few weeks, you may have noticed a young man new to our facility. His name is Chris Fader and he is learning our box office, as well as assisting in marketing and sales. I will introduce him more at a later date.

This is all being said to lead up to the motivation of cleaning up and pitching. As we were going through the files and drawers, I found many interesting items that made me reflect on our beginnings. One was the Gala Opening Weekend program. We opened with a Gala Weekend of concerts on March 18, 2007.  The very first concert on the Central Insurance Stage of the VWCF Saltzgaber Music Hall featured high school musicians from the three schools in the county. They were joined on stage by two esteemed Van Wert alumni who have gone on to outstanding music careers.  Doug Wolf, a 1971 VWHS graduate, performed with the VWHS Band and Tom Dustman, a 1966 VWHS graduate, joined a combined chorus.

We followed that Friday night concert with Country music’s Lee Greenwood Saturday night and then on Sunday, appropriately featured Christian artists Sandy Patti and Larnelle Harris. Many of you were there for those opening concerts, and you are the ones I really want to talk about.

I counted over 300 individuals, businesses, organizations, and alumni who gave to the building of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. Those names can be seen today under the “Giving Tree” on the west wall of the Grand Lobby. A few have passed on since then, but most are still with us and have continued to support our cause with concert attendance, memberships, advertising, underwriting, and various other forms of support. It is on the backs of many that we have built our success.

So many visitors are amazed with what Van Wert has, tucked among the cornfields of the south side of Van Wert. It is because of so many of you fine people that we can boast of one of the finest performing arts centers in the Midwest!

It was interesting to be reminded of a few of the facts of our building, many of which have probably been forgotten. Did you know there are 2,650 wooden panels in the Niswonger, all made from the wood veneer of an anigre tree from West Africa in the Congo area. The tree was 8 feet, 10 inches, in diameter and 300 feet tall. Over 105,000 pounds of granite went into the building. The exterior granite is from Italy while the interior granite in the lobby is from India.  The stage area is 3,722 square feet, while the entire music hall encompasses 8,278 square feet.  The lobby ceiling reaches a height of 55 feet, 2 inches, and the big window in the front is 33 feet, 4 inches tall.

There are many other interesting facts, but I think this gives you enough talking points to share with visitors over coffee at the next show.  And speaking of the next show, it features two performances of Mamma Mia!, one of Broadway’s biggest dance and musical shows of all time.  November 24 is mostly sold out and the performance on the 25th is moving swiftly in that direction.

If the family is coming home for Thanksgiving, why not treat them to a wonderful night of entertainment, Broadway style, and you will have plenty to talk about.

FINÉ.