Cliff Yankovich
As one of the roving reporters for this blog I got to witness a classic example of How Things Ought To Work recently. With a heads up from Lowell's Harmonica in Chief, Chuck Myers, I sat in on a wonderful example of pretty much everything the Spirit of Harmony exemplifies. Chuck is a member of the West Michigan Blues Society (http://www.wmbs.org/) and he let me know that three of his fellow blues dudes were going to share their love and knowledge of America's music with a room full of 5th grade students at Cherry Creek Elementary, part of the Lowell School District. Lowell, MI is a town of 4,000 people with a strong history of agriculture and a love of arts and music located 18 miles east of Grand Rapids.


The best part of the show for Jimmy Stagger, a 64 year old professional musician who has been recording and playing for 50 years, comes at the end when they open it up for questions. "You never know what the kids will come up with," Stagger said with a smile.
Mowrey, a harp player with two CDs to his credit, told me how his musical journey started in the fourth grade when a teacher passed out recorders and he realized how much he loved music. Hank told the kids that once he found out about harmonicas he played his so often that his parents would sometimes "lose them" for him so that they could have a little peace and quiet in the house.

Rob Stevens is the teacher of one of the classes at Cherry Creek. He is very enthusiastic about the program. "It allows us to teach a music unit that might otherwise might get skipped," he related. "We tie it in with American history - the link with American history is really neat. It also shows the kids that anybody can be a musician."
The history connection was front and center in the presentation. With slides showing work gangs building railroads in the back ground, the kids learned how the Gandy Dancers would lead orchestrated chants and songs designed to make the back breaking, monotonous work go faster and smoother. The room full of kids were shown pictures of and told about musicians who laid the foundation for what would mutate from the blues to rock-n-roll, country, and even hip-hop and rap music: Big Bill Broonzy, Bukka White, Little Walter, Robert Johnson and others. While Tim ran the slide show, Hank and Jimmy would play examples of the music by the various artists. Hank had a selection of harps and gave a little insight into all the possibilities of his instrument of choice and that was balanced with Stagger jumping between guitar types including the diddley bow, a cigar box guitar, acoustic and even a steel guitar. He explained that the heft and weight of a steel guitar helped more than one musician hold his own if things got rough in a juke joint.

Cindy Young is another of the Cherry Creek teachers. She loves Blues in the Schools. "It is another outlet for the students. It is another possible way for students to explore another world," she said. "It helps them to become well-rounded balanced learners. It helps with math."
Music is a powerful, vital tool in education. The teachers and students at Cherry Creek Elementary School, along with the members of the West Michigan Blues Society are great examples of the Spirit of Harmony - in every sense of the word.
Cliff Yankovich is a partner with his wife Julie Claire DeVoe at Chimera Design, a jewelry store in Lowell, Michigan since 2002 (www.ChimeraDesign.ws). A Todd Rundgren fan since 1972, Cliff is thrilled to be a part of the Spirit of Harmony Foundation. His observations and opinions can be found on his blog: www.cliffsriffs.blogspot.com.
0 thoughts on “Blues in Schools”