WBGU-PBS ‘ZOOMs’ in on volunteering

National Volunteer Week is this week, and hundreds of thousands of kids will participate, but WBGU-PBS will be encouraging millions of kids to volunteer all year round through a unique partnership with the PBS Kids series, “ZOOM.”

Last summer, WBGU-PBS was one of 45 PBS stations selected nationwide to participate in ZOOMlocal, a groundbreaking initiative that allows partner stations to feature local kid volunteers in locally produced segments of the show. Beginning with the premiere of the show’s sixth season (April 19), northwest Ohio “ZOOM” viewers will have the opportunity to see kids from their own hometowns—cleaning up neighborhood parks, raising money for local charities or volunteering at local animal shelters.

In addition to producing local spots, WBGU-PBS will be kicking off its own local ZOOM Into Action volunteer campaign, complete with outreach activities, events, print materials, a partnership with local schools and volunteer groups, and its own localized version of the national ZOOM Web site. Kids visiting wbgu.org will find stories about local volunteers, resources and ideas on how to start volunteering, and a place to share their own stories.

“The act of volunteering can really empower kids and give them a sense of confidence and social responsibility,” says Patrick Fitzgerald, WBGU-PBS general manager, adding, “We hope that when our young viewers see their peers volunteering, they will be inspired to go out and make a difference too.”

If you know of a youth volunteer group that could be featured in a Zoom into Action segment on WBGU-PBS, contact zoom@wbgu.bgsu.edu with your information.

Event to mark civil rights anniversary

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case striking down racial segregation in public schools, the Department of Ethnic Studies will host a presentation and discussion on civil rights.

The event will take place from 5-7 p.m. Thursday (April 22) in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union Theater.

The keynote speaker will be Miranda Massie, the lead defense attorney for the student intervenors in Grutter vs. Bollinger, the University of Michigan affirmative action case that went before the Supreme Court last year. Massie is with the firm of Scheff and Washington in Detroit, and has worked extensively on behalf of civil rights.

Also speaking will be LaRouth Perry, a Toledo-based author specializing in the history of the civil rights movement. Perry will discuss the legacy of Brown vs. Board of Education and lead a discussion.

Co-sponsors are the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Multicultural and Academic Affairs, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Immigration Services and the departments of history and political science.

UT parking passes available for BGSU collaborative partners

The Office of Research Collaboration has announced a temporary solution to make parking at the University of Toledo easier for BGSU faculty working on collaborative academic programs and research projects.

UT faculty parking permits (valid through Aug. 31) are available free of charge to faculty members who need to park at UT on an ongoing basis.

See Stacie Enriquez in the Parking and Traffic office to obtain a UT permit.

‘Continental, Ohio’ reveals lost art

WBGU-PBS premieres “Continental, Ohio,” a documentary that encapsulates a century of Americana with an Ohio perspective, at 8 p.m. on Sunday (April 25). The program repeats at 10:30 p.m. on April 30.

The documentary celebrates the lost art of letterpress printing and the satisfaction of a job well done. In the early 20th century, hundreds of traveling troupes toured the nation, playing venues in large cities and small towns. These varied widely, from large spectacular shows such as circuses and carnivals to smaller entertainment companies performing tent shows, minstrel routines and vaudeville acts.

Few today remember the entertainment or the entertainers (few, that is, with the possible exception of Nyle Stateler). Stateler took a job at Curtiss Show Print in 1941. The company was in the "show print" business, specializing in advertising for entertainers using a printing technique that is truly a lost art form.

“It’s an amazing archive that has been preserved by Stateler that documents a piece of Americana that few people know about,” said producer Tom Murphy, Murphy & Associates Productions. “There is much to learn from Nyle and his efforts to keep the past alive through his work.”

Today, the company still exists in the same location: Continental, Ohio. Amazingly the printing equipment has stayed the same as well. Stateler, now 80 years old, along with his wife, Helen, continues to print the local newspaper, posters, window cards and flyers for carnivals, circuses, musicians and politicians. Curtiss Show Print continues to operate as a working museum, telling the story of a lost American art form and an archive of a town’s history.