- Coming up next on Wisconsin Life ...
- Pretty much everything we do is a collaboration of sorts.
- It's through my vehicle of dance that I can help
to maybe transform the world into a better place.
- Attracting Martins is location, location, location.
- I think I knew we were on to something
from how it helped me to be with Pat and play the guitar.
*
- Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided in part
by Alliant Energy,
Lowell and Mary Peterson,
and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.
- My name is Ike Kumrow,
and this is my Wisconsin Life .
- Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet.
Chirp, chirp.
Hey guys, how are you?
- Ike Kumrow is a Purple Martin landlord.
He has 42 apartments on his front lawn near Random Lake,
and all he asks for in rent is a little entertainment.
- You hear them singing.
[birds singing]
Aerial antics they do, you know,
the way they come gliding in.
- He's very attentive.
- Well in the mornings during the time I eat breakfast,
I got my binoculars out there.
- He even makes house calls
[crank clicks]
to make sure everything is in good order,
and there are no unwelcome visitors.
- This is a sparrow nest.
That's going to get destroyed this afternoon.
- Purple Martins have seen their natural habitat
shrink over the years.
Now, they almost exclusively nest in man-made houses.
- They have a bonding with humans.
[bag crinkling]
- Ike knows.
He's been raising Purple Martins almost his whole life.
- This would be the 69th year that I had Purple Martins.
- Ike grew up just a few miles away,
back when every farmer had a Martin house
on a pole in the yard.
[birds singing]
- We built this one here in 1960, this house,
and then I had redwood leftover.
So I thought, "Well, I'll build a Martin house."
So I built it and put it up.
Next morning, there's Martins here,
and they've been here ever since.
- For people not named Ike,
Martins can be difficult to attract,
and even harder to keep in an area.
- The main thing
with attracting Martins is three things:
Location, location, location.
- Ike says Purple Martins like open spaces
and want to be close to the house.
And, of course,
there needs to be room for a whole flock of birds.
- They're colony birds.
If you only have one pair, they sort of feel lonesome.
The more you can get, the happier they are.
- He says the key to a healthy colony
is a little room service from the landlord.
- These houses have to be made
that you can lower 'em and clean them out.
- Ike keeps a tally of each compartment
throughout the season.
- Four, five.
- They're starting to bring in some material
for their nests now.
- He knows that cornstalks are the sign of a nest,
but green leaves mean they're about to lay eggs.
- Now these guys here are roughly 11 days old.
- After the eggs hatch,
Ike goes from landlord to babysitter.
- We'll put you in here.
- He takes each chick out of the nest,
and then cleans out the old pine needles, looking for pests.
- What I check for on these nests
is if there's any mites
or blowfly larva in here.
Now we get some fresh pine needles here.
And this little guy,
"Hey, where are you going?"
- Ike says, unlike other birds,
Purple Martins don't try to drive him away from the nest,
or abandon their young after he's touched them.
- Martins you can do that.
- He does this cleaning process twice
before the chicks are 20 days old.
- They just hatched.
Probably just hatched a day or two.
- In the fall,
the Purple Martins fly to Brazil for the winter,
but they'll be back in the following spring.
- And they come right back to the same place
and the same compartment.
- Last year, Ike had 24 pairs
lay a total of 138 eggs.
- Out of the 124 that hatched,
121 fledged, which is 98%.
- Through the decades,
Ike has helped raise thousands of Purple Martins.
- They just hatched a couple days ago.
- While his role as a Purple Martin landlord
requires a lot of time and effort,
Ike doesn't mind it a bit.
- Some people, it sounds like a lot of work,
but what's your hobby?
If you think that's work, well then it's not a hobby for you.
To me, that's my hobby.
Really it's a lot of fun to have these martins around here.
*
- I'm Peggy Choy
and this is my Wisconsin Life .
[snapping fingers] - So, it's one, two,
three, four.
- The class is called Asian American Movement.
- Start now. Let's go.
- Taught by University of Wisconsin assistant professor
Peggy Choy.
- I'm teaching them really through dance,
through movement, through martial arts,
how to be creative, how to be clear-minded.
- Peggy draws from the wide world
of Asian dance and martial art forms.
- Snap.
Okay, but that also ends with a stillness.
Do you feel that?
All of these forms take a lifetime to study.
But all of them
are also connected to this energy.
This energy called "chi" in Chinese
or "ki" in Korean and Japanese.
Inner life force energy.
- Peggy's inner life force is evident in her teaching.
- So life is like that, right?
You have to change direction
suddenly, because something's going to crash into you.
You change, but life goes on.
- Life for Peggy began in Hawaii,
descended from Koreans forced to flee their home.
-During the Japanese occupation,
my grandfather was part of
the underground effort for Korean independence.
- As Korean-Americans, Peggy and her family
added their own flavor
to the great cultural diversity Hawaii had to offer.
- All of these cultures are bumping up against each other.
- But it was after coming to Wisconsin
that Peggy began expressing her culture in dance.
- That was my awakening.
When I discovered my Asian-American identity
was in Wisconsin.
And it was here in Madison that I created my first
Asian-American dance, and it was called "Picture Bride."
So it was inspired by the Korean women
that came to Hawaii as picture brides
to marry Korean plantation workers.
- Since that first piece,
Peggy has continued to work with Asian forms of dance,
as well as other traditions
in cross-cultural works with a social conscience.
"Wild Rice" was inspired by efforts to fight mining
near the waters the Ojibwe have traditionally harvested.
"Thirst" is based on a long-forgotten labor uprising
on a tiny Caribbean island.
- The stories are often
tied to struggles
for people striving for justice.
Wanting change,
wanting transformation.
So I've come a long way
from feeling that dance is peripheral to life
and that it's really just entertainment or a hobby.
- But her most ambitious work honors an American icon.
- Muhammad Ali connected boxing with the art of dancing.
I wanted to create a homage to him.
It was an on-site dance performance at Gleason's Gym,
where Muhammad Ali himself had trained.
He was colorful.
He was funny.
He was just unafraid of speaking out.
His courage crossed over into the Asian-American world.
He said, "Ali is my Asian name."
And he refused to go to Vietnam.
His ability to tap into the need for Afro-Asian solidarity
was something very important
to the development of my political consciousness.
It was a very tough, very challenging project for me
that required all the strength I could muster.
I gained the sense of strength
that has made me fearless in many ways.
- Fearlessness and strength
that has shown Peggy
that dance can make a difference.
- It's through my vehicle of dance that
I can help to maybe transform the world into a better place.
This is why I'm here.
- Still to come on Wisconsin Life ...
You'll meet 13-year-old Kaiden Hunkins,
who has an interesting use for what he learns in math class.
- Like from knowing math, like having it in your mind,
like you know where to hit the ball.
- Find out how Kaiden became a teenage pool phenom,
even representing the U.S.
in international competitions.
Later on Wisconsin Life ...
*
- I'm Amy Arnold
and I'm Kelsey Sauber Olds,
and this is our Wisconsin Life .
- Creating distinctive art
requires a combination of ability and instinct.
- Intuitive Improv.
- Artists often work alone
until the vision in their head
translates into the reality in their hands.
- And then, you want to put the...
- Just carve the-- - Grooves in there?
- That was the story for married artists
Amy Arnold and Kelsey Sauber Olds.
He made wooden furniture.
And she created felted dolls.
- I was making fine furniture,
like, very interested
in everything being like just... just so .
And Amy's work is more kinda...
raw and visceral.
- They had briefly collaborated on a project for an art show,
but otherwise worked apart,
until Amy's vision suddenly included Kelsey.
- I was like, "Hey, I got an idea.
This is what we should do."
- Now they are known for
one-of-a-kind carved wooden sculptures.
- What we do is a little finer than folk art,
but it has a folky
kind of element to it.
- The facial expressions allow the viewer
to project their own feelings
onto these animal and human figures.
- At different times and in different environments,
they kind of say different things.
- I feel like it's a neutral expression.
- The process starts in a sketchbook,
then moves to wood.
Unfinished projects can be traded back and forth,
with each partner picking up a new step in the process.
- This is still new. - Yeah.
- Still new for us.
- It's a conversation which--
- Like, how do we get both of our voices in,
into that piece?
- In each way of working and being
is like a kind of reflection of who we are.
- Sometimes, yeah, Amy's like,
"Okay, it's just gotta be-- It's just gotta be done."
Or sometimes I'll like,
"Hey, we got to clean up this little edge here you know."
- What comes out in the end
is like this, you know,
this little, this little child.
[laughs]
[piano being played]
- That back and forth collaboration
extends beyond the workshop,
into the house where
they are home schooling their three boys.
* We give thanks
- In educating their kids,
Kelsey and Amy rely less on formulas and curriculum
and more on what has worked for them in the art world.
- Trusting our instincts and what we,
how we,
how we want things to be.
- The parallel between the school and our work
is that we just sort of, like,
are watching it and present with it,
and just kind of, you know,
it unfolds as it unfolds.
[birds chirping]
- The boys have a natural curiosity.
- This is Dan. He's a rooster.
- Here's all of our eggs that we just got.
We got eight of them.
- Fueled by their environment in the Driftless region,
outside of Viroqua.
Amy and Kelsey moved here from Madison,
while their family was expanding.
- One of the things that attracted us to one another
was this, I think, vision
for wanting a rural, to live a rural life.
- Just have quiet to sort of
see the sun come up
and the sun go down.
- Like their location, Amy likes to leave their art
in a natural state.
- I like the roughness of it.
[cello being played]
- And like raising children,
it's rewarding to see something amazing take form.
- When you're making something with wood,
you're taking it away and revealing something.
- It's a partnership they intend to continue
long into the future.
- Pretty much everything we do is a collaboration of sorts.
*
- Hello, I'm Patrick Nettesheim.
- And I'm Dan Van Buskirk,
and this is our Wisconsin Life .
[haunting guitar]
- I knew I wanted to be a musician and a guitar player,
probably back when I was four or five years old.
And at that time, I also thought,
I wanted to help heal people.
I met Dan in 2006.
- Something just told me that I should get a guitar
and not worry about how well I do,
but just get started.
[Patrick laughs]
- When Dan showed up to his first lesson,
he told me that he was suffering from PTSD.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- We just hit it off right away.
And the lessons were really meaningful because
we were like a couple of brothers coming together.
- You keep going with that.
I'm gonna switch chords up a little bit.
- And we could just share so much with each other.
[explosion and gun shots]
- Patrick: I didn't know a lot about Vietnam.
And Dan opened up and he shared with me.
- I wanted to join The Peace Corps.
Then my dad asked me to serve my country.
When I came back from Vietnam,
after spending a year
being chased
by enemy reconnaissance teams,
North Vietnamese,
Vietcong,
I saw man as a predator.
In civilian life,
it only takes one traumatic event
to create PTSD.
In combat,
a combat soldier might go through that
several times a day or several times a week.
So you can imagine, the urgency that I feel
in helping combat Marines or combat soldiers.
[solemn guitar]
- Patrick: And when you put this guitar in the hands
of somebody that is sinking deeply into depression,
it opens up a window of serenity for them,
enough that they can understand
that they are capable of feeling good again.
- Dan: I think I knew we were on to something
from how it helped me to be with Pat
and play the guitar.
- Patrick: You just go on and on with that.
Just beautiful.
- Dan: When Patrick and I were taking lessons,
I enjoyed it so much, I suggested that we go to the VA
and reach out to the other vets.
- Patrick: So, we did that
to play for men and women in spinal rehab,
to perform for them.
- And that's how we got started.
We took the guitar through the units.
- And we'd put the guitar around them
and just reach around and play it,
while it resonated in the center of their being.
Guitars for Vets
is based on the notion
of guitars, music, camaraderie,
and helps veterans find some joy
in their journey towards recovery.
- It's an extension of the good things
I learned in the Marine Corps.
It's an extension of "I got your back" kind of love.
- Teacher: Fifth string A.
- Patrick: The way the Guitars for Vets program works
is veterans are referred to us by their case workers,
in the VA medical centers.
- Teacher: Play A.
- After the tenth lesson, they graduate.
They're given a brand-new guitar.
Here's our slogan here:
"The Healing Power of Music in the Hands of Heroes."
- So, what a deal.
They get to start their music
with an instrument they worked for.
And they're learning how to play
and it can be with them the rest of their life.
* Ob-la-di Ob-la-da * Life goes on
-Patrick: After that graduation,
they're encouraged to return to group lessons, or group jams,
so we can continue to build
that teamwork and camaraderie.
- Dan: They're not getting diagnosed.
They're not having to retell their story
over and over again.
It's a group of veterans, sitting together,
playing together, making music together.
- Right now, Guitars for Vets
operates 60 chapters in 30 states.
We've given away over 2,000 new guitars.
We have over 200 volunteers nationwide.
- Thank you, gentlemen.
- Dan: We want to give these new guys,
more green lights than we had when we came home.
We wanna help them, we wanna mentor them,
we wanna make their life better.
We're taking them here and we're saying, "You're wonderful.
"We love you just the way you are.
"Let's go with this.
Let's rock and roll and have some fun."
*
- My name is Kaiden Hunkins
and this is my Wisconsin Life .
- And then Y stands for the speed of the...?
- Current. - Current. Good.
- Kaiden Hunkins is hunkered down in math class
at Waukesha's STEM Academy.
- I really like math.
I really like being in a STEM program.
- James Murray: A lot of people see STEM
as science, tech, engineering and math.
A lot of it though is strategies that engage minds
about real life context.
Passion projects.
- Kaiden does have a passion.
And it does involve applying math...
[crack]
then physics.
[balls hit and crack together]
The 13-year-old is
one of the nation's top youth pool players.
He already has played in tournaments around the country
and has even represented the U.S. in China.
- Sort of like a mini-superstar here at STEM.
- And knowing all the angles has helped him sharpen his game.
- Like, from knowing math, having it in your mind,
like, you know where to hit the ball.
[crack]
- His math education helps Kaiden understand a game
he seemed born to play.
One that he had started by age four.
- My dad and his friends used to play pool
in the basement all the time.
It just looked cool, sounded cool,
hitting all the balls and stuff like that.
- We were standing up, just taking a break,
not playing pool and yapping.
And he goes and does this behind us.
- My dad saw me shooting that day and he was like, "Wow."
- Boom, boom.
Left and right, he's making cuts.
[crack, crack, crack, crack...]
Then he's making banks.
We're all laughing. We couldn't believe it.
[crack]
- In a couple of years, Kaiden was entering pool tournaments.
Some adults who lost to him did not take it well,
but his dad didn't have much sympathy.
- Put the dollar in, play the kid.
You win or you lose and that's it.
It's just pool leagues, just another day.
You don't want to lose to him?
Then be better , don't miss .
- But Kaiden's success has not gone to his head.
- Pool makes me a lot more humble.
In a tournament it's disrespectful to trash talk.
I believe in karma and I think karma
causes you not to play as good.
- Behind the cue stick Kaiden's a cool customer.
- Well, I don't really show feelings when I play.
When you play, you're basically playing against yourself.
It's just you and the table. That's all it is.
- And even after he runs the table,
Kaiden has a good word for his opponent.
- Good match, Andy.
[crack]
- But back at home, there might be
just a little trash talk.
- Keith: Oh, way off.
- This is where he doesn't play as good as he should have.
This is what I was talking about.
[crack]
- Kaiden doesn't remember
exactly when he first beat his dad.
- Keith: There's my miss.
- I can't remember now that I've beaten him so many times.
-Keith: Left myself like crubbo.
- Kaiden: I was probably being a little cocky,
but then he just smiles and laughs.
Oh my...
- Keith: Oh, the bar. - Kaiden: No!
- The first time for that. That's cool.
- Kaiden: That should have never happened.
- Keith: I'll go from there since you got robbed.
He's better than I am, well then, that's just good.
If you're better than me, you're a master player.
If you're a master player, you're not bad at pool,
that's for sure.
[crack]
- And another one. All right, rack 'em up.
- If Kaiden's trajectory continues,
he could be on track to become a professional player.
- Pool is just so fun to me.
Like, if this is the career for me,
I'm going to have the best life.
- School is always going to be your first,
your number one priority, I think,
because if pool doesn't work, which I hope it really does,
but if it doesn't, if you put school first,
you're definitely going to make it.
- Kaiden is a very polite and respectful young man.
I've really been impressed with how hard he's worked this year.
- The person he is, is why he's a good pool player.
It starts before that.
I hear it from every other pool player.
I get emotional about it
'cause I got five guys a night coming up to me,
saying how much they wish their kid could be like my kid.
And not just in pool,
but just the way he talks to them
and respects them and stuff.
Man, as a father, that's all it's about.
- I want to be able to teach this.
That's how good I want to get.
I don't think I could ever get bored of it.
I can play forever.
- Curious to know more about Ike Kumrow, Peggy Choy,
Amy Arnold and Kelsey Sauber Olds,
the Guitars for Vets program,
and Kaiden Hunkins?
Go to WisconsinLife .org
to learn more about the people featured in this week's stories.
And remember, we want to know:
What's your Wisconsin Life ?
So, send your ideas to us at
WisconsinLife @wpt.org.
Finally, we leave you this week in Douglas County
with a stunning tour of Amnicon Falls.
A breathtaking part of our Wisconsin Life .
*
- Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided in part
by Alliant Energy,
Lowell and Mary Peterson,
and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.