1) The article discusses an art workshop program for veterans held at the Helen Arts & Heritage Center. The program teaches veterans art skills like pottery, wood carving, and clock building. 2) Veteran William Reid has found the classes rewarding but challenging due to his medical conditions. They provide a social outlet and sense of purpose. 3) Instructors have found the classes help veterans feel less isolated and doubt their own creativity. The program has been well received, with the potential to help many more veterans.

1. Sunday, August 9, 2015
LIFEE
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J.K. Devine
Life Editor
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If you can read this, thank a
teacher.
There are a lot of things I learned
in school for which I owe my teach-
ers a debt of gratitude.
I took typing class from a teacher
named Connie Bruce. I have used
that skill almost every day of my
working life, particularly those in the
news business.
Let me confess at the outset, I am
married to a veteran teacher. She
teaches sixth grade.
Dear Lord, please give a special
blessing to anyone who is a teacher
in middle school. It is a place where
young raging hormones with arms
and legs attached begin the transi-
tion from elementary to high school.
Back in the days of our moon
landings and orbits, there was a time
when the spacecraft would go on the
dark side of the moon and would be
out of contact with mission control.
At one point during the growth of a
child, they go out of contact with mis-
sion control. This is where your teen-
ager suddenly knows more than you.
Teachers deal with this every day.
Teaching is a noble profession.
Those who answer the call are spe-
cial people who can make a differ-
ence in the lives of children. They
may be teaching the future scientist
who will discover a cure for cancer.
They may teach a future garbage
collector. A good teacher will give
equal effort to ensure the student
gains as much knowledge as possible.
We used to have colleges that spe-
cialized in training teachers. Georgia
Southern University was once known
as Georgia Teachers College. During
that time, it turned out many of our
state’s finest educators. Sadly, only a
few colleges exist where the college
of education is the largest.
Recruiting young people to
become teachers is challenging in a
world where so many other oppor-
tunities exist. Most of our university-
level institutions offer a wide array
of degrees in cutting edge studies.
But thank God, every year, a new
crop of teachers enter the field.
I have been with my wife as she
prepared her classroom for her
new arrivals. The new teachers are
starry-eyed and ready to begin their
career. They are just a few years
older than their pupils and will be
tried and tested as they seek to edu-
cate our youngsters.
This is the time of year when
spouses of teachers get to go on a
treasure hunt for the store that has
pencils, paper, scissors, markers and
other school supplies on sale. Yes,
you can put out all sorts of lists, but
some kids are so dirt poor they can’t
afford all the stuff they might need.
Mywifespendstimegoingthrough
the back-to-school newspaper ads to
find the best bargain. I spent $75 last
week in a dollar store. You can get a
lot of stuff at a dollar an item.
After spending money and time on
students, a teacher may not see her
impact. But there are those moments
to make it worthwhile. When we see
a current or former student of hers
somewhere around town, they come
up and hug her. You realize they
really love and respect the woman
who wants to see them grasp the
ideas of science.
I love and respect my wife, too.
She comes from a long line of teach-
ers and the fruits of their labor will
be evident for many years to come.
God bless all who teach!
Harris Blackwood is a Gainesville
resident whose columns appear
on the Sunday Life page and on
gainesvilletimes.com/harris.
INSIDE
Wedding, births, reunions,
Dear Carolyn and Living with
Children, 2E
Crossword puzzle,volunteer
opportunities, Adopt A Pet
and Ask a Vet, 3E
Entertainment, TV listings,
Around the Remote, Goren
Bridge and Sudoku, 4E
Crossword solution and travel,
5E
HARRIS BLACKWOOD
hblackwood@gmail.com
Tough
job to be
a teacher
BY AUDREY WILLIAMS
awilliams@gainesvilletimes.com
In an open room filled with framed paint-
ings, clay sculptures and other scattered
art projects, chatter from bass and baritone
voicesrisesandfallswithcasualconversation.
The rough hands from men who served in
the U.S. military, however, steadily work at
piecing together parts of what will become
a functioning clock. These four men are con-
ducting these simple tasks as part of the Art
Workshop for Veterans at the Helen Arts &
Heritage Center.
For U.S. Navy veteran William Reid, fol-
lowing the instructions in their proper order
and piecing together bits of wood is not an
easy process, but it is a rewarding one.
“It wears me out,” he said. “I go home and
collapse. But, I pace myself, and they work
withme.It’llbeaclockbytheendoftheday.”
Creating this and other pieces of art
appears to help Reid along with the three
other veterans. Lisa Cahill, instructor of the
inaugural class based in the Alpine Village of
Helen, has seen the results first-hand.
“When you start creating something, you
come out of yourself,” she said. “You’ll see
there’ll be a point where people are talking
and then there’ll be extreme quietness. When
you’re building something ... there’s more
purpose.”
The former art therapist said though art
can be therapeutic, she doesn’t want this par-
ticular class to be deemed one.
“When we first started the program, they
were calling it Veteran’s Art Therapy Pro-
gram and I put a kibosh to that,” she said.
“Veteransdon’twanttoheartherapy.They’re
not going to come if they hear therapy.”
New destination
Getting veterans through the
door for the six-week pilot pro-
gram was one thing, Cahill said.
Convincing them that they could
make pottery, carve wood into
a recognizable object and build
clocks was a whole other story.
“They always come into the
arts — and it’s always interest-
ing with men — but they come in
with expectations that they can’t
do anything and that they’re not
creative,” Cahill said.
Reid was one of those men.
“Believe me, every time they
show us a project, I look at it
and say they’re crazy,” he said.
“Every time I come in I tell her, ‘I
can’t do that’, but I just do it.”
Reid, who served in the Navy
for 17 years, has a reason to
believe he can’t accomplish
things. The man has a hard time
getting around since he suf-
fers from multiple sclerosis and
degenerative heart disease.
But this class in Helen is a new
destination for the man who was
injured on active duty in 1991.
Before enrolling in the class, Reid
only ventured out of his house for
medical appointments for the past
year.
“You stay at home all the time and you
start to feel like there’s no hope,” he said.
“And all you see are doctors and they never
have good news. So, this has been very chal-
lenging for me.”
However, Reid is up for the challenge. He
hasn’t missed a class.
“I really doubted I could do it, being able
to follow directions or even use that sharp
knife,” Reid said. “I said ‘No, you don’t want
me to do that,’ you know.’ But I did it.
“Les (Green) laughed at my (wood-carved)
bird, but it still looked like a bird,” he contin-
ued. “So I’ve gotten a lot of benefit from this.”
While Reid is a novice in the class, six-year
veteran Les Green is more familiar with
crafting and has made furniture in the past.
Green said the key is not to be worried
about making mistakes.
“If you make a mistake, you make a mis-
take,” he said. “What are you going to do? It’s
part of the experience process. As you get
older, you get more experience. I prefer to
say that instead of aging.”
Each experience impacts each veteran
differently.
Green was extremely proud of his
wood-carving project. The
class carved birds in the
third class.
“I posted it to the
Internet!” Green said
with an accomplished
smile. “My cousin said
itwasreallygreat.She
was so surprised. She
said she didn’t think I
hadanytalentatall.”
Family mem-
bers play a key role in the class as well. Many
family and friends motivate the veterans
to come each week. Reid’s granddaughter
attends the class with him occasionally. And
National Guard veteran Steven Derry’s wife
pushed him to sign up.
“My wife said, ‘Get out of the house,’” he
said.“I’mretired,soI’vegotthetimetodoit.”
Derry, whose family moved from New
York to Georgia about a year ago, uses the
class to make new friends and socialize.
Unexpected outcome
Helen Arts & Heritage Center President
Nancy Ackerman said the response to the
class took her by surprise.
“There have been no closed doors,” she
said. “I mean, everything is opening up. It’s
amazing.Ihadnoideatheneedwassogreat.”
The program is funded with a $5,000 grant
from Help Hospitalized Veterans, a nonprofit
out of California. It is the first of its kind.
Ackerman said she hopes it will continue
to grow, allowing more veterans to benefit
from the class.
“If we’ve affected just one person’s life,
we’ve not failed at anything,” she said.
“When you see the difference it’s made in
their lives — when you have men who can
barely walk, drive themselves and come
every week — there’s something there.”
Artistic impact
Photos by ERIN O. SMITH | The Times
Above: Les Green,left, and Steven Derry work on clock kits they picked to assemble during a workshop Tuesday at the Helen Arts & Heritage
Center. The center kicked off a new program designed to share the healing effects of art with military veterans for free. Below: Pieces of a
clock kit sit in a box as Les Green works on putting the structure together.
Vets learn new skills at Helen Arts & Heritage Center
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Green was extremely proud of his
wood-carving project. The
class carved birds in the
third class.
“I posted it to the
Internet!” Green said
with an accomplished
smile. “My cousin said
itwasreallygreat.She
was so surprised. She
said she didn’t think I
hadanytalentatall.”
Family mem-
y g g
amazing.Ihadnoideatheneedwassogreat.”
The program is funded with a $5,000 grant
from Help Hospitalized Veterans, a nonprofit
out of California. It is the first of its kind.
Ackerman said she hopes it will continue
to grow, allowing more veterans to benefit
from the class.
“If we’ve affected just one person’s life,
we’ve not failed at anything,” she said.
“When you see the difference it’s made in
their lives — when you have men who can
barely walk, drive themselves and come
every week — there’s something there.”
■ Please see ARTS, 6E