[Skip to Content]

Bethel Singers Make Strong Showing in Regional Competition

After several years of competing in a regional competition for voice students at the college and university level, Bethel senior Joshua Powell achieved first place in his final attempt.

Powell, a tenor vocalist from Basehor, was one of nine Bethel voice students who sang at the annual regional competition for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).

NATS is divided into regional groupings that meet yearly in different locations. The West Central Regional Conference and Student Auditions were held this year at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in November 2010. The West Central Region covers Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, in addition to Kansas.

The Bethel singers, students of Soyoun Chun, assistant professor of music and instructor of voice, competed in several divisions in both classical and musical theater.

Powell sang in the Music Theater (upperclass) and Senior Men’s Classical divisions. He took first place in the latter.

Julia Miller, sophomore from Hesston, and Cameron Voth, junior from Goessel, advanced to the semi-finals in their respective divisions in music theater and classical, while Nathan Snyder, junior from Hesston, was a semi-finalist in classical.

Other students competing were Kelsey Easterday, senior from Manhattan, William Lewis, freshman from Newton, Renee Reimer, sophomore from Sioux Falls, S.D., Monica Schmidt, senior from Mount Hope, and Allison Yoder, sophomore from Kalona, Iowa.

Fall Festival Lectures Available Online

If you enjoyed one of the STEM Symposium lectures at last October’s Fall Festival and would like to hear it again, if you missed the lectures, or if you were unable to attend Fall Fest 2010, you’re in luck -- videos of the three talks are now available online.

Susan Neufeld ’93, Claremont, Calif., gave the first lecture, titled “Serving Families Where They Live: Place-Based After-School Services in Low-Income Communities.” She spoke Friday afternoon, Oct. 8.

James Porzelius ’83, Bend, Ore., spoke on “Neurorehabilitation: Applying Psychology to Broken Brains.” His lecture was also on Friday afternoon.

Nancy Rempel-Clower ’88, Grinnell, Iowa, gave the STEM keynote address Saturday morning. Her topic was “Exploring the Highways and Byways of the Brain: Integration of Emotions, Thoughts, and Actions.”

Dwight Krehbiel, professor of psychology, introduced the speakers. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Researching the Stone: Bethel alumnus seeks to document college symbol’s history

Glen Ediger ’75, North Newton, is looking for threshing stones.

Ediger isn’t seeking to collect the stones -- he wants to photograph them and document their history.

“Many people have no idea what a threshing stone is,” Ediger said. “It’s a cylindrical, heavy stone that was used for threshing wheat in Kansas for a very brief period of time in the 1870s.”

Ediger is trying to document as many of these farming relics as can be found and to do that seeks help from individuals who may know where stones are located.

Mennonite farmers who emigrated from Russia used threshing stones before coming to North America. They brought with them the pattern for the stones. Soon after arriving in south central Kansas, some Mennonite farmers visited local limestone quarries and placed orders for threshing stones.

“It seems that most of the threshing stones are still located in four Kansas counties -- Reno, McPherson, Harvey and Marion, the primary counties in which they were originally used,” Ediger said, “although they could be anywhere now.”

Information about Ediger’s project and the stones he’s discovered is at www.threshingstone.com.

Kauffman Museum to Focus on Kansas in 2011

“Kansans Tell Their Stories” is a traveling mini-exhibit on display at Kauffman Museum through Jan. 16. Among the varied groups featured are African immigrants to northeastern Kansas. John M. Janzen ’61, Lawrence, directed the community history project that collected their memories under the auspices of the African Studies Program at the University of Kansas.

The exhibition was organized by the Kansas Humanities Council. Kauffman Museum technician David Kreider ’82 is coordinating the tour.

Also on display is “KANSAS: Kids At Northridge Sharing Art and Story,” a collaborative project between students at Northridge Elementary School and college students in Bethel’s “Teaching the Expressive Arts” class. LaDonna Unruh Voth ’86, Gail Pryce ’83, Denetta Denno ’90 and Brian Postier taught the course.

Museum staff and the Northridge Parent Teacher Organization will host a reception for the student artists from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, in the museum auditorium. The community is invited.

The community is also invited to Kauffman Museum’s 14th annual Celebrate Kansas Day! from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29. Activities will commemorate the 150th anniversary of Kansas statehood. Admission is free.

This year’s Celebrate Kansas Day! will feature a host of volunteers, including Jim Robb ’73 (living history), Margret Gaeddert ’68 (quilting craft for children), Cal Schroeder ’50 (wood carving) and Sarah Kaufman ’00 (Kansas birthday hats). The event is supported by a Community Development Grant from the City of North Newton.

Come enjoy entertainment, make-it-and-take-it crafts, wagon rides, real kettle popcorn and the “best-ever” Friends of the Museum bake sale and flea market. To volunteer, to find out how to contribute, or to request more information, contact staff by phone at(316) 283-1612.

Meet the MABEE Challenge!

This year’s Alumni Association phonathon in February will give donors the opportunity to help Bethel meet the Mabee challenge and to support the college’s current fund.

Last April, the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla., awarded Bethel a $725,000 challenge grant for renovation of Old Science Hall into a new, state-of-the-art Academic Center. To receive it, however, the college must finish raising an additional $921,424 by April 2011. More than $100,000 is still needed to meet the goal.

Bethel also invites gifts to the Bethel College Fund (current fund), essential to ongoing programming. Over $1 million in donations is needed for Bethel’s annual budget each year.

There’s Still Room on the Tour to Greece and Italy

There are still openings for alumni and friends of Bethel to go on the May 28-June 11 trip to Greece and Italy, hosted by Bethel alumnus Weldon Martens ’77, Henderson, Neb. The reservation deadline is Feb. 1.

A brochure and registration form in PDF format, can be downloaded. Printed copies are also available from the Bethel alumni office by calling (316) 284-5251.

“Footsteps of Paul” participants will travel to locations recorded in the Bible in Acts 17-18: Athens, Corinth, Delphi, Meteora, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Philippi and Veria. The itinerary includes a three-night Mediterranean cruise to the islands of Mykonos, Patmos, Crete and Santorini. It ends with three days in Rome, one unscheduled so participants can explore the city on their own.

“Footsteps of Paul” is an activity of the Bethel College Alumni Association. It is offered in cooperation with MTS Travel, Ephrata, Pa. Martens hosted a similar tour in the past and can be reached at (402) 723-4878 or by e-mail to answer questions about the upcoming trip.

For additional information about Bethel College go to www.bethelks.edu or contact Office of Alumni Relations, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS 67117, (316) 284-5251, alumni@bethelks.edu. Thank you.