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Sep 14
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Starting from Scratch
September 13, 2012 By Kelly Dyer
Today, at the venerable age of 90, Professor Emeritus Dr. Bob Fonda cheerfully admits that he has seen many milestones over the years at Minnesota State Mankato. One of those would most certainly be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Dental Hygiene Program, which Fonda started almost single-handedly in 1969.
Dr. Robert Fonda will be at the Department of Dental Hygiene’s 40th Anniversary Reunion on Saturday, September 29 in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom.
Although the program has turned out countless well-qualified dental hygiene graduates over the past four decades, it got off to what Fonda characterizes as something of a “rough start.” That may be a bit of an understatement.
The genesis of the program came about like this:
After spending four years in the Navy, Fonda practiced dentistry for 23 years in the small town of Rockwell City, Iowa. Unfortunately, spending that many years hunching over patients as he worked contributed to significant back problems, and in 1969, Fonda began to think about finding a new job in the dental field.
At about that same time, Minnesota State Mankato was investigating the possibility of starting a professional two-year dental hygiene program. Fonda met with college administrators and was offered a job. He accepted and agreed to come to campus to start putting the program together late in 1969.
What Fonda discovered once he arrived on campus was nothing. No books had been ordered. He didn’t have a classroom, a secretary or even a telephone. The college lacked a physical clinic in which students could receive practical instruction, and in fact, there wasn’t even a curriculum outline for the classes that were scheduled to begin the following spring.
Asked now if he realized what he was getting himself into all those years ago, Fonda chuckles. “No, not really,” he says. “I thought I knew but as in many cases, after you get there and sign the contracts and so on, you discover that there are other things that you are going to have to do…that weren’t maybe exactly the way you want to have them, but you just take the ball and run.”
The history of the Dental Hygiene Program — and Dr. Fonda’s role in it — is documented in a new book from the department.
Fonda rolled up his sleeves and got to work. The first order of business was to design a program and curriculum that would meet the accreditation standards of the American Dental Association. He spent countless hours doing that. He also began to interview and hire professional staff who could then teach to those standards.
That done, Fonda turned his attention to another pressing problem: The University had purchased a significant amount of used dental equipment from the Veteran’s Administration in anticipation of the new program. As Fonda inspected that equipment, however, he discovered that much of it was hopelessly outdated, damaged or simply not acceptable for use in modern dentistry. That started another scramble to find better equipment.
In addition, the physical clinic needed to be constructed, and Fonda spent a great deal of time supervising the construction, all while also sorting out the other details that the new classes would entail. “I had some sleepless nights, let’s put it that way,” he says. “Sometimes I went home at night and just laid there and looked at the ceiling and thought, “Oh my goodness…”
Classes began in 1970 on the lower campus, with Fonda and the other instructors traveling from classroom to classroom carrying their tools and textbooks with them. In spite of all of the confusion of those early days, Fonda says he loved teaching. “I liked passing on the information that needed to be passed on to students about dentistry and the various aspects of dentistry, and what kind of background would be required so that you would even be able to perform the duties,” he says. “I loved the student contact. I just thoroughly enjoyed that.”
As the program attracted more students, Fonda was also instrumental in finding new ways for the students to interact with the public at large, including working at the Faribault State Hospital, nursing homes, the White Earth Indian Reservation and other areas.
Today, Fonda remains delighted with the progress of the program he fathered. Even though he retired in 1986, he remains fiercely proud of its success.
“It was a pleasure for me,” he says. “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”
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Jan 29
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City’s junk becomes a cautionary artistic vision
By Victoria Dalkey, Bee Art Correspondent, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012
Gioia Fonda’s drawings begin as photos of street debris.
You would expect an exhibition at a college gallery to be educational. Gioia Fonda‘s show at the James Kaneko Gallery on the American River College campus is that in spades. Fonda documents every step of the labor-intensive process by which she creates her masterful drawings of piles of junk. This body of work, one of which won the best of show award at last year’s State Fair art show, is a poignant comment on a sad aspect of the economic downturn our city has been experiencing.
She begins with color photos of trash piled up on the street in front of houses in her neighborhood. “Most of the piles,” she writes, “seem to occur when an address has experienced an eviction, a foreclosure or sometimes a death: always some kind of transition.” Like canaries in coal mines, they are harbingers of worse things to come. For Fonda, they represent “not only a reflection of the lending crisis but also a comment on our rampant consumerism and the utter disposability of what we produce and what we buy.”
Gioia Fonda stands in front of her winning state fair art piece, “Pile, With Soccer Ball.” The acrylic on canvas art piece placed first in the 2011 California State Fair and is currently displayed in the Kondos Gallery. Tony Wallin wallintony@yahoo.com
That is scarcely a new idea, but Fonda treats it with a mixture of sadness and a formal integrity that lends the piles a kind of monumental grace. The giant pile with a soccer ball, a potted plant, an old bike and a wheelbarrow that was shown in the State Fair exhibition is on view here and is even more imposing in the smaller Kaneko gallery.
Surrounding it are other drawings, among them “Watering Can,” a triangular pile of trash in which a watering can plays a small but significant role. A trio of drawings on the wall across from it features tangles of netting, worn tires, plastic jugs, and a stuffed toy. These are not only commentaries on our throwaway culture but strong abstractions reminiscent at times of Bauhaus Constructivism.
As interesting as the finished drawings are, a series of works that demonstrate how Fonda arrives at her destinations. She begins with the color photos, then isolates the shapes of the objects in the piles, draws them on paper and cuts them out. These cuttings she piles up and arranges into collages from which she then makes Xerox prints. It’s a lengthy, exacting and time-consuming process, but it pays off with drawings that are both moving and formally elegant.
Accompanying Fonda’s works at the campus gallery is a series of mostly small bronze and ceramic sculptures by Garr Ugalde. Their imagery is both innocent and menacing. Combining childhood toys with instruments of war, they comment on “how quickly the world engages its children in war.” “Beehive Rocker” places a child on a crude rocking horse surrounded by alphabet blocks. A beehive placed over the child’s head adds a surreal note of danger. “Pecker” combines grenades and bird skulls. “Night Mother” gives us a pregnant woman with a birdhouse on her head.
Children’s toys and the use of bird imagery, Ugalde writes, “speak to the ideal of freedom, innocence, and the safety of home.” Though superficially, he notes, they seem to be innocuous, lurking among them are instruments of destruction, many derived from war toys. Ugalde’s small works made of bronze are intricate and imbued with a dark humor that turns disturbing as you note the details in them. A larger piece made of ceramic is blunter. Titled “I Used To Carry a Big Stick, Two,” it gives us a pit bull with a grenade in its mouth sitting on a block covered with an American flag. Small texts cite places in which confrontations have occurred, among them Wounded Knee, Guantánamo and Havana. Ugalde’s work is a nice complement to Fonda’s and the two visions result in a show that is both moving and thought-provoking. Curator Ramsey Harris has done a great job of installing the show.
GIOIA FONDA: THE PILE SERIES
GARR UGALDE: WAR STORIES
What: Gioia Fonda lends a monumental grace to piles of refuse that she sees as “a comment on our rampant consumerism and the utter disposability of what we produce and what we buy.” A complementary exhibit of small bronze and ceramic sculptures comes from Garr Ugalde. His imagery is both innocent and menacing, a comment on “how quickly the world engages its children in war.”
Where: James Kaneko Gallery, Room 503, American River College, 4700 College Oak Drive, Sacramento
When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays, or by appointment, through Feb. 8
Cost: Free
Contact: (916) 484-8399
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
Also see: Art instructor, Gioia Fonda wins State Fair competition
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Dec 03
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POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Elbie Fonda set high goals for the 2011 football season. The Caruthersville senior wanted to run for 3,000 yards and lead his team to a state championship. For a shot at one, however, he had to sacrifice the other. “We believed he could do it, but as things progressed, we wanted to take care of his body because we were hoping for 15 games,” Caruthersville coach Nathan Morgan said. “He understood that and did exactly what was needed without question.”
Caruthersville's Elbie Fonda was presented with the Carr Trophy during Wednesday's Poplar Bluff Letter Club's Gridiron Banquet. (Brian Rosener ~ Daily American Republic)
Fonda put together an outstanding season, one good enough to earn him the Carr Trophy as the most outstanding player in the SEMO Conference. Fonda was presented the award Wednesday night during the 66th annual Poplar Bluff Letter Club Gridiron Banquet. Fonda is the fourth Caruthersville player to win the award, given annually since 1979, and the first Tigers player since Kendrickus Reed in 2006.
Jimmy Jackson, Caruthersville’s first Carr winner in 2003, was an assistant coach for the Tigers this year and held the school record Fonda was shooting for — 2,564 yards rushing. “He’s like an inspiration to me,” Fonda said about Jackson. “Make me want to win it. I wanted to be better than him.”
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound running back ran for 1,889 yards and 25 touchdowns during the regular season to lead the conference. He averaged 12.6 yards per carry. He finished with 2,602 yards combined rushing and receiving and scored 33 times to go with 31 tackles on defense.
Fonda shared the ball with Darrell Monroe, who also was named to the all-conference backfield. Monroe, a sophomore, ran for 1,019 yards during the regular season. “I had no problem with it,” Fonda said. “I wanted to win.” The Tigers only dropped a 56-55 thriller to Dexter for the conference title and fell to Maplewood-Richmond Heights 36-29 in the Class 2 state quarterfinals to finish 11-2.
Caruthersville's Elbie Fonda looks for running room against Dexter on Friday night in Dexter - Oct. 8, 2011 (David Jenkins ~ Sikeston Standard Democrat)
Fonda also won the scoring award in the Central and was one of five Carr finalists announced at the banquet. The other finalists were Sikeston’s James Watson, who rushed for 1,485 yards, Dexter quarterback Cody Stevens, who threw for 1,375 yards and ran for 1,184 yards, Farmington quarterback Chase Busenbark, who threw for 1,698 yards, and Chaffee’s Tyson Estes, who ran for 1,431 yards and earned the scoring award for the South. “All great athletes,” Morgan said. “It was a good class, so Elbie has something to be proud of to win it this year.”
The Carr Trophy is named in honor of the late E.E. “Bus” Carr, an early member of the Letter Club who devoted 50 years of service to area athletics serving as an announcer for radio station KWOC in Poplar Bluff. A committee composed of area high school football officials makes the selection.
Also presented with awards were Farmington linebacker Roper Garrett with the inaugural Derland Moore Award for the most outstanding defensive player in the conference. Moore, a 14-year NFL player for the New Orleans Saints who was named a second-team SEMO Conference player as a senior at Poplar Bluff, presented the award to Garrett, who had 82 tackles and 45 assists, six sacks and three forced fumbles for the state semifinalist Knights.
Jackson assistant coach Bob Sink was presented with the Sam Giambelluca Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to high school athletics over a 41-year career. He announced his retirement during the Jackson football banquet last month. The linemen awards went to Farmington’s Ethan Hennes, Zach Lacey of Dexter and Zach Estes of Scott City. Farmington’s Connor Davault won the scoring award for the North, and Knights coach Todd Vaughn was named coach of the year, along with Dexter’s Aaron Pixley and Hayti’s Justin Peden.
© Copyright 2011 Southeast Missourian. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Other links: YouTube, MaxPreps
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Nov 27
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Fonda – Better Days (Album Review)
Thanks to their dead-on instincts for engaging melodies and their heavy My Bloody Valentine influences, Better Days is a focused set of lush, dreamy pop.
In the eight years between Catching up to the Future and Fonda’s new EP, Better Days, the band’s principal songwriting duo, Emily Cook and David Klotz, have devoted their energies to some truly questionable projects: Cook contributed to the screenplay of the execrable Gnomeo & Juliet, while Klotz is the music editor for the ongoing pop-culture nightmare that is Glee. Egregious and eyebrow-raising though those credits may be, Cook and Klotz’s work here is characterized by relatively good taste. Thanks to their dead-on instincts for engaging melodies and their heavy My Bloody Valentine influences, Better Days is a focused set of lush, dreamy pop.
The massive power chords and thundering percussion line of the title track open the EP on something of a Coldplay note, but a heavily distorted lead guitar line quickly kicks in and the song’s melody takes a minor-key turn, recasting the song as an effective and on-point homage to early-’90s shoegaze. Cook and Klotz sing lead in unison on “A Love That Won’t Let You Go,” and they use off-kilter, slightly discordant harmonies to bring a real sense of tension to the track. While that approach to arrangements might not be novel (Fonda is hardly the first act to draw heavily from the Jesus and Mary Chain), it’s something they make effective use of over the course of Better Days, allowing their deliberate aesthetic choices to play as big a role as their lyrics and performances in creating the EP’s tone.
In the eight years between Catching up to the Future and Fonda's new EP, Better Days, the band's principal songwriting duo, Emily Cook and David Klotz, have devoted their energies to some truly questionable projects: Cook contributed to the screenplay of the execrable Gnomeo & Juliet, while Klotz is the music editor for the ongoing pop-culture nightmare that is Glee.
To that end, Fonda absolutely makes the most of Better Days’s scant running time. Even with the new track, “Some Things Aren’t Worth Knowing,” added to the set for this new rerelease, the EP doesn’t even scratch a full 20 minutes. None of the songs ever threaten to overstay their welcome (“In the Coach Station Light” is an unabashedly lovely two minutes), and there’s something to be said for the degree of precision Fonda brings to their songwriting, especially on the riotous, punk-inflected standout “My Heart Is Dancing.” That said, even in a market that’s increasingly singles-driven, the sheer brevity of Better Days casts the EP as more of a teaser for a bigger project than as a standalone release.
Other links: Youtube, Fondamusic, Bandcamp
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Oct 22
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Blane Fonda – 10.03.11
Interviewed by: Jenny Tate (10/11/11)
The following is a mini interview of generic questions that we posed to all bands that wanted to answer:
Blane Fonda (Questions answered by Matthew Witt)
www.blanefonda.com
www.facebook.com/BlaneFondaMusic
www.twitter.com/BlaneFonda
1. How did you get your band name?
Blane Fonda is a pen name that our singer used back in his college years. He would post pics and comments about his old band under the name. The band never knew it was him, and they believed Blane Fonda was a super fan of the band.
2. How did this band get started?
Blane Fonda was formed from the instrumental members of The Sapiens and the singer from Technicolor Stallion. The Sapiens needed a new singer and they found Mark (singer) on Craigslist. From there Blane Fonda was born.
3. What bands are you influenced by?
Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Muse, ELO, The Killers, Tears for Fears, Flaming Lips, The Cure, The National, Chet Baker, this list can go on forever.
4. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
The Rolling Stones back in the 70’s. The Stones are the definition of a rock band. Their music is timeless, and they are definitely known to party hard. It would be exciting to play in a era when music was raw and the corporate world wasn’t running the music industry.
5. Best food to eat on tour?
We are fortunate to have a food coach in the band (Dave the bassist). He prefers for us to split a chicken sandwich before a show with Miller High Life, and on the road we eat Sunflower seeds (ranch flavor) and drink Gatorade.
6. Why should people listen to your band?
We are a fun band with clever lyrics and catchy hooks. Our music is melodic and energetic. Your dads will love us and your 12-year-old niece will too!
8. If you won a Grammy, who would you thank?
Parents, Family, and Friends!
9. If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be?
I think the radio industry needs to change. Radio is monopolized by the corporate world. It seems that you have 5 stations playing the same 20 cookie cutter songs all day long. There is no variety anymore, and it’s almost impossible to hear something fresh. Internet radio has become popular because of its variety. It should be easier for bands to get their songs played on their local stations, which seems impossible today.
10. Memorable tour experience?
Playing at the ES Jungle in Indianapolis. Our second show at the venue, we had fans singing lyrics to all our songs. Stage diving and crowd surfing was happening all around us. It was a surreal moment – it felt like we were in a staged music video. The energy in the venue was explosive. It’s moments like this that makes being a musician worth all the hassle.
11. What does AP.net mean to you?
AP.net means a lot to bands like Blane Fonda who are DIY. You give us a opportunity to get our name and songs out to people who would have ever heard us. In today’s music scene, it’s hard to get credible acknowledgment if you don’t have professional representation. AP.net definitely helps out the DIY scene.
12. What is your favorite song to play?
“Cucccurucucu” by Franco Battiato. It’s an Italian pop song that we were asked to play for a fashion show. We don’t speak Italian so we don’t know what we’re saying, but it’s one catchy tune.
13. What is your vacation spot of choice?
Maui, Hawaii.
14. What music reminds you of your childhood?
Grunge music: Specifically Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It was the anthem song during middle school – every garage band was covering it.
15. If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
To fly at super sonic speeds, so I never have to be stuck in traffic or buy a plane ticket.
16. Any pre-show superstitions or rituals?
Eat half of a chicken sandwich and pound a Miller High Life down. And if I have enough money, a shot of Jameson.
17. What is something that most fans don’t know about you?
I used to kill mosquitos for a summer job.
18. What is your assessment of the current state of radio? Do you think it’s a place where your band could flourish?
Radio is pretty stagnant right now. I do not listen to it much, because the same 20 tunes are played on it. The corporate world has monopolized the radio stations and force them to play the same cookie cutter songs. I do give props to 93.1 WXRT in Chicago for breaking the mold. They play a large variety of music that keeps me listening. If Blane Fonda could get their tunes on radio, we could definitely flourish from it. People still listen to radio, and if we could reach them through radio, it could only help us draw a larger fan base.
19. What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time I fish for musky.
20. What kind of hidden talents do you have?
I can blow bubbles off my tongue.
