Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 2, 2022 -- SEVEN
Father Condon play to be
presented March 11
Artist in residence visits Ione
Community School
Blake Vandever, grade eight.
-Contributed photos.
Cooper Stefani and grades three and four.
Performing in the play previously were (L-R): Dan VanSchoiak, Jennifer Ashbeck, Bill Kuhn
(behind), Brian Kollman, Irelynn Kollman and Madalyn Nichols. Fr. Condon is king. -Con-
tributed photo.
Kyson Scoggins and kinder-
garten.
Ione Community
School hosted Artist in
residence, Kelly Thibo-
deaux, February 7-18. Kel-
ly Thibodeaux is a working
musician with 40 years of
professional experience as
a fiddle player and over 15
years teaching K-12 stu-
dents how to play the fiddle
(violin).
Kelly’s amazing string
teaching program was de-
signed for an entire school
with the objective of stu-
dents acquiring in a very
short time, enough basic
skills on the fiddle to be
able to solo perform a three-
chord fiddle tune with gui-
tar accompaniment. The
program was incorporated
to teach basics such as
rhythm, timing and dy-
namics.
Students learned the
historical and cultural infor-
mation on the fiddle as well
as the cultural perspectives
of music. Students, Blake
Vandever and Alex Mudge
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Kelly Thibodeaux with grades one and two.
demonstrated their new
found skills over announce-
ments for the entire school.
Originally from the
south, Kelly was born in
New Orleans and raised on
the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
He spent over thirty years
in the Pacific northwest and
currently lives in Oakridge,
OR. A spokesperson told
the Gazette, “Students had
so much fun learning how
to play the fiddle and Kelly
was very patient with stu-
dents of all ages.”
The Ione Education
Foundation has funded art-
ists in residence for the
2021-2022 school year.
“The Little Way of
Saint Therese” written
by Father Gerald Condon
will be presented Sunday,
March 6, 2022, at 3 p.m. at
the lone Community School
and on Friday evening,
March 11, 2022, at 7 p.m.
at the Gilliam and Bisbee
Building in Heppner.
“The Little Way of
Saint Therese” is the last
play written by this beloved
priest. He wrote at least 20
plays over the years with
most of them being per-
formed during the Wee Bit
O’ Ireland celebration. This
particular play was felt to
have significant meaning
to Father Condon as St.
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Therese was intricate to
Father Condon’s prayer life
as well as his mother’s.
Saint Therese was born
in France in 1873 and was
canonized by Pope Pius XI
in May of 1925. She strug-
gled with church authorities
to be permitted to enter the
Carmalite order Lisieux
due to her age. Church law
did not permit a person
so young to make such a
serious commitment. She
was refused by the Mother
Superior, went to the local
Bishop, but was denied for
entrance into the convent by
both. With an exceptionally
strong determination and a
steel will she journeyed to
request audience with the
Pope. The rest is history.
Her approach to daily life
and holiness was the “Little
Way of Spiritual Child-
hood”. She was affection-
ately known as “The Little
Flower.”
Many of the cast mem-
bers participating in this
year’s production have par-
ticipated in each of Father
Condon’s production from
the very beginning.
‘The Little Way of Saint
Therese” has enjoyed one
performance. This was on
March 8, 2020, the day fol-
lowing the death of Father
Condon. Hopefully, by rep-
resenting this inspirational
play, Father Condon’s in-
spirational words will reach
more community members
and leave the audience with
an understanding of God’s
love for “the little way”.
Cast members include
Brian Kollman, Jennifer
Ashbeck, Irelynn Kollman,
Madalyn Nichols, Janet
Greenup, Joe Lindsay, Bill
Kuhn, Dan VanSchoiack,
Beth Dickenson, Kay Proc-
tor, Maryann Elquezabal,
Rita VanSchoiack, and
Monika Elquezabal.
The Joe Lindsay Fam-
ily will perform between
acts and dessert will be pro-
vided. A free will donation
may be offered but no actual
admission fee is required.