Pat Bogdanski of Clarinda relaxes at her dining room table as she talks about the friendships she has made because of the Glenn Miller Festival.
Wonderful music, wonderful people for Pat Bogdanski
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Pat Bogdanski of Clarinda relaxes at her dining room table as she talks about the friendships she has made because of the Glenn Miller Festival. |
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Pat Bogdanski likes to be involved in her community. Her family would agree that this volunteer enjoys keeping busy and reaping the benefits of small town living. Right now, Pat’s enjoying a little down time after the conclusion of one of her favorite community projects: The Glenn Miller Festival. But she won’t keep still for long, because another of her favorite community endeavors is the Clarinda A’s baseball team. In fact, she credits the team with her adoption of Clarinda as home.
“The A’s brought us here and that’s what kept us here,” Pat explains, noting that both she and her husband, Bo as he is known to most folks, are from the Chicago area. They came to Clarinda in the mid-1970s.
“My husband played for the A’s in the mid-70s and one summer, he drove back and forth and then decided that was enough of that.”
So the couple relocated and Clarinda has been home ever since. They’ve maintained their involvement with the A’s organization even after Bo stopped playing. This summer, as they have with most, they’re hosting players. In fact, this is a second generation A’s summer. One young man’s father played for the A’s 20-some years ago.
“One player I’m housing this summer, his father played here and then went on out to California and now he’s sending his sons here. I hosted the older son last summer,” Pat explains.
Such is the mystique of Clarinda and the draw of the A’s program. Another community event near and dear to Pat’s heart is the recently concluded Glenn Miller Festival.
“We have been heavily involved in the A’s program,” Pat points out. “My husband played for several years, then he even coached some. Then I found Glenn Miller.”
Pat admits that she is a late-comer to the Glenn Miller phenomenon, but she has quickly made up for lost time. Her involvement began in the early 1990s.
“I didn’t go until 1993 or so, then I decided that I’d see what this was all about, see what was going on. I went into the auditorium and everyone around me was from another state or country and it was just amazing. I heard the music and I was hooked.”
You might say Pat jumped into the middle of the festival and soon became what she calls, the festival “matchmaker.” She finds homes for the many musicians and band members coming to the festival from outside the United States. Some years that number exceeds 100.
“People in Clarinda are wonderful,” Pat says. “They open their doors, their homes. I have people tell me that they won’t be here during the festival but they say ‘Here’s the key. You take my house while we’re gone.’ You can’t find that kind of trust anywhere else.”
For Pat, that is the biggest plus from the festival—the people. She counts among her friends many musicians who make Clarinda a regular stop on their summer schedule.
“I said goodbye this morning to a man from the Netherlands. He brings his band here every year. The friendships you make from this are just awesome. Every year I can’t wait to see these people again. Wonderful friends.”
Pat credits the Clarinda community with supporting the Glenn Miller efforts. She points out that an illness forced one couple to forgo hosting band members this year and that left Pat finding homes at the last minute for four musicians. A couple phone calls later and she had places for six people, not just the four she needed!
“People in Clarinda are wonderful. They help me so much. I couldn’t do what I do without them saying ‘yes’ to my call.”
Small-town Clarinda, Iowa, must seem different after growing up in the Chicago area. Does Pat ever miss the city life? Her answer is a definitive “no.”
“Here, you know everybody. Back home, you go to the store and you don’t know anybody. Here you walk down the street and say ‘hi’ to just about everyone you meet. That’s just the way it is here.”
When she’s not working with the Glenn Miller Festival or enjoying the baseball season with the Clarinda A’s, Pat works at Lisle Corporation. She and Bo have two children: Son Scott lives in Des Moines and daughter Kelsi Bruce lives in Villisca. The couple has six grandchildren.
With the Glenn Miller Festival concluded for one summer, Pat will spend her time at the baseball field and enjoying her grandchildren. Until the next opportunity comes along.
“I don’t sit well. I like being involved. It’s a good feeling.”