This town took a punch to the gut with the loss of Bart Clark on Sept. 5.
I was reluctant to believe it, when I heard about it that morning. Surely it was someone else, it’s not that uncommon a name, I thought.
He was very involved in Clarkston Rotary Club and the Rotarians shared how much Bart meant to them over the years in a tribute story in last week’s edition.
But the Rotary is only one thing Bart did. He also helped out considerable with the Clarkston Area Historical Society, library millage efforts, and so many other things. Folks continue to call looking to share how much Clark meant to them individually and their community groups. I encourage everyone to share their thoughts and I’ll post them here.
For me, I worked with Bart for the past several years on the veterans’ committee for the Independence Township Fourth of July festival in Clintonwood Park.
I appreciated his leadership, especially on stage during the event. He’d talk about American history and veterans, dressed in his U.S. Navy dress whites. He and other vets inspired me to work out enough to fit into my old army uniforms.
I’m going to miss him when the committee gets back together to discuss next year’s event.
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The reception has been warm to performances of the Clarkston Village Players’ “Lend Me a Tenor,” the one I’m in as the Bellhop.
We have done six shows with three left this weekend, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I’ve had lots of fun up on stage, and backstage with the cast and crew.
The show is a bit bawdy and a couple of the ladies’ roles call for them to act in their underwear for a bit. This may have been the inspiration for some of the guys running around backstage in their underwear too. Or maybe that’s just the way they do things. Anyway, it’s a great show and I’ve had to pause for laughter several times when delivering my lines. Come out and see it at the Depot Theater if you haven’t yet.