‘The Hag’ wows OLLI class

By Jaclyn Loveless

It's not often celebrities make an appearance in a CSUB classroom, but for OLLI members it's just another part of their curriculum.

Robert Price's "The Bakersfield Sound: Migration, Poverty, and Twang" class got a surprise visit from an "Okie From Muskogee." Country music legend Merle Haggard visited The Bakersfield Californian columnist's class during the winter quarter. Haggard sat amongst the students for nearly two hours sharing his story and his place in country music history.

"Bakersfield Sound" is just one of several courses that have been offered through CSUB's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). The Bernard Osher Foundation has joined with CSUB's School of Humanities and Social Sciences to offer a unique educational opportunity - with a focus on people 50 years of age and older, membership in OLLI provides opportunities to explore new topics and meet new people through noncredit courses. The courses are designed for individuals to have fun while learning and not worry about tests or grades.

Pat Patterson, OLLI member, was in on the Haggard secret appearance. "I'm friends with Merle's sister and we enrolled immediately in the class," Patterson explained. "I wanted to tell everybody who she was but she didn't want to. … The class started talking about the street being named after Merle and she called him up and asked, 'How close are you to Bakersfield?'"

At the very last class meeting Haggard stood outside the classroom with Patterson and his sister. "Nobody even noticed him and he went in and sat down," she said. "Bob Price told the class he had someone he wanted to introduce. … Merle got up in his leather coat and Levi's and walked to the front of the class … the class was surprised."

That wasn't their last celebrity encounter. Price's class even got a tour of Buck Owens' Crystal Palace by the owner himself. Owens gave OLLI members a personal tour of his memorabilia and the students were treated to a special performance following dinner.

Price's course is tentatively set to be offered again next winter.

OLLI has rolled out a number of classes for the spring quarter including "Click It! Digital Photography: The Basics," "Magic 101: Performing Magic and the Magic Castle," and the "Culture and History of Beer."

Parents shouldn't worry; their students aren't going to be drinking. In fact, the first class will feature a guest speaker from the counseling center on alcohol awareness.

Communications professor Judith Pratt is a somewhat self-proclaimed Canadian beer gourmet and will be heading the class. "Living in two countries that appreciate beer, I've really grown to appreciate the skill and the taste of good beer. And traveling in Europe a lot I really enjoyed sampling the regional beers and learning how and why they make them the flavors they do," she said. "I've seen the growth of microbrews traveling on the West Coast and the homebrews of Portland and Seattle…you get a sense of what's important in flavors and how you achieve these flavors."

Pratt said the class would take a field trip to Lengthwise Brewery owned by two CSUB graduates in Bakersfield and will walk through the process of beer making.

"Students should know it's part of America's history. It's even mentioned in bootleggers' documents found in the Mayflower," she said. "It will give them the chance to learn about something we may take for granted. Beer is beer but there is so much that goes into making it, bottling it, and marketing it."

All ages are welcome, so family and friends can become OLLI members and take a course together. And the School of Humanities and Social Sciences is trying to make the program even more accessible by offering a free one-year membership to CSUB alumni who have graduated within the last year and 60+ Club members.

Individuals can purchase a yearlong membership for $25 and pay $2 per class. They may also sign up for a lifelong membership for $1,000 or become a lifetime benefactor for $5,000.

"This project will be positive for our community in many ways," said Beth Rienzi, CSUB director of OLLI. "It brings in money that we can use to endow the program and it provides educational opportunities in an area of California that has the lowest education and income levels. Once we get a solid base of members we will use some of the money to bring in speakers like Joe Wilson or Ray Bradbury."

Special interest topics will be developed on the advice of community advisory groups, and courses will be presented at diverse locations to serve those with limited transportation. Rienzi said they are currently working with the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, to present programs in Arvin and Lamont. "We want to target the diversity Kern County has," Rienzi said. "In talking with our contacts in Arvin, they may want us to develop some presentations that are given in Spanish. We want to target communities that are tied together. They can tell us the kinds of things they want to learn about."

Yvette Morones, CSUB OLLI coordinator, said this concept is almost like a "mobile university. The community would provide the promotion and a place and we would provide the program." And those that participate in the community advisory groups would also be eligible for a free one-year membership. "We would be working with the parents and grandparents of the students we are actually targeting," Rienzi said. "We would engage them on this intellectual aspect and get them to talk to their kids about the things they are learning. This is the perfect circle."

Building a positive OLLI membership and maintaining it over a three-year funded period could lead the university to be considered for a $1 million endowment by the Osher Foundation. It is hoped OLLI membership will reach 400 by spring.