Sattler’s back, drawn to Lafayette cartooning, again

Former J&C cartoonist starts free Substack version. Plus, United Way recalculates, sets ambitious $5M goal. A new look, spot for Ouibache roots music fest. And so much else going on Saturday.

Thanks to today’s sponsor, the West Lafayette Public Library Foundation. The community is invited Saturday to help celebrate the grand re-opening and ribbon cutting for the newly expanded and remodeled West Lafayette Public Library. Enjoy library tours, hands-on activities, door prizes, live music and outdoor treats on the new North Chauncey Avenue Plaza in the 200 block of Chauncey Avenue, between the library and Margerum City Hall. For more information, check the links below.

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DAVE SATTLER GETS AN ITCH TO DRAW LAFAYETTE, AGAIN

Since I started messing around here at the Based in Lafayette reporting project, I’ve had plenty of suggestions for additions. The top ones: 1. When are you going to run obituaries? 2. Why don’t you ask Dave Sattler to start doing cartoons again?

The answer on obits: Easier said than done, but who knows where this thing is headed?

On Sattler: Well, Dave – who drew weekly editorial cartoons for the Journal & Courier for 49 (!!) years – was already running out occasional pieces on social media. And, with Substack available, I figured it was a no-brainer for him to jump in and get those cartoons out to subscribers who miss him.

This week, Sattler took that plunge, publishing his first entry at My View From Here And … Beyond, now open for business. (You’re a subscriber here, more than likely, if you’re reading this. So, I won’t bother to explain how Substack works.)

I asked Sattler – retired after selling Lafayette Printing Co. and off tending to bee hives, among other things – what was up.

Question: When did you get the itch to start making cartoons, again? Tending to the beehives not enough in retirement?

Dave Sattler: Actually it was in June of 2020 when former Purdue AD Morgan Burke passed away. He was a personal friend, and when we heard the news, I told my wife, Nancy, that I wished I was still doing cartoons for the J&C because this needed a tribute cartoon. She said, Why don’t you do it, anyway? 

So I did and posted it on Facebook. It got a huge response, and I felt like I had maybe helped somebody in the grieving process. That was when I felt the urge.

Question: Up until now, how have you been getting your cartoons out there?

Dave Sattler: Mostly on Facebook and Instagram, occasionally. 

Question: What’s been the reaction in the community, more than 50 years after your first cartoons?

Dave Sattler: Way better than I anticipated. But mostly it’s the people who were readers back in my J&C days. However, I’ve added many more in the last year or so. And I also get great comments when I run ones from the archives. 

Question: Why go the newsletter/Substack route now?

Dave Sattler: I like the way they assist in the whole publishing process. It’s not just me going it alone.

Question: What can subscribers expect from you, not only in numbers but in what you’ll focus on?

Dave Sattler: My plan for the focus is to do exactly what I did for those 49 years. Reflections of what’s happening in our community. There may occasionally be a position on a public topic but always in a respectful way. But often it’ll be observations of life in Tippecanoe County … the county fair, the Feast, the Aviators, raking leaves, back to school, etc.

I plan to draw at least two original cartoons per month plus republish at least two archive cartoons per month. So basically, something weekly. 

Question: How did you settle on your first subject – the new Verdin Clock Co. addition at Fifth and Main streets, a gift from Bob and Rhonda Feuer – to kick off the newsletter this week? 

Dave Sattler: I saw the clock downtown first  then read about it. Plus, I know Bob and his dedication to Rotary. And it’s highly visible. It had the “makings.”

By Dave Sattler

Question: On those archived cartoons, will there be some sort of history lesson or context attached? As much as we’d like to believe it, even some people who qualify as long-timers around here don’t remember the railroad tracks down the middle of Fifth Street.

Dave Sattler: There will always be some information about the reason the cartoon was even drawn and, of course, the date published. I will look forward to readers helping fill in the cracks with their own recollections.

Question: Is this going to be free, or are you considering some sort of paid subscription option?

Dave Sattler: Yes. Free for the time being. Someday, I may add a modest paywall for all posts, but even then, there will always be some that will be free.

Question: Are you going to miss walking these cartoons over to the J&C and having someone give your work the once-over before going to print? The “Ones That Were Rejected” moments are the best parts of your public talks.

Dave Sattler: I still have one person looking at them before I hit “publish.” Thirty-year, fifth-grade teacher Nancy Sattler usually gives it a “that’s OK” or “I don’t get it” review. But you’re right, I had many eyes see it before sending in to the J&C. I had one friend who said, “Are you really taking that in?”  It was published without a question but got 19 letters to the editor. All of those were critical. I’ll show it someday. The “ones that were rejected” are always the highlight of the talks. The people feel like they are seeing something maybe nasty behind the curtain. They get to hear the back story about it  from me. It’s like we’re a secret club.

Question: What other context should I know?

Dave Sattler: When I was drawing a weekly cartoon for 49 plus years (2,433 cartoons), I was working full time as was my wife and were raising four busy kids. We are both retired now, and I have the time to create new work. Heck, maybe they’ll even be better. Who knows?

GETTING THERE: To check out Sattler’s Substack, My View from Here And … Beyond, go to: davesattler.substack.com.

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(Photo: Dave Bangert)

UNITED WAY AIMS FOR $5 MILLION THIS TIME: The pandemic ended a string of four consecutive $5 million-plus campaigns for United Way of Greater Lafayette, which followed those with dipping amounts, including $4.6 million in 2021.

On Thursday, Jim Smith – Kirby Risk Service Center general manager and the 2022 campaign chairman – said the lagging numbers coincided with requests for help ratcheting up at 26 Greater Lafayette nonprofits that get part of their funding from the United Way.

“The problem is, the needs in our community are so much bigger,” Smith said Thursday, during a United Way campaign kickoff at the Stables Event Center south of Lafayette.

The goal announced for this year’s campaign was a throwback to pre-COVID days: $5 million.

Smith called the 8% increase over last year’s total was a stretch, but doable – and necessary. The room, lined with leaders from Mental Health America, the Lafayette Adult Resource Academy, Willowstone Family Services and nearly two dozen other agencies, he said, was filled with people who “save lives” at a time of he called a mental health crisis in the community.

Telling stories about some of the people who will be featured in United Way’s campaign – those who finished high school with the help of LARA or found help with drug addiction or depression through Mental Health America – Smith compared United Way partners to a phone’s navigation system while driving.

“Sometimes, for whatever reason, you turn left instead of turning right, you’re in the right lane instead of the left lane, you exit a bit too early, you miss your exit,” Smith said. “What does the navigation tell you? It doesn’t say you self-destruct in 10 seconds. It says, Recalculate. That’s what I think United Way of Greater Lafayette and partner agencies are here for. … We’ve got to feed our navigation system.”

Debra Spesard, United Way board president, said: “We have a big goal. … We need our community to rally.”

The 2022 campaign will continue into November.

• WHAT YOU CAN DO: To donate or to get your company involved, go to uwlafayette.org/donate.

• UNITED WAY’S KICKOFF 5K, SATURDAY: The United Way of Greater Lafayette will host its inaugural Run United 5K on Saturday, Aug. 27, at Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 5500 Indiana 38 East. United Way set a goal to have 150 runners and walkers. As of Thursday, it had 139. Entries are $20 in advance, $25 on Saturday. Registration starts at 8 a.m. The 5K starts at 9 a.m. For more details or to sign up, go to: uwlafayette.org/5k 

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A NEW PATH FOR OUIBACHE, A ROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL: New digs in Columbian Park and a new approach greet this year’s Ouibache, a roots music festival that has bounced around since getting its start at the Tippecanoe County Amphitheater a few years ago.

 In 2021, making a post-COVID comeback, organizers of Ouibache (pronounce it “WEE-buh-SHAY”) set the festival on stages on Upper Main Street for a daylong event, with sets the night before at The Arts Federation. The plan was spend this weekend with two nights on Main Street, between Ninth and 11th streets, for the fifth edition of the music festival, featuring a mix of local, regional and national acts. 

Scott Freeman, a Ouibache organizer, said that plan started to unravel in the months after the city approved the street closure in February. He said businesses in the block were concerned about traffic to their places, and the festival was concerned about the work it would take to keep a tally of people let through the gates without tickets so diners who weren’t there for the concerts could get seated at restaurants in those blocks.

Freeman said that as organizers were casting about for a new spot for the festival, which raises money for local music education programs, the city offered options at Columbian Park. He said they settled on the newly renovated Memorial Island amphitheater.

Ouibache scaled its summer concert to three acts on one night, presented for free Saturday night. (Donations and tips welcome.) And Freeman said the group has lined up three concerts to run seasonally through the rest of the year.

“This really worked out for the best for all of us,” Freeman said. “And the music – it’s going to be amazing.”

 Ouibache will be 5-10 p.m. at the Memorial Island. Admission is free. The lineup:

• 5 p.m.: Jarrard Harris, jazz saxophonist

• 6:30 p.m.: Rachel Baiman, Americana songwriter

• 8:30 p.m. : The Lao Tizer Quartet, featuring Eric Marienthal,

For more information, go to: ouibache.com.

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SPEAKING OF THINGS GOING ON …: Saturday’s is jammed with events Saturday. On top of what’s listed above – Ouibache, the West Lafayette Public Library’s grand re-opening, the Live United 5K – how about a couple of more options:

• Beers Across the Wabash: The Friends of Downtown presents the 10th annual Beers Across the Wabash, 2-5 p.m., featuring Indiana’s finest small breweries on the John T. Myers Pedestrian Bridge, between downtown Lafayette and West Lafayette. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 the day of the event (subject to availability). Proceeds will go to Food Finders Food Bank and its efforts to fend off food insecurity for families in and around the Greater Lafayette region. For tickets and more information, here’s your link.

• Indiana Bacon Fest: There’s little hiding what this Delphi tradition includes: Bacon, bourbon, brews and barbecue. And this year’s headliner: Foghat. (Yes, “Fool for the City,” “Slow Ride” … that Foghat.) The Indiana Bacon Fest runs from 3-11 p.m. Saturday in downtown Delphi, northeast of Lafayette along the Hoosier Heartland Highway. Admission is $8 in advance, $15 at the gate (kids 12 and younger get in free). To get tickets: indianabaconfestival.com/tickets.

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Thanks again to today’s sponsor, the West Lafayette Public Library Foundation, with its save the date for the grand re-opening and ribbon cutting for the newly expanded and remodeled West Lafayette Public Library. For details, scroll back to the top of this newsletter or go to wlaf.lib.in.us.

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Tips or story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com. Also on Twitter and Instagram.