the pendulum
STYIF
THURSDAY. MARCH 15, 2012//PAGE 15
Local craftsman builds hobby from love of bluebirds
Audrey Horwitz He spends his timp rpcoar-i,;
Audrey Horwitz
Senior Reporter
Sixty-nine-year-old O.T. Bailey has
a charming southern drawl, a gracious
smile and a passion for bluebirds.
“I’ve fallen in love with bluebirds,”
Bailey said.
The retired counselor started making
bluebird houses in 2004 after his former
secretary gave him one as a present.
“I never get sick of making them,"
Bailed said. “It’s my hobby.”
It's a craft that has quickly consumed
his garage. In his garage are dozens of
bluebird houses neatly arranged on a table
along with a framed photo of a bluebird.
.Although Bailey stores his houses in
his garage, he works up a sweat in his
workshop out back.
“This is where I sit to build them,”
Bailey said. “I turn on my radio. I just love
it.”
Nailed to the awning of his workshop
is a sign that reads “Pop Pop’s Workshop.”
“My grandkids call me Pop Pop,” Bailey
said.
Bailey enjoys sharing his enthusiasm
for bluebirds with his grandchildren.
“My grandson and I used to sit on
rocking chairs on the back porch and just
watch the birds,” Bailey said.
Before he retired and discovered
his hobby, Bailey worked in Alamance-
Burlington School System for 33 years.
He worked as a vocational rehabilitation
counselor for 27 years, retired and then
went back to work in a school cafeteria
nine days later.
“I started to work in the cafeteria
because we had a grandson that was
starting school and I wanted to be down
the hall from him,” said Bailey.
Building bluebird houses isn't
something Bailey takes lightly.
Ki ^ spends his time researching
bluebirds to ensure that his houses meet
the birds specific needs. The houses are
made of cedar, which Bailey protects by
brushing them with linseed oil. He doesn't
paint the houses because he is afraid it
will affect the baby bluebirds.
On the side of each house, Bailey
installs a hinged door for easy monitoring
and cleaning after each nesting. He
also includes a five-foot metal pole on
which the bluebird house fits. This is the
recommended height, according to The
North Carolina Bluebird Society.
Bailey sells his bluebird houses for
S40 at farmers' markets, craft fairs and
church events. He also donates many of
his houses to schools, churches and other
organizations. As a member of the Elon
Farmers Market, Bailey has connected
with the Elon community as well.
Pam Brumbaugh, the director
of Experiential Education at Elon,
acknowledges Bailey’s high quality
bluebird houses. She also values his
affection for his craft.
As a career counselor, to see someone
acting out of passion is something I can
appreciate,” Brumbaugh said. “I didn't buy
a birdhouse, but I live out in the country
where there are a lot of blue birds, so I
should. I will next time.”
Bailey takes great pride in his craft. He
has a genuine propensity for bluebirds
and in turn his hobby has invigorated
him.
“I may be 70 years old, but I feel great.”
Bailey said.
To check out Bailey’s bluebird
houses, stop by the Elon Farmer's
Market or make an appointment with
him at (336) 227-8640.
Student’s music blog attracts
following despite controversy
Adam Lawson
Assistant Sports Editor
On a September 2010 day, an Elon
University student got a text message
that made his love for music much more
tangible.
At the suggestion of his hometown
friend. Sophomore Conor Ambrose co
founded Dirty Mexican Lemonade, a
music blog that posts music reviews, links
and videos.
Neither Ambrose nor Ryan Gardner,
then a freshman at the University of
Richmond, thought their site would gcdn
fame.
The blog started as a place for the
two friends to post links to songs from
some of their favorite music artists and
provide a place for fans to download the
tunes. Shortly after bringing aboard Mike
Swiger, a mutual friend of Ambrose and
Gardner who helps with the computer
programming side of things, the website
went viral. The page has more than 10,000
likes on Facebook and got somewhere
between 60,000 and 70,000 unique
visitors last month, according to Gardner.
But with the widespread popularity
came the realization that the title Dirty
Mexican Lemonade could bring with it
negative connotations and needed to be
changed.
Right now we're DML Music LLC
operating under dml.fm. which is our
URL," Ambrose said. “There’s no more
Mexicans or lemons. That’s all in the past.”
When the page views kept rising and
Users continued to download the music
promoted on the site, people started to
«e notice that some of the songs were
‘legally shared as “leaks" not meant to
out to the public. SoundCloud, which
provides the ability to share music on
ebsites, shut DML’s account down
the company was out about $800,
according to Gardner.
inf incurred a lot of copyright
niringement notifications with
woundCloud)," Gardner said. “They
nned our account about three months
music legally, Gardner said, and there’s no
shortage of talent from unsigned artists
to choose from.
Ambrose flips open his phone and
shows 46 unread emails from people
either wanting to write for the blog or
wishing to have their music promoted on
the site.
In addition to his role as co-founder
of DML, Ambrose serves as an event
executive for Limelight Records, Elon's
student-run record label. There, he met
Elon student Josh Bonney, whose rap
songs Ambrose occasionally plugs on the
blog.
"We’ve posted a lot of Josh’s stuff
because it’s cohesive to what people are
looking for," Ambrose said.
People come to DML looking for a
wide-range of musical choice, according
to Ambrose. The company has a staff of
15 writers that cover genres ranging from
dubstep to traditional hip-hop. Whenever
a new spot becomes available, a massive
number of readers come calling for it.
“We put out an application, and it was
so well-received,” Ambrose said. “We were
so happy about that just because we got
like 140 applications. We had, like, seven
kids from Cornell, a couple other Ivy
Leaguers.”
Despite the rapid growth of the
company, DML Music LLC has yet to
see much of a profit for its endeavors.
Gardner says that doesn't bother him.
Dirty Mexican Lemonade was an idea
that he came up with in his dorm room,
one that enabled him to meet the people
behind the music he loves so much.
“It’s awesome how many relationships
we have with guys whose music we like,”
he said.
after
we purchased the operation of the
t- SoundCloud, we just posted any
if it ‘^ould get ahold of it. Regardless
for iTunes we posted it up
tho * download and also mentioned
'he artist."
’I
^ — n i_ ••A MERISSA BUTZI Staff Ptyjtographer
O.T. Bailey built his first birdhouse in 2005, and has crafted more than 400 since then.
Wise words from recent graduate
Alumna struggles after move fi'om hometown
Elon University alumna Stacy Laue,
Class of 2009 left her hometown roots
for employment as a team leader
for United Guaranty Corporation in
Greensboro. Moving
from Jacobstown,
N.J. has been a
challenge socially.
The Pendulum asked
her to reflect on
her transition from
student to resident in
a new city.
Q.‘ How is Elon
different from "the
real world?"
DML
now makes sure to promote
CLAIRE ESPARROSI Pfwio EcWor
Sophomore Conor Ambrose
afternoons updating the music s^e he buitt
with friends in his freshman year of college. |
STACY LAUE
A: Elon was an incubator for loving
relationships and friendships that are
built to last. In my opinion. I’m stocked
up pretty full of friendships that will last
a very long time — “lifers,” as my mother
calls them. It’s hard to open yourself up
to new friendships and relationships
when you’ve got all of these great ones
already.
But think back to when you were
graduating from high school and had
the same opinion. There are people that
fade away with time and distance and
departing interests, and that’s just a fact
of life — plain and simple. It’s natural
for people to enter your life for a season
and then drift off once you've grown and
learned from each other. The same thing
will probably happen this time around.
Q; What can I expect living in a new city?
you can't really put your finger on it,
but you know that something’s changed.
What I face is the need for the strong
relationships I had such immediate
access to while at Elon. I wish I had
best friends right across the hall or just
down the street. I’ve struggled to make
new friends. Maybe it's because my
standards are so high. Maybe it's because
I'm borderline workaholic material, and
I don't spend much time outside of the
office. Maybe it's because I fear going out
on a limb and becoming vulnerable to
someone I don’t even know.
Q; What can I do to accept what the
challenge of moving?
A: In the end, I think it all boils down to
good, old-fashioned fear. I fear change
and the unknown above almost anything
else. I don’t even know where to go to
make new friends. So I’m not going to
glaze over this issue and say it’s super
easy, and you’ll have no trouble. You
might have a really easy time of it, and
you won’t have to worry about this at all.
For me, once a social butterfly, this has
been extremely hard. Luckily, I’ve made
amazing friends at work, and that fills
some of my friend needs. But there are
times when I wish I had great friends
like I did in college, where we could do
nothing but sit on the couch and watch
video montages on YouTube and have the
best time doing it. It's definitely a process
and I'm still working on it, but I’ll let you
know how it goes.
A: I’ve battled
graduated, as
people drifted
out of my life.
Sometimes
it’s pretty
obvious,
when the
phone calls
get kind of
awkward and
you struggle
for common
ground and
things to talk
about. Other
times it's
much more
subtle, where
this loneliness since I
Compiled
editor.
by Rebecca Wickel, features
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