Former GreenTown Interns Exchange Vows

Chicago was the site of the August 7 marriage ceremony between Emily Schlickman and Mason Earles. Readers who have been following the Greensburg rebuilding story from the beginning might remember these two young people, who made their way to Kansas fresh from graduation from Washington University in St. Louis. In the months after the storm, when they heard about the Green Initiative, they started calling Daniel inquiring about internship possibilities. As you might imagine, folks in Greensburg have gotten LOTS of calls from LOTS of people interested in helping. Many of these offers did not pan out, well-meaning as they might have been. But there was something different about Mason and Emily and their dogged determination to get on board with GreenTown. They kept calling, and once we met them, we knew it was a match made in heaven.

Mason and Emily (or M and Em, as we call them for short) came to town without any promise of funding or even lodging. They settled into Anita and Wendell Friesen’s basement “temporarily” while looking for an Airstream trailer to renovate and call home. The whole trailer thing never panned out, and they stayed the duration of their one-year tenure here with the Friesens, becoming fast friends.

They researched funding possibilities for their positions and found AmeriCorps slots for themselves. (Part of their enduring legacy is AmeriCorps' ongoing support of GreenTown through this internship program.) They worked as our first project managers for the building of the Silo Eco-Home. They designed flyers, promotional materials and t-shirts. They were amazing ambassadors for the Green Initiative with their kindness, patience, and thorough knowledge of sustainability. But perhaps most importantly they become part of the fabric of the community and made a lasting mark on the people whose lives they touched.

Mason, who is a proficient mandolin player and guitarist, started up an old-time music band with several local guys, called the Iron Mountain String Band. They delighted audiences in the area with their beautiful, heartfelt playing. Mike Haney is the bass player for that group and was invited to be one of Mason’s attendants in the August 7 wedding ceremony. Daniel Wallach and Catherine Hart were the other Greensburg representatives at the event, and spent the better part of the evening answering people’s inquiries about how the rebuilding is going, describing the part the newlyweds played in the development of the Green Initiative, and feeling thoroughly supported by wedding guests’ genuine interest and concern for the community’s well-being.

The wedding captured Emily and Mason’s personalities to a “t”. It was held in a warehouse district in Chicago in a wonderful old building featuring exposed brick walls and rustic wood flooring. Guests were directed to an old manual typewriter where they could peck out wedding wishes. The music perfectly reflected their tastes, with a charming rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” as the first dance. In lieu of party favors, guests received a place card noting that a donation had been made to Shelterbox, an international organization that delivers emergency shelters and supplies to people affected by disasters. And in lieu of a traditional wedding cake, there were 15 different kinds of pie from a company that donates proceeds to the hungry and the homeless (First Slice). It was a rich, beautiful evening.

Now it’s back to graduate school for each of them, where they no doubt leave their marks on folks fortunate enough to encounter these bright, shining stars. Best wishes to our friends Em and M!

Comments

[Andi Dale]

Congrats to you both! Natalie, my middle daughter, still talks aobut how you played at the farmers' market last summer and she got to played on the "drums." Blessings!

Andi

[Cassie K.]

Loved the article about Mason and Emily. The picture is adorable! Best wishes to the newlyweds!