Wendt Celebrates 60 Years Of Inspiring Kids Through Music

By Kevin Gray

When Bonnie Wendt of rural Osawatomie first heard the song, “You Are My Sunshine,” she was about 3 years old. Before long, she played this song on the piano.

Her mother, Wendt said, had a beautiful voice and used to sing. “My mother was a French woman and my father an Indian. My parents were very religious, and they sang church hymns and other songs around the house,” Wendt said.

When Bonnie continued to listen to her mother sing, “You Are My Sunshine,” she sat down at their piano and started picking out the keys. “The war was on and my two brothers were older. I was 12 years younger than them. One of the boys was even called out of high school to go to war. The times were sad, and this song made things seem brighter,” she said.

Music came naturally to Bonnie. Preachers, she said were always around, and one usually came home with us every Sunday. “We would sit around singing, and I would try to pick out songs on the piano. I wasn’t ready to learn notes at the time; I wanted to do my own thing,” Bonnie said.

By the time she had turned 13, her parents had moved to a farm near Spring Hill. With three girls (two local sisters and another friend), Wendt gave her first piano lesson. “I charged 25 cents a girl and by giving lessons, I could help my parents pay for the farm. But don’t get me wrong, my brothers were working and helping with the farm payment, too,” she said.

That first piano lesson took place in 1951, and 60 years later, Wendt continues to give her lessons to budding musicians from all over the region. “This is all about the students. They come from all over everywhere. Osawatomie, Paola, Louisburg and throughout Miami County. Mound City, Ottawa, Olathe. I’m interviewing a family from Louisburg soon.

“But what I do is try to fill with people of all ages from within our community. I’d rather not take on Kansas City. It’s best to stay in our area,” she said.

Bonnie and her husband Francis farm south of Osawatomie just off of Crescent Hill Road, where she has her The Music Studio. “People might think we’re so different, Francis and I. I have my music and Francis taught at Osawatomie High School and coached for 38 years. But, I like football and sports; he loves to listen to music,” she said.

Bonnie originally made up her mind to give piano lessons when one of her brothers, a Marine, came home on leave during war time. “I made up my mind to teach every kid I knew to play piano. They always said it was like a ‘window to the soul.’ My brother helped me make up my mind, when he told me, ‘Everybody ought to know how to do this,’” Bonnie said.

During the summer, she has been giving lessons on Mondays only. As her day ended this past Monday, Amber Manning from Fontana, who will be a Prairie View Middle School sixth grader beginning in August, was leaving, having completed Bonnie’s  last lesson spot of the day.

Bonnie was particularly proud of Amber, who took first place in a music competition at Prairie View High School on May 5. “She memorized ‘Moonlight Sonata,’ all by herself. She competed against all ages, even high school kids, and won first place,” Bonnie said as she hugged Amber goodbye.

Amber, the daughter of Jim and Lori Manning, also competed on July 10 in her fourth recital, where she once again played “Moonlight Sonata.”

To show just how much she devotes her life to sharing her love of the piano with others, The Music Studio annual piano recital held every year on the second Sunday in July at Osawatomie High School can draw as many as 400 guests. “I chose from 35 to 50 students, kindergarten to sixth grade, each year, to perform.

“People even fly in for this from around the United States. My family, Francis, our sons, all help out. A daughter-in-law helps serve and decorates,” she said.

Although her summer lessons will end, she will soon return to her fall and winter after-school schedule. “To fit the students in, I tend to double up at times, like my husband used to do when he taught driver’s ed. This helps because we have a lot of class work, and they can learn from each other. The kids always take advantage by listening to what I say and following what I do,” Wendt said.

She has also found that her students are never afraid to get up on a stage, Bonnie said.

Both Francis and Bonnie grew up in Spring Hill. Francis earned his teaching degree from Pittsburg State University and began his teaching career in Weston, Mo. They came to Osawatomie in 1964, where Bonnie helped form a music club, and she has been giving piano lessons ever since. “I teach all kinds of music.

“Because I grew up with gospel, I teach a lot of Christian music. But, we play a little bit of everything,” she said.

In addition to the piano lessons, Wendt has helped train start-up bands on and off for years and encouraged her students to compose music. “Hannah Wastlund played her own composition, ‘Hannah’s Song,’ in the recital this summer. Her song is really good,” Wendt said.

As for retirement, Wendt said she plans to wait and see what the Lord has in store for her. “I have always taught music, now help take care of my grandkids, and helped start the congregation at the Church of Christ at Eighth and Main in Osawatomie. Our son John, a carpenter, and his brothers helped build the church,” Bonnie said.

The best way to describe her life, she said, is to place the Lord first, family second, and my music students third. “This is the way I have it all lined up. This is the way I was raised. All of my children – five boys – learned to play the piano and enjoyed it,” Bonnie said.

But as with any school setting, Bonnie and Francis find safety a priority because of the number of parents dropping off and picking up students. “Francis always has a lot of farm equipment going back and forth in the drives. This is just the nature of a farm,” she said.

For this reason, one of her sons helped install a computer monitor with an outside camera designed to allow Wendt to know when a parent is in the driveway ready to pick up their child. She does not allow any student to leave the house unless she knows a parent is waiting. “Pretty soon, we should be able to monitor outside activity all the way around the house. You can’t take chances with the safety of children,” she said.

“Yes, it’s all for the kids. Everything, I do, is all about the kids, just like one big family,” Bonnie said.

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Posted by admin on Aug 3 2011. Filed under News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry