Local educator uses 'pandemic time' to organize a half-century of memories

HERRIN - Karen Sala has spent many of her "shelter in place" hours organizing photos and mementos from her 53-year teaching career.

"I'm trying to fill dead time," said Sala from her home in Herrin.

Although she officially "retired" from her position at John A. Logan College in 2002, she never actually stopped and still teaches at least three classes each semester.

Sala, who began her career in 1968, is the longest continuous instructor at JALC.

That makes for a lot of students even before counting those who traveled from across southern Illinois to study voice under Sala or those who took the stage in nearly 40 musical productions, tributes, and reviews that she has directed during her career.

Sala said she has sorted through thousands of photos and still has about 2,000 more to go.

That number is surprising given that many of those photos were in two of her homes that burned.

"My family home burned while I was in grad school," she said, noting that photos soaked in water were pressed and saved. "Then after I was married, my house burned to the ground except for one wall."

That wall held a fireplace and bookshelves filled with Sala's scrapbooks.

These days, when she's not in the classroom or working with her vocal students and pageant girls, Sala spends time on the road traveling to see her former students in professional venues across the United States.

With nearly 120 of those students who have gone on to professional roles, that makes for a lot of miles.

Sala's students, like Benton native Josh Kimball, have appeared on cruise ships. They have toured the country with their own bands, like Lori Eisenhauer, who has shared the stage with such country greats as Martina McBride, Ty Herndon, and the Dixie Chicks. They've headlined shows in major theme parks, like Keisha Rafe, who was one of four leads in Disney World's "Lion King," or Harrisburg native Nathan Herron, who headlined the Carolina Opry for several seasons. Herron, like Murphysboro native Stephanie Newton, also appeared on the Padgett Theatre stage. Among her other accomplishments, Newton spent several seasons performing in Dollywood.

Marion's Jeremy Parks made Sala proud when he was chosen as the lead vocalist for the U.S. Navy Band. Another Marion native, Ellie (Atwood) Perez, sang and acted her way across the U.S., landing in New York City with the Three Act Theatre.

The Big Apple is also home to more of Sala's students, off-Broadway actors Caleb Dehne from Benton, and Adam Kee from Johnston City.

Three years ago, Sala got the thrill of a lifetime when one of her students, Nicole Scimeca, a Chicago native with southern Illinois ties (her aunt is Benton's Pam Kimball of Pyramid Players) landed the role of "young Anastasia" in the original Broadway production of "Anastasia."

Nicole's other credits include roles in "Bye Bye Birdie," "Seussical" and the role of Jane Banks in "Mary Poppins."

Along with television commercial work, including the ACE Hardware "Wrap it Up" Christmas commercial from 2016 and the "Say No to Trump-Rauner Republicans" spot in 2016, Nicole landed the role of Cindy Lou Who in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," doing about 30 shows at Nashville"s Grand Ole Opry.

Sala, of course, was in the audience for that as well as in the audience during the opening week of "Anastasia."

"I've had 117 students go on to sing and act professionally," said Sala, a note of pride in her voice. "The amount of pride I have just sitting in the audience and watching them is indescribable."

Sala said that there have been many memorable moments.

"One of my favorite memories is from a production of 'Hello Dolly!' (at JALC)," she said. "Adam (Kee) and Ellie (Perez) were supposed to deliver lines after Max (Murphy, from Murphysboro) entered. For some reason, he didn't come in. Adam and Ellie sat and ad-libbed until Max entered with the line."

That production was a children's theater production, one of more than a dozen that Sala directed to give southern Illinois kids a chance to experience the stage.

Sala said that she really has no hobbies other than raising dogs and she doesn't really take vacations, although she has literally traveled from coast to coast to see "her kids" perform.

"Going to see them is a huge part of what I do," she said. "I love it ... watching the young people whose lives you played a little bit of a part in ... helping them."

Sala was scheduled to be in Florida this month to watch Josh Kimball perform but the pandemic canceled that.

So, Sala decided to take the trip down memory lane, and organize over half a century of photos. She still has about 2,000 of them to sort through.

It's likely she's not finished shooting yet, either.

Editor's note: Karen Sala taught voice to my children, Adam, mentioned in this story, and Kaitie. She was also a driving force and supporter when Johnston City High School revived musical productions in 1999, offering her assistance and expertise, as needed. Over the next 10 years, nearly 1,000 kids from that town got a taste of the limelight, a chance to make memories that might never have passed their way.