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Page 19 text:
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The team of Oliver I he Dummy and Sharon Pek work hard on their routine, Oliver said their classy net w s limited only to Pole's imagination. of them made by Pole's father. Oliver hail that special touch of class which set him apart from the others, He said that since he stood out in a crowd, it was only a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Their relationship began in a Denver ventriloquism shop where he hung out. He was the ideal candidate to play the naughty role while Pelc played the nice role, Oliver recalled. Pelc couldn’t resist. Oliver's natty attire and classy demeanor were the finish- ing touch to a class act. His only speaking limitations were the script and Pelc. And of course, Oliver always tried to be a good listener. With Oliver in hand and serious thought to her education, Pole studied and graduated from Chadron State College in speech and English. “I went from small school to small school, Pelc said. Even though she pre- ferred a small school setting, she and Oliver continued to enjoy the applause of a crowd. Oliver remembered that upon Pole's college graduation they hit (he big lime. Pelc was persuaded to enter the 1974 Miss Nebraska pageant and won. Oliver was beside himself as they prepared for the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City. He knew he held only a minor part, but as Pelc learned to model and detail her talent, their act solidified. Neither was disappointed when they were not placed in the top 10. Both Pole and Oliver were amazed by what they found in the pageant. They were amazed by the ambitious women and the never-ending press coverage. They found it peculiar that the press wanted their opinion on every- thing. Oliver laughed as he recalled that Pelc had said, “They should be covering foreign wars or something.” After Atlantic City, Oliver and Pole tried several forms of entertainment. Prom a television host show in Iowa to a talent agency in Minneapolis, they entertained. Pole’s experiences as Miss Nebraska opened doors for their talent. The stops on their journey were never pre-planned. “Life is led by coincidence. 1 didn't sit down and do career planning, Pelc said, “When my need to entertain decreased, I packed Oliver in his trunk and enrolled in KSC where my sister was.” Pelc worked on a master’s degree in counseling and then on to the MBA program. Pelc said the aspects of the MBA program arc truly great and KSC students are lucky to have this program available. Over six years ago, KSC hired Pelc as director of financial aid, and then later as the director of' the Student Union. Oliver and those days of entertainment were becoming part of her past. On occasion, Pelc and Oliver still entertain locally. Pelc said she always wanted to entertain, did it, and got it out of her system. Pole said with a smile that it is easier to do their act in front of children because children do not recognize a minor mistake now and then. Oliver knows that his days of glory are numbered. His satisfaction comes from knowing that he helped Pelc experience life in a special way. If Oliver had it to do over again, he still would have been that wooden dummy smiling at the world through the Denver shop window on the day Sharon Pele came to town, Pole busy on the phone in the Nebraskan. Ci.vr.-sd,:
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Page 18 text:
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Not just another dummy GCtue a class act History endowed us with many “Olivers” including Oliver Twist, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Oliver Hardy among the most famous. One special Oliver remains for you to meet. Oliver the Dummy happens to be a close, personal friend of SharonPelc, KSC’s director of the Nebraskan and assistant to the vice president of student affairs. For many years, she and Oliver had been an entertainment team traveling from place to place doing what they do best — ventrilo- quism. “It’s bad news not to be busy,” Pelc said recently as she tidied up her slightly disarrayed desk. She recalled Oliver was instrumental in filling her active schedule in the past but now KSC has taken over that spot. Oliver has been bumped to second place but he tries harder. Oliver suggested that we can’t win all the time but each try gives us an experience in life. Oliver's self-image never wavers. He considers himself a class act, yet he knows his limitations as a dummy. He must be content to utter only the words which Pelc chooses. These words give him his image, and Pelc protects that image as his friend. Their friendship was reinforced through their mutual admiration and that of their audiences as the twosome journeyed togeth- er through the late ’60s and into the '70s. The journey Pelc and Oliver made took them from the ranch near Ainsworth via Atlantic City, New Jersey, and on to KSC. Every stop along the way matured the act and the actors. The exposure built social graces for Pelc, but Oliver remains mute on what it did for him. Once he confided that sometimes the humidity almost became Sharon Pcic as 1974 Miss Nebraska. by Maureen Kennedy unbearable. Oliver recalled he didn't know Pelc during her formative years on the ranch near Ainsworth. He was still a branch on a tree, as he likes to put it. Oliver knew she took her school work seriously and spent many hours studying. Pelc's membershp in the National Honor Society was proof of her academic endeavors. She would take an active part in the ranch work occasionally, but most of her time was divided between school and her new-found ventriloquism talent. Pelc said that a small school setting encouraged talent. “When you are in a small school, you have bigger parts because there are fewer of you,” Pelc said. She said she loved her ventriloquism talent because it was unique. “It was like a gift; I could always do it” Pelc recalled. Oliver was glad that through him she earned spending money in high school and college. High school was an academic event rather than social one for Pelc. Yet she found herself dabbling in entertainment. Oliver said her win as Miss North Central Nebraska, her first pageant experience, whetted her appetite for more. Neither of them had expected to win, but win they did. Oliver recalled that his introduction to Pelc was quite by chance. He was not her first dummy, but continues to occupy a special place in Pelc's life. Prior to Oliver there had been a series of dummies, most
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