Dear Readers,

You may notice this week’s column title has a slightly different wording. That’s because our MHS Student has chosen a unique path through life. I love showing all the ways that Menomonie kids travel to reach their goals. Here is a remarkable “Tom Sawyer” type of adventure. Only this one is true! Enjoy…

I first met Jason O’Dea as one of my seventh grade reading students. He was the size of an average seventh grade boy, with sandy-blonde hair as well as a nose and cheeks lightly peppered with freckles.

Jason was a quiet respectful boy who rarely spoke in class. In fact, he often didn’t seem to have an interest in following along with what we were doing.

I asked Jason to offer some positive reflections on his school years…but will let him share the details in his own words:

“To be completely honest, I don’t remember anything significantly positive about my time in the Menomonie School System. After raising my own kid—Theo, 13—in alternative schooling, i.e. the Waldorf method (first used in Germany—Waldorf schools follow the idea of stories, music, and art being preferred over academic studies in the earliest stages of education. This method advises schools to wait to introduce core academics to older students) and charter schools, I’ve come to the realization/opinion that the more strictly-structured style of the Midwest public schools was not equipped for me. Nor was I equipped for it.”

“As I entered eighth grade and moved on to high school, mostly I was in trouble and felt misunderstood. Judy asked me to try to produce some positive feedback, but I have lived many lifetimes since dropping out of high school in ninth grade to pursue my dream of writing and performing music as well as forging meaningful connections beyond the environment that I was brought up in. I would be reaching way back in my memory bank. I will say, however, that after years of travel, I’ve come to really cherish Menomonie and north/northwest Wisconsin in general.”

Jason’s account motivated me to learn what his life has been like since he left his formal schooling. Here is an abbreviated account (once more in his own words):

• I ran away when I was seventeen and started hitchhiking, hopping freight trains all around the United States. I spent many years as a street performer playing steel guitar and banjo on the streets of New Orleans, Nashville, Austin and San Francisco.
• During these years I developed a keen understanding and appreciation for American folk music and made them my own.
• In my early twenties, I ‘took my chops’ to the stage. By the age of 22, I was constantly on tour—playing small coffee houses, barn dances, dive bars and the vaudeville circuits from coast to coast—averaging over 100 shows a year.
• At the age of 23 I became a father. My partner and I chose southern Oregon as our professional base and a healthy place to raise our son Theo— (now) 13. We stayed there for 10 years and traveled as a family band (including a nanny), often managing 200 hundred shows per year with the band ‘Intuitive Compass.’
• I’ve been working on an autobiographical style novel since 2018.
• We now live in Bisbee, AZ (just 8 miles north of Mexico).
• I’ve ‘graduated’ to playing larger venues (300-500 people).

When Jason last performed at the Mabel Tainter on September 5, 2025, the billing described him as “an American poet, songwriter and troubadour (folk,

country, western, traditional, and alternative) who sings what he lives and lives what he sings. Jason is a poet known for his poignant lyrics that blend brilliantly with vintage country folk and blues music. His timely sensibilities bring relevance to anyone who hears and sees him perform.”

Jason still has relatives in Dunn County and cherishes them, their historic farmland and his Dunn County roots. The next time he comes

back, he plans to spend more time learning about the land that has been in his family for generations.  https://jasondeawest.com (his website)

Jason…I am unbelievably proud to share your story! You are an inspiration to those students who pass through our halls without ever finding their niche. Your determination, creativity, and work ethic have made you a “former MHS student” that your hometown can be proud of.