Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in a series focusing on Eastern faculty members and uncovering their unique hobbies.

In order to escape the realities of work and everyday life, Harold Ornes likes to submerge himself in his two favorite hobbies: drumming and flying.

Evidence of Ornes’s favorite pastimes are scattered throughout his office in Old Main.

Small trinkets, such as Bugs Bunny flying a plane, or a clock disguised as a drum set, fill the dean of the College of Sciences’ office, as a constant reminder of what he enjoys to do.

Ornes said he uses his hobbies to take a break from the pressures of his job and life.

“I don’t have to worry if the budget is going to balance. I can just focus on what I’m doing,” he said.

Playing the drums since he was in the second grade, Ornes said his passion came at an early age when he would be constantly banging or hitting any object in his house.

“I was always drumming around, just all over, and my parents finally decided I should get lessons,” he said. “Now I could just go into a room, close the door and do my thing.”

He added that around the time he turned 15, he was playing genres of music that included big band and blues.

While he does not have an official band he performs within Charleston, Ornes has been playing with different local musicians.

“I just played with Chat Noir at Dirty’s (Bar and Grill) for a charity event,” he said. “We raised around $400.”

Each of the musicians rehearsed about four times before the performance at Dirty’s, which Ornes said worked into his schedule of being a dean.

“In the 80s, I would rehearse about two nights a week, but now with one time a week, it works,” he said.

Ornes said he has mostly played at roadhouses and different Moose, Eagle and Elk clubs.

“Old folk entertainment,” he called it.

However, the most memorable venue he has played at was in a funeral home in Missouri.

“It was in this big castle-like building, like Old Main,” he said. “The owner wanted to throw a party for the community.”

Ornes also mentioned he had recently begun to learn how to play the harmonica – a skill that originated from a joke.

“It takes a while to load and set up a drum set, so I was joking saying I would learn how to play the harmonica – I just need to throw it in my pocket, and I’m good to go,” he said, laughing.

When he is not rocking out with his drum set, Ornes said he likes to turn his attention on another diversion – flying his airplane.

“This guy I knew took me out to a country airport where they were offering flying lessons,” Ornes said. “The woman told us all about it, and the guy I was with said he wasn’t interested, and then she looked at me and asked if I was interested.”

Ornes said he told her he did not know that much about it, and asked if they took people up in the airplanes.

“She said absolutely, and I got into the plane, and she knew I was hooked,” he said, smiling at the memory.

He said he was placed in the cockpit with the pilot, and while the pilot had the controls, Ornes flew for the most part.

After that, he said he began taking lessons and received his license.

One of the things Ornes said he enjoys most about flying is the people he meets while traveling in his 1967-model plane.

“It’s not unheard of to land in Nebraska or somewhere and have a farmer get off his tractor and fill up your plane,” he said. “They’ll loan you a car and you can go get food, or stay the night, return the car and be on your way.”

He said it was these types of situations that he has found most interesting about flying.

“It’s an unusual subculture of devotees,” Ornes said.

Along with this culture, Ornes said that flying is not just for the wealthy and can be for anyone.

“Aviation may seem like a superficial, rich guy hobby, but it’s really useful,” he said.

He also said he does not like to just fly around in circles, but said there must be a destination in mind.

“I’ll go to Florida, or Chicago – it’s a great time,” he said.

An aviation map hangs in Ornes’ office, charting each destination he has gone to in his plane.

Ornes keeps his plane in Minnesota, where it is currently under repairs at a shop.

He said he tries to get up to Minnesota every couple months to check on his plane, which is having work done on the wiring and other aspects.

“It’s a ’67 model, but hopefully by the time it’s done it’ll be like a newer ’67,” Ornes said.

Flying a plane is a cost-effective hobby, Ornes explained.

It would cost around the same amount as joining a country club and playing a round of golf every few days, he said.

“Now, I’ve never been in a country club or anything like that, but I can’t imagine it costs more than that,” he said.

After arriving at Eastern in July, Ornes said both of these activities help him get away from the flow of work and any problems he may be having.

“It’s an escape that takes intense focus,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about analysis of program performance or anything like that. I can just focus on what I’m doing.”

Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].