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56 2O24–2O2 5 GU I D E to Y E L LOW S P R I NG S By LAUREN 'CHUCK' SHOWS In the warm living room of her home, watching birds flit from bush to bush through a picture window, Jenny Cow- perthwaite Ruka wrestled with the term “community builder.” With her long career at Little Art Theatre in mind, the News had come to interview her on her life’s work through that particular descriptive lens, but she wasn’t sure it was one she felt entitled to ascribe to herself. “Was I building community? I don’t know about that,” she said, peering out the window. “There was no intention, other than just showing up every day and keeping [the theater] going, but maybe that’s what happened.” Whatever her intention, Cowperthwaite Ruka spent more than half her life at the village’s hometown inde- pendent theater — first as a cashier, then as manager, then owner, and finally as executive director. During those years, she shepherded the theater through transitions both minor and major, feeling an easy kinship with both the work and the folks who would come through the door to watch a movie. “There was no noble cause for me — it was a good fit,” she said. “But I’m so glad the result is that the Little Art is still here — I can’t imagine this town without it.” Born to Antioch College alums Ruth and Gordon Cow- perthwaite, Cowperthwaite Ruka was raised in Yellow Springs with her older sister, Leslie. A powerful desire to follow in her sister’s footsteps, she said, ended up leading to the work that would shape the rest of her life. “[Leslie] is six-and-a-half years older, and I idolized her,” Cowperthwaite Ruka said. “She rode at The Riding Centre, so I wanted to ride at The Riding Centre. And she worked as a cashier at the Little Art when she was in high school.” At the age of 7, Cowperth- waite Ruka began riding at The Riding Centre, the village’s longtime nonprofit horse-riding school, under the tutelage of its founder, Louise Soelberg. By 11, she said, she was N E W S A R C H I V E P H O T O A LIFETIME OF MOVIES ▲ Jenny Cowperthwaite Ruka managed, owned and directed Little Art Theatre for 42 years before retiring in 2020. Shown here in 1987, Cowperthwaite Ruka stood behind the theater’s then-new concession stand. ORDER ONLINE: www.ysbaking.com ORWALK IN: 305 N.Walnut St., Millworks Business Center ✦ Cinnamon Rolls ✦ Croissants ✦ Empanadas ✦ Custom Cakes ✦ Scones & Cookies Yellow Springs Baking Company Jewelry • Clothing • Home Accents Gifts for All Occasions 230 Xenia | 937-767-1628 A Collection of UniqUe TreAsUres From Abroad A full-service adoption agency working with birthparents and adoptive parents. Naomi Ewald, LSW, MSW Voice: 937-767-2466 Birthparents line: 800-643-3356 naomi@adoptionlink.org www.adoptionlink.org