COMMUNITY & INSPIRATION * UPTOWN BILL'S MOVING * TALK BACK * Bill's Coffeshop Newsletter * Vol. 11 * July 25, 2010

EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY,

ALSO INSPIRATION

It's very hard to describe a sense of community. But one can sure feel it on
 Friday evenings in downtown Iowa City. For three hours, the people of the city
seem connected to each other in a way which just doesn't happen at any other
time during the week.

What draws people downtown on Friday evenings during the summer is the outdoor
 concert series on the Ped Mall. There is truly a cross section of the city on
hand for the music. The crowd on one recent Friday ranged from a homeless man
to a city council member, and from a midle-aged downtown merchant to a young
 skateboarder dressed all in black.

The crowd also draws an assortment of community activists, people circulating 
petitions and people promoting various causes. This swirl of community begins 
around 6:30 pm and continues until the concerts conclude at 9:30.
 
These Friday evenings are a community treasure because they bring so many
different people together for a few hours. But they can also be an inspiration
for community-building.

Wouldn't it be great if this brief experience on one evening could be extended
 to other days of the week? Yes, there are a lot of obstacles. For example,
there are divisions among people in our city based on where we live and how
much money we earn. Plus, there is the gulf between the city and the
 university.

But if we can keep in mind the experience of Friday evenings, perhaps these
obstacles will not seem so large. If you haven't yet experienced this sense of
community, there are still several Friday concerts left. Your comments are
 welcome.
  -- Tom Gilsenan

BILL'S WAS ONCE A
 KINDERGARTEN ROOM
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is located in an old kindergarten classroom. North Hall,
where the coffeeshop resides, was originally built as a K-12 school. It was the
training school for student teachers at the University of Iowa.
 
The third floor, where the coffeeshop is now, was the elementary school; the
second floor a high school. The university closed its training school in the
early 1970s; the School of Social Work moved in shortly after that. (Also in
 North Hall are the Center for the Book, art education, and many general
assignment classrooms.)

Though the K-12 school is long gone, there are still plenty of reminders of its
presence. Above the outside doors on the third floor are the words "elementary
 school." Above the second floor doors are the words "high school." In one third
floor classroom, the blackboard is at a level for first graders and has the
numbers one to 100 etched into it.

Room 321, now the coffeeshop, was the kindergarten. The "cubbies" for those
 little students still are here, though the doors are gone. Look on the floor near the
windows and you can see the "reading circle."

Many people have come back to visit their old school over the years. (The
 coffeeshop has even hosted a few reunions.) It's great fun to be around for the
reminiscing.

One afternoon two women stopped by the coffeeshop to look at their old school.
At first, it appeared to me that they were lost. They looked up, they looked
 around, the pointed, they whispered and they sighed.

"May I help you," I asked them. "Are you looking for..."

"Oh, no, we're not looking for anything," the older of the two women replied.
  This was my grade school. I wanted to show my daughter." She went on to tell a
few stories about attending school here more than 45 years ago. "We had so many
young teachers," she said. "It was wonderful."
  
WHAT ABOUT 
THE COFFEE
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop gets its coffee from Jumpy Monkey, a Sioux City coffee company which employs 
individuals with disabilities. You can find out more at the Jumpy Monket website: www,jumpymonkey.com.  The company also has a Facebook page. 
Uptown Bill's gets its coffee from Cafe del Sol, an Iowa City coffee roasting company. Cafe del Sol has even 
created a Bill's Coffeeshop blend. You can find out more at the company website: www.cafedelsolroasting.com. 
  

SNACKERS IS
ONE PLACE
Several readers suggested Snackers 2 as a coffeeshop to visit on your travels this summer. Located in downtown Muscatine, it's operated by Goodwill Industries. For more information, check this website: http://goodwillheartland.org/Snack_2.htm

MORE IDEAS FOR
COFFEESHOPS
Looking for Bill-friendly coffeeshops (Newsletter, July 16)? Craig Mosher wrote to let us know about Java John's in Decorah. He reports that it"s a "great new coffeeshop that serves its community." Decorah is also home to Magpie, a coffeeshop which readers have mentioned in the past. Another reader suggested a coffeeshop in Washington, DC: Finally, check out Em and Jerri's Coffee Co. in Independence, Iowa. Like Bill's, it employs individuals with disabilities. You can find a link to a recent Des Moines Register article on Em and Jerri's on the Facebook page for Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop.

ANOTHER MEMORY
OF COLORED OLEO
A reminiscence about "colored oleo" in the last issue of the Bill's Newsletter ("Encounters with Iowa," July 16) brought back memories for Dana Courtney. She also remembers the white margarine "with a little packet of real orange looking stuff" on top. She and her grandmother kneaded the orange stuff into the white margarine to give it the color of butter. "I thought it was strange that my grandmother had this margarine when we had real butter at my house."

BIG MOVE IS
UNDERWAY
Uptown Bill's is on the move this week. The small mall is moving from its current location to 730 S. Dubuque. The new home is on top of Public Access TV. Visit the Uptown Bill's page on Facebook for a link to an Iowa City Press Citizen story about the move.

CHECK US OUT
ON FACEBOOK
Find out more about Wild Bill's Coffeeshop at the Facebook page for Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop. You'll also find an Uptown Bill's Small page on Facebook.

 THIS WEEK'S SHOT
OF COFFEE QUOTES
What to name a Christian coffeeshop? That was the question posed awhile ago
 in a Word Lab chat room. Here are some of the replies:

Caffeine and a Prayer + Jesuccino + Cloud 9 + Holy Grounds + Heavenly Brew + Born Again Brews + FrappaJericho + Jehovah Java + Higher Grounds +
Beanier Than Thou + Fiat Latte (Let there be latte)

And this one: Canaan Coffeeshop -- Turning wine into coffee since Jesus was in
sandals.
 
TALKING BACK IS
ENCOURAGED
Your ideas and comments are welcome. You can respond to this Newsletter simply by clicking reply. 
Or write to Tom Gilsenan at tomgilsenan@gmail.com. You can also visit us on Facebook. Or check out 
  the Coffee and Community weblog at: http://coffeeandcommunity.blogspot.com

OOKING BACK IN THE
BILL'S NEWSLETTER
Nine years ago: Al is the name of the coffeeshop freezer. What should we name
 our new refrigerator? (2001)

Eight years ago: Ed Gaines has moved into the new Bill Sackter house on B St.
Ed has been associated with Bill's Coffeeshop for nearly 30 years.
(2002)
_______________________________________
  

Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of the Bill's Coffeeshops and related projects. Published since 2000, it is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of the original coffeeshop. He returned to Iowa City this month to become the new director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to Tom at tomgilsenan@gmail.com or inc are of Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque, Iowa City, IA 52240.

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open 8 am to 3 weeekdays during the summer session.

Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of the original coffeeshop. Established in 2001, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Uptown Bill's is moving to 730 S. Dubuque on Aug. 1. It's open every day from 8 am. For more information, call (319) 339-0401.