ORIGINAL BILL'S REOPENS * NEW SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS * HINT OF FALL * BILL'S COFFEESHOP NEWSLETTER * Vol. 11 * August 20, 2010

ANOTHER YEAR BEGINS;

SEE YOU AT BILL'S

ONCE AGAIN, school is about to start. There is a familiar rhythm to this -- the
part of each year which marks the shift from summer to fall. The weather still
feels like summer, but the start of school is one more reminder that autumn
lies just around the corner.

I love being in Bill's Coffeeshop as school starts. Many readers know I was the
manager of the coffeeshop for several years. Each day at this time of year
new faces appear in the coffeeshop. Most are new students at the
University of Iowa.  Many of the new people are going into the social
work program. Some are working on a BA (undergrad).; others are
working on an MSW (grad); a few are working on a PhD (ultragrad?)
North Hall fills up with energy and enthusiasm as all of these new
people.

Of course, there are returning students, too -- familiar faces coming
back for another year along their journey to college degrees.
They stop int o tell stories from their summers. Some have stayed
right here in Iowa City; others have traveled the world over the
past three months.

These days I'm spending most of my time at Uptown Bill's,
730 S. Dubuque, instead of the original coffeeshop.

But on Friday, Aug. 20 I plan to sneak over to Wild Bill's for the
first day. I'll be there for a good part of the morning. Maybe I'll
see you there.

HERE AND THERE,
HINT OF FALL
Have you heard the crickets in the evenings? They are getting louder
each week now. Here and there, they are already louder than the
cicadas. It's a sure sign that summer is aging and fall is close ahead.

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE
LEGACY OF BILL SACKTER
WHAT DOES the life and legacy of Bill Sackter mean to us now? Are
there lessons to be learned? Yes, say visitors to the coffeeshops
and readers of this Newsletter. Here are some of their collected
thoughts. We encourage you to add your comments. Write to
us by clicking reply. Or send your comments to tomgilsenan@gmail.com

+ Bill's life brings up many policy implications.
The first is the need for disabled adults to live out in the community
as independently as possible. The coffeesop brings up the need for
jobs for people with disabilities. Another implication of the
coffeeshop is the need for people, disabled or not, to have a place to
come together. The coffeeshop is a great example of a place that can
be used for socializing and accessing community services.

+ Bill was fortunate to have someone who cared for his well-being.
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop provides this for whomever walks through the
door. Everyone is greeted with a warm welcome smile. Everyone is
accepted and treated equally. Wild Bill's is a place where we can
start to change social policy.

+ Bill Sackter helped revolutionize our knowledge and experiences.
His life brought attention to the capabilities and struggles of a
disability. Wild Bill's continues to be a venue for people -- with
disabilities and without -- to interact and learn from each other.

+ Bill's life shows that people with disabilities are capable of
living integrated lives within the community. Communities should work
together to ensure people with disabilities have access to public
transportation, housing and jobs.

+Bill Sackter overcame many obstacles.
He did that by successfully starting a business and offering
individuals with disabilities a place to go.

+ Bill's life influenced social work and social policy.
He helped dissolve stereotypes. His courage, drive and compassion
opened up the minds of hundreds of people.

+ Bill helped dispel myths about disabilities.
His life reminds us to dispel the myths of "ableism" and to integrate
and create community.

+ Bill's life improved the lives of many.
It opened more doors and allowed people to be more accepting.

+ The public perception of persons with disabilities changed
drastically because of Bill.

OPEN HOUSE ON LABOR
DAY AT UPTOWN BILL'S
YOU'RE invited to an Open House on Labor Day at the new Uptown Bill's.
The coffeeshop has just moved to 730 S. Dubuque.
The new location is on top of PATV and includes a bookstore
and performance venue. The Open House will be held Monday, Sept. 6,
8 am to 3 pm. Also at Uptown Bill's that day: The annual Ralston Creek
Fair and Flea Market. Hope to see you.

100 PAGES OF POETRY
COMING EVERY DAY
Have you been following the Iowa City Poetry Marathon? It started in July and continues until Halloween. The goal is
to write 100 pages of poetry every day. David Morice, a longtime friend of Uptown Bill's, is coordinating this event.
For more information, visit this website: www.iowacitypoetrymarathon.com

WILD BILL'S WILL
REOPEN AUG. 20
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop reopens Friday, Aug. 20 at 8 am. The coffeeshop has been closed for its summer vacation.
For more about the coffeeshop, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook.

AUG. 22 MEMORIAL SERVICE
FOR JOHN COOLIDGE
A celebration of the life and spirit of John Coolidge is planned Sunday, Aug. 22 at Uptown
Bill's. 1:30 pm. John, who died last month,  was the longtime maintenance guy at
Uptown Bill's.

NEW TIME FOR OPEN MIC
AT UPTOWN BILL'S
Open Mic at Uptown Bill's now starts at 7 pm. Sign-ups start at 6:30 pm.
For more information, call Uptown at 339-0401.

JUST FOR FUN: YOU KNOW YOU'VE
HAD TOO MUCH COFFEE WHEN...
..You don't tan, you roast.
..Juan Valdez sends you a birthday card.
..You lick the coffeepot clean.
..You wear the finish off your coffee table.
..You short out motion detectors.
..You're named employee of the month at Terrapin and you don't even work
  there.
..You chew on other people's fingernails.
..Someone asks you how you are and you reply: "Good to the last drop."

This "Too much coffee" segment runs occasionally in the Bill's Newsletter.
Have a contribution? Send it to: thomas-gilsenan@uiowa.edu.

LOOKING BACK IN
BILL'S NEWSLETTER
Six years ago (2004): Building community
We start building community by taking the experience of Bill's Coffeeshop to
other places.

Seven years ago (2003) Happy Birthday, Jane
Jane Addams, social work's founding mother, was born Sept. 6, 1860.

Eight years ago (2002) Song of fall
Here and there are already signs of the changing seasons
_______________________

Bill's Coffeeshop Newslettter is a virtual extension of Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's. Now in its 11th year, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and  the new director of Uptown Bill's. An archive of back issues can be found at the Coffee and Community weblog: coffeeandcommunity.blogspot.com<http://coffeeandcommunity.blogspot.com>. For other information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook.

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. Located in North Hall, it has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years.

Uptown Bill's is an outgrowth of the original coffeeshop and includes several businesses owned or managed by individuals with disabilities. The coffeeshop, bookstore and performance venue are now located at 730 S. Dubuque in Iowa City. For more information,  check the Facebook page for Uptown Bill's Small Mall or call (319) 339-0401

GANDHI & JANE ADDAMS * WILD BILL'S REOPENS * CHRIS BELL RETURNS * BILL'S COFFEESHOP NEWSLETTER * Vol. 11 * August 14, 2010

OPEN HOUSE ON LABOR

DAY AT UPTOWN BILL'S

You're invited to an Open House on Labor Day at the new Uptown Bill's. 

The coffeeshop and community center has just moved to 730 S. Dubuque. 

The new location is on top of PATV and includes a bookstore

and performance venue. The Open House will be held Monday, Sept. 6,

8 am to 3 pm. Also at Uptown Bill's that day: The annual Ralston Creek

Fair and Flea Market. Hope to see you. 

THIS STORY DRAWS

THE MOST INTEREST

Many readers of this Newsletter know of my research on Jane Addams and

Hull House. For more than 10 years now, I have been piecing together

stories about Addams and the other women and men of Hull House. I have

found lots of good stories and written about many of these. Some have

turned up in theater pieces, too, including the "Good Evening from Bill's

Coffeeshop" show and classroom presentations by Jane Addams (portrayed

by my good friend Leah Arnold). 

But the story that stirs the most interest in audiences is the friendship

between Addams and Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi. Of course, people

at Hull House and elsewhere knew about this friendship when Jane 

Addams was alive. But it somehow got lost in the years since. So

here, briefly, is the story of their friendship. 

GREAT PEACEMAKERS,

ALSO GOOD FRIENDS

Jane Addams and Mahatma Gandhi were friends. They wrote to each other,

supported each other and told stories about each other's work. Their

friendship is a little-known chapter in the lives of two of the great

peacemakers of the 20th century. It emerges in letters between the two, as

well as in newspaper and magazine articles they wrote.

Jane Addams (1860-1935) is best known for her role as a founder of social

work. Hull House, which she and Ellen Gates Starr started in 1889, is

considered one of the earliest settings of the social work profession.

Addams took her settlement house experiences as an advocate for healthier

and safer neighborhoods and applied them to national and global issues. By

1914, she had become a major figure in the quest for world peace. She

helped found the Women's Peace Party and later, in 1919, was a founder of

the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) is well known as the leader of the independence

movement in India. He developed a philosophy of non-violent resistance,

which he termed satyagraha. Gandhi's philosophy had influence far beyond

India. His principles have been embraced by a host of other peacemakers,

including Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez in the United States.

The lives and work of Gandhi and Addams overlapped in the first decades of

the 20th century. Yet there has been little exploration of connections

between them.

My interest in this topic began when I stumbled across a microfilm

copy of a handwritten letter from Gandhi to Jane Addams. "Dear sister,"

the letter began. It was the first of more than a dozen letters I found

between them. I also learned that Addams tired to visit Gandhi when she

was in India in 1923. (He was in jail; she didn't get to visit him there.)

Also, I learned that Gandhi used some examples from Twenty Years at Hull

House in his writing. And that Addams wrote about Gandhi in Christian

Century. There's lots more.

I've written a paper about this friendship which I would be happy to

share with you. Just let me know and I'll send you a copy.

You can also find a condensed version of the paper at this Gandhi 

website: http://mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/articles/adamsgandhi.htm

CHRIS BELL RETURNS

TO IOWA CITY AUG. 19

Very few musicians have played both at the original Wild Bill's and at Uptown Bill's. 

And we think there's only one who has played a show at both places on the same day. 

That's Chris Bell who was in Iowa City earlier this summer. He is returning for a concert 

on Thursday, Aug. 19. This time he and his band are playing at Java House in downtown

Iowa City. For more about his music, check out his My Space site: 

www.myspace.com/thechrisbell. 

WILD BILL'S WILL

REOPEN AUG. 20

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop reopens Friday, Aug. 20 at 8 am. The coffeeshop has been closed for its summer vacation. 

For more about the coffeeshop, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook.

AUG. 22 MEMORIAL SERVICE

FOR JOHN COOLIDGE

A celebration of the life and spirit of John Coolidge is planned on Sunday, Aug. 22 at Uptown 

Bill's. 1:30 pm. John, who died last month,  was the longtime maintenance guy at

Uptown Bill's.

NEW TIME FOR OPEN MIC

AT UPTOWN BILL'S

Open Mic at Uptown Bill's starts at 7 pm beginning this Friday, Aug. 20. Sign-ups start at 6:30 pm. 

For more information, call Bill's at 339-0401. 

SEND UPTOWN BILL'S AS

A FACEBOOK GIFT

Look for the Iowa City Gifts application on Facebook. It includes a selection of local favorites, 

from Marco's Grilled Cheese to Java House, from the Ped Mall to the Tornado sculpture.

Now one of the "gifts" you can send to friends is Uptown Bill's.

_______________________

Bill's Coffeeshop Newslettter is a virtual extension of Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's. Published since 2000, it is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and now the director of Uptown Bill's An archive of back issues can be found at the Coffee and Community weblog: coffeeandcommunity.blogspot.com. For other information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook.

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. Located in North Hall, it has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. 

Uptown Bill's is an outgrowth of the original coffeeshop and includes several businesses owned or managed by individuals with disabilities. The coffeeshop, bookstore and performance venue are now located at 730 S. Dubuque in Iowa City. For more information,  check the Facebook page for Uptown Bill's Small Mall or call (319) 339-0401 

COFFESHOP INSPIRATIONS * SAVE THE DATE * MEET L'ARCHE * Wild Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 11 * August 6, 2010

BILL SACKTER AND JANE ADDAMS
ARE COFFEESHOP INSPIRATIONS

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop began as a way to find employment for one
individual with disabilities. It has grown into a community institution in
Iowa City and a nationally-recognized symbol of efforts to reduce the
isolation of individuals with disabilities.

The coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University
of Iowa. It offers employment opportunities for individuals from the
community with disabilities and service learning opportunities for
students. Uptown Bill's, its crosstown cousin, seeks to do the same

in a community setting. 

At first glance, coffeeshops and social work might seem like an unlikely
combination. In fact, the two have been together since the beginning of
social work more than a century ago. Wild Bill's is just one of a number
of coffeeshops which draw from the legacy.

Jane Addams, one of the founding mothers of social work, opened a
coffeeshop inside Hull House just a few years after the settlement house
started in 1889. She and the other women of Hull had a number of goals for
the place. It was to be a spot where men and women could discuss the news
of the day, a place where community groups could organize, and a center
for arts in the neighborhood. The coffeeshop hosted debates on political
and social issues as well as music and dramatic performances. Plus, it was
a showcase for arts and crafts made by those who came to Hull House,

Founders of Hull House also saw the coffeeshop as a place where people
could gather regardless of their income of ethnic background. Addams and
the others wanted to find ways to combat the isolation by race and income
in cities. "The social organism has broken down through large districts of
our great cities," Addams wrote. The coffeeshop, museum, and community
theater were all initiated as efforts to reduce this isolation.

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop began as a way to reduce the isolation of one
individual, Bill Sackter. A native of Minnesota, he had spent nearly 50
years in a state mental hospital before being released in the early 1960s.
Sackter came to Iowa early in the 1970s with Barry and Bev Morrow, a young
couple from Minneapolis. The coffeeshop started as a job for Bill. At
first, it was little more than a coffeepot and a closet.

Later Bill's moved into a larger room in North Hall. It has remained there for more

than 35 years. Uptown Bill's grew from the original coffeeshop and is now

located at 730 S. Dubuque. 

OPEN MIC FRIDAYS

AT UPTOWN BILL'S

Sing a few songs, read your poetry, share a story at Open Mic. Friday evenings, 8 pm, at Uptown

Bill's. New location: 730 S. Dubuque (above PATV). Sign up at 7:30 pm. For more information, 

call 339-0401. 

SAVE THE DATE FOR

LABOR DAY MARKET

Uptown Bill's hosts the annual Labor Day Flea Market on Monday, Sept. 6. 10 am to 3 pm. Inside and outside at new location, 730 S. Dubuque.

Lots of great items for sale, plus food and music. For information, call Tom Walz at 339-0401.

OPEN HOUSE SEPT. 6

AT UPTOWN BILL'S 

Come see the new Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque, on Monday, Sept. 6, 10 am to 3 pm. The Open House is being held in

conjunction with the Labor Day Flea Market and Sale. 

REMOVING 'RETARDATION'

FROM STATE AGENCIES

A state senator in Pennsylvania has introduced a bill calling for an end to the use of 'mental retardation' by all state agencies.

For more about this proposal, visit the Facebook page for Uptown Bill's.

INTRODUCING 

L'ARCHE

Do you know about L'Arche Communities? It's an opportunity for people of all abilities to live and work together.

For more about this movement, visit the Facebook page for Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop. 

ANOTHER SMALL STEP IN

ABILITIES AWARENESS

Fueling up may now be easier for individuals with disabilities. Check out this article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette for details: 

http://gazetteonline.com/local-news/2010/08/06/fueling-up-to-become-easier-for-disabled-drivers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GazetteOnlineLocalNews+%28Gazette+Online+Local+News%29

LINKS DISABILITIES

AND EMPLOYMENT

Looking for information about employment and disabilities. Check out this link to a web page at the Cornell University library.

Pull down menu offers guides to all aspects of this topic.

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/research/subjectguides/employmentanddisability.html

A WEEKLY CUP OF

COFFEE QUOTES

Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven -- Jessi Lane Adams

I could smell myself awake with that coffee -- Jaesse Tyler

Have a favorite coffee quote? Send it along. We'll include it in a future issue of the Newsletter.

LOOKING BACK IN

THE NEWSLETTER

Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter has been published since 2000. Here's a look at topics covered in past years during

the month of August:

Eight years ago (2002). Iowa City is waking up from its long summer nap as students return for the new school year

Seven years ago (2003): Minneapolis musician Cyril Paul is coming to Bill's Coffeeshop.

Six years ago (2004): One way to build community is to take the experience of Bill's Coffeeshops to other places.

_______________________________________________

Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Bill's Coffeeshop and related projects. Published since 2000, it is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and the new director at Uptown Bill's. Your comments are welcome, Write to: tomgilsenan@gmail.com.

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. Located in North Hall, it has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. The coffeeshop is currently closed for its summer vacation. It reopens Friday, Aug. 20 at 8 am.

Uptown Bill's is a collection of businesses owned and managed by individuals with disabilities. Now located at 730 S. Dubuque, these include a coffeeshop, a bookstore and a performance venue. For more information, stop by or call (319) 339-0401. Uptown Bill's is open daily from 8 am.