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