WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH * OPEN MIC * BIRTHDAY PLANS * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 12 * March 5, 2011

CELEBRATE WOMEN'S

HISTORY MONTH

**Jovita and Soledad Pena. Jane Lathrop. Ida B. Wells. Juliette Low**

Chances are you didn't hear about any of these women in your high school

history class (Or in college history courses either). Most history books have 

plenty about founding fathers but very little about founding mothers.

**Isadora Duncan. Rachel Carson. Susan B. Anthony. Dolores Huerta**

Giving these and other influential women their proper place in history is

the goal of Women's History Month -- celebrated each March. The idea for

this originally came from the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the

Status of Women. They suggested a week, which has evolved into a month

**Mary McLeod Bethune. Jane Addams. Betty Friedan. Corita Kent. Carrie

Nation. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. Florence Kelly. Louise D. Bowen**

You can learn more about these women and others during March by visiting 

the Facebook page for Uptown Bill's.  Several women's history resources

have been posted there since March 1. Others will be added each week.

And there are quizzes, too. So visit the page often. And feel free to add 

your own resources as well.

**Gloria Steinem. Clara Barton. Louisa May Alcott. Jeanette Rankin. Kate

Millett. Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Dorothy Day. Edith Abbott**

COFFEE HOUSE IS KEY PART OF

LEGACY OF JANE ADDAMS

Uptown Bill's customers are often surprised to learn that Jane

Addams imagined places like a coffeehouse as social work settings.

Actually, it was one of earliest innovations introduced by her -- and the

other women of Hull House.

 The settlement house opened its doors on Halsted Street in Chicago

in September 1889. The coffeehouse opened shortly after that. It was to be a

community gathering place, Addams said, where all would be welcome. The

coffeehouse was both an informal drop-in place as well as the sponsor of a

host of programs, including theater, music, lectures and debates.

By 1895, the coffeehouse experience was in print. It was included

in one of the chapters which make up Hull House Maps and Papers. In 1910,

Addams included the coffeehouse in her best-known book, Twenty

Years at Hull House.

The coffeehouse idea was just one of a host of remarkable ideas

from Addams and the women of Hull House. They also started a day care

center for working mothers, a health clinic, a branch library and a public

playground. All of these were innovations when they began a century ago --

new institutions which responded to specific community needs.

Addams and the women of Hull House were also involved in forming a

host of community organizations. Among the best-known: NAACP, NASW, PTA,

AAUW, American Civil Liberties Union and the Women's International League

for Peace and Freedom. They also helped organize labor unions and

cooperatives.

LIVE MUSIC BLOOMS

AT UPTOWN BILL'S

Looking for live music from a great variety of musicians? Check out the schedule of upcoming concerts at Uptown Bill's:

Saturday, March 12, 7 pm

Joe Brisben and John McNamara

Saturday, March 19, 7 pm

Tim Roberson and Phil Gabe

Sunday March 20, 7 pm

Chris Bell, a singer songwriter from New York, return to the Uptown Bill's stage. He plays the cello like a guitar. Check out Chris and his music on Facebook. You'll find a link on the Facebook page for Uptown Bill's. Opening for Chris: Bevineau and the Heartmakers.  

Wednesday, March 23, 7 pm

Stoop Singers bring their old time music tour to Bill's. www.myspace.com/stoopsingers

Saturday, March 26, 7 pm

Truckstop Souvenir, longtime local favorites. We've been playing their CD recently at Uptown Bill's.

For more details on these and other performances, check the Facebook page for Uptown Bill's or visit the website at www.uptownbills.org. 

FOR EVEN MORE MUSIC

CHECK OUT OPEN MIC

Have you been to Open Mic at Uptown Bill's? Check out the most eclectic Open Mic in town. Fridays, 7-9 pm. Hear new musicians and longtime favorites. Plus poetry and more. If you'd like to perform, sign up now at the coffee house. 

WAIT, THERE'S STILL MORE:

ART & MUSIC THURSDAYS

Join us Thursdays, 6-8 pm for Art & Music Nights. Each week, a different art project. Last week's theme was Mardi Gras. The masks on the wall were created that night. This week the theme is St. Patrick's Day. Plenty of green in this week's art projects.

WE THOUGHT YOU'D

BE INTERESTED IN...

...Do you know about The Vintage Shoppe, another of the businesses which is a part of Uptown Bill's. Find out more at the new Facebook page for the Vintage Shoppe.

...Looking for good used books? Check out the books at Uptown Bill's. Great selections at great prices. Paperbacks are $1.50; hard cover books are $3.

...Like to perform on the stage at Uptown Bill's? Call Tom G. at (319) 339-0491. Right now, we're looking for individuals and groups who would like to be a part of Art & Music Night on Thursdays. We're also booking for summer concerts.

...Have you seen "A Friend Indeed," the new documentary about Bill Sackter's life and legacy? Copies are available for $20 at Uptown Bill's.

...Books by and about individuals with disabilities are the focus of Sackter House Media, another of the projects which is a part of Uptown Bill's. Check out the display at the coffee house. Or online at www.sackterhousemedia.org.

...A Bill Sackter Birthday party is being planned for Sunday, April 10, 2-7 pm. Music, food and a showing of the Bill movie. Barry Morrow, Bill's friend and screenwriter for the Bill movie, will join the celebration by phone from his home in California. 

___________________________________________

Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com

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 weekdays from 8 am. For more information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.

Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in it 10th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open every day from 8 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's page on Facebook. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0401. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible.