EVENING OF POETRY * FOLLOW THE WALK * UPTOWN TURNING TEN * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 12 * June 10, 2011

ART & MUSIC ARE

KEY ELEMENTS 

JANE ADDAMS, social work's founding mother,  saw the coffeehouse as 

a place for lots of activities -- in addition to drinking coffee. She saw it as a 

spot where people could discuss news of the day, as a place where community 

groups could organize, and as a center of arts in the neighborhood. It hosted 

music and drama, as well as debates on political and social issues. And it was a

place for showing art and crafts made by those who came to Hull House.

Uptown Bill's  has tried to capture the spirit of that original coffeehouse in 

a variety of ways. One way is providing a pleasant place for conversation. 

You can find that almost anytime.

A second is hosting community groups which would like a place to meet. 

At least one group meeting is held every day at Uptown Bill's.

A third is providing a spot for music and other arts programs.  During the 

last year, the coffee house has presented over 100 musical performances, 

in addition to Open Mic Nights and other events. We'd like to host even 

more during the coming year. Right now, we're looking for groups interested 

in performing on a Thursday night during August or September. To find out

more, give Tom G. a call at 339-0401.

There is another activity at Bill's inspired by the coffee house at Hull House. 

It is the art projects which can be found on the walls of Uptown Bill's. 

Many of these are created at Art & Music Nights, held each Thursday at 6 pm. 

Jane Addams said many times that the value of the arts isn't just

aesthetic. It's also a way to gain insight -- both about oneself and about

those working with you.

Corita Kent, a marvelous artist known especially for her work in

the 1960s, called this experience "learning by heart." That's the title of

her book about art which was recently republished.

Gisela Konopka, a key person in the development of social work

for adolescents, has observed that you can often learn more about

people when you do arts and crafts with them than in a formal therapeutic

session.

Ernesto Galarza, one of the fathers of Chicano studies, said many

times that teaching and social work are much better if you add arts and

crafts to them.

In offering art projects in the coffee house, we are trying to apply

the wisdom of these people and others. Additional ideas of how to do this

are most welcome.

PLENTY OF MUSIC & ART

EVENTS DURING JUNE

More great concerts, weekly Open Mics, an evening of poetry and other

events are scheduled at Uptown Bill's during the rest of June. Here's a look:

Wednesday, June 15

6 pm. Readers & Writers Group. 7 pm. Open Mic (Spoken Word)

Thursday, June 16

6 pm. Art & Music Night. 7 pm. Open Mic (Singer/Songwriter) 

Saturday, June 18

4:30 pm. Irish Sessions return to Uptown Bill's. Great Irish music by a host of local musicians.

7 pm. Rag & Bone Poetry Tour (http://ragandbonepoetry.blogspot.com)

Tuesday, June 21

5 pm. Rehearsals start on a new play by Common Bond Theatre.

Wednesday, June 22

6 pm. Readers & Writers Group. 7 pm Open Mic (Spoken Word)

Thursday, June 23

6 pm. Art & Music Night 7 pm. Open Mic (Singer/Songwriter)

Saturday, June 25

7 pm. Sara Kay presents an evening of soulful rock, folk and jazz. (www.reverbnation.com/sarakay)

Wednesday, June 29

6 pm. Readers & Writers Group. 7 pm. Open Mic (Spoken Word)

Thursday, June 30

6 pm. Art & Music Night. 7 pm. Open Mic (Singer/Songwriter)

Saturday, July 2

7 pm. Red Rock Trio returns to Uptown Bill's for Saturday Night Music. 

For details on these and other events, check our web page at www.uptownbills.org or the Uptown Bill's page on Facebook. For more updates, follow us on Twitter. 

FOLLOW THE BILL'S

WALK ACROSS IOWA

Have you been following the Bill's Coffeeshop Walk Across Iowa? Dale Hankins started in Clinton and is walking west about six miles each day. You can read about his adventure at the 'Bill's Coffeeshop Walk Across Iowa' page on Facebook. 

SAVE THIS DATE:

MONDAY, SEPT. 5

Uptown Bill's is planning a 10th anniversary celebration on Monday, Sept. 5. It will be part of this year's Labor Day Fair & Flea Market. Circle the date now on your calendar. More details soon. 

CONNECT WITH US VIA

TWITTER & YOU TUBE

Follow Uptown Bill's on Twitter. Watch us on our You Tube Channel. And don't forget our Facebook pages for Uptown Bill's, Friends of Bill's Coffeeshops, The Vintage Shoppe, Bill's Bookmart and Wednesdays at Uptown Bill's. More coming soon.

LOOKING BACK IN THE

BILL'S NEWSLETTER

Ten years ago (2001): The new Uptown Bill's is scheduled to open this summer. You're welcome to stop by and see work on this crosstown cousin of the original Bill's Coffeeshop. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 8:30 am during the summer. 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.

--

In the spirit of Bill Sackter, Uptown Bill's strives to nurture and encourage a gathering place where people of all abilities are welcome. Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Watch us on You Tube: www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PLEE41220297F8D82C

Visit our web page: www.uptownbills.org

JUST ONE OF MANY * SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC * POETRY AND OPEN MIC * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 12 * June 5, 2011

BILL WAS JUST ONE OF MANY

IN STATE MENTAL HOSPITALS

BILL Sackter spent nearly half a century at a state mental hospital in Minnesota. He was sent there as a seven year old child in the 1920s and remained there for 46 years. Sackter, for whom Bill's Coffee Shop is named, was a resident at Faribault State Hospital, a giant institution with roots almost as old as the state of Minnesota. Minnesota became a state in 1858; the very first session of the state legislature authorized the establishment of centers for the "training and care of citizens who suffered mental and physical disabilities and for children who were unable to care for themselves."

The "state asylum" opened in 1863. It first was a residence for the "deaf, dumb and blind." In 1879, an experimental program for "idiotic and feeble-minded children" was added. Two years later, this became a permanent program under the name of "School for Idiots and Imbeciles." Later names for the center included "Minnesota Institute for Defectives" and "School for the Feeble-Minded."  In 1885, another program, the "State School for Neglected and Dependent Children," was added. It was located in the nearby community of Owatonna.

 By the time Bill Sackter arrived at Faribault in the 1920s, there were hundreds of people living there from all over Minnesota. And the institution continued to grow during most of Bill's years there. By 1955, there were more than 3,300 residents at Faribault. Once sent there, few individuals ever left Faribault. After they died, they usually were buried in a cemetery on the state hospital grounds.

Minnesota was not alone in removing individuals with disabilities from mainstream society. Every state in the US had similar institutions -- and so did many other countries. These institutions were based on a philosophy that such segregation was a good idea.

An historical marker on I-35 in Minnesota explains that Faribault state hospital was "established to provide students with activities and training, while protecting them from the slights and rebuffs of the outside world." (This marker is located at the Straight River rest stop between Albert Lea and Cannon Falls.)

THERE were always parents and others who doubted the wisdom of separating individuals with disabilities from their families and communities. But it was not until the late 1950s that their voices were loud enough to be heard in the chambers of the legislatures and the meeting rooms of professional societies.

By the 1960s, conventional professional wisdom shifted to support the idea of having individuals with disabilities stay in their communities. Counties stopped sending individuals to state hospitals. Then came a series of decisions to return to communities those who had been institutionalized.

Bill Sackter returned to Minneapolis in the early 1960s. He got a job working in the kitchen of the restaurant at the

Minikahda Country Club. It was there he met Bev and Barry Morrow; Bev was a waitress at the restaurant.

Hundreds of other men and women left Faribault in the 1960s and returned to Minneapolis and other communities around the state. (The same process was repeated in Iowa, South Dakota and other states.) Then in 1998, the state hospital at Faribault was closed for good.

DOCUMENTARY FILM CELEBRATES

LIFE AND LEGACY OF BILL SACKTER

Bill Sackter's life at Faribault State Hospital is one facet of the documentary film about his life and legacy. "A Friend Indeed" also recalls how Bill met Bev and Barry Morrow, the beginning of Bill's Coffeeshop and the two "Bill" movies. The film continues with Bill's legacy today in Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's. The film is available on DVD at Uptown Bill's for $20. 

HERE'S A LOOK AT

EVENTS IN JUNE

Great concerts, weekly Open Mics, an evening of poetry and more are scheduled at Uptown Bill's during June. Here's a look:

Wednesday, June 8

4 pm. Combined Efforts Theatre. Organizational meeting for summer production.   

          (Information: www.CombinedEfforts.org)

6 pm. Readers and Writers Group. 7 pm. Open Mic (Spoken Word)

Thursday, June 9

6 pm. Art & Music Night. 7 pm. Open Mic (Singer/Songwriter)

Saturday, June 11

7 pm. Saturday Night Music with Lauren Bevineau, singer/songwriter from Iowa City.

Wednesday, June 15

6 pm. Readers & Writers Group. 7 pm. Open Mic (Spoken Word)

Thursday, June 16

6 pm. Art & Music Night. 7 pm. Open Mic (Singer/Songwriter) 

Saturday, June 18

4:30 pm. Irish Sessions return to Uptown Bill's. Great Irish music by a host of local musicians.

7 pm. Rag & Bone Poetry Tour (http://ragandbonepoetry.blogspot.com)

Wednesday, June 22

6 pm. Readers & Writers Group. 7 pm Open Mic (Spoken Word

Thursday, June 23

6 pm. Art & Music Night 7 pm. Open Mic (Singer/Songwriter)

Saturday, June 25

7 pm. Sara Kay presents an evening of soulful rock, folk and jazz. (www.reverbnation.com/sarakay)

For details on these and other events, check our web page at www.uptownbills.org or the Uptown Bill's page on Facebook. For more updates, follow us on Twitter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 8:30 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.

--

In the spirit of Bill Sackter, Uptown Bill's strives to nurture and encourage a gathering place where people of all abilities are welcome. Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Watch us on You Tube: www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PLEE41220297F8D82C

Visit our web page: www.uptownbills.org