CONSIDER A DONATION * IMMIGRANT ENCLAVE * MUSIC & MORE * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 12 * Aug. 3, 2012

YOUR DONATIONS
ARE IMPORTANT
Thank you for your support of the projects which make up the Extend the Dream Foundation.

Because of your support and encouragement, Uptown Bill's Coffee House is now celebrating its 11th anniversary.  The Coffee House (which moved to 730 S. Dubuque Street in 2010) is one of the enterprises under the umbrella of the Extend the Dream Foundation.

Other businesses include a bookstore, vintage shop, furniture shop, and chore services. You can find out more on our web page (www.uptownbills) and our Facebook pages.  All the projects of the Extend the Dream Foundation exist to help make Iowa City a place where people of all abilities can interact and thrive, guided by the life and spirit of Bill Sackter. The work of Uptown Bill's is supported by income from the various projects and from donations.

We would like to invite you to consider a donation to the Extend the Dream Foundation to support Uptown Bill's and the other enterprises. You may send a donation to us at 730 S. Dubuque St. in Iowa City (52240). You can donate online at our website: www.uptownbills.org.

Here are some other ways you can support our work:

1. Attend one of the musical performances or other events at Uptown Bill's. There's live music every Saturday Night and other events throughout each week.

2. Sign up your friends for our free weekly newsletter (delivered by email).

3. Come in for a cup of coffee and browse our used books and CDs for sale.

4. Shop at the Vintage Shoppe, 2203 F. Street (near the corner of Muscatine and First Avenue)

5. Donate furniture to Mick's Workshop, and shop there also.

6. Tell your friends and neighbors about the good work being done by RAMP (painting, yard work, and  small construction projects)

7. Show the Bill Sackter DVD to friends and help spread the spirit of Bill Sackter

8. Read one of the books developed through Sackter House Media Productions

9. Help recruit for the E-bay training course

Thank you.

BILL SACKTER'S NEIGHBORHOOD WAS

ONE OF MANY IMMIGRANT ENCLAVES
Bill Sackter's neighborhood of Jewish families was just one of many
immigrant enclaves in North Minneapolis near the beginning of the 20th
century. If you took a short walk from his home on Aldrich Avenue North
you would have found many other families who had come to this growing
city seeking new opportunities.

Just a few blocks to the west was one of the earliest
African-American neighborhoods in the city. It was here in the 1920s that
Phyllis Wheatley settlement house opened to serve African-American
families. Social worker Gertrude Brown was the first director there and the first
African-American to head a settlement house in Minneapolis. A
glimpse of her life can be found in a play written by Kim Hines:
"Lifting As We Climb: African-American Women Working for Change."
Click this link for more about this play:
 http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62605438.html
(Registration for a free trial required to read the entire story.)

A few blocks to the east was an early Mexican-American neighborhood. The
story of Mexican Americans coming to North Minneapolis is told in
"Minnecanos," a play from Mixed Blood Theater. Click this link for more
information about the play and a review of a recent production:
http://metromag.com/blog/arts/theater/culture-clash

Nearly all of these neighborhoods have been wiped out by successive waves
of redevelopment. The latest wave has even obliterated the grid pattern of
the streets. So it is nearly impossible to locate the site where the Sackter family
store and home once stood. More about that another time.

SO MANY THINGS TO DO
AT THE COFFEE HOUSE
Here's a look at upcoming events:

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute slices of poetry and other writings.

Thursday, Aug. 9. Sizzling Summer Night IV
6 pm. Artvaark. (Art activities). Hosted by Dan Wu
7 pm. Open Mic
8 pm. Music with Yahoo Drummers
9 pm. Film: New Muslim Cool. (www.pbs.org/pov/newmuslimcool) Presented in collaboration with POV, the award-winning nonfiction film series from PBS.

Saturday, Aug. 11, 7 pm. Saturday Night Music with Koplant No, a great local jazz band.

Wednesday, Aug. 15, 7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute slices of poetry and other writings.

Thursday, Aug. 16, 7 pm. Open Mic Ten minute performances (Artvaark before at 6 pm).

Saturday, Aug. 18, 7 pm. Saturday Night Music with Pennies on the Rail.

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute slices of poetry and other writings.

Thursday, Aug. 23. Sizzling Summer Night
6 pm. Artvaark (Art activities). Hosted by Dan Wu
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute performances. (Artvaark before at 6 pm)
9 pm. Film

Saturday, Aug. 25,
1 pm. Singer/songwriter Erin Ebnet. CD Recording.
7 pm. Saturday Night Music with Hilary Reynolds Band (Folk/pop band from Boston).

Tuesday, Aug. 28, 6 pm. Live TV broadcast of Tom's Guitar Show.

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute slices of poetry and other writings.

Thursday, Aug. 30
6 pm. Artvaark (Art activities). Hosted by Dan Wu
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute performances.
8 pm. Music with Jenn Rawling Duo

RALSTON CREEK FAIR
AND FLEA MARKET
Don't miss the annual Ralston Creek Fair and Flea Market. It's on Labor Day -- Monday, Sept. 3. Starts at 8 am.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 its 12th 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 Monday through Saturday from 10 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's website or Facebook page. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0804. 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. You can also donate online at the Uptown Bill's website: www.uptownbills.org