TCMC 2nd Session Technology of Participation Nov 13 - Naming the contradictions, blocks, the shadows

  
Here is Kellie setting up the space at TCMC yesterday, with handouts summarizing the first session and the 9 areas of "What Do We Need To Sustain Momentum, Energize and Engage New Members and Grow the TCMC Over the Next 3- 5 Years?

 
Summary overview of our vision on the left and the process for today, the Underlying Contradictions (AKA Shadows) that get in the way of TCMC achieving our vision in the next 3 - 5 years  -

 

Kellie coaches us to name the blockages, what is repressed denied or hidden --

  
Jim Lovestar, John Hesch, Andy Mickel and Norm Petrick working together to write blockages in the 9 areas, to get clear on our organizational shadow, that prevents us from moving forward -

 Coaching tool of how to discover the blockages to write a clear description to put up on the board, in 7- 9 words or less ---

Eight areas of blockage as supported through Karla and Kellie  - with two columns of 6 complete by 6 PM after 4 hours of work -  The light green papers just 'hold the space" he two darker green have a summary of a block - Management Style (4) "Working Board focuses on day to day actions, preventing long term action " Communication Style (7)  "Failure to communicate the vision, mission and value to other people on an everyday basis "   We were given homework for the last 6 columns in teams - Joe Andy and Tom taking "Space" and "Defeated before Start" Two other teams stepped up for the other 4 columns -
Men who came to participate include :Dan Gorbunow, Wally Swan, Bill Baldwin, Scott Benson, Jim Lovestar, Jamie Wellik, John Hesch, Andy Mickel, Norm Petrick, Joe Szurszewski, Jerry Buchmeier & Tom Weaver

TCMC Board Retreat -ToP Technology of Participation Method Oct 1 2016

 Here is the BIG AGENDA - Handout provided by our facilitators Kellie and Karla of Hill & Company

 
Overview of the day, and the 4 phases of the day with processes provided by ToP facilitators  
 
Beginning of Wall Of Wonder, Timeline of Global National and TCMC issues around 10 AM Kellie, Karla and Joe S

 
Chris D posting to the Wall of Wonder, supported by Kellie and Karla in the morning session

 Linda? who is supporting Kellie and Karla with the ipad to take a photo, around noon and lunchtime with a more or less completed Wall of Wonder

 

Harry G and Norm P with the 9 areas of the Practical Vision we manifested as a group - Good work men! 

 End of the day, around 3:15 PM prior to clean up with Bill he UU Custodian - Here are John Hesch,  Tom Weaver, Harry Greenberg, Joe Szurszewski, Norm Petrik, Damon Starks, Malik Holt, Andy Mickel, Bill Baldwin and Herb Jaehne (sp) Not in photo, Jamie Wellik, Chris Durant

2001 - 25 Years at the Men's with a Quiet Celebration !

Here is an article by Jon Tevlin in November of 2001, that features Andy Mickel long term board volunteer and Randy Genrich, long term advocate and the face of the Men's Center as office manager

 Caption "Andy Mickel (left) and Randy Genrich are longtime volunteers at the Twin Cities Men's Center, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this month " 
Text to article with time line on page E1, of the Tribune article 

page E2, the rest of the article Monday Nov 26 2001 Star Tribune

Since 1977! Men Talk - The Written Voice of the Men's Center -

 When Looking for archives for the 40th Year Celebration, Andy Mickel and others at the Twin Cities Men's Center led me to find this very first issue!   Curious about the art and poetry and the evoluation of communication technology - check out the roots of Men Talk here  - samples will be with he Time Line at the Oct 22 Gathering ------Celebration!!!
 
 Men Talk, Vol 1, No 1, February 1977  P 1 and 8 with non profit mailing with address University Station during first location and University Lutheran Center on University Ave 

 Feb 1977 with 3rd National Men's Conf in Des Moines ad in March April - Note bisexual mix group

 

Artwork and graphics, likely all done on a typewriter and mimeographed in 1977 ?  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph 

June 1977 - Men Talk now 12 pages, up from 8   visioning moving to a new location from the U of 

M area   "caution orange juice may cause homophobia on back page 

Anita Bryant 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ld8DQkC6po

http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/florida-gay-rights-activists-boycott-orange-juice-1977-1980

Pages 2 -3  June 1977

 Pages 4 and 5 Media bias Paul Kroska, Peter Blau, Keith Olstad are some of the names --

 P 6 -7 (not labeled) Des Moines 3rd Nat Conf on Men and Masculinity Retrospective

 P 8-9 Picnics to Poetry Minnehaha Park Michael Allen and Poetry by Kevin O'Rourke

p 10-11 Add for art for Men's Survival Resource Book from Peter Blau ----events and subscriptions for $3-5

 
1989 Cover with Petroglyph Art, Sponsored by The Men's Center Oct at MCC
 
Hank Bruns and Dick Madigan Co Chairs of the 1989 conference, are men of many years of service to the Men's Center  -

 
1992 The Search for Healthy Masculinities Regional Men's Conference Cover designed through Bill Dobbs

 
Welcoming from Co chairs of the 1992 event, Ken Hiebel and David Kaar 

Scott Bartell reflects on The Men's Center's beginnings

One of the joys of my this year serving on the 40^th  Anniversary committee of The Twin Cities Men’s Center, is learning from some of the founders of Men’ Work here in the Twin Cities.  Scott Bartell, one of those, as I learned on a very verdant April Monday, visiting his cozy office in south Minneapolis, not far from iconic Powderhorn Park, of May Day fame.  Here is a photo Scott provided to post 

Reminiscing with Scott, I learned he had a pivotal role in steering the course of the mission of the center, to a place of healing and having good boundaries, with trained group facilitators. in the late 1970’s and early 80’s

First location of  “The Men’s Center” after the U of M Lutheran Center Ground Zero - Men’s Awareness Network.  – Christus – Room in an old Dominican School Convent

When I asked him about his earliest involvement, he reflected back to the mid 1970's when he served as a volunteer at the U of Minnesota UYW as an adult special student there.   He found the Men’s Awareness Network who in a nutshell decided “let’s support men, set down the weapons and get going on doing the inner work, of being a man in a good way.”

The Men’s Awareness Network focused on facilitation of men’s groups at men’s homes to start out, and after a while some of the men, shared the vision of creating a centralized location and apply for grant money to fund it. 

As an aside, this author, is interested in the history of men's work in the Twin Cities, and in reading the archives of The Men's Center, reflected in back issues of Men Talk and Twin Cities Men's Center News, I found an article by Andy Mickel, on p 10, from Jan 29, 1986, title "Renaissance at the Men' Center"  ;  On December 28, The Men's Center office was moved to it's sixth location by JET Teisberg, Larry Kivens, among others.  Here's a chronological history of locales;  1976-77 1101 SE University Ave (Lutheran Student Ctr),  1978-1980?,  2448 S 18th Ave (Christus), 1980-?, 1980? - 1983-02, S 2222 Park Ave,  1983-03- 1984-03 310 E 38th St. (Sabanthani), 1984-04 - 1985-12, 122 West Franklin Ave. (Minnesota Church Ctr), 1986-01 - present, 3255 S Hennepin Ave, Suite 45.

Yesterday, on May 12, 2016 I decided to visit the locations of The Men' Center starting with the U of M area Lutheran Student Center at 1101 SE, University Ave and I found a new apartment complex on the SE corner of University and 11th...

 
 View of 1101 SE University Ave looking southeast from the U of M Campus.  Large apartment complex where the Lutheran Campus Center and Chapel stood from 1949 through 2012, according to my online research......
Online i discovered "University Lutheran Chapel- Lutheran church and student center. The church was built in 1949. On September 23, 2011 the Minnesota South District agreed to sell the property to Doran, an apartment developer. The church will likely be demolished in summer 2012 to make way for a new apartment complex. And now the Lutheran community posts a fund raiser to build a new chapel https://buildulc.wordpress.com/

Scott remembers being “one of many grant-writers”  and working on developing a mission statement.   The original vision was to fund 6 facilitators, and when they realized no one would fund that, the committee of grant writers,  took in feedback from the Bremer Foundation, to describe a ½ time facilitator and start up funds for a center.  This was then funded by the Bremer Foundation and resulted in Scott being  hired as a ½ time community educator starting in 1978.  He remembers that this was during his second year of grad school at the U of M while he also worked at the Walk In Clinic in South Minneapolis.   Here is the June 1978 Men Talk, in an article by Al Oertwig, "Hiring Scott Bartell as community education coordinator was approved by the TMC Board of Directors."

According to Scott, The Christus Center– was "The Men’s Center’s" first space as a center, a room in the old Holy Rosary  Convent – located at 2448 18th Ave S.  I have added the newsletter Men Talk from Dec 1977

Here are pages from the Dec 1977 Men Talk describing the space that Scott described to me. 

Scott wanted to honor the work of Michael Allen, a carpenter who got the room in shape to house the Men's Center office here early on. Scott also encouraged mention that "the Men’s phone line was started there, that  is now a permanent feature of Crisis Connection 24 -hr phone service (612-379-6366)."

 

And to satisfy my curiosity, I drove to the location and found the building described still standing, 2448 at the corner of 18th Ave and 25th St in South Minneapolis. Photos by Tom Weaver May 2, 2016

One of the early accomplishments was to publish the Men’s Survival Resource Book -on being a man in today's world in 1978. 

1978 Cover The Men's Survival Resource Book                Summer 1978 flyer for NC Regional Conf, Oct 1978

 Scott remembered the work that went into the MSRB and the in the fall of 1978 ,
a Regional Men's Conference, co-sponsored by the Men's Center, and Metro Community College in Minneapolis: "my partner Kitty Jones, did all the registration work as a volunteer.  Exhausting, and may have helped prompt our move the the Bay Area. "

Funding has always been an issue for non profits, and knowing that Scott reminded me "I do think it important that I instituted the paid annual memberships that have helped the place keeping going, though it was a hotly debated topic".   Back in the early days, as the grant ran out, Scott was exploring Bi Sexuality issues, and his  partner got a grant at UC Santa Cruz.  Thus Scott left Minnesota and the growing local men's community  from 1979- 1982. 

Three Moves of The Men's Center Oct 1980 - Jan 1983

 From old issues of Men Talk, archived in the TCMC office, I have discerned the following:  In Oct 1980, the second location on the 3rd floor of what I learned online as the George Peavey Mansion  at 2222 Park Ave S, in Minneapolis.  In March 1982, the Men's Center moved downstairs, third location?  to the 1st floor at 2222 Park Ave S, and the lease was lost ending Dec 30, 1982, which resulted in look for new quarters. 

 Here is 2222 Park Ave S, Minneapolis in May 2016, the site of the Men's Center from Oct 1980 to Dec of 1982, Today the space serves as a Mosque according to the sign.

According to the Jan 1983 Men Talk, fourth location "The Men's Center has a new home in the Sabathani Community Center at 310 East 38th St in Minneapolis .....TMC has two rooms at the top of the stairs on the 2nd floor, just up from the main entrance  on the east side of the building.

So, when Scott returned from California the Men's Center was in the Park Ave location. When he moved back to Minnesota he and partner got jobs. It was then, in 1982, he described "I asked to rejoin in 1982 the Men's Center, during a time of discouragement, and addressed the board, which at that meeting, was just myself, Larry Kivens, and Don Keys. (there were other elected members but often they just were too discouraged to come)". Scott related that  Bill Cox, was hosting the Men's Center at a place on Park Ave South, still functioning on a shoe string budget…..as Bill had a counseling  practice there, and he covered the rent and expenses. 
 

Scott was working on Master’s wanted experience as the volunteer coordinator ,while working on thesis on volunteers. Scott reflects "When I approached Bill Cox I was asking to be “Coordinator of Volunteers”—when he left, the Board (which I don’t believe I was on at the time) told me I was suddenly “Volunteer Coordinator”—in other words, I had my old job back but without pay. " (MenTalkMay1983, Bill resigned effective June 30) and could not pay for the space.

In my research in the Men Talk Issues , the Sabathani Location (the former Bryant Junior High School) housed TMC from Jan 1983 through April 1,1984.  The address of TMC in April 1984 (fifth location) Newsletter was Room 100, 122 West Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, in the Minnesota Council of churches building, and in the "Notes from the Chairman", page 2 by Tim Nelson, Chairman "moved to a new, cheaper, better location' And p3, The Men's Center Moves to New Offices "on April 1, in the Minnesota Church Center Building, 122 West Franklin Avenue..."

Here in Oct of 2016, I visited the place, where I first went to a group, the Gay Issues Grop, which I remember visiting under the overhang of the low building here at Franklin and Pillsbury in 1984- 85
Move in December 1985, to Uptown 33rd and Hennepin 

 And, here in the Dec 1985, Newsletter, I am reading about what occurs to me to be the sixth location, at the corner of Hennepin and 33rd where TMC moved over the month of December, and the formal address in the Feb March 1986 Twin Cities Men's Center NEWS lists the address at Suite 45, 3255 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis 55408....

 JET Teisberg writes about the move from Franklin to Hennepin in Dec 1985, p 1 of 6, the final newsletter from the Franklin location.
According to Scott, who in the Feb March 1986 newletter from the Uptown Office Hennepin Ave location,is listed as publicity chair. He then correctly mused " I moved gradually through being a board member, vice-chair-and then chair , maybe 1987?.......".  I just, discovered this writing from Scott as the newly elected chair writing in the 1987-88 Winter Men Talk in the 11th year of the Men's Center's ARC - trajectory of service to the Twin Cities and surrounding community.....

 
Men Talk - Letter from the Chair, Winter 1987-88 Men Talk by Scott Bartell 

   At the end of our hour interview in April, Scott remembered that  he completed his tenure as chair in Jan 1988 when Neal Allen Anderson was elected as chair.   He mentioned his work as a social worker at MMC, Metropolitan Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis took more time and he purchased a home and focused on being an active bagpiper, celebrating his Scottish heritage in music. In his final editing suggestion in an email on May 15th "after spending years as a social worker, facilitator and trainer, I became one of the first licensed social workers in Minnesota in 1988, LICSW#582 out of what are now 10,000 licensed social workers in the state!  Having gotten that, I moved to being a domestic abuse therapist and an HIV counselor at the Red Door and Room 111 -  too much going on to keep up an official capacity at TMC.  "

Thanks again Scott for taking the time to be interviewed and reflect on and edit my interview in a good way.  Looking forward to seeing who steps up to leadership for the next decades.  

Here is a link to Scott's website http://www.scottbagpiper.com/contact/

Grass Roots 1980's Organizer Stuart Holland - Founder Minnesota AIDS Massage Network

 

Early in my visit....Stuart unrolled this poster developed through Perry Tilleraas MN author and gay activist in the early 1980's  Perry from Blooming Prairie MN, designed this for early prevention, and features Stuart on the left (moustache), the blond whom his partner Doug, ID'd as a friend of Perry's named Carlton, and not knowing the man in front.  

Stuart Holland - Pioneer Founder of Minnesota AIDS Message Network 

Yesterday,  Presidents Day, 2016, I visited with, Stuart, a man whom I knew was a key person during the growing epidemic among gay men in the early 1980's,  organizing local folks to deal with the crisis.  My vision for the 40^th year of the Men’s Center is to interview key actors during each decade of TCMC's 40 Year ARC.. and learn how we supported men in a good way.  I am so grateful for Stuart’s warm welcome to his south Minneapolis home that he shares with his partner Doug. He is a man of many stories…and according to his vision, has at least 2 books to write, being knowledgeable about German earthenware, and other topics . Thanks Stuart!

           Addressing the Health Crisis Among Gay Men - Minnesota Early 1980's
 New to Minnesota in 1974, and coming out as gay in 1979,  Stuart moved from St Paul to Minneapolis in 1980 settling into a home at 2507 Blaisdell  Ave S.  Here he had a part time massage practice. It was here he recalls the first meeting of men, including Bruce Brockway and Eric Stoltz  who shared  concerns about gay related immune deficiency disorder, around 1981-2  that was a mystery to medical science then.  There was a lot of paranoia at the time. and Stuart admitted he did  not know how it was transmitted, and even used disposable cups for this meeting.  :-)

                       Minnesota AIDS Message Network mid and late 1980's

Stuart said that a friend of his, Norman Strizek, saw an article from San Francisco about Irene Smith   a  pioneer massage educator.  She was giving massages to men with AIDS . She came to Minnesota around 1985-6, to support starting a volunteer network locally.   Stuart was then, the  president of the Minnesota  Therapeutic Massage network and the Minnesota Chapter of the American Massage Association, and it seemed natural for him to step up to lead the movement here .  "It  started with 20- 25 volunteers, and later we trained over 150 people."    "After we started seeing people in their homes, the idea spread through word of mouth. At the time, the people using the AIDS Massage Project were mostly gay men, mostly white. That  changed when the cocktail came out in the early 1990's."

                 Spreading the Word:  Informational  talks, including events at the Men's Center   

 

In what would have been the first decade of the Men's Center (1976-86), Stuart recalls giving talks at the Men's Center, with massages done chiefly at the Aliveness Project.  Stuart took the calls, during the peak of the crisis in 1988-89, he attended one funeral a week.

One of the special victories, included being allowed to come into hospitals.  While nurses and doctors would wear gloves and mask up, massage volunteers did not.  The training provided up to date facts including information that the disease is not communicable without open sores and/or direct contact with body fluids.

 By  1987-88 Stuart was involved with starting  a National Aids Massage Network.  Many of the training events were held at Mary Hill Center and Totino Grace Renewal Center. 

A training  took an entire weekend, with attendees coming from as far away as Hawai’i. Scott Strickland, MD, a local internist trained in HIV management, and Irene Smith, coming from San Francisco, were both trainers, as well as Howard Bell, then director of Pathways, who spoke on death and dying."   

The network formally ended in 1992. More minorities were contracting HIV, many of whom thought that massage was something only for white folks, and people were living longer due to the newer medications. The numbers of calls for volunteers dwindled."

New Readers ---Thanks for considering Following the TCMC Blog to Share the ARC of our Path, from Oct 1976 to 2016 and Beyond.  More interviews and Photos to Follow.  

contact Tom Weaver, tomweaver7747@gmail.com  to share ideas and suggestions

 

Visioning Growing an On Line Presence in 2016 - Invitation for evocative Images

Here is an early issue of the Men Talk newsletter that was published monthly from PO box 14299 University Station, MPLS MN 55414 - Here is a cover photo from the early days in June 1978 -

Minutes written by Al Oertwig commenting on Scott Bartell being hired as a community education coordinator in 1978.  Note the gay rights letter written by Floyd Winecoff as well.

Look for ongoing coverage of 40th Anniversary events here, and Follow us on Google. Comments invited as well.