“We bring you Fort Collins.” Volume 4, Issue 2
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SUMMER 2018
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To Protect the Children: The Disobedient Spirit of Democracy By Rico Moore
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n the morning of March 8th, along with a small group of activists, 23-year old Cullen Lobe, a journalism and environmental affairs student at Colorado State University, walked up to a bulldozer as it was excavating a fracking pad and facility site owned by Extraction Oil and Gas. The driver of the bulldozer turned off the machine as Lobe stood in its path. Lobe spoke with the driver, saying he held nothing against him personally but rather was protesting the massive fracking site he was working on because of its close proximity to an elementary school. The two talked briefly until the worker walked away to make a phone call. Lobe then locked himself to the hydraulic shaft of the bulldozer’s lift in peaceful protest of the fracking project that is to be located just over 500 feet from the southern property line of Bella Romero Academy, a 4th-8th grade school.
“I’m here to protect the children,” Lobe told the worker.
The Weld County Commissioners approved Extraction’s well pad and facility site known as Vetting 15-H near Bella Romero in June 2016 and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) gave its approval in March 2017. The site consists of an oil and gas fracking well pad with 24 wells along with a separate site for waste© Megan Meyer water tanks, separators and vapor recovery units. By most measures, it is a massive fracking operation. Extraction’s rationale for siting the frack pad and facility site here includes its close proximity to irrigation ditches and the South Platte River, which it plans to utilize for fracking via a temporary water pipeline.
Extraction didn’t respond to numerous requests for comment on this story.
Soon after the COGCC’s approval, on behalf of the groups NAACP of Colorado, Sierra Club, Wall of Women, and Weld Air and Water, attorneys Tim Estep and Kevin Lynch of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law sued the COGCC for permitting Extraction’s well pad and facility site. The suit asks that the COGCC’s permitting of Extraction’s Vetting site be invalidated and reconsidered under the guidance of the lawsuit.
According to Lynch, the COGCC has a number of regulations in place that it likes to tout as the strongest in the country, even though other states like New York have banned fracking outright. And so the COGCC views its job as ensuring that its regulations have been met, not necessarily that it has any independent duty to go beyond and actually deny a permit if the public health, safety, and welfare impacts are too great, are unacceptable, or cannot be mitigated, Lynch says.
Lynch adds the COGCC’s setback requirements were explicitly not set with the intention of addressing human health impacts associated with air emissions related to oil and gas development.
The lawsuit further alleges the COGCC approved the location because it, and oil and gas operators, generally experience the least amount of pushback when siting major oil and gas development in predominantly minority communities since these communities do not have the same resources as more affluent communities, which in turns sets a precedent for siting oil and gas extraction developments in similar communities in the future. Citing the Colorado Department of Education, the lawsuit states Bella Romero’s student population is 90% Latino or Hispanic, African American or other persons
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publications manager
Evan Brengle contributors
Jenna Allen Phil Benstein Laurel Bergsten Krista Chalise Anna Fagre Danny Hesser Beth Kopp Mary McHugh Megan Meyer Rico Moore Allie Ogg Brian Park Tirzah Post Emma St. Aubin Danny Steiner Rachel Franklin Wood publisher/designer
Todd Simmons board of directors
Heather Manier Bryan Simpson Kathleen Willard Wolverine Farm Publishing is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Fort Collins, CO. We publish books, this community newspaper, and collaborate with other non-profits, businesses, and people toward a more mindful engagement with the world. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily the opinions of Wolverine Farm Publishing, and are offered up freely to better discern the state of our local culture. Please send in your letters to the editor, story ideas, local photographs, good bicycle rides, and donations to the address listed below. Donations accepted online or by mail. Thank you very much.
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WE BRING YOU FORT COLLINS The Fort Collins Courier brings information, tools, and expertise
together to help our community members live engaged and more self-reliant lives. We want to explore the paths locals take, and inspire visitors with our city’s unique charm. Our areas of interest stem from our ongoing relationship with Fort Collins—in each issue we’ll feature content about bicycling, agriculture and the local food movement, as well as reporting about environmental issues and profiles of local makers and the return to craft. We distribute 5,000 copies of each issue to over 35 locations throughout Fort Collins.
a Fort Collins Courier Vol. 4, Issue 2, April 2018 Published by Wolverine Farm Publishing PO BOX 814 Fort Collins, Colorado 80522
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of color, while 87% of Bella Romero’s students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. The lawsuit states the site was previously proposed at a different location near a charter school called Frontier Academy, but that this was “not ideal” because of its proximity to that school and playground even though the playground at Frontier is actually further away from the proposed oil and gas site than are the playground and ball fields at Bella Romero from the Vetting site. Nearly 75% of the population at Frontier Academy is Caucasian and only 20% are eligible for free or reduced lunches, according to the lawsuit.
Lynch says the position they’ve been advancing is that the COGCC has an independent duty to ensure, on a case-by-case basis, that any oil and gas development is consistent with the protection of public health, safety, and welfare at that location.
But on April 10th, the Judge hearing the suit rejected a temporary restraining order that would have halted Extraction’s construction of its fracking site near Bella Romero. The judge indicated he planned to rule in favor of the COGCC. Despite this order, the groups vowed to continue fighting the court’s decision to allow Extraction’s fracking site to move forward next to Bella Romero. But even without the Vetting site, Extraction already operates well pads near Bella Romero, one being within 500 feet of school’s northern property line where children walk to and from school and are picked up and dropped off by their parents each morning and afternoon. But there is no sidewalk in front of the school. A directional well bore from this site appears to go directly beneath the school. And approximately three-quarters of a mile east of Bella, Extraction operates another large fracking pad and facility site, and six wells from this site bore directly beneath Bella Romero school or property. Extraction also operates another large well pad and facility site in the same vicinity. And as one moves continually outward from the school in feet and miles the number of oil and gas wells and facilities increases into the hundreds and thousands, cumulatively thickening the air of Weld County and surrounding areas—Larimer County included—with toxic vapors and greenhouse gasses.
But Cullen Lobe and the aforementioned litigants aren’t the only ones protesting Extraction’s fracking site in an attempt to protect the children of Bella Romero, for in mid-February, nearly 40 people protested Extraction outside the school, and another well-attended protest occurred there in late March.
Dr. Shirley Smithson
Photograph by Rico Moore
originally moved to the countryside so she could ride her horse more often, and did so until Extraction closed off and leveled the field where she used to ride.
Smithson says when the fracking well pad and facility site north of the school was going in she felt it under her house at night. “My bed would shake,” she says, adding, “You can hear it, bah-boom, bah-boom, bah-boom, constantly throughout the day.” Smithson adds that while the disturbing fracking process was going on she could see things spewing out of the site and her eyes burned. “I was coughing all the time,” she says.
And in early January, the Greeley-Evans School District 6 Board of Education, who are charged with protecting the students of Bella Romero, passed a resolution against Extraction’s fracking project near the school, proclaiming among other things that oil and gas wells have the potential to create health and safety hazards, including but not limited to fires, explosions, and releases of potentially hazardous materials. The resolution asks the approval of Extraction’s fracking project be reconsidered by Weld County and the State of Colorado agencies involved in the permitting process. It also asks Extraction to relocate its fracking operations to a site greater than 2,000 feet from any District 6 school should the COGCC and Weld County fail to respond.
Deirdre Pilch, Superintendent of Schools, who endorsed the resolution, remarked before its unanimous passage that although the school district enjoys a “tremendous relationship” with Extraction, “It’s just not okay to put a significant industrial site this close to a school.”
Megan Meyer
Photograph by Rico Moore
Greeley-native Megan Meyer, a former student in environmental studies at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), has been part of some of the protests against Extraction’s massive fracking project near Bella Romero. Meyer became aware of the project, and its potential health impacts. And because her young cousin attended the school and she has family living in the area, she became involved, founding UNC Earth Guardians and becoming the Frontline Fracking Coordinator for the same group. Meyers says she’s been getting more and more frustrated with the oil and gas industry growing up in Greeley, and wonders where they’re going to draw the line.
And although Pilch didn’t specify what she meant by a ‘tremendous relationship,’ e-mails obtained via open records request indicate some possibilities. Soon after the school board passed its resolution, Pilch wrote an e-mail to Brian Cain, Extraction’s director of public affairs and Blane Thingelstad, Extraction’s northern development manager, in which she states, “I certainly understand your frustration and even anger with the decision that our district Board of Education made last week regarding the opposition to the Vetting Wells.” And according to Theresa Myers, Greeley-Evans School District communications director, Cain “voiced concern” that Extraction didn’t know the resolution would be on the board’s agenda. But voicing concern and anger appear to be different things.
In the e-mail, Pilch continues that she appreciates all the support Extraction has given District 6, including their financial support for the district’s campaign committee for a Mill Levy increase. In September 2017, Extraction contributed $10,000 to the political committee campaigning for the increase, which is meant to benefit District 6. The mill levy increase passed, but it is unclear what Bella Romero has received as a result. Frontier Academy, however, has a detailed spending plan for its share with several categories, according to the school district’s website.
Many oil and gas industry workers don’t want Extraction’s fracking project by the school, says Meyers. “It’s not the workers’ fault,” she adds, “I get it, my husband worked in the industry too.” But she believes it’s at the risk of their health, adding many workers in the industry are only there because there aren’t other jobs available for them.
Money has also passed from Extraction to District 6, for according to records provided by the school district via open records request, since November 2014, Extraction has paid the district $1.24 million in the form of mineral royalties for leases it has on mineral rights owned by the district beneath Bella Romero Academy itself. According to Myers, this money has gone into the district’s general fund. If Extraction’s Vetting site is built, the district will receive royalties on its mineral leases, according to Myers.
Dr. Shirley Smithson, a Sierra Club member who is part of the suit against the COGCC and who has lived for 30 years in a house right next door to Bella Romero,
Extraction also gave the district $5,000 in 2016 and 2017, for a combined $10,000 for two annual school year kickoff events. But according to Myers, Extraction has yet to commit their support for the 2018 event, which provides backpacks and school supplies to schoolchildren.
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© Rico Moore Undeterred by the school board’s resolution, Extraction appears to be moving forward with its Vetting frack site, so in early March, the district began preparing an “enhanced evacuation plan” for Bella Romero in the event of a gas leak, fire, or explosion, according to The Greeley Tribune. And according to Myers, as part of this enhanced evacuation plan, children would evacuate the school out the north side, which is opposite the side of Extraction’s approved fracking and facility site. Myers says the plan is in its draft stages and declined to provide a copy, adding it also applies to Bella Romero Academy grades Kindergarten-3rd, a school separate from Bella Romero 4th-8th grades and a half mile away, which she said would also be evacuated. Myers said the district hadn’t considered the possibility that the Extraction site just north of the school could contribute to an incident related to the Vetting site, potentially compounding the impact.
Myers says the school has no current plans for action beyond the resolution as the district is waiting to see what happens with some of the outstanding issues, including the aforementioned lawsuit against the COGCC.
And as for a different kind of potential health impact, a study published at the end of March and conducted by the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus found the lifetime cancer risk of those living within 500 feet of a well was eight times higher than the EPA’s upper level risk threshold. The researchers concluded their findings indicate state and federal regulatory policies may not be protective of health for populations living near oil and gas facilities.
And with regard to children, a study published in February and led by the same researcher found that children aged 5–24 years diagnosed with the hematological cancer known as acute lymphocytic leukemia were 3–4 times as likely to live in areas with active oil and gas wells as were children diagnosed with non-hematologic cancers.
It is at the nexus of this highly controversial and consequential context where nothing appears to be stopping Extraction from going ahead with its massive fracking project near Bella Romero Academy that Cullen Lobe and his act of civil disobedience emerge.
And there is reason for the school district’s concern, for in late December 2017, an explosion and fire occurred at an Extraction fracking pad and facility site in Windsor, sending a worker to the hospital and billowing a plume of smoke into the night sky. This site appears to have less than 20 wells and is 1,700 feet from an occupied structure compared to Extraction’s Vetting site, which has 24 wells planned and is sited approximately 1,300 feet from the Bella Romero elementary school and just over 500 feet from Bella’s southern property line. According to Extraction’s incident report, the explosion at its site in Windsor occurred during flowback operations, which are a byproduct of fracking.
And earlier last year in April, a severed gas line associated with an Anadarko Petroleum Corporation well in Firestone leaked into the nearby basement of a residential home, which contributed to that home’s explosion and an ensuing fire that consumed the house. As a result, two men were killed and a woman was seriously injured. And just months later, another Anadarko well exploded, killing one and injuring three others.
As a result of his act of peaceful civil disobedience, Lobe was cited with 2nd degree trespassing and 2nd degree tampering with equipment associated with oil or gas gathering operations charges, both misdemeanors, for which he’ll stand before Weld County Court on May 8th. Others who were in the area were also cited, including activists, a lawyer who was acting as a legal observer and an independent journalist.
But the criminal charges are just the beginning of Lobe’s legal ordeal, for soon after his action, Extraction filed a civil lawsuit against him and others for “nominal damages,” further requesting a judge grant it a temporary restraining order barring Lobe and others from trespassing on Extraction’s fracking and facility site near Bella Romero, “or any property owned by or in possession of Extraction, 7N, or their affiliates.” 7N LLC is a subsidiary of Extraction.
© Rico Moore
In the lawsuit, Extraction states it does not seek to impact Lobe’s or others’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech, but rather to prevent them from trespassing or interfering with its fracking operations. But in an amended version of the complaint, a subtler aspect of Extraction’s argument appears. After asserting Lobe and others “style” themselves as environmental activists engaging in civil disobedience to oppose oil and gas extraction, Extraction again states it’s not attempting to impact their right to free speech, but in a footnote dropped from this point, Extraction notes that “even free speech rights are not absolute—speech can be curtailed or enjoined when it interferes with other’s exercise of their rights.”
Implicit in this statement is perhaps the crux of the issue: the distinction and supremacy of certain rights. Lobe and other community members considered it imperative to utilize their First Amendment right in order to give voice to under-privileged and under-served communities because nothing else appeared to be working. As a result, they have brought attention to what appears to be an act of environmental injustice. On the other hand, Extraction’s rights appear to be those of mineral rights, and therefore, corporate profits.
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© Rico Moore Flores-Williams says that when people such as Lobe engage in peaceful civil disobedience where there are laws involved, they’re going to have to face some kind of culpability, but where that changes is where massive corporations decide to enter into the First Amendment arena to try to silence a community and intimidate people and shut down resistance. “That is the place where we stop and say: this far—no further,” Flores-Williams says.
According to Lobe’s attorney, Jason Flores-Williams, Extraction’s suit against Lobe appears to be an intimidation tactic. And because Extraction has also named other individuals in the lawsuit, Flores-Williams says it appears Extraction is going after anyone who has tried to stand up and raise their voice against this massive fracking site going in next to an elementary school, and that the real intent seems to be Extraction sending a message to the community, that “if you stand up against us or resist this or challenge this in any way then you too can be the subject of a lawsuit, and you too will have to defend yourself against a multi-billion dollar oil and gas corporation.”
“We are not going to live in an America where corporations believe that they can violate the First Amendment rights of a community with impunity,” Flores-Williams asserts, which is why he says the case ties into the larger context of American democracy, adding that if Extraction is allowed to go through with its lawsuit, other fossil fuel corporations may see suing people engaging in peaceful protest as an effective way of neutralizing or suppressing opposition to their future fracking projects.
Flores-Williams adds that in the mere act of filing the lawsuits against several individuals, Extraction is impinging upon the First Amendment rights of Lobe and of the community. Flores-Williams filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on April 11th, and the case is set to be heard on May 18th.
Understanding the significance of Lobe’s action at Bella Romero relative to American democracy suggests a look at his experience at Standing Rock. There, Lobe joined a massive protest event and camp comprised of diverse groups of people unified under the title of Water Protectors. Standing Rock was led by First Nations People, including representation from indigenous tribes from across the Western Hemisphere who have been experiencing forms of genocide and injustice since Europeans began immigrating to the continent over 500 years ago. And although the pipeline the people were protesting was ultimately constructed, Standing Rock appears to have been successful in a different way.
Flores-Williams asserts this is not going to be the emerging trend in our country. “They own enough already,” he says, “They’re not going to own the First Amendment.”
Lobe’s act of peaceful and spiritual civil disobedience, which was learned side-by-side with First Nations People and other people of diverse groups on behalf of disempowered and vulnerable communities, appears to be an act as sacred as the First Amendment of the Constitution that enshrines it—sacred as the spirit of democracy, which is empowered by law to speak and stand in opposition to oppression.
At Standing Rock, protest, or the protection of water in the sense that water is life, was practiced as a spiritual act, but not in the sense some might think. Being a Water Protector at Standing Rock was to engage in a spiritual act of protest, spiritual in the sense that it was done so for the sake of other, voiceless and vulnerable communities, including the air, earth, people, and water.
And as Lobe was locked to the bulldozer, alone and surrounded by police, he says his spirit sank, but then the children of Bella Romero started pouring out of the school for recess, lining the fence, and witnessing. “That was a very beautiful moment,” he says, “that made everything okay.”
Flores-Williams says such an expression of the First Amendment exists within the most Constitution-protected zone in America. “It is the sacred space of our democracy,” he says. And when the ability to raise your voice around issues of concern dies, FloresWilliams adds, democracy dies.
© Rico Moore
And so Lobe’s protest alongside First Nations People became a peaceful and spiritual act on behalf of people different from him, which is akin to his action protecting the children of Bella Romero by protesting Extraction’s massive fracking pad and facility site. These peaceful and spiritual protests on behalf of those who have no voice or are otherwise vulnerable appear kindred with the First Amendment of the Constitution.
And entangled amongst the living roots of sacredness is a sense of indestructible wholeness—of heart, heartbeat and love; lung, breath and voice; mind, thought and prayer. And each in itself is linked to the living earth and sky. So too there appears in Lobe’s peaceful and selfless act a unified wholeness of these, a sacred expression in forsaking oneself for the safety of children who appear to be under threat with the hope democracy will withstand a seemingly unstoppable corporate onslaught. And the trajectory of Lobe’s action appears to be reimagining what democracy in Colorado—and America— can be.
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Transportation
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LITERATURE
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Literature At CSU you teach a popular class, Adolescent Literature. What is the place of children’s literature in academia? Hopefully it’s a growing place. It’s a thriving area of literature that has often been overlooked by academia. For a while there was this notion that young adult books and middle grade books were lesser or simpler, as if adolescence was a simpler time than adulthood. In fact, I think a good case can be made that the opposite is true. But I’m not trying to pit young adult books against adult books. I’m just trying to make the case that I think these books are worthy of discussion and that people who haven’t read them would be surprised by what they find in them and how complex, interesting, and innovative they are. As more readers discover that, I think we’ll see more universities focus on adolescent literature as a thriving area of study.
How do your own kids influence your writing?
Interview with Todd Mitchell By Laurel Bergsten Despite the growing popularity of adolescent and young adult literature, these genres are still often overlooked in literary and academic communities. Todd Mitchell, a professor at CSU, bridges the gap between the expanding teen and children’s literature community, and academia. His most recent book for children, The Last Panther, was released in August 2017.
Ft. Collins Courier: Why did you choose to focus on children’s books as opposed to other literature? Todd Mitchell: Those are the readers I most want to reach. I think about the power that books had in shaping me and how I understood myself, and I would love to have some part in influencing others that way—that identity formation. I also love talking and working with teens. I find them more interesting than most adults. In some ways they are more honest even while they’re trying to figure out what honest is.
I wrote my most recent book with my ten-year-old daughter in mind. It was the most enjoyable writing process I’ve ever experienced because I would write a chapter, read it to her, and then get her feedback and revise the chapter and the story based on the things she was reacting to and some of the things she was telling me. This took the book in some really interesting directions. The book deals with some difficult realities—species extinction and environmental degradation—but my daughter is an extremely sensitive soul, and she found the book really hopeful and beautiful which is what I hope readers take from it. I think hopeful stories are very important, and it’s important that we let kids experience stories that they need to experience. I think kids are more aware of some of the difficult things going on in our world than we know, and when we don’t give them a safe, hopeful way to confront some of these realties we do them a disservice. So, my hope was to address some difficult issues in a fun, entertaining, alternately optimistic book without soft peddling those issues.
Most of your books touch on current global issues. The Last Panther involves subjects such as immigration and climate. What are the risks of dealing with these issues and how do you make them palatable for young readers? I think that narrative is a jealous god. If you are writing to make a point, the story often suffers. The story always needs to come first. But, narrative is also a way of understanding and thinking about things, and so I think writing about some of the critical issues we are facing is fundamental. I am constantly looking for a book that gives me a way to understand and think about some of the issues that haunt me because stories tell us how to think and act. Stories tell us who we are. My hope is that in writing about issues that are real, I’ll always able to keep the story first and make it an interesting story with believable characters and a world that we want to escape into while also giving the reader a way to approach things they may not want to think about. I’m not writing about climate change for people who already see the problem and want to take action. I’m writing about it for people who prefer not to think about climate change, but want a riveting read. Then what they’re also gaining is a way to understand and make a positive difference in the world. Problems make for great fiction and we have a lot of really big problems. To ignore those is to miss great stories that we could be telling and that we need to tell.
What books most inspired you as a young person?
Do you think that children’s books offer something to readers that adult books do not?
I actually struggled with reading. I’m dyslexic, and when I was kid not a lot was known about dyslexia—at least not where I lived. There wasn’t much hope for me, so I didn’t read many children’s books. It wasn’t until 4th or 5th grade that I had that first magical reading experience where I got pulled into a fictional dream. I loved A Wrinkle in Time, and Tuck Everlasting, Bridge to Terabithia, Where the Red Fern Grows; the usual suspects. But that was the first time that I experienced that entrance into another world; the experience of living another life meant so much to me because I lived in a cornfield, and I didn’t really want to be living there. I desperately needed another life and another world. Books were a way I could have that.
Yes. Absolutely. One thing I think young adult books have been doing is they’ve been a lot more open to experimentation than adult lit. I think a lot of adult literary writers started to see this in the last decade. For instance, I could name a lot more YA books in verse, hybrid texts, or even just creative use of the layout on the page. I can think of a lot more diversity in narrative style than in adult books. This is why writers are looking at YA books and realizing they are the cutting edge of literature now. I find that exciting because I’m constantly looking for new forms that open new stories to us, and we see young adult books exploring that territory.
Does adolescent literature have value for adults? Absolutely. If you think about stories as transformation in the face of adversity, one of the things that sets young adult books apart is that they’re not just about a character changing to deal with an outward conflict, but they’re also about a character who has a plot in the biggest transformational period of their life which is adolescence. It’s a double transformation. I think another reason young adult books appeal to adults is because adolescence isn’t something that we live through and then are done with. The essential questions of adolescence: “Who am I?” and “How do I fit in society?” come back to us throughout our lives, and they are things we reevaluate and reassess at different points in our lives. I think this notion that you go through adolescence and then become an adult is not actually true, and instead we experience different variations of adolescence as we grow older. It’s helpful to bring us back to that primary adolescence.
You have a page of squirrel facts on your website. When can we expect a book about squirrels? I don’t have a squirrel book planned. There was a nonfiction book I wanted to write for years about mass squirrel migrations, and I tried for a long time to get in touch with the foremost biologist who studied squirrel migrations, Dr. Flygar. But he has passed away, so I can’t find my expert in the field. So, I haven’t been able to pursue that squirrel migration book. We’ll have to see. Squirrels are coming.
For more information about Todd Mitchell, his books, writerly advice, and some facts about squirrels, check out Toddmitchellbooks.com.
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ALWAYS SERVING TO-GO COFFEE. JUST NOT IN TO-GO CUPS. At Wolverine Farm’s Letterpress & Publick House, you’ll always find delicious coffee to drink, but you won’t find to-go cups. There simply isn’t room for them in our busy lives. Feel free to bring in your favorite cup or travel mug if you can’t stay. Thanks.
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The Last Panther by Todd Mitchell Review by Laurel Bergsten
Of the many contemporary issues pushing writers into activism the loss of species diversity is one of the most heartbreaking. The threat to beloved mega-fauna inspires many to take environmental action, and it is such sentiments that Todd Mitchell’s book The Last Panther, coming out in August, touches upon.
The story follows a young girl, Kiri, as she navigates a future world in which many species have already been lost, and people are divided. She tries to find her place between her mother’s village and her father’s connections to civilized society, and similarly tries to find a safe place for a panther that roams the forest she lives in. Kiri’s connection to her environment and the animals living around her illuminates a unique spiritual aspect of the novel that pulls the reader closer to the wildlife featured in the story.
The book is fast paced and engrossing. The narrative moves the reader and Kiri through several environmental and social issues that are relatable and relevant especially considering the current political climate. The story provides ethical dilemmas with no clear solution, similar to situations that kids will inevitably experience. Mitchell deftly side-steps dystopian clichés and spins a plausible future that is neither too dark, nor overly optimistic. The book is an entertaining read best suited for a late elementary or middle-grade audience, but is also worth checking out for anyone passionate about wildlife or quality children’s literature.
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The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez
The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature’s Great Conductors by David George Haskell
Review by Brian Park
Review by Danny Hesser
In The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America, author Andrés Reséndez explores the often overlooked story of the mass enslavement of the New World’s Native populations by immigrant European masters. Traditionally, most Americans’ awareness of slavery centers around that of Africans in the colonial period. This book provides an invaluable historical inquiry into the parallel experience of the Native populations.
The Songs of Trees rises as a prosaic piece of scientific writing, wherein an inkling of creative forces germinates. If there were such a thing as the anthropology of the interconnectedness of living things, this is it. Even seemingly non-living things are suddenly seen as once-living, or in transition to something alive. What snaps and shimmers is not just a tree, but the minutiae which support and are supported by trees. Haskell visits specific trees, sentient beings who beckon, and describes the ponderous web of life emanating from and towards them. The trappings of an entire boreal forest somehow emerge from examining a solitary balsam fir. Really, what emerges is the illusion of solitariness. He inscribes a sort of proto-theory on the origin of our culture, an organic thing which retains primordial roots in nature:
Noting that slavery in some form has existed in almost all societies, the work begins with an exploration of the nature of enslavement prior to the arrival of Europeans. Subsequently, the form of bondage in the Americas was irrevocably altered. The Native peoples’ enslavement began during the colonial period and ran into the 20th century, chronologically lasting even longer than that of Africans in the New World.
Variations of native servitude existed in vast areas of land, from the Caribbean and South America into Mexico and parts of the modern day United States. Structures of subjugation varied as well, from the more direct forced labor of the encomienda system to debt peonage of the later 19th century.
The conventional story of the decimation of Native populations focuses mainly on the role of disease and military conquest. Reséndez however places much greater emphasis on the role played by slavery. He notes the absence of historical mention of the disease epidemic in the region for the initial 25 to 50 years after European contact, arguing instead that other causes were at play. Forced labor and its grueling conditions contributed both to the immediate demise of enslaved persons and to the overall decline of Native civilizations.
The Other Slavery is a well written historical account of a too-often forgotten chapter in the history of the Americas. By shedding light on their past, Reséndez gives Native voices the validation they deserve.
Sitting on the moss and chert under the fir tree, I can sense the forest’s behavior in many ways: through the tap of falling cone scales or the bellow of a train, in the society of roots or the cultural memory of chickadees, and through the remembered abstractions of carbon budgets or Landsat pictures.
Within the introductory chapters alone lies a vestigial biophilia; or rather, it pulls at that biophilia which lies within you. This writing, best savored like sips of a rich brew, rings Yoda-esque, hinting at the pull between you and a tree, a rock, a planet. The intoxicating green ursong arises as an actual thing to be felt, preserved, and fomented, a power and manifestation of relationship.
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The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
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Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
First Adventures in Beauty by Lia Purpura
Review by Evan Brengle
Review by Laurel Bergsten
Jeff VanderMeer’s latest release, Borne, is quintessential dystopian science fiction. The story takes place in an era of both urban and natural decimation caused by The Corporation. Rachel scavenges useful materials from the wasteland, providing her partner Wick with supplies for his biotechnological experiments, while a giant bear, Mord, terrorizes all, and The Magician competes for dominance.
Double See Press is a recently founded micro-press from Minnesota. Their devotion to both text and image sets them apart from competing presses, and every one of their publications is a work of art and exceptional literature.
Review by Krista Chalise
The story of Christopher Thomas Knight’s abrupt and sustained decision to hike into the Maine woods and stay there for 27 years captivated many when he was finally caught stealing food from a summer camp’s kitchen. There’s a certain fascination in giving it all up, Thoreaustyle (whom Knight is unimpressed by). Yet he stole for decades, committing over a thousand break-ins, to keep his life and whereabouts hidden. His “moral code” of only taking certain items and not damaging property in the process was little comfort to his victims. His quiet raiding turned him into legend, the fodder for children’s nightmares, and he became known as the North Pond Hermit.
Author Michael Finkel creates his narrative from interviews with local law enforcement officers, North Pond residents, and one-on-one conversations he had with Knight himself. He also highlights the struggle many felt about Knight’s actions and what an adequate sentence for his crimes might be, although it’s obvious he’s in the proKnight camp. This was an easy and enjoyable read, with Finkel weaving in some larger themes of deliberate living, isolation, and society’s enduring fascination with hermits. I ended the book not liking Knight, but also thinking about the ethics of it all: where did I fall on Knight’s life, and decisions? Was it black and white, or could it be a little gray? And why does it feel like there’s little opportunity to live a life unfettered by others, a life where you just want to be left alone?
Admittedly, I am not typically a reader of science fiction myself, so the premise at first came across simply as an unwieldy amalgam of disparate parts—that is until the titular character, Borne, was introduced, a discarded bit of biotech discovered and adopted by Rachel. Borne is definitely the main attraction (and VanderMeer’s strength as a writer shines most brightly in his renderings of bizarre beings). Borne is charming and quirky and endearing despite—or perhaps precisely because of—his peculiarity and awkwardness as a distinctly inhuman character interacting with people. For those who grew up in the 80s, consider Gizmo or Johnny 5 for useful parallels minus some of the groanworthy comic relief.
Borne’s inhumanness is used to raise some of the book’s most thought provoking questions: Borne asks Rachel, “’Am I a person?’” The many approaches to this question provide the novel’s philosophical backbone, while also hinting at critiques of humanity’s exploitation of animals, the environment, and even other humans. The outlandishness of this story may be enough to turn off many readers, but if you enjoy apocalyptic settings and weird creatures with a dash of social commentary, then check this one out.
Their most recent publication, First Adventures in Beauty by Lia Purpura, uses collage and erasure to explore the notion of beauty. Purpura’s text is written over the painted pages of an old field guide. For the most part the old book is unreadable, but certain lines and phrases have been allowed to peek through and create a dialogue with her words.
The book is simultaneously lyric poetry and personal essay. Purpura navigates her way through her relationship with beauty, and praises unappreciated “ugly” things like slugs and opossums. A call for a change in perception of beauty stands at the forefront of the book and indeed readers are asked to experience beauty in a new way, much as they are experiencing the book itself in a new way.
This is the type of book that must be perused and pondered. Readers must question the relationship of words with the page they are written on. This turns every page into a landscape that must be visually and mentally explored, and though the book is a quick read there are places that slow the eye and force readers to consider the words and images on the page. This book would appeal to artists, innovators, writers, and anyone who likes to engage with a thoughtful narrative.
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LITERATURE
fort collins courier
:
summer 2018
100% of Profits to
Literature, Art, & Culture in our Community
Mon - THu: 8am - 9pm / Fri & Sat: 8am - 10pm / Sun: 11am - 6pm A letterpress print shop and event space in Fort Collins’ River District, specializing in community engagement opportunities. Our space is available to rent for events, literary workshops and readings, films, music and other cultural offerings. We have local coffee and espresso, wine, beer, snacks, and local goods available for purchase. All proceeds go to Wolverine Farm Publishing, a local 501(c)3 literary arts nonprofit.
Please visit www.wolverinefarm.org or call 970-682-2590 for more information
fort collins courier
Leaning Into Absence:
:
LITERATURE
summer 2018
13
A Dialogue with Local Poet, Tirzah Goldenberg
By Rachel Franklin Wood
T
irzah Goldenberg and I held this conversation about her debut poetry collection, Alepth (Verge Books), in writing, over the course of several months. We began the interview shortly after the Islamic Center of Fort Collins was vandalized in March of 2017 and continued through President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate talks. I don’t believe either of us could have known how frequently we would encounter headlines such as these in the year that followed. The constant tumult is exhausting, but reading through this interview again before its publication, I was reminded that conversations like ours must be happening across the country every day. A small comfort perhaps, but better than nothing.
Fort Collins Courier: Aleph, as the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, bears tremendous meaning for a multitude of reasons. What role does Aleph play here in titling this collection? Tirzah Goldenberg: Aleph is multiple: symbol, cipher, letter/element which is itself silent and yet supports sound. It is fragment too—as an inscription might remain on worn parchment, as much of presence as of absence. Pouya Ahmadi’s original design of the letter (his original font also graces the interleaved black pages) is die-cut into the cover, which casts this simultaneous presence/absence into nice relief. When sunlight streams through the lack of Aleph, Aleph is inscribed of light on the page beneath. My poetry is minimalist, interested in scarcity, perhaps rarity, so a silent Hebrew letter, less than a word and scarcely a sound, yet quiet with meaning, especially in kabbalistic thought (Jewish mysticism), seemed a good fit for the collection. I was raised on an Orthodox Jewish education, and so Aleph speaks too of my own beginnings, though I was assigned to wear the letter Fey for a school play, not Aleph. The title’s fullest meaning remains dark to me.
I’m drawn to this concept of simultaneous presence and absence. Raised in Wyoming by a Jewish mother, I have always defined myself as Jewish despite being primarily secular and without a Jewish upbringing in any traditional sense. The absence of much Jewish culture in Wyoming lead me to reach for anything (however rare, however scarce) that helped me to define that piece of myself. I found that writing about it only caused me to feel more removed from my heritage and ever less-capable of justifying my experience. Based on your bio, I understand that your childhood was substantially different from my own, but here we both are, in a place with little Jewish heritage. How does this absence compel your work? I’m grateful you ask this question because it is one which I think about often and keep mostly to myself, due to, as you say, a certain lack in our environment. I’m grateful too, because I have found it uncommon to meet a Jew. I say “Jew” with a sense of bravery and willed community. I just read an opinion piece in the New York Times titled Reclaiming ‘Jew’ by Mark Oppenheimer.1 Briefly, the piece notes that “Jew” is not publicly uttered like the more common identifier “Jewish” is, due to the word’s being made into an ethnic slur at the same time as it is, for Jews, simply and positively and joyfully what we are. Perhaps in this very word that we carry, openly or surreptitiously, however our surroundings may or may not allow for it, is yet another aspect of this simultaneous presence and absence of which we are speaking: present to ourselves as Jews, yet always too an element of hiding, of marginality, of privacy, perhaps even at times of erasure. My upbringing was such that most of what I knew—home, school, synagogue—was Orthodox Judaism. Over the years I retreated from this way of life, though it was a retreat from the deeply familiar. Accordingly, over the years I learned to feel more and more estranged and unfamiliar, both to myself and to society at large. In fact, what became deeply familiar was strangeness and estrangement. This experience I expect must be present in the poetry as much as anything else. Perhaps the blank page, or absence, is truly the most welcoming, private, and communal of spaces. Perhaps it only echoes. But then there is this, too: Emily Dickinson saying, “It might be lonelier / Without the Loneliness –” Perhaps absence, loneliness, is a primal creative void.
I must add, too, that whatever I may feel as a Jew extends beyond my personal life to the historical memory of the Jews as a people. Here I am thinking particularly of the Holocaust or Shoah. That our singular life is not merely our own. That in the heart of Jewish experience and identity is this which happened. Therefore, tikkun, or “repair,” or the need in the heart of absence at the very least to speak.
I’ve been coming back to this answer for weeks. It speaks so clearly to my experience, especially after reading Nathan Goldman’s recent essay.2 In it, Goldman addresses some of the same rhetoric addressed in Oppenheimer’s piece. Where Oppenheimer calls for us to embrace “Jew” and to create resistance out of our existence, Goldman references another slur-ish turn of phrase offered by the alt-right, in which the humanity of Jewish people is compared to the “soulless golem,” but perhaps the 1 2
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/opinion/reclaiming-jew.html?_r=0 http://lithub.com/in-the-age-of-trump-reclaiming-the-golem-as-a-symbol-of-jewish-resistance/
alt-right believes too rigidly the golem to be something shameful. I find solace in the reclamation of the golem. By the end of Goldman’s essay, the golem holds infinite, immeasurable potential. Since a golem is brought to life when inscribed with a word beginning in Aleph, and turns again inanimate when Aleph is erased, the golem seems an apt metaphor for Jews’ relationship to language that has so long threatened paradigm and hierarchy. Writing a collection that picks at the question of what it means to be a modern Jew might just make you one of the bad ones, a revolutionary, something incendiary, a golem of sorts. It’s a refusal to be “white” in a time during which it is increasingly dangerous to be anything but.
Is this collection a work of resistance? Of existence? Both? Does it fall somewhere else entirely? Aleph was completed about four years ago, in a different political climate, and I cannot say that I think of it as a work of resistance as such. But it is a book, in part, about the Dead Sea Scrolls, about historical and cultural inheritance, gleaning or re-imagining some of its language from that of the library belonging to an ancient Jewish sect residing near the Dead Sea. It is a book, I believe, that speaks, or indeed sings (some of the scrolls discovered were psalms and thanksgiving hymns) both to and from those very works, split. To relate this to the notion of the folkloric golem, and the reclamation or re-imagining of any given thing, Aleph returns to Qumran, the settlement near the Dead Sea, as if to dwell in antiquity as it dwells within the place of the imagination. The singing may be sparse, as after 2,000 years many scrolls had become fragments, but within that rather minute suggestion might dwell an infinite, highly complex being, magically altered, as the golem is, by a particular use of letters. It may be interesting to note that in the Jewish folktale, the Hebrew word that creates the golem and begins with the letter Aleph is emet, or “truth.” When the Aleph is removed, we are left with met, or “dead,” and the golem is no longer animated. Some have been coining our current era “post-truth.” If the figure of the golem can offer some lesson for present times, perhaps it is this idea of wearing truth on one’s forehead, or within one’s mind, as the golem literally wears it—to resist, that is, the socalled post-truth era, and continue to speak and write and act with dignity and respect for ourselves and for the people, plants, animals, oceans, all, with whom we share this beautiful planet.
You work with fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which must require inference and extrapolation to interpret, but you pull them further apart to create some of these poems. What’s your process? When do you know a poem is complete? When do I know a poem is complete? Time! As perhaps paradoxically, the not-yet fragments needed time to become fragments, and so complete in themselves. Time is compressed in a poem. A poem I’m writing at the moment was born of a single line (“behind her in the dark green dust”) that was salvaged from a scrapped poem I wrote several years ago. The line was revealed to me then, I gave it up, and then it surfaced anew at a time when I’m more able to see it unravel (like a scroll?) in front of me. These inner workings of language/reality are always mysterious to me, and I’m so glad of that. It is as if there is some kind of prophetic knowledge in the line—and the poet is the least privy to it! I suppose that’s an apt way for me to think about my work with the Dead Sea Scrolls. They traveled a ways to find me / I traveled a ways to find them: “a bird driven far / for a broken vessel.”
This collection strikes me as coming from a place of loneliness, formed in the disconnect between language and the physical being. When you publish, do you find that loneliness abated in the word gone physical, or is this kind of communication necessarily a failure, necessarily lonely-making? I certainly feel a kind of physical, emotional, and spiritual relief when the poem or larger work is finally formed, and the words become palpable, useful, vessel-like, as if just out of the kiln. I do tend to see words on the page as physical beings, rather than mere ornament or surface—which is perhaps one reason why my work is so spare, each word weighed and sounded; each word, I hope, half-revealing its depths. The work of shaping or sounding from the impalpable matter of your mind is certainly a joyful effort for that. Is it, finally, lonely? If loneliness is companionable, which I think it certainly can be. A reader is good company.
Who do you read to help you lean into absence? W.G. Sebald, Ronald Johnson, Cynthia Ozick, Lorine Niedecker, Pam Rehm, Gustaf Sobin, Jenny Erpenbeck, Paul Celan, Thomas Hardy—to name a few who call me again and again to return: co-absence with company.
Fight the Power Photographs by Phil Benstein
16
MAKE
fort collins courier
:
summer 2018
Make How to Start a Handmade Business in Fort Collins
Article by Beth Kopp Art by Allie Ogg
W
hen I started selling my candles locally, I did a lot of research to figure out what exactly I needed to do to be a legit business owner. I asked maker friends tons of questions, Googled things for hours, and visited city buildings to ask questions in person. I would have killed for a simple checklist, so that’s why I decided to write this little guide. Of course, I am still learning new things every day about selling handmade goods, so this is certainly not all-encompassing, but should give you a good place to start.
___ Pick a name! You have a product, now you just need a name. Lots of makers use their personal names, which makes things pretty easy: i.e. Jane E. Roberti, Allie Ogg, J.H. Tatroe, etc. But if you don’t want to go that route, you’ll have to check trademarks first. Making up a word for your name is also an option. I did this after finding out the name I wanted was already trademarked.
+ check trademark policy (https://www.uspto.gov/) + check urls, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media
+ Sign up for Etsy. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to start selling your goods online. + Set up your own website. Or think about it. Shopify is a popular option right now that is pretty intuitive but does have a monthly fee.
___ Market yourself + Make business cards + Make signs for your booth (if you plan on doing markets) + Design product labels + Create booth displays
Local options for print services include ColorPro, Citizen Printing, and Leapin’ Lizard Labels.
___ Apply to local markets & shows + Freedom Market | http://www.facebook.com/FreedomMarket/
___ Decide on type of business Most makers and artists initially form their businesses as sole proprietorships because it’s simple, easy, and cheap, but it’s not the only option. You could also set up your business as an LLC (Limited Liability Company). This protects you from liability, but is a little bit more expensive and slightly more complicated. Forms for registering as either can be found at the Colorado Secretary of State website (https://www.sos.state.co.us/ biz/).
+ Wolverine Farm Holiday Market | http://www.wolverinefarm.org + The French Nest | http://www.thefrenchnestmarket.com/ + Larimer County Farmers’ Market | http://www.larimercountyfarmersmarket.org/ + Colorado Makers Market | https://coloradomakersmarket.com/ + Art Lab Pop-up Art Carts | http://www.artlabfortcollins.org/ + Big Regional Markets: Firefly, Horseshoe, Denver Flea, Botanic Garden Market
___ File for sales tax ID (city and state) You will need a sales tax ID for both the city of Fort Collins (or wherever you live) and the state of Colorado. You will also need a special events license if you plan to sell your goods at markets or shows. Visit https://www.fcgov.com/salestax/ or go in person to 215 North Mason Street. Forms for state sales tax licenses can be found at https:// www.colorado.gov/pacific/tax/sales-tax-account-license.
___ Get your work into local shops + Wolverine Farm Letterpress & Publick House + Downtown Artery + Wool Hat + Trimble Court Artisans
GOOD TO KNOW: The city offers free Sales & Use Tax 101 classes.
+ Blue Moose Art Gallery & Gifts + Walnut Creek
___ Get online + Buy your url as soon as you pick a name. Google Domains and Go Daddy are just a few options for purchasing a url. + Pick your Facebook, Instagram, and other social media handles.
+ Fort Collins Food Co-Op + Coffee Shops & Galleries
fort collins courier
___ Join the community + Hotdish - Arts Community meets in person monthly at different venues around Fort Collins. You can find them on Facebook Groups. + Monday Makers Meet-Up at Wolverine Farm Letterpress & Publick House is a happy hour for makers every second Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. + Rocky Mountain Creatives is a group of local makers on Etsy. + You can find knitting and craft groups at Wolverine Farm, local yarn shops, and other community spaces in Fort Collins. + Start your own group! Sometimes the best groups are small. Find a few makers or artists that want to meet weekly and chat about business, goals, and inspirations.
Advice from Local Makers “Find a good positive community. It doesn’t have to be the whole local maker community at large, just a few kindred spirits. Reach out to them when you need them and when they need you. There’s room for everyone! Be a good, gracious community member. Take genuine friendly interest in others in your industry and lift them up. A rising tide lifts all boats.” —TeDi Jansen of Small Acre Farm “Start before you feel ready—get your work out there and see what sells best.” —Jessica Mack of Brown Paper Bunny “I do what I love to remind those around me to find their fire and follow their passions. I am a maker of food, art, stories, and community, and I continue to overcome challenges because there is nowhere to go but forward. I must make, and so, I must make it work! A bit of advice for those starting out: Let us all be fueled by love so that our momentum and creative fire will continue to burn a long and steady life. Stay organized, stay committed, stay creative!” —Chelsea Gilmore of WildCraft
“Set good intentions for your business periodically (yearly, quarterly, monthly—whatever works for you). It’s an amazing way to keep focus when your focus gets muddled in the chaos of owning a business. Also, keep space in your daily life for self-care. It will be a life saver.” —Melissa Mika of PageFiftyFive
“Do things at your own pace. Grow your business at a rate that feels right to you. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘I shoulds’ (especially with social media showing the best of everyone), but if you can ignore that, you’ll enjoy the process much more and grow in a more organic and sustainable way.” —Beth Kopp of Beldamia
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summer 2018
MAKE
17
18
COMMUNITY
fort collins courier
:
summer 2018
Community
Poudre Libraries introduce
Gadgets &
Things By Danny Steiner
F
or Fort Collins residents, a trip to one of our many state parks is a welcome opportunity to enjoy the dazzling sites and unwind from the daily trials of life. However, for some families, an annual pass to visit one of the many Colorado parks can be a lofty expenditure. The Poudre River Library District has a solution. Last June, Poudre libraries launched their Gadgets and Things collection featuring an assortment of objects that includes their popular Check Out State Parks: Colorado Library Pass package which allows library card holders to borrow a backpack with a free Colorado State Parks pass, binoculars, a plant identification guide, a wildlife viewing guide, a state parks brochure, a list of suggested activities, and a pamphlet on leave-no-trace principles. The Check Out State Parks backpack is only the tip of the iceberg on this exciting collection. The libraries also offer exciting items such as cake pans, Fitbits, Nooks, Acoustimeters, and much more. When asked about the motivation behind the Gadgets and Things collection, Library Communications Assistant, Katie Auman stated, “The idea for us was to reflect what our community wanted.” Auman further elaborated that the idea behind the Gadgets and Things collection is one that other libraries have also taken up to provide additional resources to reflect the changing needs of their communities. “We already do it with books and e-media. This just happens to be another item or material that allows people to access new information, a tool, or a resource they find useful,” Aumen explained. “With the libraries, you’re starting to see this more across the United States, especially as this idea of the sharing economy starts to take off: providing access to information, tools, or knowledge, that people need to accomplish something.”
In starting and maintaining this program, the Poudre River Library District Collections Committee assures that items in the Gadgets and Things collection reflect the needs and wants of the Fort Collins community. One way the collections team goes about acquiring new items for the collection, Auman stated, is through customer feedback. Individuals with a library card are welcome to submit a request for an item they would like to see in the collection. After this, the collections team reviews the requests to see which items will be a feasible fit given the resources the libraries have. Currently, library cardholders can check out a wide array of items such as bird watching kits, Nooks, radon gas detectors, solar lights, and cake pans. With such a variety of items, library goers may be surprised to find out that in addition to the Check Out State Parks Pass, cake pans are some of the most popular items in the collection. Auman speculated this might be “because a lot of the pans are one and done. You don’t necessarily want to go out and buy a shamrock shaped cake pan for fifteen dollars that you’re going to use once a year at most”. The prevalence of cake pans as a hot ticket item highlights sustainability as a significant benefit of the Gadgets and Things collection. Individuals interested in items that are seldom used don’t have to worry about purchasing them for a one-time use only to have them take up space later, or be thrown away. Additionally, Auman also noted that the collection provides an opportunity for community members to try these items before they buy them. For someone who is interested in a Fitbit, or solar lights, but hesitant about the investment, the collection offers the chance for individuals to try the item before spending their money.
The trend in creating a “sharing economy” does seem to be an ever-growing aspect of libraries throughout the United States. As Brad Tuttle wrote in an article in Time Magazine, “22 Incredibly Useful Things Your Town Is Probably Giving Away for Free,” libraries across the nation have begun offering everything from compost in South Bend, Indiana, to rain barrels in Cook County, Illinois, to hand tools in Oakland, California.
Ultimately, Auman thinks the collection will “grow in line with demand.” She noted that since the collection rolled out last June, “it has been widely popular, especially the Check Out Colorado State Parks package.” With the library continually adding new items, as the collection grows patrons can expect to see many more useful and enticing items become available.
However, some libraries go beyond offering items to individuals. In an episode of All Things Considered Elizabeth Blair discussed this trend with Barbara Stripling, the president of the American Library Association, and found out that in some communities, individuals can check out other humans to help complete various tasks ranging from electronics to plumbing. As Auman notes though, items offered in each library will differ, and will reflect the needs of that community.
While individuals are not able to browse the Gadgets and Things collection in the same way that they would browse the traditional collections of books and other media, the Gadgets and Things collection can be found by visiting http://www.poudrelibraries. org/ and searching for “gadgets&things” to view the entire collection and place holds on specific items.
fort collins courier
:
summer 2018
COMMUNITY
19
Mary’s Queries By Mary McHugh
Dear Maryuary, Here’s the situation. I just started dating this girl—we’ve been on three dates—and I’m struggling here. I don’t want to trick her exactly, but how do I make myself appear more interesting? And if possible, I’d like a well-constructed plan to seem as if I’m a little more spontaneous.
Dear Maryuary, My husband and I have lived in Fort Collins for ten years and we’re experiencing a date night rut. We usually just do dinner in Old Town and a movie. What ideas do you have for new and exciting things we can do to shake things up?
Looking for Choice Excitement
Dear Looking, Well, sadly, I’m going to be the one to inform you that after ten years of being with someone, no matter where you live really, you can’t shake things up. You’ll just have to give up. Have an affair and do your best to keep it a secret—
Is one perspective! I on the other hand, think a sluggish marriage predicament is entirely salvageable. The secret is to become someone else (because let’s face it, nobody can have so much depth that they’re fun to hang out with for TEN YEARS—let’s be kind and give ourselves a break from these unrealistic expectations).
Here’s what you do: pretend that you actually just met. You can either be kind of sleazy and “pick each other up” at a bar in Old Town, or meet on one of those fancy matchmaking applications you find on the World Wide Web. Then you both reinvent yourselves and meet your new selves all over again! Make it a little bit realistic so it’s easier to suspend disbelief. For example, you could run a dispensary and take him to your favorite place along the Poudre River to smoke weed and he could be a tattoo artist who also works in a brewery.
It doesn’t really matter who you pretend to be or what you end up doing, playing this game (and you can take it as far as you’d like—once I dressed up as Princess Leia and jumped into a dumpster pretending it was a trash compactor on the Death Star and my husband dressed as Storm-Trooper Han Solo and called me an idiot for getting us into this mess—So. Much. Fun.), whatever you decide to do will spark your creative energies and you’ll see each other and our little city through new eyes.
One caveat though: you can’t break character or it won’t work. So, act like you would on a first date. Get gussied up, censor yourself when you’re about to say something stupid, and absolutely no farting. You can do all that in the morning.
Cheers, Maryuary
Boring but Don’t Want Her Snoring
Dear Boring, First of all, I’m going to encourage you to approach this from another angle: you actually do want to trick her. That’s what humans do because it is imperative for the survival of the species. Go ahead and quash all your moral qualms about this because it is the right and just thing to do. Biologically and psychologically, people are designed to trick each other and to lie to ourselves for the greater good. Psychologists call this “optimism.” Strangely, optimism seems to be a key ingredient in all kinds of success.
In addition to the daily dose of deceit we dole out to ourselves and any living creature that we come into contact with, we also have what could be described as “mental blinders” that we employ virtually constantly. These reality blockers make it possible for us to do things like buying toilet paper, reheating fried rice, and drinking beers and joking about politicians instead of sobbing convulsively all the time. It isn’t exactly that we aren’t aware of all the horrors in the world, we just have the ability to effectively ignore them when we’re traveling through time and space. The good news for you is that both our predilection for self deception and the ability to hold reality at bay are heightened considerably when we first start dating someone; hence all the marrying and baby-making and such that goes on all over the place.
So, three dates huh? You must not have screwed up too badly, so let me tell you the secret to seeming really interesting: don’t talk about yourself at all. This is not to be taken personally, anonymous advice seeker; it goes for all of us. Mostly, we are boring. Experts estimate that the average individual is interesting enough to be engaging for a total of about seventy-two hours spread out through a lifetime. Notable exceptions are the jazz master-philosopher Sun Ra (who claimed to be from Saturn and dressed like an interstellar African King), who was interesting every minute of his life save the first three months when all he was doing was pooping and crying like every other infant, and Ryan Seacrest, who has never been at all interesting. Ever.
And here, the praxis is even better than the theory. All you have to do is ask her questions about herself—without ever ever giving her a chance to reciprocate. It doesn’t matter what you ask—“Do you like prog rock? Are you clever with your left hand? Can you spell ‘lieutenant’?” (holy crap, I just spelled that correctly on my first try)—just so long as you are doing the asking. She will invariably mistake your interest in her for you’re being interesting yourself. Just don’t be surprised when you start to find her answers a bit tedious.
Best, Maryuary
20
PIE
fort collins courier
:
summer 2018
Pie
ME OH MY Coffee and Pie anchors LaPorte community
An Interview with founder and owner, Caitlin Philip Art by Emma St. Aubin
Fort Collins Courier: You’ve been open in your new location for a few months now—how is it going? Me Oh My: Things are going well! We opened November 1st, and were incredibly busy—people were so excited to finally see the new space. We got through Thanksgiving with me about to go into labor at any moment (we still made about 600 pies). I did finally go into labor November 28th and we welcomed Baby Gus that evening. He ended up being a last minute C-section (breach) so the recovery for me was longer. Then Gus caught RSV in December and we were in the hospital for about a week with him. I don’t think I even went into the shop for about 6 weeks. I mention all of this because this is what a small business is—it’s families, it’s babies, it’s a community, employees, neighbors, deaths… all of it. We got through the next few months because our community takes such great care of us. Our employees are family, and we’re really here to just continue to grow that. It really just makes my heart so joyful that we have created and built this place to be such a family. We can’t wait to watch this family grow as more and more people hear about us!
What do you envision for LaPorte? Me Oh My: LaPorte is such a hidden gem. It has so many amazing, friendly, creative, hard working people in it. A lot of people don’t know the history of LaPorte. Overland trail was the main throughway through Colorado. LaPorte was up as a one of three cities to become the capital of Colorado. Due to flooding, the camp that was stationed here was moved to Fort Collins, but most travelers came through LaPorte and stayed at swing stations in the town to get a drink, take a shower, water horses, etc. LaPorte has never lost that charm. When I see the future of LaPorte, I see the continuation of a community that takes care of one another. I see Me Oh My helping to bring more and more of these people together. Plus a lot of people from surrounding areas coming to feel apart of the greatness of this community as well. As we say #supportlaporte
What are your summer plans? Me Oh My: Summer plans are to just keep improving everyday. We’ll try out some new recipes, expanding the menu here and there… seeing what people like. Also, we’re working on a liquor license, and saving up for the equipment we’ll need. We have a great patio to hang out on, a kids area for families and our mercantile, which is full of local goods! We’re talking about some joint events with The Lyric since we’re just down the Poudre Trail from each other. Also, we will be doing some Paella days with Los Dos Paelleros.
Acupuncture - Chinese Herbs Massage - Qigong - Diet Therapy
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Mind sharing a favorite recipe with us? Me Oh My: Although our passion is pie, we also LOVE a good hearty soup. A lot of people don’t know that we serve soup, but we like to think we make the best soups in Northern Colorado! Everything from scratch—just like Grandma did. Soup that makes you feel good.
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup:
One of my favorite seasons is when the Jerusalem (also known as Sunchokes) Artichokes are ready to be dug up and devoured. This recipe is really simple, but the flavor is rich, earthy and full (kind of tastes like artichoke hearts). Jerusalem artichokes grow all over this area like a weed. If you see a bunch of what look like small sunflowers or yellow daisies growing in a field… chances are its Jerusalem artichokes.
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$99 Info: todd@wolverinefarm.org
2 lbs Jerusalem Artichokes
1 cup onions (Leaks work great too)
1/2 cup celery
3 large cloves of garlic
2 TBLS butter
2 TBLS olive oil
1 quart homemade chicken stock (yes, we make all of our stocks from scratch) Use vegetable if you want vegetarian soup.
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 cup cream (optional)
Start by peeling and chopping up the Jerusalem artichokes. Chop up your onions (or leeks), garlic and celery. Warm your butter and olive oil in a pot and add the chokes, onions, and celery to the pot and sauce for about 7 minutes (don’t let it brown). Add your garlic and cook for a minute or two longer. Add your stock and let it cook until everything has softened. Take an immersion blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cream and turn off heat.
22
FOOD & DRINK
fort collins courier
:
summer 2018
Food & Drink
Meet Gold Leaf Collective Article & Photographs by Anna Fagre
P
ine bark, pea shoots, edible flowers, elm seed, and roots from Lamb’s Quarter are just a handful of the unique ingredients utilized at Gold Leaf Collective, the brick-and-mortar facility housing the new restaurant associated with Silver Seed food truck, Leaf & Seed Catering Co., and Laurel St. Bakery. In 2016, Hanna of Raska approached Taylor Smith, owner of Gold Leaf, who has been operating Silver Seed food truck for the past four years, and suggested his team utilize the space to continue providing locally sourced plant-based cuisine on a larger scale. Since its inception, Gold Leaf has been built on support from the community and in turn, the group gives back by sharing two dollars from every chef ’s plate and preferential sold at a local farm that rotates monthly.
Everything is produced in house with the exception of focaccia bread from Ingrained Bakery and soy, seitan, tofu, and vegan mozzarella from Mama’s Tofu. Coffee beans are provided by Harbinger Coffee, and Happy Lucky Tea House provides Daniel Gray tea, their version of Earl Gray tea. Daniel Gray tea is used in several of Laurel Bakery’s baked goods and a sorbet served with reduced apple juice, pineapple weed, and a spruce tip marinated in a pine vinaigrette. Pine needles are acquired from one of only four Russian larch pine trees in town, located at La-La Land Farm.
The staff of Gold Leaf Collective is comprised not only of management and those that staff the restaurant, but foragers that are constantly seeking new local areas from which to acquire novel ingredients. Foraged ingredients include not only mushrooms, but flowers, sprouts, and plants which many would consider weeds. Much of the time, the entire plant is utilized—roots and all. “Our menu is entirely plant-based, but we don’t want to be known as a ‘vegan restaurant’. We pride ourselves on using all parts of certain plants, and capitalizing on creative uses of what many would consider a weed,” says Daniel Gray, Gold Leaf ’s Head Chef.
The majority of ingredients come from within city limits, many of which are from private land owners. Gold Leaf Collective currently works with a small number of farms—Raisin Roots, Hope Farms (associated with The Growing Project), Wooly Goat Farms, and Shire CSA—but will likely expand in the future.
Another exciting collaboration that Gold Leaf is part of is a new kombucha company here in town, Wild & Free Kombucha, the owner of which works at the restaurant. While I spoke with Smith, Gray, and Cameron Trezoglou, the kitchen manager, I enjoyed a fenugreek fennel-flavored kombucha. Wild & Free is currently working on a champagne that will be available at Gold Leaf Collective when they begin serving alcohol.
I had the opportunity to try a number of other dishes while we spoke, beginning with a buttery and flaky vegan croissant covered in a rose petal glaze and topped with crunchy candied rose petals. After that, I was served a beautifully plated pine bark pierogi with a potato filling infused with reishi mushrooms from Golden Poppy Apothecary, housemade sauerkraut, and pickle brine aioli with a side of butter lettuce from Shire Farms dressed in a mustard vinaigrette. Then, Daniel brought out their plancha plate with grilled greens dressed in a garlic miso sauce, grilled asparagus, milkweed shoot, linden leaves, a sunflower seed and mustard green pesto with greens from Raisin Roots farm, hay-smoked carrot puree, watercress beurre monté, and asparagus skin sauce garnished with sweet Sicily pea shoots and flowers, chives, and a small pile of fermented elm seeds topping the pesto.
The staff at Gold Leaf Collective are above all else enthusiastic about experimenting with novel ingredients and combinations, and pride themselves on working with restaurant guests to craft new plates during dinner specials. This month’s proceeds from dinner specials go to the Growing Project, and while they have a few staff specifically operating in the front of the house, it is quite common that the kitchen crew that crafts the meals will bring you your meal in order to allow for a dialogue surrounding each dish.
Gold Leaf Collective is currently open from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and from 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
fort collins courier
:
HISTORY
summer 2018
23
History
The Metamorphosis of the Butterfly Building of Laporte Avenue By Tirzah Post
I
f you have ever found yourself along Laporte Avenue, you may have noticed a unique four-hundred square foot building with a cantilevered roof that folds like the wings of a butterfly into a wide V-shape. Maybe you have rented a bike there or, in your youth, gotten some ice cream. The building has been around for over half a century and has undergone several metamorphoses. However, it has always maintained its unique architectural design and has lovingly been nicknamed the “butterfly building” by locals. Karen McWilliams, Preservation Planner for the City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation Office, provided a report that detailed the history of the building which was used to determine its historical landmark status. According to the report, the building was constructed in the late 1950s and first belonged to a company that in and of itself underwent several major production changes. Owned by James F. Vandewark—a prominent local businessman of the late nineteenth and twentieth century—the company opened its doors in the 1890s. It originally delivered natural ice by horse and wagon and eventually produced ice at a plant on Riverside Avenue and would be named the Riverside Ice & Storage Company (RISCO) by 1909. After the Union Pacific Railroad bought up the lot on Riverside Avenue from Vandewark, the business relocated to its spot at 222 Laporte Avenue and was established there by 1912. The company grew to include many products and services reliant on cold storage, including perishable farm products from local farmers. With the advent of electric refrigeration in the 1920s, locals slowly became less dependent on RISCO’s ice production and the business focused in on its other products and services. Vandewark even built a filling station in the 1920s for fuel and automotive service in the spot where the butterfly building would eventually be constructed. By the 1940s, the business had become almost entirely reliant on the production and sales of its dairy products including ice cream, milk, and butter. As new reforms in public health began to be implemented in the 1950s, an emphasis on the testing of milk purity became increasingly important in the industry. Thus, by the late 1950s, the filling station was demolished and in its place, a small square building with a V-shaped roof would become the creamery’s laboratory facility as well as a drive-thru dairy bar for customers to come and quickly get ice cream or other items. According to the report, and confirmed by records found at the local Fort Collins Archive at the Museum of Discovery, the building itself was built in the Googie architectural style popular across the United States in the mid-twentieth century. Features including large plate glass windows, concrete bricks, and, of course, the V-shaped cantilevered roof are all characteristic of the Googie style. The style also incorporates many Space Age elements which, in its time under the control of Dairy Gold Creamery, would include a brightly colored and space age style sign protruding above the roof along a columnar parapet. By 1964, shortly after Dairy Gold closed its doors, the sign would be taken down and replaced with one for the new owner’s: the Poudre Valley Creamery. These new owners would own all the buildings of 222 Laporte Avenue until 2001. Under their control, the butterfly building would be used as many things including a laboratory, an office
space, and a retail store. In 2001, the building fell under the control of the city and was used as a bike library for several years. The large main creamery building would be demolished in 2010 due to structural deterioration, leaving the butterfly building as the last remnant of the two creameries that once set up shop there. However, its location would move a hundred feet east by 2016. According to McWilliams, when the city decided to build the Utilities Administration Building where the main creamery building once stood, the butterfly building had to be moved and now resides at 212 Laporte Avenue. A plaque near the Utilities Administration Building shares the history of the laboratory building and dark brown concrete in front of the building marks the spot of the laboratory’s original location. When the building was moved, the city altered the interior configuration. According to an article in The Coloradoan by Kevin Dugan, they began accepting proposals in January of 2016 from potential tenants for the utilization of the space. By March of that same year, the owners of the local Dam Good Tacos, Alison Hatcher and Michael Falco, won the bid to open the Butterfly Café, according to another article from The Coloradoan, this time by Jacob Laxen. According to their website, butterflycafefortcollins.com, the new tenants of the space have worked hard to create a café that both honors the history of the building, by namesake and design, while providing a unique dining experience. The small café even replaced the space age, brightly colored Dairy Gold sign with one of their own in commemoration of the building’s roots. The interior space is beautifully put together with soft blue walls and floor-to-ceiling windows lined with high-top chair seating. To the left of the front counter, an eclectic collection of items including goat’s milk lotion, coffee beans from the Colorado-based Coffee Registry, and even a basil plant remind customers of the charm of local cafes. The glass display is filled with delicious-looking pastries and lunch items—including many vegan options. I personally sampled their Turkey Avocado Sandwich, featuring an herb sauce and roasted red chili sauce and found it to be delectable. Between the charm of the space, with its long and significant history, the unique experience created by its newest tenants, and the delicious food, I personally have found myself smitten with the butterfly building. As a representation of two major dairy companies of twentieth century Fort Collins and one of few local examples left of the Googie architectural style, the building’s historical significance is undeniable. According to McWilliams, as of July 5, 2017, it passed unanimously as an official Fort Collins landmark. Due to its newly christened status, the wonderful food, and eclectic charm, I would highly recommend a visit to 212 Laporte Avenue—it’s well worth your time. I’d like to give a special thank you to Karen McWilliams, Preservation Planner of the City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation Office, for being so helpful and providing such detailed information about the building, as well as a thank you to the staff of the Fort Collins Archive at the Museum of Discovery for helping me piece together local documents about the building. Your assistance made all the difference and gave me a great start for collecting relevant information.