The Annual

TheAnnual Spring 2015

up in the

air aerial artist takes a

successful leap of faith

back in the

swing

of things Did swing dancing ever really leave?

Pert’ Near

Sandstone Up To Their Knees in a River of Sound Spring 2015

1

TheAnnual s t A f f

editor-in-chief Taylor larson Art director nicole Kasperbauer editors emily GreGor

editor ' s letter

writers maGGie DicKman syDney schulTe melissa sTuDach avery GreGurich clauDia Williams emily hecKer molly aDamson molly lonGman DusTin eubanKs hannah KeisKer ellen JuDGe

T

ony Visconti, an American musician since the late '60s, once said, “it is easily overlooked that what is now called vintage was once brand new.” it’s easy to label something old as vintage, but the two aren’t synonymous.

Vintage is “used to describe something that is not new but that is valued because of its good condition, attractive design, etc.” but i would expand the definition to include a hint of nostalgia. it’s the feeling behind our attraction to black-and-white films or antique furniture. i’ve found “becoming vintage,” versus just getting older, to be a lengthy process. First you’re in, then you’re out, and then you’re in again, like bright red lipstick or drive-in movie theaters.

And i refer to a lot of things as vintage: my mom’s flip phone, the Frogger arcade game that collects dust in my basement, and my grandma’s incessant need for shoulder pads. But in the end, even shoulder pads are part of the cycle, right?

This issue of The Annual brings you some of our favorite vintage trends. From a behind-the-scenes look at reviving old cars at shops like American Dream Machines (page 26) to learning how Michelle Berlinger influences feminists everywhere with her birth control inspired jewelry (page 30). remember: what’s old is headed for new and what’s new again is vintage.

Taylor Larson

Art stAff susanna hayWarD meGhan berry Gaby Gaass PhotogrAPhers allison Trebacz bryan besler DusTin eubanKs fAculty Advisor Jeff inman sPeciAl thAnks to the following for helPing to estAblish the AnnuAl The boarD of sTuDenT communicaTions chrisTian prinTers sTuDenT senaTe lori blachforD

Taylor Larson Editor-in-Chief

© Copyright 2015. The Annual is published with the support of the Board of Student Communications.

Opinions expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of Drake University.

content

22 20

4 4 up in the air

Felicia Coe, DSM’s 2014 Best Local Artist, shows off her Cirque du Soleil talents at The Social Club.

20 Lagomarcino's

old candy shop The Quad Cities’ very own Wonka Factory, complete with candies to satisfy any customer’s sweet tooth.

22 back in the

swing of things Swing dancing is back…but did it ever really leave? Dancers at Lincoln’s pla Mor Ballroom explain basic moves and their love for swing.

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14 16 14 chicago vintage inside pilsen Vintage Chicago’s Second Friday Midnight Sales— the late-night shopping event for vintage lovers in The Windy City.

16 party like a

26

dowager

indulge your inner royal with a Downton Abbey inspired dinner celebration.

18 a little party never killed nobody

The Salisbury House in Des Moines, iowa, features an annual gatsby gala you’d be a beautiful little fool not to attend.

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26 [rev]ival The driving passion behind restoring and showing classic cars.

Spring 2015

3

art

up in the

air 4 THEAnnUAL

Felicia Coe knows how to take a leap of faith—and do it successfully.

By Maggie DickMan | pHOTOgrApHy By creative coMMons

F

elicia Coe is hanging upside down.

Her legs are wrapped around the massive white, silky ribbon hanging down from the metal bars on the ceiling.

Her caramel colored hair is whipping her face at every flip. Music is blaring. The lights are dim. She’s contorting her body into stunning shapes. She’s a few feet off the ground, and the black mat below looks like a distant savior as she falls. But she doesn’t fall. She ends in an elegant pose, her muscular legs stretching in opposite directions. Her toes are pointed and her head is facing the ground.

She gracefully finishes her routine and prepares the sky-high ribbons for the students in her All Aerial class.

The dangling and climbing are part of the aerial art that Coe brought to Des Moines. Aerial is just like what you see in a movie—artists like p!nk and the cast of Cirque du Soleil make it look like a breeze. Aerialists bend their bodies into picturesque shapes. They climb aerial silks—long pieces of fabric, strong enough to hold human weight. They flip in aerial hammocks—a hammock-like fabric folded in half at the bottom. They elegantly pose on aerial hoops—a hulahoop look-a-like hanging from the ceiling.

The art of aerial is a lot of work, and Felicia Coe knows that it isn’t easy.

When Coe moved to Salt Lake City with her husband for his job, she never thought aerial would be such an important part of her life. With no dance or gymnastics experience, she decided to sign up for a class at pearl, an aerial fitness studio, after hearing an ad on the radio. “We went upside down the first day,

which was fun,” Coe says. “i actually felt really, really sick right after. i had to sit in my car for 15 minutes after class not driving because i was so nauseous.” She stuck with it, though, practicing four to five nights a week for a year in Salt Lake City with her instructor, Suzi Holly. She participated in small events put on by the studio, mastering the complex poses she saw her classmates demonstrating. When Coe and her husband relocated back to their hometown of Des Moines, she realized there was nowhere for her to practice aerial. So, she brought the art herself. “i continued training myself and went to a local studio [Tgr Fitness],” Coe says. “it didn’t take long for people to see what i was doing and see this fabric hanging from the ceiling and be interested.” She began teaching Amber Cahill, the owner of Tgr Fitness, four years ago when she moved back to Des Moines. Cahill loved the class, so Coe decided to start an aerial fitness program. This was two and a half years ago, and the classes have only grown. She now teaches classes at both Tgr Fitness in Ankeny and the Des Moines Social Club. “i’ve had so many different types of people come through the door, all ages and skill levels and fitness abilities.”

All of these classes have paid off.

Cityview magazine named Coe 2014 Des Moines Best Local Artist—and this wasn’t just for anything. Along with teaching up to 10 aerial classes per week next year, she’s also producing the fourth Misfit Cabaret show with burlesque performer Leo LaFlash.

LaFlash met Coe in 2012 at one of Cahill’s shows in Ames, iowa. She was a stage kitten, and after hearing about Coe’s aerial program, she decided to spark up a conversation. LaFlash started taking a few of Coe’s aerial classes, and they would chat about their ideas for a show. The pair didn’t start planning their first Misfit Cabaret show until the winter of 2013. “We had wanted to collaborate in some way,” LaFlash says.

“So we thought, well, why not do a show? i mean, you can perform, i can perform, our friends can perform. it’ll be great.”

The cabaret show features everything from burlesque to spoken word poetry.

“There’s nothing else like it around, and it really gives performing artists a platform to show what they’ve been working so hard at,” Coe says.

Before leaving the class, the two All Aerial students do some stretching on the foam puzzle-piece flooring. Coe ties the aerial silks and hammocks that were dangling from the bars on the ceiling to the wall, clearing the space for the next class at the Social Club. Aerial workouts are a challenge because they are unique—not very often does a person get to stretch their muscles while dangling above the ground. But, it’s Coe that makes the aerial program enjoyable. “She shows you the joy of it too. The joy and the pain! She doesn’t hide the pain,” one student, rebecca purnell, says, laughing, and the other class taker, Liz Johnson, doesn’t let her forget: “But she doesn’t hide the joy either.”

Spring 2015

5

art

reemergence of

film The fuTure of analoG phoToGraphy Bryan Besler, photographer and former Christian photo employee experiments with gels: a thin, colored sheet used for color correction and lighting effects.

Besler’s nephew Dillan newbold, at his graduation party.

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A

family squeezes into a photo booth, making a variety of expressions before the camera counts down. Outside, a group of friends shouts, “Cheese!” before posing for a selfie using the front camera of an iphone. The evolution of photography has included both adjusting shutter speed while using the rule of Thirds and choosing a filter before adding a picnik frame.

Joyce Stasi, one of Dowling Catholic High School’s art teachers, believes anyone can take a good snapshot, but it takes multiple tries: “if you take enough digital photos, you’re going to take some good ones. if you take 500 shots on your phone, only nine of them are going to be great.” Stasi teaches both digital and film photography, but she starts her beginning photo classes off with black and white film.

Since film limits the photographer to only so many pictures, her students must learn how to take the best photos possible on the first try. They learn how a camera works from the inside and its basic controls. Stasi’s weekly assignments encourage students to look for a specific composition element. She offers this advice to her photography i students at the beginning of each semester: “i am forever going to alter the way you look at things.”

Dowling Catholic High School, located in West Des Moines, iowa, is one of the last schools in the area that continues to teach black and white photography in a wet darkroom. This specific process entails dipping 35 mm film into a chemical mix, which reveals the film’s image. Students then use an enlarger—a tool that “blows up” the image into an 8 x10-inch photo. During this process, students can focus or blur certain aspects of their photos. Such effects cannot be achieved when working with digital.

“Film is a very organic, ‘go-with-the-flow and hope you get it right’ sort-of thing,” says photographer Bryan Besler.

“Through experience, you have a good idea of what a photo will look like, but you can always be thrown a curve. you never really know until you process the film.” Besler worked with film for 15 years and still has a dark room. He used to work at Christian photo, where he did everything from selling cameras to editing photos.

“Almost everyone uses digital, but film is really coming back. people want a different look than digital gives, so they’ll go back to film,” says Jacqueline Stoken, a Des Moines photography Club member. As a film and digital photographer, she joined the club in 2000. “The photograph is an art, but it doesn’t degrade, diminish or fall apart like most collectibles do,” she says.

There is, however, a downside. “paper and film are tied to the price of silver because silver is metal that makes the image appear,” says Stasi. “When silver prices go up, so does the price of film and paper.” This is one of many reasons Stasi says she “would never give up digital cameras at this point.”

Costs aside, she still expresses some concern with digital cameras and how their photos are stored. Since most digital photos are archived on a cloud, jump drive, or an old computer file, she fears people losing access to those copies: “That’s when i think a resurgence is going to be seen: in stillmaking those hard copies so that you have a piece of history to share about your life.”

By syDney scHulte | pHOTOgrApHy By Bryan Besler

the impossible project The impossible project is an idea conceived by Florian ‘Doc’ Kapps in 2008, who refused to let analog photography die. They bought the last factory in the world that manufactured polaroid instant film, and since then have been innovating and figuring out ways to repurpose and refurbish old polaroid cameras. We talked to Marketing and partnerships Manager and representative Alex Holbrook to learn more:

can you tell us more about how you refurbish old Polaroids? impossible refurbished around 30,000 classic polaroid cameras last year! This year we look to refurbish around 40,000 cameras. We have a team of "pickers" scattered across the world hunting for polaroid cameras — at car boot sales, house clearances, eBay and even a dusty, forgotten attic. Some of these cameras are over 30 years old, so they are sent to our refurbishing workshops in new york and Enschede, the netherlands (inside our factory). Once they receive the cameras, they are evaluated and are either fixed (broken parts swapped and cleaned) or used for parts to fix other cameras. We make a lot of the spare parts in-house too. generally, it takes around 1 year to become fully qualified to refurbish cameras to the impossible standards.

Where do you see this project going in the next five years? in the next five years we will have reached some pretty big milestones and it will be our 10th anniversary! We will have launched a camera — the first polaroid format camera for 15 years. We will also have made around 2 million, if not more, films. The film will also have evolved and be as fast, if not faster, than polaroid was.

How do you hope this project will impact people?

We hope impossible inspires and enables people to express themselves creatively through a medium that is not digital.

Our film reacts to temperature and light, you have to learn how to use it and master it — which enables a real connection to be made to your pictures. instant analog photography makes you frugal, you only have a number of shots in your pocket, so you have to really be sure what you want to shoot - making you more concise. Every picture really means something.

Besler’s dad, using high contrast and single light.

Spring 2015

7

art

main street

Metropolis 8 THEAnnUAL

By Melissa stuDacH | pHOTOgrApHy By allison treBacz

A

doorbell chimes as the older couple exits the general Store Eatery,

that looks as though the bright hues of Easter egg dye has been accidentally

emerging from under the green and crème striped awning. They look

spilled together, concealing the original brick. What would have been the

both ways before crossing the quiet street and settle on a shaded

community post office or general store windows now display the merchandise

bench, roast beef sandwiches in hand. A gust of wind knocks the woman’s

of fashion boutiques and antique shops. From costumes and vintage to

napkin out of her grip. Her husband leans down to retrieve it.

crafting and coffee, Valley Junction caters to the hip creative with a charm

Seven miles east from where the couple sits is a metropolis of skyscrapers and Fortune 500 companies. A cultural and creative hub, Des Moines is a

that can’t be found anywhere else in the city.

Unlike a shopping center, the small businesses of Valley Junction often

city amidst a spurt of growth and national recognition. From the view of the

only employ a staff of one: the owner. nan Earll, of nan’s nummies, can

sidewalk bench, though, one wouldn’t even know it. Valley Junction thrives

still be found baking behind the counter after 26 years of business. She’s

on small-town values. West Des Moines’s historic community, with its

survived the flood of 1993, which caused every shop to close for repair.

more than 150 locally owned businesses, provides a niche for all ages

She was recognized in 2012 when Valley Junction was selected as a great

just outside the city.

American Main Street Award recipient, in which they competed against 700

“We have been called the small town in a big city,” says Jim Miller,

other communities. And she welcomes visitors of all ages into her shop of

executive director of the Historic Valley Junction Foundation. “That’s not a

fudge, popcorn, and candies. “This place reinvents itself every year. new

terrible thing to be called.” The five-block, brick-and-mortar strip is nestled

places open and attract new audiences,” says Earll. “We have people come

conveniently between the shopping centers of West Des Moines and the

from all over the country.”

downtown skyline. “There is a lot of other things happening, but i’d certainly

The older couple lives in Ankeny, but they make the short trip to Valley

take that because of the amount of people that are very close to here,” Miller

Junction several times a year. As Kay and Bruce finish up their sandwiches,

says. “We have major crowds at a lot of events—major crowds just on regular

they offer their seats to a family of four. Small crowds of people are making

days—so there’s great benefit to being in a metro area.”

their way to the main strip to check out the vintage car show that’s just

Since the 1890s, Valley Junction has served as a commercial and

setting up. The event is the couple’s main reason for visiting Valley Junction

residential district. The remnants of an old fashion main street have been

today, but it’s the atmosphere that brings them back. “We’re from a small

updated with colorfully patterned store awnings and a painted marble-print

town,” Bruce says, “so it’s a place of nostalgia.”

After being nearly destroyed by the iowa floods of 1993, Valley Junction has been remodeled into one of the best shopping neighborhoods in the area.

Valley Junction has something for everyone: antique stores, specialty restaurants, several salons, and a stained glass studio.

Spring 2015

9

Music

Pert’ Near

Sandstone M

usicians and rivers are a lot alike. They never stay in one place too long, driven endlessly elsewhere by some rudimentary force promising brighter skies and bigger shores to stretch out on just around the bend.

For Kevin Kniebel, and surely the river too, it’s the departure that costs the most. “i’ve learned after traveling for a decade there are all kinds of things that are hard about being a musician, and probably the hardest part is leaving home.” Kniebel says this over the phone a day after Thanksgiving, his voice relaxed, his four-year-old son Del audible through the receiver.

Kniebel is a founding member and banjo player of pert’ near Sandstone, a modern American string band quintet that has earned the reputation of being one of the nation’s premier string bands.

They’ve been together for over a decade, and they’ve channeled this emotion of departure into their fifth and latest studio release, The Hardest part Of Leaving. “it’s an album full of heartbreak and homecoming,” Kniebel says; the result of a decade spent playing and touring the country together, of leaving someone or something behind when the time for leaving came.

Thankfully, their efforts have not gone unnoticed.

The band’s particular blend of folk, bluegrass, country, and jugband music has landed them performances with Del McCourey, Steve Martin and

10 THEAnnUAL

the Steep Canyon rangers, and the yonder Mountain String Band, and has secured them appearances at prestigious music festivals such as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado, and the northwest String Summit in north plains, Oregon.

The band has been featured on several famed radio programs, with performances on Minnesota’s own “A prairie Home Companion,” national public radio’s “Mountain Stage,” and the “Woodsongs Old-Time radio Hour.” none of these benchmark accomplishments were fathomable to Kniebel a decade ago, though, when he was simply “looking for a hobby.” Then, he was living in a house in St. paul, Minnesota with fellow pert’ near founding member, guitarist J Lenz. The house was in a neighborhood Kniebel admits was about as far from the idyllic Midwest landscape that the band courts in nearly all of their songs.

“Everybody who lived there had a car broken into and totaled,” Kniebel says, reminiscing.

J and Kevin, along with fiddler ryan young who now performs with fellow Minnesota contemporary string band Trampled By Turtles, began jamming weekly at the house, fueled mainly by folk music and spirits of varying strengths. Shortly thereafter, nate Sipe, mandolinist and fiddle player, joined, bringing a deep knowledge of traditional and bluegrass tunes, adding depth and tradition to the music’s folk beginnings.

By avery greguricH | pHOTOgrApHy By Pert’ near sanDstone

Spring 2015

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Music

12 THEAnnUAL

When they decided to move out of the living room and perform at small coffee shops and bars in the Twin City area, they decided to look to both their home and their ancestors for a name.

“We all had grandparents that said some version of ‘pert near,’ ‘put near,’ and they all mean ‘pretty close.’ Sandstone is an abstract reference to the Mississippi river,” Kniebel says.

From there, newly named pert’ near Sandstone formed and grew naturally, with each member shaping and molding the band’s sound over time. After about a year, they added a bassist, currently Justin Bruhn, which rounded out the band’s sound and made it “easier for the audience to dance,” Kniebel says.

After two years, Andy Lambert brought with him a pair of clogging shoes, the equipment of a percussive, centuries old form of dancing where the dancer taps and pounds out a rhythm with their feet, resembling something of a human limberjack doll on stage. “it’s in our blood,” Kniebel says. “it’s an organic artifact of the upbringing that we’ve all experienced. in the Midwest, we don’t have a lot of months that are warm and you can hangout outside. you’ve got to make the best of the nights out that you have and really party hard, dance hard. you’ve got one chance at it, then you are going to be locked up in the cold for the next three or four days. you have to make your own fire.”

And audiences across the nation have received their Midwestern work ethic and their timeless type of music with open arms in this toobusy, technologically-tethered world.

“We are all just playing acoustic music, there’s nothing funny going on up there,” Kniebel

says. “They’re moved because we really believe in what we’re doing; it exudes from us the passion for this art form that we’ve created. it’s one of the few things these days that you don’t need a laptop to enjoy.”

Their energy is what first brought the band to Mike pengra’s attention, the program director of “radio Heartland” at Minnesota public radio.

The band’s first album, Live-Just Outside of Sandstone, landed on his desk and he “knew right away that the band had a lot of energy.”

His favorite memory is of a performance at the Minnesota State Fair in 2008, when he rode in the band’s tour bus to the stage at 5 a.m. By 6:45 a.m., the band was awake and roaring, playing throughout the entirety of the three hour radio show.

“Any band that can do that, any band that can come off the road for several days and drive and play at 6: 30 a.m. …They nailed it,” pengra says. in a visual bow to their heritage, the cover of The Hardest part of Leaving features lithographs from the 1890s of both of the Twin Cities: Minneapolis on the front, St. paul on the back.

Towards the bottom of the Minneapolis etching, beneath the then railroad-toting Stone Arch Bridge, runs the Mississippi river in after-storm sky blue.

For Kniebel, the constantly flowing water represents the larger, eternal passing of traditional music and culture from stage to crowd, and ultimately, from person to person.

“When i think about the tradition, and where it all came from, in my mind’s eye i’m always kind of feeling like it’s a part of this river that’s been flowing forever that we just happen to be flowing down as well.”

Spring 2015

13

fashion

CHICAGO

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VINTAGE By clauDia WilliaMs | pHOTOgrApHy By allison treBacz

Like rummaging through your grandma’s jewelry box, pilsen Vintage is home to treasures like watches, pins, and statement necklaces.

V

intage poodle skirts hang from racks, vibrant pieces of art cover the walls, retro furniture adds a pop of color, and wild accessories from every era are for sale throughout the three-room store. Stepping into pilsen Vintage Chicago’s Second Friday Midnight Sales is comparable to stepping into a time warp like no other.

Located in a quaint neighborhood of Chicago called pilsen, Second Friday Midnight Sales happen 12 times a year, offering customers the opportunity to dive into a groovy vintage world from 6 p.m. until midnight. A discount is offered during those six hours, as well as a vintage-style party reminiscent of the store in its heyday. Second Friday Midnight Sales is a place to meet with old friends, listen to retro indie tunes, and buy a dress that may remind you of something your mom wore in the ‘70s.

DJs bring the music, old-school merchandise brings the atmosphere, and no Table Manners brings the food. The catering service is run by Falin Huang, pilsen’s creative director.

The store itself opened around six years ago when owner paul guizar turned his love for crafting furniture into something bigger. He got the idea of what to fill his store with by looking at the way his two daughters dressed. “i never thought i would know this much about women’s clothing,” guizar says.

The store sells everything: colorful art made by local vendors, clothing from the ‘80s, the ‘40s and every decade in between, rare furniture, and funky accessories. The shop also changes out the pieces of art each month, giving local talents a chance to exhibit their work for vintage lovers’ eyes.

Loyal customer Olivia Smaniotto has found rare items including a quirky blue suede belt with a fun, embellished seashell on the front. “i knew i would never find anything like it again,” Smaniotto says.

The sales are to generate a good audience, especially the “midnight audience” of pilsen. Huang says, “it’s really about embracing the community through art and friendship.”

The party doesn’t just stop at the store, however.

The pilsen neighborhood is filled with numerous worldly restaurants, small boutiques, and other art exhibits open for the occasion; the community joins in, bringing the streets of pilsen back in time. guizar compares Second Friday Sales to a reunion. “A lot of people that show up know each other, and it’s like getting to see your friends and family again, as well as giving back to the community,” he says.

pilsen Vintage Chicago’s Second Friday Sales include discounts on all of their regular store items. Furniture and décor included.

The vintage shop sits in the heart of pilsen, a small neighborhood in Chicago. The eclectic surroundings contribute to the store’s atmosphere.

guizar’s focus on giving back to the community includes featuring local pilsen artists throughout pilsen Vintage.

Spring 2015

15

entertainment

How to Throw a Downton Abbey Party

Party Like a Dowager

Set the Mood

The first step in capturing Downton’s ambiance: candlelight. in the soft glow of taper candles, even the smallest apartment looks regal. Adding a musical element also works wonders. Winterthur, a historic house museum in Delaware, hosted “A night at Downton” cocktail party this past July. Ken Warner, Winterthur’s food services director, says period music and scores from Downton’s soundtrack let guests forget all their cares—like any good aristocrat.

Dress the Part

Ask guests to don their finest attire. if the dowager countess won’t be in attendance, cocktail dresses and suit jackets will be just fine. With anything else, feel free to shout, “Off with their heads!” if you’ll be serving your guests, consider dressing as a Downton staff member. Wait staff at Blackfish, a seafood-centric ByOB restaurant in pennsylvania, did just that for their annual Downton Abbey dinner. Chip roman, the restaurant’s chef, even dressed as Mrs. patmore. His black dress, white apron, and wig got rave reviews from guests.

Make Mrs. Patmore Proud

The key to any successful party: capturing Downton’s cuisine. Multiple courses— traditionally seven plus dessert—are a must. roman recommends looking to old English royalty recipes for inspiration. Traditional favorites such as pork roast and beef Wellington will leave guests feeling like proper lords and ladies. Finish the meal with coffee and Sir Anthony’s favorite, Apple Charlotte.

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By eMily Hecker | pHOTOgrApHy By allison treBacz

entertainment

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By Molly aDaMson | pHOTOgrApHy By allison treBacz | TypOgrApHy By racHael kreski

T

he gatsby Mansion is filled with people and champagne, music and laughter.

West Egg, new york lives for the lavish parties Jay gatsby hosts every weekend, and this weekend is no different, except nick Carraway is invited. guests mull rumors about their mysterious host before he finally reveals himself to Carraway and later explains: “i like big parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”

The Salisbury House is home to many jaw dropping annual events, including the gatsby gala, Des Moines’ own version of a weekend at gatsby’s. The House was built by Carl Weeks and his wife Edith Van Slyke Weeks in the prohibition Era, somewhere between 1923 and 1928. Modeled after the King’s House in Salisbury, England, it has 42 rooms and measures over 22,000 square feet. The House is open to the public for tours, private rentals, and has established itself as one of iowa’s most famous icons.

Every fall, Salisbury House guests don flapper dresses and zoot suits to honor the roaring 1920s. 2014 was the tenth annual celebration and centered on a 1920s best seller: “The Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen,” making Egyptian garb an acceptable choice for the evening. Hair stylists and makeup artists were available to make guests look their best, and enjoyment was not in short supply, as the 1920s came alive with music, dancing, food, and scotch tasting (although gatsby suggests that “it’s a great advantage to not drink among hard drinking people.”)

“This event is very important to the Des Moines community. it’s a fun event that shows people a piece of the city’s history, while they enjoy a fun party,” says Katie Wengert, the Marketing and Community relations Director for the Salisbury House. natasha Sayles, the executive director for the Des Moines Wine Festival Foundation, became involved with the Salisbury House when she was hired as an outside caterer for another event. Sayles is now involved with the committee that puts on the gatsby gala. “[When you attend,] you get a feel for what it was like in the ‘20s,” Sayles says. She also agreed with Wengert in saying, “it’s a fun party to go to. it provides a different feeling than any other party in the Des Moines area.”

Elizabeth proctor, the talent recruiter for Dwolla, a company that provides its customers with an online payment system, has been involved with the Salisbury House

gatsby gala partygoers don flashy flapper dresses and zoot suits to honor the prohibition Era.

for many years. Her mother volunteered for the House, and proctor has continued to volunteer as an adult. She works alongside Sayles on the committee that helps put on the gatsby gala event. She and her family have volunteered with the Salisbury House for many years now.

“The house is really an incredible place,” proctor says. “The library is especially extraordinary.” Both proctor and Sayles called the event and the house a “hidden gem” in Des Moines.

The 2015 gatsby gala theme is “Vanity Fair Affair,” and will be hosted in the crisp of the fall, but Sayles suggests the gala isn’t just about the party: “i want to make sure people see the history; there’s more history than people realize,” she says.

Spring 2015

19

food

Lagomarcino’s

Old Candy Shop

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By Molly aDaMson | pHOTOgrApHy By allison treBacz

The Lagomarcino’s marquee lights up downtown Moline, illinois, no matter what time of day it is.

T

he little brick square on the corner of 5th Avenue in downtown Moline, illinois, dons a neon Lagomarcino’s sign, lit up no matter what time of day it is. The store advertises its soda, candy, and homemade ice cream on the red and blue marquee just above the entryway. inside, the small space is filled from floor to ceiling with all sorts of candy, a guaranteed sensory overload.

From sugar-free chocolate (yeah, right!) to pumpkin spice caramels and a large selection of ice creams, Lagomarcino’s has the treat to soothe any customer’s sweet tooth.

Once you’ve settled on which delectable sweets you want to take home, Marybeth Lagomarcino, part of the third generation of the Lagomarcino family, greets you at the cash register.

Marybeth’s grandparents, Angelo and Luigia Lagomarcino, came to America from italy in 1908. Originally farmers, the Lagomarcinos came to the United States seeking out a better life. They opened a shop on 5th Avenue selling tobacco, cigars, ice cream, candy and fruit. The little store has been open ever since.

The third generation (Tom Jr., Marybeth, and Lisa) receives help from their children and some loyal employees, like Carolyn Maynard. Maynard started working for Lagomarcino’s when she was 18. it started as a summer job, working at the Davenport location, which opened in the '90s. “i love the environment. Everyone’s so friendly; it’s just a wonderful place to work,” Maynard says.

Sponge candy is a Lagomarcino’s specialty, and they often sell it by the pound. Other favorites include their homemade hot fudge and the soda fountain drink affectionately named the green river, which is a lemon-lime soda concoction.

The entire store feels as though you’ve taken a step back into the realm of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, back to a time when you and your date could buy a soda for a dime.v Lagomarcino’s hasn’t lost its charm in over a hundred years.

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By Molly longMan | pHOTOgrApHy By allison treBacz

Back In the

Swing of Things Swing dancing is back...but did it ever really leave?

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owboy boots and lengthy arms tangle as Melissa rahorst and Taylor McKeeman spin in circles around the dance floor. They’re at the pla Mor Ballroom in Lincoln, nebraska, a dance hall that has hosted hundreds of swing dancers every Sunday night for as long as anyone can remember. rahorst and McKeeman sing to themselves, their bodies rapidly knotting and twisting into a swing move, the pretzel. As the band winds down, and the guitarist strums the final chords to “Can’t Take the Honkey Tonk Out of the girl,” McKeeman dips rahorst. As her back almost grazes the wooden floor, she smiles up at him. “i just love the feeling of not being on the ground,” rahorst says. For her, spinning around the dance floor is a rush like nothing else.

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feature if you ask anyone in this dance hall, they’ll tell you that swing is big, swing is back—and it’s not going anywhere. Dance halls have popped up all over the country; no small thanks to some soulful SOB who discovered the Charleston and the Lindy Hop in the ‘20s.

Bobby Layne bought and reopened the pla Mor in 1972 and has created a home base for swing dancers—the ballroom hosts about 300 regulars on Sunday nights, which have been designated country, swing and line dancing nights. people drive hundreds of miles just to jitterbug, Lindy Hop, and spaghetti around the dance floor. “people come here to dance, hear some great country music, and fall in love—if not with each other, with the dance and with the music,” Bobby says. “if these walls in here could talk!”

Al and roberta Doeden are living proof that swing brings people together. The couple met on the dance floor, and now spend their married lives doing what they love: teaching swing. The couple teaches dance lessons at the pla Mor every Sunday night.

“There’s just something really special about swinging with a partner,” roberta says. “you don’t have to be good, you just have to have fun. We have so many young people come here

these days, maybe because of Dancing with the Stars, who’ve never danced a step, but they catch on and love to learn.”

The pla Mor isn’t the only swing hall that’s thriving; The Blue Moon Ballroom in rochester, Minnesota, hosts a large, upbeat active crowd of dancers every Friday night at their dance parties. Virtually everyone who sets a booted foot in the ballroom knows at least the basics of swing—and if they don’t, they’re sure to learn by the end of the night.

Fred gommels, the director of The Blue Moon, says that swing has been on the revival ever since the ballroom opened in 2006; almost 100 students will sign up for dance lessons there in the winter months. The average atmosphere at the Moon on a Friday is “upbeat, happy, and full of active dancing and music,” gommels says.

Which basically describes McKeeman and rahorst at the moment. She’s up in the air. McKeeman catches her; he falters a second, then, spins her out again with grace and ease. She’s been teaching him all the ins and outs, flips and dips of swing.

They’re one of about 30 couples learning and perfecting their moves on the crowded floor. “i don’t think swing will ever go out,” rahorst says. “The music just moves you, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

Swing dancing is infamous for its kicks, spins, and aerobatic partner moves. Crysta Hostetler shows Allison Trebacz a partner combination that includes all three.

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Crysta Hostetler and Allison Trebacz practice partner combinations.

“I don’t think swing will ever go out, The music just moves you, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

-Melissa Rahorst

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REV ival [ [

the driving passion for classic cars

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By Dustin euBanks | pHOTOgrApHy By Dustin euBanks

T

here’s just sometthing about classic cars that gets the pistons pumping.

This something makes people hit the road every year to attend the thousands of car shows held throughout the Midwest and around the United States. From low-key, small town shows to regional and national spectacles, classic car festivals bring together the young and the old by way of common enthusiasm for an American icon: the vintage automobile.

Working a classic car back to something an owner can be proud of—and perhaps even earn some bragging rights to—is no overnight task.

American Dream Machines is a classic car shop in downtown Des Moines, iowa. placing an emphasis on “muscle” cars from the late 1960s to the early '70s, American Dream Machines has spent the last ten years keeping cars on the road, finding the ones that are in overall solid condition and shaping them up into sleek, polished time capsules of vintage automotive culture. They know what they’re doing; they’ve sold cars to the likes of Billy Joel, Bret Michaels, and Kid rock. randy Johnson is part of the staff at American Dream Machines alongside sixteen other employees. randy grew up around his stepfather’s hot rod shop in newton, iowa—about forty minutes from Des Moines. randy found his way into American Dream Machines while hunting for jobs as a law clerk in the city when he quickly realized he could make a living cranking the bolts on what had been his passion for so long.

To date, he has built for himself or worked on countless cars, including his favorite: the 1964 Chevrolet impala Convertible.

He says most people start the restoration process on the outside and work their way in, the paint often coming first. All

the trim pieces come off; a restorer disassembles the doors, removes the fenders, and removes the trunk lid and hood. He then sands each and every bit of body down as needed to create a smooth painting surface, no matter how many layers of old paint there are. The body may also feature bent fenders, busted bumpers, and dented side panels that must be worked back into shape. The little things only add more money, hours, blood, sweat, and tears to the process. “i’ve got scars, broken knuckles…i’ve had nails in my hand,” randy says.

But looking around American Dream Machines, the satisfaction in the final product numbs the pain and keeps sly grins on the mechanics’ faces.

After the exterior takes shape, the work moves to the interior.

Floorboards may need to be repaired, or, in some cases, replaced. Upholstery is often torn or worn in places, needing a little handiwork. Often, however, days, weeks, and months are spent removing and reupholstering the seats, replacing interior trim, and shining up the dashboard. Sweat and dust combine to soil the mechanic’s plain white t-shirt, a welcomed sign of progress.

With the seats patched and interior repaired, a lot of time— and often times, the most money—gets spent on the drive train, the final “step” in a basic process that varies for every owner.

“Drive train” simply refers to everything that makes the car stop and go: the motor, transmission, axles, and brakes.

“We’ve got to get every car back to working order,” Johnson says. For American Dream Machines, that does not mean simply drivable; it needs to feel like it never needed restoration in the first place.

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Mechanics rejuvenate American history, and when parked on checkerboard showroom floors like those at American Dream Machines, there’s no doubt the cars really are, as randy words it, “moving, working pieces of art.”

Obtaining parts is a lengthy process; someone working on a classic may attend numerous car shows in an endless search for the right parts. if there’s no luck there, parts can be found through a global network of classics enthusiasts, costing time and money as hard-to-find parts are shipped cross-country or overseas.

Even after parts are obtained, engine blocks need to be disassembled and reassembled; belts need to be replaced; old brake pads must be swapped for new; transmissions need attention. “people don’t appreciate the effort that goes into it,” randy says.

The passion that goes into restoration does not stop in the garage back home; proud owners fill their tanks and get on the freeway, headed toward galleries of shined up classics to showcase their own masterpiece and marvel at the works of others.

Many car shows are regionally popular, as is the case with Madison Classics out of Madison, Wisconsin. now an annual event for 38 years, Madison Classics is a hotspot for Midwest classic car owners. Hosting three shows next year

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American Dream Machines usually collects around 100 vintage cars at a time, including this 1971 Dodge Charger convertible.

in two different Wisconsin towns, each Madison Classics event usually occupies around 100 acres of land and has space for up to 3,800 classic cars.

Show founder gary Esse found his love for the vintage automobile at a young age. When he was eleven he was working at his father’s gas station, and by age twelve he was driving. He’s been collecting classics since high school and has plenty to show for it, as he currently owns eleven of his favorite car: the 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air Convertible.

“The premise of my business,” gary says, “is that the American people are in love with the automobile. it has lots to do with what you grew up with, what your dad might have driven, old memories...” gary even went so far as to say the old car hobby is “close to a religion.”

He certainly isn’t wrong. A stroll through a show provides more to see than a beautiful old pontiac gTO or the historic Ford Model T. Thousands of men and women mill around, having hours-long conversations over a beer and a Dodge Charger.

if you’re at a swap meet—a style of show where parts and information can be traded and sold—there is, as gary notes, “a chance to walk up to a guy who has built 50 cars like yours—one that’ll have the part, [and] explain some of that tougher stuff you’ll find as you restore.”

Of course, car shows are not an event prescribed only to the Midwest. The good guys rod and Custom Association is based out of pleasanton, California, and hosts 21 different events each year throughout the continental United States.

With over 70,000 active members, they are one of the world’s largest professional associations for classic cars, hot rods, and American muscle cars.

When i asked good guys spokesman John Drummond what about classic cars gains them such a large following, he placed the weight of the question into a one-word answer: “passion,” he simply says. “When you build something with your own hands, then clean it up, then show it… having everyone ooh-and-ah over it…what could possibly be better? it’s a great source of accomplishment and pride.”

For all intents and purposes, the technicians at American

Dream Machines and the thousands of hobbyists in car shows are artists who take great pride in their work. They spend years working from the outside in, only imagining what their relic will look, sound, and feel like in the end.

When the engine purrs like a kitten and the paint gleams an attractive, almost sexy ineffability, they know they’ve created a masterpiece. These mechanics rejuvenate American history, and when parked on checkerboard showroom floors like those at American Dream Machines or on hundreds of acres in the Madison Classic, there’s no doubt the cars really are, as randy words it, “moving, working pieces of art.” This handcrafted revival of an American pastime continues in garages across the country, as muscle-lovers lefty-loosey the first bolts on the hood of an old pontiac, getting the first bits of dust on their fingers as they start their next piece.

They grin a grin that never leaves. They are hooked on their art, and it stays that way for years—and perhaps a lifetime— to come.

Cars are classic, and that can never rust away.

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THE

WORD 30 THEAnnUAL

By HannaH keisker

”I

sn’t that over with?” my father said in response to the topic of my current project, an article on feminism.

Unfortunately, the quizzical, perturbed look on his face told me he wasn’t kidding. it’s easy to get swept up in the progressive culture at a liberal university. Students and professors are often open to new ideas and new experiences. But for my dad, a smallbusiness owner, this is not his reality.

Forty years post-suffrage and the victory in the fight for women’s rights, women are still fighting the same battle for gender equality; feminists across the country are fighting against the perplexed response i got from my dad.

diamond Birth Control: A Girl's Best Friend Michelle Berlinger, 23, started her own line of feministinspired jewelry based in Brooklyn, new york. Berlinger says her daily work can sometimes seem like nothing, but every day counts. She’s always working.

“Every day, it’s just another day where i have to put my heart, soul, and mind into what i want to create because if i don’t then it won’t happen,” Berlinger says.

Her signature line is coined “Take Control” and includes molds of birth control pills as a substitute to a diamond or ruby cast in gold, silver, or rose-gold. it wasn’t until 1960 that the FDA approved the pill for contraceptive use.

“The birth control pill is one of the first symbols of sexual equality for women because with the advent of the pill women were able to have sex like a man,” Berlinger says. “it was the first thing that put women on par with men sexually, which is an unbelievably liberating force.”

Berlinger faced criticism from jewelry designers who said it wouldn’t be possible to create a commercial product that’s universally accepted and fares well in the market but also sticks to a theme of female empowerment. She counters, however, that people buy her jewelry because it’s meaningful.

“The jewelry stands for something that is supposed to be empowering for women, supposed to represent equality and supposed to be this symbol that you can wear every day and bring the feelings of strength and empowerment into your life every day,” Berlinger says.

Berlinger markets her jewelry to people from ages 15-35, but the best response she’s gotten are from women 45 and older. it’s a generation of women who experienced liberation right from the source, she says.

GEEZ Louise : Empowering Women In All Situations Lori rinehart, 55, the training coordinator for iowa Children’s Justice, was born around the time the birth control pill was legalized. “i don’t want anybody else to decide what i can do with my body,” rinehart says.

Before her current position, rinehart worked in

women’s rights for over 30 years. She founded gEEZ Louise, a nonprofit that facilitated trauma groups in women’s prisons, spoke to girls in schools, and did individual work with women who were trying to figure out how feminism played a role in their life. rinehart says she has seen positive changes in women’s rights: women have reproductive rights and can run companies, which wasn’t true when she was a child. But she sees the role of feminism changing again: “Strong women now are called bitches, and we worry more about what they wear than their policies,” rinehart says.

The Prosper Women Entrepreneurs : Shattering the Glass Ceiling There are entire organizations, however, dedicated to helping women become CEOs. The prosper Women Entrepreneurs is a St. Louis organization “created to address the entrepreneur gender gap in the St. Louis region.” it was launched in 2014 after studies were issued by the Kauffman Foundation and American Express ranking St. Louis last of the top 25 metro areas in the number of women-led businesses.

There are two divisions in the organization: a non-profit division called prosper institute which educates, connects, and mentors women in businesses, and a for-profit division called prosper Capital that invests in womenowned businesses. prosper institute Director Aimee Muirnin Dunne says that the prosper institute programs have been built and are growing thanks to the support of the community and many volunteers giving their time and skills.

She says there will always be nay-sayers when people start businesses: “i find that a lot of women say, ‘you think i can’t? i’ll show that i can.’ And it just fires them up,” Dunne says.

Work at prosper Women Entrepreneurs is not a feminist issue, but an economic development issue, Dunne says. “if half of the businesses out there have the potential to be women-owned and we don’t support them, then we’re missing out on that economic and employment opportunity,” Dunne says.

The F - Word Whether or not people believe in the use of the word feminism, Berlinger, rinehart, and Dunne are just a few examples of approaches that women are taking to define their rights and create empowerment. “i know that a lot of people are talking about how we should change the word, or you don’t have to claim it, but to me it’s a really important word,” rinehart says.

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l-ly Back in Sty y n i V le ZZZ Records W ill Revamp Your Growing Record Collectio n

ZZZ recor ds

s

tacks of records and CDs line every square foot of ZZZ records. nate niceswanger, the store’s owner, has served vinyl lovers in the Des Moines area since 2000, when he opened for business and provided the community with a new place to buy their favorite music. The tile floor of the ingersoll location has weathered traffic from all types, from baby boomers to their grandchildren.

“Business has been up and down,” niceswanger says. “When i first started out, the vinyl craze hadn’t hit the mainstream yet.” After the negative impact the recession of 2008 had on their business, the rise of alternative music and the recent vinyl-craze helped them stay afloat. in recent years, the store has definitely seen an increase in vinyl record sales.

According to the recording industry Association of America, “Full length vinyl Lps continued their resurgence in 2014, growing 49 percent to $315 million.” 2014 was the first year since 1979 that vinyl had a double-digit presence in the market; “Vinyl Lps were 14 percent of the physical market, and [nearly five] percent of the total market at estimated value.”

Keely Sutherland, student and avid record listener, says it’s not only the sound, but also the “art and small details that go into creating the vinyl” that make them her personal favorite. Each record that is produced has its own special markings that make them different from the rest, whether that be the artwork, coloring, sleeves, or posters included to make it that much more special. Kyla peterson, iowa State University student says, “A vinyl is a work of art, and the experience that goes along with it is much more personal and authentic than an iTunes file.”

The newfound interest in records has also spurred an increase in the availability of vinyl at chain stores like Target, Urban Outfitters, and Wal-Mart. people in Des Moines, however, have the luxury of having multiple, true record

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store-style options: Wayback records, The Underground rock Shop, and Jay’s CD & Hobby, just to name a few. niceswanger says, “Many people think vinyl records sound better than any cassette, CD, Mp3, or any other format the record labels keep throwing at us.” He believes that because they have consistently been a favorite for music lovers it has kept them relevant even in today’s world.

However, “Even with the renewed interest in vinyl, it is still very much a niche,” niceswanger says. He explains if you were to poll 100 random Americans, probably less than five listen to vinyl on a regular basis.

“We have all walks of life coming in here.” niceswanger says. “i see kids, senior citizens, and everyone in between.” He sees people in suits coming from their nine-to-five, people with little disposable income, and everyone in between. “it’s truly one of those shops that can attract every demographic.”

While he has enjoyed the rise in sales of records and comeback of classic bands, niceswanger remains realistic; he understands the music industry and its trends are always changing, so ZZZ records has to reflect those changes, too. Eventually, when vinyl isn’t the craze, ZZZ records and its owners will strive to keep their presence, even if that means taking a different route in what they sell.

Jack White, founder of The White Stripes and vinyl 45 enthusiast, said much of the same to All Things Considered hosts Michele norris and Melissa Block: “it's a positive way of looking at a negative situation. people aren't buying records like they used to, so it's nice to try to figure out a way to make them do it. i would enjoy the same thing to own an old movie house, to try to trick people to come in — like having 3-D or Smell-o-Vision or Vibra-Vision or something. Mcguffins to get people interested."

By ellen JuDge | DESign By gaBy gaass

ANNUAL love to write? love to design? take photos?

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