Background+Research

Background Research:
Instructions: 1. Find the correct entry with your name. 2. Erase your name and paste your summary. 3. Add the source citation(s) in MLA format to the top of your entry. 4. Add your name in brackets [first and last] to the bottom of the entry. 5. Add a "horizontal rule" after your entry.

Earthworks: Cross, Jan. "Earthworks Develops Community Capitalism." Champaign-Urbana Courier 4 Oct. 1979: n. pag. Print.

“Earthworks” was an umbrella trade name for four new businesses that began opening in Urbana in 1978. The first of the businesses was Earthworks General Store, which sold vegetables, dairy products, and eventually meat. The three other buildings that would open after the general store were a restaurant, a grocery, and an occult book store. Later, the restaurant in the Earthworks complex would be named “Metamorphosis”. The Earthworks General Store was arguably the most successful business in the complex because it was started first. It was opened in May of 1978 on 1310 W. Main Street, and was operated very differently than other stores in Urbana at the time. All of the workers were volunteers that would work an hour or so each week, usually in exchange for something in the store that they could not afford. There were usually about 30 volunteers working in the store per week, and about 200 people had worked in the store from the opening (May, 1978) to October 1979 (when the article was published with this information). The volunteer worker that supplied this information was named Rich Freed, and worked regularly in the general store. There was also a general manager that was paid about $20 a week. Most of the volunteers needed items from the store but could not afford them, so they worked in exchange for the goods. All surplus money made in the store went to free medical aid housing. Around town, people usually labeled the store as “hip capitalism”. [Mara Dolan]

Common Ground Food Co-Op: //History.// Common Ground Food Co-Op, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <[]>Dodson, Don. “Questions and Answers about the Common Ground Food Cooperative.” //News Bank: Access World News.// N.p. 30 July 2008. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. The Common Ground Food Co-Op in Urbana was established in 1974 by the Illinois Disciples Foundation. The original intent of the co-op was to provide food to low-income residents of Urbana who could not afford to buy food in grocery stores. The co-op was entirely run by volunteers at first. The volunteers accumulated food, distributed it among low-income residents, and even delivered food to residents with limited mobility. As the years passed, the intent of the food co-op shifted more toward selling healthy, environmentally-friendly, locally-grown food. To sell this type of food, the co-op established a store on the first floor of the IDF building in 1984. In the 1990’s, the volunteers were replaced with paid staff (History, n.p). In 2008, the store was moved to the Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana, where it still operates today. The current manager of the store is Jacqueline Hannah, and the store is managed by 1,600 members who pay a $60 entrance fee and have the ability to vote on the store’s management (Dodson, n.p). [Lara Orlandic]

Strawberry Fields

Dean Woodrum v. United Food & Commercial Workers Local 418. No. 81-C-217. Champaign County Circuit Court. 13 Mar. 1981. Print. Primary source about the strike of the Local 418 union and the complaint filed against them by Strawberry Fields owner Dean Woodrum because of the storefront blockage.

Dodson, Don. "Store's Changing Nature Working." The News Gazette Spring-Summer 1997: n. pag. Print. GIves information about current Strawberry Fields--it's location, owners, and the primary client base of elderly people (a change from when it was located on campus).

Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. . This is the web site of the actual Strawberry Fields Store, which will give information such as contact numbers, mission, etc.

The Champaign-Urbana food cooperative was started in 1974 in the 1300 block of West Main Street (where Beckman Institute now stands). It a happening spot for U of I students looking for inexpensive, healthy, natural food choices. Dean Woodrum bought the store and took its workers to court on March 13, 1981. He filed a complaint of “unlawful act of mass picketing at Plaintiff’s store at 1310 West Main in Urbana, Illinois.” United Food and Commercial Works Local 418 went on strike on March 10, 1981, blocking the stores entrance and being cause of the complaint. Attorneys Richard and David Thies would be good local people to talk to about this case, they represented Woodrum. The Company was later moved to a new location, where it stands now (date of move unknown), and bought by siblings Frances Jervis and Paul Dohm in 1997. They say that at the stores current location, the client base was changed from students to more senior citizens looking for their herbs and natural remedies. As far as I know, Jervis and Dohm are the current owners of Strawberry Fields, at 306 W. Springfield Avenue. [Anna Kanfer]

The Record Service:

Charter Issued to Urbana, Rantoul Firms." //The Courier// 4 Aug. 1972: n. pag. Print.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On April 8<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">th, 1972<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, a charter was issued for a space in the white building (the building has been used for various purposes) on 621 East Green Street<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, Champaign<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Fourteen college students joined together to run a business that sold records to customers, the majority of which were fellow students. It was known as The Record Service. Michael Polluck and Phil Strang were two of the college students that ran the store, and Phil Strang still lives in town running the Foellinger Auditorium. The service would buy records from larger businesses, like CBS Records, and sell them for slightly cheaper in the store. They did not make much of a profit off of the CD’s.

[Mara Dolan]

Metamorphosis:

Groninger, William C. The Courier (Champaign-Urbana). "Unusual Eating Available in Town." October 1, 1971. p 21. Print

Walker, Nila. The Courier (Champaign-Urbana). "Metamorphosis: Relaxed, Natural Food Restaurant." May 5, 1974. p 34. Print.

Metamorphosis was opened in 1971 and closed in 1974. It was located at 1310 W. Main Street in Urbana. Metamorphosis was "owned" by Bob Lieberman along with 20 other people who spit cooking, washing, and waiting table duty. They charged just enough to cover the cost of the food. It was located at the back of a commune type store complex. It could seat around 50 people. It was open from 11:30 am to 9:00 pm every day except Tuesday. The purpose of the restaurant according to Lieberman was to bring people together in a relaxed environment, not to create a restaurant where people eat and then leave. The authors of the articles described the environment as "relaxed," "friendly," and "clean" (possibly when saying clean the author meant in relation to peoples opinions of counterculture). The relaxed environment included wooden tables, green plants, and waiters wearing T-shirts. The majority of customers were students, but there were some families.

Metamorphosis was described as a natural food restaurant and compared to the only other CU natural food restaurant at that time, Garcia's Pizza. Metamorphosis had a natural food menu that changed every day. All ingredients used were fresh. Many of the natural and organic foods such as cheese, unsweetened juice, and vegetables came from Arthur, Ill. Since most of the workers were vegetarians, the menu was mostly vegetarian. The menu was primarily salads. Metamorphosis made its own bread and salad dressings, and yogurt and granola was always available. A few dinner specials were offered daily. The dinners started as being home baked, but evolved into more exotic things. The menu included chopped liver with mayonnaise on rye; "Something else again"-herring with sour cream, smoked oysters, lox and bagels; "Green Good Guys"-Greek salad with olives, onions, vinegar, and wine dressing served with black bread; "Blind Munchies"- sliced bananas with sour cream, cinnamon, and walnuts; dates and cream cheese and walnuts.

[Jonathan Yockey]

People's Gas and Repair:
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px;">People's Performance Automotive: <span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px;"> 209 S 1st St Champaign, IL 61820-4119 - (217) 352-9520

John Peterson. Phone interview. October 6, 2010 People's Gas and Repair, now known as People's Performance Automotive, is located on First Street in Urbana. They have been in business for about 40 years. I spoke to John Peterson, who worked at Earthworks Garage, and he told me that he could not tell me much about People's Gas and Repair and that I should talk to Patrick Wasson, who manages People's Performance Automotive.

Patrick Wasson. Phone interview. October 6, 2010. I then spoke with Wasson and he told me that the business has been around for 40 years, but that they changed the name recently to People's Performance Automotive. He said that it was the first business of that type in Urbana. The business was started "to make a living." The main features of his business were high quality work and honest workers.

From the interview it seems that this business is a regular automobile repair and towing service.

[Sunjay Koshy]

[It sounds like there might be more of a story there than John Peterson was willing to share. It might be good to follow up on this by talking with several people who might know more about it: 1) Mr. Sutton 2) Mr. Butler and 3) Glenn Berman (a former Uni parent) who is the person who first told us about this business when he was talking about local initiatives related to the counterculture. -- Ms Morford]

"Heel To Toe." //Heel to Toe//. Heel To Toe Shoes, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.heel2toe.net/>. This is Heel To Toe's homepage where they have a brief history of the store as well as the locations and contact information.

Van. Personal interview. 18 Sept. 2010. I called the store and talked to the manager, who gave me all the information that I put on the wiki that isn't located directly on the website. However, he didn't tell me his last name.

Heel to Toe: This store is now located in downtown Urbana, but it was founded in 1976 by Mr. Will Martins. The original store was located in Marketplace Mall and it was an Earth Shoes store, which were a rather unconventional/countercultural brand of shoe at the time. Heel To Toe is still the name of the store in its entirety, but it is divided into three different specialty stores: Heel to Toe, Birkinstock Concepts, and New Balance Urbana. It is under a different manager whose name is Van, but Mr. Martins still owns the store. Van says that Mr. Martins does not really like to get into projects like our oral history project, but if he's interested he said he'll get back to me (which he hasn't yet).

[Bissy Michael]

=
<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">Community of Urbana-Champaign Cooperative Housing. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.couch.coop/brooks.html>. =====

The Champaign-Urbana Co-operative Housing (COUCH) is a non-profit co-operative housing organization. It was founded in 1997 with the hope of creating a vibrant co-operative community in the area and supporting the cooperative movement. COUCH is an umbrella organization modeled on housing co-ops in other college towns, although it has no formal ties to the university. COUCH runs 4 houses in Urbana-Champaign and encourages the creation of new housing co-ops in the area. In 1999, COUCH rented its first house and after gaining experience in renting and running it, arranged with NASCO Properties, an affiliate of NASCO, the North American Students of Co-operation, to acquire a second boarding-house near campus. It subsequently acquired two more houses in 2001 and 2002. The housing co-ops are member-controlled and emphasize shared work, conserving resources, and community formation. All the COUCH houses are either vegetarian or vegan friendly and have between 7-14 members each.

[Sunjay Koshy]

Art Coop

I went to the Urbana Free Library Historical Archives and could barely find anything on the topic. I gathered information I could from titles and dates of articles, and presented it here. But if it's not enough, I'd be happy to do any further research on the topic (there were a few articles I just couldn't access at the time because of technical issues). My dad knows and recommended talking to Susan Smith or Knut Bauer, original founders and current owners of the art coop--but I didn't do anything yet with them or Howie Schein because I didn't know if we were ready for that step.Here's what I found:

The Art Coop was and is an Art Cooperative business in Champaign-Urbana, with many different locations. From what I can tell using articles titles and dates of articles that weren’t accessible and/or useful, it used to be called the Fairchild Camera Store, until 1975—when “Art Coop” was first mentioned in the county directory. It opened in 1949 on campus for the first time, though there were other locations too (111 N. Walnut). It’s new location was 605 E. Green in Champaign. It is now located in Lincoln Square Mall.

[Anna Kanfer]

Annual Pigs vs. Hippie Basketball Game: We have heard this was a hippie vs. police game annually in the late 60s-early 70s, held at Kenney Gym.

[Marina Shah]

Directory of Hippie Services: I went to the Urbana Free Library Historical Archives to find this, but the librarian said they don't have it and she's never heard of it, nor of any other directory/newsletter type of document on that subject that was published during the 60s or 70s. The University Archives database doesn't have it either, and none of the other librarians I've talked to has ever heard of this directory. Sorry I couldn't find it.

[Bissy Michael]

Dow Chemical Protests:

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Kennedy, Tyler C, and David Null, comps. "Archives & Oral History." //UW Madison Libraries//. University of Wisconsin, 2009. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://archives.library.wisc.edu/uwarchives/exhibits/protests/1960s.html>.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Public Broadcasting Service. "American Experience: Two Days in October: People & Events: PBS." //Two Days in October//. American Experience, 2005. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/twodays/peopleevents/e_napalm.html>.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Student Life and Culture Archival Program. "Projects: Cold War Guide:1967 Protest and Sit-In against DOW Chemical." //Student Life and Culture Archival Program//. University of Illinois, 2010. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.library.illinois.edu/archives/slc/researchguides/coldwar/vietnam/dowprotest.php>. Overview of Protests > <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">Protests at Madison > > <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">Dow Protests at UI >> [Jonathan Yockey] \
 * Dow chemical was a small company with only a small part of their business being napalm.
 * Napalm was a liquid fire that burned on contact with skin.
 * Napalm was used controversially during Vietnam. Had also been used against Tokyo during WWII, but with less civilian effects.
 * First demonstrations occurred in October 1966 at Berkley campus of University of California and Wayne State university in Michigan. Hundreds more protests occurred on campus's over the US.
 * Two important demonstrations were at the University of Wisconsin in Madison during February and October 1967.
 * <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">In late February 1967, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Organize demonstrations against Dow Chemical in Engineering, Commerce, and engineering buildings. Students blockade the halls. This riot becomes known as the first Dow Riot.
 * <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">October 18-Police with tear gas are called in to clear protesters against Dow Chemical from the Commerce building. Students gather the next day on Bascom hill in a fatal event that became known as the second Dow Riot.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-style: normal;">At U of I, students organized protests during the fall of 1967. Forty-two students were disciplined and seven students were expelled.

Kent State Shootings

Lewis, Jerry M, and Thomas R Hensley. "The May 4th Shootings at Kent State University." //A Search for Historical Accuracy//. Kent State University, 2008. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. <http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/ lewihen.htm>.

"May 4th 1970." //Kent State University//. N.p., 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. <http://www.kent.edu/about/history/May4/>.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Kent State shootings took place on May 4th of 1970 on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. On April 30th, President Richard Nixon announced the Cambodian Incursions, a series of missions into South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The following day, May 30th, a group of 500 students met on the University campus, and when the police arrived began to taunt them. At this point the Governor of Ohio, James Rhodes, called for a state of emergency. After being pushed back with tear gas the students decided to postpone the demonstration against the Vietnam War and the Cambodian Incursions until May 4th, three days later. On May 4th the demonstrators were met by the police and the National Guard. When the students were ordered to leave, and they refused, the National Guard began marching forward onto the unarmed students. Then the guardsmen began shooting into the crowd of protestors, killing four – Jeffery Miller, Sandra Lee Scheuer, Allison Krause, and William Schroeder – and wounding nine. The closest of those shot to the National Guardsmen, Miller, was 81 meters away. Two of the students killed, Scheuer and Schroeder, were walking to class and Schroeder was a member of the Kent State ROTC. The Kent State shootings led to a national outcry, the entire nation was in mourning for the students who lost their lives protesting against the Vietnam War. [Amalia Dolan]

The Anti-Vietnam War Protests in the 1970’s

University of Illinois Student life and Cultural Archival Program. “Student Life at the University of Illinois: 1970-1979.” //Library.illinois.edu.// University of Illinois, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.library.illinois.edu/archives/slc/researchguides/timeline/decades/1970.php>

In 1970, some students were killed in Kent State University for protesting the Vietnam War. In response to this, the students on the University of Illinois campus held their own protest about both the Kent State killings and the Vietnam War. The students went on strike, causing the National Guard to mobilize on the U of I campus to control the protests. On May 4, 1972, around two thousand students and faculty members of the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, along with other community members, marched across the University of Illinois campus to protest against the Vietnam War. By that time, many people had been killed in the war and everyone felt the need to put an end to the war. [Lara Orlandic]

[I recently learned that UIUC students who were working to convince the university that it should offer courses on Asian American studies in the early 1970s were also involved in the anti-war movement. Interestingly, these Asian American students (most of whom had grown up in Chicago but not met until they were students at UIUC) had either asked/demanded or were asked by other groups to be at the head of at least one protest that took place in Chicago. A photo of them marching in that protest was taken, and you can see it still at the Asian American Cultural Center on campus. A couple of interesting things about this event and its representation: first, when the Daily Illini reported on it, it misrepresented the students as "foreign" students, indicating some of the ethnic bias that was prevalent at that time (when there were only about 300 students of Asian descent on campus). Some of the students featured in it said that their parents (being "traditionally" more concerned about academic success and actually opposed to activism) were very upset when they saw what their kids were doing. One of the men who participated pointed out that it was really the women of their small circle who were the politically engaged ones and the organizers of these events. According to him, the male students were more focused on their studies (in engineering) and only showed up to the events the women (who were studying sociology, social work, and such areas) had planned for social reasons and to meet women. The women present seemed to agree with his characterization -- that they were the real movers and shakers of their group's activism. The man also pointed out that after a few years on campus, the men knew that they could be drafted, even though they were students, and so they had another reason to keep a lower profile than the women.

If anyone wants to follow up on the role of Asian-American students in the anti-war movement, the person to contact would be Sharon Lee, who is currently serving as program director of the Asian American Cultural Center. She was one of the interviewees for our Asian American oral history project, knows our projects well, and would be happy to provide more info (she wrote a dissertation on the history of Asian American activism on this campus). -- Ms. Morford]

Protests vs. Illiac: "Illiac IV." //Reach Information//. Reach Information, 2008. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://reachinformation.com/define/ILLIAC_IV.aspx>.

The Illiac IV was a "supercomputer" being designed in the 1960s. The University of Illinois was working as a partner in development for this computer. The computer would then be rented to commercial users, since the University didn't actually have much use for it. The Illiac IV was made to be able to function relatively quickly and also handle plenty of data. However, in the late 1960s while the computer was being built, it was met with protests by people who were suspicious. They did not like the University's ties with the United States Department of Defense, and felt that the U of I was selling out to a conspiracy. On May 9, 1970, protesters took part in a day of "Illiaction." It was not until after the bombing of Sterling Hall in Wisconsin, though, that the Illiac IV was moved to a more secure location and the project picked up by NASA and finished in 1972. [Marina Shah]

Students for a Democratic Society

"History." //Students for a Democratic Society//. N.p., 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. []. "SDS Convention." //The Urbana Courier// [Urbana] 20 Oct. 1969: n. pag. Microform. //Urbana Free Library// (n.d.)

Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, were one of the first really liberal student organizations of the 1960’s. Although SDS only lasted for about a decade – although it was reformed in 2006 – no other organization has come close to its level or organization and influence on the American political system. The agenda for Students for a Democratic Society included anti-Vietnam protests, treatment of African-Americans in the South, poverty in the United States, and they spoke against any other civil rights abuses. One of the major complaints against the war in Vietnam – besides the war and draft itself – was that many of the draftees were too young to even vote, and were hardly full-fledged citizens of the United States. Most college campuses had headquarters for Students for a Democratic Society, it was the far-flung. The University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana had a very large group of SDS members. In 1969 Champaign-Urbana held the national convention for SDS. Three-hundred students from all over the country came for a week to discuss current social issues and possible ways to demonstrate. Soon after this conference the Students for a Democratic Society began to fall apart and disbanded in 1969. [Amalia Dolan]

//The Walrus// Vol 3, n. Published September 25, 1969. Found in University archives, 41/66/869 box 1

//The Walrus// was a counterculture student newspaper published in the '60s and '70s. It sold for 25 cents.It was called the Walrus after the walrus in //The Looking Glass//. The motto of the paper was a quote from the book "The time has come the walrus said, to talk of many things. Of shoes and ships and sailing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings." It contained counterculture comics, and reports on the availability and prices of drugs in town. This particular issue had information about project 199 (U of I courses about counterculture), an article about Vietnam, short clips about local drug bustings, imprisonments, or national weapon manufacturing, poetry, articles from national news agencies about gay rights and attitudes toward sex, ads for local counterculture businesses like Red Herring, the Print Co-op, the We Have a Dream museum, and the Giraffe. There was also record and book reviews, and a letter to the readers from Abbie Earthman, one of the conspiracy eight.