“Let me make the newspaper and I care not who makes the religion and the laws.” . . . Wendell Phillips 1811-1884
the alley’s first issue was January 1976. Forethought and planning spanned years. The “press” “dummy” was cut and pasted on an improvised glass table lit by a lamp below beginning September 1975. One person led production in a living room at 25th St. & 18th Av. with several people and influenced by Phillips’ neighbors. Photographs were developed in a closet-size darkroom.
Why? Conversations between neighbors hoped for a better way to talk with bureaucrats and politicians about changes happening to their Neighborhood; and for a means to talk with each other, 22,000 people of Phillips.
Inner city life became complicated due to Federal urban renewal after the Great Depression and FDR’s New Deal, 1933, following WWII. Maps, charts, graphs, legal language, and Robert’s Rules of Order were a foreign language to many.
People wished for transparency and for talk to be like they talked with each other over backyard fences and in the alleys as they gardened, fixed cars, shot basketballs, and set out garbage. Frequent changes with each Administration and disruption of Interstate Highways added to the housing and downtown renewal upheavals. Requests for resident opinions added another obligation to jobs, care for old and young, school, and social gatherings.
That prompted an association in 1962 to unite their voices and engage with the various initiatives. In 1968 that organization was required to coalesce with eight other neighborhoods for the Federal Model Cities Program requests for proposals and funding.
One neighbor bought Wendell Phillips, Prophet of Liberty by Oscar Sherwin, 1958, at Orr Books, Hennepin and Lake St; used, for $1.50. He recognized that name as the same chiseled in stone above his Junior High School but wasn’t told the treasure trove of history of that namesake. The insights to all causes of peace and justice was serendipity.
“When the great newspapers don’t say much, see what the little independent ones say.” This quote became another catalyst for starting the alley and a slogan expressing the frustrations Editorial Leadership Cadre: Forerunner to Current Model 1978-1984of countless insults and inaccuracies about Phillips Neighborhood in the mainstream media. the alley set out to be a means of dialogue and a catalyst for outliers of communities like Phillips, including politicians and bureaucrats to value and appreciate; our place, opinions, and our ways of communicating.
the alley took hold; one a year, another year, a decade, five decades. Changes were inevitable. Each issue, year, and phase have been unique.
Phases of the alley
- Start-Up: “alley talk”— cut, pasted, printed, & delivered (by 50 volunteers) 1975-1977
- Editorial Leadership Cadre: forerunner to current model 1978-1984
- Evolution: in structure, sophisticated journalism, funding, non-profit status, and computer-assisted production 1985-1995
- Outsource: trial & error loss of infrastructure, control, & nearly existence 1995-Nov. 1999
- Pivot: return to Neighborhood control, cut & paste again by necessity; rebirth into 21st Century Computer-Assisted design production; broadening mission with focus and name to Alley Communications not-for-profit “parent” of the alley and creation of Editorial Leadership Committee in By-Laws Dec. 1999-July 2004
- Revitalization: of flexible editorial and production practices with a recommitted goal of community journalism in keeping the newspaper alive and vibrant. July 2004-2018
- Development and On-Boarding: of the Editorial Leadership Committee concept and outreach for ELC growth and diversification. Adaptation to cultural changes going into the 51st year of the alley 2018-2025.
50 Years of the alley Newsroom Volunteers & Staffs
Gary Cox Ed./MgEd. 1975-1976 9
Luke Longstreet Sullivan Ed./MgEd. 1977 7
Dean Seal MgEd./Assoc. 1977 4
Art Greenough Ed./Assoc. 1978-1980 21
Michaell Saenz Ed./Assoc.1978 – 1981 29
Vernon Wetternach Ed/Assoc.1979-1980 13
Pat Kaluza Ed./Assoc.1980-1983; 44
Steve Parker Assoc. 1980- 1981 18
Bob Walligora Ed.1984 8
Steve Compton, Ed/MgEd.1984-1993 103
Paula Williamson, Assoc./ Adv./Photog.1981-1983 47
Chris Perl Assoc. 1986-1990 14
Diane Beaver Assoc. 1987 2
Va Vue Assoc. 1987 1
Wizard Marks Assoc./Inv. Rep./Adv.1987-1990 13
Bob Cooper Assoc.1988 1
Lois Parker Assoc./Adv.1988-1989 5
Barb Nelson Assoc./Adv. 1989-1994 74
Claudia Slovacek Assoc. 1989 1
Pam Marshall Assoc. 1989-1990 6
Winton Pitcoff MEd./MgEd.1993-1995 22
Micro Horizons/Triangle Park Creative, Ed./MgEd./Adv/GD July 1995- Nov.1999 52
David Dix Ed./GD Nov. 1999-2000 12
Bosede Adediran Ed. 2000-2001 6
Jonathan Miller Ed./MgEd./GD July 2001-June 2004 33
Harvey Winje Ed. July 2004-Nov. 2018 163
Harvey Winje MgEd. Nov 1999-Dec 2023 263
Jonathan Miller CoEd./GD July 2004-Nov 2018 117
Tesha Christensen Ed. Coor./GD 2019 11
Editorial Leadership Committee since 2018
Minkara Tezet, former
Lindsey Fenner, former
Cassandra Nelson, former
Mary Ellen Kaluza
Meena Mangalvedhekar, former
Laura Hulsher
Jessie Merriam, former
Vivi Grieco, former
Mara Brooks
Harvey Winje
In-House Graphic Designers since 2018
Meena Mangalvedhekar
Jessie Merriam
Mattie Wong,
Natalie Mazey
Outside Graphic Designers
Dunn & Semington
Melissa SchmittJeff Kaphingst
