Author Archive
Something I Said: Terry Bellamy – A Singular Presence
By DWIGHT HOBBESTerry Bellamy, who passed in January, was, to say the least, a singular presence. I met him in 1993 at the Playwrights Center for some sort of town hall meeting. He got up and raised three different kinds of hell, calling the organization out for being whites only. We chatted afterward but for the life of me I can’t remember a word either of us said. I do recall within weeks the Center had a black playwrights workshop led by the regrettably late actor Byrd Wilkins (Doctor Who, Running Scared). I joined. Next time I saw Bellamy was in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running at Penumbra Theatre Company. It wasn’t the last as that presence fueled several powerhouse performances at the Twin Cities answer to NYC’s fabled Negro Ensemble Company. The man was, hands down, an amazing actor who appeared all over America in productions at prestigious venues. He was not, however, like many actors, in the profession for the sake of ego, and helped local performance [...]
Pat Welna’s Life Story
Pat Welna. Photo courtesy the Welna family. Written by VIRGINIA (WELNA) MAGNER Edited by SUE WELNABorn in Minneapolis, MN, in 1929, Pat Welna was raised as an only child. When she was seven, her parents divorced, although her father visited frequently. The family would go on outings to the MN State Fair, to the fireworks at Powderhorn Park and to family gravesites on Memorial Day. On the Fourth of July, Pat would have her one annual ice cream cone. During two Minneapolis Aquatennials, a teenaged Pat danced in a chorus line at the Orpheum Theater wearing long beautiful dresses and big fancy hats.During the Depression, times were tough. Pat’s mother turned their small home into a boarding house with ten roomers. Pat slept on a ¾ cot in the living room with a female boarder and her mother slept nearby. The hook behind the dining room door was Pat’s clothes closet. Her mother also ran a wedding catering business out of their home.Pat attended St Margaret’s High School. As a [...]
Remembering David Norris
David Norris. Provided by Quatrefoil Library By QUATREFOIL LIBRARYWe are devastated by the news that David Philip Norris died Thursday, January 12th, 2023. David was a long-time volunteer and dear friend to many. His calling was that of a librarian and cataloger. At Quatrefoil Library, much of David’s work was behind the scenes, cataloging new items in our collection and enhancing metadata for existing items. David was passionate about making library resources easier to find, and in doing so helped countless others. He worked tirelessly to ensure that bibliographic records were up-to-date, and strived to combat racism in classification systems, always working towards more equitable library practices. For more on that work, you can read his blog: https://secularlibrarian.com/ David was close to many of our volunteers, board members, and library patrons. His legacy will live on whenever our catalog is searched and in the processes he left behind. We are actively discussing [...]
