Dear library friends,
One of our best, Suzanne DODSON, long affiliated with UBC Library as a facilities and government publications librarian passed away last week. Her sister Catherine called me today to ask that I inform the library community. A formal death notice will appear in the weekend papers.
For those who like to reminisce, here are some photos of the two of them taken some time ago.
http://wiki.ubc.ca/File:Samuel_Rothstein_with_Suzanne_and_Earl_Dodson.jpg
http://support.library.ubc.ca/stories-of-support/dodson/ regards, Dean
The Dodsons: Champions of UBC Library:
“We both wanted to give something back to the library”
– Mrs. Suzanne Cates Dodson and Mr. Earl Dodson
For Suzanne Cates Dodson and Earl Dodson, the UBC
Library has long played an important role in their personal and
professional lives. The pair first met at the Main Library (now the
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre) back in the 1950s when they were both
members of the Biology Club. Suzanne, a bit uncertain about her
determined suitor, hid behind a dictionary stand in the Ridington Room
in an attempt to elude her future husband.
Suzanne and Earl Dodson
Suzanne
went on to finish her degree at in English and Zoology before pursuing a
degree in librarianship at UBC. While she had originally planned to
stay only a few years at UBC Library, she ended up staying for 36 years,
working in a number of positions until her retirement in 1999.
Meanwhile, Earl completed his degree and became a distinguished
geologist.
The Dodsons have a long history of supporting the
library in areas that don’t receive as much attention but are essential
to maintaining the library and its resources. In 1996 they provided the
funds to install an elevator in Koerner Library to better accommodate
people with disabilities, as well as funds for lighting in the Atrium,
and expansion of the rooftop patio. The Dodsons provided the funds
necessary to initiate and complete a project that converted B.C.
government sessional papers into microfilm, and to purchase an air
conditioner to better preserve fragile and rare materials in the Rare
Books and Special Collections vault. More recently, in 2007 they donated
$20,000 to create the Suzanne Dodson Professional Development Award
Endowment Fund to fund professional development opportunities for UBC
Library employees.
In recognition of the Dodsons’ unwavering support of UBC Library, a
restored reading room was named in their honour. Once a part of the
former Main Library, the Suzanne Cates Dodson and Earl D. Dodson Reading
Room is now located within the Chapman Learning Commons in the Irving
K. Barber Learning Centre. The 1999 renovations rebuilt the room to its
former 1925 glory with replicas of the only two remaining wrought iron
and glass lamps that hung in the Main Library’s front hall, refinished
wooden roof beams, and a hand-painted decorative frieze of Celtic design
by UBC artists.
The Dodson Room in The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
About Basil Stuart-Stubbs:
Basil Stuart-Stubbs made a lasting contribution to the University of British Columbia and to scholarship, as well as the broader world of Canadian writing and publishing
- the first Head of Special Collections;
- University Librarian from 1964 to 1981;
- and Director of the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS) from 1981 to 1992.
- Chairing the UBC Publications Centre, which created UBC Press (Basil was Chair of the UBC Press Board for 10 years and Acting Director for a year);
- Collaborating with Bill Duthie and Harald Bohne to establish Canadian Books in Print, a key reference source;
- Organizing the first conference on regional publishing in Western Canada, which led to the establishment of the Association of B.C. Book Publishers;
- Serving as a founding member and second President of the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions;
- Serving as a founding member of the Alcuin Society;
- Serving as a founding Board member of the SFU Centre for Canadian Publishing;
- Participating in the establishment of the scholarly journal Canadian Literature (he was the first Circulation Manager).
Basil Frederick Stuart-Stubbs, the eighth University Librarian at UBC, passed away on May 29, 2012. He was 82.
After his passing, many tributes were published, including “Basil Frederick Stuart-Stubbs: bibliophile, scholar, librarian“ by UBC Library, “He made books and writers a priority” in the Globe and Mail, “Basil Stuart-Stubbs: 1930-2012″ in Quill & Quire and “Remembering Basil Stuart-Stubbs” in ABC Bookworld.
Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Book on British Columbia:
The annual Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Book on British Columbia recognizes the best scholarly book published on a British Columbia subject by a Canadian author. This prize was established in 2012 to honour the memory of Basil Stuart-Stubbs, whose many accomplishments included serving as the University Librarian at UBC Library and the Director of UBC’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies.
Letter From Trinity UnitedWhen Trinity United moved into Mount Pleasant in March this year, we were thrilled to have the Rhizome Café just around the corner. There
was such a clear alignment of values: as a progressive United Church
congregation, we also are committed to LGBTQ positive space, being a
social justice hub and a community living room, and we also love to
bring people together to create a new world.
We
soon made ourselves at home. When the Café came up for sale, we
wondered whether we might be the ones who could carry on the good work
that Lisa and Vinetta started, and continue to hold the space for its
vibrant and diverse community of users.
Now
that we have the opportunity, we hope to maintain existing and build
new relationships and partnerships in the community, guided by our core
values: to provide affirming and LGBTQ positive space; to practice
radical hospitality, solidarity, and social justice (including food
justice) in every aspect of the Café; to celebrate art and draw
inspiration from local artists; to provide opportunities to explore the
spaces where social activism and spirituality intersect.
To
realize that vision, we respectfully invite all of you—the former
Rhizome family of neighbours, activists and community organization—to
join with us in this new chapter for the Café.
We’d also
like to invite you to our Grand Opening for the Community on Thursday
September 5th, 2013. For further information about Trinity United,
click here . If you are interested in staff positions, please see http://www.liminalhub.ca/positions-available.html
What
we would most value is your continued participation in the life of this
Café, and invite all activists and community organizations, to eat and
drink here, use the front room, and hold events as you have always
done. We would love to partner with you in your work, so that the cafe
can continue to be a place where life-giving community can flourish.
News from the Cafe Community
News from the Cafe CommunityHeartwood Welcomes a new Manager!
After 5 months of hard work and lots of love our previous manager Kate is on to some well deserved rest as she dreams about what is next for her on life's journey. We are grateful for all she has put into Heartwood in the last few months and we will miss her cheery face but we wish her all the best in her new endeavors! Many thanks to you Kate!
We
are happy to announce the incoming manager Ana-Luz who comes most
recently from being the Head Chef at Fircom. Please read her bio below!
Ana-Luz Cobon is very passionate about food, farming and sustainability in many forms! She grew up in the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood not very far from the Heartwood Community Cafe with her mom and sister. Ana-Luz graduated from high school with various culinary scholarships and pursued studies at Vancouver Community College to obtain her Culinary Arts Certificate. After graduating from VCC in 2006, she worked at the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel and Tomato Fresh Food Café. Ana-Luz also fed her passion by studying Permaculture Site Design and Sustainable Agriculture at the UBC Farm and through other urban farming courses. Most recently Ana-Luz spent 3 years as the Head Chef at Fircom on Gambier Island. It was here her passions came together and Ana-Luz was able to create a food service with a strong vision for care of the people and the earth. 
[Bridge in the afternoon with Captain Kirk, (aka The Nictoine Fiend, from Nanaimo), Admiral Barnacle, and Whirlygig, at his place. Must say that I had all the cards and won with each partner so I was overall winner. However, pleased to report that Ragin' played very, very well and made, among other contracts, quite a difficult 5 Diamonds, with me, doubled, (vulnerable!), by Kirk, grasping at straws! Great good fun although Krabby Kirk was rather put out as he feels, not quite sure why, that he is the better player of us all. Untenable position for him as he has been lowest on score totem pole last few times!]
Ana-Luz has long been an ally in her community and one of
her favorite times of year is cooking for CampOut at Fircom in July.
She also enjoys creating bits of art through different mediums,
crocheting, and building her knitting skills in her down time. With a
sudden love for arm knitting, Ana-Luz has been seen knitting a scarf in
the length of a seabus ride. Woo! She is also known to be the last one
still going on the dance floor and always enjoys hosting meals for
friends. Some of Ana-Luz's favorite foods involve masa (corn) tortillas
and frijoles(black beans) which she thanks her guatemalan heritage for.
Que rico!
Ana-Luz comes with a thoughtful and compassionate leadership style. She values her skills of active listening and genuine hospitality along with her strong sense about building things from a clear vision. Ana-Luz loves to learn new things! She hopes to bring her creativity and leadership to her position at the Heartwood Community Cafe. She looks forward to getting to know the staff and continuing to share this open community space with everyone. Come by and say Hi! You can reach Ana-Luz at analuz@heartwoodcc.ca - or at the cafe most days! 
Hello from Melanie!Thank you all for the warm welcome! I've been so lucky to have so much support and to be hearing all the amazing stories that people have shared with me from the space and I'm wanting to hear more! As we continue with building Heartwood as a space centred on social justice and transformative community building that Rhizome had held for so many years, we hope to not only recreate spaces that have existed at 317 E. Broadway, but also to build new ones.
At the heart of it, my role as the Art and Event Curator is to hold
a space where people can share their stories of healing, celebration,
struggle, laughter, and everything in between and beyond. It is a place
where histories that are usually swept under the rugs can be heard. It
is a space where you can feel that people have your back. Most of all,
it's a place to feel full - mind, heart, and belly.
Feel free to share any ideas, questions, concerns with me at melanie@heartwoodcc.ca - or better yet, visit
the café and have a chat with me! Everyday in love and liberation, Melanie
Sorry gents, I'll miss this evening's feast and talk fest. I won't share with you the heavy cold I'm nursing. GBR
[Assembled gang on Sunday afternoon, to visit with Ayn; The Sisterhood, just Grandmothers and Mothers: Joanne, Ayn, Cora Lee, Katie, Maya, Beckster! The Brotherhood, David, Maya'sfiancée, and Lucca, Katie's son; Patrizzio howling! Cora Lee's salmon; Rosita's baked beans!
 |
| Oil wells in a Baku suburb circa 1900 |
In 1900, Baku, a small town on the western edge of the Caspian sea produced half the world's oil. Its inhabitants included the Nobel brothers, later of Nobel prize fame, and the Rothchilds. The town boasted garish displays of wealth never before seen, but it was so poisoned with oil that the life expectancy of its residents was only thirty:
"Baku was a city of 'debauchery, despotism and extravagance,' and a
twilight zone of 'smoke and gloom.' Its own governor called it 'the most
dangerous place in Russia.' For Stalin, it was the 'Oil Kingdom.'
"Baku was created by one dynasty. Swedish by origin, Russian by
opportunity and international by instinct, the Nobels made their first
fortune selling land mines to Tsar Nicholas I, but in 1879, the year of
Baku's first 'fountain' of oil, the brothers Ludwig
and Robert Nobel founded the Nobel Brothers Oil Company in the town
known mainly for the ancient Zoroastrian temple where Magi priests
tended their holy oil-fuelled flames. The drilling had already started;
entrepreneurs struck oil in spectacular gushers.
"The Nobels started to buy up land particularly in what became the Black City. Another brother, Alfred, invented dynamite, but Ludwig's invention of the oil tanker was almost as important. The French Rothschilds followed the Nobels into Baku. By the 1880s, Baron Alphonse de Rothschild's Caspian Black Sea Oil Company was the second biggest producer -- and its workers lived in the industrial township called the White City. By 1901, Baku produced half the world's oil -- and the Nobel Prize, established that year, was funded on its profits.
"Its oil boom, like the Kimberley Diamond Fever or the California Gold
Rush, turned peasants into millionaires overnight. A dusty, windy
ex-Persian town, built on the edge of the Caspian around the walls
and winding streets of a medieval fortress, was transformed
into one of the most famous cities in the world.
"Its 'barbaric luxury' filled the newspapers of Europe, scintillated by
instant riches, remarkable philanthropy and preposterous vulgarity.
Every oil baron had to have a palace, many as big as a city block. Even
the Rothschilds built one. The Nobels' palace
was called Villa Petrolea, and was surrounded by a lush park.
One oil baron insisted on building his palace out of gold but had to agree to cover it with goldplate because the gold would melt; another built his mansion like the body of a giant dragon with the entrance through its jaws; a third created his vast palace in the shape of a pack of cards emblazoned in golden letters: 'Here live I, IsaBey of Gandji.' A popular singer made his fortune when a performance was rewarded by some land on which oil was struck: his neo-classical palace is now the headquarters of Azerbaijan's state oil company. 
"Baku was a melting-pot of pitiful poverty and incredible wealth, its streets, observes Anna Alliluyeva, full of 'red-bearded Muslims ... street porters called ambals bent under excessive loads ... Tartar hawkers selling sweetmeats, strange figures in whispering silks whose fiery black eyes watched through slits, street barbers, everything seemed to take place in the streets,' ... "Yet the source of all this money, the derricks and the refineries, poisoned the city and corrupted the people. 'The oil seeped everywhere,' says Anna Alliluyeva. 'Trees couldn't grow in this poisonous atmosphere.' Sometimes it bubbled out of the sea and ignited, creating extraordinary waves of fire.
"The Black and White Cities and other oil townships were polluted slums. The 48,000 workers toiled in terrible conditions, living and fighting each other in grimy streets 'littered with decaying rubbish, disembowelled dogs, rotten meat, faeces.' Their homes resembled 'prehistoric dwellings.' Life expectancy was just thirty. The oilfields seethed with 'lawlessness, organized crime and xenophobia. Physical violence, rapes and bloodfeuds dominated workers' everyday lives.' ...
"'Equal parts Dodge City, medieval Baghdad, industrial Pittsburgh and nineteenth-century Paris,' Baku 'was too Persian to be European but much too European to be Persian.' Its police chiefs were notoriously venal; its Armenians and Azeris armed and vigilant; its plentiful gunmen, the kochis, either performed assassinations for three roubles a victim, guarded millionaires or became 'Mauserists,' gangsters always brandishing their Mausers. 'Our city,' writes Essad Bey, 'not unlike the Wild West, was teeming with bandits and robbers.' "Young Stalin, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Vintage Books, Random House, 2007
 |
| P.T. Barnum and his prize creation, Tom Thumb |
"Instead of being bitter over
his littleness, Tom seemed to glory in it, almost as if it were his own
special blessing. He loved to strut out on the stage and show what he
could do to an audience. ... Of course, Tom's
childhood suffered from his full-time occupation as an adult. At five
he learned to drink wine at meals, at seven to smoke cigars. ... He
loved money and hoarded it. ... At the start of 1845, Barnum allowed the
Strattons to become full partners in the Thumb
adventure [and they became] 'absolutely deranged with such golden
success.' ...
"By 1862, Barnum was watching his wealthy Bridgeport neighbor Charles Stratton (alias Tom Thumb) sail his yacht and drive his thoroughbreds and smoke his imported cigars. ... [Barnum soon added as an act] Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump [who] was a 21-year-old beauty from Middleborough, Massachusetts, [and] only 32 inches tall. ... Tom Thumb took one look at the museum's dainty addition and fell head over heels in love. ... [Sixteen years later] in 1878, Lavinia's sister Minnie died painfully while giving birth to a full-sized baby, not the miniature child she and her husband had expected. ... [After this and another friend's tragic death], Tom Thumb was never the same. ... [In 1883] Tom died suddenly of a stroke at the age of 46."
P. T. Barnum: America's Greatest Showman, Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., Knopf, 1995
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