Downtown magazine edition 4

DOWNTOWN DICKINSON

PUBLISHED BY DICKINSON DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT. FOR EDITORIAL OR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CALL (701) 590-3532

Why we need art downtown

A new place for private functions

Classic history/photos

Lance Rustand: “But seriously folks”

FEBRUARY 2016

The original Dickinson Press build-ing on Villard St. in Dickinson was used for court chambers until this courthouse on 3rd St. E. was built with a $15,000 bond issue in 1886. This photo was taken in 1936, shortly before the building was razed to make room for the cur-rent Stark County Courthouse to be built on the same block. The current courthouse, completed in 1937, cost $200,000 to build. Photo and information supplied by Shanna Shervheim of the Dickin-

Sat., Feb. 13—STOPLIGHT PARTY AT THE ROCK

Feb. 19 & 20—

Josh Nichols Comedy

at the Rock Bottom

AVAILABLE HOUSING IN DICKINSON

DOWNTOWN DICKINSON

THE ROCK BAR—WHERE FRIENDS GO TO MEET


“Public spaces are the result of collaborative effort between many design and artistic disciplines” - Josh Hardin

DICKINSON, ND - This article con-

sists primarily of an “opinion”…as is

art in general. So I’d like to start out

by looking at what art is?

Google’s definition of the word “art”

itself is: The expression or applica-

tion of human creative skill and im-

agination, typically in a visual form,

such as painting or sculpture, pro-

ducing works to be appreciated pri-

marily for their beauty or emotional

power. That sums it up well. For

the sake of this article I’d like to fo-

cus on the part that says - apprecia-

tion for beauty or emotion.

When you gaze upon an art piece,

whether it be the Mona Lisa hanging

in the Louvre in Paris, or one of the

buffalo statues gracing the streets of

Fargo, does it make you stop and

think? Do you question what the

artist was thinking? Or maybe what

the city planners were thinking when

they agreed to let an artist blast

some random streaks of color all over

a likeness of a buffalo?

I hope it did because that is the pur-

pose of art. It should be subjective.

Some art you will love and some you

will utterly despise to the point

where you will speak out publicly

claiming you would rather see an

artist “permanently tattoo his bad

artwork on his face, not on build-

ings.” This is all part of the gran-

deur of art. You and everyone else

that sees it gets to have that opinion.

So I ask again, why do we need art in

our downtown?

A downtown area is a public space.

It is for every single person in the

community to utilize and hopefully

enjoy. So when we incorporate art

into a public space it then becomes

public art by proxy.

Now this might get tricky because

public art occupies a unique position

within the art world. In comparison

with big-name gallery shows, public

art is often “underappreciated” much

like landscape architecture is. But

there is a lot to applaud: It’s free.

There are no tickets. People don’t

have to dress up. You can view it

alone or in groups and it’s open to

everyone.

If you caught that I snuck architec-

CONTINUED FROM THE PRIOR

PAGE: -ture in the mix there, good

job. Many people, including myself

think that unique architecture is a

beautiful form of art. The real pickle

is balancing all of this.

Our downtown has the oldest and

most unique buildings in not just our

community but in our entire region

of North Dakota. It is important that

we hold onto some of this as part of

our history. Thankfully, there is a

group of passionate people working

very hard to preserve and revitalize

these buildings.

Knowing that our history is being

well preserved, it is with an inclusion

of the arts that we create our future;

a future that has a thriving, bustling,

teeming, buzzing, and lively down-

town.

Now remember, downtown is a public

space and public spaces are the re-

sult of collaborative efforts between

many design and artistic disciplines.

So, think not just of the street artists

painting more murals in Art Avenue.

Or about the city’s hopes of bringing

sculptures to our street corners or

even the many wonderful bands

sharing their music at Alive@5 this

summer. Instead think of all of these

artists and their wares that you have

an opportunity to come downtown

and enjoy, see, hear, and most of all,

feel. Feel proud, feel happy, feel

mad, feel whatever you like, but also

feel free to support the arts in YOUR

downtown. That’s my simple opinion

on why we need art downtown.

I will do my best to write more arti-

cles to keep you up-to-date with

those artists who are involved with

downtown as we progress. Yet with

this being only a monthly publica-

tion, I ask that, anytime you see

Amanda Galster or myself from Cele-

brations ‘n’ Crafts around the com-

munity, please feel free to stop and

ask us what is going on. We usually

have an idea of which art piece is

being created next.

Lastly, if you or anyone you know

would like to get involved with the

arts or the downtown revitalization,

c o n t a c t a n y o f u s c r a z y

“downtowners” to find out how.


DOWNTOWN DICKINSON

TURNING CONCEPTS INTO REALITY


“When we incorporate art into a public space it then becomes public art by proxy” - Josh Hardin


DOWNTOWN DICKINSON



“The most powerful weapon is a soul on fire” - Ferdinand Foch

The St. Charles Hotel was built in the early 1890s and expanded in about 1908. It burned to the ground in 1950. This photo and infor-mation was supplied by Shanna Shervheim of the Dickinson Museum Center, located at 188 West Museum Drive in Dickinson. If you’d like to see footage of the 1950 fire go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbGTlN46ERs


“A City is what it is because their citizens are what they are.” - Plato

DOWNTOWN DICKINSON


DICKINSON, ND—These men are posing by delivery trucks advertising Hamm’s and Blatz beer in front of the Dickinson Ice & Transfer Company located at 630 West Villard in Dick-inson in 1941, the same year that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The company made

news in 1916, when owners Zimmerman and Miller were completing plans for a new $25,000 ice manufacturing plant. In 1947, Robert Stranik bought the business and renamed it the Dickinson Beverage Company.

Now located in Dickinson at 3275 West Ridge Dr.

just east of Buffalo Wild Wings.

For all of your western wear needs

TIDBITS OF DICKINSON HISTORY


“The Rock location is the best in town” - Adam Metzker

DOWNTOWN DICKINSON


Questions and answers with the owner of The Rock, Adam Metzker, and the new features of his bar.

How do you feel about the location of the Rock in downtown Dickinson? Its second-to-none. It’s the best location in downtown Dickinson. I think it’s something we need to also work on establishing a little bit more and what I mean by that is, in general, the crossroads of 1st Street West and 1st Avenue West is the like the heart of downtown (with) American Bank Center and the Elks building being remodeled. Now it’s time to get The Rock up to par as well, and that’s what we’re doing on the outside. It’s all going to happen in the summer. The All-State building is to be called “The Village.” That’s going to be going for remodeling very soon also. Take these four buildings on the corner, and it will be very beautiful. So it’s a great location, no doubt. I’m very excited for all of the new developments near The Rock. What made you feel the need to add on to the Rock? It’s two-fold on that. First, The Rock is a very small place. We wanted to add the square footage so we could have more customers and serve more custom-ers. Second, it was a space that wasn’t used that much and after remodeling it, we started having more par-ties there. If anyone is interested in renting it for a private function, then we can provide that. What are you going to call the basement area of The Rock and how did you decide on that?


“I love providing service to our downtown,” - Adam Metzker

DOWNTOWN DICKINSON


CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE: I’m calling it “The Rock Bottom.” The Rock is The Rock and I figured, since it’s in the basement, I would call it “The Rock Bottom.” It just kind of dawned on me one day. I had like a little epiphany, as you can call it. Is there anything The Rock Bottom will have that The Rock Bar didn’t have before? A dance floor. It is very nice. Also the opportunity to be outside of the public eye. A place where people and groups can go and have fun together and have that privacy. It also has a bit better lighting than what we have upstairs. Do you have any idea when the Rock Bottom will be fully com-plete? It’s already fully operational and we’ve already had a few parties over there. I just have a few little logistic things we need to do to make it easier for the bartenders to serve the cus-tomers more efficiently. So you say you’re satisfied with it? (Laughing) Right. In our business we never finish. There’s always some-thing else to do. And everything we do is ultimately meant to help revitalize downtown. It’s for the big picture. How big is the basement area, compared to the current Rock? The footprint is almost the same; it’s just a bit smaller. What is the best part about owning a bar in downtown Dickinson? The best part is the people. Being able to serve the people. Being able to provide a host. I love to provide the service to the downtown community as well as the Dickinson community as a whole. Is The Rock Bottom going to be open whenever the upstairs is, and if not what is its schedule? It’s go-ing to run on a weekend schedule. Private functions may interfere with it being open to the public on weekends. Private events can certainly happen during the weekdays, too. As the owner of the bar, how excited are you for the expansion and why do you think it will be such a great place to hangout? It’s something different. It’s something that Dickinson doesn’t really have. Dickinson doesn’t have a club-like atmosphere at the

701-690-7713

346 1st St West 855-297-9960

The Rock

DICKINSON



“Watching the community grow has been amazing,” - Lance Rustand

DOWNTOWN DICKINSON


FACES OF DOWNTOWN

His wife Lacey

What Lance Rustand does is serious business. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun doing it.

What is your occupation and

why do you do it? I’m an agen-cy owner that serves Western North Dakota for the Horace Mann Companies. We help all clients and education employees and their family and friends pro-tect their property and assets with Insurance products for Auto, Home, Life and Disability and help build retirement plans and assets with Annuities, Mutual Funds, and College Savings Plans. How did you get into selling insurance? I think many things in life are connected from prior experiences. You never know where life, and the people you meet in it, will take you. I like talking to and getting to know people. One person I spoke with (while working in auto sales) hap-pened to be a client of Horace Mann. I knew him (Joe Callahan LET ME GET PERMISSION TO USE HIS NAME) from my time at Dickinson State where he was a professor. I didn’t know it at the time, but he gave my name to his

Horace Mann Insurance agent. A few years later while that agent was pre-paring for his retirement he gave me a call. He simply said, “I have some-thing I’d like to talk to about. You’ve been recommended and I think you might like it.” I met with him after I had closed on my house where I had put most all my money as a down pay-ment. I thought it would be something I would enjoy and be good at and de-cided to take the leap (even though I was broke). SEE NEXT PAGE...


“Watching the community grow has been amazing,” - Lance Rustand

DOWNTOWN DICKINSON


FACES OF DOWNTOWN CONTINUED. . .

CONTINUED FROM PRIOR PAGE...Why Horace Mann? I still hold a teaching license in ND. It was my original intention after graduat-ing from college. As my abilities pro-gressed and I started looking for oth-er opportunities, I still wanted to work with good people who shared some of the same interests as my-self. Since Horace Mann works closely with our area schools I felt this company to be a good match. We have a saying at Horace Mann that the company is like a family. I’ve found that to be true. Clients and agents not only in North and South Dakota but from all over the United States have become my friends. Your office is located down-town. Why is that? Uh… it what I could afford at the time? That’s par-tially true, but in all seriousness Dickinson is my home. It always has been. Growing up I had no intention to stay here… “bigger and better things…” I thought. When looking to start a successful business, down-town is classic. Downtown is profes-sional. Downtown is Dickinson. You've done a lot of (comedy) acting in local theater and you've also done other things like play the Marquis de Mores in Medora. What is it you like best about acting? I really don’t

know why or how I became interested in theater and acting. Dickinson High School Cho-ral Teacher Michael Stevenson asked me to be in a musical as a freshman or sophomore in HS which was one of my first stage productions. But I think a lot of life experience (in which I typically try to find the hu-mor and enjoyment or sometimes emotion) also drives that interest. Why do you prefer comedy or drama? I like both, but humor is good for the soul. You've traveled a lot. What is the best spot you've been too? Germany and Switzerland were both fantastic for international trav-el. Stateside is great too, So. Califor-nia has made for a couple fun busi-ness meeting locations. I got en-gaged at Dove Mtn in Arizona so per-haps I should say that is my favor-ite. However, I feel like I’m turning into my Dad, because I catch myself saying after traveling “it’s always nice to get home…” Where were you born and raised and what was the best thing about growing up where you did? Dickinson. It was safe, large enough to provide opportunity yet small enough to stand out and know people.

You have a brother that is handi-capped. What has that taught you? My brother caught meningitis at a very young age, went into a co-ma and suffered some brain dam-age. Frankly I may be more handi-capped than he. With that said, my brother taught me Appreciation. He appreciates things and people far better than I. He helped teach me to value people for who they are. I try to understand and relate to others and their experiences which I think helped propel acting. How did you and your wife Lacey meet and what makes the two of you work so well togeth-er? On stage. We don’t work well together, it’s just a show. (insert sar-castic grin here). We met at college, we both had an interest in music and theatre. Frankly, I thought she was incredibly talented and beautiful…I still do and that makes everything else easy. You should be interview-ing her because she makes me look better. If you could do anything you wanted today, what would it be? ?? I don’t know… a perfect day for me would be a cup of coffee in the morning with my wife, going out for a pheasant hunt with my dog and friends, be on a boat on a nice calm day


DOWNTOWN DICKINSON

Nikki St. John

of Burn the Floor

Dance Studio


“Teamwork makes dream work” - Brock White

You are the new director of Alive@5, the summer long Dickinson downtown street festival. How do you see this version of Alive@5 ranking with last year's and past years? From a talent lineup alone, this may be the biggest Alive@5 ever. We've got 13 huge Thursday's lined up with a great mix of headliners, and to complement that some fantastic local talent to kick things off every week as well. What do you think you will like best about being in charge? Watching it come to life. There's something satisfying about laying out a goal, or vision, and then seeing it through. There's a ton of great people involved in this, and with their help it's going to really come to-gether and be a great event. What special challenges are there? There's some things on the process end of things we need to refine. When I say process I mean the set up, tear down, clean up etc. We need to be better neighbors to our downtown businesses going forward, but I'm confident our plans will get us there. Why is Alive@5 important to Dickinson? It's become the social event of the summer. Every generation, de-nomination, and occupation is represented in that crowd every Thursday. It's important in a community the size of Dickinson to know your neighbors, your civic leaders, and Alive@5 is the place where people can do just that while having a great time downtown. What changes are being made from past years? You'll see a better layout and traffic flow this year. Also, to fall in line with city liquor laws we'll be switching to an event cup, which will be the only vessel allowed on the street with beer and wine in it. That alone will really cut down on trash and litter. How can someone get involved? How can they contribute to or sponsor Alive@5? We always need volunteers, and sponsors make this

whole event possible. To do either you can call me at 701-690-3451, or email me [email protected]. You have been an M.C. for a couple of years at Alive@5. When you'd look out over the crowd, what would you see on people's faces? Excitement. Smiles. It's a gorgeous summer night, your outside and there's food, refreshments, music, and thousands of peo-ple. It's infectious, you just want to be apart of it and soak it all in. Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you born and raised and where did you go to school? I'm a Bowman kid, born and raised. I graduated high school in 2003 and came up to Dickinson for a little col-lege at DSU before entering the business world. So I'm still close to home, and I've always been a resident of Southwest North Dakota. I love it here, there's nowhere else I'd rather be. What types of projects have you been involved in? What career path's have you followed? I've been a professional disc jockey for the past 11 years, and have performed all over the upper Midwest at events of all shapes and sizes. I also have kind of become the face of Consolidated Channel 18 with the various shows I host on there. On the civic side of things, the Special Olympics is far and away my favorite group and charity to get behind in Dickinson. You can find me braving the conditions at the polar plunge every year. If you could summarize Alive@5 in one quick state-ment, what would it be? THE social event of the sum-mer. What else would you like to add? Teamwork makes the dream work! Between our board members, volun-teers and sponsors it takes the effort of everyone in-volved and we couldn't do it without all of them, so thank you and let's have a great summer downtown!

BROCK WHITE INTER

VIEW NEW ALIVE@5 POINT PERSON IS BROCK WHITE OF BROCK WHITE ENTERTAINMENT


“Alive@5 is the social event of the summer” - Brock White

DOWNTOWN DICKINSON


WATCH

“SPECIAL COWBOY MOMENTS”

10 A.M. CST SUNDAY

ON NBC TV “Gathering rich history for generations to share”

Now located in Dickinson at 3275 West Ridge Dr.

just east of Buffalo Wild Wings.

For all of your western wear needs

Nelson’s J E W E L R Y

113 FIRST STREET WEST, DICKINSON ND (701) 225-5813

CUT BY GAUGE DIAMONDS

2016 SUMMER CONCERT SCHEDULE NEW ALIVE@5 POINT PERSON IS BROCK WHITE OF BROCK WHITE ENTERTAINMENT

THURSDAY, JUNE 9—CODY CHARLES BAND

THURSDAY, JUNE 16—MICHAEL SCOTT

THURSDAY, JUNE 23—DIRTY WORD

THURSDAY, JUNE 30—BUCKY COVINGTON

Downtown magazine edition 4

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