Prom Night in Two Rivers

Last night Kerry performed, prom dates danced together, people sampled Russian beer, and the evening weather was fantastic. Another fun, relaxing and beautiful evening of music and friends at Stumpjack.

Two Rivers' Prom was last night and we had some finely attired couples enjoying the space and coffee after the dance. Kerry was great and played a few slow tunes to dance to. Ahhh...amore'...pretty cool to see.


We are going to be experimenting with our beer list a bit more frequently, adding and trying out some unusual brews from time to time, and right now we have three new Russian beers on hand (in addition to the fantastic Sleeman beers that have become our mainstay). I'll write more about them in a different post, but since we brought them in a couple days ago people have been sampling them and the critiques have been very good.

Kerry played one of his new compositions for us last night, a lovely though somber ballad that reminded me just what a fine songwriter he is.

We've got a pretty full schedule of weekend entertainment next month (3 weekends in a row right now), so check back in a day or two when I post the calendar here. Ciao!

Life on Both Sides of the Wall

Last night we had the genuine privilege and honor to have Gunther Skaletz discuss his new tome, Life on Both Sides of the Wall, his autobiographical memoir of growing up and surviving the horrors (an overused but especially appropriate word) of WWII, the Gestapo, KGB, torture, Auschwitz, death labor, and on and on and on...and his ultimate triumph of not only surviving, but in creating a life of dignity, compassion and grace. This man impressed me with his humor, gentleness, humility and strength. A class act all the way. I would very strongly encourage anyone and everyone to buy his book and read it, and to go wherever Gunther might be giving his next discussion. I was so enthralled by Gunther's tale that I forgot to take pictures...again. Oyvey... I did manage to get one or two of him signing books after his presentation. After Gunther's talk we immediately decided that we have to have him come back again, and he agreed. We'll let you know in the next few days the date of his next discussion here at Stumpjack Coffee. Please mark it on your calendar and be sure to attend!

Gunther signing his book, Life on Both Sides of the Wall

Right now you can get Gunther's book at Schroeder's Department Store and Honey Pot here in Two Rivers, and at LaDeDa Books and Book World in Manitowoc. Go get yourself a copy...it's well worth it.

Suzy, Gunther, Kim & Kelly

Live Music Saturday Night

Kerry Michaels will be bringing his songwriting and guitar playing talent to the Stumpjack this Saturday evening at 7:00. Be here or regret it brother!

Book Discussion & Signing

* Tomorrow (Thursday) at 6:30 p.m. Gunther Skaletz, author of "Life on Both Sides of the Wall" will be at the Stumpjack to discuss his book. This event is free and open to the public.
From the Herald Times Reporter:

The autobiography tells of Skaletz's life as a teenage boy who refused to give up, first to the Gestapo and later to the KGB. He survived World War II as a prisoner of war, was arrested by the KGB, and found himself in a Russian labor camp where he fought for his real survival. Skaletz hopes to remind, inform and inspire readers of his book that, even today, people around the world struggle to survive in the aftermath of war, destruction and chaos, according to a news release.

* This Saturday at 11:00 a.m. we will also have a Children's Reading at the Stumpjack. Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" will be the featured book. Bring your children and enjoy a cup of coffee while they listen to the story.

Pick and Squeeze

Another full house, standing-room-only at the Stumpjack tonight for "Pick & Squeeze" (Greg and Andy Pagel). What a fun time tonight and what an age-diverse crowd...it never ceases to amaze me what a range of ages we attract and even more amazing and cool is how absolutely courteous, thoughtful and respectful most everyone seems to be to one another (this is worth some ink on a future post). Andy and Greg are very skillful musicians with a wide and deep repertoire, a great sense of humor and a rather unique style that blends jazz, folk and ragtime into their own funky neo-retro sound. We're having the guys back sometime in early June. Here's a few pics from tonight.

Community, springtime, business, etc...

This morning I read Two Rivers City Manager Greg Buckley's column from yesterday's Chronicle, wherein Greg talked about the recent celebration of canoeist Rick Kark's 300th river experience here on the East Twin river. A small armada of canoes and kayak's joined Kark on the river, followed by a post-trip discussion and presentation from him at the Community House. The article got me to pining for warm weather and more outdoor activities that don't necessitate layered or insulated clothing. By the way, Greg does a nice job with his weekly column, regularly providing a well-written essay of interesting and worthwhile information on some of what's going on in the community...it's worth reading.

Our goal here at Stumpjack Coffee is to get more involved in and even initiate ourselves a number of events and "happenings" in our community here. As business continues to grow (which I'm pleased to say is indeed the case) we will be better able to diversify and expand our reach into the community with both time and resources. Community involvement and enhancement is an exciting prospect and is one of the key points in our mission statement.

We do have at least one item in the works right now that I can tell you about and that is the "cigars in the park" event that Joe Donati of Lakeshore Cigar Company is planning for sometime in June (specific date to be announced soon). We will be a part of that project, helping Joe with the planning and gofer stuff ("go fer this, go fer that") as well as providing drinks and perhaps some additional coffee/cigar tasting expertise. This event is going to be a lot of fun and Joe gets a huge tip of the hat for coming up with the idea and putting it into action (so you should make a point to visit his shop in Manitowoc, buy several cigars and tell him thanks). Chow Chong of Unique Flying Objects in Two Rivers, and a cigar lover himself, suggested naming the event "Cigars Under the Stars"...I like the sound of that.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kelly!

"Kelly is a babe!" says her husband Mike.
"Kelly Zimmer rocks!" says her friend Suzy.
"Kelly...Kelly who..." says anonymous Stumpjack patron.
"Kelly, Kelly, Kelly..." says Woody from Cheers.
"Kelly uses all my to-go cups even when she stays in!" says David.

In lieu of a picture of Kelly (didn't think to take one) we have instead a picture of famed sharpshooter and woman-extraordinaire Annie Oakley. Oakley's birthday was in August and so there is really no connection to Kelly Zimmer other than Kelly's fondness for Oakley's attire, which Kelly can often be seen wearing as she walks the streets brandishing her trusty rifle (I think Annie Oakley did, however, join Buffalo Bill's famous Wild West Show in the month of April).

Also sharing birthdays with Kelly in this month of April are William Shakespeare, Charlie Chaplin, Maya Angelou, Thomas Jefferson, Leonardo Da Vinci, Willie Nelson and Adolf Hitler.
Happy Birthday Kelly from your coffee drinking pals at the Stumpjack Coffee Company.

Hanging Out...

Val, Laura and Marv hold a clandestine meeting to come up with "The Next Big Thing"

Pat contemplating the social and ethical ramifications of the game Twister.

Allie smiles smugly at knowledge that, yes, blonds do have more fun.

New Cups and Mugs

We have some new carry-out cups and new ceramic mugs.

This handsome fellow is drinking from one of our new Stumpjack ceramic mugs...is this not the coolest picture!

The Cafe Bravo insulated carry-out cups are very cool, with beautiful graphics reminiscent of a Thomas Hart Benton painting.

April Calendar

Fri. 6th - Live Music: KERRY MICHAELS

Sat. 7th - Live Music: KERRY MICHAELS

Sun. 8th - Closed for Easter

Fri. 20th - Live Music: PICK & SQUEEZE

Thu. 26th - Book Discussion Group: Gunther Skaletz' "Life on Both Sides of the Wall" (Gunther will be here to discuss his book)

Sat. 28th - Children’s Reading (give a call for more info)

A few more things in the works...check back often as we will post events when we finalize them.

Happenstance last Saturday night

Last Saturday (March 31st) a full house enjoyed the mellow guitar and vocals of Happenstance. With every seat taken people stood and sat on the floor. This is the second gig for the acoustic duo of Becky Markvardt and Debbie Kimmes at the Stumpjack.

Kim and I were hopping all night, working like a well oiled machine. And neither of us got frustrated with the other even once during the night...amazing! We must be jellin'. We finally rolled home at around 2:30 in the morning after emptying a couple bottles of wine and telling indelicate stories with Sandy and Terry until 1:30 or so. A good night...and I think we all paid for it a little Sunday morning.

Tres Amigos
(why does everyone have old to-go cups here?...oh yeah, it was the mineral water thing...)