Happy Birthday, Messenger. A Word from the Editor.

Happy 30th Birthday, Sewanee Mountain Messenger

by Laura L. Willis, Editor

Is the printed newspaper on its death bed? Will we read all our news online in the future? I’m no prognosticator, but I know one thing: I believe in community newspapers. And I believe in the Sewanee Mountain Messenger.

Thirty years ago this week, the Messenger published its first issue. Geraldine Hewitt Piccard had great writing and editing skills, plus a typewriter, so she could begin a community paper. She’d planned on it beginning in early February, but the catastrophic ice storm of 1985 slowed her plans. With the help of Mary Smalley as business manager, Geraldine sold the ads, wrote the copy, and produced that eight-page issue on 9x12 white paper. The University press did the actual printing and she distributed it to post offices and businesses in the area. 

On page 1 under the headline, “Community Spirit,” she described the many people who helped Sewanee and her residents survive that historic storm: Carl Reid, Doug Seiters, Dwight Sholey, Ernie Butner, Galon Sherrill, Jim Franklin, Dan Rather, Bob Ayres, John Kildoo, Tom Watson, Doug Cameron, John Greeter, Lisa and Tim Keith-Lucas, and the members of the Sewanee Fire Department. If you’re new to Sewanee, you might recognize only a few of these names; if you’ve been on this Mountain for awhile, reading this list of names may stir memories for you.

In that first issue there are advertisements, many of which remain the same today. For their continuing support, I want to thank the Lemon Fair, Rob Matlock Construction, Monteagle Florist, Sewanee Auto Repair, the Sewanee Inn, the Sewanee Market, Shenanigans and Taylor’s Mercantile. 

Also in Vol. 1, No. 1, were many of the very same things that appear in our paper today: a notice of the Otey Parish Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, the obituaries of esteemed community members, birth announcements and wedding announcements, descriptions of meetings and gallery openings, a call for singers to join the Sewanee Chorale in its spring production of “H.M.S. Pinafore,” reviews of the SUT movies, the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School’s headmaster’s honors list, and a couple of letters to the editor (which are really letters to the community-at-large). The back page was, even then, devoted to the community calendar.

Looking back at its beginnings, the Messenger has always been dedicated to supporting the greater Sewanee area by providing news and information that affect residents’ lives and encourage meaningful community engagement. We are more explicit about this mission now, especially as we watch the number of newspapers decline and the news business change dramatically. Our mission hasn’t changed, but we are very clear about our role in this community. You won’t learn about the votes scheduled in the State Senate; you won’t read stories that “shout” at you or provoke you; and you won’t be embarrassed if your name appears on our pages. We are, with only the tiniest hint of irony, the Good News Newspaper.

Geraldine brought to life the Sewanee Mountain Messenger from the Sewanee Siren, the community newspaper from 1967 to 1984. We haven’t changed its name, but the paper continues to evolve. While we dabble in an online presence, we know that most of you still like to hold the Messenger in your hands and read it on paper, whether standing at the table in the post office or sitting with a cup of coffee at the Blue Chair or pushing a cart through the Piggly Wiggly. 

The printed newspaper is not dead, especially on this Mountain. I believe in our little free, weekly community newspaper. And I think you do too. May the Sewanee Mountain Messenger continue to be of service to the people of this Plateau for another 30 years. 

Weekend Listing of Events

Shenanigans Official Grand Opening 

Shenanigans is hosting a weekend full of festive events to celebrate the reopening of the 40-year-old restaurant. The activities will kick off with the official ribbon cutting at 11 a.m., Friday, April 4. Continuing throughout the weekend, there will also be a Friday night dance party, door prizes, live music and the opening of the new Boardroom in the back of the building. 

Friday Night Angel Fest

The Friday Night Angel Fest on April 4 will bring together University students and the greater community for music, food and conversation. Musicians and bands from both the community and University will play at Angel Park Pavilion 6:30–9:30 p.m. Food will be available for purchase by local restaurants, and admission is free. 

Perpetual Motion Dance

Sewanee’s annual performance by Perpetual Motion will be at 7:30 p.m., today and Saturday, April 4–5, in Guerry Auditorium. The event will feature 22 pieces of original student choreography, ranging in style from reggae to jazz to ballroom, and will include more than 60 University student dancers. 

MGTA Fun Run & Walk

Mountain Outfitters and the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance are sponsoring a fun run and walk on Saturday, April 5. The five-mile run will begin at 10:30 a.m. in downtown Sewanee; the 2.7-mile walk will begin at 10:30 a.m. at St. James Church in Midway. Both will finish at Mountain Outfitters in Monteagle. Registration and more information is available at Mountain Outfitters and online at <http://mountaingoattrail.org>.

Dance Conservatory 

Sewanee Dance Conservatory (with Alabama Youth Ballet) will host its annual demonstration-performance at 11 a.m., Saturday, April 5, in Guerry Auditorium. This year’s dances will feature excerpts from “Peter Pan.”

Animal Harbor Children’s Festival

The third annual Animal Harbor Festival will be 1–5 p.m.,Saturday, April 5, on the University Quad. There will be children’s games, food, kids’ activities, a dunk tank, a silent auction, and puppies and kittens available for adoption. 

The $5 admission includes unlimited access to games and food. 

Barbecue and NCAA Final Four Games

This University Cornerstone Event will include activities on the Quad and the announcement of the winner of the faculty-student barbecue competition. 

It will conclude with a broadcast of the Final Four games in McClurg Dining Hall. Enjoy a delicious dinner and the semifinal games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. 

Events begin at 5 p.m., Saturday, April 5. 

Shenanigans re-opening on Feb. 1

Nelson Byrd (left) and Bill Elder are the new owners of Shenanigans, which will open for business at 12 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1. For the first few days, there will be a limited menu but will expand after that. Regular hours will be 11:30 a.m. to “late” on Sundays, closed on Mondays, and 11 a.m. to “late,” Tuesdays–Saturdays. The grill will close each day 2–5 p.m., and at 9 p.m.

Shenanigans Sale Final: Reopening planned for February

Shenanigans has new owners who are preparing to reopen the Sewanee restaurant in early February with a return to the fall 2010 menu. 

“This is an ambitious opening date,” said Bill Elder, one of the two owners, “but we need to get the grill frying and the taps pouring again.”

Elder and longtime friend Nelson Byrd purchased the business on Jan. 10. They have begun some renovations in the space and are hiring new staff.

“We really wanted to reopen a place that was beloved to both of us,” Elder said.

Byrd is a Sewanee alumnus, and Elder grew up spending summers in the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly. Elder’s wife is a Sewanee grad.

“Our goal is to bring back Shenanigans, the way it once was. We want everyone to walk in and find it the same place it was in November of 2010. Same menu, same recipes, same smiles, and faces new and old,” Elder said.

The pair are running a crowd-sourced campaign at <indiegogo.com> to raise additional funds for some of the things that are not part of the overall business plan, including a renovated back room with expanded seating and a removable stage and sound system for the main room. 

Byrd worked at Shenanigans when he was a Sewanee student and Elder describes him as a Hall of Fame cook, but neither are in the restaurant business now. Elder is the founder and songwriter/guitarist for the funk-soul band the Dynamites. Byrd is running his family’s farm. 

“Any anxiety we had about buying Shenanigans was offset by our love for this beloved space and the important place it holds in the community,” Elder said.

Shenanigans Sale Approved at December Lease Meeting

At the Dec. 17 meeting of the Lease Committee, the following items were approved: November minutes; request to change the paint color of the shed, carport and fence and to move the shed on Lease No. 715 located at 12721 Sollace M. Freeman Hwy.; request to tear off the back of the house and put an addition on Lease No. 590 located 630 Alabama Ave.; request to add a split-rail fence on Lease No. 890 located at 215 Proctor’s Hall Rd.; and the request to transfer Lease No. 698 (Shenanigans) located at 12595 Sollace Freeman Hwy. to Bill Elder and Nelson Byrd. A request to change the exterior color of Lease No. 493 located at 68 Mikell Lane was approved outside of the meeting.

There was continuing discussion about fees and services.

Leasehold information is available online at <leases.sewanee.edu> or by calling the lease office at 598-1998. A county building permit is required for structures with roofs; call 967-0981 for information.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21. Agenda items are due in the lease office no later than Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Shenanigans Closing This Sunday

Shenanigans is closing on Sunday, Oct. 7, after it serves lunch for the last time under the ownership and management of Shelley and Ward Cammack. 

Cammack said the restaurant is for sale.

“We have a number of employees who want to go to work at other places,” Cammack said on Oct. 2.

“This is a good opportunity for them to move on, and we didn’t want to hinder that.”

He said they would not have the staff to keep the restaurant open after Sunday.

“We’ve accomplished what we set out to do,” he said. “When we bought Shenanigans, we had a set of objectives to turn the business around and have accomplished those: structural improvements, information systems, reduce overhead and variable costs such as food and payroll. Having completed the tasks, it’s time for us to step back.”

Cammack said that he and Shelley and their family are not leaving Sewanee. “We’ll be taking some time off,” he said. “These last two years have been very hectic.”

A number of people have contacted the Cammacks about purchasing the restaurant.

“We hope it will reopen soon, but that will depend on the next owner,” he said.
The Cammacks bought Shenanigans in December 2010 and opened it in January 2011 with a revised menu.

Samuel Hoge built the building in 1872, to be used as a general store. In its long and varied past, the building has been a roller skating rink, a laundry facility for the ROTC during WWII, a shoe shop, a tin shop, and a wagon repair shop. Most people remember Winn’s General Store as the last business before Shenanigans opened.

Shenanigans began as a deli, cheese and coffee shop in September 1974 with the original owners, Richard Riddell and Merissa Tobler. Tom Brown was the next owner, who added the grill to the restaurant, and offered such items as hand-tossed pizzas and hand-patted burgers. The third owners, Todd and Katherine Kaderabek, added sandwiches such as the Cool Cucumber, the Skinny Bob’s Meat Melt and the Vegi Muffaletta. They also began the cooperative Shenanigans Gallery. Britt and Teresa Brantley were the fourth owners of the restaurant, and opened Café Arcadia Coffeehouse in the back of the restaurant. The fifth owners, Kiki and Ben Beavers, added new sandwiches, soups and salads to the menu. They also began the process of straightening the building, tearing out three walls and adding supports and a new foundation to stabilize the building.

—Reported by Laura Willis