Plowshares Coffee House
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PLOWSHARES COFFEE HOUSE: PEOPLE, MUSIC AND COMMUNITY A University Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, East Bay In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies By Susan Burnice Fuller Wageman March 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Susan Burnice Fuller Wageman ii ABSTRACT The Plowshares Coffee House Concert series ran for twenty years—presenting 686 concerts and dances between 1977 and 1998. Many of the performers, audience members, volunteers and other supporters of this effort continue to be involved with music and with each other—effectively forming complex interwoven networks of people and communities that connect Plowshares with other music communities in the past and the present. This thesis focuses, in particular, on Plowshares as a place of music making that built and nurtured community and contributes to an expanding literature about places of music making that build community and function as community centers. Ideally, this research will provide a foundation for deeper investigation of music communities in the future. Approaching the research from the perspectives of music, history, and anthropology (folkloristics and ethnography), the data collection and analysis employed an emic, or insider, perspective. Informal ethnographic interviews, oral history interviews, and an online survey provided first-hand information on how different people experienced Plowshares. Ongoing participation in contemporary music communities helped reveal additional information and insights about Plowshares, its operation, and its influences. The San Francisco Folk Music Club's newsletter, the folknik, provided information on the concert schedules, vision, development, and challenges of Plowshares. The San Francisco Folk Music Center's organizational papers—particularly the meeting minutes—provided detail on how the organization operated. iii This thesis provides a brief history of Plowshares, the circumstances that enabled its emergence, and an assessment of the forces that contributed to its cessation. The people who created Plowshares were motivated by their passion for sharing their musics—and by a countercultural ethos that valued egalitarianism, peaceful anarchy, DIY (do-it-yourself), and collective action to effect change. The collective energy of the nearly-all-volunteer effort swiftly grew the concert series during the first five years. However, volunteer burnout, shifting demographics, economic pressures, competition from new venues, and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake led to a long, slow decline. The same countercultural ethos that contributed energy to Plowshares' initial growth seems to have contributed to its cessation as well. Dependence upon "Ralph" (i.e. volunteers who would do whatever was needed) too often led to unpaid bills, insufficient publicity, internal organizational strife, miscommunications, and overloaded volunteers. Nevertheless, a twenty year run is impressive for a live music venue, suggesting a significant level of community engagement and support. Many of the people who were involved consider their experience at Plowshares to be foundational. Many remember relationships that began during the Plowshares years—and continue to this day. Plowshares veterans can be found attending, performing at, teaching at, and helping run concert venues, festivals, camps, contra dances, conferences, community music schools, and university music programs. The evidence suggests that Plowshares drew from and strengthened a network of acoustic-folk music communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the nation, and through time. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I inquired about pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at California State University, East Bay, I was told that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to find faculty advisors who would be willing to serve on my Interdisciplinary Studies Major committee. Dr. Peter Marsh, Associate Professor, Music, chaired my committee which included History Department Chair Dr. Linda Ivey and Professor of Anthropology Dr. Laurie Price (who replaced Anthropology Department Chair Dr. Laura Nelson, when she left the University). I am immensely grateful for their time, advice, thoughtful feedback, and encouragement. Each of my professors—in music, history and anthropology—introduced me to different perspectives, helped me hone my research, writing, and analysis skills, and offered me opportunities to grapple with the complexities inherent in studying music communities. Professor Ivey mentored my oral history research. In addition to teaching most of my music courses, Professor Marsh provided ongoing mentoring and guidance throughout the development of my thesis. Dr. Price's Advanced Ethnographic Methods class provided a thorough introduction to the subject and enabled me to produce the prize-winning paper, "Comparative Study of Two Music Communities Separated by Time."1 Professor Mary Ann Irwin (Lecturer, Department of History) guided my initial foray into Plowshares history through a class on San Francisco Bay Area History. The 1 Susan Wageman, "Comparative Study of Two Music Communities Separated by Time," unpublished manuscript, 2014 (winner of the Annual Emeritus Anthropology Faculty Student Research Paper Prize). vi assignment to blog about our research formed the basis for my "Plowshares Coffee House" website.2 Professor Khal Sneider's Seminar in History enabled me to examine the historical context of Plowshares and focus on the Plowshares history embedded in San Francisco Folk Music Club and San Francisco Folk Music Center records. Assistant Professor of History, Dr. Elizabeth McGuire generously offered to review my not quite complete draft thesis. Her observation that "research is infinite," provided the mantra that enabled me to stop researching and finish my thesis—knowing that there always will be more to the story. Many of my classmates were equally encouraging and supportive. I was twice blessed to be partnered with Moriah Ulinskas, who is a thorough editor, talented communicator, and brilliant thinker. My colleague in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Melissa West, graciously reviewed a near-final draft of my thesis. I must also thank Dr. Barclay Hudson (my organizational management master's thesis advisor at Fielding Graduate University) for his still-all-too-true-and-useful wisdom regarding the "research jungle" which can be both enticing and entangling.3 The National Park Service's Golden Gate National Recreation Center Park Archives and Records Center has an extensive collection of photographs, reports, and documentation on the development of the Park, including Fort Mason. The finding aids 2 Susan Wageman, "Plowshares Coffee House: The People & the Music | Fort Mason, San Francisco, California," Wordpress, http://plowsharessfmusichistory.wordpress.com. 3 Barclay Hudson, "The Jungle Syndrome: Some Perils and Pleasures of Learning without Walls," in Handbook of Online Learning: Innovations in Higher Education and Corporate Training, edited by Kjell Erik Rudestam and Judith Schoenholtz-Read, 185-220 (Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2002). vii and catalog are extensive and many of the resources are available online.4 Curator & Reference Archivist Amanda Williford graciously assisted with my requests to use photos from their collection. This thesis would not exist without many contributions of information, interviews, archival materials, and encouragement from people who were involved with Plowshares. I wish that I could share everything that was shared with me. But, if had tried, I would still be tramping around in the research jungle. Special thanks are due to Charlotte Patterson, who saved San Francisco Folk Music Center business records. Jeff Crossley allowed me to use some of his "Folkie" photos taken at Fort Mason. Debbie McClatchy allowed me to use a publicity photo of her that Art Peterson had saved, along with many other photos, when the Folk Music Center office was closed. The Board of the San Francisco Folk Music Club allowed me to borrow a nearly complete set of their newsletter, the folknik, and use scans from that publication to illustrate this thesis. I must also thank my friends who patiently waited for me to take breaks from researching and writing to play music with them. Finally, I am most grateful to my life partner, Charlie Fenton, who introduced me to the San Francisco Folk Music Club and Plowshares. I would not have begun and could not have finished this thesis without his support and nearly unending patience as I pursued my quest to capture some of the stories and history of the community that formed around Plowshares Coffee House. 4 National Park Service, "Research," Golden Gate National Recreation Area, accessed October 30, 2016, https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/research.htm. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi List of Photos .................................................................................................................... xii Preface .............................................................................................................................