1666 Coffman
  • Home
    • Virtual Tour
    • Art Gallery >
      • Dreams & Woodcraft
      • Botanicals & Gold
    • Exercise Room
    • Flora & Fauna
  • Activities
    • Events Calendar
    • Ongoing Activities
  • Residents' Realm
    • Newsletter
    • Coffman Office >
      • Coffman Calendars
      • Exchange
      • Resident Absence
      • Accident Form
      • Room Reservations >
        • Social Room Reservations
        • Dining Room Reservations
        • Guest Room Reservations
        • Other Room Reservations
    • Dining >
      • MealOrder Calendar
    • Maintenance >
      • Maintenance Calendar
      • Trash
    • Governance Documents
    • Operational Documents
    • Board & Committees >
      • Long-Range Planning
      • Architectural Integrity Committee
    • Health & Safety >
      • COVID-19
    • Suggestion Box
  • Library
    • News & Updates
    • Book Checkout
    • Tour the Library
    • Recommended Reading >
      • Reader Reviews
      • Acquisitions
    • Book Night >
      • Book Night Archive
    • Donating Books
  • Available Units
    • Application Form
    • Condos for Sale
    • Floor Plans
  • Contact

Book Review - "Blind Your Ponies"

7/6/2021

 
y Richard Zeyen
Originally published in the July 2021 issue of the 1666 Coffman Newsletter

Stanley Gordon West (1932-2015) is perhaps the best Saint Paul 
author you have never heard of or read. He grew up in Saint Paul, attended Saint Paul Central High School, Macalester College, the University of Minnesota, and Luther Seminary. He became an ordained Lutheran minister. As a writer, he is in touch with human emotions and creates characters so vivid that readers can hear them, see them, laugh with them, and feel with them.

​He wrote only seven novels: his first, 
Amos: To Ride a Dead Horse, was self-published in 1983, when he was age 51. It was quickly made into a movie featuring Kirk Douglas.

He then wrote a trilogy that revolved around Saint Paul’s Central High School. The best known of these is Until They Bring the Streetcars Back. This trilogy became required reading in many high school English classes.

Blind Your Ponies was also self-published and later republished by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The novel takes place in the small village of Willow Creek, Montana. It is a place that time has passed by, and it is where the paved road literally ends and pessimism resides.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Everyone in Willow Creek is there for a reason. They lead very ordinary small village existences. Social life revolves around two institutions, the Willow Creek Inn and the Willow Creek School (grades 1-12).
​

Sam Pickett, the high school’s English teacher/boys basketball coach, is a good teacher and knows basketball. Unfortunately, he has very little basketball talent to coach, and due to low high school enrollments, his teams rarely have six or seven players. They have not won a game in five years and are 0-93 during Pickett’s coaching tenure. Nevertheless, his players persist, despite broken dreams and personal sorrows.

Pickett is about to resign as basketball coach when two new students appear. One is Peter Strong, a basketball guard from Saint Paul’s Central High School whose divorced parents have sent him to live with his eccentric grandmother. The other student is the gawky Olaf Gustafson, a 6’11” foreign exchange student who is staying with a nearby ranching family for the year. Olaf has never held a basketball.

What unfolds is an uplifting tale of human decency, romance, and determination that plumbs hidden places in the human heart. All this unfolds with a cast of characters who learn to dream again, characters made so real that they will be with you long after you turn the last page. That’s Stanley Gordon West writing style. It’s a great summer’s read. You can find this book in the Coffman Library.

Leadership Changes and More

7/6/2021

 
By Carol Van Why, Library Committee Co-Chair
Originally published in the July 2021 issue of the 
1666 Coffman Newsletter

After five years serving as Library Committee Co-Chair, Katie Weiblen will step down from that position, effective August 31. While remaining on the Committee, this move will allow her to spend more time with family and friends. I am pleased that Katie will continue to be the Library’s liaison to new residents.

I am thankful that Faye Herold, who has been a member of the Library Committee since 2019, has agreed to share Chair duties with me. Until recently, Faye has been responsible for evaluating donations for the Library’s book collection.

The book sale cart is back in place near the Library’s upper level entrance. New Library Committee member Audrey Estebo is in charge, with Scott Magnuson assisting. Book stock changes frequently, and you’re bound to find something
you’ve missed reading. Prices are reasonable, and proceeds all go toward Library book purchases. I am excited to be working with new Library Committee member Eileen Smith on a catalog feasibility study. Eileen has begun to inventory the
collection and import catalog records into a database. As work progresses, you’ll notice signs on the shelves that show the specific area Eileen is working with and areas where work has been completed. In the early stages of the study, residents will be unable to search the inventory directly. In the meantime, if you’re wondering if a particular item is in the collection, contact me via email at carolvw65@yahoo.com.

Speaking of interesting projects, during the summer Committee members focus on identifying and improving selected areas of the collection. You can be part of this process. Are you aware of highly regarded books not in our library? Let us know about them. Be aware that space and budget constraints prevent us from buying all the books we’d like to. Send your recommendations to me no later than July 19.

    Newsletter

    Coffman residents, signup for monthly updates from the Library!

    Thank you!

    You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

    Posts by Year

    All
    2011
    2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2022
    2023

    Posts by Month

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    January 2015
    April 2014
    February 2014
    September 2013
    September 2011


1666 Coffman Condominium Association

Amenities

Library

Activities

Virtual Tour

Sales info

Condos for Sale
  • Home
    • Virtual Tour
    • Art Gallery >
      • Dreams & Woodcraft
      • Botanicals & Gold
    • Exercise Room
    • Flora & Fauna
  • Activities
    • Events Calendar
    • Ongoing Activities
  • Residents' Realm
    • Newsletter
    • Coffman Office >
      • Coffman Calendars
      • Exchange
      • Resident Absence
      • Accident Form
      • Room Reservations >
        • Social Room Reservations
        • Dining Room Reservations
        • Guest Room Reservations
        • Other Room Reservations
    • Dining >
      • MealOrder Calendar
    • Maintenance >
      • Maintenance Calendar
      • Trash
    • Governance Documents
    • Operational Documents
    • Board & Committees >
      • Long-Range Planning
      • Architectural Integrity Committee
    • Health & Safety >
      • COVID-19
    • Suggestion Box
  • Library
    • News & Updates
    • Book Checkout
    • Tour the Library
    • Recommended Reading >
      • Reader Reviews
      • Acquisitions
    • Book Night >
      • Book Night Archive
    • Donating Books
  • Available Units
    • Application Form
    • Condos for Sale
    • Floor Plans
  • Contact