l***@yahoo.com
2020-05-31 02:04:12 UTC
Found it at alt.obituaries.
http://file770.com/minneapolis-sf-bookstore-burned-another-vandalized/
Minneapolis SF Bookstore Burned, Another Vandalized
Posted on May 30, 2020 by Mike Glyer
Two Minneapolis science fiction landmarks were caught up in the wave of vandalism that struck the city amid protests against the death of George Floyd. Don Blyly’s Uncle Hugo’s bookstore has been burned, and Greg Ketter’s DreamHaven was broken into and damaged.
Uncle Hugo’s, in business since 1974, and neighboring mystery bookstore Uncle Edgar’s since 1980 (also burned), are located near the corner of Lake and Chicago, Uncle Hugo’s is the nation’s oldest surviving sf bookstore.
Owner Don Blyly told Facebook followers:
Friends: I’ve gone past heartsick into angry. This is from Don this morning: Hi Folks,
There was a call from the security company around 3:30 this morning that the motion detector was showing somebody in the building. I threw on clothes and headed over there. When I was 2 blocks away I received a call that the smoke detectors were showing smoke in the store. Every single building on both sides of Chicago was blazing and dozens of people dancing around. As I pulled into the dentist’s lot I could see that flames were leaping out the front windows of the Uncles. It looked to me like they had broken every window on the front of the Uncles and then squirted accelerant through each broken window. It looked hopeless to me, but I went around to the back door to see if I could get to a fire extinguisher. As soon as I opened the back door a wave of very thick black smoke poured out, so I quickly closed the door again… Since Chicago Ave. was full of dancing rioters, broken glass, and flaming debris, I went down the alley and took Lake St. home. There were blocks of Lake St. where every building was blazing. No sign of any cops, national guard troops, or any help.
I’m pretty sure the insurance policy excludes damage from a civil insurrection, so I suspect I won’t get a cent for either the building or the contents.
I am starting to investigate the best crowdsourcing to rebuild. Any donations – well – I’ll need to find where to send them
Located about two miles away, Greg Ketter’s Dreamhaven Books, Comics and Art was vandalized but not destroyed. Glass was broken and bookcases turned over.
DreamHaven’s Wendy Comeau said on Facebook:
We have a crew at DreamHaven. They smashed the front door, came in and smashed a lot of other glass, tried to bash their way into an empty cash box, and tried to set the store on fire. They took a few things, but so much was tossed around that it will be a while before we can figure it out.
Lots of cleaning is happening, glass slivers are everywhere. If anybody nearby has an industrial vacuum cleaner, that might be good for glass slivers.
Right now, we’re trying to get some cleaning done and not answering the phone, but feel free to swing by and chip in. Many thanks to everybody who already have.
[Thanks to Joyce Scrivner and Joe Sherry for the story.]
This entry was posted in Poor Trufan's Almanack and tagged Don Blyly, DreamHaven Books, Greg Ketter, Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore by Mike Glyer. Bookmark the permalink.
https://maxonwriting.com/2020/05/30/uncle-hugos-bookstore-in-minneapolis-burned-down-during-riots-gofundme-open/
Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis Burned Down During Riots, GoFundMe Open (Now Paused)
So this one hit me a little.
I’ve never been to Minneapolis (and this post will not be about the rioting or the situations associated with it, as I’m not trying to invite a firestorm of angry, opinionated people). I’ve never once set foot in Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore. I’ve never even ordered from them.
But I have heard stories about them. This is the place that picked up a self-pub book to sell before indie was a real thing and started sending it to publishers with notes along the lines of ‘here’s how many copies I bought, why are you not publishing this?’ From the stories I’ve heard at cons and from other authors, they’ve flat-out kickstarted a lot of careers.
The store itself is only halfway regarded as a store by many, given that the owner loved collecting rare Sci-Fi books. Many also referred to it as a “museum of Science Fiction literature.”
And well … last night it was burned to the ground. Complete loss. Here’s a picture of what the place normally looked like:
Given the stories I’ve heard about this place, this one hit even me. I’ve never even been there but I’ve heard the stories.
Worse, it seems that the insurance will not cover civil disturbance. At least, not to the degree that would be needed to recover from such a loss.
A GoFundMe page has been started to raise funds for recovery from this. EDIT: The GoFundMe has been paused while the owner works out his options. The GoFundMe was started by a fan, who has paused it at their request. If a GoFundMe by the owner goes up, I’ll update this link.
May 30, 2020
(end of post)
http://file770.com/minneapolis-sf-bookstore-burned-another-vandalized/
Minneapolis SF Bookstore Burned, Another Vandalized
Posted on May 30, 2020 by Mike Glyer
Two Minneapolis science fiction landmarks were caught up in the wave of vandalism that struck the city amid protests against the death of George Floyd. Don Blyly’s Uncle Hugo’s bookstore has been burned, and Greg Ketter’s DreamHaven was broken into and damaged.
Uncle Hugo’s, in business since 1974, and neighboring mystery bookstore Uncle Edgar’s since 1980 (also burned), are located near the corner of Lake and Chicago, Uncle Hugo’s is the nation’s oldest surviving sf bookstore.
Owner Don Blyly told Facebook followers:
Friends: I’ve gone past heartsick into angry. This is from Don this morning: Hi Folks,
There was a call from the security company around 3:30 this morning that the motion detector was showing somebody in the building. I threw on clothes and headed over there. When I was 2 blocks away I received a call that the smoke detectors were showing smoke in the store. Every single building on both sides of Chicago was blazing and dozens of people dancing around. As I pulled into the dentist’s lot I could see that flames were leaping out the front windows of the Uncles. It looked to me like they had broken every window on the front of the Uncles and then squirted accelerant through each broken window. It looked hopeless to me, but I went around to the back door to see if I could get to a fire extinguisher. As soon as I opened the back door a wave of very thick black smoke poured out, so I quickly closed the door again… Since Chicago Ave. was full of dancing rioters, broken glass, and flaming debris, I went down the alley and took Lake St. home. There were blocks of Lake St. where every building was blazing. No sign of any cops, national guard troops, or any help.
I’m pretty sure the insurance policy excludes damage from a civil insurrection, so I suspect I won’t get a cent for either the building or the contents.
I am starting to investigate the best crowdsourcing to rebuild. Any donations – well – I’ll need to find where to send them
Located about two miles away, Greg Ketter’s Dreamhaven Books, Comics and Art was vandalized but not destroyed. Glass was broken and bookcases turned over.
DreamHaven’s Wendy Comeau said on Facebook:
We have a crew at DreamHaven. They smashed the front door, came in and smashed a lot of other glass, tried to bash their way into an empty cash box, and tried to set the store on fire. They took a few things, but so much was tossed around that it will be a while before we can figure it out.
Lots of cleaning is happening, glass slivers are everywhere. If anybody nearby has an industrial vacuum cleaner, that might be good for glass slivers.
Right now, we’re trying to get some cleaning done and not answering the phone, but feel free to swing by and chip in. Many thanks to everybody who already have.
[Thanks to Joyce Scrivner and Joe Sherry for the story.]
This entry was posted in Poor Trufan's Almanack and tagged Don Blyly, DreamHaven Books, Greg Ketter, Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore by Mike Glyer. Bookmark the permalink.
https://maxonwriting.com/2020/05/30/uncle-hugos-bookstore-in-minneapolis-burned-down-during-riots-gofundme-open/
Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis Burned Down During Riots, GoFundMe Open (Now Paused)
So this one hit me a little.
I’ve never been to Minneapolis (and this post will not be about the rioting or the situations associated with it, as I’m not trying to invite a firestorm of angry, opinionated people). I’ve never once set foot in Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore. I’ve never even ordered from them.
But I have heard stories about them. This is the place that picked up a self-pub book to sell before indie was a real thing and started sending it to publishers with notes along the lines of ‘here’s how many copies I bought, why are you not publishing this?’ From the stories I’ve heard at cons and from other authors, they’ve flat-out kickstarted a lot of careers.
The store itself is only halfway regarded as a store by many, given that the owner loved collecting rare Sci-Fi books. Many also referred to it as a “museum of Science Fiction literature.”
And well … last night it was burned to the ground. Complete loss. Here’s a picture of what the place normally looked like:
Given the stories I’ve heard about this place, this one hit even me. I’ve never even been there but I’ve heard the stories.
Worse, it seems that the insurance will not cover civil disturbance. At least, not to the degree that would be needed to recover from such a loss.
A GoFundMe page has been started to raise funds for recovery from this. EDIT: The GoFundMe has been paused while the owner works out his options. The GoFundMe was started by a fan, who has paused it at their request. If a GoFundMe by the owner goes up, I’ll update this link.
May 30, 2020
(end of post)