A Gift and a Lesson from the Cave
The Oldest Student-Run Pub
Wikipedia declares the Carleton Cave to be the oldest student-run pub in the United States. Located in the basement of Margaret Evans Hall, it was established in 1927, which is interesting since that was during Prohibition. If a pub is “an establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed,” what was the Cave serving in 1927?
Carleton has always grappled with the question of whether to allow John Barleycorn on the Cave’s menu. Even during our time at Carleton, the issue of whether or not to sell 3.2 beer was an ongoing debate that ultimately was resolved (with a “yes”) by the time we left. But apparently the question continued to resurface over the years, and eventually the Cave stopped serving alcohol in 2013 and established a BYOB policy for students of legal drinking age.
So … if we don’t limit ourselves to alcohol as a critical element, what really defines a pub? I say that a pub – “public house” – is a place where people can gather for food or drink, comfort, and … entertainment!
Our Cave (The 1970s)
Every Carleton generation has its Cave experience, shaped by that particular era. When we arrived on campus in late 1971, the world was in an anxious state. Packing a bunch of globally aware and overachieving high school students into five square blocks of a small town might seem like a recipe for bizarre, unbridled late-adolescent behavior – and, of course, it was. We weren’t troubled kids, but we were seething with restless curiosity, raging hormones, and unwashed creativity. And there were a lot of us! Our high schools had been reeling from the effects of the Vietnam War, the draft, the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, cults, recreational drugs, and confusing politics. We had many outlets for this behavior, and we utilized every one we could, some sanctioned by the college and some not. Most of us came to Carleton with specific majors in mind, but many of us also came with major distractions – and we allowed ourselves to be distracted.
In my own case, I intended to be an architect, but my major distraction was songwriting. I chose Carleton based on reputation, and I knew it did not have an architecture major. I settled on being a studio art major instead and assumed I’d make a career “enhancement” later. As far as songwriting went, well … I probably didn’t need to be at Carleton at all! However, I chose to stay, and I pursued both my major and my major distraction.
As a closet songwriter, my studio and my scene was wherever I could make it happen. My dorm room was my Brill Building, the Music and Drama Center was my Abbey Road, and the Cave was my Cavern Club. These were the places where I was able to try things out, fail miserably, and rise hopefully in the name of writing epic songs and delivering memorable performances. Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen were the objects of my scholarship, and I studied them the way an English major would study Shakespeare, Jane Austen, or Henry James.
During our Carleton years, The Cave was a hopping place. I recently read some Noon News Bulletins from that time period and saw that someone or something was booked there almost every Friday or Saturday night each term. The Cave was an important source of weekend entertainment for us. This was in the days when no one was supposed to have a car, it was a hassle to get to the Twin Cities, and there wasn’t a lot going on in downtown Northfield. If nothing else, you could always go to the Cave. A wide range of performers played there. You could hear folk singers, jazz groups, soul groups, blues groups, pop groups, Vedic chanting, guitarists, saxophone players, pianists, recorder players, and barbershop quartets. It was an artistic free-for-all, and, of course, it was all free!
I was one of the “folkies” who played at the Cave, and I have to say that I had a great time performing there. I enjoyed trying out my new songs, developing new versions of well-known songs, and watching others do likewise. But what I really liked was the chance to get to know other performers and learn from them, especially the ones who did something completely different from what I did. On any given Friday or Saturday night, you could see a range of acts, like singer-guitarist Harry Delugach with his encyclopedic repertoire of Cat Stevens and Harry Chapin songs; or Tad Elmer, John Dreyer, and Kathy Webb, expounding on the jazz repertoire of the mid-20th century; or Toledo Mike, the cartoon-drawing folk singer; or Morris Ledbetter and Joe Stanton testifying to their jazz hearts into the midnight hour. There were also many student bands and musical groups that graced the Cave stage during our time, like the Overtones, Mo and the Jammers, Pedro and the Goyim Jazz, the Bourgeois Blues Band, and Bayou Bob and the Levee Heavies.
Coming Back and National Acts
The Cave was also a place Carleton alums could come back to. I recall my early years at Carleton when I was privileged to know and learn from older classmates Max Carlson (’71) and Will Bouricius (’73) when they teamed up with Mary Nichols (’74) and others to create memorable evenings of James Taylor, Dylan, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young covers, as well as their own wonderful original songs.
Professionals from outside of Northfield also played at the Cave. Shawn Blackburn and Dakota Dave Hull (of Prairie Home Companion fame) and Jericho Harp, a folk duo from the Twin Cities, were frequent performers, in addition to musicians from New York City and elsewhere. Since our time, the Cave has gone on to host an illustrious roster of national acts, including Ani DiFranco, The Gear Daddies, Haley Bonar, The Indigo Girls, Soul Asylum, Phish, and Wilco.
But wherever the talent came from – homegrown or nationally known–what was, and still is, significant about the Carleton Cave is that it is a place where students can present their artistic wares in whatever form they take – polished, unpolished, fuzzy as a peach, loud as a neon necktie, or quiet as haiku verse. And very likely, someone will be there to listen!
The Gift
For me, the Cave was more important after I graduated because it was where I developed a 50-year friendship and musical partnership that continues to this day. After graduation in 1975, I decided to stay in Northfield for another year while I sorted out my next career move. During that time, I started playing music with John Dawson (’76), and we discovered that our performing styles, tastes, and musical sensibilities were compatible on several levels. John and I developed a “power duo” repertoire of originals and covers and played many times during 1975 – 77, performing to full-house audiences not only at the Cave but also at the Reub’N Stein, St. Olaf College, and out-state locations. (To hear recordings of us playing at The Cave in 1977, click here.)
In 1976, John and I moved our musical collaboration to the D.C.–Southern Maryland area, where it evolved into band projects with other songwriters and musicians. I eventually returned to Minnesota, but John and I have continued to work on projects. Under the name Fierke & Dawson, we recently released a new album of original songs titled No More Fear.
The Lesson
Here’s the thing: when I first arrived at Carleton, I had a clear idea of what I thought I should be doing, as well as an equally clear idea of my passion. I did graduate with a studio art degree and was blessed to have many fantastic mentors along the way.
But ultimately, I never became an architect, a sculptor, or a visual artist.
On the other hand, after 50 years and over 100 pretty decent songs later, I’m still pursuing my “major distraction” and performing when I want to. I’ve also managed to maintain a wonderful family life.
So my question is – which was the real distraction?
And the lesson? Be who you are. (It’s what you’ll end up being, anyway!)
– Dale Fierke (’75)
The Fierke & Dawson album No More Fear is available here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/fierkeanddawson/no-more-fear).