St MinneSomePlace In Paradise
THE EARLY YEARS
In the pre-dawn time of the internet days, from 1994 to 2003, St MSP did not have a web site. In the earlier years, the GULP was printed on a black and white printer....reasonably priced color printers hadn't even been invented yet! The first edition was published in March, 1995, back when St MSP was one of the youngest club in the Parrot Head nation (Phip), an organization of 51 clubs then. Needless to say, the GULP was only available in paper format. By the turn of the century, color printing was introduced. Now, with further advances in technology, every edition of the GULP, including each of the first 30 or so earlier year editions, are now available via this web site.
On November 8, 1994, St MSP was incorporated in the state of Minnesota to phlock! St MinneSomePlace's first phlocking was at Freddies on Lake Minnetonka that same month. It is now infamously known as the "Bistro Phlocking"...nobody came except a friendly cougar.
In December,1994, the first Holiday phlocking took place at Freddies, this time it was attended by members! By February, 1995, St MinneSomePlace held its first BNB bidness meetin' attended by the original members: Lee Sheridan, Kathy Shedd, Nancy and Jim Stratton, Kathy and Scott Zander, and, of course, the founder, Jerry Shea (see photos below). By March, the first newletter, entitled The GULP - more than a mouthful of Parrot Head tales, was published. And it just grew from there to be one of the top ten largest clubs in the Parrot Head nation by 2003!
In 2009, in its 15th year, St MinneSomePlace continues to be one of the most long-standing clubs and more active clubs both socially and charitably, having several major events each year which have resulted in contributions of almost $100,000 to local service organizations. Check out the History page or the various issues of the GULP for more on the culture and traditions of our quaint island. Remember, if anyone asks, St MinneSomePlace is anywhere you want it to be!
Further information regarding each of the following photos is included at the bottom of this page.
Photos
Freddies, Lake Minnetonka, last Saturday of November; the welcome to the island banner! The Bistro Phlocking was held on the last Saturday of November, 1994, at the former Freddies on Lake Minnetonka, originally part of the Excelsior Park Tavern.
Freddies, Lake Minnetonka, Nov, 1994: on the shore of Lake Minnetonka, 4 year old Lexie Shea in the foreground.
Lake Minnetonka, Nov, 1994: View from the deck of Freddies
Freddie Cougar playing his his favorite toy, a ball. The only attendee at the Bistro Phlocking...a 150 pound cougar that was allowed to run loose in the bar! I love a place where there's no bars on the windows and no windows on the bar....and a wild animal!
Dec 1994; Ist Holiday Phlocking with a freshly fallen shroud of silent snow. Welcome to the island banner!
Lake Minnetonka, Dec, 1994: View from the deck of Freddies, December, 1994; we like it here!
Jerry Shea, Kathy Shedd, Tim Shea, and Liz Shea showed up for the first Holiday phlocking. Kathy was incredibly helpful in getting ST MSP off the ground. Steve Tonner also showed up on a blind date with a very desperate cousin of the Shea's
Freddies, 1st Holiday Phlocking, Dec, 1994: Jackson showed up to help with Parrot Head clothing and decorations. He became one of the first members.
The Freddie's resident pirate Parrot Head
Freddies, Lake Minnetonka, Decorations: The interior of Freddies was decorated by the barkeep coupled with whatever the club had at the time in its first month of existence
Feb, 2005: The Original Members: Lee Sheridan, Kathy Shedd, Nancy and Jim Stratton, Jerry Shea, and Kathy and Scott Zander (missing: Jackson)
March, 1995: First MS Walk; 1st Charitable Event; Roxanne Thompson, Kathy Shedd, Jerry Shea walked 15 miles from Lake Harriet to the Capitol in St Paul.
June, 1995: The 1st Island Bash; This is the event that kick started the club membership. It rained the day before and the day after but for that day, it was 95 and sunny and we enjoyed it and enjoyed making new friends. Jerry Shea also learned the importance of having Jimmy Buffett music at a phlocking, thanks to the quick lesson given by the Parrot Heads who came to the island, especially Mike Clark
