Dedication of the Rock Opens Big Day of Dylan Celebrations in Hibbing

"THE TOWN I GREW UP IN IS THE ONE THAT HAS LEFT ME WITH MY LEGACY VISIONS."
—Bob Dylan, 1963
"11 Outlined Epitaphs"

Photo credit: Craig Grau

On Saturday, October 16, Hibbing hosted a number of events of interest related to Bob Dylan, who in 1959 graduated from high school here. The most significant moment of the day took place at 1:00 p.m. in front of the high school where The Hibbing Project tribute to Bob Dylan was unveiled.

Earlier in the day, however, another dedication took place. On the Mesaba Bike Trail adjacent to the Greyhound Bus Museum, a group of Hibbing notables, fans and media gathered to dedicate “The Rock,” a Dylan tribute inscribed with a quote from 11 Outlined Epitaphs. (For those unaware, Greyhound buses originated here in the Northland as a means for transporting workers to the mines.) 

The late Congressman Jim Oberstar played an instrumental role in helping to establish our Minnesota bike trail network which seems to have no beginning and no end. Wherever you start you can keep going on a never ending tour via more than a dozen statewide trails. The Mesabi Bike Trail comes through Hibbing. Many of these bike trails run where abandoned  railroad tracks once lay. It is hoped that additional rocks can be found or placed along the trail with additional Dylan citations.

The short program commenced with music by Megan and Jefferson Reynolds. John Ongaro, a government relations director, served as MC, welcoming all of us who attended before Megan and Jefferson opened by performing “When I Got Troubles” which teenager Bobby Zimmerman recorded on a home recording when he was 18. (You’ll find this recording on the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home.)

Jon Ongara noted how the Duluth Dylan Fest and the Hibbing Project teams have worked together to make this the St. Louis County Year of Dylan happen, of which Saturday's events were a part. After acknowledging Molly Johnsrud’s role in helping make things happen here, Ongaro introduced Representative Julie Sandstrede.

Rep. Julie Sandstede 'neath the trail marker.

Rep. Sandstrede began with a thought-provoking admonition from the last stanza of Dylan’s Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest: “So when you see your neighbor carrying somethin' // Help him with his load.”

She went on to share that the word Mesaba means “giant” and that Bob Dylan is a giant who has garnered accolades of the highest caliber, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Nobel Prize for Literature. “May the next generation of (Iron) Rangers make their own mark in the world,” she said. With a measure of pride for the heritage of this region she said that Hibbing is a town full of stories.

Paul MacDonald, Vice Chair of the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners, spoke next. In addition to representing the Northern part of St. Louis County, Paul is the son of the late Bob MacDonald, the legendary basketball coach of the Chisholm high school basketball team. MacDonald won more than a thousand games, more than any other coach in Minnesota history.* 

Jon Ongaro (R) introduces Paul MacDonald

“The backbone of the country came from the Iron Range. It’s work ethic. It’s moral,” MacDonald said. “People come to the Iron Range to knock on Heaven’s door.” 

Jon Ongaro closed the dedication by reading a passage from Bob Dylan’s 1963 poem 11 Outlined Epitaphs, from which the line inscribed on this rock was lifted.

Afterwards I spoke with a number of those who were present. Craig Grau, a retired UMD political science professor, called the etched trail marker “a rolling stone that stopped.”

I also spoke briefly with Julie Sandstede, in her third term as State Representative for District 6. I asked how if the current political atmosphere was making her jaded. “I refuse to be cynical. We need positive politics," she replied. 

I asked if she were a Dylan fan. “Growing up here, how could I not be?”

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In addition to the rock dedication and Hibbing Dylan Project unveiling, other events of the day included a tour of Hibbing High School, special hours for the Hibbing Historical Society featuring a display from Bill Pagel’s private Dylan Collection, a special opening of the Hull-Rust Mine View, and a free community concert in the Little Theater inside the Hibbing Memorial Arena at 7 pm featuring Amy Grillo and Gene LaFond with David Bennett and Sam Saccoman.

Here are more photos of the Tribute that is now installed in front of Hibbing High School. (Click to enlarge)

Katie Fredeen, Hibbing Dylan Project President, shares 
the history of the project, from conception to unveiling.

Related Links

Photos inside the Hibbing High School auditorium where young Bob Zimmerman performed here as a youth.

The Dylan Tribute unveiled. 

*After winning 1012 games in his career as a coach, Bob MacDonald was inducted into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.

A Way to Help Support the Hibbing Dylan Project and a Glance Back in Time

The Hibbing Dylan Project has been meeting for quite some time to create a tribute to Bob Dylan, who graduated from Hibbing High School and went on to not just dream about changing the world, but to some extent actually making that dream happen. 

His fingerprints are all over popular culture. His lyrics still resonate more than a half century later, and will undoubtedly continue through generations.

Currently the locals are fund raising in Hibbing, to complete this project designed to honor Bob, by selling T-Shirts and hoodies. You can read the details about the original vision here.

The Facebook group, Hibbing Trivia and Lore has organized this fund raiser supporting the Hibbing Dylan Project. If you purchase a T-shirt and/or a hoodie you will help them achieve their goals.

I made a purchase yesterday. Payment is easy with either a credit card or PayPal. (I like PayPal. In fact, if you ever see artwork on my site that interests you, PayPal is my favorite method of payment.)

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This past week I was at our local library doing some research and I discovered that the library not only has microfilm of the local and national newspapers back through time, they've also made it possible to capture images on their computers which can be mailed to you at home.

I decided to check our the front page of the Duluth News Tribune to see what stories were featured on May 24, 1941. What I found was conflicts, and a ramping up for World War II. One major story featured the battle for Crete. A second had to do with a significant naval battle. The centerpiece of the British Navy, the battleship HMS Hood, was sunk by Germany's largest battleship, the Bismarck. The battle took place Northeast of Iceland, with 1500 British seamen losing their lives.

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FWIW, Duluth Dylan Fest is fast approaching and the schedule has firmed up significantly since the beginning of the year. It's another rich lineup with a several new events assembled including Joan Osborne playing a full evening of Dylan tunes on the eve of Bob's 78th birthday. Tickets are selling fairly quickly, so don't wait till the last minute to get yours. BUY TICKETS HERE.

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Stay current with what is happening by bookmarking BobDylanWay.com or for an outline of our 2019 events print out the Full Schedule Here.

May you stay forever young.

If You're Ever In Hibbing.... A Walking Tour for Dylan Fans

1956 Hibbing Phone Directory. You could've just looked
up the Zimmermans and asked Bob where the hot spots
were. Movie theaters & the A&W were regular hangouts.

I recently learned about a fellow who went to Hibbing as a Dylan fan and came away feeling that the town had not suitably recognized it's Native Son. His op-ed piece appeared in our local newspaper here in Duluth, and last Monday appeared on Expecting Rain.

In response I wanted to make a few remarks about the good people of Hibbing and a little history so that no one gets the wrong idea if they, too, wish to make the trek. There really are a variety of landmarks for Dylan fans. You just have to know where to look.

For years Zimmy’s restaurant, Howard Street Books and the Hibbing High School provided emotional connecting points for Dylan fans visiting Hibbing from all over the world. On one occasion I was asked to bring a fellow visiting from Sweden to see some of the sites, which were more than satisfying for this young man who’d seen Dylan seven times in Sweden plus a concert in Barcelona. He was thrilled to have me take his picture in front of the former Zimmerman home on Bob Dylan Drive.

Like a lot of businesses on the Iron Range, a financial crisis resulted in the closure of Zimmy’s and eventually the owner of Howard Street Books shuttered the bookstore. There were tears shed over these things, because for many this was the heart of Hibbing’s Dylan Days each May.

Despite these losses, the Hibbing Library has created a really fine “Bob Dylan Walking Tour” with 14 points of interest. 

You can't beat Hibbing High for stimulating Bob memories and stories.

For what it's worth, fans will be pleased to learn that there is a group of people in the Hibbing community who have been meeting for a couple years to produce an additional landmark or touchstone for fans. Lately they have been meeting weekly with the hope of a May 24 (Bob’s birthday) groundbreaking ceremony.

It’s not my place to break the news on those details. I simply want to note that Hibbing is not indifferent to its celebrated hometown Nobel Laureate.

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Since we're moving toward spring here soon, I may as well mention that the Duluth Dylan Fest folks have been busy assembling another top-drawer week of music, poetry, authors and art. Here is the schedule for the 2019 Duluth Dylan Fest, with a few as yet unconfirmed acts....


HERE IS LINK TO THE WALKING TOUR:
http://www.hibbing.mn.us/residents/library/bob-dylan-collection/hibbing-minnesota-s-bob-dylan-walking-tour

Photos on this page by the author. Items from the William Pagel Archives. (Thanks, Bill)

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Hibbing High School -- Swell to Great

When built, the Hibbing High School auditorium, where a young Robert Zimmerman performed two brief concerts in the 1950's with his first two bands, boasted a Barton pipe organ, one of only two in the United States, purchased from the Chicago Vaudeville Theater in 1920 at a cost of $26,000. Until 1928 when a student was injured in a fall and the mechanism thereafter disabled, the organ manual rose on a cylinder piston to bring the organist to stage height. With three manuals arranged in a horseshoe shape, the original Barton was known as a 12-rank organ that produced sound through 1,900 pipes hidden in closets above the two box seats. The current organ, rebuilt in Milwaukee and converted after reconstruction in Hibbing to a concert organ in 1976 by Norbert Berschdorf, now uses 1,949 pipes varying in size from one inch to sixteen feet in height to give the organ a 29-rank range. With over 100,000 working parts, the organ can reproduce sounds as varied as bird whistles, tom-toms, xylophones, and tambourines -- essentially any musical instrument except the violin -- with the sound projected from behind the diamond shaped panels above the side boxes.*

 *Information about the organ courtesy Nelson French, 1970 graduate of Hibbing High.

One More Speech for Posteritry: State Senator Tomassoni Introduces Governor Dayton to Proclaim Bob Dylan Day in Minnesota

Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2015. Photo: Pi Frisk.

Ceremonial fuss, pomp and circumstance took center stage in Oslo and Stockholm on Saturday. Nobel Prizes were awarded, speeches were given, and the proud and the brave who received invitations were dressed in their finest threads. According to the dress code, guys were not only required to wear a black tailcoat with silk facings, their black trousers were to display two rows of braid down each leg. A white stiff-fronted shirt, white stiff wing collar attached to the shirt with collar studs, white bowtie, white low-cut waistcoat, black dress socks and black formal shoes were also essential attire. Shirt studs and cufflinks should be silver or white. And don't forget your white handkerchief. Fortunately the ladies had a few more options. Any color will do for the evening gown, as long as the end result leaves you suitable for framing.

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By way of contrast it was anything goes in Hibbing. When the temps hover near zero you can hardly expect the locals to focus on looking cool. The aim is to stay warm.

Our ceremony in the Hibbing High School auditorium began with the Star-Spangled Banner, followed by a warm welcome from retired Hibbing teacher Craig Hattam who then introduced State Senator David Tomassoni. The senator seemed to relish the task of introducing Governor Mark Dayton to mark the occasion. After a short speech it wasn't long before the governor stripped off his suit jacket to join the rest of the T-shirt clad locals from the Hibbing Dylan Project. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right? Leave your stiff shirts and britches in Scandinavia.

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State Senator David Tomassoni's speech may not have conveyed the same gravity as Professor Engdahl's Award Ceremony Speech in Stockholm, but it was perfectly suited to the occasion. After being introduced by Craig Hattam, whose Facebook post set in motion the Hibbing Dylan Project and an avalanche of activity here these past eight weeks, Senator Tomassoni got right into it.

SENATOR TOMASSONI'S SPEECH

The Senator

Thank you Craig. Thanks to all of you for being here. This is a mini-indication of the global impact Bob Zimmerman has had on the entire world. Just when you think his career might be winding down, he wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. As Craig said, “It all started right here on this stage.” I’m not sure it was a positive start but he certainly used it as springboard and in true Iron Range Fashion he said, “Trust Yourself”, "It’s Up To Me,” and he went on to be the Bob Dylan we all know and love today. And thank you Governor for making the trip to this historic school on this historic day. Without getting political, I guess the 2016 election is an indication that the “Times They Are A Changing!”

So as I was driving down “Highway 61” my brother Dick called me. Now, Dick and Connie Perpich (God rest her soul), as well as many others, have been promoting and pushing for some type of Bob Dylan exhibit or statue or museum or even all three of them for quite some time. In fact, one of the places that Connie requested memorials to be sent to is the Bob Dylan Fund.

When Craig posted his comment on Facebook, things started happening as there are Dylan fans all over the world and it was clear that something was “Blowin in the Wind!” So while the family doesn't like the statue idea, everything is negotiable so who knows, but we do have to do something to put in place something special honoring Hibbing’s favorite son, Bob Dylan, because people will come from all over the world to visit a tribute to Dylan. So maybe a Self Portrait, maybe a statue or maybe a museum. I know we have to “Handle with Care” and “Maybe Someday” we can “Ring Them Bells” and say “Congratulations.” Hibbing is “Never Gonna Be The Same Again.”

So Dick asked me why I was driving down “Highway 61”... I said, “I was having a bit of the “North Country Blues” and I hadn’t “Revisited Highway 61” in some time. He asked where I was on “Highway 61” and I said, “Down Along the Cove!” He asked me if “There Was a Slow Train Coming”, but I said, No It’s a “Long Time Gone!”

So Dick said, “The reason I am calling is, “As I Went Out This Morning” I just heard about Bob Dylan getting the Nobel Prize for literature. I said, “What Can I Do For You?” Dick asked me to call Governor Dayton and ask him to proclaim today, Bob Dylan Day in Minnesota.

I said, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” I’ll make the call. Now, I have to believe when the Governor sees an Iron Range phone number come in on his caller ID, he probably thinks, “Can’t Escape From You?” But I know the Governor is A Man of Peace. So I left him a message and told him not to worry cuz this was going to be an easy request, “It’s all Good,” Governor… We would just like you to proclaim December 10, 2016, the day Bob Dylan is receiving the Nobel Prize for literature, Bob Dylan Day in Minnesota. The Governor called me right back and said, “Can’t Wait!” to do it. He said, There’s some “Odds and Ends” to clear up, but he would be coming Down the Highway himself to present the proclamation in person. I said, “You Don’t Have to Do That!" He said, I “Got My Mind Made Up!” See you there….

So without further ado…Let’s Give Governor Mark Dayton a big Iron Range welcome.

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The Governor mentioned The Shadow Blasters and The Golden Chords.

Whether he got a thrill from being on the same stage on which young Robert Zimmerman's high school bands performed is hard to say. Both times Robert Zimmerman performed the principal pulled the plug. No one pulls the plug on Bob any more, and no one pulled the plug on Governor Dayton. When it came time to read the actual proclamation, he skipped the details -- Wheras this and Whereas that -- and got right to the heart of the matter by declaring, "Today is officially Bob Dylan Day in Minnesota," or something to that effect. And it was true.

In good Iron Range fashion the crowd took their time dispersing with a portion finding their way to their man from the Capitol for photos or autographs. It became apparent that the governor, who prefers to be punctual, needed to escape to another engagement.

 So did the locals. There was a party waiting for us at the Androy Hotel. The night was still young.

For another good reader check out What Bob Dylan Learned In Harvard Square.
Official: the Governor's State of Minnesota Proclamation.

If you look real close you'll see some of the folks here walking with a little extra spring in their step this week. Meantime, life goes on... Just keep breathing.