Bill's story and spirit live on in many ways

ONE OF THE coolest things about the legacy of Bill Sackter is that it
isn't stuffed away at the back of some museum. His legacy is a living
one. It can be found in Wild Bill's Coffeeshop, in Uptown Bill's and
in a host of other projects all over the US.

Bill's spirit continues to educate and inspire people -- most of whom
never met him. Each week, I hear from people all over who have heard
about Bill, seen the movie or read his biography. This week's queries
included a note from a young man in Italy.

That's pretty remarkable for a man who died more than 20 years ago. A
native of Minnesota, Bill spent nearly half a century at the state
hospital in Faribault, Minnesota. He was released in the 1960s and
sent back to Minneapolis.

That's where he met Barry Morrow. Barry was a student at the
University of Minnesota; Bill worked as a handyman at Minikahda
Country Club. The two met each other through Bev Morrow, Barry's wife,
who also worked at the country club.

Later, Barry was offered a job at the University of Iowa. Barry took
the job and moved to Iowa City with Bev. Shortly after, Bill Sackter
moved to Iowa, too.

Originally, Bill was going to stay in Minneapolis when the Morrows moved.
But when the possibility emerged that Bill might be sent back to a state
hospital. Barry and Bev decided to invite him to Iowa City to live.

But what was Bill to do here? Barry recalls that a number of job ideas
were tried before the coffeeshop emerged. Originally, the coffeeshop
was little more than a closet -- and served only coffee. It opened in 1975.

The first location didn't last long. It was too small. So the coffeeshop
was moved to another room (321 North Hall) where it still is today on
the university campus.

Originally, North Hall was built as a school. Elementary school classrooms
were on the third floor; high school classrooms on the second floor. (The
university closed this "lab school" in the 1970s and social work moved in
shortly after. Also in the building are art education, the center for the
book and a dance theater.)

The coffeeshop is now located in what was once the kindergarten. The
"cubbies" remain from those years. Barry Morrow remembers it had been used as
for social work classes before being converted to the coffeeshop. It
was after the move that the coffeeshop added its second item -- popcorn.

Barry went on to write two screenplays about Bill -- "Bill," which
premiered in 1981, and "Bill On His Own," which premiered in 1983. Bill
Sackter died shortly before the opening of the second.

Barry today lives in Santa Barbara, California and still works as a
screenwriter. His best-known work is probably "Rainman.

BILL ADDED TO ARCHIVE
OF "FAMOUS IOWANS"

Did you know that Bill Sackter is included on a list of "Famous
Iowans?" Developed by the Des Moines Register, this online archive
includes dozens of people with Iowa roots.

The newspaper calls Sackter a "role model for the handicapped." He'sne
of the few on the list who wasn't born in Iowa. (Bill was a native of
Minnesota.)
Other notable Iowans on the list include:

+Actors Donna Reed, Gary Cooper and Fran Allison
+Native American leader Black Hawk and civil rights activist Edna
Griffin.
+Artist Grant Wood and composer Meredith Willson
+Columnists Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren
+Labor leader John L. Lewis and pollster George Gallup
+Suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt, evangelist Billy Sunday and
artist Corita Kent.

You can read the Register's biography of Sackter and other "Famous
Iowans" on the newspaper's website: http://www.desmoinesregister.com

REACTIONS TO THE
BILL BIOGRAPHY

If you'd like to know more about Bill, check out "The Unlikely
Celebrity," a biography of Sackter published in 1999 by Southern
Illinois University Press. It's written by Tom Walz, a retired
University of Iowa social work professor who was head of the School of
Social Work at the time Bill came to Iowa. Tom played an instrumental
role in the launching of the coffeeshop.

"Unlikely Celebrity" has introduced many new people to the story of
Bill. "This is a truly inspirational book," writes Shannon Brown, a
college student who read the story for a Presentation College (SD)
class. He particularly liked the writing style, which includes
sections of recreated dialogue in which Bill tells parts of his own
story. "As I was reading I could feel the emotions that Bill was going
through...especially the pain he was feeling."

Shannon also says the book can "help social workers understand
individuals who are mentally challenged."

Copies of the book are available at Uptown Bill's and through any
independent bookseller.