ESPRESSO MACHINE ETCHING FROM 1965: Memories from My Years at Grinnell College

Coffee House in the Forum, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa 1965.

In the spring of 1965 there was a new student center on the campus of Grinnell College--the Forum, a modern steel and glass structure designed by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Among its features was a coffee shop built around a shiny Italian espresso machine—something that felt very modern and sophisticated in the middle of Iowa. On weekends, poetry readings and stand-up performances were held in the coffee house.

Espresso Machine, etching by Caroline Scheaffer Arnold, 1965

I was an art student at Grinnell and made an etching of the coffee shop for one of my classes. My friends Dottie and Dick Metzler have had a copy of that print ever since we were fellow students at Grinnell. None of us can remember whether they bought the print at the annual student art sale or if I gave it to them as a wedding present. In any case, they have recently donated it to the college as both a piece of art and a record of college history. When they first proposed to donate the print several years ago, they contacted me. Here’s what I wrote back:

Your picture of my print of the espresso machine in the old Forum coffee house brought back memories. I would be pleased to have you offer the print to Grinnell. The print is an etching that I made in a prints class taught by Richard Cervene. I do have a confession to make. The name of the espresso machine is not Campanelli. I made the sketch for the print in the coffee house (the setting and various objects are correct) but I didn't put the name of the machine in my sketch. Back in the art building later, when I was transferring my drawing to the etching plate I added the name but misremembered it. (I should have gone back to check.) So, as far as historical interest is concerned, everything is accurate except the name of the machine!

The plan is for my espresso machine etching to be hung in the new Alumni House in a room honoring Dottie Metzler, who passed away in 2020.

The espresso machine in one of its later locations.

Note: The coffee shop in the Forum is long gone and the building is no longer a student center. (It is used for offices.)  But the espresso machine lived on for many more years at other campus locations. And it will be remembered forever in photos and in my etching. 

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL and BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6 at the Pioneer Bookshop, Grinnell, Iowa

At the Pioneer Bookshop, Grinnell Iowa, with my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL.

I was pleased to be one of more than a dozen Grinnell College alumni with books on display (and for sale) at the Pioneer Bookshop, Grinnell, Iowa, during the recent Alumni Reunion weekend. 

My memoir, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up inthe 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota was there as well as BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6, one of my recent books for children. SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL ends with my graduation from Grinnell, which coincided with my family’s move to California. 

Although I had majored in art at Grinnell, I didn’t know then that my eventual career would be as a children’s book writer and illustrator. A complete collection of my published books is in the Grinnell College Library.

CHECK IT OUT! Read SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL at your Library

Little by little, my memoir,  SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota is being added to library collections across the country. See list below. If any of these are libraries where you live, you can now check out my book now.  If your local library does not yet have the book, please put in a request for it. Thank you!

Libraries where you can find SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA

Hennepin County Library, Minneapolis, MN

Plum Creek Library system, Worthington, MN

Duluth Public Library, Duluth, MN

Anoka County Library, Blaine, MN

University of Minnesota, Anderson Library, Minneapolis, MN

Grinnell College, Burling Library, Grinnell, IA

Drake Community Library, Grinnell, IA

West Des Moines Public Library, Des Moines, IA

Wisconsin Valley Library Service (WVLS), Wausau, WI

Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, WI

Superior Public Library, Superior, WI

Legion Memorial Library, Mellen, WI

Rhinelander Public Library, Rhinelander, WI

Kenosha Public Library, Kenosha, WI

Wisconsin Historical Society Library, Madison, WI

Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL

The Indianapolis Public Library, Indianapolis, IN

Humboldt County Library, Eureka, CA

Chapel Hill Public Library, Chapel Hill, NC

If your library is not on this list and has the book, please let me know and I will add it. I will continue to add libraries as they get and process my book.

Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold’s growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it’s also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America, offering urban history enthusiasts a wealth of information about the daily lives of families living in mid-century cities. The detailed accounts of Arnold's experiences provide a unique glimpse into the fabric of community life during this era, highlighting the interactions and shared experiences that defined the settlement house environment. BookLife (Publisher’s Weekly)

My visit to the Northeast branch of the Hennepin County Library in 1915.

AUTHOR VISIT AT DAVIS ELEMENTARY, Grinnell, Iowa

I enjoyed my visit with the third and fourth graders at Davis School very much. Many thanks to librarian Allison Pease for arranging it! I was impressed by how well the students paid attention and by their enthusiastic response to my presentation. Before my visit they all got a handout, "Fun Facts about Caroline Arnold", which was a good way to get them prepared.

My visit to Grinnell was organized around the celebration of Edith Renfrow Smith and her family and the dedication of a new building named after her. Edith Renfrow Smith was the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College (1937) and at the sprightly age of 110, is the oldest living graduate. It was meaningful to me to know that Davis School is the same school that Edith Renfrow attended as a child. It was thrilling for me to get a chance to meet her at the celebration around the dedication of Renfrow Hall. I'm sure the kids at Davis enjoyed cheering for her as she passed by in the parade on Friday. My husband and I watched with a crowd of people downtown.

Last spring author Monique Shore read her book about Edith Renfrow, No One is Better Than You, to the students at Davis Elementary. I played a small part in the creation of the book, giving advice to Monique based on my experience as a children's book writer. I am honored to be acknowledged in the credits of the book. The book is available from the Pioneer Bookshop in Grinnell and from Amazon.

With thanks to Librarian Allison Pease for sharing these photos of "Measuring Your Wingspan," a favorite activity in which students can find out what bird they could be if they could fly. Most third graders are red tailed hawks.

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL at the PIONEER BOOKSTORE, Grinnell, Iowa

On my recent visit to Grinnell, Iowa, I was pleased to discover SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL prominently displayed at the Pioneer Bookstore, along with books by other Grinnell alumni authors.

Grinnell College, founded in 1846, is the oldest college west of the Mississippi. Its teams and students have always been known as the "Pioneers" reflecting the early days of the town and college. But, recently, a new mascot has appeared--the Grinnell Squirrel--reflecting the numerous small furry residents that scurry around on the tree lined campus. Hence, all the images of squirrels and toy stuffed squirrels alongside the books at the bookstore.

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL in the Grinnell Magazine

I am pleased to have my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, included in the Authors and Artists section (p. 28) of the Summer 2024 issue of the Grinnell Magazine. I was in the Grinnell College Class of 1966. I am glad to have the news of my book shared with other alums. 

Arnold's book "chronicles my childhood as I interacted and shared meals with other settlement house residents, participated in clubs, sports and community activities, and observed the roles of the staff and my social worker parents. Few other families lived at a settlement house as ours did. The book ends with my graduation from Grinnell." Settlement House Girl captures a time when settlement houses were in transition from their root in immigrant communities at the turn of the 20th century to becoming today's modern social service agencies.

EDITH RENFROW SMITH, the First Black Woman to Graduate from Grinnell College—and still inspiring everyone she meets!

Front Cover: No One Is Better Than You

Edith Renfrow Smith was born in Grinnell, Iowa in 1914 to one of the few Black families in the area. In 1937 she became the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College. In 2024, at the age of 109, she continues to encourage and inspire everyone she meets. 

From the back cover of No One Is Better Than You

Her life story is told by Monique McLay Shore in her wonderful new picture book biography No One Is Better Than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of aMother’s Words. The beautiful and historically accurate illustrations are by Erica Lauren Butler.

Edith's graduation from Grinnell College, 1937. Illustration by Erica Butler.

Yesterday I received my first copy of the book, hot off the press. It is beautiful! I congratulate Monique and Erica for bringing Edith’s story to life and making it known to the wider world and for generations to come. The book is available at the Grinnell College Book Store.

I played a small part in the evolution of this book. Last spring I got an email from the alumni office at Grinnell College, (my alma mater,1966). I learned that another alum, Monique Shore (1990), was working on a children’s book biography of Edith Renfrow Smith. I had recently read about Edith in the college magazine so I was already intrigued. Knowing that I had published many children’s books, the alumni office asked if I would be willing to give any advice to Monique, who was new to the publishing world. Of course I agreed.

Monique had stayed in Grinnell after her graduation and became interested in local history. She works as a librarian at the town library. By the time I connected with her she had already done extensive research about Edith and her family, interviewed Edith and her daughter in Chicago and in Grinnell, and located an illustrator for the book. As I read Monique's manuscript I could see places where she could make it even better—by adding more details in some cases, moving some information to the back matter, and letting the illustrations tell the story in lieu of long descriptions.

Since Monique lives in Iowa and I live in Los Angeles, we met on Zoom. I had forgotten that the college yearbook is called The Cyclone. During one of our meetings I could hear the tornado watch siren as Monique hastily carried her computer to the basement of her house. But nothing stopped the progress of the book.

The process of shaping the manuscript that I went through with Monique was the same as when I am working on one of my own books except that in this case I was wearing the editor’s hat. And in the end, all the final decisions were made by Monique and Erica, with valuable input they got from Edith and her daughter. (It is rare that a biographer has the opportunity to get feedback from the subject of the book!) By mid-October the book was almost ready to go off to the publisher and Monique asked me to help with the proof reading—it is always good have a fresh pair of eyes to check one last time. Although I found a few small things, the book was in great shape and ready to go to the printer.

And now the book is ready for the world at large. Edith comes alive on every page through Monique’s well chosen words and Erica’s beautiful detailed illustrations. The story is a window on the life of a Black family in a small Iowa town in the first half of the 20^th century and later, on Edith’s adult life in Chicago, where she lives today. Although written for children, No One Is Better Than You is for all ages, and not just for people in Iowa and Chicago, but everywhere. And the theme is universal: No one is better than you. I highly recommend this book!

The story of the creation of No One Is Better Than You , from idea to printed page, is chronicled in Monique’s blog. You can also read about the book and its creation in an article celebrating its publication in the Southeast Iowa Union newspaper.

Edith with her mother. Illustration by Erica Butler.

HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 at the Pioneer Bookshop in Grinnell, Iowa

On my recent trip to Grinnell, Iowa, for a college reunion, I stopped in at the college bookstore, the Pioneer Bookshop, now located in historic downtown Grinnell, to show them my new book, Hatching Chicks in Room 6. I was delighted to discover that they had already ordered it and put it on the shelf. I then went down the street to the town library, in a beautiful large building, new since my last visit to Grinnell, and found out that they had also already ordered it for their collection. (The old library building is now used as an art gallery.) I had a nice chat with the children's librarian who told me that she loves using my books in her story hour. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that a book about eggs and hatching chicks is popular in a community surrounded by farms and which owes its history to a tradition of farming. It seems like the perfect place for my book.