(A letter from the owner/operator of the Historic Calumet Inn) Dear good people (and transplants) of Pipestone: Nearly two years ago today, as a 26-year-old girl fresh from a nomadic life of world travel, I announced to the local Kiwanis Club my primary goal for the next few years: I intend to put Pipestone on the national map. How you gonna do THAT? yelled out a skeptic in the crowd. Errr, well…. I began, as I proceeded to pull out a string of B.S. from behind me. Where theres a will, theres a way. Two nationally-acclaimed film crews later (Fox and the Travel Channel, and probably more)…I think Ive begun answering that question. Its been one spellbinding journey here on the prairie, and, as Ive told you in my three editorials to the County Star, Pipestone and the Historic Calumet Inn have been the most powerful professors and classrooms I could ever ask for. I tell people every day: This land is the Mecca for Native American spirituality. Theres something about those red quartizite cliffs…rows and rows of old leathery faces, staring back at you, whispering secret trails and tactics for finding lifes treasure maps. If you listen closely, you can hear the rattling of fossilized faith and petrified prayers, many millennia worth of wisdom locked inside the rock minerals… Having worked my brain, heart, and butt off for the past two years, having survived all those monstrous breakdowns (equipment and mental) of that first year, and finally arriving at the happy and peaceful state were in today…feels like winning an Olympic Gold. Whether you know it or not, you were all part of those track meets and marathons. One of the coolest things about the grand old Calumet is this: Everyone has a connection, a story, a honeymoon memory, a great-great-grandmother who worked as a chambermaid in the 1800s, a favorite haircut from the 70s. This place has been everything to you. A fancy hotel, apartment, café, barber shop, bank, miniature golf course, ice cream parlor, dance hall, bar, even a rumored house of ill repute. Generation after generation, Pipestonians have passed on the torch of keeping this iconic building alive and lit up. I would like to say some very important thank-yous to the torch-bearers of the past two years: First and foremost, I need to thank some of my greatest teachers in life: The staff, who have taught me the fiercest complexities of the human spirit. This is the part that the newspaper could not fit: To Virginia, whose genuineness and grit I seek to emulate…our 7am Kelly’s cappuccino and nature walks have breathed new life in me. To Violet, a baker whose smile rises like warm bread dough and will bend over backwards to please. To Chaz (Falcon), Jennifer (Dazzle), Dan (The Man), and Pedro (de Pacas)…for honoring your elders and your workmates, for being an encyclopedia of culinary secrets and oceans of fearless creativity. Its rare to see a kitchen staff get along so beautifully; to work with chefs with small egos and gigantic hearts is unheard-of. Some restaurants never find this…we did after just two years. To Peg, Kathy, and Randall, trustworthy keepers of the night…for kicking me out of the desk when it gets too late. To Ricky, for making my intestines shake from laughing so hard, for always being there, for everything and anything. To Karen, Maria, Elizabeth, Alexis…housekeepers who burst in like gusts of wind ready to turn sheets and kill dust. To Kathy D, who helped me keep sanity, soul, and identity that first year; I needed those late-night snacks and chats that first year, just to keep breathing. To Chellsea, Sariah, Malaya, McKenzie, Ashley, Nicki, Brooke…who always go the extra mile for customers, even under heat, with grace and a smile. To Devin, for your powerful hustle, wit, and humor. To Laura and Raye, for your good ol’-fashioned work ethic. To Erin and Manuel, for keeping it all scrubbed down. To Mikey, for keeping the Pub safe. To my mother, the absolute silent backbone of this place, and the strongest, classiest, most virtuous woman I’ve ever known. To all of you: I’ve watched the brightest and darkest shadows of Life waltz with you day after day, as you taught me that every book, beyond its covers, holds thousands of extremely important pages to an extremely important story. We nearly doubled hotel revenue our second year. And it had zero to do with Hollywood and celebrities. (We did it *in spite of* things designed for Hollywood--things that nearly destroyed our business.) We stuck to our own guns, we worked together, we rode out the bumps, kinks, and storms. We did what we knew worked--with the limited resources that we had. No, it hasnt been easy. No, were not perfect. But as I look toward the road ahead, you have no idea how much it means to me to start the day breathing clean oxygen and clean energy. Finally. :-) To the plumbers, electricians, refrigerator repairmen, food reps, and local shop keepers: This baby wouldnt be here without you. To the fine men and women of Quist, JERs Electric, Ing & Gregs, Sysco, Reinhart, Hanks Foods, Coborns, Loopys, Carrows True Value, D&T Meat Market, Rustads, Pipestone Interiors, Pipestone Lumberyard, Pipestone Publishing Company, Pipestone Pepsi, Harvey Velazques, and countless others… Thank you for your prompt on-call service, your knowledge, and your expertise. Thank you for putting on band-aids and doing surgery to this cornerstone building. Thank you for putting up with my endless calls and questions. Thank you for always being there. To the Chamber of Commerce, the Keepers, the County Museum, my Blandin cohort, to my friends and family and employees who Ive grown close to: Thank you for the professional relationships, the friendships, the deep conversations and the laughter. Thank you for helping me find community again. To our loyal customers! For your encouragement and advice. For your patience. For your jovial conversation. For your visits and your chats. For your memories. For your visions and your feedback. For putting up with our relentless publicity stunts! You want the Calumet to anchor your kids cultural memories, as it did yours. We are honored to strive for this. With this being said, its time to turn your dials to Fox 9, strap your seat belts in, and roll down Hotel Hell Boulevard. It was truly an awkward balancing act trying to be hellish enough to get cast on the show (we were the cast of Loony Tunes in our try-out video), and stalling off renovation projects until filming was over. I learned to open my mind and my heart to getting publicity at any cost. Even if it means some character assassination. To be tarred and feathered by the worlds most famous chef for things I helped orchestrate for TV drama…is a bizarre honor. Right? To be misjudged by 6 or even 60 people can be frustrating. But to be completely misjudged by 6 million people? Theres a certain magic in that. Theres a certain adrenaline rush, even a feeling of liberation, in knowing this: Who you really are. Who you want to be. And who you wish to never become. To have a solid sense of character? Is priceless. The past two years on the prairie and the parallel universe of reality TV have gifted this to me. Tune in tonight at 8pm CST on FOX 9 for some wild entertainment. Enjoy the circus as we raise enough hell to melt the heavens! Yours truly, Vanda Smrkovski :-)
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:32:49 +0000
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