The Prairie Gate Press was launched on the University of Minnesota Morris campus in 1971 and remained in operation until about 2005. The press, itself, is a small clamshell letterpress and the name of the enterprise, Prairie Gate, referenced Morris as the "Prairie Gate to the West."[1]
James Gremmels, long-time professor of English, was instrumental in procuring the press and served as its managing editor. Tom Hennen, a Minnesota poet and professional printer, played an important role in training faculty and students in the press's operation. The Press was devoted to the fine arts and printed "poetry chapbooks...pieces of prose, posters...games, even a cookbook." [2]
In 1971 Jim Gremmels, representing the Division of Humanities, arranged for the purchase of the press. The press had previously belonged to the now defunct Cyrus Courier and the Division paid $150 for its purchase.[3] At the time the press was already over 80 years old. Gremmels, who had no experience in the physical operation of a letterpress, recruited Tom Hennen, a Minnesota poet and printer, to help set the press up and train its operators. Originally, it occupied space in the Old Music Hall--now the Multi-ethnic Resource Center--underneath the music practice rooms.[4] At about the same time of the purchase, Gremmels wrote a grant that funded the purchase of type, ink and paper, as well as the wages of a student worker.
The press is a 10 by 15 inch Chandler Price letterpress. Projects could be slow, and because each letter must be set and pounded into place, an “average small project” would take around 100 hours to complete.[5] Students were employed to work on the press under Gremmels—who served throughout the lifetime of the press as the faculty managing editor. For a brief time in the 1980s, the Press was closed due to a restraining order issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).[6] Gremmels officially retired from UMN Morris in 2000 but continued to operate the press for the next five years or so. After a brief period in the basement of the Old Music Hall, the press found a new home in the basement of Camden Hall, where it remained until 2004. In that year it was relocated once again to the Communities Services Building (now the Welcome Center).[7]
The Prairie Gate Press, like many other UMN Morris programs, was a relatively unplanned endeavor and relied on the initiative of a few individuals, in this case, Jim Gremmels and Tom Hennen. The press became available with the closure of the Cyrus paper, it was inexpensive and purchased for a song. Once in operation, though, it attracted student apprentices and produced interesting and high quality work, including a volume of poetry by the nationally renowned Robert Bly. [8] The history of the Press also speaks to the commitment of many on campus to embrace Morris and the prairie as place and bring the rural and the local more fully into a Morris approach to the liberal arts.
In present times, in honor of the Prairie Gate Press, UMN Morris hosted the Prairie Gate Literary Festival. The festival, which started in 2011, brought published writers and other literary professionals to interact with the community through readings, workshops, and panel discussions.[9]
[1] Robin Little, “Kore,” Vanguard (Morris, MN), Mar. 29, 1971.
[2] Dan Wahl, “Prairie Gate Press,” Morris Weekly (Morris, MN), Nov. 7, 1984.
[3] Mary Dickman, “Fine printing is the goal of the Prairie Gate Press,” Morris Weekly (Morris, MN), Nov. 7, 1978.; David Kuball, “Prairie Gate Press presses on,” Morris Weekly (Morris, MN), Jan. 27, 1982
[4] Mary Dickman, “Fine printing is the goal of the Prairie Gate Press,” Morris Weekly (Morris, MN), Nov. 7, 1978.; Dan Wahl, “Prairie Gate Press,” Morris Weekly (Morris, MN), Nov. 7, 1984.
[5] Mary Dickman, “Fine printing is the goal of the Prairie Gate Press,” Morris Weekly (Morris, MN), Nov. 7, 1978.
[6] David Kuball, “Prairie Gate Press presses on,” Morris Weekly (Morris, MN), Jan. 27, 1982
[7] Caroline Daykin, “Revival of the Prairie Gate Press reopens door to UMM history,” University Register (Morris, MN), March 18, 2004.
[8] Mary Dickman, “Fine printing is the goal of the Prairie Gate Press,” Morris Weekly (Morris, MN), Nov. 7, 1978.
[9] “Prairie Gate Literary Festival,” University of Minnesota Morris