Oh, H-E-double toothpicks! The Word Curse strikes again.

taken from the Southeast Angle

Lex hex lives
According to the legend of Dark Day, the Falls of St. Anthony are haunted by the spirit of a spurned Indian maiden who threw herself into its turgid waters—a tale now dismissed as bogus. But a lexical hex does seem to hover over the south tip of Nicollet Island, where a former factory has been the site of at least one verbal gaffe in each of the last three centuries.
In the 1800s, the long brick building advertised itself as home of the William Bros Boiler Works, which was frequently called the William Brothers Boiler Works—a mistake that must have really steamed Mr. Bros.
In the 1900s, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board bought the building, renovated it for public use, and had “Nicollet Island Park” painted high up on its Hennepin Avenue side. Then Arnold Schwarzenegger filmed a movie there, decking out the area around the building like a rural junkyard, and changing the sign to “Nicollet Island Grainery.” Misspelling “granary” tested the hex’s range: so far it is not among the factors said to be hurting the former body-builder’s gubernatorial candidacy in California.
The 21st century has seen the building’s operation privatized, a move that funded replacement of the offending slogan last month with huge, new looming letters: “Nicollet Island Pavilion.” In fact, contracting out operation of the facility has generated so much money, the park board could afford an extra “L” for its new wooden sign in front of the old boiler plant: “Nicollet Island Pavillion.” It may have been a great day for a corporate party, but it was another Dark Day for grammarians at the Falls.
—Chris Steller

Greeks mass
After what Chairperson Linda Messenger described as “extremely inappropriate behavior” from citizens in attendance, the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission voted unanimously last month to recommend that the Minneapolis City Council designate more than 30 University of Minnesota fraternity and sorority houses historic properties that, together, would constitute Southeast’s newest historic district. Approximately 50 “Greeks” joined about two dozen members of the Coalition for Non-Profit Student Housing to loudly complain that the planned agenda did not allow them to discuss the proposed designation change, which they said will drastically increase building maintenance costs. The Minneapolis City Council has not yet set a date to decide the matter.
A similar contingent converged on the monthly meeting of the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association later that day, attempting to force the organization to reconsider its stance to abide by whatever the HPC decided. Since then, the number of student residents registering for voting memberships has spiked, the MHNA said.
—Nathan Hall

Gossip dies
Gossip Avery, the original night editor of the Southeast newspaper, died peacefully in his sleep last night. His exact age was unknown, but was believed to have been about 25.
He moved into the house of Ted Tucker and Penny Petersen in the fall of 1981. He refused to discuss his past, but a local veterinarian estimated that he was about three years old at the time of his arrival.
“He was attracted by the sound of the power tools used by Ted, who was working on the house at the time,” said Petersen. “He always enjoyed watching people work.”
Gossip was night editor of the Southeast from 1981 until his retirement in 1995. He was joined by Rumour, the second night editor, in 1982 and Chit-Chat, their assistant in 1988. Gossip also served as photographer and reporter on several occasions for stories too controversial for other reporters to write. After a private ceremony, Gossip was laid to rest next his friend Rumour, who died in 1998.
—Penny Peterson

Falls run dry
You may have noticed a conspicuous lack of water over St. Anthony Falls between Aug. 18 and Sept. 6. Although the water level was already low, the river was diverted through the lock and the hydroelectric plant on either side of the river. Xcel Energy, which owns and operates the dam, conducted regular low-water maintenance and structural inspection on the “horseshoe,” the sunken area just before the falls, and the falls, which are technically called the “spillway.” Xcel does this every two or three years, when low water levels permit.
—Jeremy Stratton

Steal this shirt
“Dinkytown Looters” T-shirts were flying out the door at Campus Cards last month. The store was placing more orders for the design from its San Diego-based manufacturer, which is also responsible for the “Loring Park Queens” shirts that took that part of town by storm this summer. The mock-athletic team shirts sell for $20 each.
—Chris Steller

last revised: April 10, 2007