Desert Messenger

WHAT'S INSIDE 3 Food Bank Winner 3 Congressional Art Contest 4 VFW Auxiliary Offi cers 4 Children's Exp 4 Honeymoon 5 Gosar's Offi ce in town 6 Editorial 7 Letters to the Editor 7 Homeless Services 8 Council Openings 9 Kid's Summer Program 9 Restaurants 9 Get Creative 10 Travelogue 11 The Salvation Army 14 Food Allergies 15 Tube Float 16 In Memoriam 16 AA Meetings 17 Nancy's Kitchen 17 QPD Torch Run 18 Puzzles 19 Charity Scams 20 Churches 21 Classifeds 21 Paul Winer's Cartoon 23 Paul Winer Photos www.DesertMessenger.com • "Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper" • 928-916-4235 WEDNESDAY, May 15, 2019 VOL. 15 # 300 Now in our 1 5 t h YEAR! Alwa y s FREE! 19 Charity Scams SEE SWEET PIE PAGE 2 ����� | S������ RAIN G�����-B��� Paul Winer, Quartzsite's Naked Bookseller "Sweet Pie" remembered By Mark Goldberg In coming to Quartzsite as a visitor, I had stopped in and browsed at Reader's Oasis Books on sev- eral occasions over the years. In 2007, we moved to Quartzsite, and I went to the store to fi nd some books on Quartzsite history. I introduced myself to Paul Winer, and we struck up a conversation. My fi rst impression (visual) was that he reminded me of the mummifi ed "Tollund Man" I had seen in Denmark who was found in a peat bog, tanned and "preserved." He had a wealth of information in his eclectic store; and, he was a wealth of local information. We struck up a conversation and became great friends over time. I attended many of his concerts and worked with him on banners, graphics and other projects. I was always amazed at his good health. Over the last year, Paul reluctantly made his fi rst visit to a hospital in his entire life. It has been a downhill slide from there with health complications and red tape. Paul was not able to overcome the barrage of health issues which befell him and we have lost a community icon. The Early Days Paul Winer was born on December 9, 1943, to Jack and Celia Winer. His small stature, shyness, "lack of hunk appeal," and being Jewish made him somewhat of a loner. He graduated from Goddard College in Plainfi eld, Vermont; and was the Poet in Residence at Mark Hopkins College in Brattle- boro, Vermont. He taught poetics and writing and was one of the youngest members of the Vermont Poetry Society. Paul owned and operated an 1875- style store, the "Vermont Stovepipe Press" where he published works of poetry, books, and more. "When I was eleven-years old [1954], I saw Fats Domino [in Lynn, Massachusetts] in one of his legendary one-night stands. I decided then, that's what I wanted to be – a piano thumper." The Birth of Sweet Pie Paul was a self-taught musician. He wrote most of the music and lyrics he performed with titles like, "Hello Celia," "Bulldog Boogie," "Nothing Nowhere Blues," and, "Please Remember Your Love For Me." Paul's fi rst musical/theatrical performance was in a small bar in Vermont, where he convinced the owner to rent him a piano and let him perform. He wore a long tunic and started playing the piano. Mid-performance, he threw off the tunic and start- ed playing naked. The owner got mad, threw him out, and shot at him. Paul called the police and they suggested that he leave town within 24 hours. He left town. This was the start of Paul's boogie-woogie and blues cabaret show, and career as "Sweet Pie." The name was derived from, "Sweet: 1.- pleasure to the taste; 2. Pleasure to the mind or feelings; agree- able, gratifying." "Pie: a dessert." He played to over 1.5 million people throughout the east coast and Canada in the early days. Being the fi rst male stripper to publicly perform, he met with much re- sistance regarding obscenity and local blue laws. Over the years, Paul was the subject of 68 lawsuits and a Federal precedent-setting case. He won all of the cases. The Federal court case was Winer v Vermont. It was about freedom of speech. In Paul's words, "My case opened up the male exotic indus- try…I was the fi rst." "I never decided to be a nud- ist." "My skin is hypersensitive, and I hate the feel- ing of clothing rubbing on my body." th edition! Desert Messenger's Woo hoo! It's

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