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In the 1970s, photographer Don Iverson gained the trust of men of the Olympic Club to the extent that they allowed him to photograph them in what until then had been their private men's club. Iverson's images honestly and artfully captured the integrity of the aging workers and building. The Associated Press picked up his photos and they were reprinted in newspapers around the country in 1974 and 1975. In this image, there's a feeling that these once young, workers of the woods, now are biding time as spectators.
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In this Don Iverson image, the grand old Round Oak stove still stands resolute, if slightly battered and worn, much like the men gathered around it.
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For years women were nowhere to be found in the Olympic Club. The sign above the entrance proclaiming, "Women's patronage not solicited," was no joke. Beginning in the 1960s, when women first appeared within this realm, first as employees of the café, then as bartenders, and finally (gasp) as customers, they were viewed with confusion, amazement and derision, as this photo captures so well.
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Who knew that some beat up shoes, a bar rail and a stool could make for such an interesting, artful composition?
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This Don Iverson image is a remarkable study in texture and lighting. (Also, don't you want to holler at the man that he's got only another second or two before the cigarette burns his fingers?!)
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Late night at the Oly Club Café. Kind of reminiscent of Edward Hopper's Nighthawk, though not as bleak.
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His eyes and steadiness may not be what the used to be, but most days he still makes the shot.
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Sturdy old men, sturdy old tables.
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A chair, a slumping cushion, a pitted wall, a tiled floor, a spittoon, and a "trash only" can... elements of a short story? In Don Iverson's photographic hands, it would seem so.
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The shapes, patterns and geometry of the Olympic Club's poolroom are the subject of this 1970s Don Iverson image.
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A classic subject, old men and checkers, played out in the Olympic Club, 1974.
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Looking like Paul Bunyan in his later years, this former logger warms his old bones by the Round Oak.
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