Does anyone still have the newsletters from the first year or two? DavidEye (an old orger) had them and was going to share them, but he is no longer on the org. I'd be curious to see if anyone kept them.

Thanx!

madhouseman said:

Does anyone still have the newsletters from the first year or two? DavidEye (an old orger) had them and was going to share them, but he is no longer on the org. I'd be curious to see if anyone kept them.

Thanx!

i still have a bunch from like come-emancipation. gosh maybe even earlier now that i think about it. never threw them away. i still have the promo cassette single of Dinner With Delores they sent us too. such a pleasant surprise that was!

R.I.P. Edwena Brunell

rip edwena

i fondly remember the newsletters and the awesome packages of tapes that would show up at my door. those were the days! one time i won the crossword puzzle in the newsletter and got some prize....

i tried looking her up in recent years but she was no where to be found on the net. did she give up on the prince world and fandom

i know she was disillusioned when diane got sued and diane asked her to end the newsletter.

damn, loved those packages of tapes!

jonylawson said:

NewPowerSista said:

Are you serious? If you don't know what you're talking about, you should not speak! Edwena Brunell was very instrumental in getting Prince fans together well before the internet became the primary means of our discussing Prince! I'd say you should be ashamed of yourself but you probably don't know how to do that since you already said what you did. Ask somebody who knows......

he actually has a point

its tragic when anyone passes away but this is hardly "prince music news"

i think it definitely is. much more important news to me than alot of this other stuff.

serg60650 said:

It is with great sadness to inform the group that my friend and one the creators of the big weekly newsletter Prince family, Edwena Brunell passed away on March 6 in the state of Florida. http://www.legacy.com/obi...=156361375 Besides the newsletter Edwena used to have fan gatherings at her house in Chicago in the 1990s. She also sponsored a tape lending program. RIP Blue, your buddy Serg

Wow, very sad to hear this news. I fondly remember waiting for that newsletter in the mail. I spoke with her once on the phone and she was a real sweetheart.

Chuck

As a regular contributor to the Newsletter and Controversy - I was sad to see there was nothing detailed written anywhere about her on any online obituary. Thats really sad when her life meant so much to me and others that knew her.

http://legacy.suntimes.co...=156473364

I am saddened by the loss of a dear friend, Edwena Brunell, last week. One of the most beautiful spirits ever was set free. Anyone who ever met her will remember her cheerful voice, her warm and engaging smile, her effervescent personality, and that twinkle in her eye.

I met Edwena ("Blue") in 1992 at a record show in Chicago, where I learned she was a US Area Organizer for the Controversy Fan Club. She invited me to one of her famous fan gatherings at her home, where she introduced me to the wonderful world of Prince Fandom. I discovered Controversy Fan Club, the amazing Controversy Magazine, and the wealth of prince music and collectibles out there that I knew nothing about.

Thanks to her, I was able to attend the Controversy Prince Convention at Glam Slam in 1992. She introduced me to her friend and cohort, Diana Dawkins, a Controversy area organizer on the east coast and a major contributor to Controversy Magazine (who would later found the Prince Family Hotline, website and Newsletter after Controversy folded.) I was able to meet this fun and friendly group of people from the international Prince fan community, and start new friendships that lasted for years. And she was right there with me to share the experience of my very first Prince concert in 1993. We would go on to share our love of Prince and his music, but also forge a close friendship that spanned the next 20 years.

Beyond being a Prince fan resource, in her "day job" she was a kindergarten teacher at an inner city parish school, and I've never heard of a more devoted teacher. She was so dedicated to insuring those children the best foundation in early childhood education that she used her own money to buy the needed books, supplies, lesson workbooks and project materials. I was amazed at how invested she was in coming up with new and creative ways to engage and educate her students - something new for every season and holiday. She loved those children and gave her all to them for 30 years. She would certainly have been deserving of teacher of the year every year, and she finally received formal recognition before retirement.

I've been looping "Sometimes It Snows In April", "Comeback" and "Into The Light" these days as I remember a very special "Blue Light". Love you, Blue.

And from Diana:

Diana's Obituary

Edwena C. Brunell (“Blue” to her friends) passed away at the age of 65 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Edwena retired to Florida to be near her brother and his family after having spent 30 years teaching Kindergarten and then computer skills at St. James Parish School in her hometown of Chicago. Her hundreds of students were primarily African-American and she spent outrageous amounts of time and money providing them with the best foundation for their future education as could be given them. She was constantly searching for the newest teaching tools and taking classes in the latest teaching trends in order to best serve her students.

The small amount of time she had remaining she doted on her “boyz,” a series of Maine Coon cats. And. . . (that one’s for you, Prince) she was a devoted fan of The Artist Once Again Known as Prince.

Edwena was an area-organizer (AO) for Controversy Magazine, first for Chicago, then became the head AO for the United States. As the Chicago AO, she held parties in her home for fans to meet each other and took many of them on a tour to Minneapolis to see the real Graffiti Bridge.

Shortly before the demise of Controversy she became a contributing editor to The Prince Family newsletter, specializing in writing about collecting and collectables. She herself had an enormous Prince collection and in Chicago she had a “Prince room” (as many of you do) wallpapered in Prince memorabilia.

Edwena loved her students, she loved her cats, she loved her friends and family and she loved Prince. That is the definition of Edwena, she was a loving person. I know that many of you old-time Prince fans remember her and benefitted from her friendship and knowledge of Prince and his world. So let us remember her fondly every time we hear a Prince song or see the color blue.

Diana

BartVanHemelen said:

serg60650 said:

Besides the newsletter Edwena used to have fan gatherings at her house in Chicago in the 1990s. She also sponsored a tape lending program.

Now there's a name I haven't heard in years. Sad to hear it in this context.

(It's too bad there isn't a written history of Prince fandom, so people like her could get proper credit for their involvement.)

We should develop a crowd-sourcing project to do just that.

jonylawson said:

PoorLonelyComputer said:

WRONG. No Prince Family = No Prince.org Please believe it and show some damn respect

i am showing respect

tragic she passed away

but im sorry i never heard of her nor met her...i used to get my cassetes from vicky in newcastle from controversy back in 1988

i would presume as well her passing wouldnt make front page news.

i just find what makes front page news here odd

Really? So if it was the person that you traded tapes with, you'd care?

Who's music are you listening too?

If you got nothing nice to say post on something else.

Think about it and please don't reply.

Live for love

Rev said:

jonylawson said:

i am showing respect

tragic she passed away

but im sorry i never heard of her nor met her...i used to get my cassetes from vicky in newcastle from controversy back in 1988

i would presume as well her passing wouldnt make front page news.

i just find what makes front page news here odd

Really? So if it was the person that you traded tapes with, you'd care?

Who's music are you listening too?

If you got nothing nice to say post on something else.

Think about it and please don't reply.

Live for love

yes id care

but id assume the rest of the globe woudnt give a rats ass.

thats all im saying..jesus.

bluelight319 said:

And from Diana:

Diana's Obituary

Edwena C. Brunell (“Blue” to her friends) passed away at the age of 65 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Edwena retired to Florida to be near her brother and his family after having spent 30 years teaching Kindergarten and then computer skills at St. James Parish School in her hometown of Chicago. Her hundreds of students were primarily African-American and she spent outrageous amounts of time and money providing them with the best foundation for their future education as could be given them. She was constantly searching for the newest teaching tools and taking classes in the latest teaching trends in order to best serve her students.

The small amount of time she had remaining she doted on her “boyz,” a series of Maine Coon cats. And. . . (that one’s for you, Prince) she was a devoted fan of The Artist Once Again Known as Prince.

Edwena was an area-organizer (AO) for Controversy Magazine, first for Chicago, then became the head AO for the United States. As the Chicago AO, she held parties in her home for fans to meet each other and took many of them on a tour to Minneapolis to see the real Graffiti Bridge.

Shortly before the demise of Controversy she became a contributing editor to The Prince Family newsletter, specializing in writing about collecting and collectables. She herself had an enormous Prince collection and in Chicago she had a “Prince room” (as many of you do) wallpapered in Prince memorabilia.

Edwena loved her students, she loved her cats, she loved her friends and family and she loved Prince. That is the definition of Edwena, she was a loving person. I know that many of you old-time Prince fans remember her and benefitted from her friendship and knowledge of Prince and his world. So let us remember her fondly every time we hear a Prince song or see the color blue.

Diana

Thanks for this.

madhouseman said:

Does anyone still have the newsletters from the first year or two? DavidEye (an old orger) had them and was going to share them, but he is no longer on the org. I'd be curious to see if anyone kept them.

Thanx!

If I'm not mistaken, DavidEye is SoulAlive, and he just posted before you . Anways, I was late to the game for this newsletter, only have old copies of the Contreversy fanzine. RIP.

Wow - I used to call the news line all the time! I was such a Prince nerd! Sad news, indeed.

Lee

JuvenileHi said:

Wow - I used to call the news line all the time! I was such a Prince nerd! Sad news, indeed.

Lee

lived 4 that news letter also.......

My condolences to her family and friends. I remember Edwena well from Prince Family and from Controversy before that. She was one of the great ones -- friendly, kind, and considerate. She will be missed.

-Calli