By JULIANNE HOMOKAY
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
“People need a place to reset with their values, especially with how divided people have become,” said Bergen Moore, the current proprietor of Black Dog Shoppe and Social Club (the Alpine Mountaineer dated Jan. 22, 2026,) and founder of the LLC Breaking Bread Community Revitalization Project. Moore founded the endeavor because he was “convinced Green Valley Lake needed a place where people could come together.” And the types of events he wants to sponsor toward that end include his recent tribute day in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, Jan. 19.
Dennis Foster reads from Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.
Pat Huckaby, a Green Valley Lake resident, member of the Celtic band Wake The Bard and Black Dog Club’s longtime sound technician, served as an informal master of ceremonies. He got the event rolling around 10:30 a.m., and partnered with fellow musician Liz Chesney to lead the small but mighty crowd in a singalong of traditional protest songs and spirituals, such as “We Shall Overcome,” “Mary Don’t You Weep” and “Down By The Riverside.”
Between songs, Huckaby encouraged the audience to share readings, poems, thoughts and reflections on how Dr. King’s message is still relevant today. Prominent community member Dennis Foster contributed a moving excerpt from Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Sandi Huckaby read from “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” after which the crowd engaged in informal conversation and sharing.
Arguably the highlight of the open mic, an event with many highlights, was a poem an audience member shared, Aileen Cassinetto’s “There are no kings in America:”
…What do we say to our immigrant
fathers who held certain truths
to be self-evident?
Do we now still pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes,
our sacred honor.
There are no kings in America.
Only gilded men we can topple
again and again.
The conversation then turned to the idea of small acts of resistance: how to “find something you would like to see happen and take a step in that direction,” the contributor of the poem said.
Sandi Huckaby reads from “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
Which is what Moore wants to do with his revitalization project. “There’s been a nice repairing of relationships,” said Moore.
Something it seems Dr. King would be very much in favor of.
Bergheim Coffee at Black Dog Shoppe’s off-season hours are Friday through Sunday mornings from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For weekly live music and event listings at Black Dog Social Club, follow our Arts & Entertainment Guide or visit blackdogsocialclub.com or https://gvl.life.
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