Last Thursday night, I attended a screening of the new WMHT documentary “Lena: A Life in Folk” which was followed by a Q&A with director Nicole Van Slyke as well as others close to the project. An hour-long documentary, “Lena” is packed with fascinating stories and information about a place we are all very familiar with, but a time that we are less so.
Lena Spencer (1923-1989) was not by any means a businesswoman. She grew up in a working-class Italian family with three siblings, no mother, and an extremely strict father. She ran away from home at the age of 28 to pursue a career in theater in New York City, but returned to the suburbs shortly after. Much like many of us at Skidmore, Lena came to Saratoga from a small Massachusetts town, outside of Boston. Sixty years ago, she opened Caffè Lena downtown with her then husband Bill.
Caffè Lena opened its doors in May of 1960. The building, having been abandoned for eight years, was in complete ruin when they began renting (they never fully renovated it, but that adds to the charm of the place). It started off as a coffee house/art gallery with a small stage where folk performers helped to pay the bills. For nearly 30 years, she served folk music and coffee to the entire Capital district, where she fell completely in love with the atmosphere: the people, the place, the counterculture.
Now the oldest coffee house in the country, Lena and Bill originally intended to keep the café for a few years until they made enough money to leave New York and travel around Europe. They figured it would be open for two years at the most. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, clearly it didn’t go exactly to plan.
Notable performers who stopped by Caffè Lena include Bob Dylan (who was met by an unhappy audience of 12 people, all discouraging him from continuing his career), Don McLeon ( who sings “American Pie”), Arlo Guthrie, Dave Van Ronk, and countless other talented artists over the past six decades.
Every weekend that Caffè Lena has been open, the musical performances on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights have become a community staple and have turned it into a New York landmark.
A charming café in the heart of the capital district, opening at the height of the folk revival period in the early 60s, Caffè Lena began to gain recognition and moderate success. It was a wholesome place to hang out with a wonderful sense of community and a charismatic owner. But, shortly after opening and facing immediate financial turmoil, Bill Spencer grew frustrated with his wife and their small business. He abandoned the café and, rumor has it, divorced Lena for a Skidmore student.
In terms of contributing to the folk community, and the Saratoga community, Lena most definitely did her share. Because of the participatory nature of folk, it was the perfect type of music for a small coffee house with a welcoming, homey feel. Even as the folk revival movement died down when the 70’s and 80’s came along and brought with them different styles and tastes, Lena never abandoned her integrity in her café and her ambitions.
So why is it important to watch a documentary and talk about a woman who owned an upstate folk café and died 30 years ago? As temporary members of the Saratoga community, it’s important to understand its history. The story of Caffè Lena is not spectacular or extraordinary in any way; Lena was a regular person who lived a regular life full of struggles and joy. Yet, she brought a communal space to a city that didn’t yet know its identity beyond a racetrack. Caffè Lena adds character and a fascinating piece of local history to the Saratoga story.
And, to this day, there are still three shows each weekend at the café, though they now serve craft beer in addition to coffee. So, if you ever need something to do on a Saturday night, think about skipping Putnam and spending $2 to experience some of this local culture and check out a show or an Open Mic at Caffè Lena.
(2019 event schedule: https://www.caffelena.org/events-calendar/)
“Lena: A Life in Folk,” directed by Nicole Van Slyke, produced by WMHT (a PBS production company based in Albany). Premiers on TV on WMHT on Sept. 19 at 8pm.