Dylan manhole covers cast in iron

OK, Dylan fans, here's a pop quiz:

Your job is to name the Bob Dylan song depicted on a manhole cover -- yes, we said manhole cover -- designed by Duluth artist Laurel Sanders.

The artwork shows a candle, and a pair of sandal-clad feet. Oh, and the song includes the word "manhole."

Got it?

The answer, my friends, is not blowin' in the wind, it's at the end of this story. Suffice to say for now that it was one of two Dylan-themed manhole covers produced in an iron pour on Saturday in the lower parking lot of Peace United Church of Christ,

1111 N. 11th Ave. E. The covers will replace two conventional (read: boring) manhole covers on Bob Dylan Way, specifically on the street and the

sidewalk in front of Fitger's.

Someday, all of Bob Dylan Way may be graced with Bob Dylan manhole covers, but just two will be installed this year, on a date to be determined. The project is a combined effort of Common Language, a small nonprofit arts group; and Duluth's Public Arts Commission.

Common Language has been producing artwork via the annual iron pour for a number of years, creating tiles, sculptures and other objects. "This is the first time we've tried manhole covers," said Jeffrey Kalstrom, a member of the group.

The manhole cover idea originated with David Everett, 31, who has a bachelor's degree in studio art and teaches at the Alternative Learning Center in the Central Administration Building in Duluth. Everett had participated in the iron pour for the past seven years. "I've been doing this long enough that I recognize cast iron when I see it," he said to explain what sparked the idea.

But other places do have artistic manhole covers. It's quite a popular art form in Japan, Sanders said, as she watched Kalstrom apply a graphite sealant to her design. Seattle also has artistic manhole covers. But it's probably safe to say that Duluth, the birthplace of Bob Dylan, will have the world's first Bob Dylan-themed manhole covers.

Sanders' design was chosen from about 16 entries along with a design by Marc Zapchenk, a graphic designer from Shoreview, Minn. Zapchenk,

46, heard about the call for entries from his friend Bryan Vollman, a Duluth native who learned about it from the Perfect Duluth Day blog. Vollman knew Zapchenk was a big Dylan fan -- he and his wife were introduced on a blind date because of their common interest in Dylan.

Zapchenk's design includes the words "Bob Dylan Way, Duluth,

Minnesota" and intertwined guitars in a yin and yang motif. "There's a yin and yang aspect to Bob Dylan," he said as he watched Kalstrom work on his manhole cover.

What would Bob Dylan think of all this?

"I would be honored if he liked it," Zapchenk said.

"I hope he comes and stands on it," Sanders said.

"I hope he'd laugh," Everett said.

And now for the answer to our pop quiz: "Subterranean Homesick Blues," the lyrics of which include: "Better jump down a manhole / Light yourself a candle / Don't wear sandals / Try to avoid the scandals."

But if you're a Dylan fan, you probably already had that figured out.