GR Lindblade announces Sioux City gifts Web site

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
September 29, 2005

People seeking Sioux City and Diocese of Sioux City memorabilia now have a new place to look. GR Lindblade & Co Productions has started a Web site, www.siouxcitygifts.com, to allow people to purchase Sioux City items.

"The Web site has only been live for about two weeks," said Lou Ann Lindblade. "We hadn't done any publicity on it yet because we wanted to make sure that there weren't any bugs or anything."

According to Lindblade, the Web site has several different items to offer. The categories of items include things from books, gift baskets and art pieces from local artists to Sioux City history and one category that highlights items specific to the Diocese of Sioux City and local Catholic parishes.

"We have always had a lot of Sioux City products," said Lindblade. "For example, the DVD on the restoration of the Orpheum Theatre, 'Puttin' on the Glitz,' and the 15th anniversary Saturday in the Park book and DVD. We've been involved in so many projects like the Cathedral poster celebrating the 100th anniversary. It also gave us a market for George's (Lindblade) work that we didn't have a retail outlet for. As we started thinking about it, more and more things came to mind."

Lindblade noted that she contacted Jim Wharton at the Diocese of Sioux City to make "Frontiers of Faith - A History of the Diocese of Sioux City" available on the Web site.

Other diocesan related items include the Cathedral of the Epiphany 100th anniversary poster, the Carmelite cookbook, the video tribute that was done for Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo when he left Sioux City and video tapes for the Grotto of the Redemption and Trinity Heights.

"Every year for about five years, we did a video tape for the bishop's dinner," said Lindblade. She commented that those tapes will be available on the site as well.

Lindblade pointed out that if parishes in the diocese have cookbooks that are left over from a sale or fundraiser at their parish, they can call GR Lindblade to have the cookbook put on the Web site.

"This would give them an opportunity to turn those into some cash," said Lindblade. "We welcome those kinds of phone calls if someone is interested. We think that throughout the United States that people love the Midwest church cookbooks."

If people have other items that would be fitting for the Web site, Lindblade added that they are welcome to call GR Lindblade.

"We knew that there was a bigger market out there beyond Sioux City for some of this stuff," said Lindblade. "There is a lot of interest, especially when people move away or their kids move out of town and they are nostalgic for Sioux City and things here."

She encourages people to send the Web site, www.siouxcitygifts.com, to their out-of-town friends and family or people who might be trying to find unique gifts for their Sioux City relatives.

"The history of Sioux City is really the history of the melting of so many cultures and religions," said Lindblade. "I don't know the numbers, but I assume that Sioux City is prevalently Catholic. It is extremely important to keep that information in front of people and keep it available. You just never know where the interest comes from."