Two RHHP birthday girls

We celebrated two birthdays tonight. Kendra and Sarah had their birthday this week. We all had delicious birthday cupcakes.

St Francis Center community potluck

Tonight was the St Francis Center community potluck. An email had gone out last week letting us know that it will be a surprise celebration to honor Fr Tom's retirement after 48 years in the neighborhood. It was a good turn out. I sat with a group of elderly women who made up the Druid Hill Neighborhood Group who presented Fr. Tom with a card and some cash. These women were part of the great migration from the south. Gloria, who sat to my left, had lived in Reservoir Hill since 1956 and had seen the neighborhood through good and bad times. It was a history lesson for me to talk to them. She described how, in 1992, the city had condemned and demolished a row of businesses on Whitelock between Brookfield and Linden because of the drug and crime around it. The plan had been to redevelop these lots and had been pushed through by some white folks who had recently moved into Reservoir Hill. Unfortunately, the plans to redevelop the lots were never carried out and to this day, we still have a row of empty lots including the one Ellen and I adopted.

I also got to visit with Madeline and Jacob, a young couple and their infant. They moved out here from Berkely, CA, after finishing school. They bought an apartment building on Madison, one block west of RHHP, and instantly became landlords to tenants they inherited from the previous owner. After evicting the criminal elements and finding new tenants, they set about starting a cafe on the ground floor of their building. Unfortunately, they ran into problems with the contractor and ended up firing him but loosing some money in the process. I think that I am seeing a trend here. It seems that the energy driving the changes in Reservoir Hill is coming from the infusion of people with pioneer spirits and visions of what they want in their community.

Reservoir Hill Improvement Council annual meeting

This year's RHIC was held last night in the fellowship hall of the Beth Am synagogue one block north of RHHP. It was a well attended affair with numerous awards handed out to people who have contributed to the improvement of Reservoir Hill. Many were individuals who have lived and worked in the neighborhood for many years. The group of neighbors who started the Whitelock Community Farm were also honored. Others were partners from the city departments, John Howard Eager School and community center. The mayor sent an assistant on her behalf. It made me realize how many pairs of hands it takes to make a neighborhood a good place to live in. Father Tom was honored and his retirement from the ST Francis Center was recognized. Here is a snap shot of Fr. Tom accepting his award.

Whitelock Community Farm festival

Last Sunday, the group of neighbors who live on Brookfield and converted the empty lot on the corner of Brookfield and Whitelock into a farm held its farm festival. The event was blessed with spectacular weather. There was face painting and apple bobbing for the neighborhood kids, pumpkin carving, spiced cider and several boxes of Dunkin Donuts. Justin brought out his three hens and wowed the kids. Many of them had not touched poultry of any sort. The turn out was very encouraging and I got to meet many of the neighbors. The new rabbi of Beth Am temple was there. He moved into the neighborhood when he took over the congregation and appears to be making a deliberate effort to reach out to the neighborhood. Then I met Justin and his wife Rebecca who recently moved here after completing school in Michigan. Justin teaches middle school in a public charter school and his wife is a social worker. Justin's dream is to begin a ministry to house homeless people in their house and to help them get on their feet. Rebecca's passion is bread baking and dreams about starting a bakery in Baltimore. She also has a passion for good food and hopes to introduce good food to the neighborhood. In erecting the greenhouse, she hopes that the farm can extend its growing season. The plan is to eventually produce enough vegetables to be able to sell them cheaply to residents. The group also hope to start a farmer's market in the lot across the street from the farm. It is amazing what these few families have done to this once empty weed and garbage filled lot.

Then I met Cynthia and her husband who lives across RHHP on Eutaw Place in the house that they bought from Brian and Cheryl Martin who once directed the YES program. Glynette, our neighbor from the north was there with her son, daughter in law and grand daughter. Glynette just returned from a couple of months in Florida taking care of some family business. I offered to let her have her own plot of land in the RHHP garden. She has a spigot right near the garden and she can run a hose to our garden. She thought that was a good idea and she was interested in having her own garden next to mine.