From the editor Nancy O. Albert In the late summer of 2006, just months after I moved to Charlotte from Connecticut, I became editor of the ECA newsletter. For my first issue I collaborated with graphic designer Little Shiva to create a photomontage that featured images of what I felt were neighborhood icons and which personified its vibrancy. When I recently pulled out a copy of the Fall 2006 issue, two things shocked me. One was its slightness – only 16 pages! And the other was that every single thing in the montage has disappeared during the past 8 years. In a city infamous for obliterating its history, we tend to think of our own neighborhood as an exception. But do recent residents know about the Athens’s Restaurant, which stood on the corner of 4th and Charlottetowne Ave. (then simply called Independence) and famed for being open 24 hours a day? It was torn down that year and nothing has ever been built on the site. Or Anderson’s on Elizabeth, home of the “World’s Best Pecan Pies”? Part of its sign remains, but the restaurant is long gone. There was also an Arts Supply store on Elizabeth, with a wonderful mural painted on its exterior. Two recording studios were located on Central, one next to the Grand Central, which was only recently demolished, 2
THE PEOPLE PAGES
along with some charming brick apartments; it is currently a massive construction site. Even the alligator that once graced the Cajun Queen has gone, fallen from age and wood rot. And these are not the only structures that have vanished. The little barber shop on the corner of 7th and Pecan closed, scores of small brick single and two-family houses were razed or enlarged beyond recognition and the 1912 Staten mansion on Hawthorne, known during recent years as International House, was demolished and replaced by a church parking lot. In this issue of the newsletter, which will be 48 pages long (thank you ad czar Tom Smith) we’ll re-visit the history theme of a year ago, but we won’t just be looking back and mourning what once was. Change can be positive as well. Just look at the Little Sugar Creek Greenway, in my opinion one of the best things to happen to the city, ever. When I moved to Charlotte the creek was buried under asphalt and a derelict shopping center. What a transformation the years have brought. A recent addition is the circle of beautiful glider swings across from CPCC’s Overcash building. We now have several City Bike stations, and some, but not nearly enough bike lanes. Hundredyear-old oaks have fallen but many, many new trees have been planted thanks to the City
Would you like to be part of our newsletter team? We need block captains to deliver newsletters to homes and businesses along 7th Street and Elizabeth Avenue. We’re also looking for an Assistant Business Liaison. If interested, please contact Tom Smith at tom.smith@fedex. com or Gregg Lockhart at gregg@ lockhartinsurance.com.
The People Issue by Nancy O. Albert Elizabeth is home to an amazing group of people and in our next issue we would like to turn the spotlight on them. They might be “movers and shakers” past and present, who have done much to make this neighborhood great or people with littleknown but fascinating personal stories. Do you have a friend, neighbor or family member with an intriguing past, fascinating hobby or passion? Do you know someone who has gone on to do interesting things after moving on? Family histories and legends, stories told by those who’ve lived long lives here – we’re interested in them all. Please contact me: noalbert@carolina.rr.com The deadline for the People Issue is February 15 for a March 1 Spring publication.
ECA Officers
ECA Board Members
Eric Davis President 704 776 3013 Greenway Avenue ericadavis0123@yahoo.com
Nancy O. Albert Newsletter Editor Beautification Co-Chair 704 779 0932 Elizabeth Village noalbert@carolina.rr.com
(Vice President — vacant) Diana Watson Secretary 704 996 9776 Kenmore Avenue dianawatson3@gmail.com Paul Shipley Treasurer 704 651 5897 Kenmore Avenue shipley_paul@msn.com
ECA Special Projects Bryan Rife Membership 980 228 1921 E. 5th Street bryan.rife@goldenliving.com
Cover photo courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room
Ken Magas Website 704 877 7151 E. 5th Street ken@kenmagas.com Jeff Jackson Crime Czar jnjacks@gmail.com Janet Karner Membership Clement Avenue janetk@caro.net Officer Robert Sprague Neighborhood CMPD Liaison rsprague@cmpd.org Colleen Plott Home Tour Co-Chair colleenplott@gmail.com Lindsay Jones McCleary Home Tour Co-Chair lindsayjones1230@gmail.com Robert Zabel Elizabeth 8K Road Race Chair 917 873 8028 Pecan Avenue nycrcz@yahoo.com
Jim Belvin Zoning & Real Estate Committee 704 334 2611 Lamar Avenue j.belvin@bluewaterdb.com
deadline spring 2015:
Feb. 15th
editorial content:
noalbert@carolina.rr.com
Sarah Bradley Communications/Social Media 704 491 3760 Laurel Avenue sarah@bluefeathermedia.com
advertising:
Beth Haenni Past President 704 562 5152 Greenway Avenue beth.haenni@gmail.com
size: 6.53” x 7.53” (1306 x 1506 pixels)
Kristan Magas Park & Recreation Liaison 704 488 0051 E. 5th Street kdm2201@gmail.com Suzanne Henry Social Chair SuzkHenry@gmail.com Jenna Opiela Social Chair/Children’s Events 704 906 8379 Greenway Avenue jennaopiela@gmail.com Tom Smith ECA Business Liaison/Ad Czar 630 886 2039 Kenmore Avenue tom.smith@fedex.com Ric Solow Beautification & Trees Co-Chair 704 906 1967 E. 5th Street ric@solowdesigngroup.com
tom.smith@fedex.com ------------------------------------full page ad
half page ad
size: 6.53” x 3.715” (1306 x 743 pixels) quarter page ad
size: 3.205” x 3.715” (641 x 743 pixels) biz card ad
size: 3.205” x 1.8065” (641 x 361 pixels) classified ad
1 column wide, 4 lines deep with 1 line bold, 3 regular specs: full size b&w jpeg or pdf, 200 dpi, NO WORD DOCS! Ad placement is at the designer’s discretion.
Kris Solow Beautification Co-Chair 704 806 4456 E. 5th Street ksolow@carolina.rr.com
THE PEOPLE PAGES
3
and ECA volunteers. And the first phase of track-laying for the trolley is nearly complete. This morning I walked down Elizabeth Avenue, now finally open after months of construction. Sadly, several restaurants have closed, but many managed to hang on and two new ones – Earl’s Grocery and most recently, Passion 8 Bistro – have opened. The wonderful Red Sky Gallery is gone but there’s now a bike shop, and the Elizabeth Creamery has a bright ice cream cone hanging in front of its new location. Soon the street will also be graced with glasswalled trolley waiting stations designed by artist Nancy O’Neil. The Neighborhoods in Creative pARTnership public art project is moving forward;
there’s a new mural on the side of Foard construction and plans are underway for several other art and beautification projects. After eight years I am still partnering with Little Shiva, putting out issues winter, spring, summer and fall, and still loving it. The ECA, with all of your help is going strong; its dedicated members working hard to try to save what is threatened and to keep Elizabeth a very special place in which to live.
Better building, collective caring by Sarah Gay From my upstairs flat in Elizabeth, working from home part of the week, I see foot traffic, children playing, and the crisscross of workers on the weekdays. On walks, as I’m sure others do, I notice new additions and subtractions from our landscape, and I’m nervous about the seemingly accelerating loss of historic, mid-sized and original houses which make up the eclectic – and appealing – nature of our architectural fabric in Elizabeth. Though I know planning and building, or renovating, a house can be exciting and helps residents invest
photos: Nancy O. Albert / montage: Little Shiva
Our 2006 fall newsletter cover (thumbnail) and some of the places we’ve lost.
4
THE PEOPLE PAGES
in the neighborhood, I’m lately questioning some of the development nosing in here. Gargantuan houses are swiftly replacing more modest, and historic, bungalows and duplexes – some that hailed from Elizabeth’s origins near the turn of the 20th century. The welcoming, quirky faces of these human-scaled, handbuilt, unique buildings and the bridge they provided to this neighborhood’s past and legacy were, along with the amazing trees, a big reason I wanted to live here despite the high cost. In the past couple years, however, at least three projects have simply razed the older
buildings and seen a new megahouse erected in weeks, built on spec to bring in the highest possible price (for highest square-footage) by designerbuilders who don’t live here. I wonder if the new owners who buy these have any idea what was lost.
There are exceptions of course; many conscientious and invested homeowners re-design their homes with care and love. Even so, one such project still demanded the loss of at least five mature trees on one lot.
Having witnessed the cutting and felling of no less than 15 tall 80-year Willow Oaks just In the overall trend, I worry along 5th Street in six years about the conversion of a (replaced by a total of five charming, multi-incomenew plantings, by my count), supporting and pedestrian(and nature-) friendly, inclusive I mourn the loss of the tall tree corridor – like a green, neighborhood, into one that gothic-cathedral nave – that feels A) like you have to be rich to live here, and B) like it’s first attracted me to 5th. It losing its integration with both gave respite from the brutal history, and with urban wildlife summer sun and was home to multitudes of birds, bees, through loss of tree canopy. THE PEOPLE PAGES
5
squirrels and other wildlife (now with fewer multitudes). It lifted my spirits every time I drove or walked down the street. I almost never hear the barred owls anymore; and the noise of machinery, heavy trucks, and saws is nearly constant, in contrast to the quiet, birdsong-filled glade we had just a few years ago. Nancy Albert’s Editor’s note in this issue mentions Charlotte’s infamy for its obliteration of its past. Do we want Elizabeth complicit in this? What about the desire evident in movements all over the world of people seeking and restoring historic urban dwellings? One particular loss that galls (or rather three), is the overnight disappearance of three unique 1920’s-era brick duplexes on Greenway, with their porch arches and gables, tall windows, graceful and venerable design, and room to garden and play outside. They deserved restoration but got the wrecking ball instead. Two of these lots are still scraped bare two years later. In my prior career in public art management, it’s a tenet of ‘best practice’ to understand that a place’s identity is bolstered and enriched by its built history – a physical presence that informs how a community collectively thinks of itself. Historic layers of structure interweave with layers of stories. When you lose an era’s structures, you 6
THE PEOPLE PAGES
also lose the cue for the story; and hence, a little chunk of identity. Sometimes this is best; sometimes, not. The evolving appeal of a place lies in the care of those choices. We’re still a charming place to live and a community of great people. Maybe an examination of the direction we’re heading is in order: perhaps a re-evaluation of the mantra “I can do whatever I want with my property,” for an alternative attitude; “I am part of a collective set of values, articulated by the very nature of the surroundings I elected to join; and within which I evaluate the decisions that impact others.” I’m grateful for the many neighbors who already adopt this outlook. Toys and games by Cal Watford Editor’s note: This story and the accompanying photographs were forwarded to me by new board member Jim Belvin. According to Jim: “As a child, Cal & his family lived in our house on Lamar Ave. from about 1937 to 1941. After his wife passed away several years ago, he decided to write several stories about his life for his grandkids. He contacted us to see if we would be interested in the stories and in some photos he had of our home back then. We were very grateful, and have enjoyed them very much. In one photo, where Cal is sitting on a sort of wagon, you can see the section of Lamar Ave that was bulldozed long ago to
make way for Independence Blvd.” I don’t know just how old I was, but probably around eight or nine. I got a chemistry set for Christmas. I really had lots of fun with it. I had a large desk in my room, and kept all the equipment set up nice and neat. The first mysterious compound I made was soap. It was only a small test tube full, and I’m not sure how cleansing it was, but it sure did make lots of suds. I wanted my mother to use it in her laundry, but she said she had better try it out on an old scrub cloth. It took some of the dirt out, but probably not as good as her regular soap did. One day I put some sulfur in a small dish and set it on fire. What a stink it made. Mother came and opened all the windows in my room, and told me “please don’t do that again”. I think the book said it was suppose to kill all the germs in the air. I know it really smelled up the place. Another one of my favorite toys was an “Erector Set”. It was a large set with all different sizes of metal parts that you could build many things with. It also had an electric motor, used to power things like a “Ferris Wheel”, or building crane. Lots of fun, and kept a young boy busy. I had that “Erector” set for many years before giving it to one of my young cousins. One toy I played with as a younger little boy was a bag of wooden blocks of various sizes.
They were given to my by Uncle Jim, an old Negro man who worked at a lumber yard close to our house. He picked them out of the scrap bin at the wood working shop next to the lumber yard. I would take them down in the woods behind our house and play among the large exposed roots of the trees. The blocks would be different size trucks and cars. Some of the bigger ones would be used to build forts or small buildings. I still think that the best toys are those that make you use your imagination.
photos courtesy Cal Watford
Baseball was always a popular sport with me and my friends. In the summertime we would go to the park at Elizabeth Grammar School. Usually we would go on Saturday afternoon, because on Saturday morning we would go the the picture show. Saturday would be a double feature day, with two shows for the price of one. The movie cost a dime, and a big box of popcorn was a nickel. If we had enough players we would play ball until we tired of it. Next to the playground was a real ball park. It was where the Charlotte Hornets practiced and I think played their regular games. One day after we were through playing I went around the tall fence and walked over to watch them practice. I had my ball glove, and a new “Pepper Martin� autographed bat that I was so proud of. I walked over THE PEOPLE PAGES
7
8
THE PEOPLE PAGES
little ways and spit up. He came to check on me, and told me never to swallow the juice. I was supposed to spit it out. I was so sick. I never “chawed “tobacco again. I don’t think I told my parents about it. I didn’t want my mother to know I had done such a thing. From time to time, I have thought about that ball player. I don’t know his name, but I wonder if he went on to play in the major league, and did he ever think about a little boy he gave a “chaw” of tobacco to one day long ago. On the far side of our school play ground, (Elizabeth
photos courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room
I stood there watching him and then he took a small flat package out of his hip pocket. Unwrapping it, he asked if I wanted a “chaw “of tobacco. I had no idea what he was talking about but since he put a piece in his mouth, and he was a ball In a few minutes, the third player, I said yes. It wasn’t very baseman asked if he could see nice looking. It was black and my bat. I was so pleased the he sort of stringy. He broke me off would want to do that. He asked a piece and I started chewing it. me if I knew who Pepper Martin was. I said my daddy told me he It was strong and bitter tasting was a real good ball player that but since he was chewing his, I tried to keep on chewing mine. played for a big team up north In a minute, I swallowed some somewhere. He said, “That’s of the juice. I got so sick. I spit right”. You take good care of out the rest of it and went off a this bat. I told him I would. to the third base side of the field, and stood there watching them warming up, throwing the ball to each other and trying to stop “grounders” hit to them by a batsman.. I was little, but wanted to be so big.
Grammar School) there was a very high dirt bank. I think there were tennis courts on the top of the hill. In the late summer, the grass on the bank would dry or die, and we would take cardboard boxes, open them flat and slid down the grassy hill like sleds on snow. You could really go fast, and it was lots of fun. I wonder of children do that today, or would we even allow them to? Does a slave cemetery lie beneath Independence park? by Nancy O. Albert A newspaper article found in the files at the Carolina Room at the uptown Public Library begins with this startling sentence “Perhaps
less than half a dozen residents of Charlotte know it, but the playground at Elizabeth School is located on a grave yard and the children sit and stand on tombstones daily without knowing what they are.” The article, written by John W. Harden is undated but Librarian Jane Jacobson believes it dates from the 1930’s. He goes on to describe a pre-Civil War era grave yard used for slaves. Jacobson believes, based on other research, that some of the slaves may have been owned by the Torrence family, for whom Torreance St. is named, and who lived in a house near the present-day Novant Presbyterian Hospital. They were simple graves marked
by large native rocks, as was common at the time. Some still remaind just a few inches above ground level at the time the article was written, according to Harden. This is the story he tells and it is based on information from E. I. Marsden who lived in Elizabeth for 30 years. Marsden says the graves were shown to him by Jack Myers, for whom Myers Park was named. What is now Independence Park was one of Charlotte’s two reservoirs . “Fed by a creek cutting across the eastern edge of the city the two lakes collected and stored water for municipal use. A dam separated the two bodies. Today this dam is used for an elevated roadway cutting north and south across
THE PEOPLE PAGES
9
parents died and there was no way to support the child. It was the brainchild of members of the Episcopal Church, especially those who attended St Peter’s or St. Mark’s. In Jane Jacobson was quite helpful the early days, Sunday school in researching this article and children would donate pennies noted that the Carolina Room to support the orphans, later When the lakes were drained, has Torrence family papers the Women’s guilds took up the Myers, as head of the park which may contain more about support. Eventually it became commission, oversaw the the slaves. But many questions the beneficiary of the whole process. Drainage pipes were remain and if any reader has Episcopal church of North laid at the bottom of the lakes more information on the Carolina. and then the area was covered poignant and fascinating The story of the Orphanage over with loads of earth. nearly-lost neighborhood began in 1886 when a meeting Eventually the playground and history, please contact me at was held at the home of John athletic fields were constructed noalbert@carolina.ee.com. Wilkes, St Peter’s vestryman. on the site. Though the I would love to write a followAt that time orphans were gravestones were visible, barely, up article. more like indentured servants in the 1930’s Harden notes working for 12.5 cents a week Thompson orphanage that plans were in place that if someone would take them by Frances D’Amato would “lead to the complete in. They were children without obliteration of the final resting Have you ever passed St Mary’s school or a vision of God. place of a number of slaves. Chapel on Third and Kings Even today nobody knows who and wondered what its history Benjamin Bronson donated they belonged to or who buried land near Sugar Creek for would reveal? Well more than them there.” the Orphanage. The land was 100 years ago the chapel large enough to support a farm “With that, the burial place stood in the midst of the of numberless and nameless Thompson Orphanage. In those that the children worked and eventually were able to not only slaves will disappear, perhaps to days children came to the feed themselves but also put re-appear at some future time orphanage when one or both
10
THE PEOPLE PAGES
when another generation begins to stir the surface of mother earth there, only to discover traces of the last resting place for some unknown mortals.”
photo courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room
the park. The slave cemetery lay along the bank of the upper pond beginning at what is now Hawthorne Lane and running down to the dam.” The graves were apparently hidden under a thick growth of briars and underbrush.
photo: Nancy O. Albert
excess produce on a donkey cart and sell fresh vegetables to the people who lived uptown. In 1888, Edwin Osborne was appointed superintendent. By 1889, 39 children were living in Thompson Hall. All were baptized into the Episcopal Church in the small chapel upon entering the orphanage. Visitors observed that the children were smiling and occupied with farming tasks or studying in the school on the grounds.
Osborne realized that the children would need access to higher education and trades that could sustain them when they were ready to leave the Thompson. He also saw the necessity of building an infirmary to care for sick children and to protect the rest from contagious diseases. By 1894 there were 66 children at the orphanage and more space was needed. A twostory addition to Thompson
hall was added. Now there was room for a large dinning room, pantry, kitchen, ironing room and a dormitory for girls on the south side and one for the boys along with rooms for the matron on the west side. A new slate roof was added to the old sections to match the new addition. The old cafeteria was converted to a study room. When the US battleship Maine was attacked off Cuba, Osborne took the opportunity to return THE PEOPLE PAGES
11
to military service. When questioned by his daughter as to why, he exclaimed that caring for the children of the orphanage with the meager resources had drained him of his lifeblood. In June of 1898, Rev. Walter J. Smith became the superintendent and saw to the many needed repairs. He was able to bring running water into the buildings and added a dining room and infirmary to Bronson Hall and telephone service to the facilities.
of daily living for the children in their care. A central building would now house the schoolrooms, gym, infirmary, central heating plant, and housing for the superintendent and his family. By 1914 the Federation Cottage was under construction and a home for the superintendent was built. However, World War I took donors attention away as funds were marshaled for the war effort.
Smith’s health was declining and he asked to resign. In 1919, Rev. William Wheeler Smith was an astute visited the orphanage and businessman and published the took on the position as Messenger of Hope, a diocesan Superintendent. He realized newspaper. Here he had an that more orphans needed excellent tool to report on the care and that in order to serve needs and accomplishments of them Thompson Orphanage Thompson Orphanage. would need to expand. He also He also hired Miss Whitaker, took to writing in a campaign a fundraiser who traveled to newspaper. Fortunately Bishop all the parishes asking for Edwin Penick was an ardent donations. Every gift and donor supporter and funds pored in was listed in the monthly so construction could begin. newspaper. The children’s By 1929, the children cultural life wasn’t ignored numbered 107 and were either and they received attending public schools which free tickets to concerts and required even more emphasis on the circus. Christmas dinner proper clothing. The depression followed a church service and was lavish including mincemeat made funds even tighter. pie and oysters. By 1940 a new superintendent Manly Dowell Whisnant and his In 1909, a Federation went about establishing a thoroughly wife Pearl decided they would be the parents of all 87 children. modern facility. This would prove a challenge for A plan was proposed to the children as well as the new convert dormitories to small cottages with a married couple parents. An alumni organization proved to be helpful in raising serving as stand-in parents funds as well. supervising all the activities 12
THE PEOPLE PAGES
By the 1950s, however, needs were changing. There were fewer orphans, meaning declining numbers at Thompson each year, and children lacking one or both parents were increasingly being served by federal or state agencies. It became clear that Osborne’s vision was no longer valid and that the church could not indefinitely fund a traditional but archaic institution. Two independently based reports supported this conclusion, and under superintendent Robert Noble (1965-78) and director John Powell the mission of the institution was dramatically changed. Instead of concentrating upon orphans, the school would now focus upon the treatment of emotionally disturbed children between the ages of six and 12. These children would be drawn from across the state and were to be housed in specially designed treatment cottages. The centers were to be served 24 hours a day with rotating staffs. Now named Thompson Children’s Home, the institution was moved to a 40-acre location on the outskirts of the city. With branches at Fletcher and Goldsboro, a child development center in Charlotte, and a strong foster care system, Thompson Children’s Home provides a variety of services to more than 300 children and families annually.
photo courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room
Information for this article comes from Barbara Lockman’s A Century’s Child: The Story of Thompson Children’s Home, 1886-1986 and the NCpedia.
have a bit of time to spare, walk up the stairs to the handsome and comfortable Carolina Room and give yourself a treat.
The Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room houses Charlotte’s treasure historical information about trove of history Charlotte, Mecklenburg by Nancy O. Albert County and North Carolina I’d like to give a shout-out to as well as genealogical and the Carolina Room at the Main current information, especially branch of the Public Library and focusing on the eastern part to its wonderful staff. Librarians of the United States. The Jane Jacobson and Shelia Library’s special collections, Bumgarner were of particular including sound recordings help with this newsletter issue, related to North Carolina, providing research assistance photographs of Charlotte and locating historic images to and Mecklenburg County, accompany the articles. archives and manuscripts, The next time you’re uptown and surname and biography files,
state government documents, public and private school publications and area maps are housed there. Patrons will find a large collection of reference resources, both in print and online. Microfilm holdings include the Federal Census of Population for many states, early county records for Mecklenburg and other nearby counties, plus historical and current newspapers. Microfilm readers/printers are available, and the staff are always there to help you get started. Their hours are the same as the library’s and is especially helpful that they are open and fully staffed on weekends. THE PEOPLE PAGES
13
After a long construction schedule the street car on Elizabeth Avenue/Trade Street, should be wrapping up construction any day now, and opening for service in March 2015. CATS and the City of Charlotte have submitted their plans to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for $150 million expansion dubbed Phase II. $75 million would be paid for by City of Charlotte and FTA would match that with additional $75 million in funds. Phase II would extend the street 14
THE PEOPLE PAGES
car beyond its northern boundaries on Trade Street to Johnson C. Smith University. Additionally it would have a local impact on the Elizabeth neighborhood, as the proposed plan would extend the street car an additional 1/2 mile on Hawthorne Lane over Independence Boulevard and would terminate at Sunnyside Avenue. There is an extended history between the Historic Elizabeth Neighborhood Foundation (HENF), The Elizabeth Community Association (ECA), the City of Charlotte, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
(SHPO), the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and the US Department of the Interior (DOT) regarding the Hawthorne Lane Bridge. The HENF and ECA started working in 1987 with City of Charlotte and NCDOT regarding the planning of Independence Boulevard which was eventually widened to its current number of lanes. All of these negotiations resulted in an agreement signed in 1994 between the parties that addresses a number of issues such as the lowering of the Independence Boulevard road bed, relocation of Historic Houses that were in the eventual rightof-way of Independence
Image courtesy of CATS Art-in-Transit © 2014 Aaron Cote
Street car construction update and Hawthorne bridge renovation by Andy Misiaveg, President HENF, and Melanie Sizemore
http://levinemuseumofthenewsouth.blogspot.be/2014/10/ask-artist-nancy-oneil.html
Boulevard, retaining walls, landscaping, etc., In addition, due to the bifurcating of the neighborhood and physical separation of Elizabeth from the Sunnyside area, there was an extensive effort to create the Hawthorne Lane Bridge in a manner to continue to connect the 2 segments of the neighborhood, as well as certain design elements of the bridge to reflect a higher level of aesthetic and architectural detail. These elements can be seen today with the curve of the bridge span, decorative buttresses, ornamental railings, decorative light poles, 8’ wide sidewalks, gothic ach indentations, etc. Additionally the width of the bridge at 60 feet provides safe vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle movements. The new phase II plan, which contemplates a construction schedule beginning in the second half of 2016 and ending in mid- 2019, proposes a new reinforced bridge to support the weight of the street car, along with vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic. The current bridge would not support those weights. The width of the new bridge would still stay the same and allow for the same movements across the bridge when construction is complete. The HENF/ECA are again spearheading an effort to achieve high levels of historical, architectural, and aesthetic
detail with the new proposed bridge and its features, as well as the neighborhood street car stops for Phase II. The City of Charlotte’s DOT and Cats have agreed to abide by the agreement signed in 1994 that detailed many of these design details of the Hawthorne Bridge and have submitted that
as part of their construction plan. We look forward to keeping you updated on the progress and any renderings as this dialogue continues with City of Charlotte and other involved parties. In the meantime if you get a chance go take a stroll over the bridge and check out some of the details that your neighbors worked to achieve 25 years ago and are working to preserve and enhance for future generations!
Looking Forward/ Looking Back from the Levine Museum of the New South website Tracks are going in along East Trade Street for the new LYNX Gold Line streetcar, an exciting uptown addition set to open March 2015. But you don’t have to wait to see the art that will grace the project. Levine Museum is excited to host Looking Forward/Looking Back, an exhibit of the public art to be integrated into the first phase of the CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar project. The exhibit of collages by artist Nancy O’Neill will be on display through March 30, 2015. O’Neill worked with more than 50 community members and organizations who contributed documents and photographs to the artwork. The final 12 collages represent the past and present histories of Charlotte including major events, significant places, and prominent figures who made an impact in neighborhoods along the Gold Line. Ultimately the collages will be produced in the glass windscreens of the CityLYNX Gold Line Passenger Shelters that will be along the route from The Square, past Time Warner Cable Arena and CPCC, ending (in this initial phase) at Novant Presbyterian Hospital. The exhibition is sponsored by the City of Charlotte and the Charlotte Area Transit System, with support from Levine Museum. THE PEOPLE PAGES
15
Sweet-swing bandleader Hal Kemp by Nancy O. Albert In a recent newsletter article I wrote about Harry Golden, perhaps Elizabeth’s most famed resident, who lived on East 8th Street. But another distinguished resident lived only a block away, at 1604 East 8th. James Hal Kemp, orchestra and band leader, was born in Marion, Ala., on 21 March 1904. He was the son of T. D. Kemp, Sr., a Southern Railway bridge engineer and Leila Rush Kemp, a poet. The family moved to Charlotte when he was as a child. He graduated from Central High School on Elizabeth Avenue. While still in school, he organized his first dance band, a five-piece combo called the Merrymakers. In 1922, Kemp entered the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where he 16
THE PEOPLE PAGES
seems to have plunged into numerous activities: he was involved in the Musical Club, band, orchestra, glee club, and served as president of the dramatic arts association. He organized a campus band known as the Carolina Club Orchestra which performed in Europe during the summer of 1924, under the sponsorship of popular bandleader Paul Specht. Kemp returned to UNC in 1925 and put together a seven piece combo, featuring classmates and future stars John Scott Trotter, Saxie Dowell and Skinnay Ennis. Hal Kemp never completed his academic pursuits at the UNC. In 1927 Kemp turned leadership of the Carolina Club Orchestra over to fellow UNC student Kay Kyser and began his professional career. He and Kyser remained close friends for the remainder of Kemp’s short life. Kemp was a proficient trumpet, clarinet, and saxophone player. He was recognized for the clean, smooth style in the saxophone and brass sections of his orchestra, as well as his unusual choral arrangements. His musical success soon earned him national and international recognition. His orchestra played in New York during the mid-1920s, toured throughout Europe and the US and played on a number of radio shows. “When the Summer is Gone (How I’ll Miss You),” became band’s theme
song. Other popular tunes they recorded included “Got a Date with an Angel,” “Lamplight,” and “Remember Me.” Several vocalists achieved fame with Kemp’s band, among them Maxine Gray and Bob Allen. In 1932, during the height of the depression, Kemp decided to lead the band in a new direction, changing the orchestra’s style to that of a dance band using muted triple-tonguing trumpets, clarinets playing low sustained notes in unison through large megaphones (an early version of the echo chamber effect), and a double-octave piano. In 1936, Hal Kemp orchestra was number one for two weeks with “There’s a Small Hotel.” Other Hal Kemp compositions included “Blue Rhythm”, “In Dutch with the Duchess”, “Five Steps to Love”, “Off the Beat”, and “Workout”. His brother T. D. Kemp, Jr., and sister Marie Kemp-Dunaway, in collaboration with bandleader Whitey Kaufman, wrote “Hurry Back, Old Sweetheart of Mine”, which was an early Kemp recording. Kemp’s band was the first to be featured in a motion picture, Radio City Revels of 1938. In addition, the band was named by Variety magazine as the favorite “sweet-swing” band of 1938 and received the Associated Collegiate Press All-American Musical award for that year. In 1939 he served as a guest
conductor of the Chicago Symphony, partially fulfilling an ambition to be a symphony conductor. An automobile accident tragically cut short his life however. On December 19, 1940, while driving from Los Angeles to a booking in San Francisco, his car collided head-on with a truck in Madera California. Kemp broke a leg and several ribs, one of which punctured a lung. He developed pneumonia while in the hospital and died two days later and the young age of 36. Material for this article comes from the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, UNC Press. Correspondence,
photo courtesy Guillermo Villar
Guillermo Villar walking Oscar (stroller) and Felix
photographs, clippings, legal documents, sheet and recorded music, documenting Hal Kemp’s career can be found in the Southern History Collection at the University of North Carolina Library in Chapel Hill. Inspiration from a three-legged dog by Guillermo Villar Have you noticed a tall guy in his 40s pushing a medium-sized brown dog in a red stroller around our neighborhood? If you have, you might’ve wondered what that’s all about.
The tall guy is Guillermo Villar, a career coach who lives with his wife Danielle Kleinrichert and their two dogs and two cats at 515 Pecan Ave. The dog in the “sweet ride” is Oscar. If you’ve seen him, you’ve probably also noticed his littermate Felix milling around nearby. Yes, the odd couple. Their names certainly a nod to 1960s and 70s pop culture, Oscar and Felix are also odd in the combined number of legs they have. Oscar has three. Two years ago Oscar and Felix were adopted from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Animal Care and Control Shelter. They had been rescued from a “rough” situation where Oscar had sustained a bone injury in his front right leg that didn’t heal correctly and caused him to avoid putting weight on it. The vet at the Shelter told Danielle and Guillermo that the best thing for Oscar was for his leg to be amputated. Sensing their apprehension at hearing at the “A-word”, she added, “Don’t worry, three-legged dogs do just fine.” And indeed, Oscar does just fine. Anyone who’s seen Oscar bopping around outside his stroller can attest to that. He runs, jumps, sniffs, and plays like nobody’s business. If you let him, he’ll come up to you, stand on his hind legs and try to put his singular front paw on your belly while making eye contact, as if to say, “Hey, THE PEOPLE PAGES
17
how’s it going? Just trying to take a load off here.” So why the stroller for Oscar? Because he gets tired more quickly than his brother Felix. He’ll go strong for a little while and then just stop, making it clear that he’s not going anywhere unless someone is willing to carry him. Tired of carrying the 30-pound Oscar around, Danielle and Guillermo decided to give a dog stroller a try, and it’s worked out great for all involved. Oscar does well for himself, but he does more than that. Without even knowing it, he offers inspiration to us twolegged beings. Oscar may or may not know that he has three legs, but he (1) doesn’t spend any time wishing he were different, (2) doesn’t label his situation as good or bad, and (3) knows what he needs and figures out how to get it. When he’s tired and wants to go in the stroller, he stops. When he wants out of the stroller to sniff tree trunks, he stands up and let’s Guillermo know. He’s wisely focused on self-care. How much better would our own human lives be if we were as self-aware, as nonjudgmental about our own situations, and as focused on taking care of ourselves as Oscar is? Yes, Oscar is a lucky dog with a sweet ride, no question, but he’s much more 18
THE PEOPLE PAGES
than that. Next time you see Oscar in his stroller, maybe you’ll think to yourself, “That three-legged dog has got it figured out!” How I became your new state senator by Jeff Jackson, N.C. Senate District 37 As I walked up to the entrance of the General Assembly, I looked down at the Great Seal of North Carolina and slowly came to a stop. I was about to enter our state’s legislative building as our newest state Senator. I took out my phone and took a picture. Then I walked inside and asked for directions to my office. Two months earlier, this was all impossible. Dan Clodfelter was my state Senator. His reputation was unparalleled. He was hailed by virtually everyone on both sides of the political aisle as not just the smartest guy in the room, but as a public servant of unquestionable integrity. Ultimately, it was the strength of Dan Clodfelter’s reputation – especially that part about his integrity – that changed his title from state Senator to Mayor. And suddenly, we needed a new state Senator. Deciding to run wasn’t an obvious choice. I was happy – and busy. I was an assistant district attorney charged with prosecuting felony crimes. In addition, I serve as a Captain
in the Army National Guard and attend drill one weekend each month, as I have for twelve years, including a tour in Afghanistan in 2005. My wife and I live in Elizabeth with our six-year-old, Haden. We both work, we both spend a lot of time with Haden, and we both knew what this would mean for our family. After a long conversation, we decided it was worth it. In the district attorney’s office, you can help thousands of people. In the state senate, you can help millions. That’s what it came down to. In North Carolina, we fill vacancies in the General Assembly through an election in which party leaders who live within the member’s district elect a replacement. In this case, the Democratic leaders who live within the 37th state senate district elected the replacement. After being honored to win the election, my first task was to resign my position at the District Attorney’s office. Under our state constitution, you can’t be a criminal prosecutor and an elected official simultaneously. My second task was to start reading. By happenstance, session was set to start in about a week. I had a good grasp of most of the big issues we would be addressing – coal ash, fracking, and teacher compensation among them –
but there were an enormous number of smaller issues that would need attention. In the summer of 2002, I spent nine weeks in Basic Training at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Those were the most exhausting nine weeks of my life. This year, the nine weeks I spent in session at the General Assembly became a close second.
You just get hit from every angle. Lobbyists wait at your door for a minute (“or two”) of your time. Fellow legislators are stopping you in the hallway for a quick word about charter schools, then another about State Troopers, then a third about an event during lunch that “you really shouldn’t miss.” Citizen groups are asking you to sign various pledges, inviting you to
Don’t forget about the bills. Reading them – and understanding the implications, often hidden – could easily fill every waking hour. Want to make an improvement to one of them? Now we’re drafting amendments and communicating with fellow legislators about why their bill could use some tweaking. I still look down at the Great Seal every time I walk inside. It imparts a deep sense of honor, and obligation. But now I walk straight to my office. No directions needed. Jeff.Jackson@ncleg.net
photo: Nancy O. Albert
A successful home tour by Suzanne Henry
documentaries about their causes, and reminding you that they’ll be watching your every move. Constituents call, but most email – approximately 100 every day.
The 2014 Elizabeth Home & Garden Tour took place on October 11-12 and was, as it has been for more than 40 years, a great success! The weekend drew attendees from all over (even from as far as Australia!) to explore several of our beautiful homes and gardens, visit our inviting shops and business, and experience all that makes Elizabeth the vibrant neighborhood we love. Traditionally one of Elizabeth’s largest fundraisers, this year’s home tour was no exception. Through ticket sales and the support of our generous THE PEOPLE PAGES
19
sponsors, the 2014 home tour raised more than $10,000.00. In addition to supporting the ECA’s efforts, a portion of this year’s proceeds was given to Charlotte Bridge Home (a non-profit in Elizabeth that connects veterans with resources) and our CMPD Providence division.
On behalf of home tour committee, we hope you all had a chance to take part in the fun that was the 2014 Elizabeth Home & Garden Tour. We remain grateful for
your support and look forward to seeing you again in 2015! Meet the artist by Kris Solow Meet artist Abigail Jones who painted the mural on the Foard Construction building on Pecan Ave. at an artist reception on Gallery Crawl night, Friday, December 5th, from 6:00PM-7:30PM. It will be held at the Foard Construction Company, 626 Pecan Avenue. Abigail completed painting the rendition of the Charlotte skyline with an I-beam in the foreground last month. She worked diligently for over
photo of Abigail Jones: Kris Solow
Each year, the home tour is not possible without the generous gifts of both time and money from many individuals and businesses in our community. A special thank you goes out to our gracious neighbors who opened their beautiful homes, gardens, businesses and workplaces to tour
attendees. Thank you to the hardworking members of our community who volunteered their time to assist with tickets, staffing, home tours, sponsorships, promotion, and event organization. Finally, we owe so much gratitude to our presenting sponsor Savvy & Company, and to all of the event sponsors, whose generous financial support made the success of the home tour possible.
20
THE PEOPLE PAGES
a month, carefully and thoughtfully immersed, to produce a well exposed mural for the Foard’s, our neighborhood, and all to appreciate every time we drive over the railroad tracks. Abigail’s bio reads, “After graduating from East Carolina University with a
work spawned off of a series I did about my own life, and how I began to find hope, despite the depths of my past.” The Foard’s have installed a light above the mural so that it can be seen at night. Paintings by Abigail and photographs by local photographer Nancy Albert will be on display inside. Light refreshments will be served. Tree vandalism happens again by Kris Solow Two Zelcova trees in the City’s median at Philosopher’s Stone Restaurant were severely topped and no one knows who did it. If you remember in the Fall 2013 newsletter, we ran an article detailing three home tree vandalisms where trees were butchered at stop signs and their limbs/brush left beside them.
degree in Studio Arts and a concentration in Painting and Drawing in 2013, I was filled with wanderlust. So, I traveled to Arizona and worked for a conservation corps doing trail work in correlation with the National Park Service and National Forest Service. Once my contract ended I came back to the home I know and love in North Carolina to pursue my dream to be a starving artist. I am inspired by people, their stories, adventures, heartaches, beliefs, and their individualism. My desire to portray this in my
In profiling the vandalism this time, it was done under power lines to which the Zelcovas posed no threat due to their upward branch growth, and contrary to last time, the limbs/brush were removed by the perpetrator(s). I personally stopped by Philosopher’s and Kennedy’s to ask if anyone had seen anything. No one did. The City will be replacing them since if left as is, “…the branch attachments would not be good. The risk of limbs breaking off as the limbs grew
larger would be higher,” said Don McSween, City arborist. Please keep a watchful eye out for trees flagged with tape (the Zelcovas were wrapped with flagging tape prior to the topping) particularly under power lines, people working without safety equipment, after business hours, or on the weekends. Most trades begin and end their day early, 7:30AM-3:30PM. If you see anything that just doesn’t seem right or a tree recently taped, please call Don McSween at 704-336-3459, 911, or me at 704-806-4456 to investigate. Take a video on your phone/camera if possible, or a photo. If you see a vehicle nearby, get the plate number and description. Do not overlook the obvious. Want art? by Kris Solow The ECA Art Committee wants lots of art in Elizabeth. With the Arts & Science Council and City of Charlotte pARTnership art project due to be completed by October 2015, and the recent completion of the private art mural by Abigail Jones on the Foard Construction building, we are in the infant stages of something profound and wonderful happening in our neighborhood! Art can be put almost anywhere imaginable. It can be put on private property, county property, or city property. It can be temporary art or permanent art. THE PEOPLE PAGES
21
name address phone e-mail Legacy Sugar Maple
I want ______ tree(s) at $355 each subtotal $ ________ Wildfire Black Gum
I want ______ tree(s) at $355 each subtotal $ ________ Brandywine Red Maple
I want ______ tree(s) at $345 each subtotal $ ________ Nuttal Oak
I want ______ tree(s) at $290 each subtotal $ ____________ ECA subsidy: subtract $100 per tree TOTAL: $ ______________________
check no. __________ enclosed for $__________________
For a future art project, we plan to contact the County to see if we can put art in Independence Park. As far as City property goes, possibilities are extremely limited: sidewalks, the median at 7th and Caswell, and the Water Tower. But there’s an abundance of opportunities right under our very noses, in our front yards or businesses! Look around you! Think of the possibilities. If you’re interested, we just need you to say the word to make it happen. It could be on a wall, or it could be a freestanding piece, a mobile, part of a fence or gate, or on your driveway, for example. We want to compile a list of homeowners and business owners who would be interested in an art project on their property. We also want to compile a list of artists (especially artists who live in Elizabeth) so we can pair them with the owners who want an art project on their property. Funding would be the responsibility of the home or business owner; however, partial funding by the ECA is being explored. Please let us know if you’d like to be on one of these lists. Our vision is to make Elizabeth a walkable art destination. How cool would that be?! 704-806-4456 ksolow@carolina.rr.com
22
THE PEOPLE PAGES
The Elizabeth tree planting program returns by Ric Solow
After a one year hiatus the Elizabeth Tree Planting Program returns, offering residents a great value for established shade trees, professionally sited and planted in your yard. Project Elizabeth, started in 2006, is a neighborhood tree-planting initiative aimed at restoring the heritage of our magnificent tree canopy that in recent years has been affected by old age, disease, storms, and development pressures. The Elizabeth Community Association will continue it’s commitment to this program by subsidizing the tree planting for neighborhood residents and businesses.
centerfold photo from the orphanage courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room / tree photo: Ric Solow
In partnership with the Maplewood Company, the ECA will provide $100 towards the purchase and planting of trees for your yard. The Maplewood Company and ECA have selected 4 tree species ideal for shade, growth, drought, and disease tolerance: Legacy Sugar Maple, Wildfire Black Gum (no gum balls), Brandywine Red Maple, and Nuttal Oak. Our goal this year is to plant 50 trees throughout our neighborhood.
“Trees are what make our neighborhood so special, I was happy to do it.”
rest of the neighborhood (an option a couple of residents have already chosen).
“A great service that the neighborhood offers. Where else but in Elizabeth!”
Don’t miss this GREAT opportunity.
“This program is our opportunity to pay it forward to future generations.” The deadline for this offer is December 24, 2014. Also, if your lawn is already full, you can opt to donate trees to the
For any other questions, please contact Ric Solow 704 906 1967 ric@solowdesigngroup.com The subsidy will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis for up to 50 trees.
The program is simple and easy: Step 1: Choose your tree:
Sugar Maple, Black Gum, Red Maple, or Oak Step 2: Return the order form
(p22) to the Solow residence at 2109 East 5th Street. Make check payable in full to: The Maplewood Co. Step 3: Professionals from
Solow Design Group will help you stake an ideal spot for your trees. They will contact you by phone or email to arrange a site visit. Step 4: The Maplewood
Company will deliver, plant, mulch, and initially water your trees. A detailed care sheet will be provided for your reference. All trees are warranted for 2yrs. Comments from the neighbors:
“Seems like every time I go for a run I see more TREES!! They look so awesome.” THE PEOPLE PAGES
23
24
THE PEOPLE PAGES
THE PEOPLE PAGES
25
Editor’s note: As part of the Neighborhoods in Creative pARTnership art project, artist Amy Bagwell composed a poem, Now is Fireworks, segments of which will appear on installations throughout Elizabeth. Several people expressed the desire to see the entire poem somewhere in the neighborhood. Amy, who is founder and director of Wall Poems of Charlotte, met with Kate Vasseur, owner of Studio K, and discussed the idea of having the poem painted on the side wall of the gallery, where it would be visible from 7th Street. As the ASC/City funding would not cover the cost of this wall painting, fundraising plans are underway, including an art raffle or auction to take place in the spring.
26
THE PEOPLE PAGES
Look at me. Now is fireworks, gathered first like Queen Anne’s lace into fists called just before, then bursting absolutely. After, are you hawk or songbird? Or climbing rose, with colors that unfold as slow as fondness? What I mean to ask is where are you going on a night like this, the water so still you could walk on top of it if you whispered? You remember your grandparents like they just left the room, but you forget so much. And does your suitcase, when you’ve arrived and told it now, pop its mousetrap latch and burst into a brown motelroom with a brown couch you lie on to watch stars that are not fireworks through a halfcurtained window? Sing your answer, your voice a warfield for sleep and strain. Or, from your granddad’s records (more ghostly with each listen, like everything), play the perfect lady singer’s lamentation like a hand grabbing for the falling, like the buried and forgotten, like a train’s long, wavering horn. Or, because all the sorry eyes in the world won’t get you back to this water, take me there with you. I’ll ride quiet. At the latch’s snap, my cue, I’ll leap from that travelbag like happiness from a cake done in none of nature’s colors— except those pale pink sugar roses over my wish for you, under your name.
nature drawings: Ernst Haeckel
Now is Fireworks by Amy Bagwell
THE BUSINESS SECTION
27
28
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
29
30
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
31
32
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
33
34
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
35
36
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
37
38
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
39
40
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
41
42
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
43
44
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
45
46
THE BUSINESS SEC TION
THE BUSINESS SECTION
47