ECA 3-08 by Elizabeth Community

Nancy Albert

Kara Gooding

J.T. Petersen

Russell Crandall

Terry Lett

Todd Rubenson

Freda Zeh

Linda Nash

Melanie Sizemore

Babak Emadi

Maya Packard

Peter Tart

Jean Galloway

Ruffin Pearce

Roxie Towns

newsletter 704 719 1255 noalbert@carolina.rr.com traffic/block captain 704 894 2283 rucrandall@davidson.edu membership 704 333 3127 fredazeh@carolina.rr.com zoning 704 334 1648 babak@urbana-architecture.com ECA treasurer 704 377 3936 jgalloway@firsttrustinc.com

cankerworm/trees 704 604 5660 Kara_gooding@hotmail.com social 704 377 0052 terrylett@bellsouth.net HENF/block captain 704 332 9808 nashfamily1@bellsouth.net social 704 334 2196 mpackard@carolina.rr.com parks and rec liaison 704 331 4989 rpearce@wcsr.com

advertising/Race co-chair 704 340 2529 naturesponds@bellsouth.net secretary 704 386 4401 todd.rubenson@bankofamerica.com ECA president 704 335 0909 msizemore@realindex.com zoning 704 372 4147 petart@carolina.rr.com zoning/beautification 704 342 1000

J O I N THE E . C . A . O R M R S . SPOO N W I LL HA U N T Y O U !

The ECA newsletter loves to hear from readers. This letter regarding Byron Baldwin’s photo of Mrs. Spoon made my day. I just wanted to tell you how surprised and happy I was when I picked up the last issue of the Elizabeth paper on my sidewalk. On the cover was a picture 2

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of Elizabeth Spoon in her ice cream store that was on Hawthorne. I called my mother immediately to tell her. We‘ve lived here on Kenmore for 33 years. Mrs. Spoon became an adoptive member in our family and my mother’s best friend. We met her through her store. We used to take bike rides there with our children for her delicious homemade ice cream, which we’d watch her make in the back room. She started coming to our family get-togethers

on holidays and birthdays and we developed a wonderful friendship with her. I’m sure a lot of people recognized her picture and have fond memories of her. She was a big part of the Elizabeth community. Thank you for printing her picture on the cover. –Sandra Purnell Do you have a omment, correction or suggestion? Contact Nancy Albert, ECA newsletter editor, at noalbert@carolina.rr.com.

front cover photo: Donna Bise, back cover photo: Nancy Albert, photo of Mrs. Spoon, this page: Byron Baldwin

Hold the date: ECA annual dinner September 23, 2008 by Melanie Sizemore, ECA prez Please join your neighbors for the Annual ECA dinner at 6:30 pm, September 23, 2008, in Broach Hall at St. John’s Baptist Church, 300 Hawthorne Lane. The ECA will provide beverages and a main course, and attendees are asked to provide a covered dish. Bring your family and join other neighbors to learn more about what’s happening in the neighborhood and how we can all work together to make Elizabeth an even better place to live and work. We’ll review the actions undertaken by the Association this year, review upcoming events, and provide information on projects that will affect the neighborhood. At this meeting, we’ll elect the officers and introduce the committee chairs for the upcoming year. Come and get to know who does what and how you can join the effort to have a positive impact on your community. It’s always a fun and casual event where

everyone gets to put a name with a face and where we all get to know each other a little better - which helps all of us. We look forward to seeing you September 23rd! Back by popular demand: ECA-sponsored cankerworm supplies by Kara Gooding Last year’s cankerworm banding initiative was so successful, the ECA has decided to do it again this year. The ECA will be selling all the necessary tree banding supplies for $1.00 a foot on October 25th from 8am-4pm at Hawthorne Rec. Center. The cost of $1.00 includes the following materials: roofing paper, batting material, Tanglefoot as well as access to the community supplies. The ECA will NOT be pre-ordering supplies this year. Cankerworm supplies will be sold on a first come, first serve basis, so come early to ensure you get all that you need. Neighbors are strongly encouraged to purchase enough supplies to account for banding not only their own trees, but any trees whose canopies touch the trees on their property. Please note: the ECA is not profiting in any way from the sale of these materials. The ECA tree banding materials are being sold at or below cost to Elizabeth residents in an effort to encourage participation.

deadline for winter 08:

Nov. 15th

editorial content:

noalbert@carolina.rr.com advertising:

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near your home, regardless of whether they are your trees, city trees or shared trees. If everyone in Elizabeth banded 4 trees, which would take approximately an hour of their time, Elizabeth would be 100% covered and protected from the cankerworm. This past year, the city sprayed the affected canopy in the spring. It is not likely the city will conduct aerial spraying again this spring, so banding this fall is even more essential. Questions Why Band?

Every fall our mature tree canopy is threatened by the cankerworm when the bugs, as wingless moths, emerge from the ground and make their way up the trunk of trees to the top branches. If not caught in traps or bands as they work their way up the tree, these moths will then lay eggs by the hundreds in the tree tops. In the spring, the worms hatch and chew their way through the leafy tree canopy on their way back down into the ground. This destruction to the canopy causes extreme stress to the trees, especially older trees, and this repeated stress can so weaken a tree that it causes it to die. Because the cankerworm is especially adept at traveling from tree to tree, it is imperative that every tree in Elizabeth get banded. Simply put, please band the trees 4

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For more information about the banding effort or the cankerworm effects on Charlotte, check out the ECA website at www. elizabethcommunity.com/ canker. If you have additional questions or you’d like to serve as a block captain or just a general cankerworm volunteer, we’d love to have your help! Please email trees4elizabeth@ gmail.com.

the Charlotte Folk Society was compelled to move its monthly events when attendance outgrew venue capacity. The Great Aunt Stella Center, a beloved downtown landmark located at 926 Elizabeth Avenue, was originally designed as a church. The former sanctuary offers a warm and beautiful performance space with great acoustics and seats for 400. Ample free surface parking is available adjacent to the Stella Center, with additional free parking available after 7pm in a nearby parking deck.

Charlotte Folk Society gatherings are made possible, in part, through a cultural project grant from the Arts & Science Council and the Grassroots Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency.

Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen’s one-hour concert opens the Folk Society’s September gathering. Refreshments, slow and fast jam sessions, and a song circle will follow the concert. As well, the Charlotte Appalachian Dulcimer Club will meet. Folk Society monthly gatherings are free and family-friendly.

The event is a fun-filled day for the entire family. Participants sign up to walk with their friends, family and co-workers, two-legged or four!

PetPalooza is the Humane Society of Charlotte’s annual dog walk and pet festival to raise funds and awareness for our mission. Festivities include entertainment, refreshments, a vendor fair and fido fashion show featuring the fabulous dogs from the Humane Society.

Who: You and everyone you know! Register to walk as an individual, as part of a team or sign up to be a vendor or sponsor. What: The Humane Society of

Charlotte’s largest fundraiser! Help us reach our goal of $250,000!

The Charlotte Folk Society will present the finest in traditional and contemporary folk music with the performance of Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen in concert on Friday, September 12, at 7:30pm in the Great Aunt Stella Center.

When: Saturday, September

After 26 years of holding concerts and jam sessions on the Central CPCC Campus,

ketPalooza08.kintera.org/

PetPalooza 08 by the Humane Society of Charlotte

Folk music at the Great Aunt Stella Center by Wanda Hubicki Donations are always appreciated. Free surface parking is available next to the Great Aunt Stella Center. As well, free parking is available after 7pm in an adjacent deck. Visit www.folksociety. org for directions. For more information contact Wanda Hubicki at 704-563-7080.

humane treatment of companion animals through adoption, spay/ neuter and education. Sign up at www.

27, 2008 from 8:30am -noon.

Do you have 20 minutes a day for a healthier, more energized life? by Frances L. D’Amato Most of us watched the Chinese opening ceremonies of the Olympics in awe. I especially liked the Tai Chi participants. The Chinese have been practicing Tai Chi every morning for more than 4000 years and have reaped the health benefits.

Here in the US Tai Chi has Check-in begins at 8:30am and been receiving good reviews the walk starts at 9am. as research studies reveal that Tai Chi increases well Where: Independence being, circulation, heart and Park, 300 Hawthorne Lane, lung functioning, lowers Charlotte, NC, 28204 blood pressure, improves The mission of the Humane Society concentration and memory, of Charlotte is to bring love and balance, flexibility, and hope to all animals by ensuring the functioning in arthritic joints.

All practitioners are encouraged to warm up, cool down and do deep breathing in addition to doing a 15 minute guided meditation. This discipline soon will become a practice that may be used in daily life, thus influencing everything we do. In our fast paced world we would be well placed to prepare, do and summarize, giving ourselves time to mentally refresh with each project we undertake. Tai Chi integrates your mind with your body, and is very effective at relieving stress. The movements are slow and require your full attention because you are moving both hands and feet in a dancelike fashion. Deep breathing plays an important role, as it is the underpinnings of all movements. One feels refreshed after a twenty minute Tai Chi exercise. The mind is clear and the muscles rejoice. Recent medical studies confirm that just 20 minutes a day of Tai Chi can dramatically improve your balance, and significantly cut the risk of falls among older people, improve leg and lower body strength, increase flexibility, help with arthritis pain, and aid in the recovery of injuries. A study presented to the American Heart Association found that just 12 weeks of Tai Chi resulted in a small but significant drop in blood pressure in older people. How the people pages

would we feel if we could do Tai Chi instead of taking harmful blood pressure pills? Just imagine if all Elizabeth community members would start their day by meeting in the park for Tai Chi. We could begin at 6am and have different groups beginning every half hour. What a way to meet our neighbors!

Increases circulation heart and lung functioning Tai Chi improves: • concentration and memory • balance and coordination • posture and biomechanics • muscle strength and stamina • the ability to cope with stress and depression It also reduces pain and stiffness. Start Tai Chi today! Frances L. D’Amato teaches Tai Chi in Elizabeth and Dilworth. She is an active member of our community and loves sharing her training in Tai Chi with neighbors. 704-379-7923.

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race benefit the beautification of our common areas and the replenishment of trees.

• Monte Saunders 412 Dotger Ave.

The 2009 Elizabeth 8K will hit the streets on Saturday, March 28. Heading into its 23rd annual event, the 8K is Charlotte’s second oldest road race. Runners and walkers are delighted year after year with the scenic course through the Elizabeth neighborhood and the hospitality of our community. Proceeds from the

We want to break 2008’s participant record and see even more people at the starting line on March 28! Help us spread the word to your running/ walking group, co-workers, neighbors, and friends, and get a crew together for race day. The course is stroller and dog friendly!

Participant recruitment

photo: Donna Bise

This year’s Elizabeth Homes Tour features seven unique homes from our community, each with its own style, history

This year, local businesses will participate as well, offering specials and discounts to ticket holders throughout the weekend.

The 2008 race was a recordbreaking event with the most Tickets are $15 per person participants ever and a new and will be available beginning course record courtesy of the in mid-September at area women’s winner, Megan Hepp. businesses. Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital and Grubb Properties Free tickets are available for served as the co-title sponsors. those interested in volunteering We appreciate the support of at one of the homes during the participants, volunteers the tour. House Captains are and all sponsors who made the needed to help recruit and event possible. schedule staff for one house for the tour weekend, help the There is plenty to do to prepare homeowner decide the flow for 2009, and listed below are The families showcasing their of traffic through the house some ways you can make an homes this year include: and erect the home’s yard impact: sign. Each home also needs • The Wielechowskis Sponsors and donations volunteers for two-hour house 1819 E. 8th St. is your company (or a company sitting shifts. Contact Dawn you know) interested in • The Cuthbertsons Ballenger at ddballenger@ becoming a sponsor or 518 Clement Ave. carolina.rr.com or 704-343donating products and • The Moseleys 2880 to sign up. services? Paid sponsors are a 423 Clarice Ave. vital part of our success, but Any business or individual • The Desaulniers in-kind donations and services interested in being a sponsor 2222 Greenway Ave. such as race refreshments, may contact Michel Van participant t-shirts, and Devender at 704-371-4800. • The Lundbergs marketing and printing services 2314 Kenmore Ave. also help us to maximize our Lace up your shoes for • Elaine Scott and Jerry Tylman the 2009 Elizabeth 8K revenue. 2400 Kenmore Ave. by Amanda Loftus

Let’s join the 180 million people who practice Tai Chi every day. We could receive one or all the benefits of Tai Chi:

Explore seven Elizabeth homes Oct. 11-12 by Maya Packard and Megan Roberts

and character. Come see which former residence has subsequently been a tearoom and an antiques shop. Walk through the halls of a house that five generations of one family have called home. Discover how one set of owners “greened” their home with solar panels and a rainwater collection system. And marvel at others with antique rugs and furniture, hand-sewn window treatments, Art deco door handles, and one with a tree growing through the back porch!

Several homes will also have their gardens available to be toured. In addition to these homes, the tour also includes the Garden Council House at 1820 E. 8th St., and Caldwell Memorial Presbyterian Chruch at 1609 E. 5th St.

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Volunteer

More than 50 people are needed on race day to ensure a well-executed and successful race. Come out and join your neighbors for a fun morning of giving back to your community. Race Committee

Our small committee could use more individuals. Whether you can give a little or a lot of your time, any help is appreciated to plan for the next race. Please contact Amanda Loftus at 704.608.9089 or aemloftus@yahoo.com with questions or to get involved. In addition, please visit www. elizabeth8k.com in the coming months for race information and to register.

Elementary) Opens at 9am and ends at 5pm Free to the public! Parking is available at the Armory, Elizabeth Traditional School, and in nearby public parking lots. For more information go to http:// craftingpatchcharlotte.com/

An Elizabeth mystery or a crackdown on free speech? by Nancy Albert

One day in early July I passed by the vacant house on the corner of 7th and Louise and noticed these two objects set upon the lawn. They seemed to be political commentary of a sort. I laughed out loud, thought what an interesting neighborhood Elizabeth is and could not help but wonder who put them there.

pediatric care. Race day events include a 10K run, 5K runwalk and the Lowes Food Good For You 1 Mile Walk. This race is part of the Grand Prix Series hosted by Run For Your Life and Brixx Wood Fired Pizza. Race day registration begins at 6:45am To register for this race and view more details please visit www.runforyourlife.com or www.hpccr.org.

Just a few days later when I walked by, this is the sight that greeted me. Someone clearly was not pleased with the “artwork”. As I write this, the two objects still lie smashed next to the house.

Proceeds from the race will benefit Kids Path pediatric care of Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region. The race will begin on 7th Street in front of the ImaginOn Theater and Library and will end at Brixx on 6th Street. Enjoy pizza and beverages compliments of Brixx immediately following the races.

Mark your calendars for March 28, and come be a part of our annual tradition!

The mission of Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region is to relieve suffering and improve the quality and dignity of life through compassionate hospice care for those at the end of life, palliative care for those with advanced illness, and through community education.

The Crafting Patch Market by Melanie Sizemore, ECA prez

This year’s event information is as follows: Saturday, September 6, 2008 Independence Park, Charlotte, NC (main side of park, behind Elizabeth Traditional 8

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If anyone knows more about the objects and what happened to them please contact me: noalbert@carolina.rr.com. Hit The Brixx! by Nancy Cole Please join us Saturday September 27 for the 12th Annual Hit The Brixx run-walk event benefitting Kids Path“

We need photographers! by Nancy Albert photos: Nancy Albert

The Crafting Patch Market is in its 2nd year here in the Charlotte area. It’s a gathering of the South’s most talented artists and crafters, and showcases many sellers from the internet selling venue of Etsy.com

The ECA newsletter is looking for new images of the neighborhood. Do you have photos you’d like to share? Please send jpegs to noalbert @carolina.rr.com.

Starting School by Cal Watford Our family – mother, father and my sister Ruth – lived at 624 Lamar Avenue. I’m not positive, but I think we moved there when I was four years old. That would put us there about 1936. I was born on December 18th, 1932, so I guess I was to start school in 1939, but since my birthday was in December I wasn’t old enough to enter public school at the start of that year. You had to be seven years old to enter school, and I wouldn’t be seven until December. The answer was for me to attend a private school then enter the second grade the next year. The school I attended was Mrs. ?’s First Grade Private, on Queens Road. I wish I could remember the correct name. Anyway, there are three incidents that are vivid in my mind. One has to do with the sliding board that was made out of wood. I don’t think I ever saw another made of wood. One day when we were all outside playing, I slid down the board and ripped the bottom of my shorts. I was so embarrassed. I didn’t want anyone to know other than my teachers. They had to call my mother and she brought a new pair for me. In the meantime, the teachers put a towel around my waist, and that made it worse because

it looked like I was wearing a skirt, and some of the children teased me about it. Tough on a little boy. One of the fun things was that we had a small chicken pen that was under the steps going into the classroom. There was a big red hen and she was setting on eggs. As the time drew near for them to hatch, we were all excited and would check the nest several times a day to see if the biddies were hatching. One morning as school started, we heard the baby chickens making their small peeping sound, and the teachers let us watch. There were nine little chicks, and later that day, a man came to take them to his farm. I remember we hated to see them go, but he promised us all that they would be taken good care of. It was getting close to Christmas and we were preparing for a special program. Someone had made a large wooden frame with the big glass bottles used for ginger ale or soda water hanging on strings tied to the bottle necks. Each was hanging at the same height, and filled with water to different levels. Each bottle was part of the musical scale. My role in the program was to play Jingle Bells and Silent Night. I was given a small stick with a little knob on the end, and I used it to tap the bottles. They really the people pages

made a neat sound, like little bells. I know I was nervous, but all went well, I think. Elizabeth Grammar School

The next school year, after attending a small private school, I was allowed to go to public school because I met the age requirement. I was admitted to the second grade, but again, because my birthday is December l8th, I was almost always the youngest in my class. This is a major problem for a young boy because even the girls were older, and I felt like the baby of the class. Age is very important when you’re young. It establishes a class basis. I was always the youngest all the way through school.

and water and broken vase all over the floor. Ms. Terry was very upset, and assumed that I’d been messing around and had caused the accident.

must stay inside and help clean up the mess I had made.

I tried to tell her that it was an accident that I had been pushed into the table, but she wouldn’t listen. She said I could not go out to recess, but

In a few minutes, a maid came in with a mop and bucket, and together we started cleaning the floor. I was crying softly. Ms. Terry had to go outside with her students. The maid asked me how I had made this mess, and I told her I had been pushed into the table. It wasn’t my fault. She told me to sit down that she would do the cleaning, so I went to my desk, put my head in my arms and cried. I wasn’t crying because I wasn’t allowed to go outside, I was crying because Ms. Terry didn’t believe me and I had made her mad at me. In a few minutes, Ms. Terry came in and sat down beside me. She put her arm around my shoulder, and said that two of the girls in the class had told her how it happened, and that it wasn’t my fault. She hugged me and said how sorry she was that she hadn’t listened to me. I told her it was alright, it really was a mess, and I hadn’t minded helping to clean it up. There were little tears in her eyes. She asked me to forgive her and not be angry at her. I stood up, and gave her a hug. Everything was alright now.

My teacher was Ms. Terry. I used to think she was so pretty: tall, slender, and beautiful, with long curly blonde hair. I loved to hear her sing, and there was a time in the day that we sang songs.

That morning, some boys in front of me were pushing and shoving, and one of them bumped into me and knocked me into a small table with a large vase of flowers, filled with water. What a mess, flowers 10

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photo: Nancy Albert

One morning we were going out to recess, and first we had to line up alphabetically by last name. It seemed we did this every time we left the classroom. I was always at the last of the line. That didn’t do much for one’s ego.

She’s always been one of my very favorite teachers. I wonder what happened to her, and how long she taught school.

E.C.A. membership form 2008 www.elizabethcommunity.com Annual membership fee: $20 per household or business, based on calendar year. Please mail this form and your payment to: Elizabeth Community Association PO Box 33696, Charlotte, NC 28233-3696

name(s) of adult(s) in household

street address

mailing address if different from above

main phone e-mail address name(s( and birthday(s) of children at home

Please use my e-mail for ONLY the following:

m crime watch m social/events m newsletter m do not e-mail Please sign me up for the following committee(s):

m traffic m zoning m website and/or newsletter m crime watch m block captain m beautification/tree banding Social (check all that apply):

m Easter egg hunt m progressive dinner m holiday party m Big E road race m homes tour m any m I’m interested in becoming a board member; please contact me. Special projects (list interests/expertise):

--------------------------------------------www.elizabethcommunity.com the people pages

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munity.com

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