Volume XXXVIII, No. 2
March 2014
THE NOE VALLEY VOICE March 16–23: A Week to Celebrate The Written Word
Neighborhood Mourns Loss of Josh Epple
Published Authors to Literally Appear
Drewes Owner Killed in Motorcycle Accident
By Olivia Boler
By Jan Goben and Corrie M. Anders
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ithout a doubt, the eighth annual Noe Valley Word Week is jampacked. Sponsored by the group Friends of Noe Valley, the festival offers eight days of events, March 16 to 23, at six different venues, all of them free. That means no admission charge, and attendees may also benefit from enticements like tasty refreshments. Of course, purchase of books and other items for sale is encouraged. “Part of Word Week is supporting our local authors and merchants, as well as giving neighbors and friends a reason to come together and talk to each other,” says organizer and author Richard May. Are you ready? You might want to take notes. After all, it is Word Week, and writing is encouraged, whether it’s poetry, songs, or lists of things to do. A Mixer for Children’s Book Fans Things get started Sunday, March 16, with kid-centric fun, perfect for a weekend family activity. Head down to Folio
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journey of kisses traveling around the world to places like San Francisco, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C. The reading is followed at 2:30 p.m., by a unique social hour, the Noe Valley Children’s Book Authors and Fans Mixer. Are you a local author of children’s books or a children’s book enthusiast? “This is the mixer is for you,” Pettit says. All are
y the time 5 a.m. rolled around, Joey Napier was worried. He couldn’t reach Josh Epple, his partner at Drewes Meats, and it was past time for the two of them to start preparing for the butcher shop’s usual Saturday gig at the Noe Valley Farmers Market. “I was here at the shop and I kept calling him,” Napier remembered. “‘Where are you? Where are you?’” The painful answer came an hour later in a phone call from Epple’s wife, Valerie. Epple was dead at 42, the victim of a motorcycle accident in the early morning hours of Feb. 15. Riding alone, Epple had somehow crashed his bike into a guardrail along the southbound lanes of Highway 101 in San Francisco. He was catapulted 30 feet to the ground near 10th Street. Napier was stunned. “I didn’t believe it. My first reaction was no, that’s not true.” As word spread—on email, TV news,
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Instant Shrine. The death of the popular owner of Drewes Market caused a quick outpouring of heartache from co-workers, customers, and friends. Photo by Corrie M. Anders
Books, 3957 24th St., at 1:30 p.m. First on the agenda is Story Time with Maria van Lieshout, the author/illustrator of nearly a dozen picture books. According to Martha Pettit, Folio Books’ assistant manager, van Lieshout is a native of the Netherlands, but now “lives in a 100-year-old Noe Valley Victorian with her husband Peter and their son Max Pelle.” She will be reading from her latest book, called Catching Kisses. It’s a
It’s Tee Time for Steve Fox
Home Putt-Putt Pro Takes His Mini-Golf Course Public By Corrie M. Anders
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oe Valley entrepreneur Steve Fox is getting ready to open Urban Putt, a miniature golf course so delightfully whimsical that even George W. Bush would appreciate its only-in-San-Francisco wackiness. Take the Rube Goldberg Hole, named for the famous cartoonist-engineer. When you putt the golf ball into the Goldberg cup, a giant Archimedes’ screw cycles the
On the Borderline. Night and morning fog spills over Twin Peaks into sleepy Noe Valley, moistening thoughts and dreams as locals look on the long roller-coaster trek that is 25th Street. Photo by Najib Joe Hakim
dimpled sphere 12 feet off the ground and deposits it onto a long rail where it glides down the track before tumbling into a column of drums, cymbals, and bells. The haphazard bouncing of the ball in the tower creates a musical composition that is different each time. Then there’s the San Francisco Earthquake Hole. The ball sets off motion sensors that trigger a monster quake, causing CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
Lotta Fun. “Head Greenskeeper” Steve Fox puts the finishing touches on Lotta’s Fountain, one of the novelties in his San Francisco–themed miniature golf course, opening April 18 in a former mortuary at the corner of 22nd Street and South Van Ness. Photo by Pamela Gerard