Happy 2012, everyone!
Please join your neighbors an adults-only party at Lee and Shirley Watson’s house, 19 Linden Ave., on Saturday, January 14 starting at 6:00 pm.
Lee and Shirley will provide ham and meatballs but everyone should bring a dish & beverages to share.
See you there!
This dirty old shoe and its partner have been through a lot. When they were new I wore them to run around the track at Stivers. They made their way through Eastwood Metropark and down to Riverscape a few times, too. Obviously they have a few miles on them. Over a year ago I stopped running in them and replaced them with a new set of kicks. My running shoes typically pass through multiple lives – running only, casual everyday use, and finally grunt work. 
While the cushioning diminishes as the running miles accumulate, the shoes look pretty good until they enter the third stage. That’s where the abuse happens. And this particular pair of shoes saw more abuse than any others I’ve put through the cycle. I wore them daily for the last five months while finishing renovations to our house in Huffman Historic. It was an intense time as we were under a deadline.
The renovations of the last several months were more than a full time job for me. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that nearly every waking moment was spent performing some kind of manual labor. These shoes were on my feet for way too many hours on ladders, on the roof, in the basement, and in the attic. They have been covered in century-old dust and several different colors of new paint. The dirt, scrapes, spots, and holes can tell a story all by themselves.
I recently dropped these sorry shoes in a recycling container at a Nike store in Portland, Oregon – our new home. Nike has been running their shoe recycling program for years. A lot of high school tracks around the country are covered in the ground up rubber of recycled athletic shoe soles from their program. It was time once again to purchase new running shoes and bump my old pairs down the line. I’m proud to say that from what I could see my old shoes were the most worn in the bin. I think they show the kind of effort that made and continues to make Huffman great. Maybe in a few more years ground up bits from these old running shoes will make their way back to Stivers when the track is resurfaced. I’m sure the odds are against that happening, but I like the thought of all those miles and all that work paving the way for new effort from new neighbors back in Huffman.
Who: All Huffman Neighbors
What: Huffman Historic Neighborhood Assoc. Harvest Party & Chili Cook-Off
When: Friday, October 28, 2011 @ 6:30
Where: Jamieson Memorial Garden (4th & Ringgold)
Why: To continue celebrating HHNA’s 30th Anniversary
Please Bring:
Please note that the location does not provide access to electricity, so bring your chili/side hot and ready to eat. There will be a fire pit for light and warmth.
RSVP to Kristy Roberts ASAP at kristylroberts@gmail.com or 937-901-8165.
If it’s raining, the Cook-Off will be held the next Friday, November 4.
I remember when Jamieson Memorial Garden at the corner of Fourth and Ringgold Streets was first created. I was just a kid, and didn’t really know any of the details about who Jamieson was or why the garden was installed, all I knew was that this garden was our Monday morning donut picnic place.
Mondays were my Dad’s day off. As a special treat and to get in a little exercise, we would walk from our house on Linden to Thacker’s Donuts on Third and Ringgold. We’d all four kids choose a donut, and walk with our breakfast treasures to Jamieson Garden to eat them. I remember hopping from rock to rock in the cool morning munching my treat and being happy to spend time with my Dad and siblings.
Years have gone by since those donut mornings but I still remember them with fondness. On September 24th the neighborhood had a work day in the garden to do some weeding, cleaning and general maintenance of the landscaping there. The garden has been faithfully maintained by neighbors Paula Carrol-Worman and Shirley Watson and others, but this time it needed a bigger group to do some grooming and it looks great.
My two young boys (2 and 4 years old) were champs at pulling weeds, sawing some small branches, and finding walnut shells while other neighbors edged, removed a few leaning trees, weeded and did general clean-up. One generous neighbor even bought cheeseburgers and fries from The Spot on Fifth Street for the hardworking team.
The garden has changed over time: the trees have gotten bigger shading many of the flowering plants out and pushing up the bricks on the walkway with their roots, many of the big rocks were covered over with dirt from lots of rain and wind, a few bushes and trees have grown taller and wilder, but the memories I have of the garden from childhood will remain.
Thank you to all the neighbors who helped out at Jamieson on the 24th and a big thank you to Shirley Watson and Paula Carrol-Worman for their continued efforts over the years to maintain this little unique place in our neighborhood.
