ECA 3-15

It’s hard to believe, but this is my last ‘Notes from the Prez’ article.

I’ve been so fortunate to be part of the Elizabeth Community Association. The individuals that drive the ECA constantly amaze me with their energy and passion!! Please take a moment to send a big ‘thank you’ to all of the Board / Committee leaders that continually make Elizabeth a great neighborhood.

As I reflect on my tenure as president, the theme of ‘connections’ has been constant over the past 24 months. Some of these connections were physical, such as opening the Charlottetowne Avenue tunnel to join Independence Park to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway.

Other connections were social, with the dozens of events that helped build relationships and bond neighbors. Still other connections were to future generations of Elizabeth residents as the ECA worked diligently to be good stewards of our neighborhood by influencing zoning and transportation decisions. Finally, some of the connections were to our hearts and souls through the Arts & Beautification Committee and the improvements to Independence Park.

Even with all of its strengths, Elizabeth and the ECA will continue to face challenges in the future. As development 2

THE PEOPLE PAGES

BULLETIN

BOARD

Most people return small favors, acknowledge medium ones and repay greater ones – with ingratitude.

– Benjamin Franklin

ECA board meetings Elizabeth Community Association board meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Studio K Gallery on 7th Street. All are welcome to attend. See you there!

Save the date The Elizabeth Community Association annual meeting will be held on Monday, September 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at St. John’s Baptist Church, Broach Hall.

A main dish and drinks will be provided. Please bring a covered dish.

Neighborhood social Free appetizers and live music? You can’t turn that down! Come socialize with your neighbors from 6 to 8 p.m. on September 24th at Crown Station Coffeehouse & Pub, 1425 Elizabeth Ave, (980) 224-8020.

A love letter from Cher Lambeth Hi Nancy. My name is Cher Lambeth, and I’m one of the residents in the Elizabeth neighborhood (in Elizabeth Point apartments on Vail Ave).

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to tell you and your team how much I always enjoy the neighborhood newsletter you all put together. I travel a great deal with my work and am rarely home to actually see much of what goes on in my own neighborhood, so it’s nice to be able to read about it! Thank you all very much, and keep up the great work! – Cher The fate of the ECA newsletter is in YOUR hands.

See page 31...

cover photos (+ bicycle on this page) by Nancy O. Albert, blending by Little Shiva

Notes from the (lame duck) Prez

by Eric Davis

ECA Officers

ECA Board Members

Eric Davis President 704 776 3013 Greenway Avenue ericadavis0123@yahoo.com

Nancy O. Albert Newsletter Editor Art Committee Co-Chair 704 779 0932 Elizabeth Village noalbert@carolina.rr.com

Jenna Opiela Vice President and Home Tour Chair 614-746-9506 Greenway Avenue jennaopiela@gmail.com Diana Watson Secretary 704 996 9776 Kenmore Avenue dianawatson3@gmail.com Paul Shipley Treasurer 704 651 5897 Kenmore Avenue Paul.Shipley@community1.com

ECA Special Projects Susan Green Newsletter Editorial Assistant and Proofreader 704-806-0568 E. 5th Street Susangreen8@gmail.com Jeff Jackson Crime Czar jnjacks@gmail.com Janet Karner Membership Clement Avenue janetk@caro.net Ken Magas Website 704 877 7151 E. 5th Street ken@kenmagas.com

Jim Belvin Zoning & Real Estate Committee 704 334 2611 Lamar Avenue j.belvin@bluewaterdb.com Beth Haenni Past President 704 562 5152 Greenway Avenue beth.haenni@gmail.com Kristan Magas Park & Recreation Liaison 704 488 0051 E. 5th Street kdm2201@gmail.com Suzanne Henry Social Chair N. Dotger SuzkHenry@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 Kris Solow Art Committee Co-Chair 704 806 4456 E. 5th Street ksolow@carolina.rr.com

deadline winter 2015:

Nov. 15th

Send ads and editorial content to:

tom.smith@fedex.com

------------------------------------full page ad

size: 6.53” x 7.53” (1306 x 1506 pixels) 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.

Officer Robert Sprague Neighborhood CMPD Liaison rsprague@cmpd.org Robert Zabel Elizabeth 8K Road Race Chair 917 873 8028 Pecan Avenue nycrcz@yahoo.com

THE PEOPLE PAGES

3

within Elizabeth continues to shape our future, we need to ensure that this growth preserves our unique character while bringing new residents and amenities. The ECA itself faces the challenge of fostering a new group of leaders to maintain treasured Elizabeth traditions.

For example, the Elizabeth Home Tour will take a hiatus for 2015 to build the pipeline of owners willing to share their homes. Also, if we are unable find a chair for the Children’s Social Committee, Elizabeth will have a Halloween without the Truck or Treat and Pumpkin Wall. New volunteers are needed to maintain these wonderful events. Send a message to ElizabethCommunity Association@gmail.com to get involved (there are no spaces in the email address but for this publication we had to break it to fit).

for her passion and skill, as well as the incalculable number of hours she’s invested to deliver this gem to you over the past nine years.

As I say ‘goodbye’ to the ECA presidency, I’m looking forward to seeing how Elizabeth continues to grow and improve.

I’ll see you around the ‘hood!

the research up at the main library, the walking about photographing our odd and wonderful neighborhood, the way people, sometimes complete strangers, would come up to me and tell me how much they loved the newsletter, how they’d read it cover to cover.

I’ve also loved working with my great team. Little Shiva, our designer, was with me from the start. She’s provided the newsletter with a distinct visual look and a quirkiness that reflects what’s best about our neighborhood. Tom Smith, Editor’s note our ad czar, whose tireless

by Nancy O. Albert work and go-to attitude has quadrupled our advertising, Dear readers, helping our publication to grow This is our third Creativity issue and enabling us to run more and as you can see, Elizabeth articles. Susan Green is our most continues to be a hotbed of recent assistant: I appreciate artistic activity. The public her great attention to detail art project moves toward and her helping to proof and completion and we highlight polish. I’d also like to thank I also want to say a special ‘thank artists and arts organizations in all the wonderful neighbors who’ve contributed articles over you’ to Nancy Albert, the editor our community. But Elizabeth is in some ways at a crossroads the years: without you there and newsletter chair for the and other articles look at issues would’ve been nothing for us to last nine years. The Elizabeth crucial to the continuation of the work with. newsletter is a special treasure neighborhood spirit we all love. delivered right to your door At the time of writing, the future four times a year. Nancy and her In that vein I need to announce of the newsletter is uncertain. team have created an amazing that this issue will be my No one has stepped up to world-class neighborhood final one as editor. After nine take on what has become an publication jam-packed full of years, it’s time for me to move enormous job. This in many ways interesting articles, historical on. The work of putting out reflects a situation the ECA as a stories and information about issue after issue has become whole is experiencing. I close by local businesses. overwhelming. I’m not leaving asking anyone who’s interested the neighborhood and hope to in or has ideas about the future After 37 editions, Nancy is stepping down from her position be involved with future projects, of this beloved publication to please contact me (noalbert@ but I plan to concentrate more as editor of the newsletter. carolina.rr.com) or Eric Davis on my own photographic Please join me in extending a (ericadavis0123@yahoo.com). heartfelt THANK YOU to Nancy work. I’ve loved being editor: 4

THE PEOPLE PAGES

THE PEOPLE PAGES

5

photo: Nancy O. Albert

What is it that prompts us to get to know our neighbors? I met Jo Bunch and discovered her creative talent when I inadvertently purchased a spectacular quilt, After the Dark Days, that she, Martha Harrell and Sue Tate Alvarez made and gave to the Shelter for 6

THE PEOPLE PAGES

quilt: “After the Dark Days” by Jo Bunch, Martha Harrell and Sue Tate Alvarez, courtesy of Susan Green

“After the Dark Days” – artist Jo Bunch

by Susan Green

Battered Women’s fundraising auction. I didn’t plan to buy it; it just took me over and came home with me. That’s how art is.

I can remember.” She loved the textures, the strokes. Fabric is her first love. But when she was growing up, sewing was about making clothes, not quilts.

Jo now says, “My art has changed.

An aunt who crocheted and I don’t sew as much. I paint a lot. tailored her own suits and lived I’ve always dreamed of painting a different sort of life in a quiet and still have paints and brushes way was an inspiration.

I bought in college.” Years ago artist Rene Gorelick introduced Jo feels fortunate that she had her to the technique of painting a well-established passion that with your non-dominant hand. sustained her through the pre“It frees up great creativity,” Jo retirement work years. “I was says. “She couldn’t tell me how to a lucky one,” she says. “After I apply the technique to fabric, yet retired, it was very helpful to the workshop was a jump start take a painting class and be toward learning to improvise amongst others. Quilt-making is with fabric. I cut pieces and very communal. I was surprised place them on my design wall, and delighted to find the same often composing the entire quilt experience with painting.” before sewing. The work is about In the future, Jo would like to making choices and allowing work in a different setting with each to inform the next fabric other artists nearby. “That would selection, color and shape. be very nurturing, but it has to I paint in much the same way. include my dog. I’d also like to Now I also do collage with paper; work on larger canvases with big it feels very good, spontaneous.” brushes in an environment that Jo’s abstract paintings reference can handle ‘messy.’” our lovely trees, nurtured by a Jo recognizes rhythms in her great view from her studio in artistry. She still collects and Elizabeth, where she’s a longdoesn’t know when those items, time resident. Her palette is including images from hundreds currently changing, but her of her own photographs, will paintings continue to reflect surface in her art, but many times nature. Her quilts have been they do. Red and white stripes shown locally and in national showed up in several quilts shows. “Perhaps exhibiting my before she recalled standing paintings will become important in the yard at age four in a red down the road.” For now she’s and white striped swim suit. Jo content to share her work with reminds us that “when we’re people like me who love it. paying attention, we’re allowing Jo says, “I’ve always been an things to happen in our work. artist. I collected pens, pencils Images surface from our past that and paper from the earliest time maybe we’ve totally forgotten.”

Update on the public art project

by Amy Bagwell Working on this public art project with Arts and Science Council and the Elizabeth neighborhood has been an exciting, complex, challenging, and rewarding process. Thank you, neighbors! And thank you so much, ECA. We’re nearing the end, which is wonderful and bittersweet.

With some flexibility built in for weather, here’s the schedule.

Landscaping work in the roundabout at 8th and Lamar, with no traffic stoppage, will take place the week of September 7, followed immediately by partial installation (footers) in the roundabout. Fabrication of all elements to be installed will be completed by September 18.

Installation is scheduled for the week of September 21, with little or no traffic interference at the roundabout, and with the wall poem at Studio K following.

Weather permitting, we’ll be inviting everyone to walk the route of the 40+ piece installation and to celebrate with us before October 1. Please watch the ECA website and your e-mails for more.

Opera Carolina

by Alina MacNichol Opera Carolina, now in residence on Elizabeth Avenue, opens its main stage season at Belk Theater with Ludwig van Beethoven’s uplifting THE PEOPLE PAGES

7

opera Fidelio on Oct. 17, 22 and 25. The company’s inventive resetting of the story of oppression and liberation takes place in East Berlin on November 8, 1989, one day before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The new production draws references to East German political figures and dissidents to reset the stage from 18th century Spain to 20th century Berlin. Even the actors’ names have been updated to reflect modern-day protagonists.

The production stars Mexican soprano Maria Katzarava as Leonore Wismach (traditionally known as Leonore). She has performed as Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), Marguerite (Faust), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Violetta (La Traviata), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Tatjana (Eugene Onegin). Last July she took part in Andrea Bocelli’s annual concert at Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico under the baton of Placido Domingo.

“We’re excited to present Fidelio as our season opener with a creative approach to this universal story of liberation from political oppression,” said James Meena, Opera Carolina’s general director and principal conductor. The two-act opera tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named Fidelio, rescues her husband from death in a Stasi prison. She uses her position to discover whether her husband is imprisoned there. Kurt disappeared two years earlier after heckling the party leader Walter Ulbricht and was presumed dead. Fidelio, the only opera Beethoven ever wrote, is a story of personal sacrifice, heroism and triumph.

Musical highlights include the “Prisoners’ Chorus,” a hymn to freedom. It will be sung in German with English subtitles.

Founded in 1948 by the Charlotte Music Club as a small group of volunteers, today Opera Carolina is the largest professional opera company in the Carolinas.

American tenor Andrew Its mission is to inspire the Richards will perform as region’s diverse community her imprisoned husband, through the presentation of the dissident Kurt Wismach opera, operetta and educational (traditionally known as outreach programs that Florestan). He has sung with elevate the quality of life in the Berlin State Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Frankfurt the Carolinas. Opera Carolina Opera and L’Opera Comique in has a commitment to artistic excellence and community Paris and won wide acclaim as Cavaradossi in Tosca and in the service. title role in Don Carlos. He made For ticket information please his Metropolitan Opera debut in call 704.332.7177, ext. 1 or the 2012 season as Don Jose in the Performing Arts Center box Carmen. office at 704.372.1000 or go 8

THE PEOPLE PAGES

to operacarolina.org. Season subscriptions begin at $87, and single tickets start at just $19.

Opera Carolina’s season will continue with the classic tragic love story Romeo & Juliet on Jan. 24, 28 and 30.

Charles-Francois Gounod’s composition of Shakespeare’s tragedy commemorates the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death. The season closes with an exciting U.S. premiere: Aleko, Rachmaninoff’s first opera. Aleko will be presented with Pagliacci

by Leoncavallo on April 10, 14 and 16. Each opera is just one hour, but both are filled with jealousy, revenge and – of course – bloodshed Third annual Art • Poetry • Music multi-media concert

by Alina MacNichol Opera Carolina kicks off its new season with the third annual Art • Poetry • Music (APM), a multi-media concert on Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Halton Theater at Central Piedmont Community College. The evening is a fusion of visual art, poetry and music.

APM brings together Asian and Western cultures in an eclectic fusion of visual art, spoken word, opera arias and traditional Russian, Korean and Chinese music. The evening is supported

by Chun University and the Confucius Institute at Pfeiffer University.

“Art • Poetry • Music has become one of Opera Carolina’s

photo of Opera Carolina’s front porch courtesy of Alina MacNichol

signature events,” said James Meena, general director and principal conductor. “This year, we’re expanding the event to include Korean drum dancers and traditional Chinese dance.

Plus, acclaimed German artist Sybill Schwarz will take the stage to demonstrate how she approaches her contemporary painting. In addition, the choir from Johnson C. Smith University will perform with cast members from Opera Carolina’s season-opening production of Beethoven’s Fidelio. Guitarist and vocalist Reinaldo Brahn and percussionist James Brock will round out the program.

“Opera is for everyone,” continued Meena. “We’ve always tried to make the point that opera appeals to people of all ages and crosses all boundaries. Again this year, we’re building on our message that opera is as diverse as our community.”

most emotional moments of the show,” Meena said. Tickets for APM are available by calling the Halton Theater box office: 704.330.6534.

Following intermission, The Asian Herald honors families who have adopted Asian children. Bass Andrew Gangestad, born in Korea and adopted by U.S. parents, not only sings on the APM program, but his birth mother from Korea and his American parents will receive special recognition.

“This is sure to be one of the

The McColl Center has its home in the once burned out church at the north end of Tryon Street. We’re fortunate to have such an asset in the Queen City. Periodically they have an open studio day on Saturdays.

The artists are working in their studios and the public is invited to look and chat. The center usually sponsors nine artists: some have a year’s grant, others have summer grants.

They have added the yearlong artists in April and fall artists will replace the summer artists, so something new is always happening. Most of the artists go to CMS schools to lead our children in creative projects.

Opening at McColl Art Center

by Frances D’Amato

I was delighted to meet Ivan Toth Depena on this visit and watch his process of creating abstract images using a robot hat he created to add color and depth to his freehand drawings.

Ivan has an MA degree in architecture from Harvard and was the principal designer of the Van Gogh exhibition at Discovery Place. That exhibition allowed the viewer to walk among Van Gogh’s works; I felt as if I were in France walking along the paths that van Gogh walked so long ago.

THE PEOPLE PAGES

9

Depena is now working on large-scale projects on wood that utilize his paintings on paper. They are cut into squares then placed on the wood panel.

I found myself looking deeply at the work and seeing more and more. He will be at McColl Center till May 3, 2016. If you have an opportunity to attend one of the Open Studio Events, please take advantage of meeting Ivan.

perhaps find the courage to face life’s unexpected broadsides, think about how we can react to them, and ride them to shore.

Steve L. Hayes Jr. will be at McColl’s till May 3, 2016. His work deals with social justice issues that are certainly timely in our culture today. He uses crocheting to create large-scale works that place a black man behind bars with a sign that says, “I am a man”. Steve is a Charles Williams now resides native of Durham, NC. He’s done in Matthews and has a summer extensive historical research affiliate grant. He’s creating and creates charged images, a documentary of his theme using his rigorous craftsmanship SWIM: An Artist’s Journey. As to create visceral installations a child growing up in coastal that probe the history of race South Carolina, he never learned relations in the USA. to swim. However, he did go into the ocean and sometimes he was In addition to these artists, Artemio Rodriguez will be swept away by the tidal waves.

On three occasions he thought coming to McColl Center in he was going to drown. He’s the fall. He’s a woodblock afraid to even learn to swim as printmaker who draws from the aftereffects of segregation Mexican folk tales to create still haunt him. ­ books and prints. He’s also As a result, Charles has painted established a school to teach printmaking. In Charlotte, he’ll large-scale paintings of ocean be working with local artists waves in the darkness of night. to produce animated films, a As a swimmer, I recognize the power of those waves. His work Mexican version of Bingo, called a community loteria, and a series does remind me of when I was of collaborative prints. We have taken by a tidal wave and ended much to look forward to at up a long distance away from where I’d been swimming in the McColl Center.

Atlantic ocean. Thanks to the To keep up with openings fact that I’m a strong swimmer, and classes you may go to the I was able to swim my way out of website, McCollcenter.org or the waves. call 704-332-5535. Or better yet, visit when they’re open on Williams work is powerful and Saturdays. They’re located at I encourage you to take this opportunity to view his work and 721 North Tryon Street.

10

THE PEOPLE PAGES

CPCC Theatre fall offerings

by Shannon Peyton Central Piedmont Community College will celebrate its 10th year at the Dale F. Halton Theater with a special production of The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. This special offering will run from November 12th to the 22nd and will be staged as a partnership between the CPCC Theatre, CPCC Opera Theatre and CPCC Dance Theatre departments. Tom Hollis (program chair theatre), Becky Cook-Carter (program chair opera) and Clay Daniel (program chair dance) will be working together with division director Alan Yamamoto to put on the production.

For almost 30 years, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera has captivated audiences with his retelling of the story of the a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House. Exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit the Opera House, the phantom falls madly in love with an innocent soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents. From the roof of the Paris opera house to the flooded catacombs below, The Phantom of the Opera thrills through one of the most sensational scores ever written for the stage. Truly the “Angel of Music” takes one

through the haunting “Music of the Night”, as the “Masquerade” unfolds around us.

In addition, The Trip to Bountiful

by Horton Foote will be performed at Pease Auditorium from September 25th to October 4th.

watchful eye of her daughterin-law, Mrs. Watts imagines that if she can get away and return to her old home in the town of Bountiful, she is sure to regain her strength, dignity and peace of mind.

artists (and I know there are a lot of you out there) here are some funding opportunities from the ASC­ you might want to look into.

photo: Nancy O. Albert

ArtPop is a program that promotes local artists’ work through available billboard For ticket info about either space. This program is made production please call the CPCC possible by generous donations The Trip to Bountiful is the box office at 704-330-6534. of space from the OOH (Out poignant story of Mrs. Watts, of Home) advertising industry an aging widow living with her ASC funding and when local billboard companies son and daughter-in-law in a advancement partner with local arts groups three-room flat in Houston, opportunities to create the ArtPop program.

Texas in 1953. Fearing that her

by Todd Stewart via ASC mailing Work is juried, voted on and presence may be an imposition on others, and chafing under the Editor’s note: To all Elizabeth promoted in the market on

THE PEOPLE PAGES

11

available billboard space to a limited number of artists who are chosen for the program.

Deadline for submissions: Friday, October 30, 2015 at 11:59 EST.

This program is open to individual artists from any discipline ages 18 and up residing in the Charlotte region including Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Union, or York (SC) counties during the application and the program season. Deadline: Friday, Oct. 30, 2015 at 11:59 pm EST.

Regional Artist Project Grants provide an award

Community Supported Art (CSA) is an exciting model of

art support and distribution that supports artists in the creation and promotion of new work and establishes relationships with local collectors and patrons. Nine selected artists will receive a commission to create 50 works of art for the program. Interested consumers/ collectors will then purchase a “SHARE” (aka a membership or subscription) and in return receive 3 monthly allocations featuring the locally produced works in the spring of 2016.

CSA is open to visual and/or craft (clay, wood, fiber, glass, metal, natural products, mixed media) artists ages 18 and up working in either 2D or 3D and residing in the Charlotte region including Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Union, or York (SC) counties during the application and the program season.

12

THE PEOPLE PAGES

for individuals and groups of unincorporated artists to pursue projects that further enhance their artistic development by attending a professional development experience or purchasing/renting a piece of equipment. Artists may ask for a maximum of $2,000. Only one application per individual will be accepted annually.

The grant program is offered by the arts councils of Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Union and York (SC) counties. Artists who have lived in any of these counties for one year are eligible to apply. The North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency, the Blumenthal Endowment and the participating arts councils support the program.

who as a child lived on Lamar Avenue. They were sent to me by Jim Belvin who now lives in the Watford family house.

Our family; mother, father and my sister Ruth lived at 624 Lamar Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 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 18, 1932, and 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 and then enter the second grade the next year.

The school I attended was 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 Deadline: Friday, September 18 of wood. I don’t think I ever saw at 12:00 pm. another made of wood. One day when we were all outside playing, For further information on any I slid down the board and ripped of these opportunities, please contact Todd Stewart, Public Art the bottom of my shorts. I was so embarrassed. I didn’t want Project Manager for the Arts & anyone to know other than my Science Council at 704-3353273 or email at todd.stewart@ teachers. They had to call my mother and she brought a new artsandscience.org. pair for me. In the meantime, the teachers put a towel around my Starting school waist, and that made it worse

by Cal Watford because it looked like I was Editors note: Here’s another of the wearing a skirt and some of the reminiscences from Cal Watford children teased me about it.

Tough on a little boy.

Cal and family, 1937 – photo courtesy of Cal Watford

One of the fun things was that we had a small chicken pen that was under the steps going into the class room. There was a big, red hen and she was sitting 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.

school, I was allowed to go to public school because I met the age requirement. I was admitted to the second grade, but because of my December birthday, I was almost always the youngest in my class. This It was getting close to Christmas is a major problem for a young and we were preparing for a boy because even the girls special program. Someone had were older, and I felt like the made a large wooden frame, with baby of the class. Age is very the big glass bottles used for important when you’re young. ginger ale or soda water hanging It establishes a class basis. I was on strings tied to the bottle always the youngest all the way necks. Each bottle was hanging through school. at the same height, and filled with water to different levels and My teacher was Ms. Terry. was part of the musical scale. My I used to think she was so pretty: role in the program was to play tall, slender, and beautiful, with long curly blond hair. I loved Jingle Bells and Silent Night. to hear her sing, and there was I was given a small stick with a time in the day that we sang a little knob on the end, and I songs. One morning we were used it to tap the bottles. They going out to recess, and first we really made a neat sound, like little bells. I know I was nervous, had to line up alphabetically by last name. It seemed we did this but all went well, I think. every time we left the classroom.

Elizabeth Grammar School I was always at the last of the The next school year, after line. That didn’t do much for attending the small private one’s ego. 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 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. I tried to tell her that it was an accident and that I’d been pushed into the table, but she wouldn’t listen. She said I couldn’t go out to recess, but must stay inside and help clean up the mess I’d made.

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’d made this mess, and I told her I’d 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 THE PEOPLE PAGES

13

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’d 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.

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

A ride on the trolley

by Nancy O. Albert The CATS Gold Line Trolley, whose planning and building has spanned the entire time I’ve lived in Charlotte, finally began regular service on July 15. My friend Terry and I thought to avail ourselves of a free trip and ride uptown to take in an exhibition at the Mint Museum, America the Beautiful: Works on Paper (highly recommended.)

We walked over to the waiting station that sits in the middle of Hawthorne Lane, close to the intersection of 5th 14

THE PEOPLE PAGES

Street and the entrance to Novant Presbyterian Hospital.

In addition to the one on Hawthorne, there are three others in our neighborhood: on both sides of Elizabeth Avenue near Earl’s Grocery, and at CPCC on the corner of Pease Lane. They’re constructed of metal and clear glass with colored glass collages embedded in them.

Designed by New Orleans artist Nancy O’Neil, each station has been individualized to reflect the history of its particular location. According to the CATS website, “O’Neil was inspired by the areas directly adjacent to the streetcar stops to create unique designs for each of the 11 shelters. When standing in a shelter, the rider can both experience the location in the present while considering the area’s past.”

Ms. O’Neil, who visited Charlotte during her lengthy research period, used historic documents and photographs in her work. I was pleased to play a small part in the process, as did fellow Elizabethan Ken Magas; some of the images we provided were incorporated into the project. The Hawthorne station reflects the history of both the hospital and Independence Park. Among the famous Elizabethans who grace the glass walls is our own Race Day Elvis, Hardin Minor.

We boarded the trolley and sat down on the beautifully restored (but not very

comfortable) wood seats. The current cars are 1935 vintage replicas. If the line is extended to its planned ten mile length, sleek new models similar to those seen in Seattle and other cities will replace them. We were pleased to discover that the cars are air-conditioned, as this day, like so many others during our long, hot summer, was sweltering. The other riders included families with young children out for the excursion and other curious folks like us. At the CPCC stop a large number of students got on.

In its current incarnation the trolley travels only 1.5 miles and stops at the transit center; plans are to extend this end as far as Johnson C. Smith University. We walked over to the Mint, enjoyed the exhibition and a leisurely lunch, then hopped back on for the ride home. This time passengers included a woman going to work and a young man with a big “It’s a Boy” flower bouquet heading to the hospital to meet his new nephew. Again at CPCC a number of students got on and off. Thinking it a fun excursion, we headed for home.

The launch, to much local fanfare, was not a complete success however. A day or so after our ride there was an accident: the trolley careened out of control down the low grade that is Elizabeth and crashed into an SUV stopped for a traffic light. An investigation eventually found

THE PEOPLE PAGES

15

photo: Nancy O. Albert

that the problem was driver error rather than mechanical failure. At the end of the line the driver needs to move to the rear of the car and activate controls to drive back in the opposite direction. This driver, now on leave, didn’t switch the controls and as a result his braking mechanisms didn’t engage. It must have been very frightening for all concerned, but fortunately no one was hurt and nothing else like that has happened again as of this writing. The cars continue to run at regular 15 minute intervals, and riders don’t seem to have been fazed by the incident. In fact Terry and I both enjoyed our ride so much that we plan to do it again.

New trolley path lights

by Ric Solow If you haven’t strolled down Elizabeth’s trolley path lately, you’ll be surprised to see that the once dark and spooky night- time corridor is now a well-lit, safe passage connecting 5th Street to Greenway Avenue up to 7th Street. Two previous attempts to provide lighting along the trolley path were short lived due to the use of lighting fixtures unable to stand up to vandalism. Now, through the combined efforts of Ric Solow of the ECA Trolley Path Committee and Ken Brantley of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, along with the generous support of the ECA, we have 17 high impact, bollard 16

THE PEOPLE PAGES

style lights along the two block sidewalk as well as six new lights in the brick columns marking the four entrance points. The low voltage, vandal resistant lights were specifically fabricated for this project, providing continuous pools of light and a sense of security for an evening stroll, especially pleasant during the early days of summer.

Update on proposed rezoning on the three properties at 7th Street and Caswell Road

by Jim Belvin On August 3rd, the developer, Faison, made a presentation during a required open house forum at the planning department. Approximately 30 folks from the Elizabeth neighborhood showed up to view the plans and to voice opinions. Faison presented updated building and site plans, but no building elevations.

The latest plan proposes 124 apartments over street level retail and office space.

Currently a traffic study is underway and should be ready within the next 2 weeks.

Faison has now requested more time for meetings with area residents, CDOT and the planning staff, and has asked that the first public meeting be pushed back from September 21 to October 19.

The ECA board will continue to engage with the city/county agencies and with the developer

as the rezoning petition progresses. We strongly urge a large neighborhood turnout at the October 19 public hearing, so all Elizabeth residents can see first-hand what’s being proposed, and let their voices be heard.

One resident’s view

by Michael DePalma I enjoy living in Elizabeth for many of the same reasons that other residents do: the large tree canopy, the walkability of the neighborhood to the local shops, the feeling of being part of our city but also having the prospect of a quiet retreat.

Elizabeth is great because of our ability to maintain community identity within the expanding region. Each of us makes an effort to enhance the beauty of Elizabeth even as we build and grow within the neighborhood. I would not directly wish to keep any person from enjoying this area of town as their home.

The proposed development of apartments at 7th Street and Caswell (currently housing Jackalope Jack’s, Rusty Rabbit and the former Philosopher’s Stone) would not benefit the community when compared to the potential pitfalls of growth.

We recently renovated our home and stayed at the Venue Apartments across 7th during that time. The apartment complex (and it was a sprawling complex) was

lovely but underutilized. It was approximately half-full during our stay and we actually had a whole floor of our building to ourselves for six months!

Current proposed development along Elizabeth Avenue will offer the same services and amenities as the proposed 7th Street project with less visual impact or encroachment of mixed use into the single family

living areas of Elizabeth. With over 500 units already planned along that corridor, we should question the benefit of another similar development at 7th and Caswell.

The trend of apartment complexes springing up throughout Charlotte’s neighborhoods should be viewed skeptically. Will the growth benefit the current residents and add value to their neighborhood? Does development for its own

photo: Nancy O. Albert­

Adding another 200 units along 7th Street will leave an underutilized glass and concrete tower squatting over an iconic corner of our neighborhood. It will add confusion and stress to an intersection already overwhelmed by traffic, while not meeting the development plans that best fit Elizabeth.

Our Elizabeth Small Area Plan anticipates a walkable 7th Street corridor. This stretch of 7thStreet has had several tragic pedestrian accidents in recent years. Imagine the traffic as 200 more residents pull out of the parking deck every week day.

THE PEOPLE PAGES

17

sake offer anything other than financial windfall to the developers?

I urge all Elizabeth neighbors to learn about the proposed changes and develop an opinion on new development in our community. Plan to join the initial zoning meeting scheduled for October 19 at the Government Center, 600 East 4th Street, in the Council Chambers. I’m hopeful that our collective voice for aesthetic and useful development along the 7th Street corridor will sway City leaders and developers to think smartly before acting in Elizabeth.

Questions for our mayoral candidates

by Melanie Sizemore Editor’s note: As I’m sure all of you are aware, among the Democratic candidates running for mayor are long-time Elizabeth residents Dan Clodfelter and Jennifer Roberts.

Melanie Sizemore posed the following questions to both of them.

The primary will take place on September 15. Please make sure to cast your vote.

Dan Clodfelter replied:

1) How long have you lived in Elizabeth?

Since 1978: first on Kenmore Avenue, and then, from 1984, on Clement Avenue.

2) How long have you been involved in the Elizabeth Community as a volunteer?

Please list specific organizational 18

THE PEOPLE PAGES

involvement and actions you took that benefitted our neighborhood.

Almost from the beginning. My first involvement was around the issue of whether the State would widen Independence Boulevard on its current alignment or would instead relocate it and build a freeway along 7th St. or else along Central Avenue. We won that fight. I served as President of the ECA in 1980-81 during the very early years of the neighborhood association and also served as a board member of the ECA for several terms.

I was a founding board member of the Historic Elizabeth Community Foundation, Inc., which was the vehicle we used to raise private money to fund the very first Elizabeth Small Area Plan and also the group that negotiated the formal agreement with NCDOT relating to the noise walls along Independence Freeway, the design of the Hawthorne

bridge and the Pecan Avenue underpass. There aren’t many issues in the neighborhood that I haven’t been involved in over the years, in one way or another – issues ranging from the installation of four-way stops on 5th St. and Dotger to slow traffic, the fight over the proposed Kenny Rogers restaurant and the recruitment of Showmar’s to replace it, the securing of National Register of Historic Places designation for our neighborhood, the removal of the former Arts & Crafts Building from the upper end of Independence Park and the restoration of that portion of the park, the second version of the Elizabeth Small Area Plan, the recent zoning ordinance changes dealing with outdoor music at bars and restaurants, and the unsuccessful fight to try to stop a parking deck from being built in a portion of Independence Park. This isn’t a complete list, but I think it gives a good representation of my work.

3) What specific actions have you made as an elected official that have benefitted the Elizabeth Community?

One of the first things I accomplished after being elected to Charlotte City Council as District One representative was to persuade the Council to officially adopt the Elizabeth Small Area Plan, which was one of the very first area plans in Charlotte. That plan – and the new version

adopted more recently – have guided us well. I’ve fought consistently – and successfully thus far – both as a City Council member and then as a State Senator – to stop the destructive widening of 7th St. through the heart of the neighborhood and to implement and maintain the “reversible lane” plan as an alternative to any such widening. More recently, as Mayor, I’ve insisted that the terms of our agreement with the State DOT concerning the location, size, and design of the Hawthorne Lane bridge must be respected when the streetcar line is extended to Central Avenue.

4) What specific opportunities and challenges do you see Elizabeth facing moving forward, and what actions would you take as Mayor in that regard? Why should Elizabeth residents vote for you for Mayor?

Except for a few months when we first moved here, Elizabeth and I have never lived anywhere else in Charlotte. Our children were both born and grew up in Elizabeth, and we’ve seen the neighborhood change dramatically over the years – almost always for the better. We were part of the first transition from the early residents of the neighborhood to a new generation of young families, and we’ve stayed through later transitions.

This is a remarkably savvy and resilient neighborhood; it’s

been written off as “lost” many times in the past and yet has always defied the doomsayers.

I value the fact that it retains an eclectic mix of different kinds of families and people, of different kinds of housing, of different kinds of businesses and places, and that the “new” seems to integrate so well with the “old.” My wish is that the neighborhood never loses the strength that comes from such diversity, as some other neighborhoods have done. An essential challenge for the neighborhood is to resist the loss of the character and richness that make this a special part of Charlotte. The neighborhood must also be careful about the scale of new development that will take place. Despite how “busy” the neighborhood seems at times, it still maintains a sense of intimacy and proportion. To preserve that sense will require that new infill developments not dwarf or overpower the scale of the existing older development around it.

I was first drawn into public life because of the people and the places of this neighborhood.

Whatever I’ve done since then or may do if I continue as Mayor, I’ll not forget the place in Charlotte I call home.

Jennifer Roberts replied:

1) How long have you lived in Elizabeth?

My husband, Manley, and I have lived in the Elizabeth

neighborhood for more than 20 years. We’re raising our two children here and I have fond memories of the Elizabeth Mom’s group and of our kids attending St. Martin’s preschool. Now they’re teenagers and enjoy the neighborhood even more with so many great restaurants and stores nearby.

2) How long have you been involved in the Elizabeth Community as a volunteer?

Please list specific organizational involvement and actions you took that benefitted our neighborhood.

I’m honored and humbled to have received the Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Award for my work in the Charlotte community. I’m most proud of my work helping to raise the funds needed to build a new shelter for families suffering from domestic violence. As co-chair of the fundraising committee, I worked with Safe Alliance and others to THE PEOPLE PAGES

19

bring together businesses, individuals and public groups to build a new shelter to help local families in need. Other groups that I’ve volunteered for include: Arts & Science Council Clean Air Works Girls Scouts Hornets Nest Council Housing Partnership International House Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful 3) What specific actions have you made as an elected official that have benefitted the Elizabeth Community?

As a community activist and former elected official I’ve promoted and supported numerous initiatives that have benefitted Charlotte and the Elizabeth neighborhood, including: Extended the greenway past Independence Park Fought to pass school bonds for renovations for schools including Elizabeth Traditional Increased the number of nurses in schools Supported renovations and improvements for local parks, including Independence Park 4) What specific opportunities and challenges do you see Elizabeth facing moving forward, and what actions would you take as Mayor in that regard? Why should Elizabeth 20

THE PEOPLE PAGES

residents vote for you for Mayor?

Balancing growth with the preservation of our neighborhood charm and historic architecture is the continuing challenge of Elizabeth and many other urban neighborhoods. To keep Elizabeth vibrant I’ll continue to support our small businesses as well as women- and minorityowned businesses and provide the tools they need for success.

I will work to expand economic opportunity into every corner of our city by supporting our public schools and by working to create new jobs, because we know that good schools and good jobs go together.

Elizabeth: are you engaged, or just Trumped?

by Melanie Sizemore Love him or hate him, you have to give Trump credit for getting more people paying attention to the Presidential debates.

But it’s unfortunate that while people seem to get engaged in Presidential politics, they fail to see the real impact of local politics. Local politics impact our daily lives.

Worried about CMS and potential changes to teacher’s pay, magnets, school boundaries, testing? The Board of Education has nine candidates in the race.

Worried about development – either a new project that may

close your favorite watering hole or how zoning decisions impact your ability to renovate your house? Worried about car break-ins? Taxes? Trash pick-up? Well, you’d better pay attention to the race for Mayor of Charlotte and Charlotte City Council. The Mayor’s race has eight candidates and the Charlotte City Council at large race has fifteen candidates.

(Elizabeth is in Charlotte City Council District 1 and while Patsy Kinsey is running unopposed, she still needs your vote to overcome any write-in candidates).

The focus areas for the Mayor and City Council are (1) Community Safety, (2) Economic Development, (3) Environment, (4) Housing and Neighborhood Development and (5)Transportation. Think about it: every one of those issues has the potential to touch you every day of your life.

The agenda for the Charlotte City Council’s July 27th City Council meeting ran 322 pages.

While city staff does a lot of the heavy lifting, City Council makes the decisions that affect your everyday life – police, water, street maintenance, trash, transportation systems, airport, code enforcement, the tree canopy, city planning and zoning, animal care and control.

In the last primary election for Mayor and City Council, voter turnout was 6.7%. Out of 516,797 registered voters, only 34,609 people turned out to

vote. Candidates pay attention to which neighborhoods turn out the voters because they know their success lies in those active voting districts.

While much has been made of money in politics these days, a neighborhood that votes gets a lot of attention. So regardless of your affiliation, make plans to get to your precinct on September 15th and vote.

Remind your neighbors to vote.

Apathy is not an option when every vote counts.

Yard Yak

by Kay Minor

photo: Nancy O. Albert

A new house across the street from me is nearing completion.

Built in fits and starts by a local contractor, it slows traffic, pedestrian and otherwise with its girth and style. At four thousand square feet and with a modern stucco facade, opinions vary. In general, its omnipresence is preferable to its predecessor, an abandoned cinder block structure adorned with “untidy landscaping�.

Having been referred to as an airplane hangar, a bomb shelter, and even a mosque, I call it the potential home of a new neighbor.

Not unsympathetic to other folks ideas concerning esthetics, my intuitive compass is wiggling towards the direction of fear. Of change, of loss, perhaps the domino effect of crumbling quaint bungalows evolving into Barbie Dream Houses, with resplendent THE PEOPLE PAGES

21

lap pools, home theaters, sequestered courtyards, etc. It’s happened before, friends say.

Proceeding with action, minus the righteous indignation, is the sticky wicket here. Is it possible? OK, so we use our heads. Small area plan, check. Zoning rules, check.

Community involvement, check.

Honorable in every way, we cross the t and dot the i of legalese.

But let us not forget to use our hearts in working through our differences. It is possible to proceed with benevolence when taking any course of action.

In simple terms, remember the golden rule. Be kind. Treat others as you would want to be treated. This is not a belief, but an action.

The new house across the way will eventually be sold to someone. My fine-tuned skills of neighborliness, gleaned from the many years of watching families come and go, will be put into practice once again. I’ll greet them with an open heart.

Houses and cars and people come in all shapes and sizes and world views. But we’re all the same on the inside. If words like empathy or compassion evoke images of group therapy and the Dali Lama, then keep it simple. Just be kind. Be a model for benevolence. What have you got to lose, besides a bit of intolerance or prejudice or selfrighteousness? Opportunities exist for change in every moment.

22

THE PEOPLE PAGES

Will you choose to be the change you want to see in the world?

Where, oh where, do my recyclables go?

by Kris Solow After our successful Elizabeth Recycles Day in May, Cynthia Drum and I met with Paula Hoffman with the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) to see what happens to our curbside recyclables after they’re collected. We learned that although the City provides our curbside recycling container and collects it, the County processes it at the MRF, sells it and shares the revenue with the City. A private company manages the MRF. That’s how the program is run and paid for.

Paula gladly gives educational talks in the facility’s auditorium and gets 10,000 visitors a year.

Since 1990, Char-Meck has had a voluntary recycling program with a high participation rate.

We now have a co-mingle program which means that citizens do not have to sort their recyclables because it’s done at the facility with high tech machines.

Through an observation window at the MRF we saw the trucks back in and dump collected materials. The trucks get weighed before they come in. A front end loader scoops up materials and puts it onto a conveyor belt. Sorters pull out items such as plastic bags and scrap metal which can jam and break the machines. There’s a

big magnet that pulls out the cans. Electric currents shake the aluminum cans off the belt.

Glass is heavy and rolls off into its own area. Lasers identify the different thicknesses of plastic and blowers blow the plastics into their own spaces. The WipeOutWaste.com website explains all the programs offered and shows videos on how the different machines work.

So what do they do with all our recyclables once they’re sorted?

Let’s go over the things that are recyclable first: metal, tin, steel, and aluminum cans, #1-7 plastics MINUS #6, wide mouthed plastic containers like cottage cheese and yogurt, milk and juice cartons with wax coatings since they have machines that melt the wax away, empty aerosol cans like cooking spray, or hair spray, but not ones with chemicals, pesticides or paint in them.

Take paint aerosols to drop centers or keep for ERD. Only glass that you purchase with food and beverages is recyclable because the glass is pure and has no lead in it.

Broken mugs, vases, light bulbs contaminate the batch. Wine glasses cannot be recycled. All paper food boxes, newspapers, paper bags, junk mail can be recycled. The pizza industry found a solution to greasy pizza boxes: there’s now a liner under most pizzas that absorbs the grease, and when removed, the box can be recycled.

5% product contamination.

Glass is scooped into an open truck, covered with a tarp, crushed, melted and then molded into food jars. Boxes get made into new boxes, cans get made into new cans. Park benches and picnic tables can be made from recycled milk jugs. Detergent bottles become toy trucks. Soda bottles go to a company that whips it into a polyester fiber like cotton candy, dyes it and turns it into thread for carpeting.

If a product says “100%

polyethylene,” it’s made from soda bottles. Large plastic containers, work buckets, garden pots, laundry baskets, litter boxes, hard plastic screw caps are now recyclable!

What you can do with things that CANNOT go to the recycle center?

Shredded paper can be taken to any drop center like the Hickory Grove Recycle Center or put in a brown paper bag and recycled at a grocery store.

Batteries can be taken to a drop center, home improvement

recycling center photo: Kris Solow­

The MRF has 25 employees working every day and night.

Everything is baled, except the glass. Compactors compress the material until it’s the size of a 1000 lb. bale. An automatic wire feed wraps around it to hold it together and they’re stockpiled. When a trailer load is ready, it’s sold to buyers worldwide. The MRF recently won a national award from Alcoa Aluminum for the best bales in the country. If there’s a lot of stuff mixed in there, it’s rejected and sent back. The MRF boasts to have less than

THE PEOPLE PAGES

23

Nine years, 37 issues... from 16 pages in the fall of 2006 to 48 pages today. Goodbye Nancy O. Albert: it’ll never be the same without you!

Read ‘em all at issuu.com/eca-charlotte.

26

THE PEOPLE PAGES

HLUMC fountain – photo by Nancy O. Albert

store, or saved for ERD. Leftover paint can be taken a drop center or be given to Habitat for Humanity. Books can go to Julia’s Cafe on Wendover Road. Aluminum chairs with or without the webbing can go to the drop centers. Plastic grocery bags can be taken to grocery stores where they recycle them into more grocery bags! Take wire clothes hangers back to dry cleaners. Eyeglasses go to the Lion’s Club. Used blankets can become soft bedding for animals recovering from surgery at animal hospitals or the Humane Society. Clothes and furniture can be donated to agencies such as Crisis Assistance Ministries where they GIVE everything to those in need instead of selling it. Yard waste goes to Compost Central.

Construction demolition goes to a demolition drop center.

For any bulky items such as furniture, appliances, lumber that cannot be donated, call 311 and schedule a curbside pickup. To properly dispose of old medicines, the Matthews Police Department has a drop box 24/7 in their lobby, CMC Myers Park Internal Medicine has one from M-F 8:30am5pm, or wait for an Operation Medicine Drop event. Paula told us that if you own a private company, are a church, or school you can ask your waste contractor to provide recycling containers and they’ll collect them.

And, if you see anyone littering, which is neither recycling nor putting it in the trash, call the Char-Meck information line at 311 or go online to Swat A Litterbug NC. If you have more questions about recycling, you can reach Paula at 704598-8595, ext. 6.

Elizabeth Sojourners seeks new members

by Nancy O. Albert Do you love travel and exploring new cultures? Or are you more of an armchair traveler and confine your explorations to the written word? If you are either, you might consider becoming part of a group of fellow travelers.

The Elizabeth Sojourners, who meet on the third Tuesdays of each month, has openings for a few new members. We discuss books that explore cultures and cross-cultural experiences and we strive for a variety of locales and points of views. Selections may include both fiction and non-fiction works. Past readings have included In the Garden of Evening Mist by Tan Twan Eng; The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri; and My Life in France by Julia Child. Our September selection is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Dorr and in October we’ll be reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. If you’re interested please contact me: noalbert@carolina.rr.com.

A new neighbor: The Spoke Easy /

Cluck Design

by Michael DePalma From a recent chat with Kevin Kennedy, a principal at Cluck Design who (with sibling company The Spoke Easy) moved to the Elizabeth Avenue location that had housed the Red Sky Gallery.

Welcome to Elizabeth, Kevin. How did you and your business partner Chris Scorsone wind up opening your business here in Charlotte?

I’m from Charlotte and grew up in Mint Hill. My first day of work was as a 15 year old selling cotton candy and ice cream at a Beach Boys concert at Memorial Stadium. Chris is from Asheville, and we started Cluck in 2005. Before that we worked at competing architecture firms. We would see each other flying to observe projects in DC, at interviews in Raleigh, or events in Charlotte.

We realized that we had unique yet complementary skill sets, and talked a lot about creating more fulfilling work lives.

What brought you to Elizabeth?

Our previous location was near the New Bern stop of the light rail, and the streetcar was a big factor in choosing Elizabeth.

Elizabeth has always felt like home, going to the Krispy Kreme or visiting my great aunt and uncle in Chantilly. Hearing the story that the doctor sent my dad to Anderson’s to get some food and that I was born while he was there. I lived on Vail for a while. Although we THE PEOPLE PAGES

27

do encourage cyclists to stay off of Elizabeth Avenue, we think that the streetcar is a great amenity, and making it easier for residents of other neighborhoods to get here.

Are you a bike shop with a design firm or an architect that fixes bikes/serves beer/holds yoga?

We’re a full service architecture firm first and foremost. At Cluck, we’ve developed a design process that’s based in creative problem solving. During the recession, we started to design bicycles. That quickly snowballed into a full-service bicycle shop. We’d planned to serve beer at the shop, but waited until we moved here to actually open a bar.

The yoga thing is more of a state of mind; we’re not a yoga studio. We do have yoga classes on the roof on Wednesday nights with both men and women participating. It’s our most popular night at the bar.

All the donations, and a dollar for every pint sold that night go to help fund the clinic that we’re helping with in Haiti. The website is www.hhfoh.org.

Social consciousness is definitely appreciated. Any social impacts you plan to provide locally?

We believe that bicycles and design can make this a better street, neighborhood and city.

Charlotte can benefit from a shift in focus from how many miles of bike infrastructure we have to how many places we 28

THE PEOPLE PAGES

can connect safely. We need safe connections to places such as UNCC and south Charlotte.

Elizabeth suffers from greenways. Plans are underway to connect those and we hope broken construction will start soon.

A mother’s story

by Erika Olson Have you ever been lost in a foreign land and not spoken the language? That’s how parenting started for me. When my son was born, I was ecstatic to go on the journey, but I soon learned that excitement would only take me so far. Why wasn’t this bundle of joy so joyous? Wasn’t he supposed to sleep like a baby? Clearly, I misunderstood that saying my entire life. He seemed to have one sound for everything and it was always the same volume.

Someone along the way told me if I really listened I’d be able to tell a sleepy cry from a hungry cry from a diaper cry. Either I was oblivious to subtleties or he only had one cry. Either way, we weren’t communicating.

Despite my being sleepdeprived and frazzled, a good friend recommended that I venture out into the world with my baby - was she crazy? - to a Music Together class. I was skeptical. All I could envision for a babe was a class full of saccharine lullabies. Imagine my surprise when we were dancing around to Katy Perry and being lead by a talented musician who not only sang

like an angel but could play a mean guitar. From the first class we were hooked. We were both happy, surrounded by caring and understanding classmates, moving and grooving to fun and upbeat songs, and learning a way to be with each other despite our language barrier.

Music Together gave us a new way to communicate. Fidgety at the doctor’s office? We just Trot Off to Grandma’s House to get a little boy some cherries.

Having a bad day? Well so is the Itsy Bitsy Spider and he sings about it in a mad voice, then a sad voice, and then just maybe a silly voice. Really sleepy and having a hard time settling down? Let’s hear the one about the really wide water that we need a boat to cross.

My son is now five and my daughter is three and both have taken classes for years. We’ve had several amazing teachers – all talented musicians – and made dear friends. But most importantly, Music Together opened the musical floodgates in our house. Music calms us when we’re anxious, it expresses feelings we may not be ready to express in words, it gives us a way to be silly with each other, and perhaps the greatest benefit of all is that we take life a little less seriously. There are many days when we speak different languages, but when that happens we can turn to music to understand each other.

THE PEOPLE PAGES

29

photo: Nancy O. Albert

30

THE PEOPLE PAGES

photo by Nancy O. Albert

It’s YOUR turn.

For what, you ask? To laugh.

To lead. To launch. And more.

Our Elizabeth Neighborhood turns 100 very soon. Join the fun. Lend your talents. Meet someone new. Anything can happen when you say yes. rsvp susangreen8@gmail.com.

THE PEOPLE PAGES

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