Volume 53, Issue No. 3
A Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. Publication
March 2014
Saying Goodbye to Mr. Bandy, and to Smiley Smiley Middle School will be closing at the end of this school year after being in the Park Hill neighborhood since 1928. George Bandy – that’s Mr. Bandy to many – has been a social studies teacher at Smiley for the last 23 years. “I’ve spent half my life in this building,” he
notes. A recent conversation with him offers not just a history of Smiley but a peek into our neighborhood’s earlier times. Growing up, Mr. Bandy lived off of 19th and Monaco. He, his two younger brothers and their friends roamed the neighborhood streets on their bikes and played baseball in
Mr. Bandy in his classroom. Photo credit: Lynn Kalinauskas
City Park. They caught all the latest films at the movie theatre on Kearney and 22nd and they watched astronaut John Glenn and President Lyndon B. Johnson come down the official parade route on Monaco Parkway as they made their way from the Stapleton Airport to downtown Denver. He and his brothers all attended Smiley Middle School. “I am proud to say that I’m a product of Denver Public Schools,” he says. “I enjoyed Smiley as a student, but oh, it was so crowded back then.” In the ‘60s, he explains, so many students from the neighborhood attended the school that the district instituted “split sessions.” Students would attend school either from 6 a.m. to noon or from noon until 6 p.m. He chose the earlier school day, taking advantage of the afternoon to play sports. Though all three Bandy boys attended Smiley, they did not attend the same high school. Mr. Bandy went to George Washington for its sports program, and busing sent his bothers to Manual and East. While in high school, Mr. Bandy scored an afterschool job as a sweeper at Smiley. Little did he know that decades after cleaning the halls as a teenager he would be part of the teaching team that would see the last Smiley class graduate.
The sign to the girl’s gym – a throwback to pre-Title IX segregated gym classes.
schools Update
Lynn Kalinauskas
GPHC Education Chair
When tensions were high Busing, instituted in 1969 in Denver, aimed to end school segregation. With the memory of the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination still fresh, tensions in the schools continued on page 11
The Importance of Being There Challenging the Status Quo Essential, Not Always Easy Civic engagement that leads to a coalition of neighborhoods or opposition to a supersized playground in a park is an essential part of the governing process, say politicians, activists, and theorists. In Park Hill, community activism ranges from struggling to improve conditions for low paid workers to a program encouraging people to connect through walking. “Citizenship is an office, not an entitlement; it carries certain responsibilities and duties,” says Thad Tecza, professor emeritus in political science at the University of Colorado. “The notion of a ‘republic’ includes
the concept of a res publica or public space in which people can and should act in the name of the common good and detached from the pursuit of individual self-interest.” Metropolitan State University of Denver President Stephen Jordan says more succinctly: “The community always needs Dave Felice rabble rousers.” Activists continue their work despite at times being demeaned and dismissed by those in power. City Councilman Chris Nevitt, for example, once declared that park advocates represent “hysteria, extremism, and narrow parochial interests.” More recently, Councilman Albus Brooks described opponents of a huge playground attraction as “a bunch of protestors.” Longtime Park Hill resident Laura Avant, affiliated with the political group MoveOn, says she moved to the area “in search of an integrated neighborhood.” Avant says she has been voluntarily involved in political affairs since her mid-20’s, when she “encountered discrimination in housAction Plan © 2013, Brian Andreas, The Story People; Used With Permission ing, police attempts to
City Matters
Joining forces Following tradition, The Rev. Daniel Klawitter of Park Hill heads Denver’s InterFaith Worker Justice (IWJ) commission. Klawitter is a minister in the United Methodist Church, a denomination with a reputation for social involvement. He recently issued a statement of opposition to the secontinued on page 5
Breaking the ‘Monotony’ Between Birth and Death Community Activists Share Their Motivations “Why do I do it? Because it is the most interesting of all activities and it breaks the monotony between the two significant events in one’s life, i.e. birth and death.” Thad Tecza, professor emeritus in political science at the University of Colorado “You have to stay the course, do your homework, be informed, stand up for what you believe, and be willing to speak out.” Jay Rust, president of Neighbors and Friends of Cheesman Park “I cut my political teeth in the late 1960’s - participating in anti-war demonstrations, volunteering for quixotic political campaigns, [and] coming of age at a time when political action affected outcomes. I witnessed the successful efforts of a group
Protecting pets from marijuana and other toxic substances
Page 17
Summer Camp Guide: Get the kids ready for hot weather fun
Page 14
Inside This Issue
Page 8
March 2014
silence dissent, economic inequality at home, and an unnecessary and costly war abroad.” “We have to take ownership of how we want things to be,” says Jonathan Stalls of Park Hill, who has walked 3,000 miles cross country to meet ordinary people from Delaware to California. Stalls runs Walk2Connect, which features activities involving the social aspects of walking.
of environmentalists, led by a contrarian Colorado legislator – Dick Lamm – organize people across the state to say No! to the 1976 Olympic Games. I worked for Denver’s first Hispanic Mayor, Federico Peña, who despite being unpopular with the city’s political and business elite, transformed Denver from a low-profile mountain gateway into a diverse, eclectic urban hub.” Former Denver Councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt “One day while yelling at the TV, I figured I do not have the right to be upset if I do not get involved. I refuse to pass a corrupt system on to my children and am compelled to do what I can with my time and skills until it is fixed.” MoveOn activist Irene Clark
Springtime in the garden: Let the planning and planting begin
Next GPHC Meeting Thursday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m. 2823 Fairfax St., Denver
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