it takes a village
Patrick Carr’s Legacy of Lilies More than 200 cannas gifted to Queen Villagers.
F
ormer Queen Village resident, Patrick Carr loved canna lilies. A self-taught organic gardener, Pat grew hundreds of cannas—the summer-blooming lily that grows from a bulb to a six-foot flower in a few short months. More than 200 of Pat’s towering flower bulbs were given to QVNA to share with neighbors. The gift came from Pat’s wife, Maria Kefalas, in memory of her husband who passed in April. The canna lily bulbs were shared with
Queen Village neighbors in May as part of QVNA’s #FreeFlowersR4U program, in which the cana lilies and 300 additional flowering perennials were given away free to residents. A sociology scholar, Pat loved talking to kids in the streets of Philadelphia to gain real-world insight to fuel his writing. A Philadelphia Inquirer article article about Pat and his life’s many contributions is at https://bit.ly/PatrickCarr-Inquirer2020. ■
A Clean Sweep for Queen Street
What’s Up On Our Canopy?
harles Craige “Chalie” moved to Columbus Boulevard in Queen Village in 2015 and immediately committed to making his corner of the neighborhood clean and safe. Chalie regularly clears debris and trash left in and around the Queen Street Tunnel between Front and Swanson Streets. He keeps QVNA updated with before-and-after pictures and has developed relationships with QVNA partners the Interstate Land Management Corporation and South Street Headhouse District. On his own time, Chalie is also looking into options for improving the tunnel’s appearance with mural refurbishing and lighting improvements. It does take a village, and Chalie takes that to heart with dedication of his time and pride in Queen Village. ■
Fingers crossed that both spring and fall 2020 trees will be planted in November.
C
Queen Village Quarterly Crier \\ FALL 2020
A Although he manages all the ins and outs of the Queen Street tunnel, volunteer Chalie Craige loves running the streets of Philadelphia.
s of this writing, curbside tree planting will be scheduled for a Saturday in November. On the same date eleven trees, originally slated for planting in April, will also be planted. This means that if you’d like to plant trees and have fun with new friends, please let us know at QVNA.org/volunteer. Also in November, we’ll release the application for spring 2021 curbside tree planting. If you want QVNA to email you an application when it’s available, let us know at QVNA.org/trees. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay tuned for more information about tree topics in November. ■
