AVALON PARK & CALUMET HEIGHTS AQUATIC OASIS, PHOTO BY MARC MONAGHAN
I
grew up in Avalon Park and loved it. My family and I lived on a quiet, tree-lined street where neighbors were polite but largely kept to themselves. I remember being able to walk to the corner store on 83rd and Stony Island that was owned by a man named “Doc,” a retired police officer, with my sisters when I was eight or nine years old. This was a big deal because at that age, we weren’t allowed to go many places without our parents—not because our neighborhood was violent, but because it was the 80s, and parents (at least those I knew) were very concerned with kidnapping. This was around the time six-year-old Adam Walsh was kidnapped and murdered, leading his father, John Walsh, to create the true-crime television series America's Most Wanted. During my adolescence, the Stony Island Food Mart was still in business, and I remember walking there with my dad to pick up staple food items. During the summer as preteens, my sisters and I would ride our bikes around the neighborhood, sometimes crossing into Calumet Heights so that we could ride around Jesse Owens Park. To this day, the park holds a special place in my memories. One summer, I took tennis lessons there at the prompting of my eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Tate. A group of us spent our summer with our teacher learning how to serve and volley. You can never forget moments like that. There was always a pride I had growing up in this neighborhood, with the wellkept homes and lawns. At schools like McDowell, the teachers were really invested in your success and the care for your general wellbeing was visceral. After middle school, I didn't spend as much time in the neighborhood. I went to
Compiled by Rovetta McKinney, Neighborhood Captain
high school, eventually went off to college, and things just got kind of busy. After I graduated, I moved to Philadelphia and would visit from time to time. I recently returned to Chicago, and to my old neighborhood. And while we still have the well-cared-for lawns and homes, there have been some changes. Always a very quiet pocket of the city, it’s still relatively quiet—but since the pandemic, there have been some incidents of violence, and like the city in general, the area has been affected by the surge in carjacking incidents. While there have been some new investments, we could definitely benefit from more new businesses. But despite all of that, the people who live here make this neighborhood a treasure. Hard-working people, retired people, interesting people, people who care. I’ve always believed that neighbors make the neighborhood. Avalon Park is made up of amazing people who love their neighborhood and work to make this community a slice of solace in a big city. It is that mindset that makes Avalon Park a great place to call home. (Rovetta McKinney) Neighborhood captain Rovetta McKinney works in procurement in the interior design industry. Prior to that, she worked as a merchant/designer in the jewelry industry for over a decade. She has a masters of science in international marketing and a passion for travel, history, arts, and culture. SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11
