Washington Park East Neighborhood Association

Sept 2003 - Washington Park Neighborhood Senior Shares Memories

Aug 30, 2003

Washington Park Neighborhood Senior Shares Memories: Last spring, Ann Morgan (who was our Treasurer at the time), received a lovely note from Jean Hogarth along with her 2003 WPENA membership dues payment. I contacted Jean recently, and she gave me permission to print an excerpt from that wonderful letter: ?“I am elderly?…and unable to attend your meetings, but I appreciate all your efforts for the ?‘beloved neighborhood?’?…I was born in the neighborhood and grew up on ?…S. Vine when Louisiana Ave. was the beginning of the prairie and South High was a hole in the ground. The ?‘city ditch?’ which feeds Washington Park was in the open, and we ?‘kids?’ used to fish for ?‘crawdads?’. We gathered sand lilies on the prairie and hung them on neighbor?’s doorknobs on May Day. Mr. Brenkert?’s green house, where he grew carnations, was just opposite our home.?” So much of what Jean describes has changed, but I think kids still hunt for crawdads in the ditch, and who knows, maybe someone will place a handful of lilies on a neighbor?’s door come next May Day. Thanks so much Jean for sharing some neighborhood memories with us! Joan Deming.