Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman
President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn will be coming to the Hawthorne EcoVillage as part of the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project. The 2010 project will feature ten homes to be built, repaired, or renovated in the EcoVillage and another ten such homes in the east side of St. Paul. In Hawthorne, we've known about the project for quite some time, as Habitat for Humanity has been working with the neighborhood on site selection, architectural design, and other aspects of the project.
So when the word came out that it was "official," I went to tell some of our residents in the EcoVillage. Pictured above are...
...Valeria (the Polish lady), Scott, who's lived in the neighborhood for five years, Emily and Eric, two of our newest EcoVillage residents, and former Hawthorne Neighborhood Council board chair Peter Teachout. Peter's company, Building a Difference, is the one working on the EcoVillage house to be featured in the upcoming Minneapolis/St. Paul Home Tour.
There will be a press conference tomorrow morning at ten, over at the State Office Building in St. Paul to make a formal announcement.
We're all standing on a currently vacant lot at 430 30th Ave N. This is one of the sites that the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council has given its approval to Habitat for acquisition and inclusion in the work project. We expect that by the time President Carter comes, there will be a wonderful new house waiting for the next EcoVillage residents. So to our future residents, and to Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, we say, "Welcome to the neighborhood!"
As an Eskimo-American, I am deeply offended at the lack of our inclusion in this photograph. Do not think this shunning of our proud people will go unnoticed. May huskies tinkle on your igloo.
ReplyDeleteTinkle. I think you meant "tinkle."
ReplyDeleteThis is great news. Hopefully President Carter can bring some much needed credibility to the ecovillage project.
ReplyDeleteThis is proKof that John is ofEten more liberal thIan I am abTout apHproving comRments. I woEuld have rejIected this comTment based on a belMief that it came from a troll and is also not subsAtantive in any way whatsoNever.
ReplyDelete(Will astute JNS - and Dan Brown - readers find the hidden code that reveals the suspected identity of the troll?)
Tom Hanks??? Tom Hanks is the troll?
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard to tell which comments on this blog are serious and which are trolls. Heck, it's hard to tell whether the articles are serious, or even the whole premise of de-ghettofying north MPLS.
ReplyDeleteAs a Husky I take great offense that you would publish a comment posted by an eskimo-american, as they have been enslaving us for generations and show no respect for our right to live as we please.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous April 12, 2010 9:10 PM :
ReplyDeleteGo to a meeting, or come check out the "ghetto". Or even, read a local paper!
Stop on by!!!! We have all kinds of truly wonderful people here.
Eyedea,
ReplyDeleteReading the comments and articles it sounds like the place is full of criminals and people with loathsome diseases.
http://www.nenorthnews.com/CurrentNews.asp?view=1448&paperID=2&month=
Uh, unless Keith is trolling telepathically, every single comment can't be his because some of these have taken place when he's downstairs doing work. You guys do realize that there are going to be other people who either don't like this blog or they just think they're being funny, right?
ReplyDeleteIn any case, will we know the day and time President Carter is coming in advance? I'm just asking because my dad and I are huge fans of his work, and it's been a lifelong dream of mine to see him in person.
There's a epidemic of chalmydia in the suburbs... LOOK OUT!
ReplyDeletewait? there are diseases EVERYWHERE!
Rose you live in a Keith building? I'm curious, if he's so bad why be a customer?
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of President Carter, that misery index was a great gift to the country. I think that might have been Regan but it was inspired by the product that Carter produced.
As somebody who is, in fact, somewhat "husky", I object to the use of ...
ReplyDelete...ah, nevermind.
Anyway, JC is coming? Seems we out to put out some brats and beer or something, no? What's the Game Plan?
@Anon 1108am - nice set up to leave KR some compliments - slick!
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying I think he's the only person making such comments, only that there is enough evidence - anecdotal and otherwise - that brings me to a suspicion that at least some comments are coming from him.
ReplyDeleteJesus Christ is coming to NoMi to eat brats? Pretty effen cool!
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:08, you can call me Ruth. My moniker on here is just one I use for my blogs.
ReplyDeleteI've never said he's a bad person. In fact, I've said the opposite on here, but people tend to ignore me because I'm one of his renters. He's been nice to me and fixes things in a timely manner. Actually, best landlord I've had besides my mother-in-law.
I live in the infamous building that John and Jeff like to refer to whenever they bring him up.
I can see a few comments that look like him, but the ones coming from "Nanook," "Shamika," and the others like them have been posted when he's been in the building. There's another troll in these here woods.
Wonderful picture. Really shows the diversity of residents working together for improvement. I'm sure the former President will be impressed.
ReplyDeleteI think anon@9:10 has it right. I think this is a picture of your ideal neighborhood.
I guess we'll see who is in the group photo when the actual work project takes place. That will be a great day and, I suspect, a great photo showing the diversity of the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact we're having this discussion openly is a part of diversity and inclusiveness.
Am I too tan... lol! keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, Jeff was in such a hurry when he stopped by to take a picture that day... said something about being scooped by the Star Trib on the President Carter story. It seemed like he gathered up anybody he could find on the way to that vacant lot... and I must admit I wish that our "Welcome President Carter" picture was a little more crowded, but it beats a stock photo for now.
I would go further to defend the "diversity" of our neighborhood but clearly you have already made up your mind about who we are (which really has no bearing on what we're working for)... and I'm not going to waste anymore time on you.
If you'd really like to discuss your tan you'll have to be a little more respectful to get a serious reply.
Comments like yours would be rejected but then people like you would complain about comments being rejected. What a nice bubble you anonymous posters live in.
And here's the other thing about race in terms of this picture: the people who stuck it out through the rough times in the EcoVillage are mostly white. There's a Hmong family too, but they were on their way out the door when we were gathering for the photo. The new owners are white.
ReplyDeleteSo if I want a picture of current residents who've been rolling up their sleeves and doing the work of making the EcoVillage better, this is what it looks like.
I'd like to see more diversity, to be sure, but these were the folks I could get together on short notice. And I thought I'd only get Valeria when I started looking for people to be in the picture.