This afternoon, Pleasants Park had 4-legged visitors of a different variety than the usual ones.
According to neighbors, this was part of the Freedom Ride 2021 for Free Leonard Peltier.
The group had ridden from Nebraska and were headed to Washington DC.
(Also, happy birthday to the notorious Nora!)
This photo of a tiger lilly was taken by Kenny Hamilton, who frequently bicycles through the neighborhood. In his youth, he often came to Oregon Hill as a ‘skate rat’.
The James River Hikers group is going strong and have several planned events near Oregon Hill and around Richmond:
June 8, 9 am – Guided tour and video at Virginia War Memorial.
https://commonwealthcommercial.com/property/200-202-s-linden-street-912-924-cumberland-street/
These houses were the first public housing in the city of Richmond, and part of Grace Arents’ legacy
Grace Evelyn Arents Marker
The Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council had reached out to the owner, the St. Andrew’s Association foundation, about putting historic easements on the properties, but never received an answer.
Sadly, these properties have been left vacant for over a year.
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association’s monthly meeting is on Tuesday, April 27th at 7pm.
Please check your registered email address for an agenda with a Zoom link.
Jean Elizabeth Carter, 98, passed away on April 21, 2021. The Carter family made wonderful contributions to Oregon Hill. Many Oregon Hill neighbors remember Carter’s Store that was opened by Jean Carter’s father on Idlewood behind their home at 300 S. Pine Street.
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association invites neighbors to join together this Wednesday, from 4pm-6pm in Pleasants Park in order to give it a facelift. It will involve planting new trees, and cleaning up some brush. Tools, mulch, and trees provided!
So for the second year in a row, there will be no April Fool’s posts. Sadly, the COVID-19 still presents a viable risk and threat for neighbors while life during the pandemic remains unsettled and difficult for many people in general. It’s too bad, because I did have some good ones planned- ‘City Launches ‘R-VAlue’ (Social credit system which would reward residents who promote casino possibilities while punishing those who brought up controversies like Monroe Park), ‘VCU’s New Robot Avatars Attempt To Replace Adjuncts‘, ‘Reclusive Neighbor Did Not Know Pandemic Was Happening’, ‘Oregon Hill Marijuana Gardening Club‘, etc. But the reality is that we need to focus on the current reality.
Instead, let’s use this time before Easter to think about and pray for those who are battling the virus (including our Councilperson, Stephanie Lynch, who publicly announced her infection on Tuesday) and think positive thoughts about vaccines and better times ahead. Don’t be an April Fool, keep wearing your mask outside of your home.
Excerpt from Virginia Living magazine article:
A documentary about Richmond’s thriving art scene was the winner in the Best Special Interest Film category at the 2020 Art is Alive Film Festival. The Builder is a story about friendship and the powerful way the interconnectivity of people living and moving throughout a city can help to build culture, with a focus on Oregon Hill native and contractor Don Childress, curator of an incredible contemporary art collection, including work from Francesco Clemente, Ron Johnson, Heidi Trepaneir, and Bill Fisher.
The film was produced by Shockoe Artspace, a community supported, artist-run, large-scale, nonprofit gallery founded in 2011 in Richmond. “It really is an honor to win this award in a field of such fantastic films as the ones we saw at the festival,” says Ryan Lauterio, the director of Shockoe Artspace and one of the co-directors of the film, alongside Nicholas Seitz. “We thought we had a great story to tell, and this award is an affirmation of all of the people, relationships, and hard work that made this possible.”
Trailer:
The Builder from Shockoe Artspace on Vimeo.
Click here for film website.