South Nashville Life

"How Buying a House Radicalized Me"

2011-12-08T10:46:00.001-06:00

This post at Hipster Housewife is a must read for anyone who owns or is thinking about owning a home. Maybe it won't resonate with everyone like it does me, but I wanted to share because of how many times I thought "Exactly!" as I was reading it. Especially this part:

We took on a new tax and we staked a very public claim that we believe this corner, on a hill, on the plains, will be worth living on for a while. Our plan to stay in this house for a while makes me much more appreciative of the fact that we’ll be living in this world for a while, too, and I have a responsibility to do my part to keep this hill on the plains habitable. After I signed those mortgage papers, after I entered the social contract which says this bit of land is mine, come feast or famine, I felt attached to the rest of the world by a very real tether. It’s one thing to know, cognitively, each action has a real consequence; it was a new experience to feel that knowledge gutterally. It added weight to every choice I made.

I had a very similar experience. Unlike the author, I never considered myself an activist before being a homeowner. I didn't realize it at the time, but signing those mortgage papers led me to a deeper sense of responsibility for the world around me. Like the author, it started small. First making our house livable for us, then helping a stray dog or two (or three). Then seeking out the neighborhood organization and becoming determined to raise awareness about it after a difficult search for a contact. Starting this blog. Advocating for an improved quality of life for area residents. Starting my MSSW. Next: World peace.

Me in '07. Red-faced and ready to take a sledgehammer to those cabinets.

Ok, I have a long way to go. Maybe I have always had an inner activist lurking, just waiting for me to sign the dotted line in order to awaken. Did buying a house radicalize me? I have my moments. The point is, I can't ignore the influence that becoming a homeowner has had on the past 4 years of my life.

Jason mowing our yard for the first time in early '08. It was winter, the yard did not need mowing.
Nonetheless, a proud moment.

Shop South Nashville: Johnson's Hardware

2011-12-07T10:11:00.001-06:00

Had we known this place existed, we would have been frequenting Johnson's Hardware (located near the intersection of Nolensville Pike and Thompson Lane) ever since we bought our house in 2007, saving ourselves many frustrating trips to the Depot just to retrieve a washer or screw we forgot to snag.

Jason and I just happened to stop at Johnson's last weekend to see if they had the screws we needed to hang our TV. Screws galore. Jason was in hardware heaven.

I asked Jason what he liked so much about the store and here's what he said:

They have a better selection of screws (compared to you-know-who).
You can buy individual screws as opposed to having to buy a whole package of something when you might only need 1 or 2.
They are all labeled and cheap.

There is other merchandise. I asked about the paint. They sell Benjamin Moore which goes for about $40 a gallon (a bit rich for me), but the owner said she was about to switch to Porter so would be having a sale soon to get rid of them. I also really appreciated how knowledgeable and helpful and patient she was in answering my questions and helping us find what we needed.

There are cats. I love me a store that has animals roaming about. There were two little cats chowing down near the register.

Now that we know it exists, we'll be checking Johnson's first for our hardware needs. Hopefully they'll be around for awhile. According to these reviews on Citysearch, the small store could be in danger of closing next year if business doesn't pick up. This is also reflected on the sign that hangs right next to their front door.

Guest Post: The Old Guy - ...and there was Beavers

2011-12-02T09:01:00.001-06:00

I found this photo on The Nashville I Wish I Knew Facebook page. I think it's kind of hilarious that a bar named Beavers existed at all and of course it existed in WeHo on Rains Ave. So I asked the Old Guy about it. Here's his response:

At the SNAP meeting a couple of weeks ago our hostess Jen was telling me about a website she had found with old pictures and asked me about one she had found. I told her what I knew about it and she suggested that I write it out as an Old Guy post and so here it is.

As I stated previously in the mid sixties two houses were torn down on the corner of Rains Ave. and Zimmerlee St. and a new restaurant was built, Bobby’s B.B.Q.. It was built in response to a trend for “curb service” barbecue. The building was a flat rectangular structure surrounded by a covered walk and a parking lot. There were low bar stool type chairs, one at each corner of the restaurant on which sat a waiter who would leap out to your car and take your order without you ever budging from your seat. In my recollection these were rarely used, fell into disrepair and were removed. By about the late sixties the barbecue craze had subsided and the restaurant closed.

The building sat vacant for a short while until it was reopened as a nightclub named “Beavers”. The club used to advertise on the local rock radio station KDF 103.3 (which has since gone country) and tried to set its self up as a music venue, ala 12^th and Porter, etc. I remember sneaking out of the house to go and stand at the sealed off door, behind which was the stage, to hear the bands without paying the cover. But alas “Beavers” was not meant to be. The location is rather away from the other music hangouts so after the initial excitement the crowds dwindled. And a group of the neighbor "hoods" decided to claim it for their own and would hassle the staff and the few remaining customers and the owners could no longer make a go of it.

One night the building literally exploded some might say under suspicious circumstances. Perhaps the insurance got too close to the mortgage, I really don’t know. The remnants were scraped away and the lot lay vacant for a few years until the building was built that now holds ABC mobile brake.

And there you have it. Happy Friday, folks!

Thoughts on Community Economic Development

2011-12-01T09:04:00.001-06:00

At our last neighborhood meeting we talked briefly about creating a community economic development plan for WeHo in order to attract and accommodate more businesses that can provide services to residents of the neighborhood (This was also one of the top priorities of residents who participated in the 2008 NCDC Wedgewood Houston study, p.17). By services I mean something to contrast the heavy industrial presence in Wedgewood Houston, such as retail, restaurant or groceries, etc. Such businesses could not only provide easier access to needed amenities, but could also ideally provide employment to...or better yet, be owned by residents of the community.

I think it is a perfect time for WeHo residents to initiate an economic plan for the area. We are literally surrounded by possible upcoming and drastic changes to our neighborhood, from the fairgrounds area master plan* to the relocation of the Sounds (meaning changes on the horizon for Greer Stadium) to the ever-improving Chestnut Street area (Houston Station, May Hosiery Mills, etc).

We can't stop change from happening, especially in an ever-growing and changing city. But we can provide guidance in how to make change happen in a way that suits our needs and wants as a neighborhood. The question is how and the answer requires education, resources, communication, and action. All of these are important because what's the point of putting together a great vision for our neighborhood if in the end we're all left shrugging our shoulders because we don't know how to pull it off?

In one of my classes this semester we discussed one of the biggest and most successful examples of resident-led community economic development. The Dudley Street Neighborhood in Boston was so devastated by poverty in the 80's that slumlords, frustrated by their inability to sell their properties in the area, took to burning houses down in order to collect on insurance. These were houses that people lived in. Fed up residents educated themselves and took action:

The 1987 comprehensive plan was updated in our urban village visioning process in 1996, involving over 180 residents and organization representatives. Their ideas affirm many elements of the 1987 plan, add important refinements and renew their commitment to creating an "urban village" and declare their belief that "Anything Is Possible". From this process, a major commitment was made to enhance economic power in the Dudley neighborhood. Through DSNI’s community land trust, the Dudley neighborhood has the only permanent affordable housing in the city of Boston.

Residents continue to guide this plan which established community control over a critical mass of the 1,300 parcels of abandoned land that had come to characterize the neighborhood. Residents gained control by convincing the authorities in Boston’s city government to take the unprecedented step of granting the community the power of eminent domain over much of the vacant land combined with a partnership with the city on the publicly-owned vacant land. The Dudley neighborhood thus acquired valuable assets, established a community land trust, set a criteria for development and a "place at the table" for the planning and development of the community.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

To date more than half of the 1,300 abandoned parcels have been permanently transformed into over 400 new high quality affordable houses, community centers, new schools, Dudley Town Common, community greenhouse, parks, playgrounds, gardens, an orchard and other public spaces.

Wedgewood Houston is not nearly in the dire straits that Dudley was, but we do have our challenges. We know that change is the only constant, what matters is how we respond to it. Part of that, I think, is not looking at our challenges as just challenges, but as opportunities; then taking action appropriately.

Similar Posts:

*We should know more about this very soon. Proposals for the master plan were due a couple of weeks ago.

Guest Post: Memories from the Old Guy - On This Day In 1963

2011-11-22T08:42:00.001-06:00

You guys are in for a real treat today. This post from the Old Guy has been burning a hole in my inbox for close to a month. It's kind of amazing that the day I've been waiting to post it seems just as gray and overcast as this exact day 48 years ago that Wayne describes below. On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The Old Guy reflects on his memories of that day as a boy in South Nashville and ends with what I interpret as a wonderfully eloquent description of something we could all be reminded of on a dreary day like today; whether our frustrations be with the season, our government, our neighborhood, our family, or all of the above...and with the passing of one frustration usually comes another. We can dwell in that, or we can hold out hope for a sunnier tomorrow.

For any newcomers, the Old Guy has lived in Wedgewood-Houston for nearly 60 years and stops by often to share his memories of growing up in South Nashville. You can check out more of them here.

As I recall fall had set in. I was in Mrs. Hale’s split 5th and 6th grade class in a portable classroom behind the old Hamilton School (on Southgate Ave where channel 8’s antenna array now sits). We were busy at our books when someone came to the door of the classroom and asked to speak to the teacher. She stepped outside for a moment and then back inside trying to control her weeping. “President Kennedy has been shot in Texas and they think he might be dead.”

In the 6th grade I wasn’t certain what to make of that news. They came through a moment later and dismissed all the classes I walked back home and it was all that was on T.V. I went outside to play, the sky was overcast and dark and a chilly wind was blowing. The neighborhood was deserted; everyone else was glued to the media. I remember thinking “This is a good day for a tragedy”.

For three days there was literally nothing else on T.V. The three major networks did “pool” type coverage for 72 hours solid of the events of that day, with the same reporters doing a marathon of reporting and looking increasingly haggard as the hours wore on. The presidential succession worked flawlessly with Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as soon as President Kennedy’s death was confirmed and life went on.

In April 4, 1968 we saw Dr. Martin Luther King assassinated. Then on June 5th that same year the brother of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, as it were, live on T.V. and repeated ad nauseum. I’m not quite sure where to go with this except to mark that I was witness to the fact that they happened. I don’t hold much hope that people learned from it for we keep repeating the same mistakes. Sorry, there is nothing more to make than an observation.

This time of year has a beauty unique to itself but with it a certain dread for the discomfort of the approaching winter. We can spend this time in maudlin pursuits or look ahead, after winter there has always been spring.

Mic Check.

2011-11-21T08:56:00.001-06:00

Is this thing on?

The past 3 months have been a whirlwind of activity. Or as Jason likes to put it, "You do too many things." And it's true. I've managed to steamroll through my first semester of graduate school, neighborhood meetings, band practices, shows and a full-time job in the last 3 months and it has been crrraazy. Not that I think I'm special or different for being so busy, it's just that I'm not at all used to being so. damn. busy.

I like it though. My new schedule has created in me an appreciation for the down time I do have, and I feel like it's actually motivated me to be more productive in my down time. My only regret is that I didn't have time to share relevant discoveries and observations during that time with readers of this blog.

So. Here are a few things that have happened:

1. I created a bumper sticker.

I'm not quite sure if I'm happy with it yet. Somehow I don't think people will get it. It definitely requires a sense of humor. One clever Twitter follower suggested that I should add "WeHo excited" at the end. Reference here.

2. I helped clean up a street and an alley.

On the left is the alley that runs parallel to and in between Southgate and Moore Ave. The photo on the right is on Wingrove next to the fairgrounds. Metro Beautification and Councilwoman Sandra Moore were responsible for organizing this badly needed clean-up, so major props. The alley was way too trashed for the group of volunteers to handle it so Ms. Moore had Public Works on it like the next day. BAM! Trash piles gone.

And of course I've noticed that they've started appearing again. More needs to be done to communicate with residents that trashing the alley behind your house is not an acceptable or an effective way to get rid of your crap.

3. I discovered a back way to school so I can avoid Nolensville Pike rush hour traffic. It routes through Lewis St in Chestnut Hill. Lewis Street is referenced in Steve Earle's song, South Nashville Blues. Neat.

4. I discovered that if there isn't anyone else at Dudley Park and if Jason and I watch them like hawks, one corner of the park is just fenced off enough to let the dogs run around free and pee on stuff. We keep their leashes on for easier grabbing, but it lets them blow off some steam when we don't have time to go all the way to the dog park.

5. I went to Santa's Pub.

Positive's: $2 Yeungling. A diverse group of patrons. It's the closest non-gay bar in the neighborhood (not that I have a problem with gay bars. See Stirrup.). Hipster karaoke.

Negative's: It's smokey. Cash only. Hipster karaoke.

Well, that about catches you up. School doesn't start back until mid-January so I hope to keep writing until then. I have a plethora of Old Guy posts in my inbox so definitely be on the lookout for those.

Also, Stephanie McCullough from the Nashville Civic Design Center will be at the SNAP center tonight to discuss the Wedgewood-Houston study that she helped put together in 2008. So if you're curious about the future vision for WeHo, you should come. Here's a link to the study. Our newsletter has the details about the meeting.

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 5

2011-09-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

Other than the cheese toast for breakfast this morning ($0.16), my last day on food stamps will be spent eating leftovers. Spaghetti for lunch, and for dinner either taco soup from Monday or Dal Palak from Wednesday. I still have plenty of bread, potatoes, pasta, onions, old broccoli, rice and beans. I have so many beans. I could cook something different tonight, but this food needs to be eaten. There wouldn't be much of a lesson from working so hard on preparing good food on the cheap only to throw it away.

I feel like I did ok this week. In class we talk a lot about resources and how lacking a single resource can wear on those resources that an individual does have, causing that person stress. In a simple example, a person loses their job (resource), therefore losing their health insurance (resource) and source of income (resource), causing them to rely on their family for help (resource), which diminishes their self-esteem (resource) needed for interviews, causing depression and so on. It snowballs.

This week the resource I most lacked was time. I came home from 5 days out of town and threw myself into this project in the midst of work, class, meetings and study time. In turn, I wasn't able to buy the delicious fresh produce I'd been craving or cook many of the meals that I really wanted to. Lucky for me, I have lots of other resources to rely on, like an awesome husband who will clean the mess in the kitchen that I made (cooking for only myself) while I study. This helped in reducing my stress allowing me to bounce back quicker. But week after week, I'm not so sure. Lucky for me, this project was only for 5 days. That also means that I have hope (resource) that tomorrow I will be going out to eat, something I look forward to.

According to a new study (click here to see the interactive map), there are over 100,000 "food insecure" people in Davidson County. That's more than 16% of the population. Over 33,000 of them are children.

For even more of a disappointment, type in "Nashville, TN" in the search box on this Food Desert Locator to see how much of Nashville is considered a food desert.

What can our city do to increase access to healthy food for the people in these food deserts, thereby increasing their resources, reducing stress and improving the overall health (physical and mental) of our community?

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 4

2011-09-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

OK, so I found out in class last night that I actually only have to do this challenge for 5 days. To me, this kind of dulls the experience, but it also lessens the stress knowing that tomorrow is my last day and I still have $7 to spend. I might just treat myself.

If I could do it again though I would use that $7 towards the purchase of some better quality produce. Since the farmers market I had planned to attend was cancelled this week I didn't get the chance to do that. If my experiment had landed on a different part of the week, I would have gone to the Woodbine Farmers Market on Saturday. But things just didn't work out that way. With very careful planning (and more time to cook it) I may have even been able to afford a whole chicken.

If I were actually on food stamps, I would purchase seeds and grow a lot of my own food (wait, I already do that), if I had access to pots and soil. After being spoiled by my own backyard tomatoes this summer, the supermarket tomatoes I bought seem to have sort of a metallic taste to me. Yuck.

I also could have used a couple of snack foods. Hunger has been striking me late afternoon while I'm still at work. Usually I would grab some crackers and cheese at the office, but not this week.

Anyway, here's what I ate today:

Breakfast - another morning of eggs on toast with the remaining salsa. I switched it up and scrambled them this time. Cost: $0.21

Lunch - Some of the Dal Palak I made last night. I have to say, I'm patting myself on the back for this one. It turned out really good, even though the spinach was overly slimey and stringy. But I blame that on having bought it frozen. I made the whole batch last night for $1.58 and there is still quite a bit left.

Tonight for dinner I've made a small batch of spaghetti. I made the sauce with the remaining canned tomatoes, one whole tomato, one whole onion and the rest of my bell pepper. Cost: At $2.23 this is the most expensive meal I've made this week. I do have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my last day of this challenge and I'm happy to not have to think about it so much. I do have some parting thoughts from the week that I'll share then.

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 3

2011-09-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling a bit better today. Part of that may be because I actually woke up early enough this morning to make myself a reasonable breakfast and to-go lunch. Though still stressed and feeling rushed.

I am quickly learning that eating healthy on a food stamp budget is certainly not impossible. But it is damn inconvenient. So I think about how hard it is for me, a graduate student with a full-time job and volunteer responsibilities trying to cook healthy meals in a hurry with limited stock. And I think about when things happen that are beyond my control, like the weather-cancelled farmers market, causing me to settle for less nutritious options, like frozen spinach and old broccoli. I think about how much these things stress me out.

And then I think about if I didn't have a car and didn't have time or energy to take a bus all the way to the supermarket and back so instead I walk to the closest neighborhood market (in my case, Omid's on Rains Ave) where there is little to no fresh produce and canned and packaged food is actually more expensive.

Or how about someone living at the Nashville Rescue Mission on 8th Ave S, where they do get fed meals, but if someone misses dinner because of work and the closest market to get healthy food is...what? The Turnip Truck? Good luck making your food stamps last there. And even if they could buy ingredients, they'd have no kitchen to cook in. I'll settle for a bag of Cheetos and a soda from that gas station next to work, thanks.

Once again, I digress (for now). Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: Fried egg on toast with a salsa I threw together with leftover corn, black beans & bell pepper (from the taco soup), a bit of tomato and a squeeze of lime juice. Cost: $0.21 (I used so little of each veggie to make the salsa that I didn't calculate the cost for it, and I have quite a bit left)

Lunch: Not near as exciting as breakfast. Brown rice (that I cooked last night) with cheese and steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Cost: $0.73

After work today I run over to Coleman Park to pick up our CSA share. That I can't eat. Sweet irony.

CSA truck is late, of course. I run home, throw meat in the freezer and make the worlds fastest microwave potato. I top it with some of this morning's breakfast salsa and take it with me to class with 2 minutes to spare (I love you, South Nashville). Cost for snack: $0.28

Tonight for dinner I am working on an Indian dish called Dal Palak. This is basically a lentil soup with potatoes, tomatoes, and lots of spices. Garlic is a big part of the dish and is the only thing I don't have, but I still feel like I'm finally getting a chance to cook something interesting. Also a big part of the dish is a lot of the spices, that I already had and am allowed to use as part of my assignment. Cost (minus spices): $1.58

In Progress.

I still feel pretty satisfied from my potato snack, so I may have a bite tonight but this will likely be lunch tomorrow. For the record, it is currently 8:30pm and this has about 30 more minutes to simmer. This is my first time making this dish. I'll let you know how it goes.

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 2

2011-09-06T21:02:00.000-05:00

Change of plans. The 12th South Farmers Market was cancelled today due to the weather. This throws me off because I bought a bunch of brown food yesterday and was looking forward to adding green to my diet today. Plus, I was excited to include the farmers market as part of my assignment and see how far I could stretch my dollar on fresh, local items.

But I am craving vegetables to the point of I don't care where they come from so I get over my slump and I head back to Kroger.

And I feel like I scored big time. On today's shopping list:

1 bag stir-fry vegetables
1 bag broccoli and cauliflower
2 slicing tomatoes
1 lemon
1 lime
1 can baked beans
1 can diced tomatoes
Half a dozen eggs
and 1 small block of sharp cheddar (!!)

Total spent: $9.56

So with yesterday's shopping trip I've spent $24.02 in all which gives me $6.98 left.

So the veggies aren't as fresh as I was hoping for, as evidenced by the frozen spinach and broccoli on "Manager's Special". But I was so happy to have eggs and cheese. There was a moment of sheer panic however when my bag of groceries tipped over in the car and I heard the egg carton hit the door. They were fine, but it made me realize how devastating it would have been to lose any of my 6 precious eggs when I have so little money left to buy more.

For the record here's what I ate today and the cost breakdown:
Breakfast - dry toast again because I couldn't get out of bed in time to make something more substantial. Cost: about .5 cents
Lunch - leftover taco soup from yesterday. It was good but it didn't sustain me for long. Cost: Free (I made the whole batch yesterday for $1.93. I still have about 2 servings left)
Snack after work - handful of baked beans on toast with cheese. Cost: .46 cents

I am out the door to a meeting (as you can tell by my thrown together after-work snack) so I stick a baked potato in the oven for dinner.

Dinner - Baked potato with cheese & a serving of raw broccoli and cauliflower. Cost: .85 cents*
Man, that potato was satisfying (though it needed sour cream). This is the first time I've felt full today.

I am worn out. And I'm a little frustrated that I haven't been able to experiment with more elaborate meals yet. After posting this I either need to a) prep what I'm eating for breakfast and taking to work for lunch tomorrow or b) go straight to bed so I can do it in the morning. I feel a little ridiculous complaining, because I feel like normal people do these sorts of things everyday. But I am so tired. Maybe it's the weather.

*By the way, I am calculating the costs of my meals by taking the amount of servings in the product and dividing it by the total cost of the product. For instance, there were 11 potatoes in the bag and the bag cost $3.09. So $3.09 / 11 + $0.24 (1 serving of cheese) = $0.52

I Have a Drinking Problem

2011-09-06T09:28:00.000-05:00

It's not what you're thinking. There are several things that I am grieving over this week, since as part of the food stamp challenge I can't afford them: eggs, cheese, meat. I've also given up my morning coffee for now, because it's not part of my budget and I can't afford cream (I will not drink coffee without cream).

However, there are a couple of terrible habits I've been meaning to break and this week offers a good opportunity for me to do so. We make good use of our Brita filter at home, but at work I am terribly guilty of consuming insane amounts of bottled water and get this....I don't even recycle the bottles. For shame!

I've been meaning to make the switch to tap water at work for a while now, and since as part of my food stamp challenge I am not allowed to consume free food or beverages at work, bring on the fluoride!

My other terrible habit I've been meaning to break is my 2pm Coke Zero addiction (yes, there is an exact time that I enjoy this treat everyday). Aspartame has been deemed safe to consume, but I still just feel gross about drinking that much soft drink on a weekly basis.

So, tap water it is. Maybe I'll get crazy and splurge on a lemon to add just to switch things up a bit.

I'll have an update later on how Day 2 of my food stamp challenge is going. So far, I feel confident that I won't starve, however the stress of preparing and planning to make sure that doesn't happen (on top of everything else going on in my life) is something I could really do without.

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 1

2011-09-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

Today begins my week-long challenge to live on the average food stamp benefit ($31). This would have been a lot easier to prepare for if I hadn't been out of town for a week, but it would have been a lot more difficult if it weren't Labor Day and I had to work. So this morning I trekked it to the grocery store to stock up on some staples.

I'll be headed to the 12th South Farmers Market tomorrow to get some more fresh produce, but I needed a couple of things to tie me over, plus my carbs and protein for the week. Chances are slim that I can afford to eat meat, so I'll be getting all of my protein from beans. Here's the list:

5lb bag of potatoes
2lb bag of yellow onions
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can Great Northern beans
1 bag lentils
1 bag brown rice
1 box whole grain spaghetti
1 loaf whole wheat bread
1 bell pepper
3 ears of corn
1 packet of taco seasoning

Total spent: $14.46

I bought the taco seasoning because I wanted to make taco soup today, but when I got home I immediately felt silly because we pretty much have all of the spices to cover it (cumin, red pepper, etc). Could've saved .89 cents.

After downing a piece of dry toast (breakfast), I got to work on dinner. Taco soup is pretty easy. I used a whole onion (sauteed), half the bell pepper, 2 of the ears of corn, half a can of black beans, half a cup of rice, and about a fourth of the packet of seasoning.

This cost $1.93 to make and it should last me for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. I can already tell the things I will miss the most this week will be dairy related. What I wouldn't give to throw some cheese on this.

Lunch today was a serving of the whole grain pasta with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. Simple, but satisfying and it only cost .14 cents.

So I've spent just about half my budget on day 1. But it's mostly on things meant to last me all week. I'm going to try to spend about $10 on produce tomorrow at the farmers market, leaving me about $7 in case of a hunger emergency.

Sorry to keep it short today, but after being out of town for five days I'm just trying to play catch up. More tomorrow.

Food Stamp Challenge: Living on $31 a Week

2011-08-31T07:03:00.001-05:00

Wow. I have missed the SNL community. These past couple of weeks have been filled with work, class, reading, band practice, work, class, reading, while I vacuum up gobs of dog hair & fold laundry in between. Those last two are usually when I'm able to fit in the occasional cocktail or glass of wine (you're relieved to hear this, I know).

Still, as busy as it's been, I am so enthusiastic about every bit of knowledge I'm acquiring. I am trying to absorb as much information as I can in what seems to be very short periods of time (they make you read a lot in grad school). Blogging, as I predicted, has taken a back seat to everything else in my life, sadly. I feel like I've ignored an old friend, or neglected a pet to make way for a new baby.

However, I am so, so happy to announce that I have a reason to come back and post on a daily basis. Well, at least for 7 days. One of my first ever assignments as a social-worker-in-the-making is to participate in something called the Food Stamp Challenge. Basically I have to live on the amount equal to the average Food Stamp benefit for one whole week. Part of the assignment is to blog about my experience on a daily basis, which I will be sharing with you right here!

I'll be posting a ton of details next week, but for now the basics:

For a single person (Jason didn't want to do it with me, so he'll be taunting me with meals from our CSA share all week), the average Food Stamp benefit is about $31 a week.
This breaks down to just $4.42 a day, or $1.47 per meal.
I am not allowed to eat free food at social events, work, meals offered to me by friends or any food that I already have in my fridge/pantry (although I can use spices for cooking).
Things could change, but I really hope to be able to focus around eating healthy in a food desert, shopping at farmers markets, etc.

Probably most importantly, this experiment is not meant to be an accurate representation of what real poverty feels like.

I'm going into this with the awareness that I have a clear amount of resources that many of those who actually need Food Stamps do not. I have reliable transportation, no kids, a well-stocked kitchen, and a generally great support system all around. In addition, while Jason and I are often faced with tough financial choices due to a tight budget, I do not have the increased burden of trying to figure out how I will feed myself or my family on a weekly basis, or the psychological effect that burden can have on a person. This is only for 7 days. For most of the week, I will digress on these obvious advantages, but please know that they are not lost on me.

In other words, I will likely go through the week maintaining my normal sense of humor (Hooray!), however if I am forced to down Ramen noodles 3 times a day I could get cranky. We'll see.

I'll be sharing a lot next week, but if you feel like doing your homework this weekend (as I will be doing), check out the SNAP website (that is, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, not the other SNAP).

Back to School: South Nashville Edition

2011-08-08T09:33:00.001-05:00

Did you know that the University of Tennessee has a Nashville campus in South Nashville? Yep, in a generic office building on Polk Ave the UT College of Social Work shares space with several businesses. That is where today I will begin to pursue a Masters of Science in Social Work.

I'm a bit terrified, overwhelmed, as it's been 6 years since I've stepped foot in a classroom. But mostly I'm excited to start on a path towards a career dedicated to the things that I try to promote, through this blog, in my spare time anyway. That is, the importance of communication as a means to the betterment of communities and the well-being of the individuals in them. What exactly I'll do job-wise after school I'm not yet clear on.

This does mean that I will be leaving the music business, although not immediately. Financial circumstances require that I keep working. Unfortunately, between work full-time, school part-time, a continued commitment to SNAP, and this blog, something's gotta give.

I don't plan to neglect SNL altogether, but it's likely I won't be posting everyday, or every week for that matter. I will continue to advocate for the restoration of Browns Creek and for a redeveloped, greener TN State Fairgrounds that will serve a better purpose for the residents of South Nashville. I hope that people will continue to use this website as a resource as they explore South Nashville.

When I started this blog, I did not anticipate making so many wonderful friends & acquaintances through it, for which I am so, so grateful. Thank you so much for putting up with my quirkiness, thank you so much for reading, and most of all, thank you for participating in this community.

Vintage South Nashville: "Just Right In Every Season"

2011-08-05T09:13:00.002-05:00

Someone posted this over at the 16th District Facebook page with the explanation that this Gulf station was located where a White Castle is now at the corner of Nolensville Rd & Thompson Lane. Did you know there used to be a Kroger at this intersection (see background)? The date on it indicates that this was taken in December 1963.

On Apathy & the Fairgrounds

2011-08-04T09:34:00.004-05:00

There are so many things that I want to say today. But I can't do it. I'm exhausted on this subject. I'm going to say what I can and then I'm going to let some photos (and a couple of videos) do the talking.

Most people think that the referendum on the Tennessee State Fairgrounds is going to pass. That's one reason why there hasn't been a big campaign pushing back against the Save My Fairgrounds people. Other than a few heated district races, supposedly it's the only thing really driving some voters to the polls. And unfortunately, other than some very loud, very persistent racetrack enthusiasts, a few people who seem to have a vendetta against the Mayor, and a small neighborhood of about 500 houses, most of Nashville seems to be pretty apathetic towards the whole issue.

In the heat of discussion, the tracking of political moves and the general meanness of some, it's easy to forget that for many of us this isn't about winning or losing a vote. This is about improving our quality of life. What kind of message does it send to folks wanting to move to Nashville when our priorities revolve around what-used-to-be more than the quality of our neighborhoods and the well-being of the people who live in them?

So, before I risk a morning of taking myself too seriously, here are some pictures of the subject at hand. If the referendum does pass, this is what the Save My Fairgrounds people would like you to believe that Nashville wants to keep around (which technically, this amendment doesn't even do).

Update: I had someone ask so I'm just going to go ahead and post this here. Click here to read the text of the amendment. If you would like to see change at the fairgrounds, click "Against Ratification" on your ballot.

Guest Post: Car-less in Car-ville

2011-08-03T09:09:00.001-05:00

I have a car in a city built for people with cars. It takes me 6-7 minutes to drive from my house to my office on Music Row. It's easy for me to take for granted the effort required to get around Nashville without one. I've never ridden on the MTA and I have a feeling it would take me a lot longer than a few minutes to get to work if I had to. Perspective - we all could use more of it.
That is why I'm so glad that NashTransit blogger (and Tweeter!) Drew has provided some insight into the effect a slight change in bus schedule can have on a rider, and how those interested can provide input.
When you are done over here, please go read WeHo resident and Women's Health News blogger Rachel's post about Living Car-Free in a Food Desert. So much good information there.
Now Drew:

If you aren't familiar with it, MTAs #1 100 Oaks bus route runs through South Nashville, from 100 Oaks Mall, and past the Metro Board of Education, Fairgrounds, Vine Hill Towers, the SNAP Center, Greer Stadium, Fort Negley Park, Adventure Science Center, and on into downtown. You can see a map of the full route here.

The #1 doesn't have great ridership - in fact in 2008 it was dead last out of MTA's routes, and it was eliminated when fuel prices peaked that summer. Since then it has returned, but even with the new activity around Vanderbilt 100 Oaks Medical Center, it's still not a very busy bus.

MTA wants to make it more popular, so the solution they've recently proposed is to make one leg of the trip an express route. In the morning, from downtown, the #1 would travel along I-65 to 100 Oaks Mall, bypassing all the local stops. In the evening, the bus takes the express route from the mall back downtown. The reverse routes (to downtown in the morning, from downtown in the evening) would remain unchanged.

The express route is meant to be faster, more attractive to workers in the mall area (including future Wal-Mart employees), and also more fuel efficient.

I am torn about this because I want the route to do well - if it doesn't improve I could invision it being cut again someday. But having taken this route every day for the past ten years, I know there are a lot of people who need this route for the local stops it makes - in both directions.

MTA has already hosted a few (very poorly attended) public hearings, but there is still time to comment. You can view their PowerPoint presentation here and send your comments to mta.publichearings@nashville.gov. Please be courteous, and share ideas if you have them!

Thanks, Drew!

By the way, SNAP's Night Out Against Crime and building grand re-opening was last night and was a success! Head over to SNAP's Facebook page to see pictures.

Take THAT Crime Do-ers!

2011-08-01T15:18:00.002-05:00

We all up in We-Ho, throwin' parties with bouncy castles. Yeah, we're hardcore like that. So don't even think about doin' your crimey type things up in here, 'cause our new building looks like a mini IKEA. And IKEA don't play.* Even Mayor Dean said so.

*You know what? Just go with it. And come say hi!

Vintage South Nashville: The Whitsitts Part II

2011-07-29T09:24:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I posted several photos of the Whitsitt family and their properties because they are a common name around Woodbine. Since there are a whole bunch of Whitsitt pics on the TN State Library and Archives, I've broken it down to two posts. So without further ado, here are more of the Whitsitts:

Flat Rock Elementary School, Whitsitt Lane, showing faculty and student body, including John B. Whitsitt, John Bell Whitsitt, Reuben Whitsitt, William Heath Whitsitt, and Margaret Whitsitt White. Brick building with shutters. ca. 1889

W.H. Whitsitt House on Whitsitt Lane. Shows Mattie Ezell Whitsitt, Rebecca Whitsitt Young and W.H. Whitsitt, Jr. ca. 1910

John Bell Whitsitt house on Glen Rose Ave. Photograph shows Lucy Whitsitt with pony and cart. ca. 1916

I've posted this one before, but I love seeing old Nolensville Road so much that I'm posting again.

Row of small houses on Nolensville Road. Whitsitt Grocery at the far end. Next to it is Dodd's Blacksmith Shop. Streetcar tracks are visible on the road. Two horse carts are visible on the far right. ca. 1910

If I find anymore I'll do a Part III. But for now, happy weekend kiddos!

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-07-28T09:18:00.001-05:00

Instead of some kind of obligatory comment about how hot it is, just picture me spouting off every slur word I can think of every time I walk from my front door to my car. Holy hell, even the breeze feels like your being blasted with a hairdryer. Yesterday I was watering my plants and between urges to turn the hose on myself, I was daydreaming about winning the lottery and using the money to restore Browns Creek and then buying that lot of ol' trailer park of yore and turning it into a giant fountain for people to splash around in. My fountain would be green, and would use clean water from Browns Creek that would recycle itself. And there would also be a dog park. And the people would be happy. Amen.

And then I woke up, and realized that I have a news round-up to write!

Robots in Disguise: Nerd alert! I haven't been to the Lane Motor Museum yet, but I think I've found my motivation. There will be a Transformers exhibit at the museum through August 15th. While most of it will be an extensive collection of model cars, there will also be a rare car that was the inspiration behind one Transformer. Autobots, roll out!
Chestnut Hill gets more attention: What a cool neighborhood. And on the up and up. I'm happy for them.
Glencliff High School is excellent: They are even getting awards for it. Thanks to a reader for bringing this to my attention on my Facebook page. This is cool too:

"Glencliff, which is one of the state’s most diverse schools with more than 42 nationalities represented, has more than 70 community partners, with 22 directly involved with the school’s four career academies."

Finally, the Scene has article today about the low voter turnout in the local elections that are happening right now. Please vote, you have 3 more days for early voting. It will take you 10 minutes and it makes a big difference. Also, I really don't want to have to slap anyone.
Click here to find out times and places you can early vote. Here to find out where to go if you're waiting til August 4th.

Guerrilla Art: Neighborhoods In Need of Pizazz

2011-07-26T09:38:00.000-05:00

Guerrilla art example:
Memorial to American soldiers.
Taken on my recent trip to Boston.

Earlier this month, the bloggers over at Offbeat Home listed some ways that individuals our small groups could take public art into their own hands, whether it be something as involved as guerrilla gardening or as simple and harmless as knit-bombing.

After scrolling through this website at all of the city street art, my mind immediately goes to the new graffiti art on Glenrose and I am inspired. I'm no artist so painting anything is out of the question. But I can't stop thinking about this little triangle patch of grass at the end of my street where 2nd and 4th Avenues meet to create Nolensville Pike. It's a lonely triangle and could use some love. Any ideas?

Has anyone seen any cool creative displays in your neighborhood?

South Nashville at Play: Jackalope Brewery

2011-07-25T09:13:00.000-05:00

I was finally able to check out Jackalope Brewery. They are currently only open for a few hours (4-8) on Fridays, so even though they've been open for several weeks, with the limited time frame it took me awhile to get there.

Main suggestion if you want to visit the taproom, get there at 3:55 if you can. The line was forming outside before they opened the doors, and by 4:30 the place was full. But the beer is worth it! I recommend the Honey Badger.

The taproom itself is warm and visually stimulating with conversation starters in every corner. For instance, the fun quotes inscribed on every table.

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drank I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself it is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver." - Jack Handy

So wise. Anyhow, I look forward to Jackalope extending their hours beyond just Fridays. They seem to be on the right track.

Cheers!

Savory South Nashville: Pupuseria Salvadorena

2011-07-19T09:11:00.000-05:00

It's been a little while since I've done one of these. We haven't been dining out too often. Blame the CSA.

Do yourself a favor and go here. Pupuseria Salvadorena is located just off of Nolensville Pike, North of Walmart on Welch Road. It's super cheap (Cash only though. I had to leave Jason there and run to Walmart to make a purchase and get cash back in order to pay for our meal!).

I'd never had a pupusa. If you are unfamiliar, a pupusa is basically a thick tortilla stuffed with cheese, beans, pork or any combination of the three. Not surprisingly, our favorites involved pork fat.

And they serve them with a bowl of cool slaw, after some internet searching I learned that this is called curtido.

For desert, a couple of milk-filled empanadas. At two for $1, why not?

Dining here made me feel proud to live in a part of the city that has such an array of ethnic food choices. It reinvigorated my desire to ~~try~~ eat more. Hungry, anyone?

Oh, Happy Day.

2011-07-18T11:19:00.001-05:00

Wait, what's that?

Let's take a closer look.

Closer....

HA! That's just the official 'Adopt-A-Stream' sign for SNAP after 3 years of Browns Creek clean-ups. If you're driving down Nolensville Pike and look to the right just past the entrance to the fairgrounds, DON'T BLINK!

Vintage South Nashville: Summer Street

2011-07-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

This photo was taken on Summer Street (now 5th Ave S) at Mulberry Street, looking towards downtown, in 1963. After consulting Google Maps, I found out that Mulberry Street still exists, and the photographer, if this were taken today, would almost be standing on I-40. Which would make the structure at the right side of the photograph the current location of the World's Largest Adult Bookstore.

For reference, here's that same view today:

Pre-Interstate, if you went South from here towards the Old City Cemetery, you would see this house:

Caption from the TN State Library and Archives:

House at 907 5th Ave., formerly Summer St. According to a 1968 notation on picture, house is on west side of street at the top of the hill, nearly to the Old City Cemetery. Narrow two-story brick house with large bay, arched windows, dentil trim.

And this one:

Caption:

House at 915 5th Ave. South (formerly Summer St.). Large, two-story brick & stone house with arched porches, front bay on right, turret on left, four visible chimneys. On reverse: "next door south of 913 and two doors north of 919."

Have a great weekend!

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-07-14T09:33:00.000-05:00

Today's hodge-podge of information is brought to you by the delicious roast I had for dinner last night. It sustains me through internet surfing and internet sharing, and writing this post is the only thing keeping me from eating the leftovers for breakfast. They taunt me from the office refrigerator.

From the Inbox/WTH?: * Robbery *
"Personal robbery in the 1300 block of Little Hamilton Ave. The victim was sitting in their vehicle using their laptop computer when three male blacks approached his vehicle, gained entry, assaulted the victim and then took their laptop. The victim suffered minor injuries from the assault but was not transported by ambulance. Police responded and cased the area for the three suspects who fled on foot in the area. The investigation is ongoing."

These are the things that keep me from walking to The Basement after dark. Not fair.
Lose the engines ... Add vuvuzelas: JR Lind makes his case in the Nashville Scene today to build a soccer-only stadium at the TN State Fairgrounds. He mentions the success of Kansas City's Livestrong Park as a mixed use development with the soccer stadium as an anchor. This isn't the first time we've heard this idea. It's also described in the recently released Nolensville Corridor Market Study.
Speaking of: The Nashville Scene & the Fairgrounds. The 2011 "You Are So Nashville If..." edition came out today with the following entry in the stack: "You wonder what these fairgrounds are that everybody keeps talking about." —Trent Hanner

Indeed.

This is NOT a political post.

2011-07-13T10:43:00.003-05:00

Yes it is.*

Early voting for our local elections begins this Friday, which makes this my obligatory get out the vote post. The first part in which I shame you for even thinking about not voting (especially you, ladies), the second part in which I talk about two very important women to South Nashville neighborhoods.

There may be several reasons why you choose not to vote: It's inconvenient, you are indifferent or apathetic, or you think your vote won't really matter in the long run.

Let's start with the latter. If this were a presidential election, I'd still think you were an idiot, but I would at least understand your point. This is a local election, there is no electoral college to shrug about. Take a look at last year's run-off between Jeff Yarbro and Senator Doug Henry. The Senator won by little more than a dozen votes. And that was for a state office.

If you think that having 2 weeks (July 15-30) to take 10 minutes to stop by Howard School, or one of the many other early voting locations, and press a few buttons is inconvenient, then I sincerely hope that it's not too much to ask for you to take 30 seconds to stop by my house real quick so I can slap you.

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you are probably not all that indifferent about local matters, but just in case...

There's not a lot I can say to convince someone to vote who has better things to worry about than who their district representative is. So instead, I will tell them why they should not vote.

If you do not care whether zoning issues are addressed that allow that pawn shop, or that McMansion, or that parking lot, to be built at the end of your street, then do not vote.
If you are indifferent about the house across from yours that has burnt down 3 different times, yet still seems to have people living in it, then do not vote.
If you are a renter, and you don't care that your landlord refuses to fix your broken A/C unit even though it's 99 degrees outside. Don't vote. You wouldn't dare reach out to someone who could help see that the city requires landlords to fix broken A/C units on their properties.

Your council representative, if they are doing their job, is what directly links your street to your city government. In District 17**, this link is Council Member Sandra Moore. She's available, responsive, and will stick her neck out for you if it is for something that will benefit your street, your neighborhood, or District 17.

In District 16, the link is Council Member Anna Page. This is not my district. But this lady works her @ss off for the betterment of South Nashville. She has a district full of constituents who are passionate about her re-election, and her response time to questions online (Facebook, email, etc) is impressive.

As for the referendum on the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, if you read this blog at all you probably know how I feel about it. Although I should say, I'm not scared to see it pass. I'm mostly disappointed that red tape is delaying much needed change in South Nashville. And I'm worried about what future conversation will be like when fairgrounds supporters who think they have "saved the fairgrounds" are surprised when 27 council members vote to redevelop the fairgrounds according to a new master plan. Either way, I hope you vote Against Ratification on Amendment 1.***

UPDATE: Here is a handy tool from the Tennessean to compare the Metro Council candidates in your district (see the pull-down menu just under the photo). Speaking of responsive (see above), Sandra Moore and Anna Page were the only candidates in their districts to respond to the survey.

*This is my personal blog and my personal opinions. This blog and these opinions do not belong to any neighborhood group that I am a part of. So there.

**If you aren't sure what district you belong to, check out this map and zoom in on your street to see.

***Click here to see a sample ballot.

Let's Talk Sidewalks

2011-07-12T09:24:00.000-05:00

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.*

Shel has a point, especially when your sidewalks look like this:

Nolensville Pike at Moore Ave

Metro Nashville now has an interactive website where you can see all of the sidewalk projects in your neighborhood. On one side, you can look at a map to see what streets have completed sidewalk projects and what projects are intended for the future.

On the other part of the site, you can actually search the list of streets that are currently being considered for sidewalks and learn where they are in the planning process or why they are likely not to be finished. For instance, I learned that sidewalks on Moore Avenue have a high ranking because of the amount of pedestrian traffic on my street. However, the project has been deferred because it must be coordinated with other sidewalk projects in the neighborhood. On the other hand, the sidewalk project for Little Hamilton has been deferred because the street is too narrow.

I also learned that the repair for the sidewalk on Nolensville Pike at the end of Moore Ave is currently under design. Which is great because as you can see in the photo above, it's badly needed.

It would be helpful if they could also include an expected completion date.

Oh, and planned bikeways are also included in this list.

I know a lot of active city neighborhoods are concerned about pedestrian friendliness. So this is just another tool to educate yourself about whether or not the city is on the same page about your neighborhood. If you're anything like me, looking at what is planned for the future will just make you more antsy for the real thing.

As for Mr. Silverstein, it's too bad he didn't write the poem, Where the well-kept Sidewalks and Greenspaces Co-exist. But somehow I don't think he would have sold as many books.

*Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Ta to the Da!

2011-07-11T09:42:00.001-05:00

Look at what just a few people can do when they're not afraid to get their hands dirty.

I don't have a before picture, but maybe you saw how the weeds in the 8th Ave reservoir planter were inching towards heights taller than that magnolia tree. A handful of SNAP volunteers jumped in this weekend to pull weeds, lay mulch and pick up the dead leaves and trash that tend to collect at the bottom of the stairs.

Click here to see the original planting project that SNAP did at the reservoir last year.

Guest Post: Memories From the Old Guy - The Treasure

2011-07-08T08:59:00.001-05:00

You guys are lucky. You get TWO Old Guy posts this week. I've been begging him for old photographs, he kept saying he didn't have many because his family couldn't afford to buy a camera and develop pictures. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to receive this in my inbox last night.

I’ve struggled for some time about how to share this thought, allow me to try this way. Let me take your imagination back 40 years, to a time before digital photography. (For the purpose of this exercise I’m putting these costs in today’s dollars.)

First we need a camera we can buy one of these at many different places the prices are from $30 (today’s money) on up. The next thing we need is film. Film can be bought with a variety of exposures (photo chances) from 12 to 24 to 36 exposures the film will run us from $24 to $50 or more depending on the camera and the quality of the film. Each exposure on the film is one shot only. When you have taken twelve shots on a twelve shot film you’re finished, no second chance. Most of us are not great photographers and probably will spoil 3 to eight shots per roll of film. Having done our best we have to take our film to a store, a drugstore or a department store that will develop and make prints of our film for $30 to $70 or more depending on what special thing we might want. Not until the photos are developed do we see what our pictures look like and then it’s "what you see is what you get". Photo retouching or editing is a very expensive proposition costing thousands and done only by professionals. Now the cheapest we have gotten away with in this little exercise would be about $84 (today’s money) for 12 photos half of which are worthless.

This is why old photos are so wonderful. It was a rare occurrence to have one’s picture made and pictures were not snapped carelessly. Most people I knew would buy film for their camera for a child’s graduation or something, snap 2 or three pictures of the event and then put the camera away for the next event. It might be a year or more before those 12 exposures were completed and the film taken in for developing. Sometimes you might even forget what was on the film until you got the pictures developed.

That said I join Jen here in calling for any old pictures of the community and events from the past, because they are truly treasures. If someone chose to take them and they turned out and survived to this day they are near miraculous.

1971. That's our (not so) Old Guy on the right!

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-07-07T09:25:00.000-05:00

It makes me so happy that Nashville has been getting into the local food movement. Farmers markets, mobile markets and community gardens are everywhere. It has really changed the way that Jason and I eat. And it's not just that fresh food tastes better (it does) or that a local farmer is supported when I shop at the farmers market (they are) or even that peace of mind that comes with eating an animal that lived a happy life (it did). My very favorite part about eating locally is the satisfaction I get from kneeling into the dirt, picking that zucchini or that squash or that cabbage, and then taking it home to prepare for dinner. All of the above things together = feel good.

Now that I've given you that PSA, here are a few resources:

Community Garden Tours: This Saturday you can stop by the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center to pick up a garden tour guide, then from 9am-3pm tour as many community gardens as you'd like. You can tour the Chestnut Hill garden (at Johnson School, Chestnut & 1st) and meet the gardeners from 9am-noon. (Sorry no link, I got this in my email. If you'd like me to forward it to you, let me know)
Yes, you may have another: The Vanderbilt Farmers Market at 100 Oaks will kick off today and occur every Thursday from 3pm-6pm through October.
Blog Love: If you want to learn more about eating locally, be sure to check out the blog Conscious Kitchen: The Musings of a Nashville Locavore. The author is none other than Mary Crimmins, founder of the Woodbine and 12th South Farmers Markets, and is packed with information about local eating (reasons why you should, tips, recipes, restaurants, etc).

A bit off topic, but remember this project? SNAP cleaned up and planted a few things at the 8th Ave S gate of the reservoir last year. It's needing a good little clean-up again, so a few of us will be out there Saturday morning weeding, watering and picking up trash. Meet at Frothy Monkey at 8am or join us at the gate at 8:30 if you'd like.

Guest Post: Memories From the Old Guy - 100 Oaks

2011-07-06T09:25:00.002-05:00

Here's another from The Old Guy. I find this one fascinating.

Right up to the late 60's Berry Hill was a very quiet place. It was all homes built in the late 40's and early 50's to accommodate the soldiers returning from WWII. That changed in the late 60's. The Interstate Highway system was coming through and changed it all.

Up to that time, Bransford Ave. stopped at Thompson lane. Just in front of you then, about where the Logan's Roadhouse is today, was a large, ranch style log house with black painted logs and white chinking. The house sat rather close to the road as I recall, Thompson Lane having been widened and moved closer to it. The house sat in front of a great wood that stretched from the Pepsi Bottling Plant to Powell Ave, the other side of Wendy’s. (Powell Ave didn’t connect to Bransford Ave as it does today) The Wendy’s tract was all of a piece with the rest of the tract. The wood extended from Thompson Lane all the way back to the National Guard outpost containing many beautiful trees and many Oaks, maybe even a hundred.

Thompson lane then extended straight on to Franklin Pike not bearing to the left over that bridge as it does today. It went straight to Franklin Pike and at the end was the war memorial statue that now stands in Sevier Park. Then came the Interstate Highway. Developers, seeing that an exit was to be built onto Thompson Lane, began to woo the owner of the big log house. The lady who owned it was getting older and facing the prospect of caring for that huge chunk of property and was eventually convinced to sell under the agreement that the developer would not cut down her trees.

He bulldozed them. The land was cleared and the log house remained as a construction office. The site along Powell Ave was fenced with 4’x8’ plywood panels and artists from all around the area were invited to come and paint original artworks on them, materials supplied by Dury’s, one of the big art supply businesses in Nashville.

100 Oaks Shopping Mall opened in late 1968 and was a huge hit. The senior superlatives of the 1969 class of Central High School had their casually posed pictures made there. Then, I don’t know why, they closed the Thompson Lane ramp to the Interstate. 100 Oaks was doomed after that. When it was revived as an outlet mall a few years ago the developers finally got a ramp to the National Guard outpost but it was too late. The era of the shopping mall had passed. Of late the structure is having some success as a location for Vanderbilt’s clinics. Still, in all its rises and falls I often wonder what it would be like if that great wood was still there.

Update: Drew shared this link in the comments. The site has some interesting commentary about the history of 100 Oaks Mall. Also, some insight into why there is no Thompson Lane exit from I-65.

"100 Oaks was plagued with location problems from the beginning. While it sits directly alongside I-65, there was originally no access to the mall from the interstate when I-65 opened in the early 1970s. The only method of getting there was via Thompson Lane, which curiously also did not have an interchange constructed to I-65 despite its status as a main thoroughfare. Part of the reason: Nashville Mayor Richard Fulton was an investor in another retail project, Rivergate Mall, located in Madison/Goodlettsville, about 15 miles north of downtown and successfully blocked interstate access to the 100 Oaks area."

Reader Question: Jim Coursey's BBQ

2011-07-05T09:04:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I love it when you guys send me emails? I try to respond to every one of them (or at least the one's that aren't spammy). This weekend I got a message from someone searching for a recipe. I'm putting it out there in the universe on the off-chance that someone can help this guy out.

"I am a Nashvillie ex-patriot that sorely misses my old haunts in South Nashville. I found your blog while looking for a recipe; Jim Coursey's barbecue sauce. I worked at WDCN (NPTV) for a lot of years and used to eat at Coursey's Barbecue a lot.
Good work on the blog and my thanks to whoever contributed the piece on Hap Townes. It was fabulous and a great reminder of what a wonderful man he was.
If you should know anyone who has the recipe for Jim Coursey's barbecue sauce I would greatly appreciate receiving it. His sauce was fabulous and something I have been trying to reproduce without much success."

According to the Old Guy, Jim Coursey's BBQ was located at 4th Ave South and Rains. If anyone knows the recipe for his famous BBQ sauce, or has just a general statement about the restaurant, leave it in the comments.

All this talk of BBQ is making me hungry.

Vintage South Nashville: National Lampoon: Nashville Edition

2011-07-01T09:09:00.001-05:00

It's a big weekend for family vacations, so I thought these might be fun to share. This isn't South Nashville exclusive, but when I was 14 we took a family vacation to Nashville, and judging by the trip photos that I found, I had a horrible time. Actually, I have a feeling that my age played into me just being a brat for no apparent reason, but it makes for a really entertaining series of photos. Also, I think this was my Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill, phase. Major contributor to my teenage angst.

A little background info:

At the time we lived in Coastal Georgia. So it was probably an 8 or 9 hour drive for us.
Main stops were the Nashville Zoo, Opryland and Downtown.
I was 14, so this would have been the summer of 1997. Just 4 years before I decided to go to Belmont for college. Also, Opryland shut down at the end of '97, so I got to experience it just in time.
I don't remember actually posing for any of these photos, so if I get the location wrong, someone correct me.

Angry at the Zoo:

Angry at Opryland (I think this is Opryland, this is one I'm unsure of. I know it was part of our Nashville trip though):

Angry at the Ryman:

Angry at the Hard Rock (with my own Mother making fun of me):

And my personal favorite, Angry with the Wildhorse Saloon horses:

If you have any old pics you'd like to share, as long as the subject is local, send them over! Click here to find out more.

Have fun this weekend! Wear sunscreen and all that stuff.

Taking Care of the Biz Biz

2011-06-30T09:28:00.001-05:00

One of my frequent talking points when discussing the redevelopment of the fairgrounds is how desperate our neighborhood is for more retail options. And no, I'm not talking about being the next Green Hills. I'm talking about a simple grocery store, or a decent restaurant or two, or a coffee shop, or an affordable clothing store. We are surrounded by businesses, but very few offer services that benefit nearby residents.

So any time I hear of a business moving in that I can walk to, walk around, look at merchandise and make a purchase, well...I'm happy to welcome them to the neighborhood.

(n)habit is an "environmentally friendly supply and design shop" and they are moving into the May Hosiery Mills building. They open in mid-July and hours will be from 10-3. This may not be the type of place most people would shop at on a regular basis, but the key word here is "options".

On a similar yet different note, love it or hate it, it's coming. Construction has started on a new, smaller than usual, Walmart in 100 Oaks. For Wedgewood-Houston, I'm not sure what this means. It's still just as far away as the Kroger in Melrose, so I'm not sure that means much in the way of convenience for us. But, as one wise person once said (ahem...me), "empty buildings suck". And that's pretty much how I look at it.

Shop South Nashville: Owl Really

2011-06-29T09:29:00.002-05:00

Last year I posted an interview with South Nashvillian and Entrepreneur Jamie Wilson about her start-up business, Owl Really, which specializes in all things cute and vintage. At the time, one was able to peruse Owl Really inventory under a small tent at various local artisan/craft fairs, or online at her Etsy shop. I'm a big fan and was able to score this guy who now hangs over my coffee maker in my kitchen (sorry for the old pic, the price tag has come off since then).

I am so, so happy to be able to say that you can now shop at Owl Really everyday from 10am - 5:30pm at the Tennessee Antique Mall! (located on Wedgewood just next to the train bridge) Jamie opened her booth last week and it's super easy to find. If you are standing inside the front door, walk all the to the back and then all the way to the left. Owl Really is tucked in the corner. You'll know you're in the right place when you see some namesake items...

You can also keep up with (the recently married!) Jamie on her blog here.

Guest Post: Memories From the Old Guy - ...And I Found A Snake

2011-06-28T09:01:00.000-05:00

Storytime! The Old Guy shares another memory from his childhood, this one about the old community center on Humphreys Street. Read more about the Lucy Holt Moore center (and see pictures!) by clicking here.

“Old Guys” share tales of all kinds. If this story had been told to me by almost anyone I would be dubious. But it happened to me. This story is true.

The old Lucy Holt Moore center meant a great deal to the people of this community providing educational, health, and recreational events and it is sorely missed. One of the things they provided in the summer was camps. For fees that were reasonable, kids could go for either night camp (leave on Monday morning return on Friday afternoon) or for less money day camp (leave each morning return each afternoon for a week). It was a big treat and a fun diversion for kids that could afford to go.

This particular year I got to go to day camp. We were teamed up in a group of about seven boys and one counselor and went on a trail into the woods and set up a camp site. We even set up a latrine so we could, um… you know, right in the woods, so cool. In the mornings we would meet at a main camp that had a large shelter and some smaller buildings restrooms and such. We would sing songs and hear announcements and things. There at the main camp we had our crafts center where we made things. Also in the main shelter they had several small cages. Campers would catch frogs, bugs, and lizards all to be kept on display till the end of the week then released.

Nearing the end of the week our counselor Kenny had taught us each all the stuff they had planned for us to learn that week so we decided we would like to find something to put in the cages for the rest of the kids to see for the last day. Kenny gathered us all together and made us pair up. My partner was Robert, a guy from my neighborhood. A rather shy and retiring sort of fellow I had known all my life. Kenny gave us a few rules. Then everyone seemed to want to stand around so I motioned to Robert and we took off down the trail away from our camp.

We had gone maybe 100 feet when we came to a wash about 5 feet deep 10 or 12 feet across and strewn all about with dead leaves. I said I would slide down the bank first so I sat on the ground and began to slide down. Before my feet reached the bottom something stopped me and there under my feet I saw the snake. It was big. I was instantly standing at the top of the wash by Robert pointing and saying, “There’s a snake down there.” “Where?” said Robert, “I don’t see it.” I pointed at it and finally had to stand beside him and let him look down my arm before he ever saw it.

We had designated a secret call to make should we find anything, I’ll demonstrate here; ehem,… WHOOP, WHOOP, WHOOP (imagine someone being goosed repeatedly) So Robert and I stood and WHOOPed for a couple of moments and when the others didn’t respond quickly I sent Robert back for them while I stayed and WHOOPed alone. When they still didn’t return quickly enough I too went. I ran up and caused such a fuss they had to listen to me. I convinced them to come and see, so Robert and I lead the whole group back to the wash.

I had to show the snake to everybody else. Kenny cut a long forked stick and sent us all back to camp, except for two or three stalwarts he couldn't run away. Minutes later Kenny and the others joined us at our camp and Kenny said when he put that forked stick down on the snake’s head it straightened out and had about nine buttons on its tail. Later we decided it was a timber rattlesnake 6 to 7 feet long, close to two inches in girth at its widest. We figured it had been sunning itself or maybe I wouldn't be here today.

Wayne has lived in Wedgewood-Houston for nearly 60 years. Read more of his stories here.

A Bittersweet Weekend - A Local Basket

2011-06-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

My weekend was spent packing a moving truck and hosting a good-bye party for some of my best friends, who are currently on their way to make permanent residence in New Orleans. While it's great that I have added reason to visit one of my favorite cities in the South, I feel like Nashville has just lost a sliver of something I love about it (If that sounds dramatic, it's just 'cause I'm still a bit sad. I'm sure Nashville will make it up to me.).

Anyhow, another friend and I had the idea to put together a basket of local goods to send off with them. Sort of a here's so you don't forget where you came from kind of gift. I have to give her the credit of doing most of the work, but I wanted to share here if anyone wants to borrow the idea. Of course, there are so many different varieties of local products you could go with, but here's what we did:

Clover & Wildflower Honey from the Loveless Cafe
GooGoo Clusters (We went with a box of Original)
Bongo Java Coffee
Gu-Vurtz-Tra-Weener wine from Chateau Ross Winery (it's in Springfield, but close enough)
A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey (of course!)
Olive & Sinclair Chocolate (Mexican Style Cinn-Chili)

Also included was a small photo album of pictures from some of our favorite memories with the couple.

Support local by giving local!

Happy Monday, everyone. I'm going to go sulk in a corner and consider my ad on Craigslist for replacement friends.*

*Kidding. These guys are irreplaceable.

First Day of Summer

2011-06-21T09:36:00.001-05:00

Well, damn. I did my rain garden update too early. Look at what I woke up to this morning.

Does anyone know what kind of plant this is? The flower nearly rivals my head size. My husband will tell you that that is quite a feat (it runs in my family).

It's officially summer now. Posts will be a bit light this week. A few times a year I have to take time to lay out all the pieces of my life in front of me, and put them in order of importance. It helps me clear my head and calm me. This flower was an indication that the first week of summer would be the perfect time to do just that.

Root yourself...grow...bud...bloom.

Update: It's a hibiscus! (Thanks, Carol!)

South Nashville at Home: Happy Reading

2011-06-20T09:21:00.000-05:00

Living in a small house requires getting creative when it comes to function and making the most of a space.

I had been really annoyed by the ugly plastic crate of magazines that we kept in our bathroom. Not only did it look messy, but the magazines leaned against the wall and over time left scratches in the paint.

I'm sure I picked this idea up on a blog somewhere, I don't remember which one, but while making a quick dash in to a certain big box store on Nolensville Pike for a bicycle helmet, I was inspired.

I found this magazine holder for $7 and had Jason drill a couple of screws to fix it into the corner next to the toilet.

Cheap fix and kind of cute, if you ask me. Any other good ideas on how to maximize a small space?

Hey, SNAP people (that's kind of redundant, but whatever), don't forget about our community meeting tonight at Fifty Forward. Pied Piper is providing ice cream! Click here for details.

Vintage South Nashville: The Whitsitts Part I

2011-06-17T09:18:00.001-05:00

Whitsitt (not to be confused with Whosit or Whatsit) is a common name in Woodbine. There's an elementary school (first built by the Reverend James Whitsitt) and a street named after the family. That may be why I've come across so many old photos of Whitsitt family members and their property in the TN State Library & Archives. In fact, there are so many that I will probably will break them into 2 different posts. Also, there is a variation in spelling (Whitsitt v. Whitsett), if anyone wants to clear that up then feel free.

I'm just going to post some of what I've found along with their descriptions. You can always click through the links above to do a little of your own research, if you'd like. As always, you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

"H.H. Whitsitt's Store and Post Office on the corner of Whitsitt Lane and Nolensville Road. The writing on the window reads, "Woodbine Branch Post Office."

"Lucille Whitsitt Badacoor and five unidentified friends on the side of Whitsitt Lane sitting by a creek bank. Lucille Whitsitt Badacoor is sitting in the center of the front row wearing a hat." ca. 1918

"Lucy A. Whitsitt in a buggy in front of the John Berryman Whitsitt house located on Whitsitt Lane." ca. 1910

"House at 2400 Foster Avenue owned by W.H. Whitsett. Low house with fence, curtains and rockers on wide front porch." ca. 1915

Happy Friday! I don't say thanks to my readers enough, so thanks for reading! You guys are the rock to my lobster.

Research: I Need Your Bicycle Advice

2011-06-16T09:17:00.001-05:00

Update: Thank you all for your great comments and advice. Although I was sort of scolded for contemplating Walmart. Luckily, this evening I was able to talk down the price a bit of that Craigslist posting I mentioned earlier, which made it worth it for me. And now she's all mine!

The previous owner said the bike was built in the '60's, although I haven't found a date on it. But it's very well made and sturdy. I have my work cut out for me as far as building up my stamina. All I did was take it around the block tonight, and already feel like my legs will be screaming tomorrow.

- - - - - - - - - - -

When we bought our house back in '07, we only had one car - my Camaro. Jason had been car-less for several years and already rode his bike just about everywhere. But since our new house was a little further from where he worked at the time, and the hills on the way there were brutal, we decided to purchase him an electric bicycle. It was pricey, but still cheaper than buying a car.

I hadn't been on a bike since I got my learner's permit when I was 15. This weekend we decided to take a little ride around the neighborhood, Jason on his old bike, me on the electric bike. And now - I'm sold. I want my own bike so bad. The electric bike is really fun to ride, but it's just too tall for me to be comfortable. So I'm on the hunt.

Aaand, I'm totally clueless. I love the vintage looking Schwinn bikes, like this one from Walmart (I know, I know. I cringe at the word. But this girl is on a serious budget. Plus the option of being able to return it is appealing.)

Or this really adorable blue Schwinn on Craigslist (though with the price they're asking, I may as well go with new).

But in the words of my dear husband, "Bicycles are not fashion accessories, you f*#@ing hipster." So I'm not sure if I've chosen the above bikes with the correct intentions.

What say you oh seasoned bicyclers? What would be a decent purchase for a casual biker to use to explore South Nashville? I'd like to keep it under $130 (Closer to $100, if possible. See above explanation of Walmart).

And most importantly, what are some of your favorite places to ride? I feel like this will allow me a whole new perspective when exploring South Nashville, and I'm ridiculously excited about it.

These things grow fast.

2011-06-15T09:15:00.000-05:00

Quick update for those curious about the rain gardens that the Cumberland River Compact so kindly donated to dozens of We-Ho-ians.

Here is what mine looked like just after they planted it in late April.

And today:

It's filling in really nicely. I've had to do only a little bit of weeding, but I'm still planning on adding more mulch and a few pretty garden stones. Here's another view.

And so far it seems to be doing it's job. Of course, we haven't had much rain over the past few weeks. I did notice last month after a big storm that the rain water was pooling in it and then being absorbed into the ground within a few hours, which is exactly what it's supposed to do.

The Pay-Off

2011-06-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

I had a bit of a Debbie-Downer moment yesterday when thinking about the whole fairgrounds issue, and the promised 40-acre park that is stalled for who knows how long. But after driving through Wedgewood-Houston and seeing all of the progress on several projects in the making, I feel much better. Excited even!

Several years ago, Wedgewood-Houston was granted a Community Development Block Grant through HUD and MDHA. So a Citizens Advisory Committee was formed to determine how the funds would be used. In 2009, I and a couple others were asked to join the CAC as they had lost a few members and didn't have a quorum. So I did. It had already been determined that most of the funds would be going towards the renovation of the SNAP Community Center, with the rest going to a new playground for Fall-Hamilton Elementary, fancy crosswalks, neighborhood pedestals and signs and nice new street signs.

So you'd think by the time I joined up, there'd be little left to decide. I'll actually spare you the details because the meetings were about as long and tedious and frustrating as this post could become if I were to go into it. All that to say, it seemed to take forever for any tangible results to come to fruition.

Which is why I am so grateful to drive through the neighborhood today and see things like this.

SNAP Community Center almost done.

And this.

And this (it will eventually say "Wedgewood-Houston")

The pay-off. It feels good. If you have some recent improvements in your neighborhood, try to remember to thank your neighborhood leaders. They probably sat through a lot of boring meetings to make sure it happened.

Side Note: Speaking of SNAP, we are having a community meeting on Monday. Mary Crimmins will be there to answer all of your Woodbine/12th South Farmers Market questions. And there is talk of ice cream. ICE CREAM! Click here for more details.

Side Note to my Side Note: Speaking of 12th South Farmers Market, if you happen to be there today, make sure you wave at the band. I'll be singing with Roy Ira from 4:30-6.

This should be a park in the making by now.

2011-06-13T10:03:00.000-05:00

It's hard not to get frustrated when I drive down Craighead and see the potential for something beautiful just past the ugly and uninviting chain link fences.

Ugh, sorry to start the week off with a bummer.

Hey community leaders,
How do you manage to stay upbeat when facing ugly, long and un-fun chain link fences (the figurative ones, of course)?

Vintage South Nashville: Belmont College for Young Women

2011-06-10T09:06:00.000-05:00

Today's Vintage is brought to you by Southern Beale, who found this ad in the back of a 1911 edition of Collier's magazine.

20 percent Northern girls!

On a similar note, I've been waiting for a reason to post these images from the TN State Library and Archives. Seems appropriate now. Here are a few more old photos of my alma mater from that same time period.

Caption: "Belmont Mansion; the south porch in winter. Two unidentified ladies stand on the stairs." Circa 1900

Caption: "Unknown couple on the grounds of Belmont Mansion." Circa 1907

Caption: "Unidentified women at the Ward Belmont College riding stables." 1919

Stay cool, kids.

South Nashville at Home: My Home

2011-06-09T09:33:00.002-05:00

Now I'm not saying that you have to tear a house down to it's roots and build it back up again in order to feel a deep connection to the place that you live, but because that's pretty much what we did, I have had the opportunity to form a personal relationship with just about every nook, corner, crack and crevice of this house (Edited to add cranny).

You can check out what the place looked like just before we bought it in yesterday's post.

Just to give you an idea, here are a few in between shots, in no particular order:

We Can Do It!

The Bathroom

The Kitchen

Mom and Dad working the kitchen.

Even my lil bro got in on the action.

I edited out the NSFW part of this photo. You're welcome.

The deck only took us 2 whole years to complete.

And here is where we are today. Like I said yesterday, we learned a lot through trial and error. Not everything worked for us the first time around. For instance, nearly every room in the house is on its second paint color. There was also the time when we were replacing the attic ladder and Jason got stuck in the attic and I started crying because I wasn't strong enough to pry the new door open. He did eventually get out. But just so you know, I think we both learned a lesson that day.

And there are still several things to work out, like the kitchen tile that we didn't really lay correctly and as you'll see in the video, we still haven't put a door on one of the closets. I apologize for the shakiness, I blame the flipcam. Anyway, we are pretty proud of our creation, and that's a big reason why I wanted to share it with you.

South Nashville at Home: The Beginning

2011-06-08T09:25:00.000-05:00

I've been debating on whether or not to post an actual video of my home. It's pretty personal. But if it helps someone who is thinking about buying a fixer-upper or helps someone better understand how 'sweat equity' can become a labor of love...love for a home, love for a community...then what the hell.

So these are the "before" videos. I took these just before we closed on the house in 2007. Actually, I believe this was during the home inspection, where we found out that the roof was close to caving in and the floors were rotting in the bathroom and the kitchen.

OK, this is the part where you get to poke fun at me. I got creeped out. I saw the door to the third bedroom was closed and thought there might be someone hiding in there listening to me talk about their house. So I shut the camera off, ran outside and made Jason come in and check.

All clear.

I might be neurotic.

Continue.

And so begins the journey of making our first house our first home. We have put a lot of work into it over the past 4 years and we've been so lucky to have our families help when they could. Most of the work was done by us, from the highest roof shingle down to the new floor joists in the bathroom. It was done with the help of many how-to books (Jason has mastered sweating copper), the DIY Network, trial and error, and many frustrating 4th trips-in-a-day to Home Depot. We learn as we go. (Side note: See also: John Michael Montgomery)

I'll post the "after" video tomorrow.

South Nashville at Play: AMF Bowling Alley

2011-06-07T08:51:00.000-05:00

Hey, did you guys know that we have a really decent bowling alley in the Berry Hill area? AMF "Pla Mor" Lanes is just off of Thompson Lane (across from El Mariachi). I'm telling you because I didn't realize it existed until a couple of months ago.

Just think of the possibilities. A little karaoke and burgers at Twin Kegs, then toss the ball around during night bowling (starts at 10) with pitchers of light beer under the disco ball at Pla Mor?

It's like I'm in high school again.

Someone call my mother and tell her I won't be making curfew tonight.

Morning Has Broken...

2011-06-06T09:13:00.000-05:00

...Along with my car and my computer so "Happy Monday!" and let's start the week with a tribute to my friend the rottweiler at Melrose Pub.

Indeed, oh wise and mighty rottweiler. Indeed.

Vintage South Nashville: Mill Creek Baptist Church

2011-06-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

The church was built in 1804 on Glenrose Avenue by the Menees and Whitsitt families and served as a meeting house for the State Baptist Convention.

From the TN State Library & Archives

The building is no longer standing, but according to this website, its accompanying cemetery is still around.

Happy, happy weekend, my fabulous readers!

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-06-02T09:15:00.002-05:00

Good morning! I'm just gonna jump right into it.

If you can't say anything nice...: Oh the drama. Despite attempts to spread rumors accusing a fairgrounds neighbor of sabotaging the scoreboard at the Fairgrounds Speedway before last Saturday's race, it has been confirmed via Joey Garrison's (of the City Paper) Twitter that the scoreboard is in fact old, and just wasn't working properly. So there you have it.

Update: It was lightning.
Update 2: The City Paper

Moving right along.

Taking 'community' a step further: Chestnut Hill is so cool. I wrote a post a while back about the definition of the word "commune" and how that relates to the words "communication" and "community". A group of folks calling themselves the Castanea community are converting an old apartment building on Garden St into a for-real commune (although they prefer the word "neomonastic") where families (there are currently 15 people) will live, share finances and farm.
King of green...space: The former site of the Dairy King, on the corner of E Thompson and Old Glenrose, was destroyed by the 2010 flood and may now become a park. Hoorah! (Celebrating the park part, not the building being destroyed part. Dairy King has since found a new location.)
It's kind of so-so: Click here to read the first review of the new 24/7 Fish & Grits place at 8th and Division. Apparently it's pricey and just ok. I don't know about you, but I may have to judge this one myself.

And finally,

Yes please we need this now please: The Woodbine Neighborhood Association is looking for feedback from Woodbine residents on whether the community would welcome a taproom at the currently empty Flatrock Cafe building. Apparently, investors have shown interest in opening the Woodbine Draft House and Social Club at the property. Also interested, um...Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

You forgot your recliner...

2011-06-01T08:54:00.002-05:00

Litter seems to be a part of life on my street. I ~~contribute~~ attribute that to it's frequent use as a through street for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Needless to say, while it is kind of annoying, I don't get too frustrated by having to pick up the occasional McDonald's bag in my yard.

However, there is one spot, a stone's throw from my house, that just seems to be prime real estate for slackers who don't care to haul their unwanted furniture to the dump.

It took me staring at one pile for several months and saying to myself, "I wish someone would take care of that," before I realized that I could take care of that (this is not unique, I often take a little longer than most to comprehend certain things). All I had to do was lift a finger... and dial Public Works to report the address and type of material that was dumped (in this case, an old couch and other miscellaneous furniture).

A couple of weeks later, the stuff disappeared. Like magic (albeit, a slow magic). This was a few months ago.

And of course, on my way to Browns Creek yesterday, I notice that a new pile is slowly growing at the same spot. So I just got off the phone with Public Works again.

All that to say, I know this situation is not unique to my street. So I wanted to alert those like me who may not have realized how easy it is to report unwelcome piles of trash in your area. The number for Public Works is 615.862.8750. Click here to visit their website. Your pile won't disappear overnight, they send an inspector over to check it out before they send their truck.

By making the call, you can be proud to have contributed to the beautification of your neighborhood. Boo-Ya!

Memorial Day: Browns Creek Style

2011-05-31T09:07:00.001-05:00

After a failed attempt yesterday to play in the water fountains at Bicentennial Mall (they weren't on), a lack of friends with access to a pool, and a yearning to spend our Memorial Day near some type of body of water, we decided to grab a cooler and a couple of beers and trek it down to my favorite spot on Browns Creek.

I found a rock to sit and swing my feet into the cool water from.

And tried to make the best of the cicada swarm by cheering them on as they raced by.

It was an excellent and relaxing way to end an excellent and relaxing weekend. Hope yours was just as good!

Vintage South Nashville: 2nd Avenue Fire Hall

2011-05-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

From the Nashville Public Library

I can't find any info about when it was built, but this photo was taken in 1949. The fire hall still stands today right across the street from the Howard School building. Click here to see a much more recent picture of it.

Have a lovely long weekend, everyone. I'll see you Tuesday!

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-05-26T09:00:00.008-05:00

Slow news week in South Nashville, but there is still quite a bit to talk about!

No fish soup for you! A reader sent me a heads up that Los Gordos, giver of fish soup (sometimes) and delicious Honduran tacos, has closed (already?!) and the owners of the building, formerly the Flatrock Cafe, are looking for a new tenant. Let's hope it doesn't sit empty for long.
Fast as fast can be, you'll never catch me! Jackalope Brewery opened for business last Friday, and it looks like they will be just fine. For now, their taproom will only be open on Fridays from 4-8, but their hours will eventually extend through the weekend.
Strike Out Cancer: Local celebrities including Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley and Jake Owen will gather at Greer Stadium on June 11th for City of Hope's Celebrity Softball Challenge. Ticket sales will benefit their comprehensive cancer research center. There's also a chance to take the field by participating in the Connected to Hope initiative. If you need more reasons to attend, consider your chances to stare at Jake Owen and his beautiful teeth the whole game.*

*Wait. Is it just me?

Guest Post: Memories From the Old Guy - 4th & Chestnut

2011-05-25T09:32:00.000-05:00

I actually have posted this photo before, but it's neat to read someone's account of the building who remembers it. Without further ado, The Old Guy:

Arriving at the corner of 4th Ave and Chestnut St if one looks to the right before crossing Chestnut one sees a stone plaque commemorating the old Nashville and Decatur Railroad station that sat at that spot dedicated in 1868.

This photo was taken in April of 1954 before the Nashville and Decatur Railroad ceased operation.

The building exists in my memory as the old Cotton Oil Mill. Cotton seeds are crushed and/or ground and sometimes washed with hexane or some similar liquid to extract the oil. Cotton oil is a type “A” oil suitable for human consumption and reasonably pricey. The Nashville Cotton Oil Mill occupied this building from the 60s through the early 80s. This picture is looking at the front of the building from over near Dudley Park. In the 80s the Cotton Oil Mill closed and the building was bought by a company that I believe used it for archive storage. The building owner was welding in the structure (by then quite rundown) and a stray spark ignited the structure which burned quickly and was a total loss.

All that now remains is the old water tower which I believe was actually used to store the oil. I have recollections of sitting at the light at 4^th and Chestnut and having tiny droplets of cotton oil spatter the windshield of my car. The smell was appalling and there was always in the evenings a big very greasy truck parked between the building and the tower. The tower remains because of the prohibitive cost of removing it, and has come to be known as one of our community landmarks.

Savory South Nashville: Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet

2011-05-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

I'll admit it. Any restaurant that boasts both Hibachi grill and supreme buffet is one that I like to keep my expectations in check for. The decision to have dinner at the Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet on Nolensville Pike a couple of weeks ago was based on a drive-by and pure curiosity.

I think that my low expectations were the cause of my initial hyper reaction when we walked in. This place is like the Disney World of food buffets. At first the things I was so excited about: "This place is huge!" "Hibachi, sushi and a buffet for just $9?! Wow! It's so cheap!" "They have barbecue too?! What a variety!" later became reasons I hesitate to trust the place: "There are so many empty tables." "Can they maintain decent food at that price?" "They have too many different types of food, they won't be able to keep this up." "No beer."

I guess I just worry this place could quickly go the way of Ryan's or Golden Corral. But for now, I want to emphasize that the food was really good, for what it is. And I actually kind of love the fast food style hibachi concept. Load up your plate with the raw food you want, hand it to the guy to cook and there you have it. You didn't even have to pretend to laugh when he squeezes a fake bottle of ketchup in your face, or calls the burnt rice "rice crispies" or shield your eyes from a giant fire on your table.

South Nashville at Play: Camp Bow Wow

2011-05-23T09:22:00.001-05:00

I'm running late this morning because I had to drop the boys off at Camp Bow Wow for their entrance interview.

They grow up so fast.

Typically when we go out of town we try to have friends house-sit to save cash, but we're running out of friend favors. Plus, boarding them is a good way to socialize them. Lucky for us, we have two fabulous boarding facilities in the neighborhood. They've stayed at Dogtopia before, but Bow Wow has a later pick-up time on Sundays, which may be a requirement for our next weekend outing.

I'm crossing my fingers that the pep-talk I gave to Eli and Marvin this morning worked and they'll pretend to act like normal dogs for the next 3 hours. And now of course I can't stop watching the Camper Cam, and they are both just sitting by the gate waiting on me to come back, because apparently trying to make friends with their peers is something that is far beneath them.

Battling Pink Robots: The Flaming Lips

2011-05-19T10:08:00.001-05:00

Best experience I've ever had at the Ryman.

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-05-17T09:18:00.001-05:00

It's my birthday week, and while I'm not sure I'm all that excited about inching closer to 30 (although I do hear your 30's are way better than your 20's), I do have a lot going on this week. The Flaming Lips, a new tattoo and several dinner parties are all on the books so that means my posts will likely be short and sweet. So here we go:

Oh my: A man died in a fire at an ammo store on Nolensville Pike yesterday. The store is actually just South of the K&S Market that I reviewed yesterday. They haven't identified the body yet and are investigating the cause of the fire.
More about our rain gardens: Nancy DeVille at the Tennessean wrote up a nice little story about our pairing with the Cumberland River Compact to plant rain gardens all over Wedgewood-Houston. Is it alright if I quote my quote? You should just go read it. Because it's my birthday week.

And finally:

Did you expect us to just lay back and take it?: Cue the mean internet people who like to make ridiculous assumptions about my friends. A group of neighbors of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds have engaged with a lawyer* to hold accountable the petition to add a referendum to the ballot that, if passed, would make it more difficult to do anything with the fairgrounds property other than maintain the status quo. You can read more about it here, here and here. And if you haven't already, you should really spend a few minutes perusing the Neighbors for Progress website. Because it's my birthday week.

*Despite what the headline of one of the articles insinuates, Neighbors for Progress has no money to "hire" a lawyer. The law firm, Barrett Johnston, LLC, has been gracious to take an interest in our case and is offering their services at no cost.

Shop South Nashville: K&S World Market

2011-05-16T09:13:00.000-05:00

The K&S World Market (on Nolensville Rd just South of Harding) is worth a visit even if just for the experience of having been to the K&S World Market.

I'm still all about some farm fresh vegetables, but after paying over $4 for a red bell pepper at the Turnip Truck (I know, I know. They're not in season), it's hard not be slightly in awe at how cheap you can get some of this stuff. We bought one red bell pepper for 85 cents and one green bell pepper for 56 cents. Cheap.

But probably the most entertaining aspect of K&S is the wall of live fish, where you can choose your dinner right out of the tank, which an employee will stick in a bag for you, fin-flapping and all, to take home. Hope you know how to gut a fish.

Or if you prefer a fish of the already dead variety, K&S can fulfill your needs as well. Just take your pick, only $2.99.

And of course don't forget about the live craw-fish.

As we made our way to the other side of the store, things got even more dramatic. You see, Jason died.

And went to heaven...

...over this gallon of chili paste for $12.99.

We ended up skipping the chili paste though, because we already had two smaller versions of it at home, and made it out of the store with just over $10 less in our pockets.

Other than the peppers, we decided to try a Russian beer and a Mexican beer that we were curious about and we picked up a couple of papayas, which ended up being not even close to ripe. I have a lot to learn when it comes to papayas.

Community Gardens and Their "Bounty"

2011-05-11T20:07:00.000-05:00

I picked up my first-ever CSA share yesterday. We bit the bullet and pulled about $900 out of our savings to pay for it. A bit of a stretch up front, but I believe it will be worth it because we get a box of chicken, beef, pork and eggs from a local farm (we went with Avalon Acres) every week for the next 26 weeks. I ordered a share of produce this week too. You can find out more about CSA's over at Mary Crimmins' (of the Woodbine Farmers Market) blog.

But there are more pressing matters I have to discuss this morning. So, I pick up my CSA share at Coleman Park every Wednesday. Yesterday I notice they have this great, giant garden planted next to the parking lot.

Nice garden. Then I see the sign next to it.

For real? I know about community gardens, but it never occurred to me that you could just walk up and take what you need. Don't I need to sign in somewhere or ask permission first? Just poking through and taking pictures made me feel like I'd get in trouble for trespassing. But no, according to the sign all are welcome to take what they'd like from the garden "bounty."

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Otherwise I know where I'm shopping for greens when I pick up my meat on Wednesdays. And I just think that's so cool.

Update: From tc in the comments: "Well of course you are welcome to come help work it too. There is usually a group of us out there sat mornings at 8. But people are welcome to weed anytime."

So there you have it.

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-05-11T09:45:00.001-05:00

"I ♥ Bugs."

I don't know whether to be deeply disturbed at how many cicadas Eli inhaled this morning or somewhat appreciative that he's eliminating my yard of the pests.

Either way, I am crossing my fingers that I don't arrive home from work today to a mess of half digested cicadas.

Now that I've graced you with that thought, let's get to it, shall we?

SoBro to Grow: The area encompassed by 4th South, 8th South, Lafayette & Demonbreun is expected to have a lot going on over the next 2 years. Not surprisingly, most of the projects revolve around the Music City Center and its accompanying hotel. Projects include a new Greyhound bus terminal at 6th South and Lafayette and the extension of Korean Veterans Boulevard to 8th South, ending at a new roundabout.
Farmers Market!! It's that time again! The Woodbine Farmers Market is back for its second year and the Tennessean was even nice enough write an article about it. Market organizer extraordinaire, Mary Crimmins, is on a roll with a plethora of activities planned on market days, now on Saturdays, which ought to be convenient for a lot of people. Also, this: “Woodbine is the forgotten sector of Nashville and it was so neat to see everybody come together and it was one of the things that united everybody,” Crimmins said.“It was a just a place for people to come and gave them a real unique sense of identity. It’s 100 percent community supported.” Amen.
Graffiti Schmaffiti: If you've driven down Glenrose lately you may have noticed a lovely mural as you pass by the Sadler Village neighborhood. A group of reformed taggers got together and painted a lovely landscape along the walls lining the street in hopes of deterring any more graffiti of the unwanted variety.

And finally, I think WeHo may have a new anthem. This music video has been brought to my attention and I can't believe I didn't know about it sooner. So you know the Burlap Cafe on Wedgewood that has been promising us that it's "Coming Soon" for, oh, about 4 years now? (LIES!!) Well, this guy, Austin Sauerbrei, wrote a song about it. In 2009! Anyhow, I do think it's quite lovely.

Lyrics after the jump:

"In my neighborhood there is a sign
It says coming soon, but it's a lie
Circumstantial forced decline
To the empty building on the corner
There's no applications, resumes
There's no parents filling childrens plates
There's no place for us to congregate
It's just an empty building on the corner

Man, it's been so long since I had a place where I could meet a crowd
And I wonder if we're ever know each other now
Well may my life be marked
By joy on the corner

And so, if we are never friends
it's 'cause I'm singing from a locked entrance
How I don't want my life to reflect
The empty building on the corner
And I can't say I love you like myself
When I insulate my life so well
And I never knew my neighbors
No, I never knew my neighbors

May my life be marked
By joy on the corner."

Directed and edited by Austin Sauerbrei

Savory South Nashville: Gojo Ethiopian Restaurant

2011-05-10T09:28:00.002-05:00

Located on Thompson Lane (next to Twin Kegs), this little yellow and orange box of a restaurant is easy to miss, despite the bright colors. It's one of those places that I've been wanting to try for a while, but I keep forgetting about. Like whenever we decide it's a dining-out kind of evening, 'Ethiopian' just doesn't sit at the top of the brain, you know? "I could really go for some Ethiopian" doesn't seem to roll off the tongue the way "I could really go for some Mexican" does. But then the next day I'll drive by the place and be like, "Dammit! I forgot again!" ...and the cycle continues.

I'm glad I finally remembered to try it last weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be able to tell you a single thing that we ordered because the names of the dishes were so foreign to me. I can tell you it was finger-licking good though.

Literally. They don't provide you with silverware. See the bread on the left side? You take that, unroll it, tear off a piece and then scoop up whatever buttery, gloopy pile of goodness you find on your plate and stuff your face.

Ok, I'll try to be a little more specific.

In the middle you've got seasoned ground beef (Jason ordered it rare, which turned out not to be as scary as we'd anticipated) and the yellow stuff next to that is goat cheese. Then starting from the left we've got some fresh green beans, then brown mushy beans, then cabbage, then more brown mushy beans, then yellow mushy beans, and finally at the bottom some kind of greens (and I wonder how I'm not yet paid to be a food critic?). My lack of food knowledge aside, I will say that every dish on that plate had a distinct flavor, was well-seasoned and tasted fresh. My favorite was the yellow mushy beans (cooked with lots of butter). We cleaned the plate.

So even though the building itself is somewhat forgettable, and I'm not savvy enough to write down the names of the dishes I order, the Gojo dining experience was very memorable and very delicious and I am glad for that.

Update: Brendan offers some really great tips in the comments:

Two tips:

1. We asked about beer, and they sent us next door to pick some up at the Twin Kegs bar, which i totally appreciated. So we brought some bottled beer back in and had it w/our meal

2. Order the coffee after--there's apparently some type of Ethiopian tradition where they roast fresh green coffee beans, then bring them out for everyone to smell the smoking beans before grinding them. Then they bring out some good, strong coffee

Community Center Update

2011-05-09T09:05:00.000-05:00

Hey, I spent a good amount of time exploring South Nashville this weekend and I'm pretty excited about sharing it with you. So I'll have several (non-Browns Creek related!) in-depth posts this week, I just haven't written them yet.

For now, how about an update on the SNAP community building renovation? We have a garage door!

It's for looks, not for parking.

And windows!!

And if you've done any amount of driving around We-Ho lately you've likely noticed some awful crosswalk-shaped holes in the street at some of the busier intersections. These will be the home of some new fancy brick-like crosswalks.

For more SNAP-related news, pictures and updates, go check out the new SNAP Facebook page.

Vintage Nashville: Dam-mit

2011-05-06T08:59:00.000-05:00

There was no date on either of these, and neither are in South Nashville, but with all the talk of blowing up levees this week, I thought they were too neat not to share. I found both at the TN State Library and Archives, and have pasted the descriptions below them.

Cumberland River Lock and Dam "A." Initial blast for the demolition of Lock and Dam 'A' prior to the filling of the Cheatham Reservoir.

Cumberland River Lock and Dam No. 6, "Demolition of the Lock and Dam No. 6, rendered obsolete with the filling of the Old Hickory Reservoir."

Happy weekend!

Meet Me By the Water...

2011-05-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

Yours Truly @ Cumberland Mtn. State Park.

Sorry for all the tree-hugging preachy posts this week. But I warned you on Monday this one was coming.

We recently made a weekend trip over to the Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville, TN and stayed a night at the Mill House Lodge with some friends. Our afternoon and evening was spent sitting by the water, carrying on lighthearted conversations, playing board games, and enjoying adult beverages with the sound of a nearby waterfall adding to the ambiance.

The following morning I spent a few minutes alone dangling my feet in the water and started day-dreaming about when I'd be able to do the same at Browns Creek. Not the weekend slumber party part, but the feet-dangling, conversation-having, playing with friends part.

Fast forward to our creek clean-up last weekend. When we were all done and several of us were sitting on the little bridge looking out at what we'd just accomplished, I realized that we were already doing it.

You see, we actually had a lot of fun playing at the creek that day. The feet-dangling, the conversations, the carrying on with friends (old and new) were already happening. Sure, a green-way and a picnic spot and a park would be A-mazing. But we don't need them to enjoy a beautiful day by the water.

Sure, the TSMP will be restoring a part of the creek hopefully sometime in the future, and part of the fairgrounds will become a park. But I'd be lying if I said I weren't growing a little weary of the politics surrounding the whole thing. It's incredibly unfortunate how long the process is taking for something that pretty much everyone agrees (and several studies have shown) needs to happen.

In the meantime, I would like to invite you to enjoy Browns Creek (or Seven Mile Creek, or Mill Creek, or whatever neglected urban stream is in your neighborhood) as it is now. Because restoration / park / green-way or not, it's still pretty great. And frankly, I would wager that the powers that be would be more willing to take action, and may have an easier time doing so, if we could show them the desire for improved green space in South Nashville. I recommend the spot behind the trees at Nolensville Pike and Moore Ave for hanging out / reflecting / wading (if you dare).

The resource is there, we should use it.

*The title is a reference to this Rachael Yamagata song, in case you were wondering

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-05-04T09:21:00.000-05:00

It's all about Edgehill this week!

Yesterday Belmont hosted the grand opening of Rose Park, the renovated sports complex located behind the Easley Center on Edgehill Avenue.

The new facility promotes collaborations between the Easley Center, the Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation facility located in the park; Carter Lawrence Elementary School; Rose Park Middle School; local neighborhood organizations; and nearby Belmont University.

I wasn't able to attend, but I look forward to checking it out in the coming days. Click here to read more.

I'm most excited about this news though:

By this summer, Lee’s Hair and Dollar on 12th Avenue South will be transformed into a neighborhood market that offers fresh fruits, dairy and other healthy food options. The corner store will be renamed Edgehill Grocery, and the new food options should be offered by late May, said new owner Kyle Nosal.

This is able to happen with grant money from a charity and the Health Department to provide healthy food options to one of Nashville's several "food deserts". This is badly needed and very, very good news. Since I travel Edgehill to get to and from work, I will absolutely be supporting this new store with my dollars. See the news story for more info.

Nice Deck. And a Quick PSA.

2011-05-03T09:30:00.001-05:00

Quick preachy post today. While much of Nashville is aware of the 1 year anniversary of Middle Tennessee's historic and devastating flood, not many are aware that our neighbors in West Tennessee are experiencing something similar right now. Because much like last year, the media seems to be a bit occupied by other news right now.

Nashvillians know what it feels like to be neglected by the media in our time of crisis. All this to say, I hope that you at least try to stay aware of what is going on over there. If you use Twitter, search for the hashtags #memflood and #tnflood for updates. Use Google. Unfortunately this news isn't being delivered to us so we'll have to seek it out.

On a lighter (?) note, I was scrolling through my friend Laura's flood pictures (taken from Wingrove and Nolensville) the other day and something caught my eye on this one:

See there? On the left side of the picture?

It's the big piece of deck that we removed from Browns Creek on Saturday.

And it looks like he has a brother.

This means one of them may still be floating around somewhere.

I have a message for the other half...

We've got your brother, you big ol' deck. We'll find you. Even if it takes us another year. We ain't sceered.

Browns Creek Clean-up Recap: Lots of Pics

2011-05-02T08:58:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday morning turned out to be a perfect day for a creek clean-up. We had about a dozen people from all over South Nashville show up to either wade in the water or brave the poison ivy on the banks of Browns Creek. In just a couple of hours, we had managed to pull out dozens of Coke crates, car parts, recliners, carpet, a large piece of someone's porch and LOTS of random trash. Here are some pictures of volunteers in action (click to enlarge):

The fruits of our efforts:

Here's one of the whole crew (minus a couple):

So that's the run-down. I'll finish this post with a photo of the finished product and by saying that I have a much more insightful post stewing for later this week because this view of Browns Creek makes me a bit emotional and I have to talk about it.

Vintage Nashville: 1998 Tornado

2011-04-29T09:18:00.000-05:00

This seemed like an appropriate video to wrap up the week. In 1998 I was an oblivious 15-year-old who lived in the Georgia suburbs, so I had no idea. But when I moved to Nashville in 2001, the stories from this storm still lingered, and I remember hearing personal recounts of people having to take cover. If you have a story from this storm (or any others for that matter), feel free to share it in the comments!

Also, I gotta say I get a kick out of the Ron Howes cameo at the beginning, seeing as how I ended up marrying his son and all. :)

This week's storm did take a bit of a personal turn for me. Family friends in the rural town of Brooks, GA lost their home as everything around them crumbled from the wind other than the pantry closet they and their two small children were standing in.

Nashvillest has a rundown of how you can help our neighbors in Alabama and East Tennessee.

Guest Post: Memories From the Old Guy - Walking back from town

2011-04-28T09:11:00.000-05:00

What a week! I thought we could use a little break from reality to reminisce with a little story-telling from the Old Guy. He's been on hiatus for several weeks so I was thrilled to find a few new stories in my inbox. For you newcomers, the Old Guy has lived in Wedgewood-Houston for nearly 60 years and has been generous to share many of his memories with us. You can check out more of his stories by clicking here.

We old timers will tell you that from its founding right up to the early 70s the hub of the city of Nashville was its downtown shopping district. There were a few local shopping areas but to really “shop” everyone went downtown. At that time one would catch the bus and for 20 or 25 cents you could get there, and downtown was where everything was. One would wear their “good clothes”. The ladies wore their dresses and gloves, and all the stores were there: WT Grants, Cain Sloan’s, Caster Knott’s, Harvey’s, the National Shirt Shop, SH Kress. There were movie theaters, the Paramount, the Tennessee, and the Lowes. Not to mention the restaurants. One could go in the morning and stay all day.

And then, to save money, because we lived in this neighborhood we could walk back home.

As a kid it seemed such a long way from downtown back to Pillow St, but as I grew older I enjoyed the sense of independence it gave me. The absolute worse part of the whole thing though was the walk past the Old City Cemetery. When I was young the city was more sparing with streetlights (I think there was one, maybe two for the entire length of the cemetery) and it seemed so dark and spooky.

By that time “Bailey’s Esso” at the corner of 4^th and Bass St. would be closed and as I approached that corner I was already steeling up my resolve. I would casually pick up my pace as I crossed Bass St. and begin singing Christian hymns under my breath. I would walk nearly out at the street and try never to look at the cemetery, in case anything was there. By the time I reached the streetlight I was very casually nearing a run, I would slow down and start back up again until I crossed Chestnut.

But thinking back, those were good times. It would be refreshing in this day and time for the worst fear on your mind to be walking past a cemetery in the dark.

Side note: Jason and I have walked home from downtown once, I think it was after some 4th of July fireworks. There are plenty of streetlights now, and there was lots of traffic that night. It's not something I would venture alone, but it's totally do-able, in case you were wondering.

Lord Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise...

2011-04-26T09:19:00.002-05:00

This weekend marks one year since that awesome flood.

It will also be the third year in a row that SNAP has hosted a clean-up of a portion of Browns Creek.

This time we'll be scouring for trash in the section that runs behind ye olde trailer park

(Since the trailer park no longer exists, I'm thinking it's time for a new name for this area).

It's arguably the part of the creek that is largely responsible for this:

Here's what it looks like back there, in case you were wondering:

Pretty right?

But lots of junk that doesn't belong.

Including all of these Coca-Cola crates that washed down from the warehouse on Craighead:

Anyone is welcome to join us on Saturday morning.

We'll be out there from 9am-11am and will meet at 8:45am at Fall-Hamilton Elementary for those who would like to carpool over.

And because I would never pass up a perfect occasion to play Ray Lamontagne,

I think that this is highly appropriate today:

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My...

2011-04-25T08:59:00.001-05:00

...Rain Garden!

I came home from work on Thursday to find a little garden planted in my front yard.

It doesn't look like much yet. But once it fills in, and I perhaps add a few pretty garden rocks, it will look somewhat similar to this one:

Of course, a HUGE thank you to the Cumberland River Compact and Impact Nashville for organizing the effort to get dozens of residential rain gardens planted in the area. Click here to read about why this happened and about what important purpose a rain garden serves.

Vintage South Nashville: Protestant Orphanage

2011-04-22T09:57:00.000-05:00

Today's Vintage South Nashville was found thanks to this 2002 article from the Tennessean. According to the article, the orphanage was located on Bradford Avenue in Melrose.

Nashville's Protestant Orphanage in the spring of 1945 held a ''clean-up'' week as the resident girls prepared for a reception marking the facility's 100th anniversary. Window washing and yard work were among the tasks. The orphanage, on Bradford Avenue in Melrose, closed 12 years later, in 1957.

Check out the article for more info.
Happy weekend, readers!

South Nashville News Round-Up

2011-04-21T09:33:00.000-05:00

Eat Days a Week: Nashville Scene staffers are eating their way through town this week and have spotlighted several South Nashville favorites. Of course, most of us already knew these places were good, but the recognition is always nice! Among those mentioned:

Start Your Engines: In case you care about these things, and if you do care you probably already know, the Fairgrounds Speedway has been leased out to the highest bidder. The lessee also happens to run Highland Rim Speedway in Millersville and according to this article from February, has had some run-ins with the neighbors there. If his recent history is any indication of how things will be run at the fairgrounds for the next 2 years (calling neighbors of Highland Rim 'lunatics' could be a clue), well, this could get interesting.

On the contrary, click here to read the good news for those living around the track.

Exploring Browns Creek: Mystery of the Steam Boiler

2011-04-19T09:12:00.000-05:00

Deep in the forest...

Where crates from the Coca-Cola factory hang from trees like forgotten Christmas ornaments...

There is a building...

Ok, it's not that deep in the forest, it's sort of on the trail located behind our trailer park.

But it is kind of like being on the set of Lost.

Or like what I imagine The Secret Garden would look like after 100 years of neglect.

I'm sorry I don't have much of an explanation as to what this building was. I just think it's so cool. There are a few clues, so if any of you readers have any ideas, leave 'em in the comments.

We found a lot of these old bricks.

They say "P.R.M. & M Co No. 1". I found that this stands for "Parker Russell Mining & Manufacturing Company", a fire brick company out of St. Louis (Thanks, Internet!)

In the same building, but in a separate room we found this guy:

Which I later learned is an old steam boiler. This would have been used to power, I don't know, something. But the boiler plus this...

...located just to side of the building, has me speculating that the boiler was used possibly to pump water from Browns Creek into the tower. But then what? What was the purpose of it? And let's not forget the proximity to the train tracks. If anyone wants to go back with me to look for more clues let me know!

Random used tire place to the rescue

2011-04-18T09:44:00.000-05:00

I had this whole long post about Browns Creek planned out (I'll post it tomorrow probably), but my plans were thwarted by a tiny screw head I found poking out of my tire this morning. Great way to start the week. It could have been much more annoying though and that's why I just wanted to write up a quick post expressing my gratitude to USA Used Tires, on the corner of Nolensville Pike and Glenrose (next to the ever colorful, El Fandango).

Ten minutes after pulling up they had patched my tire and replaced the spare while I stood and watched. And it only set me back 10 big ones (cash only, btw).

I wanted to write this because as one who has sat for over an hour and paid 3 times as much at a certain big-name service center on Franklin Pike for the very same problem, and as one who has complained many times about the abundance of shady looking used car & used tire establishments on Nolensville Pike, I felt that I owed it to the universe, or whoever, to admit out loud how so damn convenient these places are when you need them.

Vintage South Nashville: Kayne Avenue Baptist Church

2011-04-15T09:25:00.000-05:00

From the Nashville Public Library Digital Archives

This photo was taken in 1950. The church was located on 12th Avenue South, across the street from Carter-Lawrence Elementary. The building burned down (doesn't say when) and was relocated just down the street.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Griffin Scores Again...

2011-04-13T09:29:00.000-05:00

As if I needed another reason to love Griffin Technology. Now they've gone and employed Jason. It must have been all the nice things I said about them and nothing to do with his qualifications. Just kidding!

Anyway, this is just to publicly congratulate the spouse on his new job and to say that I'm totes jealous that he gets to hang out by train tracks every day.

The view from Griffin's back door. No fair!

"If I can do it, you can do it" ...Or... "Building furniture made easy"

2011-04-12T09:17:00.001-05:00

Jason and I aren't new to working with lumber. It's not exactly an art to us like it is for some, most of what we've built is outdoor furniture and primarily made with 2 x 4's. Let's just say function was more of a priority than beauty for these projects. And we started collecting all these tools after buying this house, we might as well use them. But for the most part, Jason did the building and I did the assisting, sanding, staining.

This is what they mean by "drill, baby, drill" right?

That said, I got tired of looking at the sad empty corner next to our shed. Hating the thought of my husband rolling his eyes while I begged him to take on another project, my dainty yet stubborn ass decided it was time to go solo. So after a little encouragement and plans from Ana White, (Seriously guys and gals, if you've ever been hesitant about picking up power tools, go to her website for inspiration.) I pulled out the drill and miter saw and got to work.

3 hours later I had a near-finished potting bench:

And here it is after a coat of "Daring Daffodil." Hardcore color selection, I know.

Oh, and as the photo to the right indicates, one good thing about Jason not helping me on this project is that he finally mowed the yard.

Bonus points if you can spot the pooch.

And here it is in all of it's yellow glory:

And because I am uber proud of my creation, I have provided more gratuitous shots taken at different angles:

I think my favorite part of all this is that this project was mostly free. We already had a pile of lumber and boxes of wood screws from previous builds. The only thing I paid for was a quart of yellow paint. Still, the potting bench barely made a dent in our leftover lumber pile, so now that I've worked up my construction confidence I'm racking my brain for what I'll build next. I've had requests for a dunking booth, any other suggestions?

Exploring Browns Creek: To the Tracks!

2011-04-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

Today I am continuing the Browns Creek series by heading back behind our former beloved trailer park. Hopefully this map will give you an idea of the area we are exploring today. We started hiking at the bottom of the blue line (behind former trailer park) and traveled up just past the train tracks to the spot indicated by the 'A'.

So I'll just start at the beginning of the hike. If you're sort of familiar with the area, you'll know that Moore Avenue extends across Nolensville Pike to the East (check out map above). The bridge in the background is a continuation of Moore that crosses the creek (though I'm not sure I'd drive on it).

As we walk along the trail, and there is a trail, we find that Browns Creek certainly has a lot to offer for a curious explorer. Like the remnants of this mysterious old building.

I was so excited about this place, that I'm writing a whole separate post just for it. So you'll have to wait to see what I discovered. (hint: it's kind of awesome)

Also in this location was evidence that animal life on Browns Creek is alive and well, despite being worse for wear in some areas.

The presence of trains and train tracks in South Nashville is a hard one to avoid, and they seem especially prevalent when walking along this part of the creek. Something I have learned while exploring is that I find the trains and tracks here oddly charming, romantic even. I like being around them.

This part is a bit unsettling to me. This shot was taken just downstream from where I took a picture of the duck, which means he was headed this way. Just through the tunnel, on the other side of the train tracks...

...he would have swam right into this.

The picture isn't great. This was our stopping point for this hike. And it's sort of hard to see, but that's not just brush along the sides of the creek. It's like every piece of trash that floats down the creek settles into the brush on the banks right here.

So, I do worry a bit about the duck.

I'm Learning to Fly, But I Ain't Got Wings...

2011-04-05T09:40:00.000-05:00

...Someone was sitting in the dark without electricity listening to Tom Petty last night.

I'm taking this week off of blogging. Think of it as my Spring Break. I've got a lot going on and no time to put my heart into my posts like I'd like to. I have been out exploring though, and just for being patient with me, you get a couple of teaser shots.

I'll explain next week, I promise!!

Vintage South Nashville: Reader Submish

2011-04-01T09:24:00.001-05:00

Remember a few months ago when I asked you all to send me your old South Nashville pictures? Well, a few of you did!

This one is from Charles. It's of his grandmother's house on Martin Street. The house was built around 1957. It looks under construction in this picture, so I'm guessing it was taken around then as well.

Charles was even nice enough to send along a present day picture. If you're familiar with the neighborhood you might recognize it.

I don't care if it's a picture from the '40s, '80s or early 2000s, if it was taken in South Nashville and you'd like to share it, please send it to me by emailing southnashvillelife@gmail.com.
Happy Friday, everyone!

Update: The Old Guy offers more information in the comments: "This was actually Charles' aunt's house. In the mid 60s when they installed the city sewer system down Martin St., while they were blasting in the street, a boulder larger than your head escaped their restraints and dropped through the roof of that house. All damage was repaired by the city."

Information on dogs rescued from puppy mill: How to help

2011-03-31T09:19:00.000-05:00

It's a PSA kind of day. It was about a year and a half ago that I volunteered to shovel horse poop and fill feed buckets at the fairgrounds for the 84 neglected horses that were rescued from a farm in Cannon County.

This time the tragedy is more personal for me because the victims are dogs. 120 of them. Please watch the video on The Tennessean website.

Reader and neighbor Laura says (via Facebook):

I have been just sick over this...this is the second puppy mill bust in Tennessee in the last few months. I went by the Fairgrounds yesterday to drop off some towels and blankets (which they are in DESPERATE need of, N'ville friends, if you have any to spare!) and it is so, so sad to see all those poor babies who have never felt love from a human in their entire lives.

Here are some more ways you can help, from the Animal Rescue Corps:

Below is a list of our present needs. Your participation makes a difference in the lives of these animals.
Donations - this has been a particularly costly rescue and every penny goes toward ARC's live saving work: http://www.animalrescuecorps.org/donate/
Shelter volunteers - please contact TN State Liaison, Peg Petrelli: ppetrelli@animalrescuecorps.org
Towels & Blankets - please contact TN State Liaison, Peg Petrelli: ppetrelli@animalrescuecorps.org
Food & beverages for volunteers (especially vegetarian) - please contact Outreach Director, Karla Goodson: kgoodson@animalrecuecorps.org
Fostering/Adoption - a list of rescue groups through which to do so will be released at a later time

On behalf of the animals who cannot thank you themselves, “Thank you” for your support! It is because of Corps supporters like yourself that these innocent beings have a new chance in life.

For the animals,
Elaine Hendrix
Founding Officer, Animal Rescue Corps

If anyone has extra blankets/towels to spare, but no time to drop them off at the fairgrounds, send me an email and I will be happy to pick them up (if you live in a South Nashville neighborhood) and deliver them for you.

Savory South Nashville: Los Gordos

2011-03-29T09:42:00.000-05:00

Several questions crossed my mind as I ate my way through lunch at the newly opened Los Gordos last weekend. Questions like:

Why did they set themselves up for failure by locating themselves almost directly across the street from the ever popular La Hacienda? (in the Flatrock Cafe building) ....and....
When I asked for more of their delicious salsa, why did they bring me sour cream instead?

Truth is, the experience was a little confusing, partially due to the language barrier (unless you know Spanish, you are well off to point at the item you want on the menu), but I believe it was mostly because they are still working through some 'just opened jitters'.

I quickly got a satisfactory answer to my first question as to how they could compete with La Hacienda. Answer: apples and oranges. Or: Mexican taco vs. Honduran taco, if you will (I'll show you the difference).

First, the salsa. One of my readers has already deemed it the "best salsa in Nashville" and I would agree. You can tell when you're eating fresh salsa. This salsa is fresh, chunky and delicious. It went fast at our table, and then they brought us sour cream to replace it. I do not know why.

And then they brought us fish soup! We didn't ask for fish soup, they just set it in front of us, first thing. It was great, and I'm glad they did. But I don't know if everyone gets fish soup because our friend, who was late joining us, did not get fish soup.

And then the main course. I asked for Honduran tacos, because it was on the menu. Instead they brought me one little taco and not knowing that I didn't get what I asked for, I ate it and it was great. But apparently there was a mix up because the server brought me out another plate and said, "Sorry, Honduran tacos."

And let me tell you, there is a big difference between Mexican tacos and Honduran tacos.

Mexican taco.

Honduran tacos. AKA "flautas on freakin' steroids".

The Honduran tacos, aka "flautas on freakin' steroids", were served on a bed of slaw with a sweet red sauce and fresh pico. I found something to do with that sour cream, by the way.

So, it's not really fair to compare Los Gordos to La Hacienda. The latter will still be most South Nashvillians' favored place to sip margaritas and gnaw on giant burritos. The former (does not have margaritas, not yet anyways) is great for people wanting to try food that is much more regionally specific, as many of it's menu items had the word 'Honduran' next to them.

I can't wait to try again in a few weeks when they've hopefully worked out some kinks. And I hope they have enough of that wonderful salsa for seconds next time.

We-Ho Community Center: Progress Shot

2011-03-28T09:02:00.000-05:00

Monday already?

Blech.

To get us warmed up for the week, here are a couple of pics to update you on the SNAP building renovation. She's lookin' mighty tall.

In the latest with Metro Planning's redistricting drama, this morning they've posted "Plan B". Under this proposal, Wedgewood-Houston is back in District 17 with the fairgrounds, Berry Hill, Chestnut Hill, parts of Melrose and Woodland & Waverly. We would be welcoming much of Edgehill to our West and Sadler Village to our East.

Vintage South Nashville: 8th Avenue Fire Hall

2011-03-25T08:50:00.000-05:00

Photo from the Nashville Public Library Digital Collection

This fire hall, circa 1949, belonged to Engine Company #8 and was located at 1101 8th Avenue South. While the building is no longer standing, it is still a location of the Nashville Fire Department.

Happy, happy Friday, everyone!

Redistricting blah blahblah...

2011-03-24T09:31:00.001-05:00

Many of you may have already seen the crazy weird new district map proposed by the Metro Planning Department. If not, click here to see a side-by-side comparison with the current district map.

It's important to keep in mind that this is a first draft. As it looks right now, We-Ho would be part of a new District 14, with much of the Edgehill neighborhood, Chestnut Hill and then all of the industrial areas around Murfreesboro Pike all the way to the Cumberland.

One thing that I find interesting about this is that the proposed district line cuts right down the middle of Wedgewood Avenue, separating Wedgewood-Houston from the fairgrounds. Therefore, the neighborhood that would be most affected by redevelopment of the fairgrounds would not be in the same district as the fairgrounds.

On the political side of things, as this new District 14 is drawn, there is no incumbent council person representing the area. Sandra Moore's new district would be #22 (which, by the way, still would include the fairgrounds). So, if it stays as is, it should be interesting to see who comes out of the woodworks to run for council in District 14.

Most importantly, as I said earlier, this is just a first draft and Metro Planning is making it clear that they are listening to all comments, questions and suggestions. You can email these comments to redistrictingcomments@nashville.gov or attend one of the community meetings at Howard School. Click here to see a meeting schedule.

Exploring Browns Creek: Journey to the Cumberland

2011-03-22T09:59:00.000-05:00

It isn't quite as epic as the title makes it sound, but I am trying to make my way down the creek, checking out as many access points as I can, eventually hoping to scope out where it empties into the Cumberland.

Thus far, exploring Browns Creek has become somewhat of an adventure for the spouse and I. We drive around unknown territory (for us) shrieking, "There it is!", whenever the trickling waters begin to appear as we drive over a bridge. By our reactions, one would think we've come across some undiscovered oasis that will save the masses, like every time the dinosaurs think they've found the "Great Valley" in The Land Before Time.

In the section that runs past Hart St, directly in between "The Split" on Nolensville Pk and Lafayette St, near Trevecca, she certainly doesn't look like much of an oasis. That's where we found the biggest retaining wall to direct the creek I've seen yet, likely built to guide her along without disrupting the railroad tracks that run almost parallel.

Oh, and speaking of stormwater runoff...

This is what we found after hiking along the creek for a little bit:

3 neighborhood kids followed us down the trail because they were worried we'd find their hideout. It reminded me of several years of my childhood spent on a farm in Georgia swinging from vines and hiding from adults in the woods behind our house. Please bear with me as I indulge my memories of childhood, put on my make-believe safari hat and explore the hidden gem that is Browns Creek. The best part is that I don't have to go back to the farm to trample through the woods. This adventure comes with the added benefit of taking place in my city.

I hope you don't mind if I share it with you.

Shop South Nashville: Remix Consignment Furniture

2011-03-21T08:58:00.000-05:00

I finally drove by Remix Furniture enough times to make myself stop and ease my curiosity by taking a look around the store. Located on 8th Ave S, next to Grimey's, Remix is a goldmine of cool used furniture. The prices are decent, less than what you might anticipate at a high-end antique shop for example, and they go down the longer a piece stays at the store.

Here's how it works: A piece of furniture is priced when it comes in and labeled with the date it arrived. After 30 days, the price is lowered by 25%. Another 30 days, if it still hasn't been sold, the price is lowered another 25%.

Oh, and you can check out pictures of Remix inventory on their website.

I didn't buy anything this time around, but I am on the lookout for some bedside tables. Oh, and if anyone needs an idea on what to get me for my birthday in May, this guy caught my eye this weekend: (Priced at $195, will go down to around $150 in about a week. Red, leather, storage bench. What's not to like? Me want.)

P.S. Wedgewood-Houston residents: If you weren't able to make yesterday's meeting but are interested in a free rain garden (and volunteers to plant it for you!) in your yard, you can drop by tonight's community meeting at 6pm at Fifty Forward (174 Rains Ave)

Woodbine residents: You guys have a community meeting tonight to map out your neighborhood clean-up. Click here for details.