By Mary Baker

If you are on your way to Easy Way to get some fruits and vegetables or a cup of coffee at Otherlands you may see three guys on Cooper Street with cans of spray paint in their hands. You might really get alarmed when you see them spraying paint on the railroad trestle and street lamp poles. As a vigilant member of the Midtown community, you may even take a chance on getting close enough to them so you can describe their appearance when you call in a report to the police.

Except now you start to recognize the faces: Rodney Nash, Ralph Mueller and Jerry Brown, all members of the new Idlewild NA Graffiti Removal Team.

Many Idlewild neighborhood residents have expressed concern about graffiti on our railroad trestles, street lamp poles and stop signs. We have discussed several times at our Idlewild neighborhood meetings about the unsightly appearance of it. After a while it can start to look like no one in the neighborhood cares. Some are also worried that the graffiti could be related to gang activity. Of course, we really do care about our neighborhood very much, and we surely want anything related to gangs stopped in its tracks.

Removing graffiti is one of many programs and activities that Idlewild NA has in the works to make our neighborhood clean, safe and beautiful for all its residents and visitors. From time to time we hold neighborhood clean-up events under the railroad trestle near Peabody Park. We clean up leaves and overgrown vines along with broken glass, plastic containers and other trash that tends to build up underneath and near the trestle. We are cultivating the planting bed around the sculpture in Peabody Park and are planning to put in roses and other flowers in the spring.

“We have a growing group of caring neighbors working to beautify our corner of the city,” said Nash, Idlewild president and graffiti team member.”So when it comes to litter, yard debris, pet waste, storm drains and graffiti, please don’t work against us. And feel free to join us. It is very satisfying and we have fun.”

So I recommend tooting your horn a little if you are driving or give a shout and thumbs up if you are walking or riding your bike and you see our graffiti team at work. You can join the team by contacting us at idlewildneighborhood@gmail.com.

Come to our Idlewild neighborhood meetings, and see how much fun we have making our neighborhood better. Idlewild NA meets the first Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m.  See you there.

By Mary Baker

Neighbors plant flowers, warm spirits in Peabody Park

I am so happy that I was one of a group of Idlewild Neighborhood Association members who gathered in Peabody Park at 9 a.m. Dec. 10. We came there on that frigid 25-degree morning to take the first step toward our vision of planting beautiful flowers surrounding the base of the sculpture in the park.

The morning started when Mike Kauffman drove up in his pickup truck to deliver the tiller we needed to begin preparing the soil in the planting bed around the sculpture. We had not met Mike before, but he is a friend of INA member Alison Powers, who arranged for the tiller to be delivered. This is the cool way that things get accomplished in neighborhoods. We try to assist each other as neighbors whenever and however we can.

Ralph Mueller and I were just arriving when Mike drove up with the tiller in the back of his truck. Almost immediately Rodney Nash, Ava Middleton, Alex Turley, Jerry Brown, Ashley Burkes and John Zelasko arrived at the park. We all brought our garden forks, trowels and shovels. I had on so many layers of clothes, I looked 10 pounds heavier than I really am. We were ready to go to work.

After a couple of hours of work we had our garden spot around the sculpture cleaned of leaves and the soil beautifully tilled. We will return in early March to plant Knockout roses. In April we will add Lantana along the edge of the bed.

Although it was 25 degrees when we came to start working on our garden in Peabody Park, I don’t remember ever being cold. I just remember the warmth of all of us neighbors horsing around while Ralph, Mike and Rodney struggled to get the two-stroke engine on the tiller started. I remember how much fun we had and how beautiful the fresh, tilled earth looked as we prepared to leave. I remember that Alex, Rodney and I stayed for a while to pick up litter in our park before heading home.

Rodney Nash, INA president, said, “The satisfaction from (accomplishments) and socializing during community projects turns work into play. I really enjoy time with my neighbors.”

When the summer season gets here and our roses and flowers are blooming, I will think back on this day. When the butterflies and bees are visiting the flowers for nectar, I will remember all the fun we had on the frigid morning of Dec. 10, 2011.

Harbert house wins first Christmas decoration award

The Idlewild Neighborhood held its first contest in December to award a prize to the person with the best Christmas decorations. Robert Novak, 2028 Harbert Ave., was named the winner.

The prize was an Idlewild Historic District plaque and the pride of being selected as winner.

There were 24 beautifully decorated homes on the list of contestants. It was a hard choice as so many of the homes in Idlewild had great displays of colorful lights, wreaths and other decorations. There are pictures of all 24 homes on the Idlewild Facebook page.

The second annual contest will begin the first week in December 2012. The winner will be selected during the week before Christmas Day.

By Mary Baker

If you want to see some cool and spooky Halloween decorations, take a drive through Idlewild neighborhood. We have Frankenstein standing in a front yard, skeletons sitting in lounge chairs, and skulls looking out the windows. We have some pretty scary looking grave yards too. One grave stone threatens, “I’m gonna getcha!” I bet the trick-or-treaters will walk quickly past that one.

Idlewild Neighborhood Association is encouraging residents to go all out with their Halloween decorations. In fact, we are holding a contest to determine who has the best Halloween display. The winner will be announced on Saturday, October 29. Here are some of the great images from our contest so far.

By Mary Baker

Idlewild neighbors came together on Saturday, September 3 to clean up the area around and under the railroad trestle on Cooper Street north of Central Avenue. Residents had discussed the need to clean up at this location at our Idlewild Neighborhood Association (INA) meeting on August 2.

Idlewild neighbors began arriving to the clean up site at 8am with rakes, brooms, shovels, and trash bags. We picked up broken glass, paper, and plastic wrappers among other debris, raked leaves, and cut weeds and vines. We put everything that was picked up in garbage bags and left them on the curb for City Sanitation.

It felt really good to stand back and look at the clean sidewalks and curbs. Afterward some neighbors went to Wiles Drug Store for a milkshake.

INA has more events and activities scheduled for the next few weeks. Our regular monthly meeting on October 4 will take place at Otherlands at 6:30pm. Come early at 6pm for meet and greet before the meeting. There will also be a Neighborhood Night Out potluck dinner on Tuesday, October 11 at 6pm on Ralph and Margo Mueller’s front porch at 2033 Cowden.

By Mary Baker
At their regular meeting on August 2, members of the Idlewild Neighborhood Association (INA) voted to make a contribution to Preservation Memphis (PM) to support the restoration of the historic Peabody Park Pavilion. Idlewild neighbors learned about the fundraising efforts of PM through an article published in the July Lamplighter. There was immediate interest and support in the neighborhood because Peabody Park is within the boundaries of Idlewild and is an important place for neighbors to meet for recreation within our community. Many of those at the meeting routinely go the park with their families.
Alex Turley and Kenny Jabbour of Preservation Memphis were invited to attend the INA meeting to make a presentation. Their presentation was about the history of the pavilion, which was built more than 100 years ago and has been the location of July 4th and other celebrations in the community. They also talked about the impressive details of the pavilion that have been covered over with many insensitive repairs and repainting jobs that did not respect the original construction.
Their presentation won great support from the Idlewild neighbors at the meeting, who passed the hat and collected $136. In addition, members voted to donate $400 from INA funds to PM. In total, Idlewild presented Preservation Memphis with $536 toward the restoration of the pavilion.
Beverly Crockett, a former president of INA, said that this project fulfills a desire that the neighborhood association has had for many years. She added that when the City of Memphis reconstructed facilities at the park, including adding the spray park, the neighborhood asked for restoration of the existing historic pavilion. The City did not restore the pavilion saying that there were not sufficient funds in their budget for park improvements.
Margo Mueller, current vice president of INA said, “I think it was important to give to the preservation of the pavilion because of the historical aspect of it. It’s nice to have something that represents the past right next to the modern playground equipment.” She thinks preserving the historic structure and restoring it to its original appearance will provide a physical link to the history of the neighborhood and the City.
Jerry Brown, an active INA member and block captain said, “In a neighborhood where we have to constantly fight for the preservation of our historical landmarks and where so many of those battles have been lost, the restoration of the Peabody Park Pavilion is critical. A well designed strategy is in place and a major part of the funds have been raised to accomplish this goal. A final push toward completion will leave us with an irreplaceable part of our neighborhood history ready to be enjoyed by generations to come. I commend the effort of those involved.”

By Mary Baker

The Idlewild Historic District Association gathered at Chimes and Occasions, 201 South Cooper, for a potluck dinner on July 5. Idlewild neighbors brought dishes that included spaghetti, fried chicken, vegetable salads, and deviled eggs. It all added up to a delicious and fun meal. Everyone was especially thrilled when Anne and Douglas Wood came in with a basket full of Ripley tomatoes.

Jerry Brown was in charge of selling raffle tickets for two raffle drawings: one for an Idlewild Historic District Plaque and one for an Idle While You Cook cookbook that features favorite recipes of Idlewild neighborhood residents. The plaque raffle drawing was all fair and square, not in any way influenced by the Ripley tomatoes. Nevertheless, everyone was pleased when Anne and Douglas Wood’s ticket was picked as the winner. Margo Mueller, Vice President of the Idlewild Association, won the cookbook.

Emily Bishop of Cooper-Young attended the potluck dinner as an invited special guest representing the LampLighter. Emily received a round of applause and an Idle While You Cook cookbook for helping Idlewild get our events, stories, and pictures in the LampLighter.