Cultural Exchange Rotarian Style

I'm a Rotarian.  Not too many folks know that. Rotary International is a world wide organization of service oriented individuals.  Being a Rotarian means above all sharing time, talents, and vocational experiences for the good of the community. There is no secret handshake or mysterious rituals only the 4 Way Test which asks 4 basic questions: Of the Things we Think, Say or Do: 1) Is it the Truth?, 2) Is It Fair to All Concerned?, 3) Will it Build Goodwill and Better Friendships? and 4) Will it be Beneficial to All Concerned?  Our club has an unofficial 5th question: Is it Fun?...so that gives you an idea of the mindset of own group of Rotarians.

One of the many interesting functions that we participate in as Rotarians is something called the Group Study Exchange (GSE) where visiting Rotarians from around the world can spend up to 4 weeks visiting other countries in a cultural and vocational exchange experience.

This past week our club hosted a group of folks, 3 men and 2 women, from India as part of the GSE experience. My wife and I hosted the 2 ladies. They stayed at our guest house and got to experience a little of Dignowity Hill.

It was a whirlwind event as the team did some sight seeing, visited with other Rotarians in SA and did some Fiesta time as well.  For Barb and I it was a unique experience to get to meet and know Kohlia and Nevedita and exchange ideas of our cultures, work and lifestyles. Kohila is a history teacher was very interested in our educational system. We spent time with her as she visited and toured Bowden Elementary School in Dignowity for a couple of hours. Nevi is a psychologist and was interested in learning about the delivery of mental health services.

The team left San Antonio this afternoon and moved on to San Marcos where they will continue their visit in Texas. Their time with us was way too short to really get to know them but we are richer for having them come into our lives even for a micro span of time.

Kohila and Nevi

Kohila, Barb and Nevi

Fellow Rotarian Kyle Contreras with our guests and Barb

Rotarian Byron Miller with our Indian guests, Murall, Muthu and Madhavan

Rotarians enjoying Brunch at Caroline's House

Presentation by our Indian Guests

 

Fiesta from Dignowity

This past week San Antonio celebrated Fiesta Week, our annual homage to party, food, drink and general indulgence. There's a carnival, parades, a party called NIOSA(Night in Old San Antonio) and all sorts of debauchery. Officially, Fiesta commemorates the defeat of Santa Anna's Mexican army at the battle of San Jacinto but that historic fact is generally lost as most San Antonians concentrate on the fun, food, and drinking part of Fiesta.

We're not big Fiesta goers. We tend to steer away from the big crowds associated with Fiesta. Having been born and raised in SA I've been to enough Fiesta events over the years to get it.  The events I make an except to my rule of avoiding crowds are the parades....not the River parade but the day and the night parades. We usually try to make it to at least one of the Fiesta parades and since we moved to Dignowity 5 years ago we've developed our own approach to watching the parades, actually we sort of become part of the parades.

Three years ago we decided that instead of sitting down to watch the parades we would get to the parade route early to walk up the route to the staging area where the parades begin. This is easy enough for us because the parade route is literally 7 blocks from our front porch so we save the headache of trying to find parking by taking a stroll down the hill from our house.

This year we got to the parade route shortly after the vanguard of the parade had started down Broadway but no matter we were able to wind our way along the sidewalks toward the staging area on Grayson Street. The staging area is near the Pearl complex and it is literally located underneath the overpasses of US 28. This creates a great collection point of sound and organized chaos as the bands warm up, the floats are lined up, people milling around and you get to see all the local politicians, Fiesta Royalty and assorted characters.  The highlight of this year's venture into Fiesta land was almost getting arrested by one of SA's finest for being being in the wrong place at the right time.  Actually, I don't think he was going to arrest us but the cop certainly got annoyed with us!

In end we covered over 3 miles of walking along the parade route, we met some really cool folks and enjoyed our little piece Fiesta!

Scenes from our stroll along the Battle of Flowers Parade route and staging area:

Sad Night in Dignowity Hill

Childress Memorial Church of God in Christ

Stained Glass Windows

Church was built in 1908

Rows of Windows on Pine Street side.

Windows on Bell Tower

After the Fire

What remains of the Bell Tower

 It was a sad night in Dignowity the night that Childress Memorial Church burned to a rubble.  It left a congregation homeless and our neighborhood stunned at how quickly this beautiful structure went up in flames. The historic church building was built in 1908 by a Baptist congregation that then sold the property to Childress in 1964.  The church building was a landmark in the neighborhood and the congregation provides a strong presence of stability. This is the second time in the history of this congregation that a fire has displaced them. It was because of a fire that destroyed their previous home church in the early 60's that led the congregation to Dignowity Hill.  Now their beloved building is gone and the congregation will begin determining what to do next.

My hope is that the congregation decides to stay in Dignowity Hill. Besides the fact that I loved the old church building it was the graciousness of the congregation with neighborhood that touched me the most and it is for them that I share in their loss.  Buildings can be replaced.  Replacing a spirit filled community such as Childress is another matter. 

Pushcart Derby Rolls Again!

The 8th Annual Pushcart Derby was held this past weekend. What a blast! The derby which was founded by local artist Cruz Ortiz as a performance art event has morphed into a community based event that brings the Dignowity Hill community together for a day of rogue silliness and competitive pushcart racing! This year's derby was a great success thanks to the efforts of Rina Moreno, derby manager and queen and her co conspirator Mike Belardi who together put on one of the best derby's yet!

Team Calypso

Hmmmmm!

This is serious!

Janet Grojean from Tx Public Radio

The winning team: The Highland Park Fliers

The Little Luchaderos

Safety Check

What the ....

Rina and Mike deserve all the credit for making this happen.  Over the last 8 years the derby has evolved into a great community event that typifies what Dignowity Hill is all about! We hope that this will continue for many years to come!!

Lockwood Park Is Moving on Up!

The rock seating installation in Lockwood Park is moving along nicely. Workers have been working feverishly for the last couple weeks and we're starting see visible progress! Once completed the are will be transformed into a nice gathering space with a great view of downtown!
The project was the award winning submission of the Lighter Quicker Cheaper neighborhood revitalization contest sponsored by Texas Public Radio (TPR). The idea for the concept came from a Dignowity Hill resident who thought it would be cool to improve the seating in one of the parks to view the downtown fireworks displays. Working with neighborhood residents, the city's Parks and Recreation department and TPR the final concept for the seating was decided upon in September.  The project will be completed by the time the annual Pushcart Derby rolls around on Oct 27, 2012 when the seating will be dedicated and celebrated!

The G-Word

My neighbor and friend Bekah McNeel recently published a couple of articles about Dignowity Hill and the g-word....gentrification.  Bekah writes for the Rivard Report, an on line blog dedicated to urban renaissance, neighborhoods and politics in and around San Antonio.  Bekah and her husband Lewis are recent newcomers to the neighborhood. They bring a fresh set of eyes and energy to our old neighborhood. In many ways they represent the young professionals that are attracted to an urban core neighborhood like Dignowity. Their enthusiasm is helping drive the current renewal of Dignowity.

View of downtown from Lockwood Park

Three years ago I was asked by a local media reporter if I thought gentrification would eventually take hold in Dignowity. At the time the neighborhood was just starting to get noticed by the city, the  real estate community and urban pioneers looking for the next cool neighborhood. I remember responding that Dignowity was far from any gentrification trendiness as I thought of the infrastructure improvements that were and still are badly needed. Three years later the g- word has surfaced again, most recently with the approval of the micro brewery project that will be built next to the Hays Street Bridge.


As Bekah points out in her articles, gentrification is typically defined by the movement of higher socio-economic group into a less affluent neighborhood resulting in significant changes in the local culture. While it's hard to measure the actual effects of gentrification there is some evidence that property values tend to increase, rents also tend to increase and some displacement of people takes place as rents go up as a result of gentrification. In the five years that we have lived in Dignowity we have certainly seen a small but key movement of professionals, creative types and city government workers into the neighborhood who want to live closer to the downtown action but do not want to live or can afford downtown condos.

Historic District

Bekah interviewed several long time residents for her articles and what I found enlightening was the notion that these folks had about gentrification of the neighborhood.  They called the current renewal of Dignowity "re-gentrification".  All neighborhoods have memories and for current long time residents there was a time in the recent past, perhaps 40 or 50 years ago, when the neighborhood was vibrant, thriving and perhaps even middle class.  Go back to the 1870's through the early 1900's and Dignowity was considered an "exclusive" neighborhood of upper incomes with it's own water system and home to well known names in business and professions. Over time the neighborhood changed as a result of being boxed in by the coming of the railroad and industry. Sometime in the 1960's the neighborhood began a slow decline as folks started to flee the inner city, benign neglect from the city in keeping infrastructure maintained and the construction of Highway 281which literally cut off the Eastside and Dignowity Hill from downtown.

Community Involvement

So here we are in 2012 and another cycle of renewal is taking place in Dignowity. What I'm most impressed with my long time residents neighbors is that they see change as inevitable and a natural progression towards a positive outcome. They are not threaten by the recent newcomers who perhaps have a different view of the world. The message from these folks is to get involved in community issues and activities.  I like the fact that people like Bekah and others are being thoughtful about the changes that we're wanting to see while being respectful of the culture and history of the neighborhood. So I'm encouraged that the blending of newcomer ideas and long time resident sensibilities will result in a much improved neighborhood but where the notion of community will continue to be the reason why we live here.

You can find Bekah's postings on the Rivard Report at: http://www.therivardreport.com/