Derby Day

The annual neighborhood gathering known as the Dignowity Hill Pushcart Derby took place the other day. Only in San Antonio and definitely only on The Eastside! Local artist and Dignowity Hill resident, Cruz Ortiz, came up with the idea of bringing together artists and other creative minds for a day at the races on Dignowity Hill Park. This was the fourth year that the Pushcart Derby has been held and it was bigger than last year's pachanga. In case you haven't attended this great race....well....it's not exactly NASCAR but more like PUSHCAR. You see, if you want to compete in this race you have to design and build your own "pushcart, which is powered by two team members pushing the cart down the course. Oh yeah, some one has to steer. Entries are also judge on artistic and creative appearance of the pushcart with engineering pretty much kept to a minimum. My favorite entry was the Mad Cows. Nice set of horns but not very aero dynamic!
Apparently, the the team that won this year's race has also won it for the past 3 years! Might have to check what's under the hood of that cart at next year's derby, which, by the way will be held in March.


Cruz likes to say that this kind of event is "art intervention" to save the neighborhood from hungry developers and drug dealers. I haven't run into any hungry developers but I have seen some of the drug activity and the prostitution that surrounds our neighborhood. I like the notion that art can play a part in saving communities or at least that art can make us aware that we all have a part in making a community safer, better, and good. It was nice to see more folks attend the derby this year because it means that walls are beginning to come down....it's OK to come to the Eastside...the people here are good. The derby also helps build a sense of pride and hope for the residents of Dignowity Hill and the Eastside. In spite of all the challenges, it can only get better! See you in March 2009!

An Old Bridge

There's an old bridge in our neighborhood. Looking down Hays Street from Dignowity Hill one can glimpse at the trusses of iron of the old Hays Street Bridge. If you're into bridge engineering and history, the bridge is actually two different iron truss bridges linked together, a “whipple” and a “phoenix” style trusses. Records of the Phoenix Bridge Company show that the Whipple truss dates from 1881 and was reconstructed from one or more salvaged spans over the Nueces River west of San Antonio. Sometime between 1908 and 1910 the bridge was moved and reconstructed as a viaduct over the railroad tracks to allow residents of the Eastside to cross over the railroad tracks safely into downtown San Antonio. As a kid growing up in San Antonio I remember riding across the old bridge in Pop's '55 Chevy station wagon. Time and neglect took their toll on the old bridge and in 1982 the bridge was permanently barricaded and closed to vehicular traffic. In 1983 the city came up with a plan to replace the structure with another bridge, fortunately for the bridge and us, the plan fell through. In the late 1990's Nettie Hinton, a long time Dignowity Hill resident, circulated a petition to help save the old Bridge from being dismantled. The Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group has worked diligently to help save the old bridge and find funding for the project.

Today the old bridge proudly stands ready for its next life as a restored link between downtown and the Eastside. In 2001 $2.89 million federal funds were committed to rehabilitate the bridge as part of a hike and bike trail and restore the bridge as a key link to our neighborhood and downtown. In late 2007 the city and Union Pacific reached an agreement allowing the city to take control of the historic bidge. Well, here we are July 2008 and the old bridge still sits waiting, waiting and waiting for restoration to begin. What's the hold up? I'm sure there are legitimate reasons why this project hasn't moved but come on.....lets get serious. With all the hotel and condo construction going on a few blocks south of the bridge as well as increased revitalization activity in the Dignowity Hill area, I think its time that this project show some visible life. So if anyone in charge of this project should read this posting please shoot me an email or post a comment it would be nice to hear from you. I really would like be able to walk or ride my bike across the restored old bridge in my lifetime.

Our Front Porch

We live on a corner lot and because of our location we are literally at a crossroads of neighborhood life. Across street from our house is Bowden Elementary School. Kitty corner from us is the Ella Austin Community Center which has been serving Eastside neighborhoods for over 100 years. A block away is Childress Memorial Church. A plaque on the building tells us it was built in 1908 by a Baptist congregation. The current congregation provides a wonderful community anchor. From our front porch we have a wrap-around view of community life. We can sit on our front porch and see all three of these community service and gathering places. On Sunday mornings and often times during the week we can sit on our front porch and listen to the lively spirit filled worship services coming from the church. During the school year we can view and listen to the daily start of school day activity....the sounds of children talking and laughing, the school guard whistle, the school horn signaling the start of classes or recess. The community center is busy all day with their activities....there are always people and cars coming and going.











Our front porch perch gives us great front row seats to what goes on in our corner of the world. However, lest you think that sitting on our front porch is this romatic experience of a by gone era, the reality is that from our porch we also see the gritty side of life in our neighborhood. Which is not a bad thing....it's good to have a balanced view of the world. Keeps you grounded. For us, seeing the needs and challenges of this old neighborhood has produced this interesting motivation to make this place better. We have been inspired by many of the long time residents such as Nettie Hinton, Betty and Diane Green, Hector Gonzalez, Evelyn Brown and others who love and believe in this community passionately....and I do mean passionately! They are always lifting up our neighborhood to the powers that be to bring recognition and improving the quality of life. Come to one of our nieghborhood association meetings and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about!
The point of this little ramble is that if you want to change the world you need to act, you need to raise your voice, you need to get involved, you need to hang out out with people who have courage and vision. And.... it helps to have a front porch.

Changing Times

From the top of Dignowity Park looking west you can see just about all of downtown San Antonio. Our neigborhood is so close to the city that we can walk into town in less than 20 minutes. Within walking distance of our house, a downtown transformation is occurring. Streets are being fixed up, new lighting has been installed and a general clean up of the Eastside has begun to take place. All in an efort to attract more tourist to the area....which is a good thing. To the northeast of our neighborhood and less than a 10 minute drive is Ft. Sam Houston, an Army post with a long and colorful history with San Antonio. The post is undergoing a huge transformation as it readies for the arrival of close to 12,000 military and civilian staff that are being moved to Ft. Sam beginning in 2009 as part of the BRAC 2005 realignment. Since the military is not buiding any new housing for these folks many of them will be looking for affordable housing outside of the post. Our neighborhood is surrounded by ongoing change and transformation. The big question for me and my neighbors is how will our neighborhood be impacted by all of this change and impending transformation? Will newcomers to San Antonio look to Dignowity Hill as a place to live? Will it change the character of the neigborhood? Is this good or bad? Will gentrification take over and force some of our residents out? So many unanswered questions. One thing I believe is that no matter how this change will affect us we must begin to collectively take ownership of the way we think about ourselves and our neighborhood. Good or bad, image is everything and what we present to the world makes a lasting impression. For example, when my wife and I go for our walks around the neighborhood I'm dismayed by the litter and trash that we often see in the streets and in some of my neighbors yards. Before anyone thinks about moving into our neighborhood we must begin to be good stewards of what we own and where we live. Ok, I really don't to want to be preaching here but think about it this way: if we don't care enough to keep our streets and yards clean then why would anyone care enough to consider our neighborhood as a place to visit or move to and live?

Two Daughters

My wife and I have two grown daughters, Monica and Jennifer. They grew up as sisters but not in the traditional sense. You see, we're a blended family, which all that means is that our kids are from previous marriages. Both girls grew up visiting their dads and living with their moms and step dads. We somehow managed to get through the challenges that comes with visitation, step-parents and getting kids launched into the real world. They both graduated from college and have done well since then. It's easy for a father to be proud of their kids and I'm certainly no exception. Both of the girls are successful in their own right and from what I've seen so far, they have figured out that service to others is what matters. One daughter is an elementary school teacher, she's married and has blessed us with a beautiful grand daughter. The other daughter is a police officer and still looking for the right guy. I worry about both of them as most parents do but mostly I have faith in them that they will figure out whatever challenges that may come their way. For the most part, I'm in awe of them at what they've accomplished and how they touch other people's lives by their work, their independence and their dedication to making the world a better place. I often wonder how we managed to produce such good and interesting kids. My hope and wish for both of them is that they continue to grow by taking some risks, always looking to better themselves and the world around them. Be strong, have faith and be safe.

Good and Ugly Deeds

There is a gentleman that roams our neigborhood who apparenty has no home. I see him just about every day carrying a back pack with presumably with all his possesions. He walks by our house sometimes talking to himself, other times just walking with his head down, focused on whatever plans he may have for the day or night. I'm not sure where he sleeps at night, he just seems to melt away into the evening and he reappears the next day. I suspect that he has some mental issues going on because besides hearing him talk to himself, there are times when I hear him either crying or laughing out loud. According to stats collected by the city in 2007, about 17% of the homeless are severly mentally ill. San Antonio, like most major cities in the U.S., has a substantial homeless population and most of them tend to "live" in and around downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Over 2200 people in San Antonio were counted as homeless in 2007. And some of these folks wind up in our neighborhood. There are several ministries that care, feed and tend to these people in and around our neighborhood. Nothing wrong with that, all religions say we should minister to the poor and less fortunate. Even if you don't profess any religious beliefs your compassion for these folks will come through....most of the time. As I said, some of these well intentioned ministries have found their way to our neighborhood parks where every Saturday morning they feed a large group of homeless people. Which brings me to the point of this little ramble. Like most people, I have nothing against feeding the poor and homeless but if the well intentioned people that come into my neighborhood to do their good deeds would be just clean up after themselves, me and my neighbors would not get so irritated with them. You see, after each feeding session these nice folks who, by the way don't live in the community, leave their trash in the park to be pick over by dogs, cats and sometimes people. The trash sits there over the weekend not be picked up until Monday or Tuesday. Not good and not very christian either to trash some else's park and neigborhood.

Dignowity Hill, Part 2

The neighborhood has a feel of oldness, new beginnings along with some pretty rough edges. Make no mistake; this is an inner city neighborhood with some quality of life issues such as vacant houses, absentee landlords, and some interesting activity such as prostitution, drugs and the homeless…..But we are in the beginning stages of renewal.....and I think it will happen sooner than we realize.