High Street Neighborhood News

by Adelle Foley

Tutor at Melrose Branch

When the longstanding PASS homework program was discontinued at the end of the last school year, we’d heard that another program would be announced this fall. Beginning mid-September, tutoring will be available at the Melrose Branch on Monday afternoons from 3:30 to 6 p.m. The focus has shifted from elementary and middle school to teenagers and the new centrally administered service will be staffed by a tutor supported by volunteers.

Successful Party Partnership

Prayer Tower Church on 47th Ave. joined forces with Melrose-High Hopes NCPC to turn the street in front of Horace Mann School into a neighborhood block party focused on youth. Children of all ages sported fire hats and admired the fire truck from nearby Station 18 at 50th and Bancroft.

Isaiah Hickman proudly turned the little solar panel to the sky, and the blades of his fan, created at the Discovery Center table, began to turn. Nearby, the Madagascar hissing cockroach amazed the crowd. Josh Singer repaired bikes and explained safety rules. Melrose Library Assistant Vic Vickers presided over the book-exchange table. Prayer Tower, High Street Presbyterian Church and a Nation of Islam mosque set up informational booths.

NCPC-chair Preston Turner took the stage as MC and welcomed a wide variety of performers, including the Prince and Princess High Steppers, the young Praise Dancers, musicians and poets. The crowd was enthusiastic about the sausage (donated by Saags and grilled by the Prayer Tower crew), cookies, and ice cream. Children lined up for a ride on the horse led by Paris Cartier of the Bay Area Cowboys and Cowgirls. Some of the kids were nervous at first, but most were thrilled by the end of the ride.

Labor Day Morning

A friend who moved away and came back to visit observed that our neighborhood looks fine when you drive through. But to really appreciate, it you have to walk. I thought of his comment on Labor Day morning as I distributed flyers on a couple of blocks that I don’t see very often. Only a single cigarette butt and a plastic water bottle marred the litter-free street. The details caught my eye: a slate-grey stone walk; two niches with Asian lions beside the doorway at another house. A friendly couple had painted a delicate pattern high on their entryway wall.

I noticed a number of houses for sale, and then I saw the foreclosure sign. The house was well-kept and clearly empty. Where were the former residents? It was a sad reminder of the national credit crisis. Across the street a dog howled, but he greeted me as a friend when I approached the screen door. An American flag marked the holiday. An ornate, old-fashioned sewing-machine table decorated a porch. The sound of wind chimes called my attention to a corner lot filled with tropical vegetation.

This house is for sale

But the sign says “foreclosure”

Credit crunch hits home.

Adelle Foley can be reached at jandafoley\@sbcglobal.net.