Give and U shall Receive

Dear Save Our Land reader:

Each year Brookside Center has a local food drive the week before Thanksgiving. Yes, I know it seems like summer just ended but the beginning of the holiday season is upon us.

Sherry Perry is offering a free taco to anyone who stops by The Ugly Broad at Denison and 39th Street with a food or cash donation today, Wednesday, November 18th.

Here is more detail I posted on my blog: http://www.gloriaferris.net/2009/11/give-and-you-shall-receive/.

Since many of you are BCCA  and BCN members, you may have already received a notice on this event from another source. If you did receive another notice, then please accept my apology, if one is needed.

A blessed  Thanksgiving season to you and yours.

Tim and Gloria Ferris

Gloria's keynote speech posted

Dear Save Our Land reader,

Our friend George Nemeth has posted his podcast of Gloria's October 9th keynote speech at the annual MetroHealth Stroke Convention. Here's what he has to say on his blog:

"G says:
Gloria shares the story of her stroke and treatment at MetroHealth. I especially love her description of art therapy. There's a wonderful Q&A at the end. If you aren't a fan of Metro and the work they do, you will be after this."

You can access the speech through a link on George's blog at  http://georgenemeth.com/post/225753720/gloria-ferris-stroke-conference-keynote-address

You can access the recorded material directly at http://www.archive.org/details/GloriaFerrisStrokeKeynote

We can't say enough about how grateful we are to have the support of our family, friends, and community during this time of repurposing, readjustment, and refocusing. And we daily continue to be amazed at the "miracles and hope" made possible by the most marvelous and valuable MetroHealth Hospital.

The speech and comments run for about an hour; Gloria's a good storyteller, and time flies when she's doing what she does best .

Thanks, everyone.

--Tim Ferris

Brown’s Tavern clarifications from our local architectural historian

Last night, we met at Brown’s tavern to review forthcoming renovation plans. Today, doing cursory research on the internet, I came across this comment from Craig Bobby.

Architectural historian takes issue with
“certain statements” about Brown’s Tavern

To the Editor: (Plain Press, July 2009) I am an architectural historian and am writing to you in regards to certain statements made in the article about Brown’s Tavern, which appeared in the April 2009 issue.

In this article, it states, “the front part of the building was built as a carriage stop tavern in 1859.” This is categorically false. The front part of the building was built in 1892.

Elsewhere in the same article, statements are made that allege the building “housed a pool hall during prohibition, a back room barber shop, and a branch of the Leisy Brewing Company.” These are all distortions of the actual facts.

The pool hall was there from the time the structure was built in 1892, as a secondary business associated with the primary business of a saloon located there.

A barbershop was located in the northernmost storefront (which has since been consolidated with the tavern space) from the 1890s onward for many years – a “backroom barbershop” would have been pointless.

A “branch” of Leisy Brewing is a misnomer; Leisy Brewing was eventually the owner of this structure, as it was a common practice of theirs to own saloons, which would only sell their beer.

A question to either the author of the article, or the buildings” owners: What is a “carriage stop tavern”, anyway? Or, what even is a “carriage stop”?

There seems to be no end to the wild nonsensical accounts of fiction being portrayed as factual history. Trying to eradicate these stories can almost be a full time job, in itself.

Craig Bobby
Lakewood, OH

petition to ban ODOT barriers

Dear Save Our Land reader--

The neighbors of Brooklyn Centre are uniting to stop the erection of unwanted barriers along I-71, barriers that not only wall off our historic, park neighborhood from the outside and also wall us in, but also cost 6-7 times what natural barriers like trees and shrubs would.

We united to tell ODOT in 2005 that we didn't want the sound barriers. We now have to do it again. Please sign the online petition, and leave your address if you are a resident of Brooklyn Centre.

You'll find the petition here:

                                                      http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/BanTheBarriers/

Here's a snippet you can send to your friends, as well:

______________________________________________________________________________

Hi,

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"Ban The ODOT Barriers in Brooklyn Centre"

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/BanTheBarriers

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes less than a minute of your time.

Thanks!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have questions or would like to see the verbiage of the petition reworked or expanded, please call me or send me an email. This is an augmentation to the handwritten petitions being circulated, and is not intended to be a substitute for them or a replacement of them.

Tim Ferris
4022 Denison Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44109

216-255-6640
taferris@gmail.com

Brooklyn Centre Loses another historic structure

Look! Al Nemeth has started a sister blog/brother blog/sibling blog to our own Denison Avenue. In the face of egregious chicanery and overwhelming duplicity, we need all the help we can get. Thanks, Al.

Brooklyn Centre Loses another historic structure

URGENT: meetings to discuss erection of sound barriers

Here is an email I sent this evening to our mailing lists:

Hello all-

Please plan on attending one or both of these meetings concerning the erection of noise barriers along I-71. Many issues to discuss--storm water run off, loss of habitat, loss of trees, air flow, potential loss of land by homeowners, soil degradation,noise pollution, air pollution.

There will be two community meetings for neighborhood residents to comment.

• The first: Wednesday, July 22nd at 6:30 p.m. at Applewood, 3518 W. 25th Street.
• The second: Thursday, July 23rd. It will be on the agenda of the BCCA meeting to be held at Brooklyn Memorial United Methodist Church, 2705 Archwood Ave., also at 6:30.

The Item to discuss: Noise Barriers along I-71 in the Brooklyn Centre Neighborhood. Here is where they would be placed.

• North side of I-71 from W. 25th Street/Pearl Road going west to Denison overpass, and
• South side of I-71 from W. 25th Street/Pearl Road going west to Fulton Road and also from Westside of Denison (other side of overpass) to the first railroad crossing overpass by the small residential section containing W. 46th and W. 47th and Denmark Avenue.

--Gloria Ferris

historic home restoration guidance from CLEVELAND Magazine

Here’s an article from CLEVELAND Magazine featuring our friend David Ellison and a listing of restoration resources, to include Antiques in the  Bank at 4125 Lorain. I’ll have to hop on over there, because I didn’t know they were still in business. Here’s an excerpt:

Once you’ve found your fixer-upper, whether it’s a 1914 bungalow such as Hobb’s Lakewood home or a sweeping Victorian manor, have an expert help you come up with a project plan. One of the biggest mistakes is rushing into a project without any plans or information, says architect David Ellison. He recommends having an expert, “someone who knows what you are getting into,” look at the property with you before you begin any project.
“Don’t just jump into hiring a contractor,” says Ellison. You need to make sure the contractor you do hire has worked with old homes before. Contractors who work primarily with new homes will often go into an old home and try to replace everything, from old-growth woodwork to slate shingles, when such features could easily be saved with a little work.
Not only does this take away from the historic integrity of a home, the process can often be more expensive and result in an inferior product. Instead of slate shingles, you might end up with asphalt. Instead of plaster walls, you might get drywall.
Bottom line? Get help with every step. Hire contractors with experience working in old homes whose work you have checked out. And don’t scrap anything unless you’re 100 percent sure it can’t be fixed. Old-home rehab is a journey, but those who love the architecture and character of old homes collectively agree that it’s a labor of love well worth it.

And here’s the whole article and the lists: Home Restoration Guide | Article Archives | Cleveland Magazine - Your guide to the best of Cleveland