Lisa will be attending New York University this fall, pursuing a Master’s Degree in International Development. A significant focus of the program is examining the role that education plays in how a community grows and develops.

Good luck, Lisa!! We’re excited for you and are glad to have been a part of your journey.

Click here for a brief introduction to Summit-U’s new staff members.

When it rains, it drains. Rainwater from our roofs and gutters drains to local lakes and the Mississippi River via storm drains, picking up pollution along the way. This water is not treated before it goes to lakes and rivers.

You can Stop the Rain Drain. We are asking residents to redirect garage gutter spouts to lawn or garden areas instead of alleys, sidewalks, or driveways. We’ll do it for you for free, or you can do it yourself and get reimbursed for supply costs!

To schedule an appointment, call Elizabeth at Capitol Region Watershed District at 651-644-8888.

Learn more at stoptheraindrain.org.

Prevent runoff today. Cleaner water tomorrow.

It started with two simple questions: What is Neighborhood and Why is it important? So simple, and yet Neighborhood has so many different interpretations by so many people. To me, and many other folks, art is an important function of a community. Art can catalyze critical thinking, inspire individuals to work together, create visions,  and even heal. Art can be created to be so deeply personal that it is universal in its depth. Neighborhood Voices is our answer to these two simple questions.

Join Summit-U, Neighborhood Artists and community members as we explore, dream and support the community we all strive for! There will be food, door prizes,  painting activities and live music and performances by Walker West Jazz Ensemble, Steppingstone Theatre teen comedy group, MSMBC Praise Dancers  and many more! Please come prepared to share your wishes for your neighborhood and, of course, to have a great time!

Neighborhood Voices Flyer

Friday, August 20:

Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church
739 Selby Avenue, St Paul, MN
morningstarbaptist.org
6-8pm

Friday, August 27:

Steppingstone Theatre
55 Victoria Street North
Saint Paul, MN 55104
Get Directions
(651) 225-9265
steppingstonetheatre.org

Want to get involved? Contact Jen Elwood: jennifer@summit-u.com or call the office 651/228-1855.

See more Summit-U events at: http://summit-u.com/events/

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SUPC works together with residents and the police department to find solutions to public safety concerns. We bring your recommendations for the future of the neighborhood to city officials. We also sponsor many of your favorite community events, along with other community organizations, like the Summer of Peace block parties.

The Council’s 25-member Board oversees these activities.

Each year, we hold an election for seats on the board—either representing a Subdistrict or organization within Summit-U. Organizational representatives are elected to one-year terms; Subdistrict representatives are elected to two-year terms.

This year’s open positions:

Organizations – 5

At-large – 1

Subdistrict A – 3

Subdistrict B – 1

Subdistrict C – 2

Subdistrict D – 2

Subdistrict E – 2

Subdistrict F – 2

For a list of current board members, visit www.summit-u.com/about/board-of-directors.

Think you’re a good fit? Fill out this application and return it to the office. Then, campaign! Make sure people come to VOTE SEPTEMBER 11^TH, 11am TO 7pm, AT OUR BOOTH IN THE SELBY AVENUE JAZZ FEST!!

For more information, contact our Executive Director Irna Landrum at 651-228-1855.

Story by K. M. Wilson

After serving with the 312^th labor battalion in France, Sergeant First Class Byrd Douglas was discharged from the army on July 24, 1919 and returned to the sleepy little farming village of Lexington, Missouri to reunite with his wife Pearl (nee Mady) and their first born child Frederick (Otis).

January 10, 1920, found the little family living in the thriving city of St. Paul, Minnesota at 479 Thomas Avenue.   Perhaps Byrd was influenced by the popular song of that era- “How ya gonna keep em down on the farm after they’ve seen Par-ee?”

¹In 1927, The St. Paul Appeal Editor Wilkins proudly observed that, “the colored people of St. Paul live in one of the city’s best locations.  It is near the downtown shopping area, it is convenient to both cities, it is neither on top of a hill nor in a valley, it has streets well lined with beautiful trees, it is not near a railroad yard, nor any unpleasant manufacturing plants, it has excellent transportation, which makes it ideal for business…….”  Then he described the now vanished Rondo Street.  It is, he wrote, “a riot of warm colors, feelings and sounds with sights that would make one from the rural portions of the south feel at home and a person from Harlem or State Street at ease. Music is in abundance from Victrolas, saxophones, player pianos and hurry-up orchestras which pour out their complaints to the passing scene.  It seethes with the pulsing beauty of the lives of the people who feel intensely every emotion which stirs their being.”

By 1937, the Douglas family consisted of 10 children, including # 8, Bertha Douglas Givins.  The family was residing at 459 Rondo, where Bertha recalls her early years in lower Rondo (east of Dale).    Rondo was a close knit neighborhood where everyone knew each other.  Everyone walked to get where they were going in the community, contributing to the engagement and fraternization of the citizens as they went about their daily business.  It was a self contained community with grocery stores, an ice cream parlor, gas/service stations, a pharmacy and beauty and barber shops, drycleaners, doctors, dentists and 2-3 funeral parlors, as well as restaurants, taverns, and social clubs.

Children were well-behaved and parents watched out for their own and everyone else’s children.  If one was misbehaving they were scolded by a nearby adult and the misbehavior was communicated to the parents.  Children’s curfews were in effect in the evening.

A large park called “The Hollow” served as a skating rink in the winter and a baseball park in the summer.  It was located at the northeast corner of Kent Street and St. Anthony Avenue.  Another playground was located between Western, Virginia, Rondo and St. Anthony.

McKinley Elementary school was within a block of the Douglas residence, as was the grocery store where they shopped. McKinley School drew students from lower Rondo westerly to Mackubin Avenue and nearby Frogtown.    As a child, Bertha was not allowed to venture more than a couple of blocks away from her home.  However, since the grocery store was nearby, she would occasionally be sent there by her mother to pick up supplies.  Although they had a large family, Mrs. Douglas tried to give each of her children special time with her.  Bertha recalls that she and her next oldest sister, Pauline, enjoyed occasional Saturday movies with their mother Pearl, at the Beaux Arts Theater on nearby Selby Avenue.  Their father, Bryd, liked to sing and enjoyed teaching the children popular songs, including those of the World War One.

At the age of 14 Bertha got her first job as a baby sitter for the three children of Reverend and Mrs. Louis Irving.  She earned $25 a month.   Bertha would often pick the children up at the Ober Center, and take them to the ice cream parlor on Rondo Avenue.    Mrs. Irving was a director at the Ober Center.

The Ober Center played a large part in the lives of the youngsters growing up in the Rondo neighborhood.  Initially, it began as a boys club and eventually became coed.  There was a game room for activities such as ping pong, access to art projects and a library. Parents had access to daycare.  Bertha credits her attendance there as a very good influence on her during her teenage years.

Summer activities included day trips to Hidden Falls for powwows; and for $1.00 one could spend a week at summer camp at Snail Lake.   The cost remains the same through the present day.

All of Bertha’s 4 children and 8 grandchildren have been a part of activities at the Ober Center.

During the Rondo Days Celebration of 2007, there were 500 attendees at the Ober Center reunion.  The committee is planning another reunion during the Days of Rondo Celebration of 2010.

During the time that Bertha was growing up, there were as many as 12 functioning churches in the Rondo Community.  Pilgrim Baptist Church was established by former slave, Robert T. Hickman in 1866 and moved to its present location on 732 W. Central Ave in 1928.  St. Peter Claver which was formerly located at Aurora and Farrington, sponsored teen dances.

By 1945 the family was residing at 342 Rondo, and Bertha entered Mechanic Arts High School, which involved a stroll out of the neighborhood each day to that site; just northeast of the state capital.  It was there that she discovered her passion for poetry.  While her contemporaries grumbled about the assignments to study the poems of Edgar Allen Poe and the story of Silas Marner; Bertha was secretly captivated and began writing her own collection of poetry and short stories.

The hangout spot for teens at the time was the White Castle on University.  It was located on the NE corner of University and Lexington Avenues, where the Kentucky Fried Chicken stands in present time.  Bertha states she felt it was a hangout spot for all Minnesotans.  Everybody met up there.

The decade between 1950 through 1960 brought many changes into Bertha’s life.  Her father, Byrd, passed away just as she was beginning her senior year of high school.  Bertha married Robert Givins in 1951 and gave birth to her first child in 1952. By 1960 the family consisted of 2 boys and 2 girls.  They were now at home at 479 Central Avenue, where Bertha’s mother Pearl joined them.

After the birth of her children, Bertha set out to discover what it was that she wanted to do as a career.  She tried nursing home work, considered and immediately rejected factory work and while she was working at The Emporium in downtown St. Paul, she got a letter inviting her to participate in testing for career training opportunities.

It had been a standing joke between Bertha and her sister that Bertha should become a lab technician because all the technicians her sister had met were tall and skinny, so Bertha would fit right in. That’s how the decision was made and Bertha enrolled at the Minnesota Medical Institute.  She received her diploma on December 17, 1966. Bertha served her internship at Bethesda Hospital on Capital Boulevard, St Paul, and then began working in their pathology lab.  The next year she began employment in the microbiology lab at Ecolab where she remained until she retired after 29 years.

However, Bertha did not really retire.  Instead she opened the next chapter of her life, which was her career in community service.

In 1996, while attending a workshop at Frogtown Center, Bertha met up with an old neighbor, Melvin Giles.  Melvin was the director at Frogtown Center, which was a division of Catholic Charities.  He asked Bertha to become a volunteer at the center.

She started out by answering the phone, and sorting clothes during phone downtime.  (The Center also distributed food and clothing).  The plan was that she would be a receptionist; but Bertha wanted to be more personally involved with helping those that were in need of their services.

She became the coordinator of furniture distribution, which involved scheduling pickups and drop-offs of donated furniture. The furniture warehouse was in downtown St. Paul.  Clients would request furniture, if they were moving into a place of their own, cases of fire, etc.  She would locate suitable items for them and schedule placement.  Eventually, her domain took up the back room of the Center. Bertha contacted the Bridging group in Minneapolis and volunteered to coordinate the furniture needs of their clients with the stock they were building up at the St Paul warehouse.  She eventually went on to offer her services to anyone in need, regardless of where they lived.

Bertha also served as an advocate for seriously committed young people to help them get jobs. She was the “catchall” for whatever came up.

One of the memorable clients Bertha came in contact with in St Paul was that of a recent Somali immigrant woman, who appeared at the Center in the middle of summer wearing insulated rubber overshoes with fur around the top.  She was an educated woman, spoke English poorly, and was in need of a job. She resided at 1274 St Anthony Avenue with her 2 daughters.  Even though there were no openings at the time, Bertha convinced management to hire this woman at the Center on a part-time basis.  At the end of the day she got on the bus with her, detouring at Payless Shoes, where Bertha bought the young lady a pair of shoes. This woman went on to become a full time teacher at Arlington Sr. High School and purchased a home.

In 2001, Bertha received the Virginia McKnight Binger Award for Community Service.

After the Frogtown Center closed in 2004, Bertha was invited to become involved with The Cultural Wellness Center in Minneapolis sponsored by the Mpls Social Service Department which involved getting women and some men off of welfare and into jobs.  Each Client was paired with a mentor of their own ethnicity and had time with them on a one to one basis.  The main mission was to find out why clients were missing their schedules at job sites and help them solve or remediate the problems.

Bertha participates with Melvin Giles in the peace pole movement. She recites her poems at the planting ceremony. Peace Poles are handcrafted monuments erected the world over as an international symbol of peace. They are four-sided and approximately eight feet tall. When “planted” in concrete in front of a school or library, they stand six feet tall. There are thousands of peace poles worldwide. They are made of fiberglass or metal with a hollow core.

Participants have the opportunity to write personal messages and thoughts of peace and harmony. These messages are encapsulated within the pole. On each side of the pole are four languages depicting the same message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth”.  Their purpose is to spread that message and to act as a constant reminder for us to visualize and pray for world peace.

Peace begins in the hearts and minds of each individual.

In 2007, Bertha became involved with The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) program which involved training at Metropolitan State University, St Paul.  The eastern campus on Mounds Boulevard was the former site of St. John’s Lutheran Hospital.  Bertha likes to say, “It was the first time I had been back there since I was born”.

She did her internship at her beloved Ober Center where she was responsible for developing the new library. She tutored ESL reading classes and read stories to the children. She agreed to stay on for a year to continue with the work she had started during her internship.

Bertha is a popular speaker relating to all things Rondo.  She is involved with the Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation and Light Rail Committee.  She remains a community activist.

She recently attended her neighborhood political caucus and is scheduled to attend the planning meeting for the community garden to be planted in her neighborhood.

Bertha has a third career as a poet.  She has been published in three anthologies, including, Today’s Greatest Poems, published by John Campbell and Edie Lou Cole.

In 1987, Bertha was invited to an award ceremony to receive a Golden Poet’s award.  In 1988 she attended an award ceremony in Las Vegas to receive her second Golden Poet’s Award.   She has received a Platinum Poet’s award as well.

In addition to the vast collection of her poetry, she has begun writing short stories about a naughty first grader named Antonio Bondalas Rodriguez who gets himself into many adventures.  She plans to publish an anthology of her short stories and poems.

¹ The Appeal                                                                                                                                                                                  From the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society

When we partnered with the food shelf last November during the Thanksgiving holiday, staff members informed us that food shelves often experience great need during the summer months. Don’t wait for the holiday season to make your donation. Just stop by the Hallie Q. Brown Food Shelf, located at 100 N. Oxford Street, between now and August 6th and mention the Summit-U drive.

We learned about a fun way to get the neighborhood involved from the Marshall Milton Block Club. At your next community event, whether it’s a neighborhood watch meeting or your National Night Out party, you can “charge” at least one food item for admission. All the collected items will make a great donation from your block club!

The link below has information about what kind of items can be collected and which items are most needed. For any other questions, please feel free to contact Lisa at our office.

Summer food drive 2010

As a part of Summit-U, District 7, and Aurora St. Anthony’s ongoing Summer of Peace activities, Jeremiah Ellis, Rena Moran, and Paul Holmgren will participate in a candidate forum at New Spirit Middle School, located at 643 Virginia Street, at 6:00 pm. The primary election will be held on Tuesday, August 10, so take this opportunity to hear from these candidates how they expect to improve and unite the community.

For more information about the forum, please contact Sam Buffington, District 7 Planning Council, at 651-789-7481.

This summer residents and community organizations are doing what they can to promote peace and unity in the community.Summit-University Planning Council, along with our partners at Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation and District 7 Planning Council are carrying forth the third annual Summer of Peace. Summer of Peace is a traveling block party, where we bring the party to you. Each Thursday this summer, we will be bringing food, fun activities, and prizes to an intersection near you.

On June 3rd, we kicked off the summer by planting a peace pole and the first seeds for a community garden at the corner of Concordia (Old Rondo Avenue) and Victoria. This past Thursday, June 24th, we celebrated with homeowners who have benefited from the Hearts and Hammers home rehab program and shared information with residents about how to apply. Click here to see where we’ll be during the month of July.

The PASPider is a mobile art center that seeks to foster curiosity, imagination and appreciation of public art by engaging the community in creative interactive workshops. The PASPider will appear throughout the summer in Western Sculpture Park, crawling in on select Tuesdays and Saturdays from June 12th to August 21st. The Public Art Saint Paul Summer of Art will kick off on June 12th, from 1-4pm.

Hearts & Hammers is working directly with the City of Saint Paul the Summit-University Planning Council to help identify homeowner candidates for this program. Qualifying applicants must own and occupy a home located within the Community Investment Campus that requires extensive painting; must be physically and/or financially unable to maintain the home; and must meet specific income guidelines set forth by Hearts & Hammers.

The application deadline for this program is June 28, 2010. Hearts & Hammers’ next program day will take place on Saturday, September 25, 2010.

For more information or a homeowner application, please contact:

Mike Hutson, Hearts and Hammers at 952-922-2451

Irna Landrum, SUPC at 651-228-1855

About Hearts & Hammers-Twin Cities

Hearts & Hammers – Twin Cities, Inc. is a private nonprofit organization that provides exterior painting and home improvement assistance for senior and physically-disabled homeowners. Assistance is provided at no cost to homeowners and is completed during Program Day events in May and September. Hearts & Hammers enables deserving Twin Cities’ homeowners to continue living independently in homes that are weatherproof, safe, and secure.