Concord Squares
Should I Paint This?
Now and Then #1
October 30, 2009
February 9, 2009
Local Pumpkins
There are two “suburban farmers” in our neighborhood, both within walking distance of our home: one on Butler Avenue (above) and another on Charlton Street (below.) The one on Charlton Street also sells tomatoes and other vegetables throughout the summer. Could West St. Paul be on the leading edge of a Twenty-First Century food plan? One in which every other block has a little patch of garden with organic vegetables? Could we have fresh free range eggs, too? There is a section of Harmon Park (by the old Wolters greenhouses) slated for “future development.” Perhaps this would make a good place for another farm.
Not all the pumpkins were grown on the property.
The Charlton Street field.
Fitness Trail Marker, Santa Fe
In the 1980′s there was a fad among parks and recreation departments to add “fitness trails” to walking paths. These trails had signs describing an exercise you were supposed to perform while taking your walk. Most also had little props like a chin-up bar or some kind of step or bench. I remember our girl scout troop made an outing to try the newly installed fitness trail in my hometown. It is rare to find these trails anymore but I have seen a number of instances where a lone sign was saved from demolition because of its relatively hidden location.
Tapes and Tapes (and Tapes)
My father had a reel-to-reel recorder that he used in the 1950s and ’60s to tape music and family milestones. Here’s a photo of his work in the basement. Some of these reels are labeled and some are not. Wilson and I have started to make digital archives of them, but we don’t have enough time to do it properly. I am not sure anybody has the time or interest to listen to them anyway. This has caused me to think more carefully about how I document my own life.
