In Shaw (the historically gentrified blog)

A few days ago I wandered into the backyard where my semi-neglected container garden sits, and noticed I had strawberries. Lots of them, from two plants. Yet, these are Alpine Strawberries, very tiny compared to what you'd find in the store. They are yummy on top of some vanilla ice cream. I got about 1 small ramekin full of the little berries.

There was another strawberry plant, from what I gathered is a volunteer seed from the compost. The one berry from that, looked like it would have been regular sized if the slugs hadn't gotten to it.

I was talking with a co-worker about strawberries and he said he had all these tiny strawberries growing in his yard. I asked him if they were Alpine Strawberries or Mock Strawberries. Mock Strawberries grow all over the place here, if you aren't looking close, you might confuse them with an Alpine. The fruits of the Mock Strawberry or Indian Mock Strawberry, are tasteless and some people may experience some adverse effects if eaten. So know your berry.

Unrelated- Congrats to Mr. McDuffie for winning the Ward 5 seat.

Big Bear is helping out local artists. A while back one of banished? productions was at the Bear. Anyway....

Banished? productions is having a happy hour at Big Bear Cafe this Wednesday, 6-9pm. Big Bear is generously donating a percentage of bar sales. 

The Help and I voted this morning. Good to get that over with.
Remember that your vote counts a lot in small elections like this one, it is not a drop in the bucket. With so many people running, people with hair, bald guys, gay republicans, independent dudes and the bunch of other people who'll be part of the party machine, just a few votes can make a tie, or bring one of the many just above the top enough to win Ward 5.

Over at the Penn Quarter Living blog they noticed about sixty some odd job openings posted on Craigslist for Penn Quarter. A majority of those jobs are in the restaurant service industry. As a patron of many of Jose Andres' spots, the few restaurants that aren't run by Jose Andres, and the odd food truck that parks in the PQ, the food business in this neighborhood is doing fairly well.

There is still a thread on the Eckington neighborhood email list along the lines of the 'we need jobs not development,' mindset. Some folks don't believe that building housing for folks who have the extra income to support neighborhood retail is a good thing. Throwing in "Bloomingdale" to the Craigslist search brings up 5 entries. One only because it mentions the store Bloomingdale, 3 are for Green Paws, and Big Bear is looking for a new chef.

It's interesting to see what comes up when you throw in different neighborhood names in the search feature for jobs on Craigslist. Georgetown needs waiters and dental assistants, Brookland needs teachers and IT people.

Chatting with Mr. Scott Roberts of Blooingdale, we were both reminded of a small series I ran called 10 days of Truxton, giving a very brief and quick history of Commodore Thomas Truxtun, who got a traffic circle, and the circle is where the neighborhood name comes from. Sort like Shaw, named for a school, named for a Civil War hero. So here is a repost of the recap.

Day 10. I've been trying to figure out at what point Tom Truxtun went from Captain Truxtun to Commodore Truxtun. Apparently some time between 1800-1801, when he took command of the President and before he quit the US Navy all together because of some ranking spat, that wasn't entirely Truxtun's fault. In 1801 the fake war with France ended and there wasn't much of a need for a wartime naval force. And it appears through some letters sent in 1802 about a meeting with the Secretary of the Navy, because he caught a cold failed to dine with the Secretary, who apparently wasn't that keen on him in the 1st place, who then failed to provide Truxtun with the requested personnel needed. It seems that Truxtun decided if he was going to get no respect he may as well quit. So he did and from 1803-1822 lived life as a gentleman living off of prize money won in earlier years. He had a farm, a couple for a while, but settled at Wood Lawn, a farm not far from Philadelphia. He served as a High Sheriff from 1816-1819. In 1822 he died, his wife a year later.

Ten Days of Truxtun:
Day 1- The Name-The Hood
Day 2- Slavery
Day 3- Commodore's background
Day 4- What I did During the American Revolution
Day 5- Continuing the Revolutionary War
Day 6- Going for broke
Day 7- In the Navy
Day 8- Not the British Navy
Day 9- Fake French War

Resources- Commodore Thomas Truxtun 1755-1822 by Eugene S. Ferguson. The free Library of Philadelphia, 1947.
Truxtun of the Constellation: The Life of Commodor Thomas Truxtun, US Navy, 1755-1822, by Eugene S. Ferguson. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.

Hopefully you've read this already. In case not:

GOOD MORNING ECKINGTON, BLOOMINGDALE and EDGEWOOD

BATES and HANOVER TOO!

THE BLOOMINGDALE FARMERS MARKET IS BACK

Hi everyone,

BFM reopens this Sunday the 13th and there is so much news! First we have New Hours. Repeat 3 times: BFM opens at 9 am now and closes at 1 pm. BFM opens at 9 am now and closes at 1 pm.....

2. We have a sweets baker again! Yay! Whisked! visited us last Fall and now they have joined us. I know you have all been yearning for brownies and cookies and Jenna makes superb ones. But she also serves both a sweet AND a savory pie or quiche every single week. In both 6 inch (perfect for two) and 9 inch versions. You are going to be so spoiled.

This week the sweet pie is a "Straight Up Rhubarb": "Maybe you didn't know this, but rhubarb is awesome. Its tart, citrus-like flavor comes into its own when sweetened with a little brown sugar and vanilla - which is exactly what we do in our rhubarb pie. We got our rhubarb from New Morning Farm, a certified organic farm in Pennsylvania. "

The savory is Asparagus-shallot cheese quiche. "This quiche is a doozy - it's full of roasted asparagus, sauteed onions, shallots, and Swiss cheese."

3. We've got a New Vegetable Producer from Purcellville, Va.: Shawna DeWitt of Mountain View -- and they are certified organic. Not only do Shawna, her husband Attila (and their two little kids) grow fabulous vegetables, but Shawna is an amazing creator of traditionally fermented krauts and kimchi and pickles.

4. We've got MUSHROOMS now. Keswick planted a mushroom field last Fall and the little myecelium are very happily producing WINECAPS, a portabella like mushroom. Come early because they will sell out quickly.

5. Keswick is knocking out one amazing cheese after another. I thought last year's pimento spread was pretty good but it has been made even better as Sara's Spicy Pimento. They have added cheddar olive spread, Onion and Dill Quark and Blue Cheese Dressing, Mel is now pairing three personal cheese plates to go with beer or wine. And making an American grating grana washed with cider called Calverly. All the old favorites are there as well: my favorite yogurt, the fiery Dragon's Breath, Cheddar, Lesher, Wallaby, Vermeer, Blue Sued Moo, Tommenator and three dfferent fetas.

6. Mama Reid (co-owner Kathy, mother of Caitlin) is coming to market with a Mother's Day offer she's never made before. Make Mother's Day extra special with a gift from our family farm from Momma Reid herself on Mother's Day, May 13! Momma Reid, aka Kathy Reid, will give a free tomato plant to each Mom who brings a picture of herself and her children - or better yet, comes to market with children of any age in tow!

7. Also NEW is that we have strawberries opening day. LOTS Of strawberries. And 2 different Strawberry treats at Dolcezza.

What else: Asparagus in green and purple, arugula, spinach, Mesclun, Spicy Salad mix, 6 varieties of kales, Chards, 4 varieties of Beets with their greens, sweet salad JHakurei Turnips, Green Garlic, radishes, Bok Choi, Tatsoi, Beet Green Kimchi, Ruby Sauerkraut, Kale/nettle/ radish fermented pickle, tender young broccoli, kohlrabi the alien vegetable, sugar snap peas, cheeses, all cuts of pastured pork, all cuts of veal and goat and bratwurst, ground turkey, eggs, baguettes, croissants, pumpernickel, whole wheat, country breads, sourdoughs, rolls, gelato and sorbet, 30 varieties of tomato starters, 9 kinds of basil, 6 different thymes, stevia, cumin, lavenders, catnip, cat grass 6 kinds of peppersl.... .jams and jellies and fruit butters. Lettuce gardens. Hanging plants and flowering plants, too.

So, BFM reopens at 9 am on Sunday and we have lots of Mother's day ideas. See you there!

Robin and Ted.

The Washington Post once again writes up a old timers vs almost voice-less newcomer narrative, with a sprinkling of accusations of racism throw in for flavor. This article is by Tim Craig, titled in the print edition, "'They don't want us'" and online is called, "Special council election comes at an anxious time for D.C.'s Ward 5," 'cause it covers the fact that there will be an election on May 15th to choose a new Ward 5 councilperson. Because of the print article's title, it seems to be that of a black vs white gentrification story, same words online, but with more photos and a different title, comes across differently, more about residents struggle with change and the choices of candidates. Both articles misspell "child." I have an excuse for my writing, I AP'd out of college English, and so my grammar lessons took place over 20 years ago. Oh, and I'm an unpaid blogger without an editor looking over my work. Also what role does the Summit, the workforce housing built in/near Eckington a couple of years ago play in this? None? It's relatively new housing, and residents complained about that too before it was built. Ah selective memory, my aunt has that problem as well.

While I was reading the article I kept wondering if anyone under 50 was interviewed and quoted. Two, a newcomer aged 35 who welcomes development and a oldtimer aged 49, who sounds like a grumpy old person.

Speaking of grumpy old people, over in central Shaw, my favorite grumpus RayM, laid down some history (it's in there among the grump) in response to an announcement of the Shaw Gentrification & Community Change Walking Tour Fundraiser. He wrote:

I see an agenda here, folks. Most of the properties fixed up and
turned into high-end granite-countered chicken coups with stainless
steel appliances around me were either long vacant (like the Shiloh
properties) or the elderly owners took the cash when the market was
geared to sellers and moved back to the Carolinas. The folks next
door unfortunately lost their home to one of those awful balloon
mortgages and the house was sold on auction. I can only imagine the
distorted tale that this tour will tell about the evil gentrifiers and
their hapless victims. Our neighborhood was never set aside to be
some South African black township or tribal homeland. Its historic
ups and downs of our neighborhood have always been ruled by market
forces and exemptions from racial covenants --unlike other parts of
the city-- and a lax city government that allowed the most sordid,
disgusting alley dwellings in the whole city that provided shelter to
the newest immigrants from mostly the Carolinas. But most of the
street properties were originally build for middle class people of
every hue, religion and culture who could afford them. It's no
different now.

I came home later, reminded why I like to come home at my usual time. I was setting out the trash when I noticed three young boys (8, 10 y.o.?) in green KIPP school tees, horsing around and for some odd reason grabbing all the take out menus stuck in gates on my street. I sort of chalked it up to boys doing stupid stuff, but watched them carefully as they made their way north. Then after one chased another, one kid dropped all the menus all over the sidewalk. And then I yelled at them and demanded that they pick them up. Unfortunately I was a distance away, but loud enough to be heard and obeyed to a point.
One kid picked them up, but I guess when I turned my back to go back into my house they dumped the fliers on the ground. Our street is fairly clean, and to keep it that way I wandered down to the end of the block where I found a bunch of menus littering the corner. I picked them up and put them and threw them in a recycle bin.
I guess the KIPP school makes their students wear the distinctive tees to id the kids as their students. So KIPP I think a lesson in not littering may be in order/

I want to thank the Bates Area Civic Association for letting me make my presentation about the history of the neighborhood. Hopefully it will inspire other presentations to our own and other neighborhoods about the history of DC neighborhoods at neighborhood meetings. A history, something other than presentations on the umpteenth variation on a development or crime.
As I may (or may not have) mentioned at the presentation I hope to put all this and (if the DC Humanities grant is awarded) the 1940 census data for our Truxton Circle neighborhood out there on TruxtonCircle.org.
There was one question I got that I don't think I could have answered as fully as I could have. I was asked why was I doing all of this. Being married to a fellow archivist, working around people in the history field and having friends whose main job is research, I've never really questioned that why. I love history. It's what I do. I think I rattled off my academic credentials, but I don't think that explained the why. It's a question I'll have to give more thought to and discuss with the Help (he spends a LOT of his free time on his favorite history topic) about this.

Maybe I should have constantly mumbled they're all guilty and need to rot in jail. But I didn't so I get to perform a civic duty called jury duty. All the cool American citizens are doin' it. So there will be lighter blogging.