Saturday, February 25, 2012

Scenes from 2012 Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper

On Monday, Feb. 20, a mix of residents and friends of Old North gathered for ONSLRG’s 2012 Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper at 2624 N. 14th Street, in the heart of Crown Square.

Among the highlights: the introduction of newly elected Board members, including (as shown in the photo above, from left to right) Doug Rasmussen (returning to the board after several years off); Tino Ochoa (currently Board President and returning for another term on the board); Linda Quinn; Nevels Nevels; and Eulonda Nevels.  Thom Fletcher chaired the nominations committee and is seen welcoming the new members.  The individuals shown above will join the following who will be continuing their service on the board:

Graham Lane, Grace Wachter, Gloria Bratkowski, Amy Corey, Dave Eisenbraun, Nico Leone, Sean Lowery, Kelly Owens, and Ben Sever.

We also acknowledged and thanked the following who have now retired from the Board:

John Burse, Kathleen Parvis, Kathryn Bentley, and Brian Krueger.

In addition to seeing a slideshow of highlights from 2011 and presentations from committee and project chairs about plans for 2012 (as shown in the photo above, in which Vela Hermann describes the Neighborhood Ownership Plan), the crowd also heard from 3rd Ward Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr., (as shown below) who attended the event for the first time now that part of Old North is in the 3rd Ward as a result of ward re-districting.

As always, one of the best parts of the evening was the chance to enjoy the flavors of home-cooked foods brought by neighbors for the pot-luck supper.

For more photos from the event, click on the following link to visit ONSLRG’s flickr site: ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Photos Set.

• POSTED IN
• Awards and honors, Crown Square, Life in ONSL, ONSL amenities, ONSL people, Public Meetings
• 0 Comments

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Valentine’s Day in Old North

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us in Old North St. Louis.

Crown Candy was hopping throughout the day, but there still is time to stop in to get a box of chocolates for your sweetheart - or for a nice dessert after your romantic dinner.

Musicians were warming up in the Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group’s gallery, which has been transformed into a fine dining establishment for Welch One Catering’s Valentine’s Dinner.  (It’s too late to get reservations for tonight, but if you’d like to arrange for a similar event here or elsewhere, be sure to get in touch with Euylan at WelchOneCatering.com - and be sure to tell him we’re looking forward to the day he opens a restaurant at Crown Square.)

And if you hurry on down to Rambles Gift Gallery & Boutique, you can still pick up a Valentine’s Day card from Maria before she closes up for the night at 6 p.m.

• POSTED IN
• 14th Street Mall, Crown Candy Kitchen, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Life in ONSL, ONSL amenities, ONSL people, Old North Gallery (formerly known as Crown Village Gallery)
• 0 Comments

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Scenes from Run for the Chocolate in Old North

More than 1,000 participants braved the sub-freezing temperatures early this morning as they made their way through the heart of Old North in the first ever “Run for the Chocolate” 5K race.

A good distance ahead of the pack, the first runner passed the halfway point at N. 14th Street and St. Louis Avenue and headed back through Crown Square around 9:13 a.m. en route to the finish line just north of Laclede’s Landing.

For many of the runners it was their first glimpse of the revitalization in progress in Old North, especially along N. 14th Street at Crown Square.  Among the participants, though, were residents of Old North, including Nicole Leone (dressed in black with red gloves in the photo above) and Nico Leone (who was a bit too fast to capture in a photo).  Also in the crowd was Crown Square commercial leasing agent Susan Sauer who as able to point out some available spaces as she passed by.  (If you missed her during the run, you still can contact her by phone at 314-571-7654 or email at ssauer@ndconsulting.com.)

Although Crown Candy Kitchen was closed during the run, participants could smell the bacon, which no doubt provided incentive for some to finish the race to get back here for a good BLT and shake.  Those calories that just got burned off have to be replenished somehow.

And even though runners couldn’t stop for chocolates while passing by Crown Candy, race volunteers were still out on the street with complimentary heart-shaped chocolates along with the more traditional cups of water.

Thank you to all of the run organizers and sponsors who brought this great event to Old North and helped show off one of our city’s coolest old neighborhoods.  Special thanks go to Mike Weiss and Jerry Bruce of Big Shark Bicycle Company and Lindsay Van Quaethem of the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis.

• POSTED IN
• 14th Street Mall, Bikes and Trails, Crown Candy Kitchen, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Life in ONSL, ONSL people, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Uncategorized
• 3 Comments

Friday, February 3, 2012

Who’s Who in Old North: the Nevels Family

Old North Saint Louis is a vibrant community with a diverse population of active and engaged residents who represent a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, life experiences, and skills.  One of the great strengths of this neighborhood is that it seems to have an extraordinarily high percentage of residents who contribute their time and talents toward improving the community, whether through their jobs or as volunteers (or both).  Today we share the story of highly respected professionals who have chosen careers that provide opportunities for them to help others and who, when they moved into the city, selected Old North as the neighborhood where they wanted to raise their daughters.

Our last “Who’s Who in Old North” post featured Joe Eisenbraun, who grew up in Old North and is now starting his own family in the neighborhood.  Now, we put our spotlight on Nevels and Eulonda Nevels and their two daughters, who moved to Old North from Richmond Heights in 2007.  Nevels is a high school math teacher at Northwest Academy of Law and is the 2011-’12 St. Louis Public Schools Teacher of the Year.  Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Eulonda is the Senior Director of Programs for the YWCA of Metro St. Louis.

The photo above was published in the St. Louis Public Schools’ newsletter, “School & Home,” along with the article about the selection of Nevels to be Teacher of the Year.   Pictured are, from left to right, Valerie Carter-Thomas, principal at Northwest Academy of Law; Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Special Administrative Board; Nevels N. Nevels; Eulonda Nevels; Nevels’s mother, Mrs. Erma Nevels; and Nevels and Eulonda’s daughters, Constance and Rachel.  To read the full article, click HERE for the Fall 2011 edition of “School & Home.”

When asked why the family chose Old North for their new home, Nevels identified “Old North’s proximity to downtown St. Louis and the historic feel to the neighborhood.”  Although their jobs keep them busy and away from the neighborhood during their work and school hours, the Nevels Family represents the character and dedication of the residents who make Old North such a great place to live.

• POSTED IN
• Awards and honors, Life in ONSL, ONSL people, Uncategorized
• 0 Comments