Scenes from Metro Theater Company’s Performance of Super Cowgirl & Mighty Miracle

Please join us Sunday (March 25) at 1 p.m. for another FREE performance of Metro Theater Company’s Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle at the Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group Gallery, 2700 N. 14th Street.

In the meantime, enjoy these scenes from today’s performance.

The play is great for young children and the cast are fantastic with interacting with the audience after the performance.  Thank you again to Metro Theater Company for bringing this to the community, and thank you to the Regional Arts Commission for making it possible for ONSLRG to host events such as this.

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March 24-25: Metro Theater Co. Performances of Super Cowgirl & Mighty Miracle at Old North Gallery

Please plan to join us next Saturday, March 24, or Sunday, March 25, for Metro Theater Company’s performances of Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle, a new play by award-winning playwright, Jose Cruz Gonzalez.  Both performances start at 1 p.m. and are free of charge.

Please spread the word and invite your neighbors, especially families with children.  This powerful and often humorous play is appropriate for audiences of all ages.  Click HERE for a PDF version of the flyer pictured above, which you can print and post or pass along to those you want to invite.

For information about the performances in Old North, please contact Old North St. Louis Restoration Group at 314-241-5031.  For more information about the play, contact Metro Theater Company at 314-997-6777 or visit their website at www.metrotheatercompany.org.

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Tschetters’ Home Featured in Sunday’s Post-Dispatch

Thank you to Susan and Tom Tschetter for allowing your home to be featured in Sunday’s Home section of the Post-Dispatch and for sharing your upbeat perspective on living in Old North St. Louis.  The article can be found on page H3 of the March 11, 2012, edition of the Post or click HERE to read the online version at stltoday.com/lifestyles.

In addition to showing the world that Old North is a neighborhood of historically significant homes with cool, one-of-a-kind features, the story also makes a plug for the enriching, community aspect of life in Old North.  After describing the great character and architectural details of the Tschetters’ 1879 home, reporter Amy Bertrand notes that “it’s the people of the neighborhood that mean the most to the Tschetters,” and then offers a quote from Susan: “It’s the ambience… We love it here.”

To see more photos from the Tschetters’ home, click here for the STL Today photo page, but we can also provide a few of our own from just a couple weeks ago, when Susan and Tom opened their home for the most recent of the many groups of visitors who’ve come to be impressed by their home and other developments in Old North.

On February 25, “Urban Walkers Group” came to see the revitalization in progress throughout the neighborhood, and made a stop at the Tschetters’ home along with other sites in Old North.

Friends of Old North and others who would like to see more of the fascinating homes in ONSL will get a chance on Saturday, May 19 when ONSLRG puts on the annual Old North House & Community Tour.  For more details and to purchase tickets, visit the tour page now: http://onsl.org/house-and-community-tour/.

Of course we also have opportunities to enjoy the ambience of the neighborhood as an owner of one of these historic gems, which can be rehabbed to reflect your own personality and style at a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere.  We recently received a visit from a current New Yorker who just closed on the purchase of a house in Old North.  Among her reasons for buying in Old North: “This house was an amazing value, and the mortgage rates are at historic lows; so, from a long-term investment standpoint, it makes perfect sense.”

To learn more about homebuying opportunities in Old North, visit ONSL.org’s real estate page at http://onsl.org/real-estate/.  And even if you’re not up for the rehab process or owning an old home, among the positive features of Old North is that we have new homes, as well.  Check out the website for 1319 North Market, which is one of the best deals in town for new or recently constructed homes.

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Trivia Night on April 14 for North City Farmers’ Market and 13th Street Community Garden

Join friends of the North City Farmers’ Market and Old North’s 13th Street Community Garden on Saturday, April 14th to show your support and provide these good community causes with some financial means to keep up their good work.

Because of limited space, those planning to attend the trivia night fundraiser are encouraged to RSVP for the event by calling ONSLRG at 314-241-5031 or sending an email to info@onsl.org.

Both the market and the garden are projects of OId North St. Louis Restoration Group, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.  All contributions to support the market and the garden are tax-deductible and should be made payable to Old North St. Louis Restoration Group or ONSLRG, with a note or reference in the subject line for NCFM or 13th St. Garden.

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Thank you to Pi Pizza Truck for Supporting ONSLRG!

If you get an opportunity to eat at one of the Pi Pizza Restaurants around town or if you can catch the Pi Pizza Truck during a lunch break, be sure to thank them for their support of Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group.  Today the pizza truck dedicated 50% of its sales to support the ongoing work of ONSLRG, which was more than enough reason for us to get out of the office for lunch and track down the truck at 8th and Pine in Downtown St. Louis.  As seen in the photo above, our practicum students, Michelle Wiegand, Sheila Galvez, and Becky Bitzer, joined us for the field trip to witness good corporate citizenship in action.

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Save the Date NOW: Sat., May 19th - Old North House & Community Tour and Homegrown Street Festival

Put Saturday, May 19, 2012, on your calendar now, and make plans join us that day for the Annual Old North House & Community Tour.

Once the weather starts getting nice (and we got a head-start on that a few months ago this year), all sorts of events and activities start jockeying for space on our calendars. So, now is the time to get Saturday, May 19 onto your calendar - and it’s not too early to start telling all of your friends, family, co-workers, and everyone else you know to join you for a day of celebrating all that’s good about urban neighborhoods.

Get your tickets now - either online by clicking HERE for the Tour and Street Festival Page on our ONSL.org website or by stopping by the ONSLRG office at 2700 N. 14th Street.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for businesses and organizations that want to support the ongoing revitalization of Old North and want to demonstrate their commitment to “one of the country’s very best revitalizing neighborhoods,” (as our good friend Kaid Benfield described Old North in his post on the Atlantic Cities site when Old North won EPA’s National Award for Smart Growth Achievement).  Click HERE for information about sponsorship levels and how to take advantage of that opportunity.

And volunteer opportunities are still available for all who want to help us make the day a rousing success- and get a free pass for the tour, an invite to the after-party, and other great tokens of our appreciation.  Click HERE for information about volunteer opportunities.

For any other questions, please feel free to call the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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