NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSLETTER

UP THE CREEK, Florida Park's Summer Newsletter

                                                                      -Glenn Terry

 

 
     Welcome to another perfect summer in Florida Park, one of G-ville's coolest communities. A few weeks ago we greeted new neighbors with a watermelon party. All of them live on our block.

 

    Terri and Tom bought the house behind us three months ago and are busy fixing it up. They are serious sailors who spend half of the year aboard their Shannon 38 breezing around the Caribbean. This winter though, they'll probably still be creating the GNV abode. 

 

     David and Ha bought two houses west of us. They have been in Gainesville 20 years but wanted something closer to town.

     Lisa bought the charming 2-1 on the corner next to them nine months ago. Extensive renovations seem non-stop there.  Amazingly, she grew up in Coconut Grove next to the grandparents of her new neighbor, Ward.

     A home designer, "Mila", purchased the distinctive Nicholson House on the NW corner of 11th Ave and 20 Dr. over a year ago.  The re-building seems to never stop. It could go on for another year.

 

 

TOM ROCKED HERE

Our former neighbor on 11th, Barbara Arnold, has

purchased the classic, mid-century Tench House on NW 24th St.  She had us over for a tour. It was designed by Coconut Grove architect, Alfred Browning Parker, in 1967.  Benmont Tench, the keyboardist for Tom Petty's band grew up

there and it is said they recorded their first album in the living room.

 

Our home-town rock legend is now, "Dr. Tom".  Mr. Petty was awarded an honorary doctorate of music by the UF posthumously last spring.

 

BIG BOY LIVES!

 

    Our neighbor on NW 17th, Gaurav Lohiya is a  talented architect. He is employed at Walker

Architects at the site of the former Bob's Big Boy Burger Restaurant on NW 13th St. When I asked him recently, "What happened to Bob and his cheeseburger, the statue that used to be out front?", he let me know Bob was still smiling, re-located out back. Thank you, Gaurav!

???

What's with the ice cream shop on 13th and 16th Ave.?  "Sweet Dreams" moved there 15 months ago and it still doesn't have a sign out front. It's gotta be the only store that lacks one.

Maybe its really a speak easy and their ice cream flavors include moonshine and absinthe!

Our neighbors on 14 Ave., Dan and Brenda, returned from their 9-month sabbatical in Denmark. Dan confirmed that they had a terrific time. Perhaps we can make Gainesville more like Copenhagen. We can put a Little Mermaid statue by Lake Alice and turn Rattlesnake Woods into a Tivoli Gardens.

11th Avenue artist, Ward Shelley, took off for Taiwan two days ago. He will the spending a month there creating an architectural performance piece. He has promised to tell us all about it on stage at the Limestone Theater this fall. It is conveniently located in my front yard.

 

CREEK CLEAN-UP

     A couple of months ago we rallied the neighbors to

clean Rattlesnake Creek (photo below). Walking in the cool, shallow water with tall trees all around amazes. Walking a creek is one of the most wondrous things you can do in Florida Park.  

     I met with the county subcommittee that helps protect our creek green-ways two weeks ago. They have been working for years to acquire more land adjacent to our creeks.  I reminded them that some of it is for sale in Florida Park.

 

 

 

BIKE ACCIDENT

How often do you get a phone call saying, "I need some help. I got run over by a truck". I got such a call from a neighbor, two months ago.  

My friend was riding his bike on a sidewalk when an oil truck emerged from a driveway. It dragged him (underneath) down the street and fractured a few bones. He also lost a lot of skin but he's healing, recovering to the point where he's riding a bike once more. The lesson, he says, is "drivers should look both ways when entering a roadway".

UPNA

Our University Park Neighborhood Association keeps doing all kinds of good things. We are trying to have noise ordinances enforced, new parks created, and

meeting with city commissioners to come up with new ideas to resolve our city's housing problems.

 

Would you be interested in serving on our board?  I have been on it for three years now and it is a pretty interesting bunch. Contact me if you're interested, bettermiami1@yahoo.com .

 

DUMP TOUR

   

Fourteen of us had a transcendental experience at our county's dump/recycling center last April. We had a rollicking good time rolling along in the dump's "trash trolley". We went as a group but anyone can sign up for the weekly rides.

ON THE WINGS OF PIGS

We're busy trying to raise $10,000 so we can put The Flying Pig Parade on the streets of Gainesville December 30th.  We have monthly meetings and are busy applying for a number of grants. The City usually helps pay for parades but they're low on funds this year.

Our neighborhood Halloween parade is coming up on Tuesday, October 31. That costs next to nothin'! 

 

       (Below, the wonderful people who are creating our new parade).

 

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE DADS

Here's hoping you dads have a Happy Father's Day tomorrow. We are going to the Father's Day concert at Heartwood, 5-8 p.m. Mike Boulware will be introducing his new surf band, "The Green Room" and "Zee-R" a Brazilian band that plays American rock'n roll will perform as well. Free admission and free beer (well, the first one) for those who have experienced fatherhood. 

 

Happily, I qualify,

Glenn