A Go Fund Me campaign for Merritt White’s cancer treatment

Posted on Feb 01, 2024 by David Arneke

Merritt White

Many of you know Merritt White, proprietor of Re:Cycles on Spring Garden Street. He’s been a great neighbor for 20 years or more. I didn’t know until today that Merritt has been recovering from cancer surgery for several months. Last week he had some good news:

“Had my first scan last Wednesday and results given on Friday. Results came back all clear with no signs of recurrence!!! I’ll have 1 scan every year with a colonoscopy and blood work every 3 months.”

That’s wonderful news, but I hate to think what Merritt’s financial situation must be like. On top of the medical bills, he had to close the shop for a while while he recovered. A Go Fund Me campaign has raised some money for him, but I’m sure he could still use our support. Please join me in helping Merritt and his family:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-one-of-the-ogs-of-the-bike-scene

Thank you.

Posted in Bicycling, Businesses, Spring Garden Street | Tagged | Leave a comment

Groundbreaking set for the Downtown Greenway’s final mile along College Hill and Westerwood — Saturday January 29

Posted on Jan 12, 2024 by David Arneke

Flyer for January 27 groundbreaking for final mile of the greenway

A note about getting there

Parking is available near the cairns, but why not walk or ride your bike from College Hill along the final section. Enter the greenway at the corner of West McGee and Cedar streets, head toward Market Street, and it’s just three blocks to Cairn’s Course.

Posted in Downtown Greenway | Leave a comment

Holiday wreaths again brighten College Hill

Posted on Dec 19, 2023 by David Arneke

Holiday decorations on a lampost and the pergola at Walker and Mendenhall

Neighborhood volunteers have decorated College Hill lampposts and the pergola with lighted holiday wreaths again this year. The group came together at the Church of the Covenant earlier this month to make the wreaths and then put them up.

Volunteers providing materials, making the wreaths and hanging them included Melanie Bassett, Rosemarie DiGiorgio, Leah Farlow, Cheryl and Tyler Harp, David Hemm, Indica, Lynn Gagnier, Spoma Jovanovich, Clara Kelly, Tom Killian, Tim Lindeman, Arlen Nicolls, Seth Pacileo, Lyddan Pawlowski, Lewis Pitts, Dan Smith, Josh Stewart and Samantha Stewart.

Posted in Mendenhall Street, Neighbors, Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, Walker Avenue | Leave a comment

Memorializing the 1887 lynching in College Hill: Soil collection ceremony at Church of the Covenant, September 30

Posted on Sep 16, 2023 by David Arneke

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

~ Maya Angelou,
On the Pulse of Morning

An invitation to the College Hill neighborhood:

On Saturday, September 30, 2023, the Guilford County Community Remembrance Project will hold a soil collection ceremony from 10:00 a.m.-noon in the Fellowship Hall at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 501 S. Mendenhall Street, to honor the memory of Eugene Hairston, Guilford County’s only documented victim of lynching, and commemorate his brutal murder 136 years ago.

We soil collection jarscordially invite College Hill neighbors to attend this solemn ceremony.

Open to all community members, this free two-hour event will feature clerical leaders, elected officials, scholars and artists. During the ceremony, soil collected from the general site of Eugene Hairston’s lynching will be placed into large glass jars labeled with his name, county and date of death. One jar will become part of the permanent collection of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Tentative plans are to donate additional jars of soil to our local programming partners, the Greensboro History Museum and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.

The goals of this initiative are to foster healing and understanding around the legacy of racial violence and to promote empathy, reconciliation, and a shared commitment to equal justice under the law.

The Guilford County Community Remembrance Project was formed in November 2018 by a group of Guilford County residents to remember and publicly acknowledge the only documented lynching in Guilford County, that of Eugene Hairston, a 17-year old African-American man who was lynched in Greensboro in August 1887. By acknowledging the painful truth of this brutal act (a little known historical fact), and the ongoing impact of racial terror, GCCRP works to advance racial reconciliation and equal justice for all. The GCCRP operates under the auspices of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. The organization opened The National Memorial for Peace & Justice and The Legacy Museum in April 2018 in memory of the victims of lynching in America.

Registration is not required, but if you plan to attend, a response (via email) would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

The GCCRP Steering Committee
Dr. Deborah Barnes, Carole Biggers, Jacqui Graves, Terry Hammond, Dr. Rhonda Jones and Karen Skelton

Posted in Events, Presbyterian Church of the Covenant | Leave a comment

Rosemarie DiGiorgio named CHNA interim president

Posted on Aug 30, 2023 by David Arneke

Samantha Stewart has stepped down as president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, and Rosemarie DiGiorgio has been elected to succeed her as interim  president. Samantha cited her commitments with her new child and a new job.

“It has been a pleasure serving as College Hill Neighborhood Association president for the past three years,” Samantha said. “This has been a busy year for my family. In March we welcomed our son, Hugo, and in July I accepted the role of executive director at the Marion Stedman Covington Foundation, along with continuing my work as a preservation consultant.

“With all these new responsibilities, I want to ensure the CHNA continues to have a strong leadership presence. I am so grateful that my mom, Rosemarie DiGiorgio, is willing and able to take on the role before the next election. She has demonstrated her exceptional project management, communication, organizational, and leadership skills time and time again as head of the Streets Committee. I look forward to seeing all the work she accomplishes as president. I plan to continue serving College Hill as a board member under her leadership.”

Rosemarie was elected to succeed Samantha at the August meeting of the neighborhood association.

Posted in College Hill Neighborhood Association | Leave a comment

City cites College Hill’s new street signs in quarterly report

Posted on Aug 21, 2023 by David Arneke

From the City of Greensboro’s quarterly progress report on the GSO2040 Comprehensive Plan:

Posted in City Government, College Hill Neighborhood Association, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

For sale: An unusual house at an address with a forlorn history

Posted on Jul 09, 2023 by David Arneke
square, two-story brick house

919 Carr Street, now for sale for a remarkable $299,000

919 Carr Street is a real eye-catcher, a squat little brick bunker built decades after its neighbors. First-time visitors to Carr Street always ask, “How did that get there?” It’s not that the house is ugly; some people don’t care for its looks, some do. It’s just so out of place. Built in 1961, it may not be a great example of Mid-Century Modern architecture, but its almost square design, flat roof and second-floor balcony give it a distinctive look.

The house has been an Airbnb for a few months. It went up for sale last week at a wildly inflated $299,000. A sign of the times, for which you can thank the City Council, the house is priced far out of reach of anyone except short-term rental operators (the owner claims it can turn over $300,000 a year). The price comes to a staggering $277 per square foot. That’s an Irving Park price. For comparison, several of College Hill’s best preserved houses have been sold in the past two years at a maximum of $194 per square foot, including 212 S. Mendenhall Street, 213 S. Mendenhall, 303 S. Mendenhall and 915 Spring Garden.

Continue reading →

Posted in Carr Street | Leave a comment

This month at the HPC: A COA application for new fencing, a retaining wall and more at 301 N. Mendenhall Street

Posted on Jun 25, 2023 by David Arneke
two-story house on a corner with gray asbestos-shingle siding

301 S. Mendenhall Street

Update: The application was continued until the July meeting to get more detailed information.

The Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing this month on one request for a certificate of appropriateness in College Hill. The meeting will be held Wednesday June 28, 4 p.m., in the Plaza Level Conference Room of the Melvin Municipal Building.

The College Hill Neighborhood Association will discuss the application at its meeting Monday June 26, 7 p.m., to be held online (Zoom details are the right side of the page).

Continue reading →

Posted in College Hill Neighborhood Association, Historic Preservation Commission, Mendenhall Street, Odell Street | Leave a comment

Long-awaited College Hill street signage project to begin

Posted on May 31, 2023 by David Arneke

Diagram showing decorative College Hill street signsNews release from the City of Greensboro:

Post Date:05/31/2023 11:32 AM

“Refurbished decorative street name signs and sign posts will soon grace the historic College Hill neighborhood. A City contractor will be removing signs at about 30 intersections throughout College Hill to be refurbished, upgraded, and reinstalled.

“Supplemental signage to highlight College Hill Historic District will be added at 12 key intersections in the neighborhood. Decorative street lamp posts will not be removed.

“This work is expected to take about 60 days to complete and will involve the removal of all street name signs for several weeks.

Continue reading →

Posted in City Government, College Hill Neighborhood Association, Traffic | Leave a comment

This month at the HPC: Window changes and a new fence

Posted on May 27, 2023 by David Arneke

Update: Both COA applications were approved.

The Historic Preservation Commission is scheduled to meet Wednesday, May 31, at 4 p.m. The agenda will include public hearings on two applications for certificates of appropriateness for College Hill properties at 706 Spring Garden Street and 924 Carr Street. The meeting will be held in the Plaza Level Conference Room, Melvin Municipal Building, 300 W. Washington Street.

Continue reading →

Posted in Carr Street, Historic Preservation Commission, Spring Garden Street | Leave a comment