Remington Clean Up/JHU Habitat for Humanity

 The JHU freshmen got their initiation to the Remington Community when they participated in the Neighborhood Cleanup.  Particular attention was paid to the storm drains on Atkinson, Sisson, Huntingdon and 27th Streets.

The volunteers have lunch at Kromer Hall before returning to work.

 The Village Green Garden cleanup.

Several storm drains were stenciled with environmentally-friendly messages..

Remington Annual Back to School Fair

 The Annual Back to School Fair at The Church of the Guardian Angel, August 25, 2012, started drawing neighborhood parents well before its 10:00 am opening.

GRIA member, Betsy Childs (center) helped organize the event.  The Fair was open to the entire community, and many neighbors enjoyed the festivities.

Backpacks filled with pens, pencils, composition books and dictionaries were distributed to Remington children. 











Pastor Alice and volunteers sorted the bags according to gender and age.  The Greater Remington Improvement Association and The Church of the Guardian Angel partnered to ensure adequate school supplies were available for Remington children.

Johns Hopkins University volunteers participated in the Fair and distributed information regarding the University's effort in the community.

 
A young volunteer distributed the free hot dogs and drinks, while local musicians performed in front of the Church.




The Fair also included free haircuts and a nail salon so the kids could look good for the first day of school.

Everybody Suspects the One-Legged Man

I have spent the last two days combing Remington for photos to use in my upcoming publication and have gathered a lot of gossip (but no photos).  There is a mysterious one-legged man with a tear-drop tattoo on his face being blamed for a slew of robberies that are taking place in the 'hood. Most recently, the Community School was robbed of a large number of computers and peripherals, and the word is it's this guy.  Pretty agile for someone on crutches, but where there is a will, there's a way.  The North Baltimore Patch has more info.  This is very disheartening to Remingtonians who are trying so hard to sustain and develop the community.

Front Gardens of Stony Run

 Even though it is technically City property, we have the urge to remove that ugly cement and replace it with greenery.  Trees, shrubs and flowers adorn most houses in our corner of Remington.

The indestructible Black-eyed Susan usually appears in early spring and starts overflowing its allotted plot by mid-summer

I've tried for over a decade to get something to grow in front of my house.  Nothing takes because the dogwood prefers to stand alone.  This year I allowed it to have its way, and it has given birth.  I don't think I'm fooling anyone.

Sometimes the cement stays and the plants remain in pots to become decorative front railing.  Basil and rosemary are free for neighbors, but no one wants to disturb the display!

Hostas and snowball bushes are a favorite for the homes who have a tree in the front.

This is the only Japanese Maple in a front plot.  It makes a nice change from the overused dogwood. Obviously, some shrubbery must be corralled. 

Cosmos add a colorful decoration to the rather drab stucco.  Charles Litzinger developed these houses in 1916, and his trademark was stucco in the front and

brick in the back.  These were also called "light houses" as they sport 2 skylights in the middle rooms.

Everyone has at least one tomato plant growing somewhere.

The railing along the Wyman Park Drive property acts as a trellis for this morning glory.  Being so close to park, vines and weeds tend to creep into yards overnight. Saturday mornings usually resound with the Weed Wacker Concerto.

A symbol of Southern Living, the Crepe Myrtle made its way up from the Carolinas.  This beautiful shrub has gained in popularity over the decades, and can be spotted in many yards throughout Remington and Wyman Park.

The Sole Shoe

The Sole Shoe on Wyman Park Drive

How does this happen?  One shoe in the road, alley or sidewalk.  I can see baby shoes falling off when the harried parents are toting them underarm, but single adult shoes mystify me.  Do people actually lose it as they are walking along?  A case of  "my left shoe offendeth me, I shall cast it off"?

The Myth of History

Cedar Avenue (Keswick) Bridge, from the Remington Side, 1922 (EPFL)

I have spent six hours this morning defending the Remington community by posting to various Baltimore websites and blogs in defense of our community.  On every one of these sites, someone has at least once referred to Remington as an extension or satellite of Hampden.  They say the  residential development  of Remington was a result of the influx of mill workers employed in the mills of the Hampden-Woodberry area.  Oh how this myth prevails!  In 1977, Mae Mortimer, with support of the Baltimore Development Corp., and the Maryland Humanities Council, attempted to create the history of Remington.  Her efforts were eventually published in the CPHA's booklet entitled "Beyond the White Marble Steps: A Look at Baltimore Neighborhoods", 1979 and reworded for inclusion in University of Baltimore's North Baltimore Fact Book in 1989.  Poor Mae.  There was no World Wide Web in those dark ages and it was easier to get away with presenting folklore as fact.  Her words are repeated on the Live Baltimore website and about a dozen other sites and blogs.  It's time to break the cycle and present REAL research backed by FACTS not FOLKLORE.  To this end I have submitted a proposal to the Arcadia Publishing "Images of America" series offering a book about Remington.

In 2006, Mark Chalkley, published Hampden-Woodberry for this series and he simply "stepped over the bridge."  In fact, several bridges.  Many of the photos included in his book are of Remington.  He, too, considers the community a satellite of Hampden. My book will set the record straight.  Original Remington settlers worked the Remington quarries.  They were teamsters who travelled the Falls Road Turnpike to deliver goods; they were merchants who developed industry in and around the Jones Falls waterway.  OK, a few worked the mills on the REMINGTON side of the bridge (and, of course those mills below Stone Hill (which IS a satellite of Hampden)).

To further my quest for truth and just, I plead with anyone out there who has photos of Remington between 1990-present, please upload them.  I may ask your permission to include them in the book.

Are we really in the City?

OMG!  I'm sitting on my back deck, which overlooks the Stony Run portion of Wyman Park and a fox is loping down the alley.  A FOX!  I almost choked on my coffee.  The Park is a haven for a myriad of wildlife.  I've seen raccoons, possums, deer (another coffee choking moment) and now a fox!  I love this area; the number 27 bus goes rumbling past my front door while the wilderness meanders down the back alley.