Old West Durham Neighborhood Association







Roots on Ninth

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    Old West Durham in the News

    Making music together
    (Independent Weekly, November 2003)

    If you'd just happened upon a recent concert at Duke you might have thought you were witnessing magic. Jonathan Bagg (violist of the Ciompi Quartet) and his family were celebrating his and his wife Susie's 20th wedding anniversary by playing an awesome program of classical music.... We've gotten to share in watching them grow as people, and musicians, since the kids were tiny. Which is why it was just so intensely moving to see them there, at a high point in the arc of their family's life cycle, in all their glory.

    Diners choose Elmo's
    (Herald-Sun, 18 January 2004)

    Hungry? The results are in and Durham residents and workers have picked Elmo's Diner as their favorite local restaurant. Elmo's, at 776 Ninth Street, features homestyle cooking, including chicken and dumplings, meatloaf and breakfast served all day.

    Luminarias to light December night
     (Herald-Sun, 12 December 2003)

    At dusk Sunday, many neighborhoods across the city will join in the annual act of lighting up the dark December sky with luminarias. Neighbors will celebrate Christmas together... In Old West Durham, neighbors will celebrate at the "old liquor house" on Virgie Street. Two doors opened into the house's back yard. One was prominent and led nowhere, but another smaller, hidden door led to a room with locked, floor-to-ceiling cabinets filled with neighbors' spirits... Sunday, however, the house will be a place for neighbors to come and celebrate. And they also plan to bring canned goods, which they will donate to a local group to be chosen Sunday.

    Ex-president visits city
    (Herald-Sun, 19 November 2003)

    With TV news vans in the street, people lining the entire length of a city block and Secret Service agents keeping close watch, Tuesday night was far from an average night at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham. Jimmy Carter was in town.. Nearly 2,000 people were estimated to be at the Ninth Street bookstore, which reported selling more than 2,500 copies of "The Hornet's Nest," Carter's latest book. Sales were so brisk that the store sold out of all of Carter's books.

    Principal Ideas
    (Eagle Eye, EK Powe newsletter, November 2003)

    Thankfully, seventy-degree days have made it possible for the school to benefit from Legacy NC who donated time and landscaping to help beautify the school grounds. We also need to thank the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association for their help in planting these permaculture gardens. Our school grounds look better than ever, and we have these two outstanding organizations to thank!

    Ninth Street curbside scramble a problem
    (Herald-Sun, 13 November 2003)

    Dogstar Tattoo found a parking place for its 1963 Ford Fairlane -- right in the shop's lobby. But that's just the car's rear end, converted into a sofa with leopard-skin print upholstery and bowling balls for feet... Complete cars are another matter, especially those driven by employees or customers of Dogstar and other businesses located in Durham's Ninth Street district. With leased parking in the vicinity scarce, some of the trendy strip's workers now vie for spaces that are intended for customers.

    A space of your own
    (Herald-Sun, 14 November 2003)

    Yes, parking is a hassle on Ninth Street, Durham's epicenter of funkiness, but it is a hassle that many another urban midway would sorely like to have... The city and commercial interests must work together to provide both ample parking and user-friendly enforcement. The issue isn't cars, its dollars. The more dollars for Ninth Street, the better for everybody.

    Column: Building cities for families
    (Herald-Sun, 19 November 2003)

    Today's American dream is that giant house in the suburbs with a backyard big enough to accommodate a mini-park, because the sprawl caused by such giant houses with big backyards is chewing up the existing green space.... Instead of sprawling suburbs that reduce family time to small talk in the SUV, cities would do well to steer their growth toward densely populated communities that encourage relationships among neighbors.

    Maya Angelou at American Dance Festival
    (Herald-Sun, August 2003)

    The closing ADF party took place at a new location -- Adrian Taylor's new place called Bakus, the wonderful tapas and wine bar on Ninth Street. The party was quite the event as live music could be heard as we entered the restaurant. Never have I seen a place so dressed up... It was just great to see and talk to the dancers as I mingled with other party guests. The party lasted until morning.

    Thoughts of Candles
    (The Independent Weekly, Spring 2003)

    The recent power outages up North have got me remembering our own fair summer without electricity here in the Triangle... My girlfriend and my visiting best friend headed to Ninth Street in pursuit of our morning fix. The street looked like the sound stage out of the "Night of the Living Dead." It was dotted with individuals and small groups wandering caffineless and stupefied from one business to another looking for somewhere open, with power and brewed coffee.

    Do it yourself leaf-blower
    (Herald-Sun, 1 November 2003)

    Eli Pfister, 5, blows a maple leaf while raking leaves into a pile Wednesday in Old West Durham. Eli's mother, Gaye Weaver, was gathering the yellow leaves to use as ground cover and mulch for the traffic circle at the intersection of West Knox Street and Oakland Avenue.

    Fellowship given to store owner
    (Herald-Sun, October 2003)

    John Browner, owner of Books on Ninth on Ninth Street in Durham [and OWD homeowner], won the 2003 North Carolina Arts Council Screenwriting Fellowship for his work, "The Uncrowned King," based on the true story of Irish nationalist Charles Stewart Pernell. His screenplay was chosen from the more than 60 works submitted.

    Verde offering light fare
    (Herald-Sun, 19 October 2003)

    True to its name, Erwin Square's Verde features plenty of shades of green, from the tile and walls to the glass in the cafe's long counter. "It's a nice environment, clean, affordable -- it's not a production," owner George Bakastsias said. "You can just have coffee and not feel guilty."

    Column: EK Powe is a showcase neighborhood school
    (Hereald-Sun, 21 October 2003)

    Our experiences at Powe have done nothing but broaden my attitudes about what constitutes a "good school." My son has had opportunities that there is no way he could have in any other school that was less diverse. One of my favorite things about Powe is the "neighborhoods project" -- a validating experience for all the students who live in the many neighborhoods in the Powe attendance (Walltown, West End, Crest Street, Old West Durham and Watts Hospital-Hillandale). Finally, Powe attracts and keeps teachers who are energetic, enthusiastic, highly-educated and motivated to meet both the challenges and opportunities of our school.

    Best of Durham: Magnolia Grill, 1009 Ninth Street
    (The Chronicle, 13 November 2003)

    "Not Afraid of Flavor" is the aptly-named cookbook and bulls-eye description of the dishes from Ben and Karen Barker, executive chefs (he does entrees, she does desserts) and owners of Magnolia Grill, our pick for Best of Durham. Located just far enough down Ninth Street, Magnolia surprises with its sparse, chic, downtown interiors (think white tablecloths and lacquered wood), and of course, the food -- always interesting and innovative especially to die-hard foodies.

    Duke students urged to help community
    (Herald-Sun, October 2003)

    During last night's Duke-Durham forum, Old West Durham president John Schelp attempted to entice students to explore Durham's history and neighborhoods by handing out papers asking questions like, "Where did Richard Nixon live as a Duke Law student?" and "Where did Elvis go to lose weight?" The answers are found on a self-guided tour of the East Campus area, which can be found on the Old West Durham's Web site... Also mentioned was the "group hug moment" that resulted from a long process in which Duke officials and 12 local neighborhoods worked together to achieve support for rezoning 1400 acres on Duke's campus to create a new university-college district.

    Down to the river: believers gather at the Eno for an old-style baptism (Herald-Sun, 7 September 2003)

    Dozens of people from Grey Stone Baptist Church huddled along the banks of the Eno River on August 24 for a Sunday river baptism. As the fading sunlight peeked through the trees lining the old river's banks, a small choir sang "Down to the River to Pray" and people smiled and spoke quietly.

    Zoning request to get city review: Duke planners consider neighborhood concerns about character, open spaces (Duke Dialogue, 5 September 2003)

    After months of discussions, university officials and neighborhood representatives have worked out zoning proposal amendments that should preserve an attractive campus perimeter for years to come... One issue yet to be resolved is a possible university plan to replace Duke's two-story apartments complex on Central Campus with a development that might include a limited number of retail shops. Initially the university asked for the ordinance to allow unlimited retail uses that would not be restricted to students. After Old West Durham and Watts-Hillandale leaders (representing the 12 Duke-Durham partnership neighborhoods) expressed concerns that such a development could hurt nearby businesses on Ninth Street, the university decided to remove Central Campus from the university zoning district.

    Triangle Outings
    (Sierra Club newsletter, Fall 2003)

    Easy walking tour around Duke's East Campus and neighborhoods. Learn some interesting history about this Old West Durham area. Lunch afterwards for those interested. Friday, September 26.

    Suds and Dogs
    (Herald-Sun, August 2003)

    Katie, a Shar-Pei, receives a washing and attention from volunteers during the 15th annual dog wash at Whole Foods Market on Broad Street. The dog wash raised money to benefit the Durham Animal Protection Society.


    Neighborhood heroes honored
    (Herald-Sun, 2 October 2003)

    A room full of heroes gathered at the University Club
    atop University Tower, as 11 locals received honors
    building, protecting, sustaining and beautifying
    Durham neighborhoods. The InterNeighborhood Council
    put on the inaugural Neighborhood Hero Awards, and
    Mayor Bill Bell handed the honorees small plaques with
    engraved messages of appreciation... Gaye Weaver and
    Karl Pfister, of Old West Durham, beautified public
    spaces, in Weaver's case by planting a garden in the
    traffic circle at Oakland and West Knox streets and in
    Pfister's by creating abstract sculptures for the
    Ninth Street area.


    Community update
    (The Herald, Duke Law newsletter, 1 September 2003)

    Many thanks to all the Duke Law volunteers who painted
    the Blackman House on Saturday's "Dedicated to Durham"
    day. Thanks to you, an "anchor" property on the
    western gateway of a Duke-Durham partnership
    neighborhood has been dramatically improved. Special
    thanks also to Community Affairs for purchasing the
    paint and supplies and to the volunteers who spent
    time clearing debris and litter from the small creek
    in the back.


    Community 'back together': Thousands celebrate with
    colorful parade, humor, music
    (News & Observer, 21 September 2003)

    Joseph Fedrowitz remembers a time not so long ago when
    the N.C. Gay PrideFest parade had way more marchers
    than spectators. But Saturday, thousands lined the
    streets as drag queens in sequined dresses, marching
    bands, celebrity athletes, gospel singers, politicians
    and brightly decorated floats made their way from the
    Duke University East Campus entrance to the Ninth
    Street business district and back...

    "The best part is the town of Durham seems so willing
    to accept this," said Shayna Kaplan, 22, a senior at
    UNC-Greensboro who grew up outside Charlottesville,
    Va. "That's a thing you don't see where I'm from.
    There's something really cool about a town that allows
    something like this to go on and even puts flags up. I
    see a lot of love. That's great."


    Thousands throng to gay pride procession
    (Herald-Sun, 21 September 2003)

    Participants in the NC Gay Pride Parade in front of
    St. Joseph's Church on Main Street refuse to speak as
    they dramatize the fight against AIDS [and breast
    cancer]. More than 6000 people attended the annual
    event, according to volunteers. Dogs barked from the
    sidewalk at the N.C. Pride marching band. A man
    dressed in a bulbous purple Teletubby costume shook
    his padded belly to techno music. "It's wonderful that
    there are so many people out here open and supportive,
    and to see straight people too," said one participant.


    Available for Restoration
    (Preservation Durham, Fall 2003)

    This simple 3-bedroom, one-bath, frame house has
    always remained in West Durham, though it moved twice
    as the area grew. The Blackman family built the
    Neoclassical style cottage on Erwin Road in the 1910s.
    In 2002, growth again threatened the old structure as
    the Historic Preservation Society of Durham and OWDNA
    saved it.


    Business buzz
    (Herald-Sun, 28 September 2003)

    Good fit: The popular Ninth Street shoe mecca 9th St.
    Active Feet is gearing up for a move next year to
    nearby Iredell Street. The business will start
    renovation/expansion work in October on its future
    home at 725 Iredell St. with an eye on opening around
    March, according to owner Walter Cleary. The move will
    give the 14-year-old footwear store some much-needed
    room, he said. Iredell Street is one block east of
    Ninth Street. The new site will be 9,200 square feet
    after the dust settles. Inventory will take up a lot
    of space, but the store's retail area will grow as
    well.


    Duke Trustees approve new dorm
    (The Chronicle, 6 October 2003)

    The Board of Trustees approved the construction of a
    new dormitory on East Campus to accommodate the extra
    engineering students and others. The 138-bed $13.8
    million residence hall should be completed by the time
    first crop of 50 additional students arrive on campus
    in two years. The new East residence hall will be
    constructed in between Randolph Dormitory and Broad
    Street, framing one side of the pedestrian pathway
    that runs from the all-freshmen campus toward Ninth
    Street via Perry Street. Senior vice-president John
    Burness said current proposals call for making the
    pathway a "second entrance" to the campus, creating a
    more distinct and elegant link between the campus and
    surrounding community.


    GED program finds new partner
    (Herald-Sun, 15 August 2003)

    The Durham Literacy Center's youth GED program has
    found a place to call its own -- and a new partner as
    well. The Shodor Education Foundation Inc. has offered
    a rent-free house adjacent to its main building at 923
    Broad St [in OWD]. In addition, students seeking GEDs
    will be able to use the foundation's computer lab and
    possibly make use of the mentors and volunteers who
    work at the foundation.

    Kudos
    (Preservation Durham, Fall 2003)

    They did it again. Check out Old West Durham's website
    if you haven't lately. There's a delightful article on
    walking tours of Durham, complete with fascinating
    historic photos. What a commitment to preservation and
    community service!

    What's in a name?
    (The Chronicle, 9 October 2003)

    It's no coincidence that Durham restaurateur George
    Bakatsias has named his new venture "Verde." The
    ironic truth is that there's much to be envious of at
    this new Erwin Square eatery. Those who recall the
    space in Erwin Square formerly occupied by Madhatter's
    Bake Shop will be staggered by the extent of its
    makeover. Bakatsias has renovated the space, turning
    it from a bland, sartorial bakery into a festive,
    electric-green cafe. Hues of green dominate the
    room--from the bright lime walls and chartreuse bar
    chairs to the burnished jade bar and accent
    pieces--coming together like a sleek, modern-day
    Emerald City.


    Sweet Smell of Success
    (The Independent Weekly, 8 October 2003)

    Not only is Karen Baker pastry chef and co-owner
    (along with chef husband Ben) of Magnolia Grill, a
    neighborhood restaurant on Durham's Ninth Street with
    a national reputation, but she was honored in May with
    an award from the James Beard Foundation --
    Outstanding Pastry Chef in America -- the culinary
    world's equivalent of an Oscar.

    Residents demand: 'Silence the violence'
    (Herald-Sun, 18 July 2003)

    The message was clear. About [200] residents of
    Walltown, Trinity Heights, Old West Durham and other
    neighborhoods set out on a "Peace Walk" from Walltown
    Park to announce they will no longer tolerate crime in
    the Bull City... Mark Dessauer, a member of the Old
    West Durham Neighborhood Association board, said
    supporting Walltown against crime is vital for the
    safety of all Durham neighborhoods.


    Students learn how AIDS spreads
    (Herald-Sun, 2 August 2003)

    Eleven ninth- and 10th-graders from the Triangle spent
    three weeks of their summer break in the laboratory at
    the Shodor Education Foundation watching how the AIDS
    virus and hepatitis-B spread and affect a population.
    The students demonstrated their computer models and
    findings Friday afternoon at Shodor's Broad Street
    headquarters [in OWD].


    Diamonds in the Rough
    (Herald-Sun, 2 August 2003)

    The Historic Preservation Society of Durham now has
    four properties for sale. Currently located at 2810
    Lawndale in Old West Durham, the 1,100 square-foot
    Blackman House is a simple 2-3 bedroom Craftsman
    Cottage has had a moving life. According to long-time
    West Durham resident Duncan Fisher, the historic house
    was originally built by the Blackman family on Erwin
    Road where the new Duke Eye Center stands today.


    With Duke's Help, E.K. Powe Takes Learning Outdoors
    (Duke Dialog, 18 July 2003)

    The final stage of the school's "Outdoor Learning
    Environment" - a newly landscaped playground and
    outdoor learning facility, complete with its own
    irrigation system - was completed in June. The
    landscaping, which is designed to beautify the
    school's grounds, provides educational opportunities
    for students to learn about plants and trees around
    them.

    "E.K. Powe is at the heart of our neighborhood,"
    Schelp said. "A strong school and a strong shopping
    district makes for a strong neighborhood. This is a
    piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is helping improve the
    quality of life for the community."


    Durham Police Seek Public Input In Town Hall Meetings
    (WRAL-TV, 12 August 2003)

    Durham residents are learning how the police
    department is working to make their community safer.
    About 100 people showed for the city's first scheduled
    town hall meeting Monday evening [at EK Powe in OWD].
    Police Chief Steve Chalmers discussed his plans for
    the future and then opened the floor for a question
    and answer session.


    Thriving Durham Neighborhoods Enrich Online Presence
    (Bull's Eye newsletter, June 2003)

    Newcomers often "shop" a community and its neighborhoods as visitors first. Now, several of Durham´s thriving historic neighborhoods -- Old West Durham, Watts Hospital-Hillandale, and Trinity Park -- are leading a trend to enrich their informative websites with history and background so important to residents, visitors, and newcomers alike... The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association website is a particularly deep example—featuring neighborhood history, a virtual tour, and historic photographs. Just last month, OWDNA debuted a self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood, promoting this historical walk on its site.

    March unites neighborhoods
    (Herald-Sun, 14 July 2003)

    Citizens from Walltown, Trinity Heights, Old West Durham and other neighborhoods plan to march for peace and safety in Walltown. Marchers are emphasizing that crime does not stop at neighborhood boundaries. Refreshments will be served afterward at Walltown Park with time for the citizens to meet and build bonds across community lines.

    Neighborhood Activists seeking more action, less talk
    (Herald-Sun, 26 June 2003)

    Various organizations in Durham -- including Durham CAN, the Durham NAACP, the InterNeighborhood Council and the Durham Voter Coalition -- are forming a master list of local neighborhood issues for which candidates will be asked to provide solutions. At a Tuesday night INC meeting, about 27 representatives from neighborhoods and homeowner's associations across Durham, including Lassiter Street, Old West Durham and Trinity Heights, sat in a circle of chairs and created their list.

    Ninth Street Funkiness: Major Economic Asset
    (DCVB Bull's Eye newsletter, July 2003)

    It turns out that Durham´s Ninth Street Shopping District epitomizes the active, “smorgasbord” street scene that research identifies as critical to economic growth... A thriving street scene, like Durham´s Ninth Street, becomes a smorgasbord of entertainment, folding many cultural experiences into one creative excursion.

    Public Art Trend Welcome In Lexington, Kentucky
    (Chevy Chaser Magazine, 7 July 2003)

    Drivers and pedestrians may have spotted the curious little sign announcing that this spot will be the "Future Home of the Ashland Neighborhood Public Art Project." ...Other cities have their own special places and forms of expression, too. The Fremont Troll resides under the Aurora Avenue Bridge near Seattle. And there is the Durham, N.C., neighborhood Old West Durham, a National Register of Historic Places neighborhood and the self-proclaimed home of "best little neighborhood association in the nation," where last September artist/blacksmith and fourth generation resident Karl Phister unveiled his sculpture "Seconds Before Flight."

    Hometown: Patti LaBelle
    (Herald-Sun, 13 July 2003)

    This event does not require anything but two words --Patti LaBelle. The city was all abuzz about LaBelle entertaining a luncheon crowd in Parizade.

    Letter: Thanks
    (Independent Weekly, 21 May 2003)

    We would like to thank the Durham and larger Triangle community for its support of our first benefit MOMart, which raised $4,500 for the Durham Rescue Mission's new women and children's facility. When we formed our nonprofit organization Just a Few Friends only a little more than three months ago we knew we were a part of a wonderful community, but we really didn't know just how deeply generous and giving it was... We would like to salute the Watts-Hillandale and Old West Durham neighborhoods for turning out in big numbers for the event.

    Residents, businesses voice concerns about Duke´s plan to rezone 1,400 acres (Herald-Sun, 25 May 2003)

    As the university works to rezone about 1,400 acres, representatives of the 12 neighborhoods that border Duke want to be sure Duke´s presence after the rezoning — and resulting campus expansion — won´t mar the character of their neighborhoods and take business away from area merchants.

    Neighborhood association presidents have met with Duke officials to hammer out development plans, with promises in writing, to ensure protections beyond those set forth in the zoning ordinance. The requests reflect the individual character of each neighborhood. Trinity Heights and Old West Durham residents want the open spaces at the four corners of East Campus protected and the academic atmosphere within the campus walls to remain...

    Company's coming
    (Independent Weekly, June 2003)

    They're back, you know. The leotard and funky top count has gone through the roof at Whole Foods, while Ninth Street looks even more different than it usually does. It can only mean one thing: The American Dance Festival is up and running once more, and the dance world has returned -- from literally all parts -- to Durham.

    Buzz: Blue Coffee soon to be brewing on Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun, 11 June 2003)

    The Blue Coffee Company is brewing up a coffee house at 714 Ninth Street, the former home of NC Anglers & Outfitters. With two levels and sidewalk seating, Blue Coffee will offer up cushy chairs, high-octane java (including espressos and lattes) and goods from three bakeries.

    Leaders: Raise fee to boost buses
    (Herald-Sun, 22 May 2003)

    John Burness, Duke´s senior vice president for public affairs, also said Duke is interested in allowing its law enforcement to patrol Ninth Street, Iredell Street and other areas just off of East Campus, where its students dwell. That would free Durham officers to patrol other neighborhoods and save the city money, he said. State lawmakers are trying to figure out how to give Duke police that extra authority without increasing liability for the university.

    News Briefs
    (Herald-Sun, May 2003)

    World Fair Trade Day: Saturday, May 17 at One World Market, 811 Ninth Street. Osei Appiagyei, Master Musician from Ghana, West Africa and his troupe of dancers and drummers performing Traditional Akapoma Music on the terrace. All dancers, drummers, and the musically-converted are welcome to jam post-performance.

    Charlie´s Pub & Grille at 758 Ninth Street is holding a fund-raiser Sunday by serving up some barbecue, with the proceeds going to help Johnie Watson of Durham get a liver transplant.

    The Peek-A-Boo´s Bar and Grill has opened on Ninth Street and the street´s latest addition has brought a 5-foot wiener mascot with it. You may have seen said stationary wiener loitering about the front door of the bar, which is located at 754 Ninth St. The as-yet unnamed hot dog (complete with bun) has become a hit among camera-carrying pedestrians, according to a bar employee.

    From Mills to More: Erwin Cotton Mills
    (Urban Land Institute, April 2003)

    The end of the line for Erwin Mills came in 1986 and soon after some of the structures were torn down. All the workers lost their jobs and the neighborhood hit rock bottom... By the late 1980s, however, efforts began to revive Erwin Mills. Although one of the old buildings was torn down and a modern, mid-rise built in its place, another of the larger structures was saved and renovated for use as apartments and offices. "It was a beautiful building with large windows and brick arches," says Schelp. "And the effort to revitalize that mill was a shot in the arm for the neighborhood, setting off a ripple effect in new development projects."

    Roots on Ninth: A Celebration of Musical Tradition
    (Carolina Times, 4 May 2003)

    "Ninth Street Merchants are thrilled to partner with Music Maker Relief Foundation and WNUC Radio to celebrate Durham's unique musical heritage and promote cultural awareness in our neighborhood," said 9th Street representative Deb Nickell.

    Getting schooled in local government
    (News & Observer, 14 May 2003)

    The 10-week "Neighborhood College," scheduled to begin this fall if the city and county each put up $5,000, aims to inspire future community leaders, show residents how to obtain government services and teach citizens which agency is responsible for what.

    Courses will be taught by city and county staff volunteers, with guest appearances by the city and county managers and Mayor Bill Bell. Each week, the class will dissect one or more of 54 city and county departments, with possible field trips to the county landfill, public housing complexes and a city water purification lab. Upon completion of the course, participants will be treated to a tour of historic Durham. [OWDNA played leadership role in getting college off the ground.]

    Ninth St. project rezoning is sought
    (Herald-Sun, 14 May 2003)

    Glenn Dickson of Ninth Street North said the new building would look similar to the one across the street, on the west side of Ninth Street, he said. The two-story, 25,000 square-foot red brick building built in the first portion of the development now counts as tenants retailer One World Market, Mongolian restaurant Bali Hai and Dale's Indian Cuisine, among others.

    The east building would have the same red-brick facade, at least one courtyard and retail stores on ground level, but similarities could end there, Dickson said. "But we are not trying to duplicate, we want each building to have their own personality," Dickson said.

    Week´s end
     (Herald-Sun, 10 May 2003)

    An award from the Beard Foundation is as prestigious as it gets here in the states. And now the Barker household boasts two: Karen´s husband Ben was named the top chef of the Southeast by the foundation in 2000... In awarding Karen Barker the Outstanding Pastry Chef Award, the Beard Foundation has finally recognized what patrons of the Magnolia Grill have known for quite some time: It´s not where a restaurant is located that matters, it´s what goes in the pot.

    Togetherness emphasized on Mother's Day
    (Herald-Sun, 12 May 2003)

    Though Durham is a center of diversity, inhabited by all age groups and ethnic backgrounds, all its residents could celebrate together Sunday afternoon in honor of Mother´s Day.

    Adrienne Szabo, general manger at Vin Rouge on Hillsborough Road, said she expected about 250 for lunch and another 250 for dinner at the small French restaurant. An outside garden was just opened to add a new flavor to the restaurant.

    Duke University Employee of the Year for community service
    (Duke Dialogue, 11 April 2003)

    One of the two Duke employees for the Lars Lyons Award for exceptional community service was Pam Spaulding of Duke University Press, who was nominated by the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association and Partners Against Crime, District 2, for a variety of information technology services in the community. She designed a Web site for the OWDNA that has been honored by the Historic Preservation Society of Durham and also created a listserver that has improved communications between police and residents.

    The King and more from rim of Duke
    (Sense of Place by Jim Wise, Herald-Sun, 24 April 2003)

    Illuminating tidbits fill OWDNA's East Campus walking tour, which begins and ends on Broad Street where a row of cedar trees marks the spot where once stood brick ticket windows for the Trinity College football games played on Hanes Field. Moving counter-clockwise along the wall, the route moves from the campus out to points a block or two off, introducing the Trinity Park, Trinity Heights, Walltown and West Durham neighborhoods...

    How far it will go to counteract Duke´s venerable tradition that Durham is merely a sooty and inimical backwater -- "Here be dragons," as the old mapmakers used to indicate at the edge of the world -- remains for time to tell, but for the rest of us it´s a good excuse to take a walk and reacquaint with our 150-year-old Bull City.

    Music Spotlight: Roots on Ninth
    (Indy, 30 April 2003)

    Bluesman Cool John Ferguson will be joined by other Music Maker Relief Foundation artists when the Ninth Street shopping district is turned into an all-ages music hall on Sunday. (Ninth Street will be the scene of the festival's main stage, with stages also on neighboring Markham Avenue and Perry Street.) It's a wide-ranging bill, featuring blues harpist George Higgs, singer John Dee Holeman, vocalist Captain Luke, "blues doctor" Drink Small, and "antique punker" Abe Reid.

    Letter: East End Park cleanup was 'Durham moment'
    (Herald-Sun, 1 May 2003)

    The Friends of South Ellerbe Creek have organized more than 40 cleanups along the two streams we've adopted with the state (one through Durham Central Park and Trinity Park and the other through Old West Durham and Walltown). On this day, we gathered at Goose Creek. On this day, our grandparents and great grandparents were looking down on us and smiling.

    Perfection on the SAT - as sophomores: 2 Durham students boast highest scores (Herald-Sun, 21 April 2003)

    Two Durham Public Schools students managed to score 1600 points out of a possible 1600 on the SAT this year as sophomores... Sam Bagg [OWD resident] from Riverside High School, said music takes up much of his spare time, whether he is playing concerts with his father Jonathan, a violist with Durham's Ciompi Quartet, or taking over piano lessons that his mother, Susan Greenberg, can't fit into her teaching schedule.

    Road Warrior: What's behind road names
    (News & Observer, 28 April 2003)

    Dozens of lesser-known politicians, business leaders and military men have given their names in the service of asphalt... The Durham Freeway is named after IL "Buck" Dean, a former Durham City Councilman and longtime Board of Transportation member. [Whose house on OWD's Rosehill Ave has the only sidewalk on the whole street.]

    Bali Hai soon will be calling you to Mongolian grill
    (Herald-Sun, 23 April 2003)

    Come to me: Starting in early May, Bali Hai may call you to Ninth Street North... In addition to choosing the meat/veggie combination, customers get to flavor their sauce selection. There are six variants (A-F) of sweet and sour sauce, and you can choose a spiciness level of one to 10 - from mild to really hot. So, D-5 would be a middle of the road sweet and sour sauce with a bit of a zing... Manager Tim Park warned that anything above a spice level six is pretty hot. If you pick 10, "You have to sign a disclaimer [form]," he said.

    Column
    (Duke Chronicle, 23 April 2003)

    The other day, in a rare free moment, I was driving down an alley between Main Street and Ninth Street. I saw a small building, obviously owned by Duke, with a sign that reads "Alumni and Development Records." I smirked and leaned over to my buddy next to me and said, "Isn't it funny that the most important building at Duke isn't even on campus?" ...He didn't really get the joke - I was mocking the importance Duke places on its fundraising.

    Arab-Israeli conflict erupts on Ninth Street, ending in court
    (Herald-Sun, 10 April 2003)

    A Muslim landlord bested a Jewish pizzeria operator Thursday in what was portrayed as a miniature Arab-Israeli conflict on Ninth Street.

    Jurors in Durham County Superior Court decided that Eric Scheiner and his New York Pizza business should pay $24,473.46 to their landlord, Gehad Lobbad, for occupying Lobbad's property at 742 Ninth St. without a valid sublease... The attorney said Lobbad worked as an accountant in Kuwait for two decades before moving to the United States 13 years ago when Iraq invaded that country.

    Students offer their visions of Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun, 23 March 2003)

    Old West Durham residents came to Blacknall Church´s fellowship hall Friday to take a look at what a group of N.C. State University students created for a Ninth Street of the future. Nearly all concepts focused on offering more options to people who want to walk or bike through the area. Many also designed parks and civic and open spaces integrating the TTA station with the existing community.

    Letter: A voice for the public
    (News & Observer, 17 March 2003)

    Citizens need to have a voice in how a new development will impact their community. New developments bring change. They can either enhance or degrade the surrounding community. It was the citizens of the community who said the [Erwin Square] parking lot had storm water problems that were not being addressed, while the technical staff of the Development Review Board said everything was OK. The city attorney ruled in favor of the community. It makes one wonder about how last year the DRB approved 326 cases out of 327.

    Dale´s Indian Cuisine spices up north end of Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun, 27 March 2003)

    Dale´s Indian Cuisine, the new restaurant at Ninth Street North, is almost hidden in a recessed area of the new commercial center, behind a sunny patio... Dale´s will soon have a new neighbor in the planned Bali Hai Mongolian Grill. Perhaps with time they will come to anchor the north end of Ninth Street as Blue Corn Café, Francesca´s and others have on the south end.

    Roots on Ninth
    (Music Maker Rag, Summer 2002)

    Martha White, who was sitting on a bench on Ninth Street, made her way to the central stage to listen to Cootie Stark, a blind bluesman who used to play on the streets of Durham for pennies. The 89 year-old bopped to the music as Stark pulled the strings. She has always lived in Durham, never anywhere else, and remembers the 1920s and 30s when the Piedmont Blues and Durham's Blind Boy Fuller were making their way into the southern musical lexicon... On the south end of the street, Captain Luke and Cool John played in harmony. Cool John played an electric guitar and Luke sang the blues: 'I left my teardrops back in that ol' lonely room... Yes, I left my heart there, too.'

    A Wild and Crazy Time: ACC mania sweeps Bull City
     (Herald-Sun, 15 March 2003)

    March Madness officially hit Durham Friday, as thousands of ACC basketball fans crowded around the television for the second day of the men´s conference tournament.

    At Charlie´s Bar & Grille on Ninth Street, business was booming minutes from the moment they opened at 11 a.m. in preparation for the noon Florida State-Wake Forest game. At halftime, when most sensible fans would have gone back to work after their lunch break, Charlie´s was still packed with basketball fans.

    City Council meets
    (News & Observer, 4 March 2003)

    The Durham City Council continued a public hearing on a proposed university zoning district until April 7, after residents pressed for a stricter ordinance regulating university development. The proposed special zoning district is intended to speed central campus development while protecting the character of adjacent neighborhoods. [OWDNA and others spoke in favor of the delay]

    The Lounge keeps open forum for creativity
    (Herald-Sun, 7 March 2003)

    There has been a standing invitation to all musicians at The Lounge -- come, relax and entertain us... The clientele is mixed at this dimly lit, open-mike cubbyhole beneath the Cosmic Cantina at 1920 Perry Street. The earlier crowd tends toward Duke upperclassmen and graduate students, while the later crowd leans in the direction of service industry people, especially restaurant workers.

    Police: Watch out for scam attempts
    (Herald-Sun, 18 February 2003)

    A major tool in fighting neighborhood crimes has been the Partners Against Crime District 2 listserver... Pam Spaulding, former PAC 2 co-chairwoman [and OWDNA board member], started the Partners Against Crime listserver nearly three years ago. More than 2,500 messages have been posted on the listserver, which has about 250 members. The messages have included comments from people who want to buy a house in the area to warnings about dangerous dogs and men who are seen going through trash... Police alerts or newspaper articles that discuss issues that relate to area are also posted. Police in District 2 are members of the listserver and often are alerted to some of the reported incidents and able to respond to them, Spaulding said.


    Regional rail line gaining momentum
    (Herald-Sun, 1 March 2003)

    The regional rail project that could bring Raleigh shoppers to Ninth Street and downtown Durham could pick up its first riders by the end of 2007, officials said Friday.

    The Federal Transit Administration announced approval Friday of the Triangle Transit Authority´s request to begin the final design of the Phase I Regional Rail System. Construction on the 35-mile project is scheduled to start next year.

    'La Maraka' provides sounds of home on Hillsborough Road
    (Herald-Sun, 28 February 2003)

    "There are Latinos from lots of different countries living throughout the Triangle," the club owner said. "We´re trying to provide them with the music and the entertainment that they want to see and hear."

    "We bring in the live music of bands from throughout Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean," the manager said. "You can dance to the beats of the salsa, the merengue, bachata or the cumbia in our club. We want to help people relax after a whole week of hard work."

    Board postpones ruling on parking-lot proposal
    (News & Observer, 22 February 2003)

    The city-county Development Review Board delayed ruling Friday on a 450-space parking lot planned for a field behind Erwin Mills apartments, saying the developer needed to make drainage improvements.

    Members of the Friends of South Ellerbe Creek and the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association objected to Erwin Square Limited Partnership's application to put a parking lot on the field off Hillsborough Road.

    Letter: Raise rental standards
    (Herald-Sun, 18 February 2003)

    How refreshing to hear the president of a rental management company advocate for responsibility. I was also pleased to see Rick Soles is a proponent of stronger housing code enforcement and raising the minimum standards for housing. As a resident of Old West Durham, I have often called upon Rick Soles and others in rental management to be more responsible parties in our neighborhood´s struggle to improve enforcement and raise standards, thus, potentially decreasing vandalism, other crimes, accidents, and the lowering of property values.

    Getting Decked in Old West Durham
    (Independent Weekly. 12 February 2003)

    "The planning process is not made to be user-friendly," OWDNA vice-president Kelly Jarrett says. "We've learned how to be a little bit proactive and how to have connections, but if we were finding out about this so late, what's happening in neighborhoods that aren't as organized? They're going to get railroaded."

    PAC-ing a punch
    (Durham Skywriter, February 2003)

    Have you ever been frustrated by your attempts to call City Hall about problems like abandoned cars, illegal dumping, overgrown shrubs blocking your view while driving, etc? Here in the Durham, the best way of taking care of problems like those listed above is to attend your PAC meeting... The idea behind PAC is to have a collaborative effort of the Durham Police Department and the community it serves for fighting crime and solving problems in the neighborhood... District 2 PAC serves Durham's north side; PAC2 meetings are held on the second Monday of each month, 6pm, at EK Powe Elementary School (913 Ninth St).

    Complex will have 322 upscale apartments
    (Herald-Sun, 29 January 2003)

    An Atlanta company has broken ground on an upscale apartment complex near Ninth Street that will feature an in-house theater, a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse... three courtyards and will be set back from the street by only about 30 feet, with French balconies along the street side and full balconies on the interior courtyards... Many observers, including neighbors in Old West Durham, have hailed the project as urban "infill" development that would reduce sprawl by concentrating activity in the city center, where infrastructure already exists. They also say the project would be an ideal complement to a regional rail stop planned for nearby.

    True blue? Duke-UNC switch makes it hard to tell
    (Herald-Sun, 5 February 2003)

    About 30 students who were tapped as the inaugural class of Robertson Scholars at both Duke and UNC last year are spending their first semester away from their home campus, trying to understand what life is like on the other end of Tobacco Road... Both groups are finding things they like about the other campus, whether it´s Ninth Street, Franklin Street, certain faculty members or the general feeling of each campus.

    Letter: Too many parking lots
    (Herald-Sun, 29 January 2003)

    Parking officials at Duke University and Duke Medical Center have told me they are aware of neighborhood opposition to more Duke parking in Old West Durham and have no plans to rent additional parking there.

    If Duke doesn´t need additional parking in Old West Durham, is another large parking lot needed? And why would Sanford build such a lot over strong neighborhood opposition?

    Editorial: One-call information
    (Herald-Sun, 30 January 2003)

    To help citizens navigate government better, some residents [led by OWDNA] are urging the County Commissioners to budget money next fiscal year for a “neighborhood college,” an idea that has been tried with apparent success in Raleigh and Winston-Salem. These citizens´ colleges are courses that cover a specific area of government such as budgeting or development. The county considered a neighborhood college last year but couldn´t find money for it. If the commissioners can find dollars this year, the college is worth a trial run.

    City Council notes
    (Duke Chronicle, 4 February 2003)

    The council considered imposing a fee on anyone who wants to conduct business on sidewalks. Such fees could be a nuisance for established businesses, such as restaurants with tables set up on sidewalks. The council ultimately voted to require anyone engaging in sales or solicitation on sidewalks to obtain a permit, though no fee would be required. [OWDNA sent a letter to Council opposing fees for sidewalk tables in business districts like Ninth Street]

    Long-range plan for redesigning Central Campus includes monorail
    (Duke Chronicle, 28 January 2003)

    The University's recently unveiled preliminary plans for the future make over of Central Campus include some type of monorail or electric train connecting East, Central and West campuses. Officials hope a new "University Village" will rise up in the area, complete with a "Main Street" with retail space, new apartments for 800 undergraduate students and at least 200 graduate and professional school students, faculty and staff housing, a hotel, an amphitheater and an expansion of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens... The plans would help connect the University more with the surrounding city, especially around Ninth Street and Erwin Road.

    Editorial: Changing Central Campus
    (Duke Chronicle, 5 February 2003)

    Recently released plans for the renovation of Central show a promising vision for the University that will turn the currently rundown backwater that is Central into an integral part of the campus... Overall, however, the renovations for Central Campus promise to turn a currently decrepit area into a thriving center of University life. Ultimately, though, if Duke truly wants to improve the student experience, it should work on improving the surrounding Durham area. Only then will Duke be able to compete with many of its peer institutions that have thriving city environments beyond their campus walls.

    Good Deeds Corner
    (Herald-Sun, 26 Janaury 2003)

    The Walltown Community Association wanted to thank the many Ninth Street merchants who supported a neighborhood picnic by donating gifts for prizes... Banh's Cuisine, Barnes Supply, Campus Florist, CCI Photographics, Elmo's Diner, McDonald's Drug, Native Threads, NY Pizza, One Word Market, Playhouse Toy Atore, Regulator Bookshop, Specs Eye Care and Vaguely Reminiscent.

    Heart, soul, leader of Ramblers dies after long illness
    (News & Observer, 25 January 2003)

    Tommy Thompson spent 25 years on stage, picking his banjo from Chapel Hill to New York to Morocco. The Red Clay Ramblers took their name from the Depression-era string band Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers. The combination of bluegrass, folk, blues, jazz and vaudeville made them at home on any stage. They headlined the first Festival for the Eno in 1980, and returned more years than not. Funeral is at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church, 1902 West Main Street, Durham.

    Rallying for Peace: More than 1,000 gather to oppose Iraq war
    (Herald-Sun, 19 January 2003)

    Photo caption: Erin Seewaldt-Dietze, 6, takes the high ground atop her father Eric Dietze's shoulders during the Durham Vigil for Peace in Iraq. [The OWD resident's sign reads, 'Iraqi Children are not Collateral Damage']

    New owners, same sweet recipe
     (Herald-Sun, 18 January 2003)

    "Francesca's has been the cornerstone of different communities here," the new owners say. Sherry Kinlaw played a vital role in Ninth Street´s growth and is part of the street´s collective spirit.

    Kinlaw began Francesca´s in 1985 in a space on Perry Street. In 1992, Francesca´s moved to its current location at 706 Ninth Street. "I liken her to a child," Kinlaw said. "I birthed her, changed her diapers, put her through school. Now she´s got her driver´s license and it´s time for me to leave and go to college, so to speak," she said.

    Parlor concert to feature family
    (Chapel Hill Herald, 16 January 2003)

    [OWD residents] Jonathan Bagg, a member of Duke University's music faculty, and children Sam, 15, and Eliza, 12, will play selections ranging from Handel to Schumann, with the father playing viola, Eliza playing violin and Sam on piano. The children have studied music for years, but they've performed with their father only a couple of times previously, Jonathan Bagg said Wednesday... Parlor concerts are designed to have an intimate feel, with room for 30-45 people in most venues, and to recall the times before mass-market recordings - back when you had to either play instruments yourself or go to live performances if you wanted to hear music. Such performances often were in smaller areas, such as the parlor of a home.

    It takes an expert to ship bodies out of U.S.
    (News & Observer, 26 January 2003)

    Lester Sandlin, self-described "body shipping czar," shipped more bodies to foreign countries last year than anyone else in the state. In his world, which stretches from the four-room office on Durham's Trent Drive to Honduras, Austria and Estonia, he figures himself a capable shipping captain. Through Sandlin's hands have passed a Kuwaiti prince, foreign exchange students and penniless Juan Does. Behind each lies a story of money and savoir faire.

    Powerless in Durham
    (News & Observer, 8 December 2002)

    It is now Day Four without power in Durham, but for
    some of the 78,000 affected residents, time is moving more slowly than the icicles dripping off their window sills. If only they could make out the clock.

    In a town where the new buzz phrase is "Got power?" Duke students griping about finals mingle on campus with neighborhood refugees.... Rita Keating, of Old West Durham, is trying to convince her 5-year-old that spending the night in an office at Duke Student Health Services is "an adventure."

    Final Word: A way that works
    (N&O, 5 January 2003)

    Not all neighborhood-developer relationships have to be as contentious as the Coker Tower saga. Old West Durham is not your father's neighborhood association. We're pretty reasonable when it comes to new development and, after meeting early with developers, don't often oppose projects... Confrontational headlines over Erwin Square never materialized, and the project was approved.

    The development industry could learn a thing or two from this emerging, smarter school of developers in Durham. More old-guard developers may eventually realize that they'd benefit more if they'd truly partner with the community.

    Rating the value of creativity
    (N&O, 5 January 2003)

    The Triangle region ranks sixth among the 49 largest metro areas on a Carnegie Mellon "creativity index," a collection of measures that gauge how well communities appeal to creative people and harness their work... Members of this "creative class" can live almost anywhere they want, and metro areas will thrive as long as they can attract them and keep them happy... "authenticity," the kind found in old neighborhoods such as Raleigh's Boylan Heights or Durham's Ninth Street. "It comes from the mix," the author writes, "from urban grit alongside renovated buildings, from the commingling of young and old, long-time neighborhood characters and yuppies, fashion models and 'bag ladies.'"

    Durham crafter of guitars hoping for hit brand
    (Herald-Sun, 16 December 2002)

    While most electric guitars are factory-made, Gadow spends six weeks crafting just six or eight of the instruments by hand out of blocks of wood in his Ninth Street workshop... "It´s more enjoyable going to see a band playing one of my guitars," he said. "That´s a lot more spiritual to me than actually playing."

    In the course of doing business, he said he´s met musicians who have become his friends as well as his customers.... "Not a day goes by that I don´t want to do this," he said. "To be good at your job, you´ve got to love what you do."

    Residents ready to light up homes
    (Herald-Sun, 14 December 2002)

    After so much darkness in the wake of the storm, several Durham neighborhoods will light up their luminarias this weekend to usher in the holiday season. Folks in the Old West Durham neighborhood and beyond will hold their annual Night of Lights ceremony Sunday night... In addition to the luminarias placed around the traffic circles and near the neighborhood sign on Ninth Street, [OWDNA] will throw a party at an old residential speak-easy on Virgie Street Sunday night. The association loosely coordinates the event with surrounding neighborhoods, including Watts-Hillandale, Trinity Park and Old North Durham.

    Anger flares at road hearing: DOT draws fire from speakers
    (N&O, 12 December 2002)

    Several of the 46 speakers Wednesday blasted DOT in front of the audience of about 70, complaining that the department is now breaking the compromise by trying to get part of Eno Drive built sooner. Michael Bacon of Iredell Street [OWDNA board], threatened demonstrations in the DOT parking lot and letters asking that DOT officials be sacked if they don't stick to the compromise.

    Top Ten Great Neighborhood Restaurants: Magnolia Grill, Durham
    (Bon Appétit, September 2002)

    As a nationally recognized pastry chef, Karen Barker knows how diners read a dessert menu. "Our neighborhood customers, who've been eating here for so long, are more willing to try something new," she says, "but out-of-towners want to play it safe with familiar flavors." Barker pleases both groups at Magnolia Grill. Chocolate chip pound cake with banana malt ice cream is satisfying and "safe"; those with more adventurous tastes can try hazelnut-almond baklava with honeyed goat-cheese cream.

    Town Square: Holiday Shopping
    (N&O, 21 November 2002)

    One World Market shopping night for Old West Durham, with a portion of all sales going to support a Community Greenspace Fund. Market is at Ninth Street North between Vin Rouge and EK Powe. The public is invited to go out and shop for the holidays, socialize and support the community.

    Cancer researcher wins grant
    (Herald-Sun, 25 November 2002)

    The V Foundation for Cancer Research awarded [OWD's]Victoria Seewaldt of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center a $50,000 grant on Sunday to continue her work in breast cancer research. Funding for the grant was generated by the inaugural Jimmy V Women´s Basketball Classic.

    Long live the Biscuit King
    (Independent Weekly, 20 November 2002)

    I just learned one of my top five might be leaving town. I'm talking about Biscuit King on the corner of Ninth and Green streets. The place with sandwiches made on hockey puck-sized (at least they're that big in my dreams) homemade biscuits, pecan pie in the mornings and "sweet shot" chicken for lunch... And this is not fast food folks, it's homemade biscuits covered with jelly, sausage, steak and gravy, or chicken fillet goodness with "vegetables." And all at an affordable price served by people who make an effort to learn your name or make one up for you (one customer is referred to as "Old Meanness").

    Buzz: Mongolian barbecue coming to 9th Street
    (Herald-Sun, 2 November 2002)

    In yet another culinary coup for Ninth Street, a Mongolian barbecue plans to open up next year in a 3,500-square-foot space at Ninth Street North. Bali Hai, a Mongolian grill with a Raleigh location, has signed a lease and plans to open in the first quarter of 2003. The restaurant will feature a 5-foot circular grill (think griddle) where patrons can watch a chef cook up their orders. Patrons can choose from an assortment of meats, seafood and veggies to create a meal that´s seasoned with a sweet and sour or spice sauce.

    The Road That Wouldn't Die: How did a revamped Eno Drive get back on Durham's planning map?
    (The Independent Weekly, 6 November 2002)

    "Our experience of the past six months is that DOT and the city engineers are glossing over problems and now they're pushing an alignment they had rejected," says John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. "It's frustrating, it's fishy and it smells."

    Letter: Don´t try to revive failed bid to build Eno Drive
    (Herald-Sun, 23 October 2002)

    The boards of our neighborhood and community organizations have spoken with one voice on this issue. We asked our local leaders to reject the flawed Eno Drive... These organizations all agree on the matter: Partners Against Crime 2, Duke Park Neighborhood Association, Durham People´s Alliance, Old North Durham Neighborhood Association, Forest Hills Neighborhood Association, Old Farm-River Forest Homeowners Association, Watts Hospital-Hillandale Neighborhood Association, Eno River Association and Old West Durham Neighborhood Association

    Durham Church turns 110 Sunday
    (Herald-Sun, 26 October 2002)

    West Durham Baptist Church was organized in a one-room house on Ferrell Street in 1892 under the leadership of the Rev. WH Stanfield. The church was first located in the western part of the city in an area known as the Brookstown community.

    Beyond the Gothic Walls
    (Duke Parents' Weekend Guide, October 2002)

    Ninth Street: a favorite Duke spot for dining, shopping, or just people watching, this strip of shops and restaurants within walking distance from East Campus. Erwin Square has many up-scale shops and restaurants, and is a favorite place to take visitors or shop for unique gift items.

    Bridging Tobacco Road
    (Towerview, September 2002)

    Historically, UNC and Duke have always been tied together, and not just through their Atlantic Coast Conference basketball rivalry. For decades, the two schools have virtually combined the services of their libraries -- UNC's Davis Library is one of the premier libraries on the East Coast. Students at both institutions, undergraduates and graduates alike, can take courses at each school. Members of both communities regularly mingle at speeches or events on both campuses and socialize at the same locations from Franklin Street to Ninth Street.

    Off of campus, out of mind?
    (Chronicle, 20 September 2002)

    In response to a student's claim that Duke invited a criminal element into the neighborhood by allowing the Dollar General lot to sit vacant for so long, Michael Palmer said it is not University policy to embroil itself in community matters unless the community specifically requests such an action.

    "If you understand the politics of Durham, you'd know that you'd get blown out of the water if you went in with an initiative that said, 'We're going to come in here and fix your problems,'" Palmer said. "There's a lot of pride in these neighborhoods."

    A sense of community
    (Duke Chronicle, 1 October 2002)

    "The fact that people sit on their porches and chat over the back fence or cross the narrow streets to talk, or simply yell across them, distinguishes our neighborhood from many, and the children of University and non-University people seem to be mingling and bringing adults together with increasing frequency," Trinity Heights resident Ellen Davis said. "We do love this neighborhood."

    Because of the success of the project, the idea of building a "Trinity Heights II" has not been ruled out, said Executive Vice President Tallman Trask."I'm not sure if we'll do another one, but given the popularity and quick sell-out of this one, we are looking at the possibility of doing something similar as part of the Central Campus redevelopment," he said.

    Why artists, geeks and rock bands are the key to economic recovery: The Triangle ranks sixth in the nation for its 'creative class'
    (Independent Weekly, 24 September 2002)

    Sitting in the basement café of the Regulator Bookshop in Durham, Rose-May Guignard explains why she wants to move to the Triangle as soon as she can. She's ready to settle in a place full of cool people who are taking risks with their lives.

    Guignard is a member of a group defined not by income level but by one common quality: creativity. A provocative book, 'The Rise of the Creative Class,' sends an emphatic message to cities: Keep your historic buildings occupied and your downtowns thriving. Treat your artists and rock bands with some respect; they draw economic prosperity. And stop spending all that tax money on sports stadiums and shopping malls, it's not what brings the people you want.

    N.C. Pride festival finds acceptance
    (News & Observer, 29 September 2002)

    Durham Mayor Bill Bell took the stage at the annual N.C. Pride festival Saturday and told hundreds of lesbians and gay men from across North Carolina that he was happy they were in town and that he hoped they would make Durham the festival's permanent home.

    "This is my first pride weekend," Bell said. "But it won't be my last."

    Organizers of N.C. Pride said appearances by Bell and other dignitaries and sponsorships by corporations such as Showtime and U.S. Airways showed that homosexuals are attracting greater support from the wider community. Many at the festival agreed...

    Neighborhood Conservation Awards
    (Preservation Durham, Summer 2002)

    This new category of awards honors those whose work helps preserve Durham's distinct and diverse neighborhoods with projects which help maintain the historic fabric of neighborhoods.

    Fisher Signs and Murals won for the restoration of the old Garrard's Grocery at 2602 Hillsborough Road. This storefront building has served the needs of Old West Durham since the heyday of Erwin Mills. Its new occupant continues the tradition, preserving hard wood floors and bead board ceilings while accommodating a busy sign shop. Marty Fisher is a big supporter of Old West Durham. The prominent neighborhood sign at Markham and Ninth is one of his gifts to his neighbors.

    Civil rights leader´s son visits E.K. Powe
    (Chronicle, 23 August 2002)

    E.K. Powe Principal Brandon Patterson said he hopes the visit will help children have a concrete vision of someone who symbolizes the ideals teachers try to reinforce at the school. "We hope this experience becomes a conversation point for children and their parents at home," Patterson said. "If families start talking about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s message, they will ask themselves, 'What are we doing as a family?'"

    Success soaks in: The home of Vicky Seewaldt and Eric Dietze boasts a lush, mostly drought-tolerant garden
    (News & Observer, 7 September 2002)

    Just after a recent, welcome downpour, Vicky Seewaldt invites a visitor into her garden. She takes a child's delight in the dampness, the lushness, the loamy smells and the colors awakened by the rain.

    Much of the success of her garden, which looks like a rain forest in the drought-stunted landscape of her Old West Durham neighborhood, is due to the mostly native plants she and Dietze have chosen. Along with a few subtropicals, the natives make the garden a delight to the senses, even in the worst of the drought that is afflicting central North Carolina.

    Artist´s sculpture unveiled on 9th Street
    (Herald-Sun, 1 September 2002)

    Fending off drizzle with umbrellas and raincoats Saturday, dozens of people cheered as two streamlined metal birds were unveiled. The sculpture, "Seconds Before Flight," is surrounded by flowers and stands on a small, grassy plot on the corner of Ninth Street and Hillsborough Road to designate the Old West Durham neighborhood.

    Congressman David Price congratulated the group on its efforts. The artist, Karl Pfister, thanked the crowd for its support and expressed his love for the neighborhood in which he and his wife have lived since 1996. Pfister is married to Gaye Weaver, and their son, Eli Pfister, is the fifth generation of their family to live in Old West Durham.

    The Independent Weekly is poised to acquire Spectator, the Triangle's other alternative weekly newspaper
    (Indy, 14 August 2002)

    Next year The Independent celebrates our 20th anniversary of publishing. As we join the best of the Spectator with the best of The Independent, we hold fiercely to the mission that has inspired us from the first. We want to do some of the nation's best alternative journalism, to tell the stories that draw you in and challenge you and even make you mad sometimes. Stories that seek justice. Stories that make change.

    Hot eats
    (Herald-Sun. 28 August 2002)

    A new Indian restaurant will add even more diversity to Ninth Street´s already international offerings when it opens in Ninth Street North in October. The new spot, called Dale´s Indian Cuisine, will offer seafood, vegetarian and nonvegetarian food. The 2,500-square-foot space will seat 60 to 70 people inside and about 20 on the patio outside.

    Shopping: old traditions
    (Where We Live. Fall 2002)

    If it's an eccentric shopping experience you seek, the locals likely will direct you to Ninth Street or Brightleaf Square. Ninth Street includes about 30 different stores lining an urban street that's just two blocks from Duke's East Campus.

    Commissioners help historic homes move
    (Herald-Sun, 13 August 2002)

    The past will be moving fast across Durham soon, in an effort to match a historic house and a historic neighborhood. The Historic Preservation Society of Durham and the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association plan to move two historic homes to two, county-owned lots off Lawndale Avenue.

    The homes, one of them already picked, would blend in one Durham´s oldest neighborhoods and be part of a residential "barrier island" to protect Old West Durham from the commercial development spilling from Hillsborough Road.

    Getting Involved
    (News & Observer, 9 August 2002)

    Water conservation, drip irrigation and the beauty of native plants: Lessons learned from the drought of 2002. The public is invited to an informal, hands-on workshop Saturday in which participants will view drought-resistant watering systems in use. This free event, sponsored by the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. at 901 Carolina Ave. Information: 541-5723 or www.owdna.org

    Rolling out the bagels
    (Herald-Sun, 14 August 2002)

    Each night, trucks roll out of Morrisville carrying more than 30,000 bagels ready to be baked for breakfast, lunch and dinner at 14 Bruegger´s Bagel Bakery locations around the Triangle.

    The commissary, which makes bagel dough by the ton daily, is a far cry from the operation franchisee Ed Davis started on Ninth Street in 1985 as one of the first Bruegger´s shops in the country.

    Cinelli's at Bull City Market
    (News and Observer, 31 May 2002)

    Cinelli's, the Italian restaurant that opened last summer in the old Vincent's spot in Durham, is the perfect place to take a date. A cozy bar and a dining room with tables draped in butcher paper over white tablecloths set a casually romantic mood. The black-clad wait staff are attentive but not overbearing.

    The varied menu offers something for every taste, and the reasonable prices will leave you with some cash for an after-dinner show. And if you're looking for a really cheap date, the pizzas are absolutely first-rate.

    Art unfettered
    (News & Observer, 18 July 2002)

    The American Dance Festival spilled off the Duke University campus Wednesday morning in a liquid flurry of arms, legs and torsos. Twenty dancers flowed over the wall surrounding East Campus, onto the sidewalk, across Broad Street and into the Mad Hatter's Cafe and Bake Shop in a literal effort to bring the annual festival to the people. The scene drew reactions as diverse as delight and disgust, but no one could ignore it.

    Durham is amazing
    (Herald-Sun, 18 July 2002)

    On July 14, Vin Rouge touted its first annual Bastille Day celebration complete with red, white and blue decorations. After dinner, there was a movie playing the garden and a beautiful cake presentation complete with sparklers. The evening was perfect for celebrating... complete with a replica of a French guillotine for any who revolted.

    David Proctor McKnight plays fiddle and Triangle
    (Urban Hiker, June 2002)

    For years this writer-musician had frequented two primary performing areas for "passing scene street music" -- Franklin Street at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and Ninth Street, just one block off the East Campus of Duke University... In 1977, McKnight walked the state from Manteo to Murphy as a U.S. Senate candidate in the 1978 Democratic primary.

    Hometown: JazzVoxFest (Herald-Sun, 1 August 2002)

    Last weekend, the second annual JazzVoxFest took place underneath the skies in the courtyard of Parizade. This new festival is touted to be the only one in the country to exclusively showcase various jazz vocal stylings. More than 20 vocalists were scheduled to perform over the two-day event.

    Botanical garden thrives on little water: Couple that uses native plants, irrigation hoses and mulch to keep their yard lush even in drought
    (Herald-Sun, 14 July 2002)

    Vicky and Eric got jobs at Duke and moved to Durham. They bought a house on a spacious lot [in OWD], a blank canvas for the amateur gardeners.

    Today, more than 400 plants grow in their miniature botanical garden. But even with an estimated $10,000 invested in trees, shrubs and other plants, the couple doesn´t even flinch at the word "drought." Water restrictions recently adopted in the Triangle were a way of life for them in California and Seattle. The family´s yard at 901 Carolina Avenue has remained fresh and green throughout this arid spring and summer.

    Beer Here, by Julie Bradford, editor of "All About Beer Magazine"
    (N&O, 14 June 2002)

    Who are the winning beer retailers in the Triangle? I find Wellspring is the most reliable source for good selection, good condition, good staff support and a consumer-friendly store policy. My favorite is Sam's Quik Stop. At the north end of the Duke campus, Sam's is a car wash and convenience store with an excellent selection of beers as well as specialty brewery glassware. For Sam's, this isn't a business strategy: these guys love good beer.

    Scene & Heard
    (Independent Weekly, 19 June 2002)

    Although the break-in at Radio Free Records is tragic, the event continues to bring the Durham (and Triangle) music community together in ways few can remember. A dumpster search was organized for the CDs. A series of benefits including ten bands at Bully's Basement (which included an auction for a vist to Dogstar Tattoos), a WXDU-sponsored benefit at Ringside, upcoming events at King's Barcade in Raleigh and Cat's Cradle in Chappie, and a yard sale organized by WORD (Women of Rock in Durham).

    2000 Census Report: Life looking up
    (Herald-Sun, 24 May 2002)

    Vanessa Pugh, a thin pink sweater draped over her shoulders, ate lunch Thursday in a warm breeze on the patio of a Ninth Street restaurant. She´s noticed Ninth Street and other areas becoming more prosperous, she said.

    "Durham has become more available to people, open. You see more cultures around here. I like sitting out here and having lunch, and a few years ago that wasn´t available on Ninth Street."

    Buzz: Ninth Street shuffle
    (Herald. 7 May 2002)

    Color de Mexico, a shop that offers Mexican artwork, opened last weekend on Perry Street. The new digs (which used to be at Brightleaf Square) provide plenty of space for the colorful Oaxacan wood carvings, tin and tile mirrors, black pottery and jewelry from Taxco that are Color de Mexico´s staples.

    The Mad Hatter´s Café and Bake Shop has been doing a brisk business since it opened about a week ago in the refurbished space where Owens Broad Street Diner operated and its menu has gone from about 12 items to 62. Ninth Street Sushi Bar, going into the space where Earth & Spirit was, should open within the next two weeks.

    Durham residents clean creeks for Earth Day
    (Herald-Sun. 21 April 2002)

    The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association helped organize the stream cleaning group on Green Street where a triumphant cheer erupted among 10 volunteers after they dragged a chain-link fence out of South Ellerbe Creek. They were among 50 who volunteered their time to clean a three-block stretch of the creek near E.K. Powe Elementary School. Other items dragged from this part of the creek included tires, bottles, cans, a computer, the fence and even a French picture book dedicated to cats, "Le Chats."

    The thorough job of the volunteers showed in their post-cleanup appearance. A Duke college professor had twigs in his hair, and a scientist from the National Institute of Environmental Health had dirt streaked from sweat running down his arms. Students from Duke and local public schools assisted, along with members of neighborhood and conservation groups.

    The Real Best of the Triangle 2002
    (Independent Weekly, April 2002)
    [Old West Durham is again well-represented this year in these excerpts]

    Best tire guy: You know how at most car and tire repair stores, you go in there knowing they're going to rip you off? Not at Durham Tire and Auto on Hillsborough Road. Jeff Powell greets everyone like they're an old buddy from high school. He knows the histories of their cars, their tires and when they have to get to work.

    Best healthy lunch: Wellspring, Cosmic Cantina, Blue Corn Café (ask for the chicken chipotle salad with cilantro vinaigrette dressing).

    Best beer selection: Sam's Quick Mart (known to some as the "Blue Light").

    Best late-night grub: Cosmic Cantina.

    Best hangover food: Elmo's Diner (huevos rancheros).

    Best music store: Radio Free Records in Durham

    Best local writer: The Indy's very own Melinda Ruley (no, we didn't fix this race so she'd win).

    Best Volvo Repair: Becker Automotive (offers eternal life for the brand of automobile voted least likely to be found with a radio tuned to the political commentary of Rush Limbaugh).

    Best neighborhood: Anywhere within one mile of proposed rail transit.

    Best place to have a picnic: Duke Gardens [near OWD] won hands down.

    Regional rail transit sites selected
    (Herald. 27 April 2002)

    Imagine it´s 2008 and you´re shopping and eating lunch on Ninth Street. You finish and stroll down to the railroad trestle at Main Street, where today freight cars and Amtrak trains rumble by. But in 2008, you cross the street and climb stairs or ride an elevator to a new platform. There you wait for an eastbound train that will take you downtown, to N.C. Central University, Research Triangle Park or central Raleigh.

    Station No. 1, on Elba Street near Duke Medical Center, would be one of the last built. The Ninth Street station, which is No. 2 on the line and will be among the first built.

    Lucky day
    (Herald-Sun. 24 April 2002)

    After many moons of preparation, Luckys Bar & Grille has opened at the corner of Hillsborough Road and Trent Drive near Ninth Street. The remodeled location accommodates about 90 diners with a front and rear patio as well as inside seating. The operation is serving both lunch and dinner and the guy in the kitchen touts Luckys´ seafood selection.

    Coming out of the dark
    (N&O. 1 May 2002)

    Bright street lights can go a long way toward improving the quality of life and feeling of safety in a neighborhood, said Kellie Foster, spokeswoman for the National Crime Prevention Council, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., that works with communities on safety issues.

    "Something as simple as street lights, although it sounds small, it really does make a big impression," Foster said.

    Bahn's Cuisine not fancy, but an excellent eatery
    (Herald-Sun. 5 April 2002)

    On a budget, or in a hurry? It would be hard to beat Ninth Street's version of Asian fast food - Bahn's Cuisine. Sandwiched between Taqueria La Frontera and Same Day Service Cleaners on Ninth Street, Bahn's bills itself as a Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant.

    Don't bring your plastic. On the cash register, the sign says, "Cash Only" -- near a small, hand-lettered sign showing specials of the day.

    15 arrested after blocking Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun. 14 April 2002)

    "Everyone is isolated nowadays. The streets are for cars and not for people, and if people try to use the streets, then they're harassed and taken to jail," an organizer explained. "People just decided today they wanted to be together and play music... what more beautiful place to do it but Ninth Street?"

    Toasting the death of the old Durham
    (Herald-Sun. 24 March 2002)

    One night last week I popped into Vin Rouge, George Bakatsias´ latest contribution to Durham´s booming restaurant scene. Bakatsias took an old building just off Ninth Street and turned it into a delightful cafe that has the ambience and joie de vie of a French restaurant in New York or Montreal... For me, Vin Rouge crystallizes the new spirit of Durham.

    Anderson Street Anchors Visitor Cluster
    (Bull's Eye newsletter, March 2002)

    When the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University opens in late 2003, its visitors will find many other Duke features just moments away on foot. In addition to the new museum, located at the northeast corner of Anderson Street and Duke University Road, visitors can see the Sarah P. Duke Gardens including the new Doris Duke Center, Duke Chapel, Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the Duke Sports Hall of Fame — all with only a short walk between them. By setting out on foot from Anderson Street, visitors can experience this cluster of Durham´s signature visitor features.

    Business Buzz: New world
    (Herald-Sun. 20 March 2002)

    After 10 years on Perry Street, One World Market has moved its storefront into Ninth Street North, the newest retail development on Ninth Street.

    An international handcrafts store, One World Market today opens its doors at 811 Ninth St. in the two-story brick project, which is cater-corner to Elmo´s Diner. One World describes itself as a fair-trade organization where third-world craftsfolks who make the wares are paid a fair wage.

    President's Corner
    (Preservation Durham, Spring 2002)

    I hope we can continue to receive support from Durham's neighborhoods. I especially appreciate the collaborative spirit and support of John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. His monitoring of planning and economic development activities has significantly enhanced HPSD's efforts to preserve the architecture, history, and cultural heritage of Durham.

    City struggles with crime perception: Local leaders criticize media for overblowing crime issue
    (Duke Chronicle. 7 March 2002)

    Some feel that prevention efforts do not get enough press, thus allowing a more negative picture to emerge. Pam Spaulding, a board member of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, said crime prevention efforts need to be highlighted.

    "I don't think you can ever cover [crime] enough," said Spaulding, former secretary for Partners Against Crime in District 2, which includes Duke. "It's whether it's covered in context."

    Spaulding would like to see more media involvement at the community level, something the Herald-Sun's Bill Hawkins also said he would like his paper to do.

    University examines Central Campus changes
    (Duke Chronicle. 1 March 2002)

    Duke has begun conversations with potential developers to rebuild the campus' 30 year-old apartments and adding mixed-use space for offices and food. The University's master plan envisions an area with redesigned apartments modeled after Ninth Street, a closer connection to the Sara Duke Gardens and possibly space for faculty members and more graduate and professional students.

    Community Projects: E.K. Powe

    (Shoptalk, Duke Facilities Management Dept newsletter. 11 January 2002)

    After years of discussion and planning, the Outdoor Learning Center at EK Powe is about to get "on" the ground. The center will reorganize and improve the school playground, and will create a variety of environmental zones all around the school campus that will beautify the area. It will also provide a real life outdoor laboratory where the children can do hands-on study of what they learn in the classroom.

    Farewell, Wellspring: Stores to drop name

    (News & Observer. 7 March 2002)

    Like many loyal shoppers who cherish Wellspring's home-grown, personal atmosphere, good service and commitment to local food producers, many worry that her favorite grocer will stray from its original principles as the chain stitches together a collection of still largely independent stores under the Whole Foods Market logo.

    Francesca's Sherry Kinlaw lost hundreds of dollars a month in business after her Italian ice cream was banned from the company's Triangle stores, and she blames new [corporate] policies for that. "Instead of each individual store carrying items they think their customers want, now you have Texas telling everybody what to do," Kinlaw said.

    Tar Heel of the Week: Activist carves identity for his neighborhood

    (News & Observer, 3 March 2002)

    Last month, neighborhood activist John Schelp fought off the asphalt industry's effort to build more plants in Durham... One of his latest projects is to create a neighborhood gathering space in a patch of creek and meadow across Green Street from E.K. Powe Elementary School. The city has promised to pay for it, and Schelp will have to negotiate with the owners of Erwin Square, whom he expects will build near it.

    Old West Durham has no parks, he said. It needs a place to hold its picnics and potlucks. "We need to create a heart of our community, and this would be it," he said.

    Letter: Paving and the Public

    (Independent Weekly, 7 March 2002)

    The article [on asphalt plants] was especially helpful in the way it placed this specific issue in the broader context of how the development, planning, zoning, and rezoning processes favor developers, industries, and special interests at the expense of citizens and neighborhoods. At a bare minimum, it would seem reasonable to require that existing community groups like Durham's many neighborhood associations, the PACs, and the InterNeighborhood Council be notified of such proposals. -Kelly Jarrett

    Paving the Way: How behind-the-scenes lobbying allows big-money interests like the asphalt industry to steamroll citizens



    (Independent Weekly, 2 February 2002)

    One citizen watchdog sounded an alarm after learning of the asphalt proposal by accident. Days before the vote, Old West Durham activist and NAACP leader John Schelp roused enough outcry to convince the council to delay the decision.

    Developers and business owners pay consultants to spend hours lobbying and clearing the way for their plans... On the other side, citizens with less technical knowledge and familiarity with the planning process rely on the public process to alert them to what's happening in their neighborhoods.

    City axes zoning for asphalt plants

    (Duke Chronicle. 5 March 2002)

    At its Monday meeting, the City Council unanimously voted down an amendment to the city's zoning ordinance that would have allowed asphalt plants to be built closer to homes... If a plant were built at a proposed site near Duke, located between Hillsborough Road and the Durham Freeway, emissions from the plant would have affected parts of Central Campus, the Medical Center and the neighborhoods around East Campus.

    Cover Story: How commuter rail can get us where we want to go

    (Independent Weekly, 13 March 2002)

    Durham, a doormat in the development game, is poised to be the template for so-called "transit-oriented development" which puts a mix of things--retail stores, offices and housing units--in close proximity to a rail station at high-density... Ninth Street is already a mix of funky stores, upscale offices and the Erwin Mill apartments, with more of everything going in.

    Night owls get some variety on Ninth Street

    (Herald-Sun 14 February 2002)

    After two months, Charlie´s Bar & Grille is slowly but surely drawing a strong clientele. Lunch crowds, a vital happy hour and solid after-hour crowds are filling the establishment.

    The cool thing is that along with George´s Garage, Mug Shots, and the soon-to-open Vin Rouge, nightowls have a few more options all within a block´s walking distance. Not only is that good for college kids and the noncollegiate crowd, but that is good for Durham´s nightlife period.

    Business Buzz: A growing business

    (Herald-Sun. 27 February 2002)

    Wavelengths, a Ninth Street fixture, was named one of the 200 fastest-growing salons by the magazine Salon Today. One of the salon´s stylists, Andrea Brame, did Tipper Gore´s hair and makeup last weekend -- before a speech in Cary.

    Letter to the Editor: History in that horn


    (Herald-Sun, 4 February 2002)

    As a resident of Old West Durham, I look forward with enthusiasm to the plans for development in our end of town (Ninth Street North, the Erwin Square complex and, most of all, the Triangle Transit Authority light rail station)... Durham exists because a gift of foresight lured the Iron Horse to our neck of the woods and created a city.

    I (and I know many others like me) enjoy the sounds of the air horn and knowing who is driving up or down the steel rail through town. Though I have never met any of the engineers, I know them by their signals. A new driver is immediately noticed... I love the sound of the train. It´s history. It´s future. It´s Durham.

    Sushi bar to hook up at 9th Street

    (Herald-Sun, 3 February 2002)

    A small world after all: Ninth Street's Mexican, Italian, Vietnamese/Chinese and Middle Eastern eating establishments will get a new international neighbor in mid-March - a sushi bar run by an Irish businessman and a Filipino chef.

    The sushi bar (which will go in the space formerly occupied by Earth & Spirit) will serve the fresh fish, including big eye tuna and bluefin tuna. The owners hope to transport diners to the Orient with decor featuring bamboo, dark lacquered wood and embroidered Japanese fabrics for about 50 people.

    The 162 Greatest Things in America
    (Esquire magazine, December 2001)

    #53 Coffee milk shakes at McDonald's Drugstore (Durham, NC). Made with real fresh-brewed coffee. Afterburners for the morning soul.

    Letter to the Editor: Unhealthy compromise
    (Herald-Sun, 12 February 2002)**

    The board of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association voted unanimously to oppose the proposed zoning ordinance amendment that would reduce buffers between asphalt plants and nearby houses. Asphalt fumes contain at least six known carcinogens. Asphalt plants have no business going near houses anywhere in Durham.

    New on Ninth Street
    (News & Observer, 29 January 2002)

    Ninth Street, home to Durham's funky collection of offbeat boutiques, independent bookshops and ethnic eateries, is on a growth spurt...

    John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, said Dickson's new buildings will fill the once-desolate 800 block and connect Ninth Street's shops to the community of old mill houses just north of it. They will add to the fabric of Ninth Street, not clash with it, he said.... Both Dickson and Wood Partners, the apartment developer, were open to the neighbors' requests. Both agreed to use red brick to fit in with the historic Erwin Mill, which brought the neighborhood into being, he said. Dickson also agreed not to put a parking lot behind the building, because the neighbors want to see a park there someday.

    Duke begins buses to Durham night spots
    (Duke Chronicle. 25 January 2002)

    In response to the growing trend of student social events moving off campus, the University will begin providing bus service tonight to local Durham sites. The approximately 25-minute route will begin on West Campus, make stops at Anderson Street, Cafe Parizade, Ninth Street, East Campus, Brightleaf Square, East Campus by request and Alexander Street, and then return to West.

    "Our main goal is to try to limit drunk driving," said junior Joshua Jean-Baptiste, Duke Student Government vice president for student affairs. "This is also the first step in a long-term attempt to make Durham more of a college town," he said.

    Duke Hospital lands new choppers: $3.7 million Life Flight helicopters are replacing older craft (Herald-Sun. 20 January 2002)

    They're shiny, sleek, Italian. Get the engines screaming, and they'll whip by at about 180 mph. And if you're lucky, you'll never have to ride in one.

    Mexicans lose home, but not hope
    (News & Observer. 5 December 2001)

    When seven Hispanic men lost everything in a fire this week, they learned the meaning of barrio in Durham. "People were sort of saying, 'What can we do?'" Old West Durham neighbor Doug Merrill said. They came up with the idea of accepting donations and household goods at the nearby home of Susana Torrijos of 2635 Lawndale Ave. They also set up an account at El Centro Hispano for people to donate money.

    "The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association has an e-mail mailing list, and I've put a couple of things there, so that's been the main way that word's gotten out," Merrill said. The men are now looking for a new place to live, preferably within walking distance of where they used to live.

    RIP Wellspring: Corporate Takeover Complete
    (Triangle Free Press, January 2002)

    Q: Will our name change?
    A: No. Wellspring will keep its name and any future stores in NC will be called Wellspring Grocery. - From info sheet passed out to Wellspring shoppers after "merger" with Whole Foods Market in 1991.

    It took over ten years, but the corporate takeover of Wellspring by Whole Foods Market is complete. Wellspring signs have been removed from the store's entrances. "It's a strategic formal branding decision," Sarah Kenney, WFM's Marketing Director, said from its Rockville, MD headquarters.

    High-density plan OK'd in Durham
    (News & Observer. 19 December 2001)

    The Erwin Square development is the rare high-density project that earned the support of nearby neighbors, planning officials and elected leaders. Wood Partners won strong neighborhood support after dozens of meetings and many more phone calls, said John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. "This is definitely a new school of developer, a new approach that we don't see much in Durham," Schelp said.

    He said the meetings were most productive in securing an open-space requirement for the project and the new high-density ordinance. Wood Partners plans to put in park benches and plaza space on extra-wide sidewalks. If planning officials decide that isn't enough, the company will contribute money for nearby open space.

    Grant will expand science, math outreach
    (Herald-Sun. 18 December 2001)

    The Shodor Education Foundation has received a $2.7 million National Science Foundation grant to offer workshops for college faculty throughout the state and the country designed to enhance the pool of American scientists, engineers and K-12 science teachers.

    Founded in 1994, the independent non-profit corporation based in [Old West Durham] specializes in creating computerized courses for teaching science and math to elementary school through college students. The foundation now operates 10 educational outreach projects that include workshops and internships.

    Taking the Initiative
    (Duke Magazine. October 2001)

    When Trinity College relocated from Randolph County in 1892, its setting in Durham (the present-day East Campus) must still have seemed bucolic despite its new, relatively urban milieu... While the long stretches of Campus Drive and Chapel Drive wind through thick trees, without today´s urban reminders of stop signs and stoplights, Durham was thriving beyond the forest. Whole neighborhoods of mill workers, tobacco hands, shopkeepers, and school teachers were established and growing, anchored by churches and businesses, often centered on a school... each brought a sense of history to its inhabitants and so helped to comprise the larger picture of Durham.

    The Ninth Street District Boom
    (Herald-Sun. 20 November 2001)

    Anyone who has lived in Durham for any length of time can attest to the amazing transformation that has occurred on Ninth Street in the recent years. Struggling to find an identity in the late 80's, Ninth Street emerged a mere dozen years later as a distinctive district known for its exceptional restaurants, casual cafes, and an eclectic blend of truly unique locally owned shops and services.

    At once, trendy and inviting, Ninth Street has managed to create a vibrant contemporary identity that celebrates rather than abandons its past. Behind it all is a group of devoted merchants and residents and a neighborhood association that is as dedicated and effective as they come. Log onto the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association website and you are greeted with the area in perspective -- from the latest news and developments to a fascinating compilation of the area's colorful mill village past. (History buffs, natives and newcomers alike enjoy the 'then and now' photographs.) The neighborhood sign reads: Diversity, Harmony, Community. Ninth Street is all that and more.

    E.K. Powe gets new science center
    (Herald-Sun. 18 November 2001)

    With a $50,000 donation from Home Depot and about $200,000 from Duke, a 1,600-square-foot science resource center addition was built onto the inner-city school, one of seven adopted by the university through its Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership Initiative. The bright room, which is modeled after classrooms at the NC Museum of Life & Science, nearly doubles the school´s previous science space in a converted mail room. The museum committed a staff member to help with teacher training, and Duke students will help teach students about various areas of science.

    Vegetarian group plans Thanksgiving feast
    (News & Observer, 20 November 2001)

    The Triangle Vegetarian Society will hold its annual Thanksgiving feast at Cafe Parizade in Erwin Square. There will be roasted tofu with apple-walnut stuffing, mushroom gravy, and fresh raspberry-cranberry relish, along with braised wheat gluten sauteed with yellow squash and sweet onions... All the food will be strictly vegan with no animal, egg or dairy products. No honey or white sugar will be used.

    Cozy knitting group spins yarns, needles one another
    (Herald-Sun. 25 November 2001)

    Tucked away on the corner of Ninth Street and Markham Avenue, Cozy could be the world's smallest department store. It has everything from bedding and furniture to clothing and jewelry, homemade soaps, beads and yarns... Knit Night is a diverse group, with butchers, bakers and candlestick makers -- almost. There are students and teachers, doctors and nurses, chemists and a conductor of a chorus. And they knit and chit-chat.

    Bakery hopes patrons will go 'Mad' over expansion
    (Herald-Sun. 7 November 2001)

    Hats off: In a business deal completed last week, Durham lost one of its more popular diners - Owens Broad St. Diner - and gained a bigger version of an equally admired bakery, the Mad Hatter's Bake Shop. The deal has the Mad Hatter moving out of its spot at Erwin Square and into the diner's digs at the intersection of West Main and Broad streets. Some of the extensive renovations planned for the site include an enclosed outdoor seating area along West Main Street.

    Duke celebrates at Trinity Heights
    (Herald-Sun. 14 November 2001)

    Urban development is more in demand in a society that grows tired of long commutes and suburban sprawl. More people are growing tired of cul-de-sacs and wide boulevards. They want to talk to their neighbors and be in walking distance to amenities.

    That´s true for Duke professor Peter Malin, who hopes his family´s move to Trinity Heights will "eliminate the distance between where we eat, sleep and work."

    Malin will now be able to walk to work on campus each day. His children will be able to wander to Ninth Street to shop or get a bite to eat. His wife will be able to take a quick trip to the library.

    City Council votes on High-Density ordinance
    (Herald-Sun. 2 October 2001)

    Council unanimously backed new zoning districts that allow for compact neighborhoods of up to 40, 60 and 80 housing units per acre. There are several projects in Durham in the pipeline at such higher densities. After facing concerns from neighborhood groups [led by OWDNA], the new districts require 18 percent of the property to be dedicated for open space... At least half of the open space must be open to the public.

    Duke trustees pave the way for construction boom
    (Herald-Sun. 6 October 2001)

    The roar of bulldozers and banging of hammers will echo across Duke's campus the next few years. The board of trustees approved a slew of major construction projects at its meeting Friday. The building activity marks a peak in Duke's history, said board Chairman Spike Yoh. And these projects are just a taste of what is to come, he said.

    Marchers unfurl big Gay Pride banner
    (Herald-Sun. 30 September 2001)

    An oversized gay pride flag cut a swath of rainbow colors past Duke University East Campus [and through the streets of Old West Durham] as people from all over North Carolina strode in the 16th N.C. Gay Pride Parade Saturday... Participants and onlookers displayed American flags nearly as often as rainbow-colored ones. Event spokesmen invoked the Sept. 11 attacks and equal rights and individual freedoms for all, gay or straight... It was the seventh time and the second year in a row the event has been held in Durham. "They are very supportive and cooperative," organizers said. "They are happy to have us here... Durham is a progressive pocket of North Carolina."

    Parade commemorates gay pride, national pride
    (N&O. 30 September 2001)

    State Rep. Verla Insko, a Democrat from Orange County, expressed hope that the terrorist attacks would motivate the state legislature to extend the state's hate crimes law to punish those who commit a crime against someone because of sexual orientation. "After September, I can't imagine that anyone in this country doesn't understand at a gut level what a hate crime is," Insko said. "The intention of that act was to terrorize us all, to make us all live in fear."

    Letter: Link light-rail stations to high-density zoning
    (Herald-Sun. 7 September 2001)

    This city has a wonderful opportunity to make higher-density living spaces come to fruition in an intelligent way, with thoughtful planning that considers the concerns of the affected neighborhoods - neighborhoods that also believe in adopting higher-density developments as a means of creating a more dynamic and positive living space in the Bull City. By taking a long-range view of the impact of today's decisions, we will all reap the benefits as our city matures and evolves.... If the linkage of regional rail stations and open space provisions is included in the text amendments, the City Council will have the full support of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association.

    Letter: Zoning and transit lines
    (Herald-Sun. 15 September 2001)

    The Board of Old West Durham Neighborhood Association commends the City Council for postponing its vote on the proposed high-density zoning text amendments at its Sept. 4 meeting. We believe that compact neighborhoods, and the high-density residential zoning they require, are a necessary component of well-balanced growth and essential to the long-term success of regional rail and other transit options in Durham and the Triangle... But we also believe the changes to the zoning ordinance that such development requires must be well thought out.

    Final museum plans head to Trustees
    (Duke Chronicle. 27 September 2001)

    The latest plans for The Duke University Museum of Art, which will be built on the corner of Duke University Road and Anderson Drive, call for five pavilions linked by a glass-covered lobby or great hall. The pavilions will include a 20th century international art gallery, a special exhibitions gallery and a permanent collections gallery. The other two pavilions will house an auditorium and a large three-story office facility, which will include classroom space.

    Sunday Buzz
    (Herald-Sun. 16 September 2001)

    Corner business: A new restaurant called Donovan's Restaurant & Bar that promises seafood, steaks and a fluorescent bar is slated to open later this month at the corner of Hillsborough Road and Trent Drive near Ninth Street. The business has had some pricey renovations - a new roof, an outdoor patio area and lots of Irish green paint.

    Parizade fundraiser draws large crowd: Event at cafe brings coalition´s campaign total to nearly $10,000(Duke Chronicle. 23 September 2001)

    Hundreds of people gathered at Cafe Parizade on West Main Street Saturday night to help raise money for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. The event was the culmination of a week of fundraising by a diverse coalition of about 40 student groups at Duke.

    Durham at its best
    (Herald-Sun editorial, 9/17/01)

    ...The city has some 148 neighborhoods, and many of them are very active. The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association is probably at the top of the list when it comes to making its views known on everything from transit stations for the proposed light-rail system to cleaning up cemeteries.

    Durham´s neighborhoods are one of this diverse city´s greatest strengths. More power to the neighbors, people!

    Business of the Week: Love is No. 1 at childcare
    (Herald-Sun. 20 August 2001)

    Love isn´t part of the business plan of most companies, but Kara Vample says it´s the centerpiece of her Durham childcare operation, Primary Colors. Her business is built on the lessons Vample learned from her mother. "My mother, with her daycare it was never just a business to her," Vample said. "She´s always taught me to provide a safe and loving environment and everything else will come." That advice has paid off for Vample, who earlier this month opened a Primary Colors location on Trent Drive [in OWD].

    Bakatsias plans a small café on Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun, August 16, 2001)

    George Bakatsias wants to create an oasis where couples or individuals will stop in for a glass of wine, a cup of coffee or a bite to eat. "Somewhere they will not feel obligated to order a three-course meal or to spend $40," he said. "A corner center for conversation."... Ven Dix, which will be across Hillsborough Road from George´s Garage and could act as a bridge between the north and south ends of Ninth Street. Out in the courtyard, Bakatsias plans to show black and white films, including silent movies. A grassy area that runs between the building and Ninth Street will be landscaped and have tables offering a southern view of the busy street.

    Three generations attend same school: a kindergarten student at EK Powe will have mama three doors away and grandma upstairs
    (Herald-Sun. 13 August 2001)

    When 5-year old Kaitlyn Wagner begins her first day, there will be three generations at the school. Her mother, Kristen Wagner, has been teaching at the school on Ninth Street for three years and finally convinced her mother, computer specialist Linda Hood, to move to Durham from Havelock last September.

    Growing Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun. 8 August 2001)

    After 18 years as co-owner of Vaguely Reminiscent on Ninth Street, Deb Nickell is striking out with Cozy, her own business venture on the retail oasis. Located at the intersection of Ninth Street and Markham Avenue, Cozy will nestle into the building where Fiberspace operated for five years. The new retail store will sell a wide selection of women's clothing, hand-made jewelry and home furnishings. For almost two decades, Nickell and Carol Anderson ran Vaguely Reminiscent and developed it into one of the street's more popular stops. A few weeks ago, Anderson bought out Nickell's stake in the business and the two are now friendly competitors (literally).

    Therapy shares road with spiritual, religious beliefs
    (Herald-Sun. 3 August 2001)

    If you want an emotional tune-up that will incorporate your spiritual or religious beliefs, you´re not alone, and you´re not stranded... Sherrie Dillard, 41, an ordained minister with a bachelor´s degree in psychology, gives emotional tune-ups in Old West Durham. She finds that the rewards for tune-ups can change from day to day, but one constant is being able to comfort those in grief. "I am able to understand better how we are supported and loved by spirit. I know that we are never truly as alone as we sometimes feel," she said.

    Sunday Buzz
    (Herald-Sun. 15 July 2001)

    Hats off: The Mad Hatter's Bake Shop is expanding into the basement of the Regulator Bookshop in the heart of Ninth Street. The cafe will offer lunch fare, cake, pastries and folks with laptops free access to a wireless DSL Internet hub... A 10-year-old Look Out: Shawn Slome's Durham-based clothing retailer Look Out Casual Clothes [Ninth Street] is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. Most of the clothing are leftovers or slightly flawed but you'll be hard pressed to figure out what makes any of the items on the racks imperfect.

    The Independent Weekly
    (masthead for newspaper published in OWD)

    "We believe in journalism with a moral purpose. We believe that publishing a newspaper is a public trust. We believe, too, in this blazing ideal for ourselves: We're out to help build a just community here in our beloved North Carolina home."
    -- Steve Schewel, founder

    High-density residential plan has look of Durham factories
    (N&O. 10 July 2001)

    A Durham developer wants to build one of the densest residential projects the Triangle has seen in recent memory, squeezing as many as 380 apartments on less than six acres of land in the bustling Ninth Street area... if the application is accepted, the rezoning case would be followed closely by neighbors, including John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham neighborhood. Schelp said he likes the architectural design and wants to have a "quiet conversation" with the developers to work out concerns. Neighbors likely will want to talk about the project's density, its height, traffic impacts, open space and stormwater runoff, he said. "We have not seen the details, and the devil is in the details," Schelp said. "I don't want to sound too negative, because they have a handsome project that reflects history."

    He sent the architect copies of the neighborhood's Web site and information about the history of the neighborhood, a nationally registered historic district. And, he was glad the developers approached neighbors before submitting their application. Still, he said, "this is going to be in the heart of our historic district. "We do want the make sure the final product is appropriate for the surrounding area."

    Apartment complex near Ninth Street would pack them in
    (Herald-Sun. 9 July 2001)

    ...John Schelp, Old West Durham Neighborhood Association president, said residents have met with the developer and reviewed the plans and are "cautious and interested."

    "We´re looking carefully at it because this is a large group of apartments representing a large number of people that could be repeated in the vacant Erwin Square property nearby," he said, referring to an adjacent 19 acres owned by Erwin Square Limited Partnership. "It´s an important development for the neighborhood because it´s in the middle of the neighborhood. It´s in the middle of the nationally registered historic district." Schelp said neighbors were interested in the "smart growth" concept and "delighted" with some of the historical design features. But they also were concerned about how stormwater would be handled and how much open space will eventually remain on the entire Erwin Square site, he said. Neighborhood representatives would continue working with the developer as details become available. "We´re interested in what they´re trying to accomplish," he said.

    Editorial: Erwin Square Apartments -- Better here than there
    (Herald-Sun. 11 July 2001)

    The idea of high-density apartments at Erwin Square fits neatly with what city planners call in-fill development. The project would consist of up to 380 apartments at 65 per acre, a density well above current regulations... The developer's proposal has elicited considerable interest from neighborhood associations, which are a powerful force in Durham land use decisions, in part because of the site's proximity to a possible light-rail station near Ninth Street. Apartment residents would also be within easy walking distance of Ninth Street, Duke University's East Campus, Erwin Square and Brightleaf Square.

    Editorial: Rail-friendly development
    (N&O. 13 July 2001)

    Infill moves people back into a city's core, which spurs revitalization. Like many older cities whose economic and tax-base fortunes were hurt by urban sprawl, Durham would benefit from the return of residents and development to town. The other obvious value of new housing plunked down in the middle of Durham is shorter commutes, instead of long ones from the suburbs to job centers at Research Triangle Park and Duke University and to shopping at Northgate Mall and Brightleaf Square. Such density should fit into existing neighborhoods, and developers seem to have worked toward that end. Importantly, the project would be built near a station of the proposed Triangle Transit Authority regional rail line. The first stage of the rail system will connect Durham and Raleigh. Dense housing around the stations would maximize the rail's effect for convenience and removing cars from Triangle roads.

    Letter: Next stop, Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun. 15 July 2001)

    From the beginning, the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association has been a strong proponent of regional rail in general and of a Ninth Street station in particular... The Ninth Street shopping district is one of the most bustling in Durham, attracting customers from throughout the Triangle. With the planned expansion of Erwin Square and the Duke Medical Center research complex along Erwin Road, even more businesses and residents will be reached via the Ninth Street location -- creating jobs, increasing ridership and boosting Durham's tax base.

    Light Nights
    (Preview. 22 June 2001)

    Here are a few ways to while away those magical summer nights in the Triangle... Why limit yourself to a single haunt when you can hit Ninth Street in Durham and enjoy all the area has to offer? That's what Durham resident and Ninth Street proponent David McKnight likes to do. With restaurant, bar and cafe owners setting tables out on the sidewalk for summer revelers, "We have porches and patios all the way from Elmo's Diner to Wellspring," said McKnight, a musician who performs in the area. Ninth Street is also a great place to browse, meet up with friends, have a meal and enjoy live music, he said.

    Encore for a Bull City bluesman: Five strangers' efforts pay off as Durham honors Blind Boy Fuller(News & Observer. June 16, 2001)

    Blind Boy Fuller, 60 years dead, might enjoy today's celebration: music by Tar Heel bluesman Lightnin' Wells and other musicians, a speech by the mayor and tributes from musicians who were shaped by his work... Today's recognition started back in 1999 when Gaile Welker of Greensboro saw an Internet story about the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association's cleanup of a cemetery and sent an e-mail message to the group's president to ask whether Fuller's grave had been found... Together, the "group of five strangers" persuaded city leaders to proclaim today "Blind Boy Fuller Day," erect the marker on the American Tobacco Trail near his grave and got the state to agree to put up another marker later this summer on Fayetteville Street.

    Pyne Preservation Awards Celebrate Silver Anniversary
    (Herald-Sun. 16 June 2001)

    The Historic Preservation Society of Durham recently celebrated twenty-five years of preservation awards with a photographic retrospective of past award winners... a special recognition award went this year to MM Fowler, Inc. Marvin Barnes, at first reluctant to hear the concerns of neighborhood associations around the site, changed plans for the modern BP Gas Station he was building. Instead the new gas station was designed to blend with the neighborhood with a return to the original Neo-Colonial design of the former gas station. Barnes redesigned the canopy over the gas pumps and installed old-fashioned street lamps...

    Building a community on the World Wide Web, the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association found a new way to connect with other historic neighborhoods. Not stopping there, OWDNA spearheaded an effort in Durham to develop a comprehensive and sophisticated community resource. Association President John Schelp and webmaster Pam Spaulding took the neighborhood high tech two years ago and created a new identity for the neighborhood association.

    Hillcrest Convalescent Center
    (24 June 2001. Herald-Sun)

    ...Hillcrest, a 154-bed family-owned and -operated facility, serves patients from Durham and surrounding counties and features its own in-house pharmacy. It has more than 160 employees. It is named after the home of textile mill owner William Erwin that was on the site at the corner of Pettigrew Street and Swift Avenue. The center also has its own beauty salon and chapel. The chapel has two stained glass windows from the Erwin house.

    Citizens Integral Part of the Pollution Solution
    (Waterways, May/June 2001 -- newsletter sent with every Durham water bill)

    Efforts to clean up urban streams throughout the city of Durham are paying off. But nowhere is that progress more evident than in the Ellerbe Creek watershed... the Friends of South Ellerbe Creek and other neighborhood volunteer groups are helping to focus community awareness on the need to protect and restore streams in Durham... "Hey, you've got this resource in your back yard!" says Michelle Nowlin, coordinator for Friends of South Ellerbe Creek [started by OWDNA]. "Community groups like Friends of South Ellerbe Creek increase pride in our neighborhoods and our local streams through stream clean-up projects."

    Want to do more? Get involved? The Friends of South Ellerbe Creek is an informal group of citizens dedicated to conserving and enhancing the scenic, recreational, natural and historic qualities of South Ellerbe Creek and its landscape in the Upper Neuse River Basin. More info can be found at http://www.owdna.org/fosec

    2001 Guide to the Triangle
    (20 May 2001)

    The newcomer thinks Duke's cathedral is a postcard, the Gothic, stone dormitories practically shout old money, and Cameron Indoor Stadium has the hush of hallowed ground. Then he wanders over to Ninth Street, the funkiest Bobo enclave in the Triangle. Altogether, he finds Durham interesting and eclectic... The native sees a college populated mostly with out-of-state rich kids, and a hippie shopping district overwhelmed by people with their bodies pierced in the most wince-inducing places.

    Duke may pay city for fire service
    (24 May, 2001. Chronicle    )

    Firemen relax outside Durham's Firestation #2 on Ninth Street, one of the stations that serves Duke. Soon, the University may compensate the city for fire services, with an annual payment of at least $300,000.

    Sports Bar coming to Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun. 22 April 2001)

    The two store fronts at 758 and 760 Ninth Street have been united as part of the building’s transformation into a sports bar that’ll be called Charlie’s. Durham resident Mike Cole, the owner, has big plans for the 4,100-square-foot establishment, which will feature both a partially covered deck out back and sidewalk seating. To make room for tables out front, Cole plans to move the façade of the building back 13 feet and create an overhang for sidewalk sitters. Meanwhile out back, there are plans for a 30-by-30 deck with a bar. Inside, look for a large-screen television, pool tables, a game room and another bar.

    World flavors (
    Herald-Sun. 22 April 2001    )

    A Mexican restaurant has opened at 748 Ninth Street that offers $1 tacos. Taqueria La Frontera just opened last week. La Frontera brings another flavor to Ninth Street, which already has Banh’s Cuisine, which offers Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, Blue Corn Café, which serves up Latin American fare, and International Delights, which sells Middle Eastern cuisine. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s the flavor behemoth, Magnolia Grill, and the old Southern food standby, Biscuit King. Don’t forget to stop by Francesca’s for some Italian gelato ice cream.

    The Independent Weekly's Best of the Triangle
    (April 2001)

    • Best Saturday morning tradition: A quick stroll around Frances and John McDonald's store is a great opportunity for kids to see what drugstores looked like before they were all Eckerd Big Box Stores. Check out the vintage elixirs and tonics displayed behind the counter. Rumor has it that Joe Graedon, of 'People's Pharmacy' fame, stops in for advice from time to time.
    • Best knitting circle: FiberSpace welcomes professional and novice knitters alike to exchange gossip and advice on the shady business of keeping us in sweaters and scarves.
    • Best new independent record store: If you must have Stereolab's 'Alumninum Tunes' vinyl box set... Radio Free Records, a funky converted house on Hillsborough Road, seems like such a find for alternative-rock aficionados and collectors.
    • Best place to eat with a group: George's Garage.
    • Best toy store to play in: The Playhouse Toy Store... will keep your tykes occupied long enough for you to get great advice on your toy purchases, get your stuff gift-wrapped, change a diaper, read a few flyers on local events -- and the young 'uns still won't want to leave.
    • Best neighborhood for singles: [Old] West Durham.
    • Best place for a cheap date: Cosmic Cantina.

     

    A Creative Invitation
    (Herald-Sun. 2 March 2001)

    Buzz hereby institutes an occasional award for most creative press release. There is much self-interest involved here, since this crusty old wordsmith has seen his share of boring, overblown puffery. But here’s a good one.

    "Cleaning up an old cemetery. Working in the community: These simple interactions are the kinds of pleasures money can’t buy, and a new Harvard study (AP, 3/1/01) says they may be more important than money to people’s happiness. Researchers found that areas where residents had high civil involvement were happier than those with more wealth but less community participation and concluded that the best thing folks could do is help clean-up the historic Erwin Mills cemetery on March 10."

    Places in the heart, and on the Web: A chat with Pam Spaulding
    (News & Observer. 5 March 2001)

    Pam Spaulding didn't know what skills she could offer at that first meeting of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. She's manager of the Information Technology department at Duke University Press, but that doesn't have anything to do with community activism, she thought. When she offered to throw a few pages of content and photos about the group onto a Web site, her role became clear. Online for about two years now, the site has grown from 10 pages to hundreds. It has a history section, a photo gallery and a personality.

    Historic Cemetery Clean-up
    (Carolina Times. 3 March 2001)

    The public is invited to join descendants of Erwin Mill workers and volunteers from the neighborhood for a third clean-up of the Erwin Mills Cemetery. Historic graveyard in Old West Durham is one of the few in the South where African-Americans and whites are buried together. Clear underbrush, paint fence and admire the blooming daffodils (from last year's efforts).

    Mugshots to move to Ninth Street location
    (Herald-Sun. 3 March 2001)

    From Ireland to Italy: An Italian-American style restaurant and bar with an adjoining modern-rock club will fill two long vacant spaces on Ninth Street. Mugshots will take the place of the now-defunct Irish pub called Biddy Early’s, which closed almost a year ago. A club -- called Bugsy’s -- will move into space nearby.

    E.K. Powe Student wins Black History Quiz Bowl
    (Carolina Times. 3 March 2001)

    Desmera Gatewood, a fifth grade student at EK Powe Elementary School, was the top winner of the first Annual Black History Month Quiz Bowl sponsored by Duke University.

    The Blue Devil steps out of stadiums and into schools to blend academics with athletics(Herald-Sun. 19 February 2001)

    He has a head three times larger than most, wears a blue cape, performs amusing antics and does science tricks. He is the Duke Blue Devil mascot and was at E.K. Powe Elementary School last week getting youngsters pumped up about science and engineering... The Blue Devil, whose alter ego is earning his master's degree in engineering management, spend a few hours a week at the school teaching students about science through the Duke Partnership Initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation.

    Fitting into rhythm of Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun. Feb 6, 2001)

    A business district like the 700 block of Ninth Street resembles an ecosystem: complex, full of symbiotic relationships and always in flux. The Regulator is an independent bookstore that caters to a sophisticated crowd, just the kind of people who are drawn by a market like Wellspring... Ninth Street’s character is created by the interaction of a number of factors, including the established residential neighborhood to the north, the proximity of Duke, the Erwin Square development and the nature of the businesses that inhabit the street.

    "One thing about Ninth Street is you get kind of an ebb and flow," Ted Conner (Chamber of Commerce) said. "During one part of the day the part closest to Main Street tends to be really active, then at night the activity shifts the other way. It’s kind of like watching the tide go in and out, but it’s an exciting place, very dynamic."

    The long-neglected block of Ninth Street between Markham Avenue and Green Street began its transformation this week with demolition of some of the existing structures... John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, is delighted with the plans, which he describes as "a model of neighborhood-developer cooperation."

    Arts programs to receive new space: The steam plant and a tobacco warehouse are being considered as sites(February 5, 2001. Duke Chronicle)

    Duke's Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said he is currently negotiating with the Liggett Group for a warehouse adjacent to the Center for Documentary Studies. If Duke acquires the site, an eight-acre plot just off Swift Avenue [at West Pettigrew], it will likely be used for the arts complex complete with studio, office and performance space... "I'm trying to provide loft art space in an old warehouse-the type of space artists kill for," Trask said.

    Ninth St Store reeling in customers
    (Herald-Sun. 12 February 2001)

    Six years ago, Jan Hackett decided to leave his business behind and devote himself to fishing... The store sells Orvis fly tackle and clothing and fly-tying tools and materials. Orvis is one of the most recognized fly-fishing equipment makers. Hackett spreads his love for the sport by offering group and private casting sessions, lessons in fly-fishing and fly-tying, and guided trips. He also teaches fly-fishing as a physical education course at Duke University... "You get caught up in the surroundings," said Hackett, who releases the fish he catches back into the water. "Lots of times it takes us to really pristine areas. You really become part of the whole environment."

    Building plan forces Native Threads liquidation
    (Herald-Sun. 10 January 2001)

    Frogs to go: The Ninth Street store Native Threads - the one with those friendly, giant green frogs in front of it - is holding a liquidation sale in anticipation of its building being demolished sometime next month. It seems the owner of the building and lot, Kinney Kim, has plans to construct a new building to replace the 750-square-foot wood structure that has been home to Native Threads since 1992... One indication of just how hot the popular retail area has become is what Kim plans to do with the site. We're talking a 5,000-square-foot building for retail and office with two stories and a basement... In the 1930s and 40s, the site was home to a 24-hour diner.

    Police Department creates 5th district: Downtown and some nearby areas will be the focus (Herald-Sun. 05 January 2001)

    With several downtown redevelopment proposals on the table, the Durham Police Department plans to reorganize next month to devote a new central police district to downtown and other nearby areas.... The district, the city's fifth, will cover downtown, Duke University's East Campus, Erwin Square and a sliver of East Durham... The move comes with the opening of the upscale West Village apartments near Brightleaf Square. Capitol Broadcasting Co. also hopes to begin renovating the former American Tobacco factory on Blackwell Street with 450,000 square feet of office space. And the city is considering a 5,000-seat theater north of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park... Police Chief Chambers said it made sense to include Ninth Street and East Campus as a part of the central district because they have a similar environment.

    Ciompi violist steps out in solo
    (Herald-Sun. 17 January 2001)

    On Sunday afternoon, the Ciompi Quartet's talented violist Jonathan Bagg appeared in Duke's Nelson Music Room... and enlisted the help of his 13-year-old pianist son, Samuel [OWD residents]... Summing up, I was happy to have an opportunity to assess Bagg as a soloist and found much to enjoy in the evening.

    Labors of love
    (News & Observer. 4 September 2000)

    David Felton drives an old car, walks to work from his small apartment and normally eats lunch at home... Felton, 29, has deliberately pared his life so he can do work he loves. The tall, thin Felton works at The Regulator Bookshop on Ninth Street, a hip Durham corridor trafficked by Duke University students, the artsy and the knowledgeable... "The idea of a career job with a big salary has never been something I was interested in," says Felton, who majored in English and religion before dropping out of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. "I'm more interested in an experience that I find gratifying and meaningful."... Felton has worked at The Regulator for three years. Last year, he made about $13,000 at his full-time job. His perks include a 30 percent discount on books.

    After 32 years as pastor of Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian, Ed Henegar is off to The land of stars & honey (Herald-Sun. 20 May 2000)

    Pastor Henegar said that Blacknall has had no rip-roaring growth during his tenure, but has served the community for which it is best positioned. The church is located on Perry Street right off Ninth Street, only a block from Duke's East Campus... "When I came here, there were 125 members," he said. "For the past 15 years the membership has stayed about 320. When I came, the members were 90 percent Erwin Mill people. Now it's mostly young professionals, a lot of students and academic people."

    Best of 2000: Coolest Place On Ninth Street
    (Spectator Magazine. 18 October 2000)

    Let's think outside the box, shall we? Certainly George's has earned a glowing reputation as a fine eatery, an excellent meeting place for drinks and even an upscale dance venue, but must "cool" always equate to watering holes or clubs? Kudos to the judges on this category for opting out of the traditional responses. The Regulator Bookstore won't serve you a highball, can't offer any appetizers and offers little room for cutting the rug. But hip, intelligent and frequented by the best Triangle authors (and the best Durham readers), this hot spot simply oozes cool.

    Nice Price Books speaks volumes
    (Herald-Sun. 22 January 2001)

    Barry Blanchette, owner of Nice Price Books, recently bought the former New York New York Deli at 811 Broad Street and is renovating it with plans to relocate his Durham store from its current leased location at 3415 Hillsborough Road... The new location will put Nice Price in the thick of Durham’s booksellers. The Regulator, Books on Ninth and, Books Do Furnish a Room all will be in walking distance of Nice Price... True to form, Blanchette’s not worried about the competition. In fact, he looks at the density of bookstores in the popular shopping district as a positive... "A book person" is going to go to all the stores, he said. "Selections vary from store to store. You never know what you may find. That’s why the Triangle is such a wonderful place for this business."

    What we did for fun: Early 20th-century Durham residents entertained themselves with musical and other performances and social events until movies gave a new diversion (Herald-Sun. January 11, 2000)

    I.L. "Buck" Dean, a West Durham merchant whose name the Durham Freeway bears today, remembered the private recreation site of the Erwin Mills textile factory. "The people in West Durham didn't have to look for recreation," Dean said. "The Company furnished recreation. They had their own movie over there - talking movie - and like I say, they had their own tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball field. The only trouble was, you didn't use none of this stuff of a Sunday."

    On three days a week - other than Sundays - Erwin Auditorium showed movies. "The first sound speaking picture I saw was at Erwin Auditorium," one long-time resident recalled.

    "The activities were furnished by the Erwin Mills recreation and that type of thing," a Ninth Street merchant said. "First, they had a library at the corner of Hillsborough Road and Ninth Street. I remember during World War I it was the center of other activities - quilting by the housewives and other activities of that nature."

    South Ellerbe Creek Project, by Tom Hodges-Copple, E.K. Powe Student Council President (Soaring Eagle News. Nov/Dec 2000)

    Last year I worked with a group of third, fourth and fifth grade grade students and three teachers from EK Powe to try and make South Ellerbe Creek a better place. We took pictures of the creek and then on one Saturday we worked with the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association to clean up the creek. We cleaned up the whole section diagonal to our school. We cleaned it up by moving shrub and garbage from around the creek. You would not believe what we found! We found stuff like soccer balls, mattresses and even a toilet. We had a huge pile of stuff collected from just that one Saturday.

    Birthing center for techies: nonprofit organization [in OWD] works with schools, teachers, parents and students on various levels to improve math and science education.(N&O. December 11, 2000)

    ... the work that goes on here is getting plenty of notice. Shodor scientists and educators help schoolteachers and students make better use of computers, mathematical modeling and other advanced tools of learning. Business and education leaders credit them with improving high-tech education in the Triangle and beyond.

    "They're a connection to us for the world of applied mathematics," said Everly Broadway, mathematics coordinator for Durham Public Schools. "These guys bring a whole lot of scientific knowledge to us. They're our friends in whatever we need them to be, and we see them as being very important."

    Water Protection Needs Higher Durham Priority,
    (letter to the editor, Herald-Sun. December 15, 2000)

    South Ellerbe Creek flows for three miles through some of Durham's oldest and most densely developed neighborhoods (Old West Durham, Walltown, Trinity Park and Northgate Park).... on Thanksgiving Day, an old 18" terra-cotta pipe burst, spilling 4.5 million gallons of raw sewage into the creek for a period nine days -- the biggest sewage spill in the state.... The Friends of South Ellerbe Creek and the Neuse River Foundation ask the City of Durham to take appropriate measures to protect our waterways by investing the necessary resources to prevent such disasters in the future.

    Volunteers spruce up old cemetery: Clean-up of the cemetery, established in 1893, is being done by the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association
    (Herald-Sun. November 18, 2000)

    DURHAM -- A small group of volunteers returned Saturday morning to continue work they started earlier this year, to rescue straggling rows of gravestones from briers and oblivion. Bill Yarbrough slid a white-painted signpost from the back of his car and lowered it into a hole he dug at the cemetery’s margin near the road. His wife, Martha, held the post steady while Yarbrough tamped concrete in the hole around it. "Is it plumb?" Martha Yarbrough asked. She tilted the post forward and away, advised by members of a small group that gathered this chilly morning on the gravel road beside railroad tracks. Down the hill, invisible behind a thicket of cedar trees, traffic sped past Duke Hospital on the Durham Freeway...

    Erwin Mills' pulse gave life to village: Textile factory shaped West Durham's workers' lives
    (Herald-Sun. November 14, 2000)

    During the Depression, reduced hours and temporary spot layoffs were common, as attested in a series of profiles of Erwin Mills workers written in 1938 by Ida L. Moore... and can be read online at the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association's Web site. The neighborhood association has accompanied the articles with modern photographs of the houses where Moore interviewed her subjects. The Web site also contains vintage photographs and a history of Erwin Mills and the neighborhood.

    Cafe Parizade: Voted "Best Outdoor Dining"
    (Spectator Magazine)

    Letter: ROTC cleanup effort made Ninth Street area safer
    (Chronicle. 4 October 2000)

    Sunday, a team of Navy ROTC volunteers spent the morning clearing a neighborhood sidewalk that had been covered with years of roots and packed earth -- a project that required ample elbow grease. Thanks to these Duke volunteers, pedestrians will no longer walk in the street. The open sidewalk along Green Street (near EK Powe Elementary) will allow neighbors in wheelchairs, kids on bikes, parents with strollers and others get to school and the Ninth Street Shopping district under safer conditions.

    Monday Rant
    (News & Observer. 16 October 2000)

    Our chief restroom correspondent reports thought-provoking graffiti scrawled in the women's room of the Durham Wellspring. (To help set the scene, she describes the facility as being "decorated with all these groovy posters from the Eno Festival and (with) a sticker on the faucet saying, "The Neuse begins here.")

    The graffiti: "Subvert the dominant paradigm." Under which someone else wrote: "Whole Foods is the dominant paradigm."

    Students Work to Protect Creek
    (Carolina Times. 30 September 2000)

    A group of English as a Second Language students at EK Powe Elementary School volunteered for a community project of protecting stormwater going into South Ellerbe Creek by placing anti-pollution stickers on storm drains and distributing educational flyers to the residents.

    Bull City has a role in Thomas Wolfe legacy
    (Herald-Sun. 26 October 2000)

    Durham, which is called "Exeter" in Wolfe's autobiographical novel, Look Homeward Angel, was where Wolfe went for fun... Durham had a reputation among the scholars of [Chapel] Hill as a place to go for a good time for many years going back to Pinhook, the antebellum drovers' campground near the present site of Sam's Quick Shop on Erwin Road [in OWD]. For the boys of Wolfe's time... "It was always there, as that beacon of temptation."

    Making Music Together
    (Herald-Sun. 3 October 2000)

    28-year-old Bud Gadow owns High Strung, the stringed instruments and repair shop on 1920 1/2 Perry Street,located obscurely upstairs in the building on the corner of trendy Ninth and Perry streets. It's a business of niches, really. To repair and create violins, guitars, cellos and such. There aren't too many of these types of shops in the Triangle, Gadow said, let alone in the state of North Carolina. Not only that, but most of the Ninth Street frequenters outside of Gadow's retro-trendy little studio would hardly know there was a business on the second floor of the brown and white brick building.

    Nuestro Pueblo
    (Herald-Sun. September 22, 2000)

    En 1995, los residentes del Barrio Viejo del Oeste de Durham (Old West Durham) formaron una organizacion que reconoce la diversidad del barrio cercano a la Universidad de Duke y Ninth Street.

    La asociacion se reune el ultimo jueves de cada mes a las 7 de la tarde. Todos los vecinos son bienvenidos. Para mas informacion, llamen a Kramer Reeves al 286-1808 o visite www.owdna.org.

    Historic Preservation Society of Durham Bestows Seven Pyne Preservation Awards(Preservation Durham. Summer 2000)

    Under the leadership of neighborhood president John Schelp and developed by webmaster Pam Spaulding, OWDNA went high-tech two years ago and has since served as a catalyst and a model for other local groups. Through this neighborhood's desire to be linked to every related resource around, they inspire or embarrassed other organizations like HPSD to develop or expand their own web pages... It is good to see that as new technologies make their way into our lives, the new is being used to remember the old.

    Ninth Street Facelift in the Works: planned multi-million dollar renovation would transform both the east and west sides of the 800-block of Ninth
    (Herald-Sun. 26 August 2000)

    "We strongly support the plan," said John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. "We've been talking since the beginning of the year, and we're delighted with what's come out. Our discussions have been a model of developer-neighborhood cooperation."

    The association was particularly happy that the developer decided on red brick buildings that mirror the restaurants and retail stores of old Ninth Street. "Now we'll have a bridge -- and it's a wonderful bridge -- between E.K.Powe and Erwin Mills," Schelp said.


    The Magnolia Grill's Ben Barker: Not Afraid of Flavor
    (The Urban Hiker, June 2000)

    Over the nearly 15 years that this Durham restaurant has been open, it has gathered a reputation as one of the best, if not the best, in the area... "We love the fact that this place looks like a truck stop on the outside," says Ben Barker [owner and chef]. "Then you walk in, and it doesn't look quite as much like a truck stop, but it's not fancy or pretentious looking."

    The restaurant was converted from a neighborhood grocery store in 1986. "This place was intended all along to be a neighborhood restaurant," says Barker. "It just happens that the neighborhood is the Triangle."

    Help Urged for Crime Prevention Groups
    (Herald-Sun. August 2, 2000)

    The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association is urging the city to provide administrative assistance for the heads of the four crime-prevention groups... Partners Against Crime work with the Durham Police Department to improve crime-prevention efforts at neighborhood level... "The focus of the of the four PAC chairs should be and is building bridges in the community and focusing on the community, and when you're always hit left and right by administrative tasks it makes your job more difficult," Schelp said.

    These PACs Need City Aid
    (Herald-Sun editorial. August 3, 2000)

    Members of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, one of Durham's most active community groups, told city officials this week that clerical duties -- everything from mailing notices to creating databases -- are hampering the crime-fighting efforts of the partnership groups... the good work of Partners Against Crime becomes even more important -- and further strengthens the case for a helping hand from the city administration and the Police Department.

    Fear, anger turned into self-defense: [OWD] Resident obtains grant for five free workshops
    (Herald-Sun. June 5, 2000)

    One Durham resident turned her anger and concern about two rapes in Trinity Park into a resolve to do something about it. The result: a grant for free self-defense workshops... Kim Griffin worked with the District 2 PAC to obtain a grant for five free self-defense workshops, taught by SafeSkills and for children, senior citizens and women... The workshops are open to residents of Police District 2, which covers northern Durham and includes the neighborhoods of Trinity Park, Watts-Hillandale, Ninth Street, Bragtown, Walltown, Kerrwood, Old West Durham, Oxford Manor, Old Farm and some Guess Road subdivisions.

    Children Bring Environmental Message Home to Parents
    (The Carolina Times. July 8, 2000    )

    Students from various Durham schools learn a variety of ways to keep local waterways clean from Ms. Bambi Wilson, public education coordinator, for the City's Storm Water Services Division. A science group at E.K. Powe Elementary School gathers information on water quality at South Ellerbee Creek located across the street from the school.

    Old West Durham a local legacy in Library of Congress: Neighborhood is an American pie slice of life
    (N&O. May 20, 2000)     [Reprinted with permission of the News & Observer]

    DURHAM -- The Library of Congress has a special place for the Old West Durham neighborhood: an acid-free box.   The historic neighborhood near Duke University started as a pit stop for travelers even before Durham was established in the 1850s.

    Narrative and photographs illustrating its history make up one of about 1,300 entries in the Library of Congress' Local Legacies Project, which celebrates the library's bicentennial by documenting and preserving slices of life from communities across the country.

    Potter book party casts spell over crowd: Regulator's midnight release festivites draw 600 who can't wait (Herald-Sun. July 9, 2000)

    From the Regulator Bookshop's door on Ninth Street and downt he sidewalk for more than 85 paces stood a queue watching as little girls in witches' hats dutifully followed their parents by rote out the door, already nose deep and minds distant into "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." The scene warmed John Valentine's heart. Valentine, the owner of The Regulator, said Saturday after surviving a deluge of about 600 people at midnight Friday: "More books are going to be read tonight than ever in the history of reading."

    About 4,000 people expected for Gay Pride Day:
    (Herald-Sun, June 8, 2000)

    Support from the Durham community at large has been strong. Ninth Street merchants have made donations and hung rainbow banners, symbols of gay pride, on their storefronts. The Neighborhood Association of Old West Durham will march in the parade.

    "Our neighborhood slogan is, 'Diversity, Harmony, Community,' said Kelly Rimer of the association. "The march is in our neighborhood, and we thought that participating would be in keeping with that spirit." The association's board of directors voted unanimously to participate in the march, Rimer said...

    NCPride 2000 March will begin on East Campus and travel down West Main, Ninth Street, Markham, Broad to return to campus.

    Triangle Guide
    (N&O, May 2000)

    Ninth Street is one of my favorite blocks anywhere. I've heard it compared to "what Franklin Street used to be like," but it has always seemed less college-town and more blue-collar than that. The Regulator Bookshop is a model of what good work a dynamic independent bookseller can do. And you won't find many vintage establishments like McDonald's Drug Store elsewhere in the Triangle anymore.

    Gay pride march in Durham drawing wide support
    (N&O. June 9, 2000)

    N.C. Pride 2000 is getting support from others this year: The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association plans to march under a banner and has invited other neighborhood organizations to participate, and 10 to 12 religious congregations will participate, organizers said. A contingent of Duke faculty and students is among the 67 groups signed up to march.

    Techies by the ton take over Triangle
    (N&O. May 22, 2000)

    Evidence that the Triangle is a hotbed of technology is easily found around the region. Several subdivisions have created neighborhood Web sites. One example is The Old West Durham home page (http://www.owdna.org) that provides such information as how to receive free from the city home security items such as deadbolt locks, light timers and motion detectors. This Web page was built a little more than a year ago and has had more than 5,500 hits, says John Schelp, president of The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. Schelp says the Web site has been critical in getting information out quickly to the 800-home association.

    10 things to know about... Durham
    (N&O. May 21, 2000)

    6- The city is a quilt of strong, interesting neighborhoods. Watts/Hillandale, Trinity Park, Forest Hills, Morehead Hill, Duke Park, Old West Durham and Old North Durham have tree-lined streets of historic homes close to the central city.

    8- Ninth Street is the city's Left Bank, an eclectic collection of boutiques and restaurants near Duke's two campuses. It evolved from a row of shops that served an old cotton mill nearby. Get a tattoo. Paint and glaze a pot. Read a book. Shop. Eat.


    Positively Ninth Street:     Several vacant buildings could have a facelift in store as property owners ponder a redevelopment project that includes new parking
    (Herald-Sun, May 10, 2000)

    A Durham family has lofty plans to transform a number of neglected Ninth Street buildings into restaurants, shops and offices, a long-awaited move that could extend the popular avenue's allure ... "I think it's great usage for that property," said Shawn Slome, owner of Look Out! Casual Clothes on Ninth Street. "I think it will support the rest of Ninth Street. I don't consider it a threat at all. The only challenge will be getting people to walk that extra block."

    A Feather in his toque: The Southeast's best chef is Magnolia Grill's Ben Barker, says the Beard Foundation
    (Herald-Sun, May 10, 2000)

    OWD restaurant garners first Beard Award for the state of North Carolina... "It's a cool thing... a neat, neat recognition for the restaurant... I think it will draw a attention to all the other people who are doing things around here too," said Barker.

    Street Festival
     (N&O. April 7, 2000)

    The independently owned and operated businesses on Ninth Street are sponsoring a day of outdoor family fun Saturday with clowns, balloons, children's crafts, temporary tattoos and food. Admission to Family Fun Day, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is free but there is a charge for some activities and food.

    Group Will Spruce up Erwin Mills Cemetery
    (N&O. March 2, 2000)

    DURHAM -- The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association will clean up the old Erwin Mills cemetery in West Durham on Saturday. Several descendants of people buried in the cemetery will participate in the cleanup, which begins at 9 a.m. Volunteers are welcome.

    From 1893 to 1993, the Erwin Mills cemetery was the final resting place for generations of people who had worked in the textile mills on Ninth Street.

    Anyone who worked in the mills was offered a free cemetery plot. According to the Durham Vital Records Department, a number of the cemetery's graves hold the remains of African-Americans -- making it one of the few historically integrated cemeteries in the area.

    For more information, on the history of Erwin Mills, please visit: http://www.owdna.org/history.htm

    Durham's 15 Local Favorite Restaurants (Four in OWD)
     (January/February 2000. Bull's Eye)

    Durham is well-known for its nationally-acclaimed restaurants such as Magnolia Grill, Nana's, Cafe Parizade and others that have received reviews outside Durham and the Triangle. But each year, the Durham Convention & Visitor's Bureau surveys "Bull's Eye" readers to identify "local favorites" among Durham's 60 table-service, non-chain restaurants...

    George's Garage [in OWD] is ranked first in Durham. Other Old West Durham eateries in the top rankings include, Owens Broad Street Diner, Blue Corn Cafe and Cosmic Cantina.

    Triangle neighborhoods find ways to connect online
    (January 8, 2000. News & Observer)

    Building community online: Internet neighborliness isn't completely replacing knocking on doors with fresh-baked brownies, or strolling down the street and waving to people on front porches.

    Instead, residents see the Web as another way to communicate within the community. On the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association Web site, folks can catch up on the community's history. Residents in Raleigh's Alyson Pond can ponder pictures of an odd-looking bird that lives in the neighborhood and looks like a cross between a duck and a goose. In Southern Village, neighbors can check out a local deli on their Web site...

    A few sites to make a Net success: When Pam Spaulding, Web spinner for Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, had to design her community's Web site, she had to do it for free. So Spaulding went to www.thefreesite.com, which lists free services on the Net.

    Slices of Life
    (January 2000. The Urban Hiker)

    Dorris Rodenheizer has run Durham's Pizza Palace [in OWD] since 1979. Her husband, Harry, has been a school-board member and two-term mayor. They recently talked about their life together, the restaurant business and Harry's political career... "Well [Dorris said], being first lady of Durham didn't require a whole lot of work from me! We had a good business, and, of course, him being in politics helped us considerably. All those people who wanted the mayor to -- look up to them -- would come and eat the mayor's wife's pizza... Before we bought [the Pizza Palace], it was primarily Duke students. When we took it, it became family oriented. And there wasn't much pizza around back then. There weren't any Domino's or Papa John's or all the others.

    George's Garage Committed to Recycling
    (Winter 2000. Tidewater Recycling Quarterly)

    George's Garage sets a superb example of a "down to business" approach to recycling. Kitchen employees are responsible for sorting the materials into the proper bins. Communication among staff at Georges makes recycling successful.

    Winter Storm 2000: Snow Sculptures
    (January 29, 2000, Herald-Sun)

    Patrick Olds uses a piece of charcoal to serve as an eye in one of his snowpeople, collectively called "Alabama Gang," on Alabama Avenue [in Old West Durham]. Olds, finding himself bored to be home (with 20 inches of snow outside), spent Wednesday sculpting his snow art.

    Footprints of founder of school photo company still visible
    (Herald-Sun. April 18, 1995)

    Nearly 73 years ago, Jim Strawbridge, a former [Erwin Mills] mill worker who never finished elementary school, loaded his specially designed camera into his Ford and left town... traveling from school to school, taking pictures and making money... Although Jim Strawbridge died more than two decades ago, the business he built out of the back of his car has grown into a multimillion-dollar affair... Located off Hillsborough Road [in OWD], Strawbridge Studios Inc. bills itself as the oldest school photography business in the South. Founded in 1923, the company has photographed thousands of school children, providing generations of parents with lasting memories and making millions for the company.

    Brightly lighted neighborhoods add extra sparkle to holiday season
    (Herald-Sun. December 16, 1995)

    If luminaries light up your holiday spirit, you can visit any one of several Durham neighborhoods Sunday night... Old West Durham Neighborhood, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Between West Main Street and Englewood Avenue from the west side of Broad Street to Hillandale Road. Nonperishable foods to be donated to the Durham Community Kitchen will be collected at 2702 Lawndale Ave.

    Old Mill District Storefronts get new lease on life: Ninth Street Reflects on Dawn of New Age (July 28, 1994. News & Observer).

    The '70s have a lot to do with the flavor of Ninth Street. Slow economic times left the mill far from humming and a lot of retail space begging.

    Several socially minded and political groups took advantage of low rents to set up shop there. Some had ties to Christian groups. Many attracted recent Duke University graduates, said David Birkhead, proprietor of Azalea Typography on nearby Broad Street. He and a partner on 1974 set up the now closed Regulator Press on the stretch, in part to handle the activist groups' printing needs. The Regulator Bookshop, which began as a nonprofit, followed. The Africa News Service still endures. So does the Ninth Street Bakery. Groups that raised money for children in Vietnam and organized tenants are no more.

    "People just gravitated to the area when they saw people of similar interests opening small businesses and political organizations," Birkhead said.

    Triangle market is one for the books: Big-name authors taking note of area
    (January 16, 2000. News & Observer)

    Certain demands had to be met before R.L. Stine, the best-selling writer of the Goosebumps youth horror series, agreed to sign books at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham last fall. Yet even with his bottled water and an arsenal of fine-point blue Sharpie pens, the author was still grumbly about the event.

    "Then he saw the crowd," says Regulator co-owner John Valentine. "We had delivered 150 people, and he was just blown away. He ended up inventing a story, and he talked about how, when he was a kid, teachers told him he'd never be a writer. It was wonderful." But it wasn't extraordinary. Time and again, authors who stop here on book tours are dazzled by the crowds that greet them - big, book-buying crowds - and publishers have started to take notice.

    Celebrating the New Millennium
    (January 2, 2000, Herald-Sun)

     Party-goers celebrate the advent of the year 2000 with dancing, champagne and ballons at the George's Garage New Year's Eve party [in OWD].

    Out on the Town
    (TowerView, September 1999)

     Students from both UNC and Duke have found it rather easy to forget their differences when they come together for a night of drinking and good old, bar-hopping fun -- and it has always seemed to many Duke students that there was a livelier selection of bars and restaurants on one block of Chapel Hill's famed Franklin Street than in the entire Durham area. Lately, though, Durham's image has been experiencing a major about-face. The opening of several new pubs along Ninth Street and in other areas of Durham has helped to keep many Duke students at home, rather than driving up to Chapel Hill.

    Master plan maps future growth: A draft of the campus-wide plan proposes guiding philosophies and specific projects
    (December 2, 1999. Chronicle)

    Administrators are mapping out a vision for the Duke campus of the future, a campus that is more pedestrian-friendly and promotes interaction across traditional architectural and geographical boundaries ... The document suggests ways to improve bicycle circulation, push parking facilities toward the perimeter of the campus and make car traffic flow around campus instead of through it.

    "One of the things that I will be certain to spend some time on is the connection between East Campus, Ninth Street and Broad Street," Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said, explaining that "three yellow poles" and a "cowpath" do not provide an adequate enough entrance to the University. "It's pretty shabby."

    Environmentalists Sue to Block Rules Letting Hog Farmers Spray More Waste (December 9, 1999. Herald-Sun)

     Environmentalists are suing the state over emergency rules adopted after Hurricane Floyd that allow hog farmers to spray more waste on their fields. "We've already got serious groundwater problems in North Carolina," said Michelle Nowlin, a lawyer for the Southern Environmental Law Center [and Old West Durham resident]. "We're really afraid it's going to exacerbate the situation and imperil the health of the people who depend on groundwater for drinking water." "[48 hours later, the state backed off its rules.]"

    Monument: One man's mission to find, and honor, his grandfather's grave leads to a rediscovery and restoration (November 1, 1999. News & Observer)

     Bill Yarbrough decided he would try to find his family. He had the time (poor health had forced him into early retirement) and the tools (he was newly proficient on the Web). So he started sleuthing. "Burial will be in the Erwin Cotton Mills Cemetery in West Durham," he read from one of the obits. And when Yarbrough came across the Web site for the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, he tapped out a message: "Could you tell me if the old Erwin Cotton Mills Cemetery is still in existence and maintained?"

    The query landed in John Schelp's e-mail in-box in early September. "Usually I have some sense of what people are asking for," Schelp says of the messages he receives as president of the neighborhood association. "This time I had no idea what he was talking about."

    Getting personal on the Web: You don't have to be a geek to create home pages (September 20, 1999. News & Observer)

     A good example of how [to get people to stay on Web sites longer] is the site that Pam Spaulding of Durham created at Yahoo!Clubs for the Old West Durham Neighborhood. By just filling in a few blanks, Spaulding created a site that provides a chat room, a calendar of events, profiles of members and a message board for the neighborhood association... She's just glad to have a place to keep up with her neighbors online. "The biggest benefit is that we have a lot more communication in our neighborhood," Spaulding said.

    From Coffee to Crafts
    (November 13, 1999. Herald-Sun)

    One World Market is an interfaith, nonprofit enterprise that exists to help artisians around the world earn a living wage. Its hundreds of offerings come from every part of the globe and reflect the cultural, creative and artistic inclinations of many different world citizens... One World Market is more than a great place to shop and its purpose has played well in the Bull City.

    "There are good people in Durham, conscientious people who think about where they spend their money," owner Debbie Durham said. "I hear people who bring guests into the store, telling them it is nonprofit and that the profits go to help support workers in developing countries."

    Jewelsmith: A gem of a store
    (November 16, 1999. Herald-Sun)

    "I started small and plugged away until it got bigger," said owner Linda McGill. "At this point, I'm not sure I'd like to be much bigger than this -- I want to know my customers; it's a personal thing."

    Personal is a good description for the ambience in Jewelsmith's new location, a 4,000-squarefoot space in Erwin Square on West Main Street. The interior has been converted into an elegant showroom with bird's-eye maple display cases filled with contemporary and traditional jewelry that's made in workstations at the rear of the store.

    Blue Light still shines in memories
    (October 19, 1999. Herald-Sun)

    The Blue Light. To understand the significance of those two words, one needs to turn back the clock half a century, to the days of bobby socks, poodle skirts, big cars, cheap gas, and early rock 'n roll. When Durham still was the city of tobacco, the Blue Light Restaurant was one of the hottest spots in town for high school kids and Duke University students... the whole Ninth Street area was much different in the early days of the Blue Light.

    "This was almost country. This was a mill village. There were mill houses all up and down Ninth Street on one side and stores on the other side. The brothers built the gas station first and then came the Blue Light," owner Gerry Boy said.

    Couch Oil marks 50th year
    (October 19, 1999. Herald-Sun)

    Back then, Hillsborough Road looked more like a country road than a retail hub... The business was carved out of small deliveries of heating oil that Carlton Couch, then a 27 year-old World War II veteran, made to Durham residents with $300 startup capital and a 1946 Chevrolet pickup -- his only investment.

    Neighborhood hopes to create oasis
    (July 15, 1999. News & Observer)

     DURHAM -- Within one of the Bull City's denser neighborhoods to the north of the Erwin Square office tower, nearly eight acres of meadow, trees and even a babbling brook remain untouched by development.

    It is a piece of land the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association would like to claim as its Walden pond. And the association plans to meet with city officials today to try to make it happen.

    "We're just trying to create a little green space for a little respite in the neighborhood," said Betty Greene, the association's vice president.

    But to turn the land into the neighborhood's first green space, the association will have to convince the city to buy the property from the Erwin Square Land Limited Partnership or convince the partnership to donate it...

    Cause for Celebration
    (August 28, 1999. Herald-Sun)

     Cause for Celebration: Wearing his "I'm Special" cap, E.K. Powe second-grader Monterio Carter joins his schoolmates during his school's parade down Ninth Street. The parade was in celebration of Powe's exemplary status on the recent ABC tests.

    One World Market Celebration Brings Community Together
    (July 22, 1999. Herald-Sun)

     Volunteers help store promote artisans and handicrafts from around the world... This event is now in its second year and brings together for celebration a community of artisans and volunteers... listening to the drums and alto saxophones playing a calypso tune as others swayed to the beat...

    Duke Continuing Education, Community Affairs Expands to Ninth Street
    (Winter 1999. Duke & You)

    "Duke University has leased the entire [Erwin Mills] building, and we're pleased to join with a number of other Duke departments in sharing this remarkable space." said Paula Gilbert, Assistant Dean and Director of Duke Continuing Education and Summer Session. The former textile mill building, similar in architectural style to Brightleaf Square, will also house a district police station jointly staffed by the Duke Police and Durham Public Safety to provide security for the entire neighborhood. Erwin Mill will also be the home to the Office of the Director of Community Affairs for the University and the Recruitment Office for Duke Human Resources, among others."

    A Kindergartner's Journey through the First Day of School
    (August 11, 1999. Herald-Sun)

     Before the day began and after it was over, Conner listed corn dogs as one of the main reasons for excitement on his first day at E.K. Powe Elementary...

    Letter: Duke Should Be Flexible toward Regional Rail
    (May 16, 1999. Herald-Sun)

     The board of the Old West Durham Neighborho    od Association is disappointed at Duke University's public comments regarding the regional rail stop at Duke Hospital. We urge Duke to be more flexible toward this important regional effort. We have a number of concerns:

    1. On the one hand, Duke says it is important to reach out to the community while, on the other hand, it is turning its back on an important regional effort. Regional Rail will help neighborhoods across Durham and across the Triangle by helping to alleviate our congested roads and improve air quality.

    2. As Durham's largest employer, Duke's opposition to the medical center station will result in lower ridership and could irreparably harm the system as a whole...

    Regional rail would benefit everyone -- including Duke University.

    -- John Schelp

    Onward Citizen Soldiers: Old West Durham Neighborhood Association
    (November 25, 1998. Independent Weekly)

     Long before diversity became a popular term, Old West Durham had it. In the late 1800s, when the community was called Pinhook, railroad travelers gathered on Hillsborough Road to sell tobacco and dabble in vices at local brothels. A local newspaper described a typical scene one day in 1871: A man and woman had run a foot race for a quart of liquor--stark naked. When Erwin Cotton Mills started up at the turn of the century, folks' behavior toned down as workers planted roots, building homes and raising families... http://www.owdna.org/indy.htm

    Durham's Ninth Street Shops
    (March 1999. Southern Living)


     You're not going to find many places with as much variety as the Ninth Street shopping district in Durham, NC. There's more neat -- and different -- stuff per square foot than most shopping areas, and certainly more personality than any mall... http://www.owdna.org/slninth.htm

    Wimpy's Grill serves cheeseburgers for breakfast
    (December 6, 1996, Herald-Sun)

     ... There are no seats at this little grill which is open from 7:00 am until 2:30 pm and serves both breakfast and lunch items during all those hours.

    Secrets of the Bull City
    (April 27, 1999. Chronicle)

     ... Now, I'll be honest that as one of the dozens of freshman matriculating from suburban New York, I wasn't too thrilled about going to school in what I first perceived to be a sleepy Southern city. But, as I near the end of my four years here, I can truly say that I love Durham. One doesn't instantly take a liking to this city. Like a favorite pair of blue jeans that mold to your butt after a couple of years, Durham grows on you... but you have to be willing to give it a chance (and to let Durham mold you as well). Durham is a bit like your quirky, misunderstood Uncle Larry who always manages to do something clearly inappropriate at family gatherings, but is, underneath it all, way more interesting than anyone else in your family. Chapel Hill, on the other hand, is like your young rich Uncle Chad who everyone likes because he has impeccable style and lends people money, but who is really kind of a prick. I mean, come on, what really is Franklin Street-with its Gap, Taco Bell and Starbucks -- but a glorified mall? ... There are two Irish pubs located on the same block [in Old West Durham] a New York pizza joint owned by full-fledged macho New Yawkers, a family owned Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant, a lesbian-owned dessert cafe and a Middle Eastern restaurant with a ban on ketchup run by a Palestinian immigrant whose disposition bears a striking similarity to Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" (there's diversity for ya!)...

    John McDonald: This old drugstore
    (May 9, 1999. N&O)

     Their drugstore might not carry every gewgaw that you can buy at a shopping mall or chain store. But as I watched a crowd of gleeful children sipping orangeades while an older woman chatted with Mrs. McDonald about her granddaughter's piano recital, I got the feeling that maybe their customers were coming there for things that money can't buy. McDonald was brought up in the drugstore. His father opened in 1914 on Main Street. He moved to Ninth Street in 1916 in a two-story wooden building. He moved in this location in 1922. McDonald went to school at E.K. Powe, two blocks down the street here. When McDonald was big enough, instead of walking home, he'd walk down to the drugstore. He'd sit over in the booth and do his homework... West Durham was a little community by itself, basically involved with Erwin Mills, which made sheets and pillow cases. The small stores up and down Ninth Street provided for the needs mostly of the people that worked in Erwin Mills. You had a couple little barber shops, a couple little shoe shops, a couple grocery stores...

    His final prescription is first push for some reluctant babies
    (Herald-Sun. April 13, 1999)

     ... Today McDonald's Drugstore is known to Duke students and local residents as the best spot in town to get fountain drinks and ice cream treats. It is also well known to another, more specialized population -- pregnant women whose babies have stubbornly refused to come out. The overdue moms-to-be come to the counter to get a concoction made just for them, nicknamed the "pregnancy cocktail."

    Shakes, but no smokes
    (June 12, 1997. N&O)

    ... Little has changed changed at McDonald's Drugstore since it opened in 1916, selling such items as its famous fountain soda, swamp root, horse liniment, and the staple product of any self-respecting Southern drugstore: tobacco. Now the city's metamorphosis from tobacco town to the City of Medicine has seeped its way onto the wooden shelves that have lined the store's walls for more than a half-century: McDonald's Drugstore will no longer sell cigarettes...

    E.K. Powe Elementary on the verge of a breakthrough
    (April 23, 1999, N&O)

    As soon as next year, students who attend E.K. Powe Elementary School will learn science in a new laboratory and museum attached to their school. The first-, second- and third-graders will see smaller classes, meaning they'll get more attention from teachers. The curriculum will be revamped for all grades. They might see a new playground and spruced-up grounds. "It will be a greater place to learn," said Elizabeth Shearer, principal of the school off Ninth Street in West Durham. And those changes will come with a helping hand from two of the city's biggest educational institutions: Duke University and the Museum of Life and Science...

    Durham downtowns: Brightleaf Square and Ninth Street have kept their wheels of commerce turning in spite of (or because of) being almost inner-city
    (Herald-Sun)

    ... Jihad Zakia of International Delights said business has been brisk during the restaurant's first year of business. "We wanted to be close to Duke University," he said. "The students are rich and they have been to many places. They appreciate international food."

    Durham Downtowns: A Street with Soul
    (November 24, 1996. Herald-Sun)

    ... some worry that rising rents and popularity will draw more chain stores and Ninth Street will lose its unique look. In the space of a few years, Chapel Hill's Franklin Street lost its hardware store, a grocery store, a gas station and an old-fashioned movie theater. "I hope it never turns into a Franklin Street. There's no charm or character there at all," said Sherry Kinlaw of Francesca's. "We have character. I think that's part of the draw to Ninth Street. We're not vanilla. We are a melting pot -- in a good way."

      Neighborhood Profile: Old West Durham
    (Winter 1995. Historic Preservation)

     Old West Durham is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the Bull City. Previously known as Pin Hook, the area was actually settled before Durham itself. Stretching from Broad Street west to Hillandale Road and from the railroad tracks north to Englewood Avenue, much of the neighborhood is a collection of quiet, tree-lined streets...

    Durham's 'Greenwich Village'
    (November 22, 1997. N&O)

    John McDonald, who once sold sodas and milkshakes to mill workers from his 83-year-old drugstore along Ninth Street, now caters to young adults, some with pierced noses and shaved heads. A witness to the decades-old transformations on Ninth Street, the owner of McDonald's Drugstore said he's not really surprised about the recent surge of new businesses that have sprouted up around him...

    Neighborhood well-being a goal of group effort
    (November 13, 1996. N&O)

     Last year, residents of the Old West Durham neighborhood mobilized to help neighbors who were victims of crime. From these early gatherings, neighbors began meeting to discuss concerns and visions for their neighborhood near Ninth Street, and a neighborhood association was formed that recognizes the diversity of the neighborhood as the foundation of a healthy, vital dynamic community...

    West Fest
    (October 20, 1996. Herald-Sun)

     Sponsored by the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, the street party was timed to celebrate the group's achievements as it nears the end of its inaugural year. Music, games, food and representatives from the police and fire departments were on hand to heighten festivities.

      Neighbor to Neighbor: Old West Durham
    (Duke Community Reporter. April 1998)

     "We really liked Old West Durham. We moved up from south Florida. We've been in the neighborhood for just over a year. The house we bought had been an old mill house built in the 1920s. We didn't want suburbia, and feel that our house is unique."...

    Ninth Street's 'newcomers' a crafty lot
    (June 8, 1996. N&O)

     Ninth Street has taken on a distinctive arty feel these days, with the recent arrivals of a bead and yarn store near one end of the trendy business district's string of shops, and a craft gallery near the other end. These new stores mark the return of three Ninth Street veterans to the shopping district that's a magnet for Duke University students. Both Zola and Fiber Space got help and advice from neighboring merchants -- the owners of Vaguely Reminiscent, the clothing and gift shop...

    Sharing his gift: Teen hopes his new CD will pull people together
    (September 17, 1995. Herald-Sun)

    The title for 14-year old Michael Tuten's new CD, "Ninth Street," was taken from his stint as a street musician -- at age 12 -- in front of McDonald's Drugstore in Ninth Street. "The atmosphere is great," he said. "There's an air about Ninth Street that inspired me... different kinds of people brought together by my music."

    Neighborhood to Celebrate Diversity
    (October 16, 1998. N&O)

     At 10 a.m. Saturday, the neighborhood of Old West Durham will hold a sign dedication to celebrate its commitment to diversity, harmony and community. The sign, designed and donated by neighborhood businessman Mitchell Fisher of Fisher Signs, will be unveiled on the traffic island at the corner of Ninth Street and Hillsborough Road...

    Sign Ceremony
    (December 24, 1998. Herald-Sun)

     Old West Durham recently held a neighborhood sign ceremony to celebrate its commitment to diversity, harmony and community. A mayoral proclamation declared Oct 17 as "Old West Durham Day" as the neighborhood marked its accomplishments and celebrated its bright future...

    New life for mills
    (April 27, 1997. N&O)

     Everywhere you look in North Carolina, old mill buildings are being renovated. Lofts, restaurants, expensive condominiums and even small manufacturers are taking over spaces once filled by machinery. Tax credits, the rising cost of new construction, and a hankering to capitalize on history all play into the revitalization of old mills. The trend is preserving old architecture and bringing business back downtown, while it revitalizes aging factory buildings found in urban areas such as the Triangle, the Triad and Charlotte, as well as small towns such as Edenton...

    Belk creates new from historic: Landmarks live again in Durham
    (March 22, 1997. N&O)

     It's hard to miss Eddie Belk. You may not know him. But if you live in Durham, there's a good chance you've passed by one of the many buildings he brought back to life. Belk is the architect behind more than 1 million square feet of historic restorations in Durham, including Brightleaf Square and Erwin Square. "Durham is blessed with something unusual," Belk, 47, said from his modest office in a 19th century cotton mill. "You have the ability here to turn massive buildings built with proud architecture into the hub of a vibrant active neighborhood. We're not replacing the old with the new. We are maintaining the jewels of the old."...

    Awards to carry names of preservationists
    (July 3, 1997. N&O)

    The Historic Preservation Society of Durham recently handed out its awards for conservation of buildings ranging from the modest to the grand. There's the Old Adams Street Neighborhood Grocery, for instance. The small frame building, erected in 1911 at Alabama and Knox streets in West Durham, was used by the Erlinger family to sell vegetables and soft drinks in the 1960s.

    Owner James Lehrer has turned it into a private residence, but has left the old sign on the outside. "While chain commercial stores have put mom-and-pop groceries out of business, this has preserved that landmark in that neighborhood," Compton said...

    Watts-Powe swap balances schools' enrollments
    (September 17, 1997. N&O)

     Twenty-four students have volunteered to switch from George Watts Elementary to a nearby school, easing a space crunch at George Watts. The students were responding to a request from the school system last week for families willing to move to nearby E.K. Powe Elementary School, which was short on students...

    Trains for the Triangle: Many possibilities for either choice spot for Durham commuter station(February 16, 1999. N&O)

     For Tom Campbell, a commuter rail station is a great match for his neighborhood. "Ninth Street has always been sort of an alternative kind of place," said Campbell, co-owner of The Regulator Bookshop. "I think riding a train would appeal to the kind of people who come here." Ninth Street is one of two possible locations for the Triangle Transit Authority stop that will serve the Duke East Campus area. The other is Buchanan Boulevard, near the intersection with Main Street. They're part of the 35-mile-long regional rail system that would link North Raleigh, the Research Triangle Park, Cary and Durham by 2004, with later links to the airport and Chapel Hill...

    Fitting rail site at Duke difficult: Plans of hospital, TTA don't mesh
    (February 5, 1999. N&O)

     Ever since the Triangle began planning a regional rail system, the Duke University Medical Center stop has been a critical link in the proposed 35-mile commuter train line. In an area that's spread-out and suburban, the corner of Erwin Road and Fulton Street would seem like a prime site for a city-style transit station. With about 14,000 employees and tens of thousands of outpatients visiting each year, the Duke University Medical Center and the VA Medical Center across the street form a bustling complex unlike any other in the region. But what has long been a dream location for rail is proving difficult to bring to reality. Duke is objecting to the Triangle Transit Authority's plan to build an elevated station on Erwin Road next to the hospital's parking deck...

    Opportunity knocks for Ninth Street wannabes: With the move of a company this month, at least four buildings may be available to prospective shop owners (April 23, 1998. N&O)

     If the "For Sale or For Lease" signs on both sides of Ninth Street are any indication, the funky, eclectic shopping area is about to stretch one block north. Between Elmo's Diner and Green Street, four buildings will be empty on April 30 after their tenant, DataFlow/Companion Technologies, moves to larger quarters in South Durham...

    Ninth Street Serenade: He's written editorials and run for the U.S. Senate, but today David McKnight provides the musical accompaniment to Durham's off-beat hangout. (September 9, 1998. Chronicle)

     A man passes, stops, opens his wallet and hands his small daughter a dollar bill to place in the violin case at David McKnight's feet. To any other classical violinist this would seem like an odd thing to do-an insult, even-but McKnight appreciates it as his source of income. McKnight is a street performer, but even sitting down with a glass of root beer at Francesca's Dessert Cafe, he puts on a show. His talk is animated and his fingers are forever moving, as if he were uncomfortable without a violin bow in hand.

    He has been playing at his usual spot in front of 714 Ninth St., half a block from Francesca's, for about two years now. And while Mc-Knight may provide a soundtrack to those who leisurely walk the street shopping or relaxing after dinner, his story goes deeper than the notes wafting from his special spot on the sidewalk...

    Developers again try office plan for Erwin Square: Ground would be broken this spring
    (February 23, 1999. N&O)

     Six years after plans for a new office building at Erwin Square fell through, the developers are trying again. Clay Hamner and Terry Sanford Jr. plan to break ground this spring on a two-story, 21,000-square-foot office building at Main and Rutherford streets, Hamner said. The site is across Rutherford from the 10-story First Union tower that houses Hamner's and Sanford's offices...

    Durham's First Union tower sold: The developers say the conditions are right to sell: Rents are high, and the tenant portfolio is impressive
    (June 7, 1997. N&O)

    The 10-story First Union building in Erwin Square, one of this city's most expensive developments, was sold Friday for $32 million to an unidentified institutional investor. The deal, managed by the U.S. arm of Jones Lang Wootton Realty Advisors, marks the sale of one of the hottest properties in the Triangle, towering above the bustling restaurant and retail hub of Durham's Ninth Street next to Duke University...

    Opportunity rebuilds center
    (December 2, 1996. N&O)

    Ron Strom and Lex Alexander looked at a failing, decrepit intersection in Durham and saw opportunity. Today, after a combination of intuition, failure and timing, the $4 million Bull City Market is Durham's latest shining retail star. While Broad Street was languishing in 1994, just around the corner and down Ninth Street, Alexander's Wellspring Grocery Inc. faced a dilemma of prosperity: too little space. Wellspring looked all over the Triangle, a few blocks west toward Erwin Square and off toward the South Square area. Finally, it decided its first choice was to stay in the neighborhood at the old A&P...

    Readers offer a labor of love: When the Regulator Bookshop in Durham needed help, its customers came through
    (August 29, 1998. N&O)

     After 22 years, Tom Campbell is sure of his customers' loyalty. The co-owner of the Regulator Bookshop was so sure that late Thursday afternoon he fired off e-mails to 1,300 of his patrons, asking them to help shelve 60,000 books Friday...

    Young investors back lounge for all ages
    (May 1, 1997. N&O)

     The youngest investors of the Ninth Street area's New York-style lounge aren't old enough to drink. But they are wise enough to see a good business opportunity when it comes knocking on their dormitory doors. Gabe Saragovia, 20, and his roommate, Jason Schwalbe, 19, both undergraduates at Duke University, are part owners of The Lounge, a bar that's about as far from the average chicken-wing and-beer college hangout as you can get...

    Cyclists' surges win Wellspring
    (April 22, 1996, N&O)

     Cycling wasn't the first sport for Steve Sevener or Lisa Mason, but first was where each finished in featured races of the 10th annual Wellspring Criterium on Sunday...

    A street of hangouts, hassles
    (July 21, 1997. N&O)     Walt Cleary calls them spikeheads: the groups of young men and women ages 15 to 19 who flock to the Ninth Street shopping district after sundown. To some, they are a welcome addition on a commercial strip known for its quirkiness; to others, they are a threat to the peace...

    Out There: Francescas Dessert Caffe
    (May 22, 1998. N&O)

    The mauve-colored walls, ceiling fans and small black tables make this place a delicious getaway whether one is alone or with friends. Soft music plays in the background as small groups of people and singles sit and eat ice cream or other desserts. On warm evenings, some take their treats outside and eat as they watch the foot traffic on Ninth Street...

    A market reaching around the world
    (October 12, 1996. N&O)

    As One World Market marks its birthday today, the store has a lot to celebrate. The nonprofit organization, which began five years ago as a series of church bazaars featuring hand-made crafts from the Third World, has become a vibrant part of Durham's Ninth Street business district near Duke University...

    Earth Day Celebrated on Ninth Street
    (April 19, 1993. Chronicle)

     Throngs of Durham residents crowded on Ninth Street Sunday afternoon to celebrate at the fourth annual Earth Day Community Fair. The fair was coordinated by SunShares, an environmental awareness group in Durham. Throughout the day, clowns, jugglers and musicians entertained visitors. Geared toward children, it coincided with the Wellspring Criterium, a bicycle race sponsored by Wellspring Grocery. Several organizations gathered at the fair, including Green Corps, Triangle Friends of the United Farm Workers, Duke Power and the Nature Conservancy of North Carolina...

    Letter: City's character eludes casual visitor
    (June 27, 1996. Chronicle)

     Keith Cossrow's article about Durham in the summertime brought back all the things I disliked about attending the University -- namely the arrogant student body. It was students like Cossrow who inspired me to move off campus to learn more about Durham...

    With break looming, local merchants foresee negligible drop in sales: Holiday season offsets temporary drop of Duke dollar
    (December 10, 1997. Chronicle)

     ... Brad Herring, manager of the Lounge and bookkeeper for the Cosmic Cantina, said both businesses he works at experience an increase in sales during breaks. "We do better when the students are away," he said. He attributed the increase to local residents' aversion to a crowded, "hectic" restaurant full of students. Adult patrons tend to stay longer and buy more alcohol, he said, whereas University students often opt for the "$3 burrito."

    Herring noted, however, that Durham residents do not necessarily dislike University students. Rather, without hordes of freshmen crowding the Cantina on Friday nights, the atmosphere is "a little more relaxed."

    A Native Experience
    (September 4, 1998. Chronicle)

     The giant copper frog statues playfully posed outside Native Threads makes the eclectic store a recognizable feature of Ninth Street. A quick look inside reveals an array of unusual trinkets, wooden statues, beaded and woven purses and hand-made clothing from around the world. The average shopper passing by the store during a stroll down Ninth Street may not think of Native Threads as anything more than an artsy gift store. But the store's history and ideals extend far deeper than what greets the eye...

    Tattoo shop marks out its own place
    (April 21, 1997. N&O)

    ... some businesses, especially out-of-the-ordinary ones, can find it tough to find space in shopping centers. Kathryn Moore, owner of Dogstar Tattoo Inc. in Durham, learned that firsthand when she was seeking space for her new tattoo parlor. "I was limited," says Moore, 37, a Hillsborough resident. She decided to open her 2,000-square-foot store on Ninth Street because of its funky atmosphere but also after being turned away by several strip shopping centers who didn't want a tattoo shop...

    Ninth Street Couture: Durham's hippest street has just landed a new store, Doukas, which specializes in custom-made wedding dresses and clothes
    (October 16, 1998. Chronicle)

    The satins and organzas swished softly against each other as Durham resident Josephine Keech gently fingered the dresses on the rack at Doukas, the new garment store on Ninth Street...

    Founders of James Joyce pub to open 2 new bars on Ninth
    (May 28, 1998. Chronicle)

    Thanks to a bit of Irish luck and a lot of business savvy, Fergus Bradley and his two partners have hit a gold mine in Durham. Their pub, James Joyce, at 912 W. Main St., already boasts a steady stream of patrons and rave reviews from area beer connoisseurs. In June, the trio plans to launch two new pubs on either side of Field's Laundromat on the 700 block of Ninth Street...

    The food guy: Lex Alexander's Wellspring brought a new kind of market to Triangle shoppers. Now his job is to search for the flavors of his past
    (March 12, 1997. N&O)

    ...The Alexanders worked at different food stores to gain retail experience before opening the Durham Wellspring in the building that now houses the Magnolia Grill restaurant...

    Letter: An open letter to the Class of 2002
    (July 22, 1998. Chronicle)

     ... As tempting as it is to assimilate into the amorphous mass of Duke students who respect the boundaries of the "Gothic Wonderland" with apprehension, if you adopt that approach, you'll miss the fascinating variety of activities Durham has to offer. You'll miss the atmosphere at a Bulls' game downtown and the chance to think about Durham's conflicting identities: tobacco town, college city and Southern crossroads...

    Duke student leaders lobby City Council for improved street lighting near East Campus(November 11, 1997. Chronicle)

    Addressing the Public Works Committee of the Durham City Council, Duke Student Government President and Trinity senior Lino Marrero expressed student concerns about safety during travel between the University's campuses and popular student hangouts around Durham...

    Duke aims to bolster Durham
    (March 16, 1997. N&O)

    Almost from the beginning, Duke University has seemed to stand apart from the community it calls home. Its mission, it said, was to educate, not to solve the ills of Durham. But in a change of heart -- and policy -- the city's largest and most prestigious employer will announce this week a campaign to form a partnership with 12 surrounding neighborhoods and seven schools. In doing so, Duke hopes to signal the start of a new relationship with the community -- and change its image as the rich, uncaring neighbor...

    Council praises Duke effort
    (May 16, 1997. N&O)

     ... "I would like to commend the university in this regard," council member Floyd McKissick Jr. said after Duke officials made the first public presentation of their ambitious plan at the council's work session. "Duke has a reputation of being a very exclusive enclave," McKissick added. "People there have little interaction with the city of Durham." Over the past year, Duke has undertaken an effort to make its resources more accessible to the community. To spearhead the plan, the university hired former City Council member Sandy Ogburn to lead a community relations team.

    Although council members said they are pleased with Duke's decision to work with the 12 neighborhoods, they said the initiative could have the opposite effect if Duke doesn't follow through on its promises. "Duke needs to build up trust and improve credibility," council member Howard Clement said...

    Come Fly with me
    (Herald-Sun. 17 October 1999)

    The small biplane circled lazily above, bobbing lightly on the morning air... But someone had turned the sound down. The propeller churned, pulling the plane over the open fields, but no roar came from its engine... Durham's Jim Pollard enjoys practicing what he calls this "eccentric little facet of aviation," or custom-made, rubber-band powered model airplanes. The 42-year-old retired Navy pilot often pursues his hobby in the evenings, in a big field near Erwin Square, when the wind has ebbed. He doesn't like turbulence when he goes out flying his quiet, graceful planes that look like oversized butterflies lazily hovering over their master.

    EK Powe Elementary on the verge of a breakthrough
    (News & Observer. 23 April 1999)

    As soon as next year, students who attend E.K. Powe Elementary School will learn science in a new laboratory and museum attached to their school. The first-, second- and third-graders will see smaller classes, meaning they'll get more attention from teachers. The curriculum will be revamped for all grades. They might see a new playground and spruced-up grounds... "It will be a greater place to learn," said Elizabeth Shearer, principal of the school off Ninth Street in West Durham.

    Carnavalito's music creates Latin lovers
    (News & Observer. 13 December 1998)

    It's 11:20 at George's Garage on Ninth Street in Durham when Carnavalito bursts into its first tune of the night - an intense, driving merengue. The sweet, high staccato of the trumpet and sax flirts with the pounding bass and chiming piano, playing off the congas and timbales that beat like so many hearts. By 11:25, people - all kinds of people - are kicking up sparks on the dance floor. The club looks like a little United Nations: whites, Asians, African-Americans and Hispanics, students from Duke and North Carolina Central, yuppies in suits and heels and punks with nose rings and tattoos. And people are dancing with each other in just about every conceivable combination... A decade ago, a scene like this one at George's Garage would have been hard to imagine. More than 150,000 Spanish-speaking people now live in North Carolina, making them the fastest-growing segment of the state's population. As they assimilate into the region's culture, they are also changing it, altering the rhythm of life by blending the ways of their old worlds with their new one.

    Habitat for the Heart
    (The Independent. 21 October 1998)

    The house that John Schelp and Beth Moracco live in arrived by train -- exactly 60 years ago. The lumber for this "kit" house was pre-cut and numbered. Doors, windows, cabinets and other components were preassembled in a factory, but (like the lumber) installed by a local building crew. And it was all delivered in rail cars and put together according to instructions provided by Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s mail-order division. Schelp's reprint of Sears' 1926 Catalog of Houses includes almost 100 designs for homes like the one his family lives in. The two-story house -- which resembles the "Priscilla" model -- served as a parsonage and subsequently housed a Duke University professor, according to Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. Most of the houses in the catalogue are bungalows and Colonial-style homes that would look familiar to anyone who's been on a house tour of some of the Triangle's best-preserved, inner-city neighborhoods.

    So you think Ninth Street is far out? Soon, it will be in cyberspace
    (News & Observer. May 14, 1998)

    This is Durham's Ninth Street shopping area, full of small independent merchants with a stubbornly nonconformist bent. It's where you go for a tattoo, to glaze your own pottery jar or to pick up a copy of Mother Jones magazine. But Ninth Street is putting a twist on brand-building with a new, common Web site and logo to draw shoppers from as near as the next block and as far as Nepal to their funky, eclectic district... If you want The Gap, go to the mall. If you want a neo- '60s-style shoulder bag with silk flowers on it, go to Vaguely Reminiscent clothing and jewelry store... "This is not a corporate climate at all... this is a village. It's neighbors serving neighbors, Durham serving Durham."

    $32M 1st Union sale clears way for site development
    (Herald-Sun. 14 June 1997)

    Durham developers Clay Hamner and Terry Sanford Jr. have sold the First Union tower on West Main Street for $32 million, clearing the way for them to move forward on other long-planned developments in that area... Sanford said he and Hamner would like to develop the remaining land, about 34 acres, on their Erwin Square plot. A master plan for the site first filed in the 1980s called for a $100 million development with several buildings, including the First Union tower, a hotel, parking garages and other office space... "It's got great access from 147 ... It's got tremendous access to Duke University," Sanford said. "You've got some of the better restaurants in the Triangle virtually on site or next to you."

    Future bright for Owens' Broad Street Diner
    (Herald-Sun. 4 April 1997)

    The Broad Street Diner could easily (and maybe more appropriately) be called the Owen's Boom Town Diner, because of its location. From the corner where this diner sits in a converted gas station, and back north and west up Broad Street and Ninth Street, this is a booming, upscale neighborhood... Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream sits next to Wellspring. Going back up Ninth Street, the parade continues, past Francesca's Dessert Caffe and a row of little shops, until George's Gourmet Garage anchors the other end of this bubble of prosperity... Erwin Square and Parizade are not far away, nor is the Magnolia Grill. This whole area near Duke's East Campus rivals Brightleaf Square as the in place to be in Durham.

    Student guide lays out rental prospects
    (Herald-Sun. 18 February 1997)

    A new Duke University student handbook rates off-campus apartments and houses based on safety, security and landlord responsiveness... The 22-page "Off-Campus Housing Guide," which the Duke Student Government began distributing last week, is based on surveys sent last fall to 700 undergraduates living outside Duke's Gothic stone walls... Erwin Square Apartments off Ninth Street ranked first -- with a 4.9 overall rating out of a possible 5 -- in the listing of the nine most popular off-campus housing options... "Definitely one of the safest and most convenient off-campus housing locations," wrote one of the 350 respondents to the five-question survey.

    Parizade offers variety of dining pleasures
    (Herald-Sun. 2 August 1996)

    When George Bakatsias opened Cafe Parizade in Erwin Square, he wanted to create a place that was casual and festive -- and where each of his customers felt welcome... Today, this big, bright, busy restaurant has come into its own as a place where everyone, from locals to visitors and from the tuxedo-clad to the blue jeans crowd, feels at home... the food here is closer to the Mediterranean roots of Bakatsias' native Greece. The simple, robust, earthy flavors that he grew up with and the very best of ingredients create some of the most exciting food in the area.

    Duke research program spinning industry gold
    (Herald-Sun. 25 November 1996)

    The 103-year-old, red-brick building once was one of the nation's largest producers of denim. Now it's home to a Duke University Medical Center research gold mine... Pharmaceutical companies from around the world have poured more than $50 million into the Duke Clinical Research Institute, a 500-employee program run out of Erwin Square -- once Erwin Cotton Mill -- on West Main Street... In return, the institute has turned out valuable research that doctors rely on to tell them what drugs and devices work best.

    George's Gourmet Garage to spice up life on Ninth Street
    (Herald-Sun. 23 April 1996)

    Local restaurateur George Bakatsias hopes to spice up the night life on Ninth Street by opening a combination market/restaurant in the space once occupied by Wellspring Grocery... In an interview Monday, Bakatsias expressed confidence in the concept he's picked for his latest venture: combining a market that stocks prepared foods and fresh-baked breads and pastries with a 90-seat restaurant that offers vegetables, seafood and simply prepared meats... He has expressed equal confidence in the business' future location: the 14,000-square-foot space at 737 Ninth St., formerly home to Wellspring Grocery... "The space itself has a soul," Bakatsias said, noting that Bull City residents shopped there for years. "When a place has a soul, all you have to do is come up with a concept and implement it... I want to do what I can to see Ninth Street have more day and night activities," he said. "It's a beautiful street."

    Bigger, better Wellspring's Ninth Street opening on tap Grocery first of many businesses set to open in renovated center
    (Herald-Sun. 29 February 1996)

    The new Wellspring, in the former Sav-A-Center location near the intersection of Broad and Main streets, is two blocks from the store's former Ninth Street location. Moving into the newly renovated space gives the natural food store a chance to grow without severing all ties to bustling Ninth Street... Late next month, Cycle Center plans to move from its existing Ninth Street location to the Broad Street shopping center's older portion. Broad Street Chiropractic, which is now located at 816 Broad St., will move into the new addition during the next two months, he added... Whole Foods Market, the parent company of Wellspring Grocery, will move its regional headquarters from Raleigh to the second floor of the new addition.

    At Mad Hatter's, have your cake and eat lunch, too
    (Herald-Sun. 23 February 1996)

    The dazzling display of baked goods that greets you when you enter The Mad Hatter's Bake Shop in Erwin Square is enough to send thoughts of lunch fleeing... this is a fun, relaxing place to spend your lunch hour, or any other hour of the day, for that matter. The bright seating area curves around the long counter and display case, there's a smaller room in back if all that natural light is just too much for you, and pleasant outdoor seating... the hats come courtesy of co-owner Jeff Fried and are displayed in wall cases that turn the place into a veritable hat museum. Maritime, cowboy, railroad, food service -- any occupation you can think of that requires a hat is probably represented here. So if you're waiting to be served and just have to drag your eyes from those tempting goodies in the display case, feast them on the hats instead.

    Documentary replays Textile Strike of '34
    (News & Observer. 8 March 1995)

    In September 1934, tens of thousands of textile workers throughout the South walked off the job in protest of inhumane working conditions and a nightmarish existence in company-controlled mill villages. Three weeks later, the General Textile Strike of 1934 ended with about 20 workers dead from strike-related violence, others detained in an internment camp and little progress for the "lintheads," the pejorative term for cotton mill workers in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama... years later, the memory of the strike -- considered by historians the largest labor revolt in Southern history -- has faded along with the mill villages it helped eliminate... Namely, in a part of the country where "union" often has the status of a four-letter word, the strike showed that Southern workers can organize for change even during the Great Depression and amid the constraints of having the mill as employer, landlord and store owner.... hundreds of striking Erwin Mills workers in Durham rallied at the Carolina Theatre, marched down Main Street and enjoyed widespread community support.

    Landscapes of the Heart Our readers tell us why they love living in the Triangle (News & Observer. 19 November 1995)

    Surrogate family: Eight years ago my husband and I wistfully drove south to our new life in Durham, leaving behind family and friends in Massachusetts. During our first year here we had a son and moved to a neighborhood in West Durham; a block of small bungalows and duplexes... When our son became sociable he would play on the front porch and yell things to the neighbors. The two women who share a house across the street would often answer him and even cross the street to engage him in conversation. One day there was a knock on the door and it was one of the women, asking if Sam could "play." She had brought some paints, and they sat on the porch, painting and talking. This happened several more times, and Sam started to think of her as his special friend. When I was pregnant again, Sam's new friends helped me clean my house, and we talked and became friendly, too. Soon it wasn't only Sam that they would come to see. After our daughter was born, our special neighbors came over often, paying lots of attention to Sam and only sneaking looks at the new baby. I invited them to dinner frequently, and they'd stay to help out with the bedtime rituals... Now it is four years later; our kids wouldn't think of doing anything important without calling across the street first. We three women walk two miles every morning, sharing all the details of our lives, giving and asking for advice. We call each other before going to the grocery store or post office... My husband and I are far from our families, as are our neighbors, but we have created our own family here in West Durham.

    Best breakfast in Durham
    (Herald-Sun. 10 February 1995)

    Weekend pleasures: Next to sleeping in late, a long and leisurely breakfast is one of the great weekend pleasures. I am delighted to share some of my favorites... Ninth Street Bakery is always a great place to see and be seen while reading the weekend paper and drinking in coffee and atmosphere. The Durham landmark is located at 776 Ninth St. Expect to see all kinds of people, including students, artists, families of all stripes, business people talking on cellular phones, professors, dancers in season, etc... Just across the way, I highly recommend the Mad Hatter's Bake Shop for excellent pastries, cakes, muffins, rolls, tarts, breads and other baked goods. They also have fantastic coffee -- cappuccino, lattes, espresso and good old American-style. Mad Hatter's also keeps you entertained with the witty and nostalgic display of baker Jeff Fried's extensive hat collection. Don't expect eggs or other grilled items. The emphasis here is on baked goods. For cozy atmosphere and excellent quality, Mad Hatter's is fantastic.

    Bonnie Blue: In step with slower, gentler times
    (News & Observer. 12 May 1994)

    Bonnie Blue grew up in Monkey Bottom in West Durham on what he calls "the hillside." Monkey Bottom was near present-day Ninth Street, a neighborhood peopled by the poor who took textile jobs at Erwin Mills. What's left of the sprawling mill complex is now the Erwin Square apartment complex. Life then revolved around Erwin Auditorium, built by the mill owners. Long abandoned, the community center was demolished when the state extended the Durham Freeway... Bonnie Blue's father worked in Erwin Mills. Bonnie took a job there as a doffer in 1942, a few months before he entered the war. He smoked his first cigar at age 5... "I was hoeing cotton and tobacco even before I could walk good," he said... He remembers his youth, when the mill released his dad early on Saturday afternoons. "Me and my father used to walk years ago, from where I told you on that hill. We'd get us some tow bags to put our fishing gear in. Then we'd set out in the afternoon and walk across town to 751, below where the bypass is now, go down through the woods to a little spot on New Hope Creek, set out our turtle hooks and stay there all night long," he said... "In the morning, we'd have seven, eight turtles. Then we'd pack up and walk all the way back."... His mother would clean the catch, "throw in tomatoes, 'taters, carrots, everything you put in a Brunswick stew," and invite neighbors for the feast.

    Parking outlook makes retailers on 9th Street edgy
    (News & Observer. 18 February 1994)

    When the glossy plans for Erwin Square were first unrolled in the 1980s, many Ninth Street merchants saw the footprint of a giant -- and they readied their slingshots. The ambitious plans languished and bitter blood has given way to polite distance in the years since. But now stirrings on the Erwin Square side of the street are giving some Ninth Street business owners the jitters again... The lot on the west side of the street has been used as public parking for years... but now merchants are realizing they have no long-term guarantee that the parking spots on which they rely will remain... Back when Erwin Mills owned the land, the company agreed to let merchants build a parking lot there. The merchants paid for construction and maintenance of the parking lot, recalls John McDonald of McDonald Drugs.

    Church marks century of services News & Observer
    (24 April 1993)

    A hundred years ago on the Trinity College baseball fields, the sound of cracking bats would stop each Sunday morning, while choruses of old hymns rose from the bleachers... Folks might not have known it then, but those informal gatherings -- at the edge of the bustling mill village called West Durham -- were the beginnings of a church... The congregation, which began as West Durham Methodist Church, is proud of its long-standing ties to Duke and the west side of town... Rooted in a tight mill community where people lived, worked and played together, Asbury Methodist now finds itself in a spread-out city where textiles are little more than a historical footnote... Washington Duke donated the land for the first sanctuary at the corner of Main and Ninth and erected a chapel for the congregation. In those days, trains regularly ran on the tracks just across Main Street from the church... "In the summertime when we'd have the windows opened, the train would come blowing along for the station downtown," said Gladys Evans, who joined the church in 1916, when her father came to Durham to work at Erwin Mills. "The preacher would just have to stop because he couldn't be heard. We came to expect that. It was just part of our service."

    Freeway forms obstacle course for businesses: Drivers negotiate roadblocks, detours as project continues(News & Observer. 7 March 1991)

    As construction on the Durham Freeway project continues, nearby businesses and organizations are feeling the pinch of progress. Detours, increased traffic and blocked entrances and exits have affected businesses on Ninth Street, Erwin and Hillsborough roads, among others. The obstacle courses will remain temporarily while work continues to extend the freeway from Erwin Road to U.S. 15-501... Construction on a related project at the intersection of Hillandale and Hillsborough roads has caused concern. The Department of Transportation plans to extend Hillandale underneath a new Hillsborough Road bridge by next year. The Hillandale extension will intersect with the freeway and also will connect with Fulton Street near Duke Medical Center.


     

     


    Excerpts may include minor edits for clarification.