To date, there have been 10 lucky kids assigned to work at the new Metro Atlanta Urban Farm.  What I’m hoping the kids will take away from this experience is the fact that they are excited about telling their peers they got to work on an inner-city farm.  In addition, they will be providing a lot of input into the development of an ”edible schoolyard” curriculum designed to help transition the Atlanta Public School Lunc System into a local produce driven purchasing system. 

The farm will introduce the kids to three successfull inner city gardening and farming demonstration models:  community garden plots, commercial farm plots, and an edible schoolyard. Good stuff, right?!

We’re still in need of a couple of supplies  (i.e., 15-passenger van and garden toolkits). If you know anyone that can help us out, please let them know about all the cool stuff we’re doing. 

Check back with me later to see how the kids are doing or visit the NEXT Steps website at www.nextstepsyep.org.

After a tasty meal from Panera Bread delivery, we waved goodbye to our new friends from Coca-Cola OPE!

Thanks guys!!!  (P.S. I really love my T-Shirt.  Next time, I’ll have to get you guys to sign it.)

 Do you hear “documentary”?!?!?!  I do.   She said she has stacks and stacks of boxes of photos, but waved away the thought of having to go through all of them.  So, if there are any history buffs out there that want to help me get this project off the ground and help preserve Ms. Hearns stacks of photos, give me a call.  We need to come up with a preservation plan pronto!

FYI – Ms. Hearns was out mowing her lawn when I spotted her.   Hopefully I can get some photos of her later on this week.

They are going for $395 bucks in a 10 pc set at Residential Relics in Minneapolis, Minnesota – 612.724.0740
http://www.residentialrelics.com/setof10haovi.html. 

I’m going to contact them and see if we can get them back.  While I’m at it, I might as well see what else they have stockpiled that’s from our home. Otherwise, this might be the start of our first historic preservation project fundraiser.

I’ll keep you posted.

For those of you who have been by the home or contacted me, know that I am deeply in love with the idea of learning more about the home and telling its story.  My goal is to start a historic preservation program, form a committee, and get to the bottom of who the occupants were in this old home. 

While Don was working, my two kids began playing with the ceramic tiles from the remains of one of the fireplaces.  Don reminded me that the tile pieces, even though some of them are old and broken, could be glued back together and eventually used to restore the fireplace.   So we gathered up all the tiles and began placing them back near the fireplace when I noticed the back of the tiles had an inscription on them. “Hamilton O” 

My first clue!!!

I’ll post pictures of the other fireplace tiles a little later.

So we gave Don a tour of our beautiful Victorian home to show him all the wood fixtures that had been removed from the home – the stair railing, the pocket doors, the fireplace mantles, etc.  Don says he can help.  His first project . . . replacing the stairs.  Don and William started on a Monday and finished by Friday in time for our Open House that Saturday (May 15th). 

All I can say is “Wow!” 
Thanks Don!

Granted, when most people hear the word farm, they think of cows, chickens, overalls, bales of hay and giant tractors.  So, to the keepers of the beloved Historic Business District of College Park, a farm model simply wouldn’t fit…or so it seemed.

The Great Compromise of 2010 began on April 5, 2010 when Barbra Coffee, Economic Developer presented a cool idea for City Council to consider.  Why not have the City support (through in-kind participation) a start up urban farm venture that will double as a tourist attraction?  It would serve as a valuable tool for community revitalization, quality of life enhancements, and further the City’s commitment to downtown revitalization and sustainable growth.

Sounds pretty good right? Well . . . seems that City Council took issue with whether the property was zoned for agriculture or farming.  The language in the current code that governs development in the historic business distric was written just vaguely enough to lead interpretation wherever City Council wanted to take it. They challenged us to go out into the neighborhood to see if community members even wanted a farm there and we agreed to do so.  But before leaving, we asked City Council if we could plant a 20×20 plot just to demonstrate how quickly we could produce organic products with no chemicals and plenty of sunlight and love. Somewhat reluctantly, they said yes.  So we did.

We chose a nice sunny spot near the broken down barn right beside the Caretaker’s House.  As you can see, our tomato plants love their new home and appreciate the compost we received from the College Park Golf Course.  Even our container gardens thrived. 

The reception from the Historic College Park Neighborhood Association and Historic Society was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. So when we went back to City Council one month later, it was decided that eventually, it was the decision of City Council whether agriculture was permissible or not. They collectively decided to take a chance on us so long as we kept them abreast of our progress.

As I am looking around, I notice that the bannister to the stairs, three and a half sets of pocket doors, five fireplaces and every chandelier . . . gone! After doing a little digging, turns out, fixtures made from Georgia pine and white oak from the late 1880′s could value up to $5,000-6,000 each.  On one hand, I guess I could understand.  On the other, I guess I should just keep it to myself.  I just find it a little odd that the removal of these items were done with such care that nothing else in their immediate areas were damaged or destroyed.  Definitely the work of a professional.

The bright side, however, is that they took really great care in removing what I’m sure were beautiful shows of craftsmanship.  Hmmm. . . a considerate thief.  Go figure!

I would have really liked to have seen the missing fixtures and awe in all of their wonderfulness. However, the good news is we don’t have to fork over any additional monies to repair any unnecesary damages.  A silver lining in what has now become a murky, missing white oak mystery.

Hey! If you know anything about Victorian architecture, fill me in.  I’m thinking I need to start a Historian Preservation Committee or something to get to the bottom of this!  Besides, I’m completely intrigued with trying to figure out what the home looked like back in the day.  Feel free to get the Historic Preservation Club going.  Consider my interests picqued!

 The owners wish to preserve the beauty of the 100 year old Victorian home (blt 1880) located on the property along with the original caretakers house, barn and what looks to be a well structure on the grouds.  They also intend to convert the property back to its original state as a farm and use it as a teaching model and tourist attraction for urban agriculture and green sustainability practices.