EARLE & JAMES STREET
NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2015
WWW.CEEHDA.COM
JILL ERICKSON JAN HUBBLE NATALIE ARNOLD ANNE RICHBOURG
Welcome Neighbors. A lot is happening on Earle and James and this is the first quarterly newsletter
that will keep us all in the know and connected. Please feel free to share your ideas to help develop
this newsletter to suit our needs.
NEW NEIGHBORS
Wonder who moved into that house down the street? Our neighborhood has welcomed many new
folks in the past several years.
We'll try to keep abreast and even introduce a few each quarter. Please help keep us informed.
From jellyfish science to wind energy
Engineering to comic book colorist…
New James Street resident, Megan Wilson, 31, was drawn to the Earle-James Street
neighborhood after living in a West End condo for five years.“I decided I wanted to buy a house,”
she says. “I really liked the historic districts on this end of town. This neighborhood, in particular,
was just so charming with all of the great houses and tree-lined street.”Before selecting her home
at 12 James Street, Megan’s chief priority was finding a house that is within walking distance of
downtown Greenville. A bonus to living on James has been the friendliness of the neighbors she’s
met.“I’ve only met a few of you so far, but everyone has been so nice,” Megan says. “Contrast
this to my old condo where no one talked to anyone else even though we all lived in the same
building!”
For those who meet Megan, they might want to ask her about her background as a Clemson mechanical engineering
student or as a PhD candidate at UCLA for mechanical engineering with an emphasis on fluid dynamics: “My research
group did computational fluid dynamics of biologically-inspired locomotion,” Megan explains. “And my work was
focused on jellyfish swimming.”Megan graduated with a master’s degree and left a year shy of finishing her PhD
because jobs were beginning to be scarce for new graduates. “I didn’t want to be overqualified and under-experienced,”
she says. Instead, GE offered her a job in which she works on a mix of computational and experimental studies, along
with general new technology development.
To balance her intellectual work, Megan relaxes with freelance work as a comic book colorist. “I
started reading comics about three years ago and thought it was an interesting medium, so I
taught myself how to color,” she says. “I only do small projects like covers and small runs that
are 4-6 issues in length since my availability is limited.”Besides working with independent
comics, Megan has done covers for licensed properties like Ninja Turtles and a few for Marvel.
As a new homeowner, Megan’s physical activities include yard experimentation.“I’m guessing a
few people have driven by and seen me hunched over in the front yard and wondered what I was
doing,” Megan notes. “The lawn is currently a mix of weeds, moss, and a bit of grass, so I’m
doing an experiment to see if it can be converted to full moss for easy maintenance.”She’s handweeding it to preserve the moss and is trying to patch in pieces of moss.“Even if it doesn’t work,
at least I’ll have a weed-free place to start over with grass,” she says. “It’s probably going to
take me a long time to finish, particularly the weeding part, but if anyone has any moss in their
yard that they don’t want, let me know!”
Family seeking community finds
“beach-front property” on Earle
After living in exciting cities from New York to Tucson, Sterling and Michelle Simpson chose Greenville as their
place to settle down.“Greenville is by far our favorite place to live and we have firm plans to live here at least until
retirement,” they say. In Arizona, the family of four, including Sierra, age 8, and Ezra, age 4, had lived in a “gorgeous,
but secluded Tucson neighborhood, where people kept to themselves and avoided contact.”After a couple of years, the
Simpsons learned the importance of community and sought a feeling of belonging for their next home.
They landed at 115 East Earle Street due to a chance meeting between Michelle and Stephanie Burnette, 117 E. Earle
St. “Earle Street has exactly what we were looking for,” Michelle says. “We’ve found that Stone Academy is customtailored to our young artist Sierra.”They’re also drawn to the North Main area’s Brooklyn-type of appeal in its ties to
city, historic homes, mature trees, and – most importantly – neighbors who share a commitment to community,
including relying on each other in times of need.“As cliché as it may sound, we feel truly blessed to have found this
neighborhood and are dedicated to keeping Earle as a modern day village,” they say. As downtown Greenville
continues to transform, extending its growth to North Main, there’s an excitement in its evolution, they say. “Progress
may bring extra traffic, but it will decrease time spent driving doing errands, since one day there won’t be much need to
leave North Main to purchase anything. It will also decrease crime and force the city to relocate public housing to a
more updated facility with better access to low cost merchandise.”
Another benefit to living on Earle Street is that it is a good investment: “We see Earle Street as ‘beachfront property,’
which will always have appeal and value, even in a future down market,” they say.
As far as our neighborhood’s festivities, the Simpsons suggest that Earle/James neighbors form their own Christmas/
New Year’s parade as the downtown one has become so big and arduous. People could parade with decorated golf
carts, bikes, and wagons.“We could start at one end and have a bonfire party at the other end – maybe in front of the
Simpson house!” Michelle says. “We could provide the Christmas pig.”
Brooke & Andy Johnston
221 East Earle
When Brooke and Andy Johnston moved to 221 E. Earle Street right before Christmas in
2013, they had just spent the last six years living in a new place each year, including living
in the states of Ohio, Virginia, Utah, and Georgia.
For the family of four, including Hannah, age 4, and Emmett, age 6, Greenville – and more
specifically Earle Street – will be their permanent home. “We’re glad to be done with
moving,” Andy says. “The more we live in Greenville, the more we like it.”
Brooke seconds that thought: “I like how people are friendly here,” she says. “Doors are
open. We were walking down the street and some neighbors invited us in.”
In some ways, Earle Street is an old-fashioned neighborhood with families catching a
trolley heading downtown, where kids have lemonade stands on the sidewalks and families
walk their children to Stone Academy.
“I never thought we could have that kind of life,” Andy says.
The Johnstons moved to Greenville because it’s situated right between Brooke’s family in
the Atlanta area and Andy’s family in North Wilksboro, NC.
But since moving here, they’ve been happily surprised at how the city’s lifestyle melds well
with their own interests. For instance, in 2006, Andy and Brooke biked across the United
States from Virginia Beach to San Francisco in nine weeks. They’re pleased that Greenville
has bike lanes and the family-friendly Swamp Rabbit Trail. “We didn’t know until we got
here that this was a biking community,” Brooke says.
The only thing it lacks is a larger population of bicycling commuters – as opposed to weekend cyclists, they say.
Brooke would like to bike to her job as a pediatrician specializing in palliative medicine at the Children’s Hospital at
Greenville Health System’s main campus. Andy could bike to his job as a couples’ and men’s counselor.
They’re also interested in joining Earle Street’s burgeoning chicken and bee raising community
“We’re hoping to have a chicken coop soon and then get started next year with bees,” Brooke says. “We like that aspect
of Earle Street.”
Even the community’s new developments, including the prospect of a grocery store on the other side of Wade Hampton
and near their home, are mostly positive. However, they are a little concerned about the possibility of more traffic
cutting through East Earle Street as motorists and shoppers try to avoid Stone Avenue.
Brooke’s one suggestion for what Earle Street could add to its list of community activities is to take advantage of the
street’s many musicians by having a Live Music Porch Day. Neighbors could sit on their porches in the evening,
playing music, and neighbors could walk by visiting and listening to the different musicians, Brooke says.
“Brooke could play the guitar,” Andy adds
And here are more new neighbors to meet, greet and interview in the future!
Joan & Nicholas Burkhardt 117 James
Megan Wilson, 12 James Donnie Smith & Melissa Turner 10 James Ellen Mays 311 West B-9
Megan & Aaron Burleson 117 W
Ema Knott & Jeremy Stickler 206 W
Gary & Kacy Eichelberger 107 W
Andre & Julia Payne 320 W
Tori & David Roatch 301 W
Rebecca Shafer 22 W
Craig & Natalie Arnold 113 W
Mary Yau & John Harmon 304 W
Maria Tobin 321 W
Patricia & Tom Lindsey 207 E
& Melissa McCulloch 106 E #A
Keith
Ed & Pat Chapman 222 E
Heiko & Kay Burklin 23 E
Candice Nissen, 24 Earle
Prem & Meghan Patel 205 E
Michelle & Sterling Simpson 115 East
Brooke & Andy Johnston 221 East
Report from the Colonel Elias Earle Historic District Association (CEEHDA) Planning
and Zoning Committee – September 2015
The CEEHDA Planning and Zoning Committee had a busy summer. Planning and zoning issues directly
impact our quality of life and the future of our neighborhood. It’s also a topic where neighborhood
interest and involvement can make a great difference in our future. Some issues we have recently
addressed:
Northpoint: Canal Realty hosted a number of neighborhood meetings to explain the proposed
planned development for the “Canal Triangle” – the long-vacant property across from Canal Insurance
Company on Stone Avenue. Overall, the proposed development received positive support because it
includes many neighborhood requests for a grocery store and a variety of walkable local retail
shopping options.
Despite the potential for a positive impact on our neighborhood, CEEHDA is concerned about the
traffic plan for the Wade Hampton extension and potential for increased overflow traffic on our
street. Our concerns are related to the seemingly divergent goals of the City/neighborhood master
plans vs. the SC Department of Transportation, the entity which controls Wade Hampton, Stone and
Church.
We do not want a suburban-type development marooned by three busy streets. Our master plan calls
for connections to our neighborhoods, not barriers for pedestrians, bicycles, strollers, carts, etc…
These issues remain unresolved as of this writing.
Stone at Main: This mixed-use project is well under construction and will be completed sometime
next year. It will include about 20,000 sq., ft. of retail space and is consistent with the goals of the
Stone Avenue Master Plan that we all approved several years ago.
Lot at the end of James Street: Earlier this summer, the Planning Commission approved a plan to
divide one lot and allow building three houses at the NW corner of James Street and Pete Hollis. The
lot was not part of the Historic District and is zoned for re-development. However, the developer
agreed to write into the deed that only single-family homes could be built on the new lots and that
they would be part of the our historic district overlay in perpetuity.
Lots at the end of East Earle and Wade Hampton: On Monday, August 31, East Earle and Cary Street
residents met with the buyer of the three at the north side of the end of East Earle and Wade
Hampton to discuss the proposed re-zoning, present the intended project, and to solicit input
submittal as follows:
• Split the middle R6 (residential) lot (226 East Earle), which is not part of the historic district
overlay. One portion will join the other R6 lot to make a large, buildable lot that will all go into
the historical overlay. The other portion of the lot will be joined to the existing C2 (commercial)
lot on Mohawk/Wade Hampton
• The C-2 lot will be down-zoned to OD (office development) zoning.
• The final status will be a larger residential lot in the historic overlay and an OD lot facing
Mohawk/Wade Hampton so as to construct a small office building with rear parking.
The Planning Commission will decide this on September 17. You can find the submitted plan here:
http://sc-greenville.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/Search/?
term=&CIDs=4,&startDate=&endDate=&dateRange=&dateSelector=
New Houses on West Earle: On September 3, the Design Review Board will hear applications to:
• Build a new house on the existing foundation of the house at 4 West Earle that was damaged by
fire.
• Build a new carriage-style house on a flag (interior) lot between /behind 715 North Main, 711
North Main and 11 West Earle
!
TIME FOR THE FALL FAMILY-MEMBERSHIP COOKOUT
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 27 4PM
HOME OF SANDY FURTH & AMY INGRAM
MARK & DANI HERO
314 & 316 W EARLE ST
BBQ Brisket... Hot Dogs and All the Fixins
Everything provided except adult beverages so BYOB
HALLOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE
SATURDAY OCTOBER 31
HOME OF DIANE AND RUSSELL FARR
328 W EARLE
TIIME TO DRESS UP THE KIDS….FILL THEM WITH HOT DOGS
PARADE THEM DOWN THE STREET
AND FILL THEM WITH SWEETS
SAVE THE DATE..!
CHRISTMAS PARTY TIME
IS NEAR
SATURDAY DECEMBER 12
MEMBERSHIP & DIRECTORY
When autumn is in the air
It’s time to pay your share
Once again dues per household are only $25.
Cash or check to Treasurer Joyce Murphy at 14 E Earle St.
Or with PayPal at ceehda.com using RENEW tab at top of page.
Or bring your dues to THE FALL FAMILY COOKOUT SEPT 27.
Everyone is excited about the new neighborhood directory which also
will be available to pick up at the cookout.
Many thanks to the newsletter crew for all their hard work for collecting,
compiling and completing the directory.
MEMBERSHIP IS DUE BY OCTOBER 1, 2015
CRIME AND HOMELESS UPDATE
As everyone is aware, crime and homlessness have become increasing events in and around our streets. In an effort to
address this issue in a pratical yet compassionate manner, Mike Meckenbug was able to bring residents, agencies,
homeless adults and goverment officals together at The Triune Center August 26. Greenville Mental Health, Miracle
Hill, Share, Salvation Army, United Ministries, Project Host, Safe Harbor, United Way, Temple Community Housing,
(among others) numerous churches, Police Chief Ken Miller and several of his staff, Council women Gaye Sprague,
Lilian Fleming, Amy Ryeburg-Doyle talked about the problems, how they are being addressed and what future
solutions may help.
THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE 2 1/2 HOUR MEETING WRITTEN BY ALETA WOODS…
RESIDENT OF JAMES STREET:
We understand that there are many separate efforts to help without a real figurehead and with no fast solutions. Last
night gave many of our local programs an opportunity to share what they have been doing and to ask for help. We, the
neighbors, had a less formal opportunity to speak making action planning or next steps difficult. While not fully
comprehensive, the following is an attempt to gather the short term solutions discussed last night to help lesson the
impact of this sad issue on our collective neighborhood.
Neighbors:
1. The biggest thing that we can do is report. We need to let the city and police know the full scope of our concerns and the only way
we can do that is through communication. We need to call and use the web to let our voices be heard.
911 OR 864-271-5333 (Greenville Police Department main line)
www.greenvillecares.org
Use the website with any environmental or organizational issues that are not immediate needs.
Call the Greenville police main line with any non-threatening disturbances.
Call 911 if you feel unsafe. There is no charge for this call.
2. Do not offer money to people who approach you. Instead, provide them with a handout of the various programs in our
surrounding area that can provide the right kind of support. (This is going to be e-mailed to all of us).
3. Reach out to the police with help ensuring our properties are safe and get ideas for ways to make them even safer. We
learned last night that certain officers are trained to do this and are willing if we ask. 4. Call the Greenville police main line if you see unauthorized programs providing services in empty lots or if you see new
camps pop up. 5. Park in our driveways, lock our cars, and don’t leave personal possessions in plain sight. 6. Ask our city to provide a Homelessness Coordinator to monitor and ensure cohesiveness in programming and efforts.
Police:
The Greenville Police Department has increased their patrols in the David Street / James Street areas. They are specifically focused on
times when feeding program are occurring. They urged us to contact them with issues.
They also shared that when so many programs are in such a concentrated area, the outcome is what we are living with on a daily
basis. It would stand to reason that zoning laws that impact how many social service agencies can be located within the same location
should be reviewed and considered.
They also verified what we have all heard in that other cities send their homeless to our city and a majority of those individuals are
downtown and specifically, in our immediate area.
Lastly, they shared their efforts to intake those with mental illnesses and get support and medication. Josh and I were impressed with
this and really appreciate this effort in lieu of simply arresting and rearresting the mentally ill. Social Service Programs:
We asked last night that all programs providing meals and supportive programming to ensure that there is an orderly approach that
takes into consideration trash, blocking the street, noise, and foot traffic. The David Street church has a brand new pastor that we feel
heard our concerns and appears to be making big efforts to make positive changes. This is what we asked for specifically from David
Street Church, The Salvation Army, The Triune Center, Miracle Hill, etc.:
1. Please don’t offer “to-go” boxes or cups for meals as these often end up in our yards with discarded food. This brings in pests and
rodents and is a safety concern as well as a nuisance. 2. Please provide ample trashcans in strategic locations. 3. Please put up signs and give reminders to those attending to respect the neighborhood. In addition to trash, this includes using the
sidewalks instead of the road and keeping the noise at an acceptable level. 4. Please remind everyone that personal items hidden on our properties will be immediately discarded or put onto the sidewalk. 5. Additionally, there we ask that those attending local programs refrain from knocking on our doors and asking for money or work. We specifically ask that they not approach our children in any way.
6. Lastly, please ensure that your venue space is equipped to handle the amount of people you bring in. If not, please be open to
explore other places.
I feel we all need to follow up with each of these agencies over the coming months to see if or how they have made any of these
changes to their programming. As we said last night, these efforts will go a long way in how the neighborhood perceives these
programs and will have a direct impact on the support we provide in return.
For those of you with kids, Josh and I are also working on requesting adjustments be made to the light at James and Rutherford to help
improve awareness and stopping. Even today, we watched a truck blow through the red light without even noticing. We would be a
lot more willing to walk to and from school if this issue was improved. These are just our thoughts . . . we welcome your feedback. I am sure we missed something.
Josh and Aleta Woods
125 James Street
STONE ACADEMY FALL SCHEDULE
Open House at Stone Academy September 14
Fall for Stone September 25
Boosterthon Fun Run & Red Ribbon Rally October 30
Magnet Open House 5:30-7:30 October 20
Fall book Fair November 9-13
Thanksgiving Break/Holiday November 25-27
Winter Break December 21-January 1
Here is the website for Greenville County Schools and on it you can find information on League Middle School,
Wade Hampton HS and Greenville High.
http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/Schools/
Earle/James Street Book Club
has something for everyone
The Earle/James Street Book Club has been meeting since 2005 – 11 years of reading and sharing! The group’s philosophy is
that anyone can join at any time, and they do not need to have finished that month’s book. They also do not need to live on
Earle or James streets, although most of the members live on the street or have previously lived on the street.
At our October meeting, members will select books for the next year. As the group consists of people with a wide variety of
literary interests, our books reflect that. We’ve read bestsellers, nonfiction, children’s literature, fantasy/science fiction,
Westerns, and mysteries, as well as classics and mainstream fiction. Many of the books we’ve read have later been made into
television series or films, including “The Other Boleyn Girl” by Phillippa Gregory and “Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
(2006 selections); “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout (2009 selection); “The Help” by Katherine Stockett (2010 selection),
and “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn and “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed (2012 selections).
We meet in members’ homes at 7:30 p.m. on Monday nights, once a month. The Monday varies. Hosts provide wine and other
beverages and appetizers, although others usually bring something, as well.
If you are interested in learning more about the book club and when and where it meets, please contact Melinda Young at
[email protected]. She’ll add your email address to the list and you’ll receive monthly notices about meetings and
books.
GRIDLEY CLUB
Back in 1919, the women of Earle and James Streets formed the Gridley Club to “create and foster the neighborly spirit
and to strive for the cultural and social betterment of the community.” Today, we are the oldest women's group in
Greenville! Our members range in age from 25 to 100 (!).
Almost 100 years later, we’re still alive and kicking! Today, the Gridley Club encompasses both the women who made
this neighborhood a fixture on Greenville’s historical scene, and the new members who have vowed to continue the
tradition.
The Gridley Club is a vibrant, exciting group of women who live on Earle or James Street. We meet monthly to
socialize, learn more about our community, and continue the tradition that has made North Main one of Greenville’s
most desirable neighborhoods.
We meet the last Wednesday of every month during the school year in members' homes, starting with a social time at 11
a.m., meeting starts at 11:30 with a speaker, then lunch beginning at noon. Dues are only $40 per year. If you'd like to join us, please call/email Sandy Furth at: (864)901-5049 or sfruth@[email protected] : or Mary Yau
at (864)906-7670 or [email protected]
This is a wonderful opportunity to meet the women in your neighborhood and learn why we’re so special. Please -join us!
Janet Roberson Sumner
101 James Street
Greenville, SC 29609
864-414-8591
REMINDER…DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME CHANGES
AT 2 AM ON NOVEMBER 1, 2015
TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK ONE HOUR
CONTRIBUTE YOUR IDEAS
We hope you have found this newsletter fun and informative. This will
become a quarterly missive…Jan..April…July…October. To further
expand and improve our neighborhood communication, please send us
your critiques, suggestions and ideas.
Jill Erickson ericksf@bellsouth
Jan Hubble [email protected]
Anne Richbourg [email protected]
Natalie Arnold [email protected]
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT Steve Hajosy [email protected] 263-7418
VICE PRES Anne Richbourg [email protected] 630-3773
TREASURES Joyce Murphy [email protected] 901-7155
SECRETARY Gretchen West [email protected] 242-4972
WEBMASTER Mike Mecklenburg [email protected] 235-7351
and City Liaison
10 EAST Becky Banks [email protected] 232-5668
100 EAST Gretchen West [email protected] 242-4972
200 EAST Jan Hubble [email protected] 242-9636
10 WEST Libby Young [email protected] 235-4831
100 WEST Anne Petrich [email protected] 235-0673
200 WEST Becky Swoyer [email protected] 242-6208
300 WEST Jill Erickson [email protected] 242-5966
JAMES Susannah Ross [email protected] 979-7054