Celebration of life and community at 18th Avenue

BY AIMEE MCADAMS

On a recent summery evening, the 18th Avenue Green Community Garden (on 18th Ave. and 33rd St.) was host to a celebration of life, friendship and community. Friends and family, neighbors new and old, came together to celebrate the lives and memories of four beloved community members who had passed away. The 35 to 40 people shared food, memories, and planted two cherry trees in honor of Eliza Erickson, Danny Drinkwine, Bob Gunderson and Tony Ramos.

It felt like a stone soup gathering. Mina Leierwood, the organizer of the event, came down the sidewalk pushing an 8-foot tall cherry tree in a wheelbarrow. She unloaded the tree, and her niece Ellen jumped into the wheelbarrow for a ride back to Mina’s house to get the second tree. Longtime neighbor Lynne Derby arrived with a fire pit and firewood. Other people began arriving with chips and salsa, sodas, stir-fry, hot dogs and cake. A couple of neighbors ran back to get folding tables and chairs. Just like that, the party had begun. Children were everywhere, running, chasing, climbing a hill of dirt; hot dogs were on the barbeque and a fire was blazing in the fire pit.

Greg Leierwood led the effort to dig two holes for the cherry trees. Several
kids grabbed shovels and joined in the digging. The holes for the trees were
filled with water and everyone found something to eat. Finally, Mina got
everyone’s attention and the group gathered in a large circle around the
crackling fire.

Mina began with an introduction. “Where this garden is, there used to be a
crack house. The neighbors got together to have it torn down. There was a
great group of neighbors here in the ’90s that came together. What we have
now is built on that. This neighborhood has gone up and down. There have
been shootings here. But there have been incredible potlucks, parties, and
block club parties the envy of the rest of the city. We are standing on the
shoulders of those who came before us.”

Going around the circle, everyone took a turn sharing their memories of the
garden, the neighborhood, and especially of the departed friends: Eliza,
Danny, Bob and Tony.

Linda shared, “I’ve been on the block for 30 years. Eliza was a big part of the block. One of my favorite memories is when she turned 40. We put this huge sign on the front of her house that said, ‘Oh Lordy, Look Who’s Forty!’ She loved that.” Linda shared about Danny as well: “His children weren’t able to come tonight, but when I told them cherry trees would be planted in his honor they were overwhelmed. They told me cherry trees were his favorite and he had two planted in his yard.”

“I lived on this block about 20 years,” Toby shared. “My kids were born here. Eliza was one of my friends. In the last year of her life I spent a lot of time with her and her new grandbaby. I loved seeing her enjoying the baby.”

Greg spoke about Tony Ramos. “Tony bought a house with an elderly friend of his, Pop. Tony was Puerto Rican. He was in the military and lived all over the country before settling here. He was a good friend and he always had an open door.”

Many people spoke of Eliza as a second mother to many of the kids in the neighborhood. Sue and Eliza were such good friends they decided to call each other sisters. Sue said she and Eliza had a deal: When one of them passed away, the other would watch after her “sister’s” kids. “I just inherited nine kids!”

exclaimed Sue. Meg, who has lived in the neighborhood since the ’80s, said Eliza was one of her best friends. “She really taught me about generosity,” said Meg. “We spent a lot of time on each other’s porches. When I started staying home with my son she called me every day. I attribute my sanity to her!”

Some folks remembered Danny was quite the wrestling coach for kids in the area. Another neighbor remembered painting one day, up on a ladder, and Danny came over and spotted for her. He stayed there all day holding onto the ladder and making sure she didn’t hit any power lines.

Greg reminisced about Bob: “Bob was a chain-smoking welder. He built a lot of flag poles for people in the neighborhood. He built a Model T out of scraps
around a Pinto body. He was a tinkerer and collector. He built this dangerous can smasher with a piston in it. I asked him once what would happen if he got his hand in there. He said, ‘Don’t put your hand near that.’ Bob always helped people. He looked out his windows to see what was going on, he’d offer to help people, and he’d talk to folks. In Bob’s view, you made time for each other and you engaged in conflict. He was feisty, but he was gentle.”

Miguel knew Eliza well. He often stayed over at their home and he wouldn’t be able to sleep. They would stay up talking for hours and he realized she had a very full life. Eliza’s daughter Angela, with two boys in tow and a third child on the way, sat in a green lawn chair and talked about the neighborhood. “Living here was great. Growing up here, I knew everyone on the block. It’s hard to move to a new block because you don’t know everyone.” Angela couldn’t go on, thinking of her mom and memories of growing up.

David grew up in the neighborhood too and was part of a kids club on the block. He had fond memories of a mural that the neighborhood painted and that everyone was involved in—painting something in the mural or helping to hang it up. The mural seems small to him now, but he remembers how huge it seemed when he was a kid.

At one time there were over 40 kids in this area of a couple blocks. Kids would come from other blocks to play here. It was a great place for them to be. Mina talked about the unsung work of mothers being with kids, of families being together, and of neighbors being together. Mina encouraged everyone gathered to “make connections with people in your neighborhood. It may seem like a small thing, but it is huge.”

It was obvious from the people gathered and the memories shared that Danny, Tony, Eliza and Bob had made a big difference in the neighborhood by reaching out to their neighbors, lending a hand and being involved. They made an impact in their community and left a great example for all of us to follow.

* * * * * * * *

Someone shouted out, “So, when are we going to plant these trees?” and everyone sprang into action. The trees were wrestled out of their pots and kids were supervised in cutting the root balls. The trees were lowered into
the holes that had been dug for them, and everyone helped push dirt into the holes. The rest of the potluck food was gobbled up. A few folks said their goodbyes and began drifting away. Many stuck around, sharing more stories and perhaps hatching new plans and ideas for the neighborhood.