hillcrest residents association newsletter, spring 2014

NEWSLETTER SPRING 2014 1

S P R I N G 2 0 1 4

In This IssueYour HRA Board ………………………2

About the Cover Artist …………………2

Message from the HRA President ………2

HMA Calendar ………………………4

July Parades Past (Photos) ………… 4, 10

A Race with a Bang (Firecracker 5K) …4

HRA Membership List …………………5

Join the Neighborhood (Banner) Watch! 6

Hillcrest RetroPhoto …………………6

Hillcrest School Happenings …………7

HRA at the Picassos (Photos) …………7

The Promenade Project …………………8

Scoop the Knoop: Park Clean-Up ……9

Hillcrest Stories …………………… 10

AT LEFT: Pastel (slightly cropped) by local artist Babs Steward. Read more about Babs’ work on page 2.

SAVE THE DATES: ICE CREAM AND A PARADE!THURSDAY, JULY 3, AND FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

DETAILS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE!

THE FOURTH IS STRONG IN THIS NEIGHBORHOODGet up and go to these two fun Hillcrest Fourth of July celebrations!July 3 (First Thursday)—Hillcrest Merchants Ice Cream Social, 6-7 pm at Crest Park (in front of Kroger): Start celebrating early at the annual Hillcrest Merchants Ice Cream Social, accompanied by fresh, locally-sourced music. All treats are provided by HMA members and are free to Hillcrest residents and guests. Come have your ice cream and then enjoy your Hillcrest merchants’ First Thursday late hours! If you would like to be a sponsor of this event, contact Karen Konarski-Hart at 501-258-7757.

July 4—Midland Hills Fourth of July Parade, “Never On Time at 9 am” beginning at the intersection of Lee and Midland: We assure you that this is one of the reasons you live in Hillcrest. Decorate your person-powered vehicle (bicycle, scooter, feet—we’ve even had homemade hand-pulled floats) to suit the patriotic season and come parade with your neighbors to Pulaski Heights Elementary, where the Declaration of Indepen-dence will be read and cookies and lemonade (financed by the previous year’s donations) will be served.

H I L L C R E S T R E S I D E N T S A S S O C I A T I O N N E W S L E T T E R

2 THE HILLCREST RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

About This Month’s Cover ArtistBABS STEWARD lives and works in Hillcrest. Her art education has included classes taken from local artists in Little Rock, Dallas, and Santa Fe, and at the Arkansas Arts Center and Baylor University. She says: “I absolutely love color. When working with pastels, I like to do pictures of scenes. Letting almost all components come to the foreground and participate in an equal way allows the color to express the scene. I enjoy working on sand-colored backgrounds, as this adds to the warmth and cohesiveness of the picture, and on textured backgrounds, as the roughness makes the colors more vibrant.”You can find more of Babs’ work at Gallery 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Boulevard (www.gallery26.com).

Your HRA BoardPRESIDENT

Arthur Paul Bowen

SECRETARY/HMA LIAISONKaren Konarski-Hart

TREASURERJason Campbell

VICE PRESIDENTJohn Coulter

COMMUNICATIONSNewsletter

Arthur Paul Bowen Allison Stephens

Design by Kathrine Kuo WebmasterRob King f.ti davis

CRIMELeslie Purdy-Hoyt • Chuck Hitt

Karen Konarski-Hart

GRAFFITI CZARLeslie Purdy-Hoyt

MEMBERSHIPJohn Coulter • Chuck Hitt

Andrew Landrum • Eric McDaniel

PARKS/MUTT MITTS CZARMichael Keddie

SCHOOLSJohn Coulter • Tara Protiva-Brown

Cliff Anderson

AT-LARGE MEMBERSJames Matthews • Andrew Landrum

Tara Protiva-Brown

LETTERS. WE GET LETTERS.Sadly, that’s still not true. But we do

want to hear your opinion of the HRA Newsletter —whether you have an idea for a story, want to congratulate us for actually publishing another issue, or

plan to dive-bomb us with oak tassels.

Direct your Spring email to [email protected]

Message from the HRA President

We at your HRA are pleased to publish another edition of the Hill-crest Newsletter. We hope that you find it fun and informative. We sure had fun putting it together. It is truly a labor of love.

Lots of great stuff has happened in the neighborhood since this time last year. Let me recount just a few in no particular order:

✔ The Pancake Breakfast at HarvestFest broke all previous records; ✔ We partnered up with the Hillcrest Merchants Association and Mount St. Mary to create a picnic area in the easement where H Street used to intersect with Van Buren;

✔ Membership in the HRA is at an all-time high (see opposite page); ✔ The HRA and HMA installed new banners in the neighborhood (see note, page 6) and we joined Tree Streets in the planting of trees on the sidewalks along Kavanaugh. Planting will resume in the Fall;

✔ The HRA was proud to be a sponsor of Pulaski Heights Elementary’s biannual Picassos art auction fundraiser;

✔ and Hillcrest was named “Best Neighborhood” by Sync Weekly.

Thank you for your continued support. If you ever need to get in touch with me or any of the other Board members that contact information can be found on our website (www.hillcrestresidents.org). And please feel free to come to our monthly meetings. We meet at 6pm every 2nd Monday in the Parish Hall at Holy Souls. The Agenda for these meetings can be found on the yahoo! Bulle-tin board (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/HillcrestResidentsAssociation/info) and the Hillcrest website (www.hillcrestresidents.org).

Last but not least, many thanks to Kathrine Forster Kuo for the design of the newsletter and to Bill Fitzgerald for selling the ads. Now get out there and buy stuff from the businesses in the neighborhood.

Have a great summer! We will see you again in November.

Peace, Paul


Hillcrest MarketWatch™ John Selva’s

Search all Hillcrest homes FOR SALE at www.PulaskiHeightsRealty.com

Address List Price Sold Price Bed Bath Appx ft2 Sold $/ft2 Closed Days

5816 G St $79,900 $63,750 2 1 900 $ 70.83 2/19/2014 2

5517 C St $68,000 $65,000 2 1 784 $ 82.91 2/14/2014 0

600 N Fillmore St $109,000 $82,500 2 1 850 $ 97.06 3/14/2014 140

109 N Monroe St $88,000 $88,000 2 1 672 $130.95 3/26/2014 0

904 N Polk St $119,000 $119,000 3 1.5 1294 $ 91.96 3/28/2014 0

1116 N Tyler St $142,900 $127,500 3 1 950 $134.21 1/10/2014 22

4905 Woodlawn Ave $145,000 $135,000 2 2 1420 $ 95.07 3/14/2014 3

5505 Lee Ave $139,900 $139,900 2 1 990 $141.31 3/31/2014 2

3929 N Lookout St $180,000 $160,000 3 1 1850 $ 86.49 2/19/2014 4

326 N Ash St $169,900 $166,000 2 1 1152 $144.10 2/5/2014 59

204 N Monroe St $174,500 $167,000 2 1 1204 $138.70 3/5/2014 111

8 Alpine Court $215,000 $182,000 3 1.5 1455 $125.09 3/28/2014 86

115 N Monroe St $189,900 $183,090 2 1 1194 $153.34 3/31/2014 20

5718 F St $199,900 $195,000 3 2 1304 $149.54 3/28/2014 3

4 Rosewood Cir $289,990 $199,000 3 2 2405 $ 82.74 1/10/2014 173

400 N Palm St $239,000 $207,000 2 2 1872 $110.58 3/28/2014 100

4407 Kenyon St $235,000 $210,000 2 1.5 1598 $131.41 3/24/2014 39

108 N Cedar St $218,000 $218,000 3 2 1753 $124.36 3/23/2014 6

4801 Lee Ave $254,900 $218,250 3 2 1725 $126.52 1/13/2014 108

5223 G St $310,000 $295,000 3 2.5 2528 $116.69 3/28/2014 166

622 N Martin St $369,000 $348,000 4 3.5 2320 $150.00 2/26/2014 128

4416 S Lookout St $379,000 $365,000 2 2 2030 $179.80 2/26/2014 9

722 N Monroe St $399,900 $380,000 3 3 2639 $143.99 1/9/2014 11

5001 Woodlawn Ave $439,000 $410,000 4 3 2820 $145.39 1/17/2014 40

6 Point Circle $488,900 $425,000 3 3.5 3445 $123.37 2/8/2014 153

Market Average $225,744 $205,960 $123.06 55

Market Median $199,900 $183,090 $126.52 22

Visit www.HillcrestMarketWatch.com to subscribe to our FREE newsletter!

All MLS Hillcrest Homes Sold 1st Quarter 2014 Data obtained from MLS and includes all real estate companies’ sales.


SAVE THE DATE! HMA CALENDAR

Hillcrest Farmers MarketSATURDAYS, 7:00 am – Noon

Pulaski Heights Baptist Church

Hillcrest Residents Association (HRA) Meeting

2nd MONDAYS (Monthly), 6 pmOur Lady of the Holy Souls

Shop And Sip1st THURSDAYS (Monthly)

Hillcrest Business District

Hillcrest Merchants Association (HMA) Meeting2nd THURSDAYS

(Monthly except April), 8:30amPulaski Heights Presbyterian Church

Community Picnic at the PHE gardenMAY 31, 2-4pm

Pulaski Heights Elementary

Annual Ice Cream Social PlusJULY 3, 6pm

At Crest Park, in front of Kroger

HarvestFestOCTOBER 4, 7:15am – 10pm

Kavanaugh BoulevardFor more info: www.harvestfest.us

Holidays In HillcrestNOVEMBER

Hillcrest Business District

Communal Thanksgiving Church Service

Location and time TBD

Christmas Tree LightingDECEMBER 5, 5:30pm

Allsopp Promenade

MEET OUR MERCHANTS AT HILLCRESTMERCHANTS.NET

MERCHANTS! Have You Renewed Your HMA Membership?

In order to be included on the HMA website and in the printed shopping guide, you must renew by June 1. Send your checks to the Hillcrest Merchants Association at P.O. Box 251522, Little Rock, AR 72225-1522. If you have questions, call Lu at 501-960-9777.

A RACE WITH A BANGThe 38th annual Firecracker Fast 5k will be run once again through the heart of Hillcrest on July 4, 2014 at 7:30am. Sean and Noelle Coughlan, owners of Fleet Feet Sports Easy Runner, took some time with a visitor to discuss this year’s race.

“This is our second year to sponsor the race,” Mr. Coughlan said. “It’s an awe-some course through a fantastic neighborhood. And this year, in addition to the traditional Firecrackers for the first 50 men and first 50 women finishers, we will have medals for all kids 12 years old and under who complete the course as well as age division awards. Also, we are totally stroller-friendly, so feel free to bring the little ones. ”

“And we have started a speed program,” Ms. Coughlan said. “It’s fun and infor-mal. If you want to learn how to get faster, just show up here at the store at 6 every Wednesday night and take off with the group under supervision. Our No Boundaries training group for first time runners got started a month or so ago and they are doing great.”

“So it’s shaping up to be a great run again this year,” Mr. Coughlan said.

Runners can register at the Fleet Feet Sports Easy Runner store or at www.fleet-feeteasyrunner.com/races.

“Besides,” Ms. Coughlan added. “If you run in the race you will make more room for watermelon and hot dogs.”

—Arthur Paul Bowen

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JULY PARADES PAST: These folks (and dogs) were all dressed up with someplace to go. A special thanks goes out to our local firefighters at Little Rock Fire Station #7, who are always willing to show up with a real live fire truck to lead off the parade.


HRA MEMBERSHIP AS OF 5/12/14Members ($20 – $49)Patricia AllredCatherine BarrierPaul BashMarian & Craig BerryLisa BlackMary BoazSuzanne BoscaroloSusie BoyettMary CameronCraig ChotardNate CoulterCharity Dennington & Gary SchroederCurtis ElwellEmily ErkelLeesa & Michael FergusonLinda FitzhughWilliam ForbessJeffrey & Shannon FratesiMarion FulkBrent GasperRhea GodwinVeronica GoodloeJann GreenlandShea HalbertChristin HarperNeill Hart & Karen Konarski-HartKevin & Paula HartmanBob & Mary HeflichBetty HendricksJulia Hoelzeman & Albert SchneiderAllison HoffmanKaren HopkinsLiz HuffordMartha HuntDavid IversIrma JewellJudy JewellCarol KennedyEllen Korenblat & Luke KramerChad LairamorePamela & Kenneth LakeGloria Bronte LaneMorris LittleDonna LombardiWanda & Al LopezJoseph MadeyRegina & Chuck MagillBryce MarquisErnestine MartinJames & Jill MatthewsE.B. McColgan & Catherine CaldwellDavid McCulloughLinda McFallBarbara Miles & Hank BatesBo MontgomeryGeorge MontgomeryNicole & Rob Moore

Tom Neale & Eileen OldagKeith & Kirsta NigroMartha NixonDolores OstTim & Marianna PardueBeth PhelpsDick & Gwen PicardMarc PierceDerek & Kimberly Porter Randy PrickettSusan ReckenLois SanduskyLibby & Gary SmithJoel & Allison StephensJohn & Betty StewardSteve StraessleSteve & Margaret StricklandKathy SwansonCarol VickMike & Jane WebbJeffery Williams & Taylor JacksJim & Nancy WadeMary Sue WhitelawClifton & Linda WiggsSherrill WiseLou Ann Wright

Supporters ($50 – $99)Sylvia AmslerCharles BatsonKevin BratcherCindy BuresSarah & Jason CampbellKristin CarrShae & Jessica ChandlerChet ChaneyJill & Joe ChildersDavid & Terry CowanLaura Schieffler CroneStephen & Jet CuffmanBeverly & Gary DarwinDavid DaviesJim & Tish DePriestErnie DumasPat & Cathy FlanaginAlison & Garry HargisJulie HarrisRobin HickersonKenneth & Elaine HicksRon & JoAnne HolmesAaron C. HoytMac HuffmanTommy & Christy JamesonCarol JenkinsJohn, Mason & Emma JewellLee & Paula JohnsonMichael & Debra KeddieRobert & Amy KeltnerAndrew & Kimberly LandrumNikki LovellSandy Moore & Indigo Anderson-Moore

Edward & Susan NicholsAnn NicholsonAnnette OwensDon PfeiferJohn & Kristianna PittengerTara Protiva-Brown & Brandon BrownKristina RaleyMike & Ellen ReifWilliam Rector & Sarah Scott-RectorJohn & Kathleen RobertsMary RussellKaren & Bo RyallRay & Susan ScottGarner Brian SmithKimberly & Daniel WebbStephanie & Kevin WilcoxPat Yates & Steve DavidsonCarol Young & Gus Bower

Boosters ($100+)Lee Abel & Eleanor KennedyAllen BirdGlenn & Misty BorkowskiLarry & Sandra BowdenPaul BowenDebbie & John BoydJo Ann Coleman & Brian ReddickLaura & John CoulterJoan DiehlSusan ElderDon EvansCharles & Chris FeildDavid & Wendy FosterBryant FuhrmanRobin FuhrmanGrace Lutheran ChurchMarty & Tim HeipleRob & Debbie KingPeter & Trudy KumpeKathrine KuoMarlene LamarCarolyn & David NewbernLinda & Gordon NewbernBill PaschallErika Petersen Chris & Melody PiazzaPulaski Heights RealtyChad Rodgers & Eric McDanielElaine ScottPatricia ScottBill ShermanJohn ShowalterLula Ann SmithJohn & Shelly SpollenTrip StraussBurt TaggartAlan WhisenhuntKevin and Lauren WilliamsFrank and Nancy WilsonPaul and Jan Zelnick

You might be a Hillcrestian if… ✔ You actually knew Francis A. Allen. ✔ You see nothing particularly

dangerous with one-arming your SUV across traffic on Kavanaugh while talking on your cell phone.

✔ You enthusiastically boo every mention of King George during the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence.

✔ You’ve actually heard these words coming out of your mouth: “Sure it’s a goat track but you can get 18 holes in pretty quick and it’s cheap.”

✔ You’ve cheered the spectacular explosion of a pumpkin hitting the fire hydrant at the corner of Kavanaugh and Midland.

✔ When the Target opened in Midtown, your heart was filled with joy upon the realization that you would never have to venture west of 430 again.

✔ Ditto Big Orange Midtown. ✔ Unless, of course, one of your iToys

is on the fritz.

NOW THAT YOU’VE ESTABLISHED

YOUR HILLCREDS, JOIN THE HILLCREST

RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION!Dues are $20, $50 and $100.

You can pay online by clicking the “membership” tab on the HRA website at hillcrestresidents.org.

Or you can pay by check to the Hillcrest Residents Association,

P.O. Box 251121, Little Rock, AR 72225.

HILLCREST RETROPHOTO

The discovery that girls are quite capable of using power tools was news in the March 1975 issue of “The Panther,” Pulaski Heights Middle School’s monthly student-produced newsletter.

—Access to back issues of “The Panther” courtesy of the Pulaski Heights Middle School Library

Got some great retro Hillcrest photos in your house? Maybe we can use them in a future issue! Email them to Kathrine Kuo at [email protected].


JOIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD (BANNER) WATCH!Nosy neighbors needed now! The Hillcrest Merchants Association and Hillcrest Residents Association have financed lovely new banners in our neighborhood, and we’d like to keep them lovely. If you notice any damage or wear to the banners as you go about your daily rounds, please report it to Jim Metzger at [email protected] so that we can promptly address the issue. Your public-spirited assistance is appreciated!

BRINGING ARKANSAS FARMS TO YOUR TABLE SINCE 2011

LOCAL NATURAL MEATS

CHARCUTERIE

SOUPS & SANDWICHES

2807 KAVANAUGH BLVD. • 501.671.6328MON-FRI 10-6 • SAT 10-5


PULASKI HEIGHTS ELEMENTARYPulaski Heights Elementary School Garden is hosting its second annual “Spring Garden Party” on Saturday, May 31st from 2–4 pm. All community members are welcome! We will have live music,

samples of student-prepared food from the garden, garden tours, lots of games, face painting, and a bake sale. Bring a picnic and blanket and see what’s growing in the heart of your neighborhood!

PULASKI HEIGHTS MIDDLEPulaski Heights Middle School is selling

personalized landscape elements — bricks for $100 each, boulders for $500, trash receptacles for $700, and

benches for $1,200 — to raise money for grounds improvements. Purchase one

and you get a personal engraving for yourself or someone you love and help them improve the beauty of our neigh-borhood! For more information, contact Janet Flegal at [email protected].

BUY ART—ER, IT’S SMARTER: Many an HRA member—plus last issue’s featured artist Matt McLeod—was sighted at Pulaski Heights Elementary’s annual Picassos art auction fundraiser. HRA was a Van Gogh level sponsor of the event.

If your Hillcrest-location school would like its public events included in future issues of the HRA newsletter, please contact us at [email protected].

Hillcrest School Happenings!


Not your ordinary pharmacy.Since 1922

Great gifts in the heart of Hillcrest.

2801 KavanaughLittle Rock, AR501.663.4131

RheaDrug Store

Caring. Connecting. Community.A wise woman once had a dream to change the lives of women for the better. Her hope was so contagious that, one person at a time, her dream spread around the world. Today, nearly 50 years later, millions have been touched by the legacy that Mary Kay Ash left. I’m proud to share in her commitment of caring and connecting in communities — just like ours — to help make a difference.

Tami BeanFuture Sales Directorwww.marykay.com/tamibean(501) 519-1914

There is good news, and there is bad news…the good news is that we have had several great work-days, pulling weeds and ivy, hauling out fallen

limbs, and planting lantana. We have received plants and mulch from the city greenhouse, and have learned how to contact Marilyn Mason, to put in an order for plants for the fall and spring plantings.

The bad news is that the city does not have the resources to correct the sidewalk separation to the west of the plaza area. Some of the existing planting beds were constructed with hardware cloth filled with gravel beneath the soil, and the weight of that over the years is pulling the concrete curbs down the hill, causing the gap between the brick in-lay and the sidewalk. Until the city appropriates the funds to fix this problem, we cannot add new soil or plants to the planting beds. The east side of the Promenade doesn’t have a sprinkler system, so we are reluctant to plant on that side.

We have been made aware of a Love Your Block grant op-portunity, which could provide some money to improve the Promenade, and we are always open to new fundraising opportunities.

In the meantime, enjoy the improvements we have made to our Promenade, come join us for workdays, and contact the supporting organizations of The Promenade Project with your ideas.

—Hillcrest Garden Club, Hillcrest Merchants Association, and Hillcrest Residents Association

WHEN YOU’RE FED UP WITH SUMMER HEAT, REMEMBER THIS: PHE’s playground equipment after the ice storm.


Scoop the Knoop: Park Clean Up—Clear Out Project

2616 Kavanaugh Blvd.Little Rock, AR 72205

[email protected]

Thank You for Your Continued Support & Loyalty

Bring in this ad for 20% off any item!

Expires 9/30/2014.

our belongs to hillcrest!

25 volunteers

71 volunteer hours*

3 bags of recyclable items removed

9 truckloads of vegetation cut

On March 8 and 12, 2014, teams of volun-teers cleaned up the north side of Knoop Park Trail from the Plaza almost to the north gates. Trash (recyclable and not) was removed, veg-etaion was cut back, and super-mowers took care of small sticks and leaves to make Knoop more beautfiul and usable by all.

A huge green thank you to our volunteers:Grace ConnerDavid DaviesSierra DayNeil DetweilerShane EstepJodi EvansSam EvansAly JamesonTommy JamesonMarcell JonesChristy Kalder-JamesonDebbie King

Rob King Janie LienhartYoko McSwainCarolyn Newbern Annette Owens and her two daughtersJoanne RiddickJeannie Roberts David SchonsScott SimonRachel VersluisCarol Young

*includes 6 hours put in by 2 hardy volunteers on March 12!


MORE JULY PARADES PAST: A plethora of people-powered vehicles have graced the annual Midland Hills parade over the years.

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HILLCRESTSTORIESEver wonder about the dilapidated old house next door to the United Meth-odist Foundation on Harrison? The one with the NSA-esque satellite dish on the roof and the name of the capitol of historic United Nations recidivist Liberia proudly emblazoned over the front porch? We did too, and so we did some snooping—check that—investigative journalism the other day.

This is what we learned from reliable sources close by. “Reliable” being de-fined as “willing to talk to us.”

The late owner of the house in question was, as one may deduce from the pictures, quite the piece of work. Some may recall seeing her in the neighbor-hood. She was pretty hard to miss as she tooled around Hillcrest completely illegally on an electric scooter such as one may find in the grocery store, her long hair, dyed purple of course, trailing in the breeze behind her.

Some say she put the dish on the roof to spite her neighbors and that she never even hooked it up. Others dispute this. It is said she dabbled in the occult which, of course, is what people do with the occult. Predictably, she had many cats.

The owner passed away five years or so ago. She left Monrovia, and its feline occupants, to Philander Smith College. You want a fixer-upper? Or a knock-it-downer? We suggest you call the good folks in the Development Office at Philander. Bet they will make you a deal.

—Arthur Paul BowenKnow any great Hillcrest stories? Maybe we can use them in a future issue!

Email them to Paul Bowen at [email protected].

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Come join us on the front porch for Free Live Music, every first Thursday of each month! (weather permitting)

River Rock Realty Co. has been a proud sponsor of HarvestFest in Hillcrest.

River Rock Realty Company2612 Kavanaugh Blvd.501.353.2504

Joel Tvedten is a native of Little Rock and has been a Realtor for 10 years and going. He is the owner and Principal Broker of River Rock Realty Company and an Annual Multi Million Dollar Producer.

Search for your Little Rock home:

LiveinLittleRock.com

In the Heart of HillcrestServing All of Central Arkansas

HILLCREST RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 251121, Little Rock, AR 72225

Your Hillcrest Agents & Neighbors

5813 Kavanaugh, Little Rock Arkansas 72207

Kent [email protected]

Sherry [email protected]

501.351.5646

Jill [email protected]

Janet [email protected]

501.307.6860

hillcrest residents association newsletter, spring 2014

Documents

hillcrest stories

hillcrest retrophoto

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