May 4, 2011

There were 3 posts published on May 4, 2011 (this is page 1 of 1).

The grand conspiracy

I suppose it was inevitable, with as many Parks board meetings we’ve had in the city council chambers, that eventually we’d attract some … ah, “unique” individuals during our public comments phase. That’s what happened during our last meeting.

One gentleman stood up and began to discuss the Walnut Creek greenway in Southeast Raleigh. His concern seemed to be that the water from the nearby wastewater plant would pose a health hazard to walkers on the greenway. Then he seemed to veer off into some crazy talk about the city purposefully pumping reuse water to the homes of Southeast Raleigh residents. Oh, and the “Freemasons” were in on it, too. No kidding, he actually said that. A conspiracy wouldn’t be complete without the Freemasons, you know.
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Quiet neighborhood

Around 9 PM last night, I heard a multitude of sirens all converging somewhere close by in the neighborhood. I was curious to know what was going on, so I hopped in the car and drove around until I located the incident. Coming up on a family sobbing in the yard and a half-dozen police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck nearby, I wondered it this was a domestic dispute, or some hapless individual had gotten shot while buying drugs, or if it was some other dangerous criminal event.

Instead, a police officer let me know that an elderly resident had passed away peacefully. During our chat he remarked at how quiet the neighborhood is, crime-wise. I had to agree, and thanked him for being on the job. The neighborhood hasn’t always been quiet but it has made amazing strides just in the time we’ve been here.

It’s nice to live in a quiet neighborhood.

Mordecai and CAP

A neighbor on the Historic Oakwood email list said this today about Mordecai Historic Park:

One of the problems attached to matter relating to the Mordecai Plantation House and grounds has been that buildings not associated with the Mordecais are in the Park. And the Park is not under the management of historical preservationists or historians, but of the Parks and Recreation Department. That Department is actually a fine administrator of Parks, but strictly speaking, the Mordecai House should not be part of a Park, but an independent House Museum, managed by historians and preservationists.

Well, let’s take a look at that for a moment. The city of Raleigh bought the Mordecai property in 1969 to preserve it. In 1972, the predecessor of Capital Area Preservation, Moore Square Historical Society, was formed to manage the park, with the city paying them $150,000 yearly to do so. It was in the 1970s (during CAP’s management) that many of these buildings unrelated to the Mordecais were placed on the property. The good news is that the buildings were saved from destruction, but the bad news is … well, they were plopped down next to the Mordecai House. I’m not sure what the city had to say about that decision at the time – I’m still researching it – but I certainly hope the decision wasn’t made simply for the convenience of CAP.
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