Good Times Celebration

Fulmore Middle School Mariachis perform during the Good Times Celebration

Hundreds of people enjoyed the Good Times Celebration on Saturday, April 18. The rain that morning had us worried and pondering a rain date, but the sun broke through about 10:30 and the fun began on West Lynn at 2:00! There was a whole lot of playing at the Good Times Celebration—something for everyone! I especially enjoyed meeting many of the neighbors that stopped by the OWANA table.

Thank you to Galaxy Café; Caffe Medici; Bonds; El Interior; Robert Schmidt, D.C.; Castle Hill Fitness; Zocalo; West Lynn Corner Market; Mathews Elementary PTA; the Cub Scouts; Fresh Plus; Austin Fire Department Blanco Street Station; Clarksville CDC; Sweet Home Baptist Church; and all the vendors who made this a neighborly event. And, a great big thank you to Mathews Elementary Orchestra, Fulmore Middle School Mariachis, and Sweet Home Choir for the awesome music and also to all of the performers for the outstanding entertainment!

Congratulations to Suzanne Franks who won the Sweet Potato contest. Yours truly served as one of the judges, along with Council Members Laura Morrison and Randi Shade, and County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt. I can tell you that I had a hard time deciding – everything was unique and soooo tasty! Suzanne’s recipe appears on page 6. If any of the entrants in the recipe contest want to share their recipes, please send it to me because, as you know, I like to feature recipes in this column.

Jean Stevens, Co-Chair

Agenda

OWANA June General Membership Meeting
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
6:45 pm to 9:00 pm
Mathews School Cafeteria
(906 West Lynn at West 9th)

1. Registration and Social Gathering (6:45 – 7:00 pm)
2. Call to Order – Jean Stevens (7:00 pm)
3. Approval of 2009 March General Membership meeting – Kurt Sauer (7:05 p.m.)
4. Parks Design Contest Winner; Closure; Future Project Plan; Encourage Volunteers To Get Involved –
   Marion Cimbala (7:05 – 7:15 p.m.)
5. Possible Graffiti Abatement Program Presentation – Kristin Turpin (7:15 – 7:30 p.m.)
   (Not confirmed at the time of agenda submission for publication)
6. Possible Neighborhood Watch Program Presentation –
   Officer Schouest (7:30 – 7:45 p.m.)
   (Not confirmed at the time of agenda submission for publication)
7. West End Austin Alliance Meeting Report (7:45 – 7:55 p.m.) – Paul Seals
8. ANC Meeting Report (7:55 – 8:05 p.m.) – Paul Seals
9. Committee Reports (8:05 – 8:40 p.m.)
1. Zoning Committee Report - Laura Porcaro (8:05 – 8:15 p.m.)
   Note: Only zoning case changes and updates of the OWL report are discussed
1. Historic Preservation Code Amendments
2. Parks and Greenspaces – Marion Cimbala (8:15 – 8:20 p.m.)
3. Public Safety and Transportation – Larry Halford (8:20 – 8:25 p.m.)
4. Historic Preservation - Co-Chairs Beverly Brooks & Randy Hankamer (8:25 – 8:30 p.m.)
5. Membership – Sara Kennedy (8:30 – 8:35 p.m.)
6. Community Events – Christine Buendel (8:35 – 8:40 p.m.)
10. Administrative and Organization Issues (8:40 – 8:55 p.m.)
1. Treasurer’s Report – David Applewhite
2. OWANA Website Update – Christopher Rankin
3. Other Administrative and Organizational Business
11. Other Business and Announcements (8:55 – 9:00 p.m.)
12. Adjourn (9:00 p.m.)

NOTE: Votes may be taken on any scheduled agenda items.

Summer Pool Hours

The Jewels of Castle Hill
Heritage Society of Austin Home Tour

Have you ever wondered just how special others consider our Old West Austin historic homes? In May over 900 visitors and 125 volunteers attended the “Jewels of Castle Hill” tour in our neighborhood that was sponsored by the Heritage Society of Austin. For an overview of four of the homes on the tour read the following excerpt from the article written by Anne Harris reprinted here with the permission of the Austin Chronicle. Watch for feature articles on each of the tour’s nine homes in future editions of the OWL.

There is no neighborhood in town quite like Castle Hill for good reason. Its genesis is the Raymond Tract, developed by James Harvey Raymond, one-time Treasurer of both the Republic and state of Texas. Today it is knows as the West Line Historic District, named for the streetcar that once followed Sixth Street. More commonly, the area is known as Old West Austin. The homes found in these hills that overlook the Capitol present a wide variety of architectural styles dating from the late 1800’s to the present, such as Italianate, Eastlake, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Tudor Revival, Ranch and Minimal Tradition.

It should be noted that a tour of homes like these is as much about the present occupants as it is about architectural or cultural history. The sorts of people who take on historic abodes that require almost the same resources and physical energy as, say, parenting, are usually strong personalities with the means to not only focus on restoration, but indulge their own imaginations as well. The Martin-Glass House (c.1911), a cottage on West 12th, is a great example. Owned by a pair of artists with strong fabrication skills, much of what astounds about the property has been made by the owners. For example, the dining-room table is fashioned from marble dust resin and inlaid with mother of pearl. The Bones-Stokes House (c.1909) on West Ninth, a Craftsman influenced Transitional example originally built by a Mr. Omar Bones, remained in the family until 1996, and was later owned by Sandra Bullock. It was interesting to see the West Austin Fire Company (c.1906), not least for the pilasters, arches, and cornices that reflect the Romanesque Revival style. The real jewel of this tour though had to be the Mary Perry Taylor House (c.1904) on Baylor Street. Seated on a ridge overlooking downtown, the house remains a stunning example of the Queen Anne style from the street despite numerous and extensive modern additions. Design by Fern Santana of local design firm Abode and architect Mell Lawrence for Nicole and Tyson Tuttle, the additions are not evident from the formal areas in the front of the house, and when one does encounter them, they seem to blend with the outdoors, visible through generous expanses of glass, rather than conflicting with the rest of the house.

Known for organizing memorable tours, The Heritage Society otherwise works as a watchdog for preservation in central Texas, and has realized victory for 300 historic properties in its 50-year effort.

Good Times Sweet Potato Salad

by Suzanne Franks

Makes 6 servings. The salad can remain at room temperature up to two hours before serving.

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salad

• 3 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped (or pecans or almonds – your choice)
• 1/2 cup cranberries (or raisins or cherries – your choice)

Preparation

For dressing: Whisk all ingredients to blend in small bowl or, better yet, whir in a food processor or blender. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

For salad: Steam sweet potatoes in batches until potatoes are just tender, about 8 to 10 minutes per batch. A wok with a wire steaming rack works great. Laying wax paper on the wire rack keeps the cubes from falling through into the steaming water. Transfer sweet potatoes to large bowl. Cool to room temperature. Add parsley, walnuts, and cranberries. Pour dressing to taste over the sweet potato mixture; toss gently to blend. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper.

Good Times Gallery

(All photos courtesy of Sara Kennedy)

Pig-Inspired Art Car

Dog Parade

Free Massages!

Park Contest

West Austin Park News

Winner announced for Design Contest for West Austin Park Tennis Court

OWANA Parks Committee presents check to West Austin Park Design Contest winner Tracen Gardner

We would like to congratulate OWANA resident Tracen Gardner who submitted the winning design in the Design Contest for West Austin Park Tennis Court. Tracen’s design includes shade structures for several areas, gardens, a pavilion/gathering space, and a bbq pit. 

Now that the contest has ended, the Parks and Greenspace Committee will develop a project plan using elements from this design along with elements from the other design submissions. Over 10 entries were submitted for the contest, and all of them included some interesting ideas for the space. We look forward to our next steps of creating a design plan. Please join us for our conversations. Please email marioncimbala@sbcglobal.com if you would like to participate in these conversations, or watch the neighborhood newsgroup for more information.

 Overview of the Design Contest for West Austin Park Tennis Court 

1. An open survey was conducted online asking for input on what to do with the “defunct tennis court” at West Austin Park. 96 people responded
2. Based on the criteria from the survey response,  a “Design  Contest” was established. The winning design would serve as a vision in moving forward with a project for the park (but it was not guaranteed the design would be utilized)
3. Neighborhood-wide votes were collected to determine the winning  design. 58 neighbors responded with a vote, the winner received 50% of the votes.
4. The competition is now CLOSED.

We are all excited to continue this process and we look forward to a revitalized West Austin Park!

Detail view of Tracen Gardner’s winning design proposal.

Support Mathews Elementary Technology Education

We are in the home stretch! Please help us raise the remaining $2,245 by August to fund a half-time technology teacher for the 2009-10 school year.

We all know that computer-literacy is a must-have for kids (and adults) today. Unfortunately, AISD does not fund the technology class. The Mathews PTA has committed to raise $22,000 by August of this year in order to pay the salary of a half-time technology teacher. We are within $2,245 of the goal!

Money has already been raised in a variety of ways: Children have brought in buckets of coins, parents and grandparents have contributed and participated in our grocery card program, and we have been the grateful recipients of a sponsorship from Grande Communications and a matching grant from AMD. But we need your help to cross the finish line!

You can contribute in the following ways:

• Donate online at www.mathews360.com under the “Donate” tab (tax-deductible).
• Mail a check. Send your tax-deductible contribution to Mathews PTA, 906 West Lynn St., Austin, TX 78703 with “Technology Fund” in the memo.
• Buy grocery cards for HEB or Randalls. Go to www.mathews360.com under the “Donate” tab for more info on how to purchase these cards. With the grocery card program, the Technology Fund gets 5% of the card value. You can purchase $100 or $50 grocery cards from the PTA by ACH bank draft, monthly check orders. It is not often that you can give to such a worthy cause without it costing you a cent.

For further information on how to donate, go to www.mathews360.com or contact Marcia at mtugendhat@austin.rr.com

We’re always looking for story ideas for upcoming issues of the Owl and the OWANA web site.

Please contact Christopher Rankin at crankin@bigcheckfactory.com if you’d like to contribute.