Letter from the Chair

Neighbors celebrate the Fourth of July at West Austin Park.

In July, I assumed the position of Chair of the OWANA Steering Committee with the resignation of Jean Stevens as Co-Chair. Jean’s departure from her OWANA leadership roles is a tremendous loss for the neighborhood. Jean has been a valiant and exemplary community servant. I take over the reins as Chair with no hope of representing the neighborhood with Jean’s dedication, passion and tenacity, all tempered with a good heart. Her insight, experience and hard work will be sorely missed. We should look to Jean as an example for all of us who are interested in the neighborhood.

Jean is no different than any of us who at some point decide to get involved with a neighborhood issue, no matter how small. The neighborhood needs more Jeans. What do you care about in the neighborhood? Your neighbors? Community activities? Traffic? Sidewalks? Parks? Mathews Elementary? Pedestrian and cycling issues? Development of neighborhood friendly businesses? Erosion of the fringes of our residential core? Preservation and historic issues? OWANA was established to serve the interests and values of the neighborhood, but, as a volunteer organization, OWANA’s service is dependent on you. What are your interests? What can you do to assist OWANA in serving the neighborhood? Will you be the next Jean?

Old West Austin is your neighborhood. It is a wonderful neighborhood, worth not only fighting for but also worth volunteering for!

Our next general meeting is Tuesday, September 1. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited to come and consider joining OWANA. Many exciting things are happening in the city which may impact our neighborhood. Your interest and participation are encouraged. Plus, you may be the lucky winner of weekend passes to the Austin City Limits Festival.

See you at the general membership meeting on September 1.

Paul Seals, OWANA Chair

4th of July in West Austin Park

by Christine Buendel

Traditions of 4th of July were celebrated in West Austin Park—family, friends, and neighbors; watermelon and cookies; balloons; sporting events; and one cookout—something for everyone. The sweltering summer heat didn’t stop the fun, and the “oohs” and “aahs” in reaction to the fireworks topped off a great Summer evening.

Thank you to the following who made this a great neighborhood event:

• Fresh Plus for the watermelons;
• Robert Schmidt, D.C for the soccer fun and prizes;
• Lucy Wood for the colorful signs behind the OWANA tables;
• Support from Fete Accompli, Galaxy Café, Cippolina, and Borboleta; and
• The folks who entered the cookie contest—Kari Cadena and Rani; Phyllis Patrick (gluten-free chocolate chip); Laura Cannici (Oreo cookies); Chris Floyd (Carmel Apple); and others.

Virginia from Borboleta and Martelle from Fresh Plus tasted all the cookies in the contest and determined that ALL the cookies were G-O-O-D!!! The recipe for the Freedom Berry Cookies (Patriotic!) from Kari Cadena is below. If you would like the other cookie recipes, please contact Christine Buendel.

OWANA supplied the balloons, sidewalk chalk, and garden supplies for the children.

The next neighborhood get-together will be
“National Night Out” on Tuesday, October 6. This is a GREAT chance to meet the neighbors! If you would like to help with planning “National Night Out,” please contact Christine Buendel, Chair, Neighborhood Events, at c_buendel@yahoo.com.

4th of July Gallery

Balloons for the kids!

Hanging out before the big fireworks show.

A friendly game of kickball was enjoyed by neighbors of all ages.

Steering Committee members Sara Kenedy and Laura Porcaro man the ACL Fest raffle table

The line at the watermelon table.

ACL Fest ticket winner Kevin Campbell with OWANA Steering Committee members Sara Kennedy and Jean Stevens

Freedom Berry Cookies
by Kari Cadena

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk dry ingredients; set aside.
3. Combine wet ingredients with a hand mixer on low. To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy and the color lightens.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until no flour is visible. (Over mixing develops the gluten, making a tough cookie.)
5. Now add the oats and raisins; stir to incorporate.
6. Fill cookie scoop with dough. (Use a #40 cookie scoop; it measures 2 tablespoon of dough.)
7. Press against side of bowl, pulling up to level dough.
8. Drop 2 inches apart onto baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.
9. Bake 11-13 minutes on center rack until golden, but still moist beneath cracks on top.
10. Remove from oven; let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. (Warm cookies are GOOD!)

Parks Update

The Parks Committee has been busy meeting with neighbors and PARD to discuss pool closing options for West Austin Park and Mary Baylor Park.

Mary Baylor Park Update

The City of Austin bond package of 2007 included funds to convert the Mary Baylor Park wading pool to a splash pad. The splash pad will be open during warm weather months, and will not require lifeguards, thus be much more accessible to neighborhood residents. That conversion is now scheduled to take place this winter (yeah!), with the final plan being shown to the neighborhood when it is received. There is a fund raising effort to add a shade structure, seating and landscaping around the splash pad to improve the appearance and usability of the area. Contact the parks committee for more information. Please note, the rendering is of the Pease Park splash pad and is only an example.

West Austin Park Update

We are working with the City of Austin Parks and Rec Department to prioritize the conversion of the fill and drain pool to a filtration system. This conversion would bring the pool up to current Deptartment of Health and ADA standards, and will not require closing of the pool (which is currently planned). Although the pool has become the top priority, the committee continues to work towards revitalization of the defunct tennis court space, to transform the empty area into usable park space. Please look for an update soon on the yahoo distribution group or on the owana.org website.

If you would like to volunteer or donate, please contact Marion Cimbala of the Parks Committee at marioncimbala@sbcglobal.net.

A Letter from Z’Tejas

Hello Neighbors and Friends,

We value and respect our neighbors and friends and this letter is to inform and invite you to our 20th Anniversary event on
Sunday, September 13, 2009 from 6-10 p.m. at our original location on West 6th Street. We are expecting a large number of people and want to ensure you are aware of the increased traffic.

We hope you’ll join us for our famous Z’Tejas dinner buffet, live music by Ray Benson and members of Asleep at the Wheel, drinks (the famed Sixth Street Margarita will be featured and we are introducing the new 20th Anniversary margarita), silent auction benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The idea for the Lance Armstrong Foundation originated at the Z’Tejas Sixth Street location in 1996 when Lance Armstrong and four others met for dinner with the common goal to unite people battling cancer. The $65 ticket may be purchased at any Austin Z’Tejas or by calling 866.598.3527.

We want to celebrate with all our friends and neighbors in Austin. These 20 years have been a ton of fun! It all started one day with a vision to run a great neighborhood restaurant serving delicious food and margaritas and now it’s become a local favorite. It’s great to see lots of the original guests and friends still coming in after all these years.

We hope to see you for this momentous occasion.

Sincerely,

Jack Gilmore
Founding Chef

Nick Rotas
General Manager

The Pillow Houses

by Marty Moulthrop

photo by J.C. Schmeil

Have you ever heard a reference to the “Pillow Houses” and wondered about the odd name and why they were significant in our Old West Austin neighborhood? In the recent Heritage Society Tour of Homes the William Pillow House, located at 1407 West 9th St., was one of nine locations featured in our neighborhood. If you missed the tour, read on and learn about the amazing history of this home.

“In late 1877, William Ashton Pillow and his wife built this two-story wood frame house on West 9th Street just west of an almost identical house belonging to his brother Benjamin. The Pillow tracts were part of Raymond Heights, land granted in 1849 to James H. Raymond. The two lots were at the rear of the property sold by Raymond to Dr. Richmond Smoot; his wife Sallie sold them to R. J. Loving as partial payment for building the Smoots’ home, Flower Hill, which still stands at 6th and Pressler Streets. In September, 1877, William Pillow paid $225 to Mr. Loving for this lot.

The house originally had six rooms, three brick fireplaces with common flue, a bay window and a front porch with gallery. The house was built of pine, using square nails, except for the cedar posts on which it rested. The door and window casings are plain, 5-inch pine boards, and the floors are well-seasoned tongue-and-groove. The home’s style is Italianate and it boasts elaborate fretwork, cupolas, turrets, and finely turned posts and finials. Inside the Pillows splurged on a tall, thin, curving staircase and four closets, which were a rare feature for their time. The family expanded the original footprint of the structure, adding an indoor kitchen and bathroom in the 1930s. The porch and gallery were replaced in 1939 with four square pine posts, and an upstairs bedroom was added in the rear in the 1970s.

The Pillow brothers ran the telegraph company in Austin; indeed, William Pillow was the youngest telegraph office manager in the company. The Pillows raised several children in the home, including two daughters who became life-long residents of Austin. It was because of the impending birth of one of the daughters in 1885 that William Pillow had a telephone installed in the home for the purpose of calling him the moment his child was born. It is believed that this was the first residence in Austin to have a telephone.

The current owners have lived here for 30 years. In that time they have removed the four square porch posts and, using old photographs of the house, replicated the original porch and gallery. This home continues to be a well-preserved and much-loved home after 132 years.”

owana.org Redesign Launches!

This August marked the launch of the the newly redesigned OWANA web site at www.owana.org. The site is the first step in providing OWANA members and Old West Austin neighbors with more relevant and timely information and resources. One new feature is an online calendar that will track both neighborhood and city events; not just meetings and deadlines but also runs, festivals, and other happenings that frequently take place around our neighborhood. Please feel free to submit events to the calendar. E-mail calendar@owana.org with all the details.

We’d also love to hear your ideas about what you’d like to see on the site. E-mail Christopher Rankin, OWANA Webmaster, at crankin@owana.org if you have any suggestions, ideas, or comments.

Bookmark www.owana.org today and stay up-to-date on everything happening around your neighborhood!

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

Please contact Christopher Rankin at crankin@owana.org if you’d like to contribute.