I was told the man to seek was a priest who lived in the Hilltop neighborhood, a notorious part of town, most recognized on the five o'clock news for its drive-by shootings. The idea of going there was very scary for me. I went to his little house, which was connected to a much larger house. Later I would learn this larger house served the homeless. He wasn't there, but on the side of the house I noticed a huge, freshly rototilled garden area. I entered a little greenhouse in the corner. The small, plastic paneled room was filled with life--tomato plants, peppers, squash starts--all kinds of things! Marvelous! I looked around, then suddenly a black man with a very stern face bolted in and asked what I was doing in there. I explained to him that I was looking for Father Bix. His face broke into a generous smile and he told me to wait in the garden. (We later named a garden after this man.)
This was such a welcoming place to me, for my family and I had just recently moved to the Northwest from a small town in northern Illinois. Back there, I had a huge garden, much larger than any small family should have, but gardening is my passion/obsession. Back in Illinois I'd pile the kids in the truck and we'd drive some 30 miles toward Chicago to find a food bank to take my produce. So, needless to say, it was delightful to find this place. When the priest finally arrived, I told him of my mission regarding the rally, and he wanted to jump in with all fours! I asked him about his garden and if he needed any help. He spread out his arms and said, "Take a piece and it's yours!"
That first year we divided the garden into small plots, community garden style. Folks from a nearby mental health facility brought clients out, and other people living in the vicinity tended their "spots." What was interesting is that people loved to come out and plant seeds, but usually did not return. Their gardens turned weedy. Bix, a couple of other volunteers, and I ended up tending the abandoned plots. It became obvious that the "community gardening" style wasn't working here.
As the season continued, vegetables grew like crazy and we ended up with a ton of food. There's a farmer's market in Tacoma that operates on Thursdays and we thought we'd see how well we would do there. As it turned out, we made over $1000 the first year for just laughs and giggles! Basically, this was produce grown from rejected plots, which gave us a clue, perhaps, of where we were heading.
While at the market, we distributed a little flyer that talked about where we were growing this food and who was involved. The house next to the garden, Guadalupe House, is a Catholic Worker house which provides hospitality to homeless. Their main thrust is to provide transitional housing for folks as well as a place to use a rest room, make phone calls, get mail, etc. The garden next to it also serves people on the streets. It has become an oasis of sorts--a place of beauty amongst the desolation of street life.
The rally we planned was a success, but it did not spark the unity we were hoping for. However, the connection we made with this little piece of earth and its inhabitants, did.
The next season, we continued growing food for our families, Guadalupe House, and the market. We used the proceeds to buy seed for the following year, and gave the balance to the house to help defray costs of water. These were delightful times, bringing people who had heard about what we were doing to join us as volunteers. We had "weeding bees" on Wednesday nights which truly strengthened our bonds to each other and to the earth. In growing, we used only organic methods and focused on feeding the soil. Our little piece of earth responded with amazingly beautiful flowers, strawberries on Thanksgiving, and butterflies like we'd never seen before.
The third year we began to think outside of our perimeter. Although we had accomplished our goal of developing a beautiful garden at the house, we were in a neighborhood surrounded by vacant, abandoned lots where illegal dumping and drug abuse took place. We began clearing two sites, one across the alley and the other next door. The lands were difficult to work for they were full of thorny blackberries, garbage, and used needles.
We named the site across the alley after the friend I mentioned earlier, Kevin Putney, who literally lived on this site out of his car. He cleared an area next to his vehicle and laid out an inviting living room scene complete with chairs, tables, and a couch. He called it the "colored peoples' park." I asked him once if a white sassy gal like myself would be welcome into his "park." He gave me one of his famous grins and asked me if I were a color. "Sure I am--a little pink, red, dirt brown..." was my response and he said, "Well come in then, this is for 'color'ed people only!"
Kevin died not long after that, and this really kicked the wind out of our sails. A short time later, we convinced the owner of the land on which the Colored Peoples' Park was situated that his property would be enhanced if he allowed us to clean up the rest of the site and grow a garden. It took some talking, but eventually he agreed. The garden flourishes today with perennial herbs and vegetables like angelica, cardoon, and Jerusalem artichokes, and lots of strawberries, which Kevin loved. It's also a gateway to our newly built produce stand facing Tacoma Avenue.
Autumn of the same year gave us another jolt. A man died of a drug overdose in a vacant lot in the next block. This was just a little too close to home and was a painful reminder that we weren't out of the woods yet. Not long after, there was an announcement that our area was chosen to receive grant funding for environmental projects in urban settings. We decided that if we could get some funding to help us, we would take on the lot where the man died as well as two other sites nearby. During the period of writing the grant, Jerry Garcia passed away. Being a Grateful Dead fan, I found it extremely difficult to put the words to paper, but somehow it flowed. I was determined that if this worked, we'd name one of the biggest sites "St. Stephen's" after one of my favorite gardening Dead tunes.
Shortly afterwards, we received the maximum allowed for the grant and in spring of '96 we added St. Stephen's garden, the Miller garden (where the man died), and the garden of Eva--the ultimate flower garden built atop a toxic waste site! These three sites were our biggest challenges yet. From the Miller site, we hauled twenty truck loads of beer bottles alone to the recycle center. When we finally macheted up to the top edge of the garden, we discovered an abandoned station wagon that hadn't been seen in years. Unbelievable! The efforts of many helping hands pushed that old beater out to the alley and the city finally hauled it away!
These, too, were amazing times, with neighbors and volunteers from all over working side by side. When all the debris was hauled out, we discovered that the actual place where the man had died was really very beautiful. Surrounded by cherry and Doug fir, we were compelled to preserve the trees for all to enjoy. The city of Tacoma and their multitude of departments worked with us in building an incredibly unique park. We took foundation chunks (three separate foundations were discovered when we were clearing the lands), granite blocks (from the old union station), and gravel, and embedded them all into the ground. The design formed two lizards that sprawled under the trees with their tails meeting in the center of the site--one tail cradling a gravel area for children to play in and the other a semicircle seating area.
In one blur of a day, we built this park, bringing together employees of the city (including the city manager), residents and guests of Guadalupe House, and neighbors--some forty in all. This marked our first official work party. The tradition continues today, for our greatest strength is in gathering and working together to accomplish our goals.
The flower garden site was toxic because many people living out of cars would come to change their oil and dump radiator flushes there. After digging some forty tires out of the brush we decided to use the tires as planters filled with dahlias to surround and protect the garden. Maybe it's the toxins but the flowers that grow in this spot radiate!
All this gardening going on, and the potential to raise some money by selling at the market, gave us more ideas. We decided to do a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program where we would sell shares of what we would grow in the upcoming season. Instead of worrying about marketing, our energy could then go toward education for the gardeners, working with volunteers, and teaching the community about their impact on the food system and the environment.
Being in a nurturing setting for homeless, it only made sense to employ these folks in the project and provide job training opportunities. When shareholders came to pick up their weekly box, they saw what was going on, and got to know who was growing their food. Friendships developed out of these connections and the first organic CSA in Pierce County was born. We just completed our third year and are looking forward to many more. It is a wonderful way of growing community.
The following year, we added two more gardens, La Grande (named for its size, over an acre) and our orchard. La Grande, three blocks from the original garden, is in a delightfully sunny location nestled in a Vietnamese community. Because of language barriers, we have difficulty connecting with these folks on other neighborhood issues, but when it comes to working in the soil, we all speak the same language. There have been incredible relationships made through gardening with our good neighbors there. The orchard, a block further south, is also very special for we rehabilitated some old fruit trees and then planted twenty more. In addition, we grow lots of berries, kiwi, and grapes there!
Magical things have begun to happen. Although we aren't solving all problems, people do respond positively when they see gardens instead of eyesores. Neighbors feel more comfortable getting back out in the neighborhood again. Two of our most precious neighbors, Eva and Jean, both in their eighties, now feel they can go visit each other again while not long ago they didn't feel safe leaving their houses. Children are allowed to play freely once more on the sidewalks and in the park.
There's been a shift in the wildlife as well. In a place where crows and stray cats were the only "wild" critters around, we now have resident possum, raccoon, and hummingbirds! In addition, since we utilize only organic methods, there's a noticeable difference in the ladybug and dragonfly populations. Recently we have taken up bee keeping and sport two colonies in St. Stephen's garden. What a huge difference 80,000 bees make in the amount of fruit that develops in the orchard and in the abundance of food and flowers throughout the gardens!
There's no longer hunger anywhere in this neighborhood. Nutrition abounds! There are still those who are homeless who come through on their way to the nearby soup kitchen or food bank. Sometimes they miss the boat by showing up too late--so it is the gardens that feed them and water from the hose that quenches their thirst. As the saying goes, "inch by inch and row by row" you can make a difference by helping a garden grow. My advice is to get out there and "Grow For It" and build a garden with your neighbors! You'll be amazed by watching both flowers and people bloom!
Carrie Little writes that she is mother of two teenagers (God save her soul), wife of a union organizer (doubly), and former office worker of fifteen years who couldn't handle the four walls anymore. She is addicted to gardening thanks to her "pusher" teacher of 7th grade biology (blame Mr. Anderson!), and volunteers with schools, labor education forums, environmental groups, and the United Farm Workers. Her hobbies include seed saving (endangered plants), sewing with hemp material, and traveling on a shoe string. You can reach her at [email protected].
�1999 Talking Leaves
Spring/Summer 1999
Volume 9, Number 1
Cultivating Community
We welcome your letters!
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