RIP, Dix

We lost a cherished companion last night. She had been in Salemtown almost as long as we have and she was a source of great joy to our family. Good-bye, loyal friend.

Previously unpublished photos of the May 2010 Nashville flood indicate urbanizing Bells Bend was and is an idea fraught with peril

Recently, Bells Bend advocate Sumter Camp sent me 2010 flood photos that he has had stored away for almost 5 years. With the 5th anniversary of the Great Nashville Flood a few months away, it is worth reconsidering the impact of the flood on various communities.

Parts of the May properties, which were originally proposed to become a "second downtown" sprawling across the Bend would have been underwater if the Planning Commission had approved the build. Given that buildings and other impervious surfaces displace flood waters, the 2010 flood waters would have likely pushed further into the Bend if May Town Center had been allowed. As Nashville Next sets new goals for infill that have the potential to drive lower income people out of city neighborhoods, we should expect increasing pressures to urbanize our vanishing agricultural villages like Scottsboro/Bells Bend. The flood is a cautionary tale instructing us to organize and to push back against such pressure.

Advocates for protecting our agricultural areas like Bells Bend share complimentary interests with urban activists who demand affordable housing and rent controls in city neighborhoods. They should be building bridges to one another for the sake of common cause.

The caption descriptions are paraphrases of Sumter's own descriptions. I am grateful to him for giving us yet another look back at the 2010 catastrophe.

Cumberland River at the bottom with the right-hand bank
just outside of the last curving row of trees.
The power lines cross the southern-most corner of the May property.

Looking the opposite direction of the preceding photo.
John Tune Airport is at upper right. Charles Bass Prison is just below it
and to the right (water in between all of the pods).

Southern end of the Bend looking west. Old Hickory Blvd runs from right to left
just above the centerline of the photo. Partially flooded I-40 lies beyond.

Beaman Park: fall leaf collecting photos

Yesterday we took a day hike on Beaman Park's Ridgetop Trail. It was a crisp day with lots of fall color. This place is a crown jewel for North Nashville.

3rd Annual Heirloom Tomato Fest and Square Dance photos

Last night we drove out of a driving rain in the North Capitol area to the 2014 edition of the Heirloom Tomato Fest in Scottsboro / Bells Bend. While it was wet in the Bend, it only rained a couple of times in the two hours we were there. Square dancers were not deterred in the least by the wet conditions. Grilled cheese, pesto and heirloom tomato sandwiches were offered to go along with the beer enjoyed by revelers. Spirits of those who attended did not seem dampened by the wet conditions, and those who wore their rain boots seemed even happier.

photo credit: Canaan Byrd

Blue Angels over Salemtown

This morning the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flew over Downtown Nashville to take team promotional shots. From my vantage point they took three passes over the Downtown area. The first one included a path 500 to 1,000 feet over Salemtown during which I took these shots (click on to enlarge):

Photos from 2014 Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon around Bicentennial Mall and the Farmers' Market

2014 Country Music Marathon elite leaders through Salemtown section of the course

Men's elite leader Scott Wietecha

Women's elite leader Jeannette Faber

UPDATE: both Wietecha and Faber went on to win the 2014 CMM. For Wietecha, this is back-to-back 1st place finishes. He also led all runners through Salemtown in a downpour last year before winning.

Reflections on last weekend's Germantown Oktoberfest (and Germantown Street Fest)

Munich's Paulaner friar now a relic of Oktoberfests past

Having just passed my 9th straight year of attending Oktoberfest celebrations a few blocks down from my home I have a few reflections on the 2013 version just past:

• The split of the two festivals from one Germantown Oktoberfest into the Oktoberfest and the Germantown Street Festival gets more regrettable each year. In their interactions with me over the years Historic Germantown leaders have tended to play their motives for breaking with the churches over the community-congregation fundraiser close to the vest. They would not share their reasons even when they expressed dissatisfaction with mine as a local blogger on the subject. (There has been drama, too).
• The split continues to strike me as lacking any détente. This year Oktoberfest leaders but up an inflatable arch between the street fest and their celebration with a banner that read: "Nashville's Original German Festival". When entertainer Lari White posted on Twitter that she would be appearing at Oktoberfest, Oktoberfest tweeted back confusion about her appearance. Ms. White was actually slated to appear at Germantown Street Fest. Do the two sides appear to have any diplomatic relations at this point?
• There are profound cultural and class differences that could be a wedge between these two festivals. Oktoberfest continues to be a homecoming for former Germantown residents. It tends to showcase German folk and country music. Germantown Street Fest has little "German" and a lot of "street fest". It inclines to popular music as well as more high-brow jazz (to go with that glass of wine). One Oktoberfest leader told me of personal concerns that there is an exclusive demographic moving into Germantown with less diverse tastes and less interested in preserving the community's history and character: young childless adults who likely will not lay down roots here and likewise are not concerned about the roots from whence Germantown sprang.



Funds preserve historic churches

• The decision by Oktoberfest organizers to start their celebration on Friday evening (5p-9p) is a winner. If they do it again next year, I'll be back. The turnout was better than I expected for the limited offerings they had (mostly biergarten fare and polka music), but it had the feel of being more for the locals than Saturday's blitzkrieg of festival goers. If Germantown Street Fest organizers want to keep up, they might consider kicking off on Friday night as well. I can see the Friday Oktoberfest pre-party becoming its own thing.
• How can they hold an authentic German Oktoberfest and not have authentic German beer on draft? The sponsor for Oktoberfest was American brewer Sam Adams. The sponsor of the Germantown Street Festival was local brewing company Yazoo Brew. I am not an opponent of either buying American or buying local, but I was disappointed that my only choice at a German festival was between Sam and Yazoo. One Germantown Street Fest beer puller offered the information that they did put the beer in Spaten cups (left over from last year?). Great. A veneer for my beer. When I bought my Paulaner stein filled with Paulaner beer here years ago I was told that Germany's festival sponsor shipped unused steins directly from Munich's Oktoberfest, which ended the week before Germantown's celebration. I always thought that was cool. I'm not demanding Reinheitsgebot, and I acknowledge that beers made in the German style make this a slippery question, but come on; no German beers offered at these German festivals? Really?

I usually record past impressions of Oktoberfest in photos, jump to see them.

Photos from Country Music Marathon 2013: leading marathoners (with apologies to half-marathoners)

The weather during today's 2013 edition of the Country Music Marathon was simply atrocious for an avid picture snapper like me. I usually am all over the North End on race day taking hundreds of photos of marathoners, half-marathoners, volunteers, and spectators. With chilly winds and sideways rain threatening to take down my camera, I only stayed out to catch the leaders pass in and out of Salemtown. Besides, my nine-year-old umbrella-bearer was hungry and wanted to go grab breakfast. So, apologies this year as I am unable to offer the plethora of photos I annually do for this event. Below are the best ones of the smaller number I took today.

Country Music Marathon 2013 photos: winners were also leading through Salemtown

The Country Music Marathon website has declared the winners of this year's 26+ mi race: for the men, Scott Wietecha; for the women, Jill Horst. I went out this morning as I have for several years to get photos of the leaders passing by Salemtown to MetroCenter and then out to Bicentennial Mall State Park.

Both Wietecha and Horst were leading their groups when I took these photos.

Wietecha leading past 15 mi marker

Horst leading past 12 mi marker

On the question of saving Salemtown's trees

2008 wind-related tree damage at 5th and Garfield

On Friday I made the observation that old growth trees falling in extreme weather like we continue to have over the past few years in North Nashville has become almost common place. After high winds blow through, I usually hike around the hood with my camera because I can generally find damage here and there. The photos posted here show some of the disaster people have experienced due to weak trees and strong storms. We have had arborists from several local tree companies in to diagnose diseased trees and to clean up others knocked down in storms. I have yet to meet one who is optimistic about the chances of the neighborhood's oldest trees.

May 2011 7th Avenue storm damage

I found out that one developer, Jim Creason, has been catching heat from some of the residents here about old growth trees he cut down at his development at 5th and Garfield. I have yet to find a developer who when faced with large trees on their lots has not opted to cut them down. I am rarely accused of supporting developers, but in the event I would be, let me start by saying that any responsible developer would ask professional arborists to evaluate the health and condition of old growth trees on their property before cutting some of them down.

Morgan Park tree damage

As best I can tell, that rarely occurs. Developers usually take down whatever they want to. But responsible developers should try to save every part of the healthy canopy that they can. If saving their trees is beyond hope, they should broadcast the arborists' conclusions to concerned neighbors.

Undated S-town wind damage

As I understand it, Jim did have a Metro arborist in to evaluate the large trees on his lot. That professional told Jim that the trees were beyond saving. He tells me that it was not good enough for neighbors who kept on him to keep the trees up even though he risked damage to his buildings in extreme weather. It seems to me that concerned neighbors should bring in their own arborists to evaluate the trees if they are not happy with the justifications a developer gives. But arguing that trees should be kept up just because there is something unquestionably good about trees without regard to their condition and risk of falling is naive.

May 2011 6th Avenue wind damage

While watching a large tree cut down is a harsh reality to accept, it is not unreasonable for neighbors to request that developers plant a hardy, indigenous tree for every sick and weakened tree that they feel led to take down. The best developers will acknowledge their responsibility, even in higher density urban builds, to go the extra mile to fill in the holes in the neighborhood canopy. When Jim told me about this altercation with others, I asked all of these questions about him fulfilling his responsibilities, and he addressed my concerns to my satisfaction. A few days after our discussion the large tree caddy-corner to Jim's 5th and Garfield property blew down on a home. I don't believe that trees coming down justify any developer's clear-cutting property, but I do think if the nice old tree had been judged to be ill or frail by an arborist, I would certainly understand the owner taking it down.

March 2011 storm-generated tree damage to our home

And I say that as a property owner who last year had similar damage to my home by a storm-tossed old growth tree that once had been an attractive edition to our yard. Sure it cost us thousands to repair our house, our fence and our back yard, but we were lucky that no one was hurt by the disaster. I would like to save all of the healthy trees that we can, but not any cost to our personal lives. We will continue to have pros evaluate the health of our large trees, but whenever we have an old tree that literally hangs over us waiting for the next strong gale to fall, we will take it down without any apologies to anyone else for our prudence. Moreover, we will replace what we take out with better trees. I expect no less or no more from developers.

We replaced our weak, fallen hackberry with
a hardier pin oak and a rain garden 

UPDATE: Sunday night's round of storms over North Nashville brought down another tree. Ostensible roof damage to a home on 5th Avenue near Garfield, and perhaps minor damage to a car parked in the street in front: