By Laurie Friedman, Membership Chair

By joining Cedar Park Neighbors, you become an active participant in helping to shape your community. It’s a great way to keep abreast of what’s going on in our neighborhood and meet new friends. Membership dues, along with other fundraising activities, are critical to support the valuable work being done by CPN.

With your help, CPN will continue to:

•           Deliver news through our website, Facebook, email blasts and newsletter

•           Introduce you to your neighbors and local restaurants at the Meet and Greet events

•           Keep you informed about local schools and daycare centers

•           Support schools in our area

•           Award scholarships to high school graduates and continuing college students and support scholarship recipients

•           Support small businesses through projects such as the Baltimore Avenue Conversation

•           Spread the word about local zoning issues

•           Provide representation before the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Liquor Control Board

•           Fund Block Improvement Grants

•           Represent CPN members at community meetings

•           Maintain the park for our enjoyment

•           Organize the annual Cedar Park Fair

•           Host the Summer Jazz Series

•           Deliver holiday food baskets to neighbors

As you can see, your membership goes a long way! If you’re not a member yet, please consider signing up today by visiting: cedarparkneighbors.org/join-cpn-donate/ or returning the form on page 15.

If you know a new homeowner or renter on your block, send their name and address to membership@cedarparkneighbors.org. New neighborhood residents will receive a free CPN membership for one year.

To save trees and cut down on costs, email membership@cedarparkneighbors.org if you would like to receive an email copy instead of a hard copy of the newsletter.

Rev. Matthew Williams

Cedar Park Neighbors was saddened to hear of the passing of Rev. Matthew Williams, Retired Pastor of The People’s Baptist Church. We wish to acknowledge Rev. Williams contribution to our neighborhood and we send our condolences to the congregation of People’s.

Bruce Hansen

Residents throughout the neighborhood and CPN members were shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of our friend and colleague Bruce Jay Hansen, who died from a heart attack at age 36.

From their arrival in Cedar Park, Bruce and his wife, Sarah, were committed to community involvement. Bruce served on the Cedar Park Board from 2005 to 2009. Bruce not only contributed enthusiasm, humor and a memorable hearty laugh, but was active in many facets of the organization. Bruce helped with the early development of the CPN website, organized CPN elections and assisted on the Fair Committee. Bruce was most committed as a member of the CPN Property Housing Task Force. Bruce brought his interest and expertise in City Planning to CPN efforts to wrestle with the problem of blighted and abandoned property and land. He was instrumental in mapping properties for the Baltimore Avenue Conversation and that map continues to be crucial in helping us analyze and communicate about properties within the area of focus for Baltimore Avenue improvement. Bruce was also active in the Chester Avenue Community Garden and the West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship.

Bruce was from Mechanicsburg, Penn­sylvania and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communications at Elizabethtown College, where he met his wife, Sarah. Following their marriage in 1999, Bruce and Sarah served from 2001 to 2003 as Peace Corps Volunteers in the Ukraine. Upon returning to the U.S., they settled in West Philadelphia, and Bruce spent several years working as a web designer. In 2008, Bruce and Sarah welcomed their daughter, Sadie. Later that year, Bruce began graduate school and in 2010 earned his Master’s of City Planning from Penn.

The Bruce whom so many knew and loved had an unmatched laugh and ability to find humor in almost any situation. He lived life thoughtfully and deliberately. He accepted others openly and without judgment. He was kind and good and genuine and he will be deeply missed.

We extend our deep sympathies to Bruce’s wife, Sarah, and their daughters Sadie and Beatrice, as well as to the extended Hansen family. Beatrice Jane is a brand new Hansen baby who was born on October 14th. We extend our welcome to Beatrice as our newest Cedar Park resident and know that her arrival will be a blessing and comfort to her mom and big sister at this most difficult time.

Many have asked how they can help the family. Donations in memory of Bruce Hansen may be made to:

Bruce J. Hansen Memorial Fund

P.O. Box 724

Phoenixville, PA 19460.

GO WEST! Craft Fest’s Holiday show is tomorrow, Saturday December 3rd, at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street. Forty of Philadelphia’s most amazing artisans purvey their finest handmade wares — unique accoutrements, ornaments & jewelry, art originals & reproductions, cozy hand-stitched woolens, toys, soaps, candles — special holiday gifts for the ones you treasure most. Made locally and with love, presented with pride in West Philadelphia.

If you’d like to be one of 40 amazing artisan vendors for this holiday show, send your info to gowestcraftfest@gmail.com.

By the University City District

Join your friends and neighbors on Saturday, December 3rd for the late fall  community cleanup in University City. We will be organizing special projects, increasing our green efforts, and celebrating all of our hard work at a post-cleanup party.

We encourage everyone to step outside and clean up where you live, work, learn or play. This can be outside your home, office or school, in a nearby park, or an empty lot. Even the smallest effort can make the biggest difference. If you’re looking for ideas, we’ve got ’em. We’ll be organizing a few focused efforts throughout the neighborhood and, as always, we’re here to assist anyone interested in participating. This includes providing block captains, student and volunteer groups and neighbors with trash bags, brooms, work gloves, and trash pickup.

Michael Nutter is challenging Philadelphia to become the greenest city in America. Going green is nothing new in University City, where large-scale tree plantings, farmers markets, and community gardens have been part of the landscape for years, but we’re not about to stop there. Let’s continue to move even closer to becoming America’s greenest city!

To sign up for the University City Clean­up, please contact UCD at 215-243-0555 or cleanandsafe@universitycity.org.

By Monica Allison, CPN President

On Saturday August 6th, 2011, neighbors came together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Cedar Park and the 50th anniversary of Cedar Park Neighbors (CPN). Even with overcast skies, it turned out to be a wonderful day. The children enjoyed themselves on the two moon bounces provided by Pearson Entertain­ment, and the park was full of neighbors enjoying music from local talent, including our DJ Jamar, Rosemary Fiki Band, Gretchen Elise, The Independent Rock School and, of course, the Elgins. The park was also alive with craft vendors and was well-served by a variety of food vendors. Thank you for making the day so special. The icing on the cake is the Centennial Commemorative Booklet! If you haven’t received your copy, you don’t know what you are missing. Peggy Kovich and Mara Hincher did a superb job of capturing the history of our Park and of Cedar Park Neighbors. See page 2 for details about how to receive a copy.

Our community was hit hard in September with the death of one of our neighbors, friend and volunteer Bruce J. Hansen. His wife, Sarah, helped me to appreciate how precious every moment of our lives are. We send our love to Sarah, Sadie and Beatrice, who was born October 14, 2011.

On October 4th, we had our fall Meet and Greet at Aksum, one of the newest restaurant additions to Baltimore Avenue. If you have not sampled their Mediterranean cuisine, you’ve missed a great experience. We thank the staff and owner, Saba Tedla, for their hospitality.

Cedar Park has experienced recent damage from vandals, and CPN made a plea to neighbors to help us replace the plantings. We received overwhelming support and have received more than $500 in donations. Thank you to all that contributed! You should see an improvement to the park gardens in the coming weeks.

The holidays are upon us, and one of the highlights of the season is the Holiday Basket campaign. This is one of the areas in which our neighborhood shines. Last year we fed over 150 families. With the economy in a state of flux, more families will need our help. When you receive our solicitation, give generously, and save the date, December 17, 2011, when we will pack and give out the baskets.

Cedar Park Neighbors is shifting to an annual membership renewal date. This change will help smooth our admini­stration of membership. We are looking forward to serving our larger community, and if you are not already one of our 327 members, consider joining! Your dollars go far in helping us to fulfill our mission.

Looking forward, Mariposa Food Coop is on track and scheduled to open at their new location, 4824 Baltimore Avenue, in January 2012. Check out their website for updates. Finally, I would personally like to wish you all a wonderful holiday season. Check on neighbors throughout the winter, visit the businesses along the Avenue, and remember…

On November 5, thanks to your support, Cedar Park Neighbors planted dozens of new plants in our park.  These plants were purchased with the financial help of members who enthusiastically and generously responded to our call for donations last month when the park was vandalized.

The Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter is produced 4 times per year.   The April, June and September issues are delivered to the 300-400 member households of Cedar Park Neighbors.  The November issue gets a blanket distribution to 2,500 residents in Cedar Park, which covers the area from 46th to 52nd and Larchwood to Kingsessing Streets.

Ad space will be reserved in upcoming issues upon receipt of payment. Please submit a check or money order made payable to Cedar Park Neighbors. Mail payment to Cedar Park Neighbors, c/o Calvary Community Center, 4740 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143.
Once a check is received, you will be notified of the upcoming issue(s) in which your ad will appear and the deadline for artwork submission.

You may also make a payment via the donate section on our website.

Please email your ad text to be designed to judy@parallel-design.com.

Press-ready digital ads should also be emailed to judy@parallel-design.com.  PDF files are preferred, however JPEG, EPS, or Word files may also be submitted.  When making PDF files, please be sure to include fonts and set images at 300dpi in Grayscale.

Our ad rates are below:

Single-Issue Sponsorship     $200
You may supply your own flyer to be inserted into the newsletter.  You will be listed as a sponsor both on the newsletter and on the website.

Dear neighbor–

Earlier this week, someone callously and deliberately tore out more than a dozen plants and native grasses that surrounded the memorial and traffic triangle garden on the eastern side of Cedar Park.  Gone were our coneflowers, autumn joy sedum, black-eyed susans, and day lillies.  Plus, over the past year, we’ve lost a whole section of winterberry bushes that need to be replaced.

Cedar Park Neighbors has worked hard to restore our park, planting flowers, fixing up the playground, holding our weekly jazz series in the summertime, and keeping it clean.

We were shocked that someone did this to our park.  Cedar Park is the hub of our community and a place where all residents come together.  We are determined to replace the plants as quickly as possible.  And make Cedar Park more beautiful than ever.

Early estimates put the cost at several hundred dollars.  Would you help us purchase new plants to replace those that were stolen or destroyed?

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to replace the plants by completing the form below.  All donations received by Friday, September 30, will be used solely for purchasing new plants for the park.

Checks can be mailed to:
Cedar Park Neighbors
Calvary Community Center
4740 Baltimore Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19143

Vandals tried to damage our park.  Let’s not let them get the upper hand.  Let’s show them that we neighbors care about our park.

Thank You,
Monica Allison
President
Cedar Park Neighbors

Cedar Park Neighbors is hosting a Neighborhood Meet and Greet on Tuesday, October 4 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Cedar Park’s beautiful new restaurant, Aksum Mediterranean Kitchen at 4630 Baltimore Avenue.

Meet your neighbors, enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres donated by Saba Tedla, Aksum owner and Cedar Park neighbor, and stay for dinner!

For more information and to RSVP, please check out our Facebook Event page.