Last Minute Reprieve...

Saved:  502 W Franklin, Elkhart, Indiana

    Elkhart's 502 W Franklin received a last-minute reprieve as Concord Township Commissioner Frank Lucchese and Elkhart County Administrator Tom Byers diligently assisted Trust 4781 and other concerned citizens to convince Elkhart City Building Commissioner Dennis Correll, Sr. to stay his demolition order on the site in order to enable ReEnviron's Steve Wall to pursue ownership of the building and lot when the tax certificate lien he purchased last fall matures and he can obtain a court-issued deed.

    Wall currently owns and resides at 519 W Franklin, another historic home on the block that was saved from further deterioration in 2014.

    Wall dialogued with Correll's office last summer and fall in order to preserve the historic structure and the beauty of the neighborhood while preventing yet another ill-kept vacant lot from marring the streetscape.

   It was recommended that Wall purchase the tax certificate in order to receive clear title to the structure and lot.  Once he files for the deed, as is expected October 2015, he will be able to begin assessing repairs, drawing necessary permits and obtaining the necessary performance bond in the amount of $10,000 guaranteeing that ReEnviron will bring the structure to code, permitting issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

    Wall was taken aback two weeks ago when he pulled a permit for another project and the city casually mentioned that 502 was scheduled to be torn down in about 8 weeks.  Wall and Will Lipscomb scrambled to determine how the building could be saved using ReEnviron's interest as a lien holder, and they also brought it to the city's attention that due process for demolition of a structure in the City of Elkhart appears to have not been properly adhered to.

    County Administrator Tom Byers was able to clarify the ownership and procedural status of the site and recommended to Wall and Lipscomb that they appeal to Correll to simply revoke his demolition order until Wall was able to assume full ownership of the site and apply for the necessary permits.

    In the meantime, the city apparently sped up the scheduled demolition prep at the site, including removing utility feeds at least eight weeks earlier than they had stated, eight weeks being the time Correll's office had said they would give Wall in order to fight the demolition.  Evidence at the site indicates that the city may have intended to demo the structure prior to Wall's ability to receive the legal deed.  Correll had instructed Wall to ask the County for a County-issued deed before the eight-week deadline.  The County could not do this but was able to convince Correll to suspend the demolition order, enabling Wall take title to the property this fall under his rights as the tax-lien owner.

    Correll has now provided Wall with verbal confirmation that the structure will not be demolished as long as he obtains the tax deed, files the necessary permits and furnishes a performance bond in the amount of $10,000.00.  Wall will then have six months to make significant improvements to the structure, completing all necessary repairs within the required twelve-month period.

    Wall is somewhat concerned in that the schedule means that major repairs to masonry, for instance, will have to be addressed during the coldest winter months, which will be a challenge, but he is working with the board of T4781 to determine the best options for meeting the city's requirements and completing the repairs on the city's schedule.

    The historical integrity of the 500 Block of Franklin Street is already a touchy subject with many long-term residents after the city tore down 501 W Franklin Street in 2012.  Still referred to as "the Pink House," its loss is felt by those who live there, and many wish the city would have found the means to save it.  Google Maps still shows the structures as they appeared Fall of 2011.

    Today 501 W Franklin Street is a vacant lot where people dump old mattresses and sofas, park for parties, and it is alleged, possibly traffic in drugs. 

501 W Franklin Street, Elkhart, today.  The tan house in the background was burnt out just a few weeks ago.  Though burnt out, the structure has seemingly received no official scrutiny from the city, unlike the secured and viable structure at 502.

Native American Heritage Orchard Proposal, Elkhart, Indiana

Orchard Proposal (1): 

The Native American Heritage Orchard concept has been developed in communication with local tribal leaders and

members to celebrate the long history of agriculture in the USA, both predating Colonialism and its adaptation during the European Colonial period.

    Primarily, the concept centers around the idea of celebrating Native American heritage diversity at the local farmers market by making heritage varietals available and through consumer education as to the history of these varietals. 

    Just as many colonists were forced to learn from and adapt to Native American crops and agricultural technologies such as the Three Sisters Method, so did the Iroquois, Cherokee and other tribes learn to grow and adapt European produce, varietals and technologies into their own farms and villages. 

    Cherokee apple varietals, for instance, tell the tragic story of Cherokee and Colonial relations.  Cherokee farmers along the Southeastern Coast (Carolinas, Georgia) readily adapted apples into their diets and farm production.  Colonial and early Federal governments provided seeds, cuttings (scion wood), and saplings to Colonist and Native American alike for the establishment and growth of a unified American farm economy and secure food supply. 

    Sadly, as the former Colonists forced Native American tribes off their farms and out of their villages, even the apple orchards had to be abandoned and left behind.  Yet, a few remnants of these orchards remain to this day and have been recorded.  There is a determined and educated effort underway to preserve this rich agricultural heritage and the contributions of Cherokee farmers in the East and their role in building up the early nation of the United States.

    The orchard proposal is to encourage sufficient production so as to serve the local farmers markets and to pursue consumer education initiatives celebrating the Cherokee, Pottawatomi, Cheyenne, Navajo, and other Native American agricultural heritages in the USA.

    The Orchard will expand beyond apples with boundary plots of traditional heirloom corn, squash, beans and other ag-related plants grown in the context of the Three Sisters System.

    Other important Native American foodstuffs and traditions will also be preserved and presented to local markets including the establishment of a Buffalo Berry hedge, a Saskatoon Berry Grove and a wild plum orchard (including Pottawatomi plum heritage varietals).  The latter being native fruit supplies important to Native American culture, cuisine and ritual that are now being adopted commercially for the larger market.  Not only do we celebrate diversity, but Elkhart and Michiana will be placed at the forefront of an important growth industry that is economically and environmentally sound and viable.  Many of these crops are already important sources of revenue for Hutterite and Mennonite communities in Central and Western Canada and on the Northern Great Plains.

    Finally, flattened white peach varietals sourced to traditional Navajo peach orchards will be included in the project to help preserve these strains while helping spread the story of and respect for Navajo culture beyond tribal lands in the American Southwest.

    Importantly, the aim of this orchard goes beyond production, embracing educational and preservation goals and missions.  The orchard will be maintained as an educational exhibit space and permission will be sought from the City of Elkhart for development of appropriate on-site educational resources such as pamphlets and/or educational signage.

    A much smaller project is under consideration for a parcel of land being re-landscaped by Prairie Street Mennonite Church in south-central Elkhart, and a companion or twin garden to the Elkhart proposal is under consideration for Tsikamagi-owned land in eastern Kentucky.

    This project has been compiled and resourced in cooperation with local and national tribes and its methodology and goals have received approval and support from those who are excited to work on such a narrative-healing and socially and historically educational project.