Hey folks, I just wanted to say that we are still here. It has been very busy lately with a new staff of 5 and much planting, watering, planning, renovating, constructing, etc. We are experimenting with some value added products like relish and pickles. Our tomatoes are beginning to ripen and we will see what we will do with them. We are here most days and would love to see you for visiting or volunteering. Grace and peace to all.
Here are a couple of pics from our corner of Buffalo.
We would love to develop the vacant house in the background for students and AmeriCorps members in the local community. Contact me if you would like to support this effort.
Is it possible for a white kid from the So Cal suburbs to inspire this kind of movement? I pray that it is because this is the vision for Queen City Farm:
I love it when people write books about the way I think about things. It makes it so much easier to organize my thoughts and argue my position. That said, here is the next book I am going to read:
My mom was visiting our 6 week old son this weekend. Yesterday we went down to Buffalo's oldest neighborhood, the end (in my opinion, the beginning) of the Erie Canal. We walked around a bit before heading to the airport to send my mom home. That's us in the first few seconds of the news video from a press conference that was being held while we were there.
Apparently the mayor and other dignitaries thought it was a good day to announce that the cobblestone streets that have long been covered over will be uncovered and restored for the Erie Canal Historic District. This district is turning out to be a beautiful area that showcases a unique piece of national history that made American agricultural and industrial might possible.
The Erie Canal opened the Midwest and beyond to the markets of the eastern seaboard and Europe. All the grain from the bread basket made its way through Buffalo and its enormous grain elevators that stretched for miles along the Buffalo River. It wasn't until the development of the interstate highway system and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway that the Erie Canal became obsolete. Today most of the Erie Canal is still passable and is mainly used for recreational purposes. For more on the Erie Canal: http://www.eriecanal.org/
Another part of this development will feature the uncovering of a section of the actual Erie Canal that has long been buried under housing projects, sporting venues and elevated highways. In this case, regress = progress. Here is a link to the plans that are being implemented where the Erie Canal, the Buffalo River and the foot of Main Street all come together: http://www.eriecanalharbor.com/
Local documentarian and friend, John Paget, won the Congress for the New Urbanism's video contest. Here is the press release: http://www.cnu.org/cnu17/node/2853. John Norquist, president and CEO of CNU said, "Built to Last made me laugh out loud... But this video is serious too."
John is an award winning documentarian, the talent behind Paget Films (www.pagetfilms.com) and the producer/director behind the local internet tv channel, truebluebuffalo.com. John produced Let's Grow Buffalo, the short film that makes a case for urban agriculture and preservation in Buffalo.
John also teams up with other friends from Southern California, Chris Elisara, Drew Ward and Aaron Lemen. It was this team, collaborating as First and Main Media (www.firstandmain.tv), that produced Built to Last.
Congrats friends! I hope to see all of you in August.
Below is a link to a blog that I read on a regular basis. I have been thinking this way about the Eucharist for some time now. I believe that Christ's word about being present when two or three are gathered in His name is simply another way of saying, "remember me when you break bread together."
“I arise in the morning torn between the desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” - E. B. White
We would love to develop the vacant house in the background for students and AmeriCorps members in the local community. Contact me if you would like to support this effort.
Meghan and Rod McCallum
