Mentelle Neighborhood Association

It may be tiny, but you can’t miss the Tiny Library installed June 5 on the large lawn in front of Temple Adath Israel, 124 North Ashland Ave.

An initiative of the Lexington Public Library, it is one of about 30 book-filled boxes around the city. More installations are planned, but for the moment the box at Temple Adath Israel is the only Tiny Library in the Mentelle, Bell Court, Kenwick, Ashland Park, Chevy Chase, Fairway, Idle Hour, Shriners and Lansdowne Merrick neighborhoods along Richmond and Tates Creek roads.

(Mentelle neighborhood already has a couple of Little Library boxes neighbors have installed that aren’t affiliated with the Lexington Public Library.)

The idea is that passersby may take a book for themselves to enjoy or leave one that others might like. The library’s website describes a Tiny Library as a “miniature community center for sharing books. It’s hyper-local — right in your neighborhood — and it’s free, easy and fun.”

The box arrived at The Temple already stocked with books for children and adults. The Temple will be responsible for making sure it remains filled with an enticing array of choices.

The Tiny Library boxes were designed by Nomi Design, a Lexington firm that donated its services. They sit on a concrete base and are made of steel, wood and plexiglass, “with an eye toward elegance, durability and ease of use,” according Lexpublib.org. Sponsorship of a Tiny Library is $250 per installation. For more information, go to Lexpublib.org/tinylibrary.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the neighborhood garden party social Sunday afternoon. Special thanks to our hosts: Page Etchison, Esther Hurlburt, Shelby Reynolds and David Bartley. The event was made even more special by our talented neighborhood musicians: Daniel Mohler, Andres Cruz and Elaine Cook.  What a lovely afternoon.

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Take a walk down the Mentelle Park Median.  It looks beautiful thanks to the work of an amazing group of volunteers who came out last Friday and Saturday.   This group contributed a total of at least 50 hours’ sweat equity weeding, trimming trees and bushes, and spreading topsoil and mulch.  Special thanks to all for their hard work and expertise: Ray DeBolt, Jill DeBolt, Gil Dunn, Tom Eblen, Bill Fortune, Susan Janacek, Tom Lillich, Andrew Parker, Patrick Eavenson and Sam Wynn.

—  Jill DeBolt, Mentelle Median Committee co-chair.

Mentelle Neighborhood’s second annual all-neighborhood yard sale is Saturday morning.  Any neighbors planning to have their own yard sale that day are asked to chip in $5 to help advertise the neighborhood sale. If you want to participate, please email President Ann Olliges.

If you have good items you would like to get rid of, but don’t want to organize a sale in your yard, you may donate them to the Mentelle Neighborhood Association. The association will have a booth on the Mentelle Median near Cramer Avenue, with all proceeds going to the association. Please bring your items to the booth at 7 a.m. to help with pricing and display.

All Mentelle Neighborhood residents are invited to a progressive garden social at three of our neighbors’ gardens Sunday, June 3, beginning at 3 p.m. at 817 Cramer Ave.  Here’s where we’ll be:

Page Etchison’s Garden, 817 Cramer Ave.

3 pm – 3:45 pm

Page has lived on Cramer Avenue since September 1999. Her home was built in 1913 on the former site of the Lexington Brick Co., which located on the north side of Cramer  in 1889 and moved to Liberty Road in 1910.  Her home was originally owned by the Cramer Family. Page loves Mentelle Neighborhood’s lovely neighbors, its central location, its peacefulness, and its rich history.

Page found that all of the brick remains made it difficult to grow grass in her backyard, so she created a Gazebo with a brick path entrance. Her landscaping is meant to be a peaceful  place to relax, enjoy the sounds of birds, barking pals, clucking chickens and the flowing fountain.  Page’s front yard is unique, with a gate entrance, no fence and four Chinese weeping cherry trees that get compliments often when people pass by.

Guitarist Daniel Mohler, our neighbor on Memory Lane, will provide music.

Esther Hurlburt’s Garden, 309 Given Ave.

3:45 pm – 4:30 pm 

Esther has lived in her home since 1986, and lived on Cramer for five years before that. She has lived in Mentelle Neighborhood more than half her life!

“Gardening is my therapy,” she says.  “I have to be outside and work in nature to maintain my sense of well-being and health.  I don’t really have a plan.  I find a place to plant something and I stick it in the soil.  I like to share plants and vegetables.  My garden is always a work in process.  It’s kind of messy and it changes from year to year.”

Esther loves Mentelle because it is a great neighborhood for walking, front porches, and it has great access to downtown. She calls it, “the epitome of ‘neighborhood.”’

Guitarist Andres Cruz, our neighbor on Aurora Avenue, will provide music.

Shelby Reynolds & David Bartley’s Garden, 710 Aurora Ave.

4:30 pm – 5:30 pm 

Shelby and David have lived in Mentelle Neighborhood for 31 years. They love that the neighborhood is diverse, welcoming, and close to downtown. Their home was built in 1919, and it was one of the first houses on the street.  The style is a combination of cottage and bungalow.

Shelby and David redesigned their backyard themselves in 2003 after the ice storm, and they like to think of it as “their own little paradise.”  The deck and pagoda were constructed by hired professionals.

Classical harpist Elaine Cook, our neighbor on Given Avenue and a member of the Lexington Philharmonic, will provide music.

Mentelle median volunteers: Mulch and topsoil will be delivered this afternoon about 2 p.m.  Since Mother Nature may be sending rain our way Saturday,  we’re asking anyone who has a little time this afternoon or evening to come out and help spread some topsoil or mulch and we can finish up tomorrow morning.  Please bring a shovel and wheelbarrow if you have one.  All help is appreciated!

Because more rain is forecast for the morning, the Mentelle median cleanup has been postponed until next Saturday, May 26, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

But if you are out and about at that time tomorrow and it’s not raining, you are welcome to join a few of us in the median to get a head start.  Next week, in addition to weeding beds, we will spread fill dirt and mulch.

Bring yourself and your tools to the annual Mentelle Median Work Day on Saturday, May 19, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. This is the time when we clean up and beautify the park that is our neighborhood’s “front yard” for such events as the Easter egg hunt and summer picnic.

We will weed and mulch flower beds and spread some fill dirt and seed around the new curbs. Bring some garden tools and a wheelbarrow if you have one. (It’s a good idea to put your name on your tools in case you get separated from them.)

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association has formed a median committee, headed by Jill and Ray DeBolt, to keep the median looking beautiful. If you have any questions about the work day, call Jill at 309-2022.

 

The National Association of Letter Carriers — those nice U.S. Postal Service people who bring mail to your door — will be having their 26^th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive this Saturday, May 12.

Carriers will be collecting non-perishable, unexpired canned and boxed food for donation to God’s Pantry in Lexington.

It’s easy to donate: Just gather and bag the items you want to donate and leave them near your mailbox Saturday for your carrier to pick up when he or she delivers your mail.

Let’s fill the mail trucks Saturday and help replenish our local food bank for the summer.