We couldn’t think of a better person to introduce our blog than Bill Williamson of Crestview. (See “Meet Bill Williamson.”) He’s one of the first people we interviewed for our project, and he was eager to share his story with us.
We’ve seen that being a good neighbor matters, to people such as Bill, who moved here more than a half-century ago, and to younger people living here today. The continuum of community—past, present, and future—is at the heart of our project, too. On our website you can learn about history and what’s going on today.
People get involved in lots of ways. All the new trees in the neighborhood are some recent examples. They’re being planted and maintained by neighbors working on small and large projects—from guerrilla gardeners working on their own to volunteers with Friends of Brentwood Park, Sustainable Neighborhoods of North Central Austin, and other groups.
Raising funds for Jean’s Wall of Welcome is another example. In 2003, I joined with other neighbors to create the Violet Crown Festival and the nonprofit Violet Crown Community Works. I also created history exhibits and helped coordinate the festival’s Community Tent and publicity during the seven years I volunteered with the group.
Sandra Miron was another volunteer early on. She came up with the name for our nonprofit and served on its board. As a festival volunteer, she helped coordinate the Community Tent. In 2003, she also created its colorful entrance, left, based on Jean’s original crown design, and built the sturdy display walls seen in the background at left.
After five annual festivals to help raise funds for the wall and more than two years of creating mosaics and installing them by Jean and other neighbors, the mosaic wall was completed and dedicated in March 2008.
Few of us will create a 120-foot-long mosaic wall, as Jean did. We all are artists in how we create our lives and neighborhoods. By volunteering with the Violet Crown group and encouraging Jean on her project, I found ways to be more creative myself, and that continues to inform my life and work today.
The Voices of the Violet Crown project has grown from all that has inspired Rob and me right where we live—the value of being a good neighbor, being involved in the community, being creative. Over the past eight years, we have gathered lots of stories—in text, photographs, and video—that we will share on our website. Our hope is that you find something here that inspires you, whether you live down the street or in another neighborhood, far away.
Stay tuned for more Voices of the Violet Crown!