Washington

Power in Penn Branch Park

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This week we received official notice that PEPCO will soon install two electrical outlets in our very own 9-11 Memorial Park. This has been a 12-year effort led by Alberta Paul and others. Having electric will make our gateway community park a well-lit, more inviting gathering place.  Also, we are asking everyone to donate an hour of time between 9am and 12pm, on Saturday, May 15th to help clean the park and plant new shrubs donated to us from the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS). Remember to bring your tools and extra lawn and leaf bags!

Also, we offer special thanks to our community donors.  Penn Branch residents contributed over $500 to support the restoration and replacement of the bench in 9-11 Memorial Park. We wish to thank the following residents for their kind financial donations to help us replace the bench in 9-11 Memorial Park:

  • Mary Ann Smith
  • Alberta Paul
  • Leroy Owens
  • Donald & Barbara Harrison
  • Joan McKenzie
  • Marie Fritz
  • Tracey Grant
  • Rosemary Crockett
  • Dawn Moore
  • Maria Samuda

Can’t join us on Saturday, May 15th? Make a donation!

Mail your donation to:

PBCA

P.O. Box 6730

Washington, DC  20020-2325

Or Visit:

www.pennbranchdc.org/donate

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Penn Branch Oral History Project Officially Underway

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Last month PBCA Communications Director, Paul Grant was awarded a grant from DC Humanities, Oral History Collaborative Partnership to collect personal narratives from early Penn Branch families. The project, ‘We Are Penn Branch DC’ will focus on the stories of individuals who became residents of Penn Branch between 1945-1968.

PBCA Communications Director, Paul Grant will serve as Project Director for ‘We Are Penn Branch DC’ oral history project. He is has lived in Penn Branch since, 2012 and is also a member of the Oral History Association (OHA).

About DC Humanities

The DC Humanities Oral History Collaborative Partnership funds projects that explore and preserves Washington, DC life, history and culture through interviews with the people who have lived it.  Created in 2016 in response to a growing need to capture unrecorded Washington history, the DC Oral History Collaborative documents and preserves the stories and memories of DC residents as communities experience change and as residents age.  The Collaborative increases awareness of existing oral history recordings and gives residents the training and financial resources they need to conduct new interviews.  HumanitiesDC specializes in working with grantees who want to create new recorded stories or who want to dig into the archives and tell an old story with a new twist.

Why Oral History is Important?

Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century digital technologies. These personal stories help fill gap between the major historical facts that we know and how real people experienced and understood these moments.  As the Washington, DC area and continues to experience significant political, cultural, and economic change over the past 70 years, it is critically important we preserve the memories  our most senior, and long-time residents and understand how the city’s evolution has impacted them.

The entire collection of stories will be archived in the permanent collection of the DC Public Library and the PBCA Executive Board is planning to host a public exhibition of the stories, once pandemic restrictions on public gatherings are released.  Interviews will be filmed through October 2021 and participants will receive a $75.00 honorarium for their time.

To share your story, please contact:

Paul Grant | E-mail :   [email protected]        Tel.: (202) 888-3236

To learn more about HumanitiesDC, please visit:

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It’s Spring Again

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9-11 Memorial Park in Penn Branch DC
Stan Benton, PBCA President
Stan Benton, PBCA President

Spring is looking good. As the weather is getting nicer, now is the time to get back outside to prep our backyards, patios and gardens for use during throughout the warmer months. Your PBCA board has also sprung into action along with a few dedicated community members to help plan our first spring cleaning of 9-11 Memorial Park. It is the gateway to our neighborhood at the intersections of Carpenter and O Street SE. Last month, Joan McKenzie applied for and was awarded a $1,000 grant from the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS), on behalf of PBCA, to spruce up the park. The funds will go towards new native plantings and additional signage. However, the park is in also need of a new bench and paving stones. These additional costs were not covered by the grant. So, we’ll soon be launching a fundraiser to help us pay for those items. In the meantime, we’ll gladly accept your donations.

Lastly, we have new families in the neighborhood. Let’s welcome them. Let your block captain know so that we can invite them to join us and deliver our famously practical welcome buckets, which Mrs. Patricia Hall is always putting together with loving care. Thank you for your continued support.

Please continue to be safe and take care of each other and I’ll see you at the meeting!

Stan
PBCA President

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Change Is Happening

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January 8, 2021

This is a new year in many different ways. Our Association has a new name, with a new board operating under newly updated by-laws. And despite the recent horrific actions that happened on the Capitol, we will even have a new President of the United States inaugurated into office later this month Change is happening.

Stan Benton, PBCA President
Stan Benton, PBCA President

As the new PBCA President, I thank the officers and others in the previous administration for their hard work and commitment over the past two years. 2020 will be a year to remember. Last year brought on a pandemic, the presidential election, and social protests that challenged all of us. However, we have proved resilient as a community, and many neighbors reached out to help others as we all quarantined in place. In the middle of all of the challenges, we still managed to make significant updates to our by-laws to strengthen our organization and community and align us with best practices. After years of videoing our meetings so that those unable to attend could watch them online, I volunteered to become Block Captain Chair. After some serious thought, I ran for President along with a slate of well-qualified individuals with a history of civic and community involvement.

After productive discussions between past and present PBCA Exec Officers and reviewing input from our members, the new board has decided on several goals we would like to achieve including, increasing our membership, decreasing the morning cut-through traffic from Pennsylvania Avenue and making sure our community’s voice is heard especially when it comes to economic development in the area.

To help achieve these goals we need you: We are looking for volunteers to head up a variety of our committees, including my old position of Block Captain Chairperson. Please see the list of committees listed in this newsletter and apply. We’ve proven to be resilient in the face of many challenges, and by working together, we can make this year a better one. We are looking forward to working with you.

Again, Happy New Year, and may 2021 and beyond be amazing.

Stan Benton,
PBCA President

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