Latest news with #parks
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
El Paso pioneer recalls early days, says he brought alligators to San Jacinto Plaza
By 1920, El Paso pioneer J. Fisher Satterthwaite was living in San Diego, Calif. On a trip back to El Paso, he relayed to G.A. Martin of the El Paso Herald his recollections of early-day El Paso. This article ran Sept. 16, 1920: El Paso police had headquarters in George Look's saloon on El Paso Street and "kept cases" for the gamblers between calls, back in the early '80s, according to J. Fisher Satterthwaite, a prominent citizen of El Paso at the time. Mr. Satterthwaite now resides in San Diego, Calif., but is here on a visit for a short time. Mr. Satterthwaite was the first park commissioner of El Paso, receiving the appointment in 1882 and serving for five years. He admits responsibility for the alligators in San Jacinto Plaza. He says he brought three of them here from New Orleans in a cigar box; one of them died later, but two of the original 'gators are still in the park. Mr. Satterthwaite built the first pond for the alligators, doing the work personally. He came to El Paso from San Antonio, by stage, and was nine days making the trip. The stage turned over twice in one day and he carries a scar on one hand to this day as a result of an injury he received in one of the overturnings. He says he was appointed park commissioner because he had been criticizing the aldermen. They were all gamblers, he says, and he called them "the knights of the green cloth." "I never accused them of stealing money," he says, "because there was nothing to steal, but they just wouldn't do anything. I was to get a salary of $100 a year for my work, but I never received a cent. About all the city council could raise was enough money to pay the police. We never had a cent for the park and the women of El Paso — Mrs. Jos. Magoffin, Mrs. Phil Dieter and others — kept the flowers blooming in the park. It was often very pretty. "A big arroyo ran straight through the middle of the park, going off down through what is now Mesa Avenue. The (Southern Pacific) railroad had a pile bridge over the arroyo on the north side of the park, and it stood there for many years after I had filled up the arroyo. The filling of this arroyo, the first time a big rain came, caused the flooding of land west of the park and buried the railroad tracks in several inches of mud and sand. The railroad people wanted to make me open up the arroyo again and they kept the bridge in place for many years, although I had filled up the arroyo." "I bought the Hart survey, about 360 acres of land, extending from the river along the north side of the railroad tracks, east to what is now Campbell Street and north to the mountains. My land included a large part of what is now San Jacinto Plaza and I donated it to the city. The city later stole Carnegie Square (site of the El Paso Public Library) from me. "I spent $86,000 grading streets through my land and selling lots. More: El Paso in the 1920s: Hail breaks up Army dance, it's costly to bury a mule :Trish Long "When the railroad came here in 1882, the city filled up with thugs, gamblers and thieves of all sorts. Citizens had to arm themselves with shotguns and sit out on the streets at night to preserve order. Fifty of them were made deputy city marshals to preserve order. "Things became so bad that Dallas Stoudenmire was brought here from Indian Territory to 'clean up' the town. He had a record of having killed four men. He was sworn in at what served then as a city hall — a room in a beer saloon down San Francisco Street known as the 'Half Way House'; later it was known as Charlie Biesswenger's place. "He then sauntered down the street, a long linen duster on and a pistol in each pocket. At the corner of San Antonio and El Paso streets, he was hissed by a gang there. He pulled his pistols and shot and killed four men. No inquest was held. "That night, Stoudenmire went further down the street to a dance hall and variety theater, kept by his brother-in-law, 'Doc' Cummings, and ordered Cummings to close the place, as several killings had taken place there. Cummings drew his gun. Stoudenmire shot him dead and the place was closed. "Sam Boring, a real estate man, who had a reputation as a sheriff and city marshal in California, was sworn in as assistant to Stoudenmire, and immediately secured from somewhere a ton of balls and chains. Summoning citizens with shotguns, he rounded up all the undesirables and marched them into a corral, where he locked the balls and chains on them. More: 'El Chuco': Historical roots of El Paso's nickname "Then he stationed the citizens with their shotguns loaded with small shot on the roofs of the adobe buildings around San Jacinto Plaza, and, taking 50 of his prisoners out of the stockade, he marched them up to the plaza, where he took the hardware off of them and told them to go to work helping me in the park. "One of the men attracted his attention to something and the others, relieved of their balls and chains, started running. This was what Boring had counted on, and was the signal for the men on the roofs, armed with shotguns, to begin firing. The shot were only large enough to sting good and hard. Those 'undesirables' never quit running until they had permanently left El Paso. "Fifty more were treated the same way in a short time, then another 50. "That night, anybody could walk along any street in El Paso in perfect safety and that was the end of the reign of terror for El Paso. "We had a semblance of law and order from that time forward. The news spread all over the country among bad men that El Paso was unhealthy for them." Trish Long may be reached at tlong@ This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso pioneer brought gators to Plaza from New Orleans in a cigar box
CBC
20 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
Legal drinking coming to 7 Ottawa parks starting July 1
The City of Ottawa has put out its list of seven parks that are part of its legal drinking pilot project. People will generally be able to drink in designated areas of these parks from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., July 1 to Oct. 31: Brewer Park across Bronson Avenue from Carleton University. Lansdowne Park's Great Lawn east of the TD Place stadium. Minto Park off Elgin Street. McNabb Park at Gladstone and Bronson avenues. Queenswood Ridge Park near Tenth Line Road and St, Joseph Boulevard in Orléans. Riverain and Strathcona parks along the Rideau River near the Adàwe Crossing. The parks will have signs indicating that public drinking is permitted. Up to now, alcohol consumption has been banned in all city parks without a permit. But the provincial government changed regulations in 2019 to allow municipalities to designate public places where drinking is allowed. Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard asked city staff to consider implementing a pilot program in Ottawa, and earlier this year they came back with a report laying out the options. After a few tweaks at committee, the idea got unanimous support at council earlier this month.
CTV News
a day ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Legal alcohol drinking coming to some Ottawa parks this summer, including Great Lawn at Lansdowne and Minto Park
You will be allowed to enjoy an alcoholic beverage on the Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park, in Minto Park in Centretown and at Champlain Park this summer, but legal drinking will not be permitted in many suburban neighbourhoods. Starting July 1, alcohol consumption will be allowed in designated areas of Ottawa parks. Under the plan, councillors will work with the general manager of Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services and their constituents to select parks for alcohol consumption. The alcohol in parks pilot project will have the following rules: No alcohol consumption before 11 a.m. and after 9 p.m. or hours designated by the general manager. No person shall possess or consume alcohol within a five-metre radius of a playground or playground equipment, wading pools or splash pads or outdoor pools, beaches, parking lots, natural or artificial ice rinks, and at sports fields, sports courts and ball diamonds. Signs will be installed in selected parks before July 1 with information on: Details about when and where alcohol can be consumed Public health messaging A reminder to take empty alcohol containers home reached out to Ottawa councillors on Friday to ask if they will designate a park in their ward for legal alcohol consumption. Twelve councillors have said their wards will not be participating in the alcohol in parks pilot project. Here is a look at where alcohol consumption will be allowed in parks this summer. Great Lawn at Lansdowne Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard says the Great Lawn at Lansdowne is the 'main' park in his ward for legal alcohol consumption under the pilot project. Menard says he would also like to include the Brewer Park open sports fields for the pilot project. Minto Park, McNabb Park Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster says two parks have been selected for legal alcohol consumption in parks – Minto Park on Elgin Street and McNabb Park at Bronson Avenue and Gladstone Avenue. Champlain Park Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said in a letter to constituents that Champlain Park will be recommended for the pilot project. 'Champlain Park strikes me as a low-stakes way to see how this will work. I'll say that I'm reasonably confident that permitting the consumption of alcohol in the park is unlikely to increase its occurrence. I'm quite certain that nearby residents are already enjoying alcoholic beverages responsibly in the park today,' Leiper said. 'I'm not particularly concerned that the park will become a destination for drinking. I've tried to imagine a scenario in which people make drinking the focus of an excursion to Champlain Park and simply can't.' Queenswood Ridge Park Orléans East-Cumberland Coun. Matthew Luloff says Queenswood Ridge Park has been selected for the alcohol in parks pilot project. No alcohol in parks Twelve councillors told CTV News Ottawa Friday morning they would not be recommending a park for the alcohol in parks pilot project. The wards are Barrhaven West, Kanata North, Stittsville, Bay, Beacon Hill-Cyrville, Gloucester-Southgate, River, Alta Vista, Knoxdale-Merivale, Barrhaven East, Kanata South and Orléans South-Navan. 'River Ward will not be participating in the pilot. I will yield to my colleagues who wanted the pilot and will learn from it before any local park is proposed,' River Coun. Riley Brockington said in an email. Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower said there was 'not much interest' from residents for a park to be selected for the pilot project. Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Jessica Bradley said she would wait to see how it goes with the pilot project this summer before making any future decisions. Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill said, 'based on the recommendation/advice from my community associations and residents, I opted not to participate in the pilot.' Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine told CTV News Ottawa, 'For the time being, and until we see what comes of this pilot project, I've decided not to add any parks in Ward 9 to the project. There's been absolutely no requests from Ward 9 residents in support of seeing local parks added.'
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
22 city parks are being naturalized
Windsor is naturalizing some parks in the area, letting the grass grow long. CTV Windsor's Bob Bellacicco finds out why. The city has not cut grass in 22 parks, moving to naturalize some areas. 'Most people don't like it,' Coun. Jim Morrison admitted when talking about the reaction from residents in his ward. 'No, a lot of us don't agree with this,' Wynne Elliott told CTV News. 'I think they should have consulted with us for sure, asked if that area of the park is used, you know. It is used and now we can't use it.' Jazmine Hulett said the naturalized area looks pretty, for now, but creates unease when playing with her son. 'When the balls go over there, the kids are running over there (to the uncut area). My 19-month-old, he's been in between that and I'm like, 'No, I don't want you over there because of the ticks,'' she said. Many like the idea of naturalizing, but don't feel Remington Park should have been chosen, because it takes space away from kids who play there. 'We looked at an underutilized portion of the park that wasn't seeing a lot of activity or use and have begun naturalizing that portion,' said James Chacko, executive director of Park and Facilities. According to Chacko, the city is going through a trial-and-error process as there are different ways of naturalizing them. They are going to cut along the fence lines and ensure access to the parks through the naturalized areas. Morrison said he likes the benefits naturalizing brings, but also wants to make it easy for kids to walk through the field to get to school. 'It encourages pollinators. It takes care of water better. It's good for the air quality in the city,' said Morrison. Chacko encourages residents to let the process play out before passing judgement, 'It's going to, long term, set up what you see at many other parks that have naturalized environments, whether you go to Malden Park or Blue Heron or Ojibway Prairie Complex.' Chacko said those parks offer interaction between the maintained areas, trails, and the natural environment. Paul Fram lives next to one of the park entrances and has enjoyed seeing butterflies and the colours nature has offered in the field over the past couple of months. 'I've noticed that they're small swallow tails (butterflies) and eventually the monarchs (birds) are going to start coming again. We've seen bumblebees all over the place,' Fram said. 'Leave it alone, you know, like trim along the edges, cut half the field but this part doesn't need to be touched right now.' The city says not all 22 parks are perfect right now. If you have any issues like unfinished trails or unkept naturalized areas that abut your property, you are encouraged to call 311 to let the city know.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
30 Hobbies for Moms That Work With Your Life
If you're like most of us moms, you're trying to fit way more than 24 hours into every day (and have room to sleep a little too). Caring for everyone else can be pretty time-consuming, but there are actually lots of fun hobbies for moms who don't have a lot of free time. Whether you're a single mom, a stay-at-home mom, a working mom, or a combo of these, we've got your next hobby idea right here. You know those hours you spend at the playground or park? There are rocks there, and in fact, landscape rock can be a great place to find agates and other cool specimens. If you get really into rockhounding, you can look for rocks while your kids play at the beach or explore a creek. Who doesn't want to be the mom who can do magic tricks (we all know that just keeping small humans clean, fed, and alive is basically magic already)? Get a few simple books on magic from your local library and study up. This is a great hobby to pick up and put down, and you've got a built-in audience in the form of your kids. It's nice to have a quiet hobby for naptimes or after kids are in bed, and it's even better if you can put it aside easily. Genealogy is basically like a giant puzzle to solve. How many generations can you go back? How much do you know about your family history? Join a service like Ancestry or do it on your own. Not sure what you might like to do as a hobby? Think about what excited you before you had kids. There's probably a variation that will be easy to do in small bursts of time. Your kids have sippy cups and juice boxes, so why shouldn't you? We love winemaking as a mom hobby because it's happening in the background while you're going through your day-to-day routine. You get winemaking supplies and set everything up, and then, you just let time do its thing. You can start with a wine kit (or dry wine kit) too if you want to make things even easier on yourself. Related: We all have a camera at our fingertips these days, so you don't have to invest in a ton of expensive equipment or be a pro photographer to take pictures. The key is consistency. Set a goal to take one photo every day. It doesn't matter what it is (your lunch, your little one's scraped knee, the flower you saw on your walk, anything goes). At the end of the year, you'll have a photo journal of your life. From herbs like mint to edible mushrooms, nature is full of tasty foods to augment your supermarket staples. Grab a book and get to know what you're seeing. There are lots of edible berries too. Make sure you supervise littles and talk about what you're doing so they don't go eating everything they encounter, though. Sure, a ballroom class would be fun, but finding a sitter is a pain. You've got YouTube, though. Learn any kind of dance you want and practice during naptime or in the evening. It's even great exercise (and no one has to know you're doing it if you're self-conscious). Related: Geocaching is basically a giant treasure hunt. You use GPS coordinates to find little hidden stashes of notes, small trinkets, and other little things. It's really cool as a hobby for stay-at-home moms or moms with flexible schedules because you can go out looking for caches when the trails aren't too busy and get the kids out at the same time. You can use a geocaching app to help. Doing your nails is about a lot more than putting on some polish these days. You can create funky designs with special nail art brushes and pens, practice different painting techniques, and more. This is a perfect hobby for busy moms because it doesn't take that long to do, but you get to enjoy it for days or even weeks. Related: Who says bird watching is only for grandpas? When you're rocking your kids, making dinner, driving to work, or walking to the park, there are birds. Pick up a field guide for your area so you can identify what you see and keep a log. This can actually be a really fun hobby to share with kids too. If you don't have a huge hobby budget but want to try something fun, we love upcycling. You can hit up the thrift stores or flea markets or shop your own house for some fun things to use in new ways. What's great about this as a mom hobby is that it's easy to pick up and put down. You don't have to do a project all at once, and you can even take older kids thrifting with you (a toddler in a thrift store is like a bull in a china shop, though). From your best friend to your grandma, the people in your life will love getting a real letter or two. A text or a phone call is always nice, but you can hold a real letter in your hand and reread it anytime. Writing letters is easy to do while kids are playing, and if you get interrupted, you can put it away until you have a little more time. An added bonus of letter-writing is that you get to have a record of your days with your kids. I wrote my grandma twice a week in the last few years of her life, and when she died, I discovered a whole box of my letters that she had saved. They're all about my kids when they were little babies. Related: We've got even more ideas for hobbies for single moms, stay-at-home moms, working moms, and any other kind of mom. Try one of these: Joining a book club (or starting your own) Canning jams and jellies Coloring in adult coloring books Growing a garden Arranging flowers Making soap Biking Drawing Practicing martial arts Hiking Cross stitch Scrapbooking Stand-up comedy Journaling Sewing and quilting Writing fan fiction Collecting shells Decorating cakes Related: Making time for yourself can be as easy as finding the right hobby for busy moms. You do things for other people all day long, and doing something just for yourself, something you really love, is important. Try lots of different hobbies to find the perfect one (or ones) for you.
