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This Month 
14 One Church and a Pair of Houses 16 What's New on H? 18 A Look Back with Washingtoniana 19 Site for Kids' Eyes 20 Youth Chorus: Hitting the High Notes 22 Welcome Pastor Andy Walton 24 Profoundly Personal Images 27 Leftovers à la Leftovers 28 Kwanzaa Traditions 29 Hill Connections 32 Cluster School Options 33 Here Comes Santa 34 Healthy Gifts 39 Hill Hanukah 40 Christmases Past 

Leaping Departments 
VoiceMail............................................3
City Desk......................................4


Reindeer, 

DownLoad ....................................8
Business Bits .............................11
Capital Kids................................15

Capitol Hill...

Performing Arts Roundup.............42
Ask Judith ..................................44


it's time for

Designing for Hearth and Home...46 Armchair Movie Reviews ..............48 Health and Fitness......................50 
the 


Ask the Vet.................................52
Barracks Row .............................54
Kids' Sports ...............................55
Kids' Calendar ............................56
Community Calendar ...................57
Horoscope..................................59
Classifieds .................................59
Business Services ......................60
Restaurant Review ......................62



Vol. 5 No. 9 December 2003





All that is needed here is a new owner! Everything in this townhouse is new -- the HVAC sys·tem, the hardwood floors, the tile floor and counters in the kitchen, & all the appliances. This beautiful end-unit townhouse is nestled back in the beautiful & sought-after community of Channing Court. One would never know that you were 2 blocks from Rhode Island Avenue & 2 blocks from New York Avenue -- a commuter's dream!  This large and bright 2BR/2.5BA town·house also includes off street parking, a back patio, a huge attic w/ pull down stairs, & at a purse-pleasing price! $196,500 
Call Todd Bissey at 202-841-7653 


TODD AND STAN'S NOVEMBER ACTIVITY 
620 D Street, SE (Selling Agents)            Listed @ $599,000 SOLD  
317 10th Street, NE #7 (Listing Agents)     Listed @ $249,900 Under Contract  
234 Maryland Ave., NE (Selling Agents)   Listed @ $234,000 Under Contract  
1205 G Street, NE (Selling Agents)            Listed @ $349,900 Under Contract  
1243 G Street, NE (Selling Agents)            Listed @ $393,500 Under Contract  



Coming Soon! Best of the best! HUGE Wardman-style row on the premier block in 16th Street Heights! Renovated from the front walk all the way up to the finished walk-up attic/den & all the way back to the 2-car garage. Filled with the personal touches every-one's after--such as coffered ceilings in the living room & dining room, crown moulding, pillars, top-of-the-line appliances, hwd floors throughout, finished basement, & 3BR/ 3.5BA. $679,500 
Call Pete Frias at 202-744-8973 


PETE'S NOVEMBER ACTIVITY  
1534 E Street, SE (Listing Agent)                                      Under Contract  
234 Maryland Ave., NE (Listing Agent)                          Under Contract  
637 3rd Street, NE #B1 (Listing & Selling Agent)              Under Contract  
4124 13th Street, NW (Listing Agent)                          Under Contract  
3032 Park Place, NW (Listing Agent)                          Under Contract  


225 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, S.E. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20003 TEL: 202-544-3900  FAX: 202-546-1771 
Todd Bissey & Stan Bissey 

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The Voice of the Hill is published and distributed monthly to Capitol Hill 

· ask her to hold a hearing Say Thanks on Mr. Clark's action (she 
Senators 
residences and business locations. 
chairs the Council's The focus is on the community and 
The Capitol Hill Consumer and includes contiguous neighborhoods Based Senators Girls' Regulatory Affairs Committee, which 
from Gallaudet University to the 
softball team (who you has oversight over Navy Yard and from the Capitol to 
can read about in this Mr. Clark). the Stadium Armory Complex. 
month's "Download" and Kids' Ask them to Publication and distribution is the 
Sports sections) expressed respond to you in writ-last Friday of each month. 
ing! (And please send us atheir appreciation to The Voice copy--email to info@CHRS.org is fine.)
Advertising deadline is the first of 
of the Hill recently by posing Thanks so much for taking the time to
the month preceding publication. 
for this photo at Tyler Field. keep involved. Congrats to the Senators for a 
Voice of the Hill 
stellar season performance,	Sincerely yours, 
NOTE NEW ADDRESS! 
and best wishes to the team, PO Box 15874 
coaches and supporters for RO BERT L. M. NEVITT Washington DC 20003-0874 the coming season. 
1 A "reasonable accommodation" is where local authorities202-544-0703 Main office 
acquiesce to the federal authority by issuing permits to facili-202-318-7806 Fax ties whose residents meet certain provisions of the Fair Housing Act, even if the permits are inconsistent with local 
law or regulation. Despite the federal interest, acquiesence www.voiceofthehill.com is a discretionary action: local authorities can and do refuse. 
suing the Mayor and city officials), zoning 
issues (including Boys Town's legal challenge bruce@voiceofthehill.com to a Board of Zoning Adjustment decision), 
editor@voiceofthehill.com Framed! 
To the Editor: 
patti@voiceofthehill.com To the Editor: the Comprehensive Plan, or community devel-I am outraged by the latest development in As a devout follower of Linda Norton's opment issues--or even that he investigated Boys Town's effort to place a very large group 
adele@voiceofthehill.com advice, I loved her tips for wall décor ("Hang-Boys Town's assertions. facility on Pennsylvania Avenue in southeast. julia@voiceofthehill.com Ups for Empty Walls").  Still, I must take We believe that Mr. Clark's unilateral action I have heard that the Board of Zoning 
exception with using "do-it-yourself" frame · undermines the Capitol Hill community's Appeals (BZA) ruled against Boys Town and Staff shops to cut costs. By the time I've invested efforts to get Boys Town to follow the law, Boys Town appealed the BZA decision to the Scott Shumaker, Editor in expensive framing materials, it's well worth make the approval process transparent, and DC Court of Appeals.  The Court has yet to 
a few dollars more to have expert consulta-bring sensible, community-oriented develop-rule on the appeal.  Despite this, David Clark, Bruce Robey, WebMaster tion and craftsmanship. I always use Sue ment to the area around the Potomac Avenue the Director of the Department of Consumer Adele Robey, Graphic Design and Weisenburger at Capitol Hill Art and Frame, Metro station; 
and Regulatory Affairs, went ahead and whose impeccable eye for design and color · rewards Boys Town for its mean-spirited cleared the way for Boys Town to proceed.  
Production can transform anything from an original print and contentious actions, such as suing our I cannot help but wonder exactly what was Andrew Noyes, Assistant Editor to a post card into a treasured piece of art. elected officials and community leaders; done to motivate him to ignore the authority 
Patti Shea, Political Reporter	BARBARA WELLS · shoulders aside the Capitol Hill commu-of the judicial system of our city.  I and many 
Larry Kaufer, Sports Editor Julia Robey, Production Coordinator Boys Town Redux 
nity, which told Boys Town and the city that it people in my neighborhood have spent a had serious concerns about the proposed great deal of time, money and effort over the development and about Boys Town's tactics; past three and one half years to advocate for 
· subverts DC law and regulation that pro-a responsible approach to the economicvides an opportunity for citizens to comment development at the Potomac Avenue metro 
Publishers	A Letter to from CHRS to Its on measures that affect neighborhoods; stop. In this case, a government official has Phoenix Graphics, Inc. Members · undercuts established D.C. institutions, chosen to kowtow to Boys Town's money and T/A Voice of the Hill Dear member: including the Board of Zoning Adjustment, influence. The right to petiour local gov-Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, and ernment and have its rulings upheld are in 
We're angry. We're really angry! neighborhood associations and groups; jeopardy. Community Action Group: Just a few months ago, CHRS members · guts the legal process and regulations Distribution overwhelming supported--with their wallets that help guard against overconcentration of SUSAN MCINERNEY 
as well as their hearts--neighborhood efforts treatment facilities that can affect residential 
to promote responsible development of the neighborhoods;	-- very near the Potomac Avenue metro Contributing Writers facility on Potomac Avenue, SE (at · ignores the Comprehensive Plan, which Julio Arguello, Jr. Beth Lambdin Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street). It is holds that all inhabitants of such facilities as 
with frustration and outrage that I have to Boys Town wants must meet the legally-handi-To the Editor: Laurie Aomari Richard Layman report to you the city's announced intention capped standard; and Regarding Boys Town: If the city can blatantly Judith Capen Jessica Leshnoff to grant Boys Town the certificates of occu-· makes the city the enemy, instead of our disregard its own rules and procedures, in JoAnne Carey Timur Loynab pancy it needs to operate a 24-bed residen-neighborhood advocate and protector. this case basic zoning laws and the need for Gene Clapp Celeste McCall tial facility--phase one of a 40-bed facility. Southeast Citizens for Smart Development Boys Town to go through the standard zoning 
We were recently informed that: and others are looking at a legal challenge. process, then what exactly is this city so-Victoria Curtis Bill McLeod · on September 18, Department of What YOU can do right now is called government for? Mary Farrell Kevin Palmer Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) · write the Mayor (at 1350 Pa.. Ave., NW, For the last three and one half years, the Kara Gerlach Julia Robey Director David Clark approved a letter to Boys Washington, DC 20004. Or call him at 727-Southeast Citizens for Smart Development Town's lawyers that the DCRA had reconsid-2980. Email to www.DC.gov) (SCSD) has been victorious against Boys Ursula Gross Shirley Serotsky ered its earlier denial of a "reasonable · tell him to overrule Mr. Clark's decision Town every step of the way, and the group is Colin Gustafson Patti Shea accommodation;"1 and · ask him investigate DCRA's decisionmak-now defending its victory before the DC Court 
· DCRA would thus issue certificates of Dug Hanbicki Padraic Sweeney occupancy allowing Boys Town to operate its Jim Laise Robert Wander proposed treatment facility "as a matter of 
right" once some minor structural changes Memberships are made. You should know that Mr. Clark Capitol Hill Association of Merchants · made his decision in secret. There was and Professionals no notice or consultation with any citizen or Art Directors Club of Metropolitan community group 
ing process	of Appeals. The SCSD and the neighborhood· insist that he come to Capitol Hill and have had to fight this battle to get the city to explain his administration's actions (CHRS enforce its own laws and procedures and will be happy to organize a public meeting). have Boys Town abide by them.  Apparently 
· write Councilmember Sharon Ambrosethe city, secretly and without justification, (and other members of the City Council) at decided to take unprecedented steps - name·1350 Pa. Avenue, NW, Washington, DC ly reversing a decision made a year ago and 20004. Or call her at 724-8072. Email to paving the way for Boys Town to operate a www.dccouncil.us) large group facility at the Potomac Avenue 
· says his decision was made on technical · ask her to rally the Council to pass a metro stop.
Washington grounds--based on assertions made by Boys resolution condemning Mr. Clark's action What kind of government ignores its citi-Barracks Row Business Alliance Town zens and the court? 
Independent Free Papers of 
· made no reference to citizen concerns, impact on the neighborhood or the children NORMAN WEST 
America themselves, legal issues (Boys Town is still -- one block from Boys Town H Street Merchants Association 



cityDesk

COVERING THE HILL'S POLITICAL SCENE AND MORE 

ALL STORIES WRITTEN BY PATTI SHEA 
B&B Debacle: 
ANC 6B Denies Owner Expansion of Inn 

ANC 6B commissioners wouldn't endorse a plan to let the owners of a Capitol Hill bed and breakfast expand from two rooms to six at its Nov. 5 meeting. 
The panel voted 7-1-1 to nix a "special excep·tion" permit for owner Mark Phillips' FourSeventeen Victorian House, located at 417 A Street, SE, agreeing with neighbors that the cus·tomers generated by the extra rooms would have a negative impact on the community. The permit had been requested by the city zoning administra·tor who said B&B's with more than two rooms need a special exception permit, even if it is in an histor·ical district. 
Commissioner Mary Wright, chair of the panel's planning and zoning committee, said the zoning 
ART,CLOTHING & GREAT


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www.thevillageoncapitolhill.com 
202 · 546 · 3040 

Tues.-Fri. 11-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5 
administrator was correct in demanding the special permit and suggested that the commission deny Phillip's permit application. 
The ANC serves as an advisory body in this capacity and doesn't have final say over the permit. However, the panel's decision does carry significant weight with the city's zoning board. 
A next-door neighbor who shares a wall with the innkeeper said the noise and parking problems gen·erated from the business now when it only has two rooms for rent would more than triple if granted expansion permission. He said the permitter walls shared by the two owners aren't that thick, and voices can be heard at all hours of the night. 
The neighbor called the B&B a "mini hotel" and added it "would have a harmful impact on the neighborhood." 

"The impact on the community goes beyond parking," the resident said 
Phillips' attorney Jeanie Rustad has argued that her client doesn't need a special permit because per·mission is included under the city's "matter or right" clause, and that a parking waiver had been granted to Phillips by the city's Historic Preservation Office. 
Rustad told the panel that 55 percent of the guests at FourSeventeen are visiting families on Capitol Hill, and the inn doesn't generate that much car traffic because of the building's proximi·ty to Metro services. 
The neighbor said some of the B&B guests loiter in front of the building late at night and ring the inn's doorbell, which he said he can hear in his home, if they are locked out. 


Phillips lives on the premises and says his tenants behave and abide by city noise ordinances. Each guest is given a key, he added. 
The neighbor charged that the B&B illegally obtains parking permits for its guests. 
As for the parking, Rustad said the guests' family members get them the parking passes, not Phillips. 
Commissioner Francis Campbell said he sup·ports small businesses, like FourSeventeen, but couldn't support the expansion plan. 
"It's a quality of life issue," Campbell said. 
He recommended that Phillips soundproof shared walls to mitigate the noise pollution. 
The Board of Zoning Adjustment is slated to hear the permit argument at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2. 
Signal Gets Green Light, Pay Phone Nixed 
Commissioners okayed a recommendation by Commissioner Keith Smith to install a traffic signal at 17th Street and Potomac Avenue, SE. The zoning committee argued that recent traffic changes made the signal necessary to allow drivers safe passage across the busy road to be able continue traveling on Kentucky Avenue. 
Also approved was the call to remove a pay phone at 1430 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, which has been reported as a nuisance to the neighborhood. The permit applicant didn't attend the Oct. 28 zoning committee meeting to defend his application. 
Cafe Recess, located on the 200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, got the go ahead to pur·sue sidewalk seating for its eatery. The panel unani·mously approved its application to add four tables with eight chairs for patrons to use. 
Big Fish, Mott's Gets Booze OK 
Cosioners said they won't block the approval of Class B liquor licenses for Big Fish, formerly Tony's Carryout, 1418 Pennsylvania Ave, SE; the Southeast Market, 1500 Independence Ave., SE; and Mott's Market, 233 12th Street, SE. 
Commissioners David Sheldon, Mary Wright, Julie Olson, Scott Cernich, Kenan Jarboe, Wilbert Hill, Daryl Snowden, Neil Glick, Keith Smith and Francis Campbell were present. The next ANC 6B meeting begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave., SE. 
Kramer Street Confusion: City Violates Information Law 
ANC 6A Awaits Documents About Group Home 
Commissioner Cody Rice announced at the Nov. 13 ANC 6A meeting that the ongoing battle with the city's Youth Services Administration and Department of Human Services was still, well, ongoing. 

Rice submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request Oct. 17 to city officials asking for all documents--including faxes, emails, memos, cal·endar entries, correspondence, etc.--concerning the youth home on the 1600 block of Kramer Street, NE. 
YSA/DHS have constructed a group home for "special needs" girls ages 13 to 17 that will be super·vised. The ANC and surrounding residents have opposed the placement of the home in the middle of a residential area. 
The information was legally due to the ANC by close of business Wednesday, Nov. 12. Rice announced at the ANC meeting that night that the city requested a 48-hour extension to finish gather·ing the information. 
TheVoice of the Hill called a city staffer compiling the information on Friday, Nov. 14, to find out if 



Tell our advertisers you saw their ads  in The Voice of the Hill 

the FOIA request was going to be fulfilled by the end of the day. The city staffer said the information would not be available in time, and that a "good·faith" effort was being made to gather it. The main person in charge of collecting the information, George Valentine, general counsel for the DHS, was out at a funeral Friday, the city staffer told The Voice, and he couldn't be reached for further comment. 
Asked what the reason for the delay was before Friday, the staffer said, "We're working on the request to get the information to them." 
An email forwarded to The Voice by Rice from the city staffer stated the city intended to have the information ready to mail by the close of business of Monday, Nov. 17--five days past the legal due date. 
At the Nov. 13 meeting, Rice handed out a report from the commission's Oct. 28 economic develop·ment and zoning committee meeting, which was attended by Deputy Mayor Carolyn Graham and seven staff members from YSA and DHS, including Valentine. 
Valentine told meeting attendees that "some of the requested materials may be available now, and that the committees' request may be fulfilled soon·er as materials become available," the report states. 
According to the report, Graham wanted to set the record straight about the "rampant amount of misinformation" circulating about the Kramer house project. 
Points made by Graham, the report states: 
·
 The agencies support economic development by placing group homes in blighted areas; 

·
 These homes are a "matter of right" in residen·tial districts under the city's zoning code and can be built without any formal requirements for review, community input or limits on location or number; 

·
 No more than four "special needs" girls will live at the house and will supervised "day and night" by two staff members. The girls may be either "persons in need of supervision," as determined by the courts who have not committed offenses, or chil·dren who are committed to the care of YSA by a court following completion of jail sentences; and 

·
 The agencies request community participation on an advisory board for the facility. Efforts to contact Graham by press time went unanswered. 


To see the ANC's ED&Z committee report, view the Nov. 13 meeting agenda at http://www. anc6a.org/aagendas111303.doc/.  
PSA Redistricting Irks Commissioners 
Commissioners expressed their disapproval about the Metropolitan Police Department proposal to move some police service areas (PSAs) boundaries they say will impact Hill residents and business owners. 
Issues raised by the commissioners and audience members during the hour-long session targeted the proposed new boundary that threatens to split H Street policing coverage into two PSAs and moving the 15th Street, NE, line over to 8th Street, NE. 
MPD divides communities into PSAs which are run by a captain who works with the community to execute safety programs. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey called for a complete overhaul of the PSA system, which ultimately will lead to larger districts and a bigger emphasis on the safety programs. It will also give district commanders more flexibility in deploying officers. 
"H Street is a prize we want to bring alive again," said Anwar Saleem, president of the H Street Merchants and Professionals Association, about the revitalization efforts of the up-and-coming corridor. 
Saleem said the business owners need only one police official to work with to ensure that proper efforts are maintain to keep the street safe and attractive for consumers. Splitting the street would only double the time needed to put toward safety programs. 
"We're going to need good communication with the police in the district," he said. 
Another proposed boundary under question is moving a PSA boundary from 15th Street to 8th Street. 
Commissioner Joseph Fengler said that in doing this, the department is putting pedestrians and Metro users at risk. He said 8th Street is heavily used by buses and residents walking from Union Station. It is also a target for would-be robbers, he said. 
"By splitting the PSA at 8th Street, no one PSA will have the responsibility of implementing programs to ensure our residents have a sage walking com·mute," stated the ANC in a list of grievances handed out at the meeting. "By using 8th Street as the divid·ing line, two PSAs will need to patrol the streets on either side and coordinate their efforts. Past exam·ples of this coordination are not self-evident." 
Anne C. Grant, who is spearheading the depart-ment's PSA redistricting efforts, reassured the panel and audience that the lines are just proposals and that the department is making rounds to a series of public meetings to gather input on the proposed boundaries. 
MPD First District Commander Tom McGuire told the audience that by making the PSAs bigger it won't decrease the coverage on the Hill. 
"The amount of officers will stay the same," McGuire said. 
One audience member was afraid that with the shifting of PSA boundaries, the officers, who are well-known in her neighborhood, will be moved. McGuire said that he has no intention of moving officers around after redistricting is completed. 
The panel unanimously voted to send a letter to the MPD voicing its objections. 
To find out more about the proposed boundaries, visit the MPD website, http://mpdc.dc.gov/info/dis-tricts/districts.shtm/. To see the list of grievances listed by the ANC, view the Nov. 13 agenda at http://www.anc6a.org/aagendas111303.doc/ 
There will be a special meeting to discuss the PSA boundaries at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at the Sherwood Recreation Center, 10th and G Streets, NE. 
Ambrose to Visit ANC 6A 
City Councilwoman Sharon Ambrose will attend the Dec. 11 ANC 6A meeting. Residents are encour·aged to attend to meet Ambrose, who will partici·pate in a Q&A session and update the panel on the latest from the city. 
Commissioner Announcements: 
Show the Love 
Commissioner Michael Musante wants residents to show their love for Lovejoy Park, located between 11th and 12th streets on D and E streets. Musante is looking for monetary donations to help build the pocket park. To contribute, interested persons are asked to contact Musante at 202-548-2542. 
Trees for the Taking 
Commissioner Nick Alberti said he had it on "good authority" that the city has purchased 4,000 trees for planting but has only identified 1,000 potential potting places. Alberti said that residents who would like a tree for their tree box should call the city at 202-727-1000or phone him at 202-543-3512. 
This Old House 
Commissioner Cody Rice said the dilapidated "blue tarp house" at 251 8th Street, NE, has been pur·chased and will be converted into two apartment units. 
Dumpers ID Themselves 
Commissioner Glady Mack said the perpetrators who illegally dumped trash near a home on 15th Street will be caught since they left refuse with their name and address in the bag. 
Still Haven't Found ... 
Commissioner Joseph Fengler said the office space search for the ANC has resulted in a big, fat zero. Those who know of an inexpensive place where the panel can store a couple filing cabinets and desk are asked to call Fengler at 202-423-8868. 
Commissioners Wanda Stevens-Harris, Joseph Fengler, Jessica Ward, Cody Rice, Gladys Mack, Michael Musante and Nick Alberti were present. Commissioner Colleen Harris was absent. The next meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE. 
Surface Trains are Coming 
Light-rail Line Pilot Program Set to Begin in Anacostia 
Forty years after vanishing from the District streets, surface trains will once again be shuttling Washingtonians here and there. 
Transit planners are nearly set to move ahead with a three-year, three-mile pilot program in Anacostia for a light-rail line, which, if successful, would turn into a four-line, 30-mile citywide system. 
Metro officials told roughly 120 residents from Anacostia, Capitol Hill and nearby regions Oct. 28 about its plans to install a 2.7-mile light-rail train line along the east side of the Anacostia river as a test to see if the potential citywide system is economi·cally feasible, and more importantly, used by riders. 
Test trains would start near the John Phillip Sousa Memorial Bridge and move southward to Bolling Air Force Base and the Defense Intelligence Agency. The City Council this summer cleared the way for an environmental study for the pilot project. 
Construction on the 2.7-mile corridor is expect·ed to begin next summer using existing rail lines abandoned by freight hauler CSX. 
News of the rail line was welcomed by most in attendance, who said the city has neglected the "real" transportation needs of residents in the southeastern part of town for a while. 
Anacostia resident Schnetia Green said she was elated that her neighborhood would soon have alternative transportation methods besides buses. 
"There has always has to be a beginning," Green said. "Let's start with the best. We are the best." 
Burnice Kernan, a 35-year resident of Anacostia, said the neighborhoods of Southeast have gone long enough without adequate public transporta·tion routes. 
But some said Anacostia may not be the best place to test out a program that may have better results someplace else in town. 
ANC 6C Commissioner Bob Morris hailed the city for installing a light-rail system but was a bit skepti·cal if Anacostia would generate the 1,000 to 1,500 daily riders needed to make the pilot a success. 
George Barsley of Germantown, Md., agreed. 
"Is Anacostia the right place to begin?" Barsley asked the panel to a wave of boos from the audi·ence, which apparently didn't like a Marylander telling the District what to do. "I don't believe Anacostia will be the showcase you want it to be. It 
www.voiceofthehill.com 

may not give you the visibility when it counts." 
Anacostia was targeted for several reasons, transit officials said. 
The existing rail lines played a big part in Metro's decision, but also the planned industrial and retail growth for the southeastern part of the District make it a more attractive mechanism to lure busi·nesses to that side of the river. 
The pilot project is being funded mostly by tax dollars, but should the program be a success, can be partially funded by the federal government. Depending on what building alternative gets the final go-ahead from the city, the pilot program is estimated to cost between $27.5 million to $40 mil·lion dollars. 
Effect on Hill Residents 
And, if city planners like the pilot results, Hill resi·dents and businesses are expected to benefit from the extension of trains, since lines are tentatively scheduled to run down H Street, NE, and along the Southwest Waterfront and Navy Yard facilities. 
Ultimately, the four lines will stretch from the Minnesota Avenue to Southwest Waterfront to Silver Spring to Georgetown, as well as build out of the Anacostia line (visit www.wmata.com for exact routes). 
Greg Walker, who is spearheading the project for Metro, said it's too early to estimate the positive or negative impacts the lines will have on Hill resi·dents since every route is slated to run through some part of the area. 
"The project is expected to improve quality of life along each corridor as transportation options are increased and total traffic flow is increased," Walker said. 
It hasn't been decided which of the four lines would be built first, he said, but all Hill residents are target riders since most people who live on the Hill work in the District. 
Walker also said Metro has taken into account the historical significance of Capitol Hill and that every circumstance will be taken into consideration before track is laid. 
"Any preferred alternative will undergo the scrutiny of the arts commission, National Capital Planning Commission, and most importantly the community," he said, "so there is little probability that any investment will be proposed that dramati·cally disrupts the character of the community being served." 
Walker said Metro will spend a lot of time next year meeting with project stakeholders and com·munity members, having held 30 this year alone. 

Residents, Officials Discuss Next Phase of Aquatic Center Development 
'Moving On' is Theme of the Meeting 
Moving on was the theme of the night when city officials and Hill residents gathered Oct. 23 to dis·cuss the next phase in the renovation of the William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center near Eastern Market. 
Officials did a not-so-public mea culpa and encouraged residents to become more active in the restoration of the facility, located on the 600 block of North Carolina Avenue, SE. 
In the September 2003 issue (www.voiceofthe-hill.com/archives/Sep03.pdf), Voice of the Hill de·scribed why residents and activists were upset with the city about how it handled the natatorium reno·vation. 
The city was accused of not notifying residents-- especially those in close proximity to the pool-- that the project shifted from renovation to total restoration, something that came along with addi·tional months of cranes jettying from the site, noise from the clanking of pipes and the unexpect·ed placement of the heating, ventilation and air condition (HVAC) system on the building's roof. 
Residents objected to the "ugly" piping system installed on the rooftop and were afraid the filter·ing system would rattle the neighborhood. 
But this time, City Councilwoman Sharon Ambrose and DC Parks Director Neil Albert were on hand to dish the full skinny to the roughly two dozen residents in attendance about what's next for the pool hall. 
Ambrose said she understood the residents' con·cerns and was glad to hear they were taking interest in the appeal of the neighborhood. The council·woman said now that Albert was manning the helm of the city parks department, projects and the outreach that comes with them, are going to be handled differently. 
"We're going to have a much better process," she said. "We have come a long way." 
The attending residents conducted a straw poll of sorts over designs to disguise the HVAC system. The city installed a new system after it was discovered while the pool was undergoing its facelift that the system was unsanitary and posed a health risk to swimmers. 
Brian Furness of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society said he was pleased with the designs pro·vided by the city-commissioned architect and was confident the community could come to a consen·sus over a design. 


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Albert said the next step in the natatorium proj·ect is to design a welcoming entrance to the build·ing, something he anticipates will happen next spring. The tree boxes will be updated, and shrubs and flowers will be planted. 
Residents and Eastern Market vendors convinced Albert to take out the sidewalk that runs along the eastern side of the facility, but has caused traffic jams in the alleyway used by trucks dropping off cargo for the merchants. 
Albert was originally concerned that pool users would walk in the alley into on-coming traffic. Instead, he said a second entrance on the south side is needed to keep this from happening. Currently, swimmers only enter from the north entrance. 
One concern addressed in the September issue was non-District residents using the pool. To fix this, the parks department implemented a fee schedule for District and non-District residents. There was a plan to give residents in the immediate area a discount on user fees. 
Albert nixed the idea, and the residents didn't really mind, saying the prices are low enough. Revenues made from user fees go to pool mainte·nance, and Albert said a discount would do a dis·service to the pool in the long run. 
"The fees are reasonable," he said. However, the pool has implemented a frequent user card that averages around 75 cents a day. Phase One of the project was estimated to cost $1.3 million, but skyrocketed past the $3 million mark because of replacing the HVAC system. Cost of Phase Two is still under consideration since the city budget is under review. 
NOTE: Due to the oversight of Voice reporter Patti Shea, she missed the Nov. 12 ANC 6C meeting. She will get the minutes from the meeting and post briefs to the Voice of the Hill website, www.voice-ofthehill.com, as soon as humanly possible. The next ANC 6C meeting will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Children's Museum, 800 3rd Street, NE. 
ANC 6D met on Nov. 10 instead of Nov. 17 as printed on the panel's website. The Voice missed the meeting, but will get minutes as soon as they are available and post the meeting's highlights on the Voice site. The next ANC 6D meeting will be at 7 
p.m. Dec. 8 at the Millennium Arts Center, 65 I Street, SW. 
Patti Shea can be reached at patti@voiceofthehill.com. 







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ITEMS OF INTEREST FR OM THE VOICE WEBSITE FOR THE LAST MONTH 
NOTE: The following stories have appeared on the Voice of the Hill's website over the past month. Log on daily to www.voiceofthehill.com for updates on what's happening in our neighborhoods. 
Boys Town Investigation Called For 
Neighbors Question City's Overruling of BZA Decision and Pending Decision by the DC Court of Appeals 
In total secrecy, affecting a longstanding, con·tentious neighborhood issue, on Sept. 18, 2003, David Clark, the Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), agreed to issue Certificates of Occupancy which will allow Boys Town to operate a large group facility at the intersection of Pennsylvania and 14th Street, SE, prompting the Southeast Citizens for Smart Development (SCSD) to call for an investigation. 
This is the latest move in a battle that has been waged through the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA), the DC Court of Appeals and the US District Court, each time resulting in victory for the neigh·borhood and defeat for Boys Town. Throughout it all, the neighbors have been fighting to ensure that Boys Town not be permitted to bypass DC's admin·istrative and legal procedures, which is its modus operandi. The neighborhood's efforts to have an open and public process which would force Boys Town to play by the rules, resulted in Boys Towns' "SLAPP" suit against SCSD and its leaders, longtime ANC Commissioner Will Hill ("the Mayor of Capitol Hill") and activist Ellen Opper-Weiner. The Center for Individual Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union represented Hill, Opper-Weiner and the SCSD, and Boys Town's lawsuit was eventually dismissed. 
The City's plan to issue the Certificates of Occupancy turns the neighborhood's long-held victory into a stealth victory for Boys Town. The DC Court of Appeals has yet to issue its decision on Boys Town's appeal of the BZA decision. The BZA ruled unanimously in SCSD's favor that Boys Town needed a special exception to occupy its buildings as a Community Based Residential Facility (CBRF). Boys Town's appeal was argued in the DC Court of Appeals on Sept. 16, 2003, just two days before David Clark issued his change-of-heart ruling granting Boys Town a reasonable accommodation, which had been denied one year ago. 
"Why the City chose to intervene at this time, while the DC Court of Appeals ruling is pending, needs explaining. It was a discretionary decision that warrants investigation. The legal process is not complete," stated Opper-Weiner. 
"I am amazed at how the City completely disre·garded and worked against citizens who want noth·ing more than to know what is planned for their neighborhood," stated Hill, Chairman of the SCSD. "Boys Town was losing on all fronts, and the City acted without public knowledge." 
NOTE: The previous story was taken from a press release. 
Capitol Hill Chorale Holiday Concert Features Youth Chorus 
The Capitol Hill Chorale's traditional holiday con·cert features the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus, a forty-voice ensemble of young people, associated with the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. The concert will be held Saturday, December 6, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 7, at 4 p.m., at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 212 East Capitol Street, NE. 
Artistic Director Fred Binkholder has chosen the theme "Innocence Rekindled" for the program, which includes sacred and secular music, "in shades of dark and light." The program includes Francis Poulenc's "Hodie Christus natus est," Harry Simone's arrangement of "The Little Drummer Boy," John Gardner's "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day," medieval carols, and other works, including several sung in Russian. 
Tickets are $15 and $20 and may be obtained by calling the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop at 202-547-6839, or at the door. Season tickets are also avail·able and include two other programs: "Spring Has Swung," with the Capricorn Quartet, on March 13 and 14; and "Variations," with the Washington Saxophone Quartet, on June 5 and 6. 
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Chairman Confirmed by DC City Council 

Mayor Anthony A. Wil·liams appointed Charles A. Burger as the new Chair·man of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC Board). 
Chairman Burger stated, "We are excited about the composition of the new ABC Board and we look forward to building upon the success and growth of Chuck Burger ABRA as a new independ·
ent agency." 
Other reappointments to the ABC Board are Vera 
M. R. Abbott and Audrey E. Thompson, who were confirmed and sworn in on the same days as Burger. 
Judy Moy (Lew), a member of the ABC Board, is not up for reappointment until July 2004. 
The newest member of the ABC Board is Peter B. Feather, a resident of Ward 1. Mr. Feather has served as the Management Advisor to the Adams Morgan Business and Professional Association and as a Counselor to the Service Corporation of Retired Executives (SCORE). Feather was confirmed by the DC City Council and sworn in on Nov. 5. 
Recently-Launched Website Focuses on What's 'Hot, Cool, Fun and (Almost Always) Free' 
Click on mrdda.dc.gov 
Jazz at the Corcoran, storytelling at the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, concerts at the Capitol, movies on the Mall, block parties, street festivals, poetry slams, ANC meetings--these are just a few of the activities featured on the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Administration (MRDDA)'s recently-launched web-site that pays special attention to the needs of peo·ple with disabilities. 
The project, informally titled "It's hot...it's cool...it's fun... and it's (almost always) free," makes a sweeping survey of what there is to do in Washington that is culturally interesting and light on the pocketbook. 
Those who visit the site (mrdda.dc.gov--do not use "www" or a search engine) are able to find a hundred different (usually free) things to do every day of the week. Click "October 31," for instance, and see an invitation tooween" and annual Halloween festival at Historic Eastern Market on Capitol Hill. Click "December 5" and find out about the annual Christmas concert at the National Shrine. Those interested in music will be able to find free concerts going on all around town. Learn the new hours of operation for the Washington Monument, how to get timed-tickets in advance and the location of the handicapped parking. This website service covers festivals and special events, art exhibitions, poetry and story·telling, dance, live theater, movies, nature and ecol·ogy, sports, classes, civic meetings and volunteer opportunities. 
In addition to time, date and place; specific infor·mation will be given about wheelchair access, handicapped parking, stairs, ramps, sign language and audio interpreters, touch tours, closest Metro station/lines. When possible, each entry will have a telephone number for further information and a website link. While the site was designed for the city's population with disabilities, MRDDA expects that many others will "log on" to plan their week·ends, long lunches and what they do with their spare time. 
Anyone wishing to alert MRDDA to an appropri·ate event or activity for inclusion on the website should contact Kathleen Donner at 202-727-2437, 202-727-2526 (fax), or kathleen.donner@dc.gov. 
Go to http://mrdda.dc.gov/activities 
Way to Go, Senators! 
Nationally-ranked Hill-based Team Among Favorites for 2004 National Title 
BY LARR Y KAUFER 
After finishing the fall season rated number two in one national ranking and 4th in another poll, the Hill-based Washington Senators 14U girls' fast pitch team is, to no surprise, on a short list of the preseason favorites to win the National Championship in 2004 in Orlando, Fla. (July 26·Aug. 1). 

To add to the excitement and optimism for the team's chances next year, the local team knocked off both the number 1 and 2 Division I teams and the number 3 Division II team in late October and early November in national tournaments featuring the best teams up and down the East Coast. All three teams defeated by the Senators finished near the top in the 2003 World Series Division I Championships. 
In 2003, the Senators upset the nation's number-one ranked team, were amongst the final 8 unde·feated teams in the World Series and finished with the seventh most points, even though they were the youngest team competing. With almost every player returning, many predict the Senators will be one of the top teams to beat in 2004.  
Recently the team ran up 22 national tourna·ment wins in this fall's portion of the 2004 season, earned two World Series berths and totaled a team record 55 wins for the 2003 schedule. Even with all this success, Coach Stan Kolbe and his team know that winning the National Title will be very diffi·cult and will require hours of hard work in practice, excellent game play and some luck. Having seen first-hand what it takes to be the national champi·on, the Senators are planning to be practiced and prepared when the 2004 national championships for PONY and USSSA open in mid and late July. 
Kolbe told The Voice that while he believes the team has some of the most talented players around and the finest coaching staff in David Martin, Rick Polan and Jay Johnson, he often worries about injuries to key players after losing a top starter, Meg Krasne, in the final games of the 2003 Series with a torn ligament that may have cost the team a shot at the title game. On a positive note concerning that injury, Kolbe is very pleased that Krasne should be back in the line up in top playing condition after ACL surgery over the fall and winter rehabilitation once the spring tournaments open in March. Short of serious injuries limiting the team's chances, Kolbe sees little that should short-circuit what is shaping up as a dream season for the National Capital's team based at Tyler Field at 10th and I, SE on Capitol Hill. 
Outstanding on the Mound and at the Plate 
Looking at the outstanding fall portion of the 2004 season, a season that runs from Aug. 1, 2003, to July 31, 2004, Kolbe believes the Senators have four out·standing strengths: experienced pitching, power hitting speed on the bases and skilled defensive play. In the pitching department the Senators are led by Carly Martin and Alie Kolbe, both returning pitchers with a lot of big game experience and years of professional training. Between them they have speed, outstanding control and a variety of com·plex pitches most often very difficult to hit. For the fall, the team allowed less than one earned run per game, a rare feat. 
On the offensive front, the Senators have a num·ber of home run hitters led by Brittany Polan and followed by Michelle Linford, as well as Carly Martin and Alie Kolbe. The Senators hit the ball over or off the fence more than any team in any fall tournament this year, and Kolbe expects to see many more balls flying out of ballparks in the com·ing year off Senators' bats. Furthermore, there are a number of players that hit for average and power with speed on the base paths such as Sonya 
www.voiceofthehill.com    
Soloway, Casey Rolla, Vicki Webb and Amanda Johnson. Add to these players other defensive standouts such as Sylvie Stein, Michelle Tabisz and Meg Krasne, and the team has few, if any, weak·nesses. 
Young Senators Make Major Strides in 2003 
While getting less attention than the older, more traveled tournament team, the Senators Blue team, made up of 9-11-year old players, had a big fall sea·son under Coach Jenn Shellhammer and assistant coach Pope Barrow. Shellhammer, a 2001 graduate of the University of Maryland and the top starter for their 2000-2001 pitching staff as well as a coach for the National Cathedral varsity softball team, made a major difference for the blue team's quality of play. 
The Senators Blue team won nearly every game in the NW DC Little League Softball Conference this fall, despite being the youngest team on the field in each game. With hard work, the blue team will "graduate" a number of tournament level players in the years ahead. Already a handful of the young team's players have played in area tournament competitions. Kolbe believes that greater resources are needed to develop the young team into the type of tournament team the older team has become in a half decade, and that will be a focus of the winter months as fundraising for the younger program is emphasized. 
Financial Support is Critical 
Although the exceptional support the team gets on a regular basis from team parents, Hill business sup·porters and DC area backers, adding up to a dedi·cated base of financial support, greater resources are needed to fund both programs. Although the fundraising part of the job takes a lot of time, many DC residents and area softball fans have come for·ward to contribute to the team's equipment, travel and related costs. In 2003, the Senators received their first endorsement and support from the DC Government in the form of an equipment grant from the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission. In addition, the Mayor and Council have proclaimed support for the team in public notices. 
To assist players in the softball and baseball pro·grams with unmet expenses, the Hill Softball and Baseball League founded a scholarship program in 2003. As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, the Hill League organizations solicit tax-deductible contri·butions to support children in need, as well as the costly equipment, travel and insurance expenses of the many youth sports teams on the Hill in addi·tion to the Senators. Now that the season is on break until March for winter practices, Kolbe noted that the coaches and team parents would quickly start the fundraising outreach program, which peaks from December to March. Kolbe traces the team's success in expanding to serve more girls directly to the increased fundraising effort. Kolbe emphasized that it is rather expensive to provide quality, safe equipment, such as helmets, sliding pads and catching gear, to each girl that needs it to play fast pitch. Kolbe told the Voice that he is espe·cially proud that the program does not turn away prospective players due to financia
l hardship so the community role in fundraising is critical. 
The players and coaches want to express their appreciation to all that helped make the 2003 sea·son a big success and the World Series a dream come true for DC's team. While many teams have state, federal and local governments providing funds and fantastic fields and facilities to their area teams, the Senators must raise all their funds and maintain their field from private resources. The Senators' generous financial support group includes: John C. Formant Real Estate, Von Schlegel Realty Team, Re/Max Capital Realtors, Kathy Davison - Realtor, Results: The Gym, Phyllis Jane Young, Danner Development, Long Island (NY) Sheet Metal / Air Conditioning Contractors Assn, Capitol Title Insurance Agency, Sheet Metal / Air Conditioning Contractors National Assn, Larry Chartienitz - Realtor, Amato Industries, The Sheet Metal Workers International Assn, The Onyx Group and the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission. 
Those interested in contributing to the Senators' program or to the Capitol Hill Baseball and Softball Scholarship Program may send their tax-deductible contributions to: Senators Softball, 605 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003. Email pledges or questions can be sent to SenatorsSoftball@aol.com. 
The bottom line for 2004 is more excellent play from the Capital's premier fast pitch program on the Hill, a place where top level talent is developed to represent DC in local, regional and national competition. After winter workouts and training at area indoor facilities, the teams will be ready to take the field at Tyler Park and throughout the country. 
Larry Kaufer is the Voice's sports editor. 
Scouts to Collect Coats for Community Organizations 
For the third straight year, members of Boy Scout Troop 500 on Capitol Hill will collect coats as a neighborhood community service project. 
Last year the Scouts collected over 300 men's, women's and children's coats, which they distrib·uted to various charitable organizations within the community. 
Scouts will be on duty at Eastern Market to accept coat donations Dec. 6. Donors who would like to contribute coats in good condition that they can no longer use can also make arrangements to donate them by calling Tucker Barbour (202-543-6848) or Jack Rush (202-398-5649). 
Anyone who would like to recommend charita·ble organizations to receive the coats is encouraged to do so. 
For more information about Capitol Hill Scouts, go to www.capitolhillscouts.org. 
Capitol Hill Tae Kwon Do Students Earn Honors at Virginia Championship 
Six students from the Capitol Hill Branch of the 
U.S. Tae Kwon Do College earned a dozen medals in competitions at the 2003 Virginia State Tae Kwon Do Championship held Saturday, Nov. 8, at Lake Braddock High School. The competition was sanc·tioned by the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Union, Inc. and hosted by the Virginia Tae Kwon Do Association. 
Led by their instructor, Master Erica Gutman, students competed in the categories of forms (poomse), breaking (gyukpa), and sparring (gyuroogi). Competitions were held according to gender, age and belt level. 
"I could not have been more proud of my stu·dents," said Master Gutman. "These students, who have shown great dedication and focus in their training, represented themselves and the U.S. Tae Kwon Do College with great honor and distinc·tion." 
The following students earned medals in compe·tition (age and belt level noted in parenthesis): Charley Spencer (10, black belt): gold medal in breaking, bronze medal in forms 

Ryan Fennell (7, brown belt): gold medal in breaking, bronze medal in sparring 
Alexis Sargent (8, super brown belt): silver medal in sparring, bronze medal in forms 
Brendan Fennell (5, dark blue belt): bronze medals in forms, breaking, and sparring 
Rory Schwartz (11, bo black belt): bronze medals in forms and sparring 
Alistair Andrulis (7, black belt): bronze medal in breaking 
Two other students, Ali Osman and Jimmy McCreary, also attended the competition. 
Turtle Park Treat for Toddlers Local Kids Have Fun Making Things Grow 
BY MA GGIE HALL 
They're "growing" a class of green-thumb toddlers at the Capitol Hill Co-operative Nursery School-- thanks to our neighborhood's best-loved little park. 
With a sort of enthusiasm their parents would love to think would stay with them well into their teens, a jumping, bouncing crowd of the school's three-year olds raced into Turtle Park on Monday, Nov. 3--to garden. 
They raked leafs, collected armfuls of them and dumped them in trash bags; dug holes for hyacinth bulbs; and generally had fun in the soil. And, of course, the kids took time out to scramble all over the landmark cement turtles. 
And the lucky kids had music while they worked. As they "toiled" (with squeals of joy and only one 
From the author of the international bestseller The Thief Lord 
tearful argument over a kiddy-sized rake) two Capitol Hill personalties played their guitars. 
Tom Bucci, the well known Eastern Market artist, and Coen Blaauw, the prominent lobbyist for Taiwan, abandoned their favored musical tastes of rock and jazz for nursery rhymes and other kids' favorites. 
"It was great playing for the kids," said Coen. "Though I think they preferred playing with the leaves and digging in the dirt," he laughed. 
The two hour "fun-in-the-park" event was organ·ized by the Friends of Turtle Park, a volunteer group of Hill residents who look after and maintain the pocket park, located at 7th and North Carolina, SE. 
Founder of the group Muriel Martin-Wein said: "I had this thought that it would be wonderful way of getting tots introduced to gardening and making them familiar with the park. It turned out the school was looking for outings for the children, so it all worked out really well." 
And one of the reasons it did, was because Muriel came up with the inspired idea of calling the bone·meal fertilizer (she hoped to get the kids help spreading around the bulbs) "fairy-dust." 
It did the trick. The children couldn't get their hands into the bags quickly enough, to sprinkle the "magic" around. 
Tom Przystawik, father of three-year old Gunter, who helped keep an eye on the children, said: "It's great for them to get involved in the outdoors and learn about gardening. It will be a special experi·ence for them to return in the spring and see the bulbs, they helped plant, blooming." 
As for the kids? Little Adam Ashton summed it all up: "I'm making things grow. This is fun. I like mov·ing the dirt." 
Maggie Hall is a Hill-based freelance writer. Her work has appeared in previous Voice issues. 
arrangements of classic works,  such as  "The Twelve Days of Christmas," arranged by composer John Rutter.  No matter what your musical taste, A TCS Christmas will provide something for everyone. A spirited audience sing-along will allow everyone to raise their voices. 
The Dec. 14 concert is not only "guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit, and it also helps sup·port a good cause," said TCS artistic director James Kreger.  "Christmas is about children, and the Empower program, our beneficiary program, is geared toward youth."  The Empower program (www.empowered.org) is an organization that works with youth in the Washington, DC, area to combat the effects of violence. 
TCS has long striven to "Transform the City through Song," with an unparalleled commitment to both music and community service.  TCS per·formances have raised over $120,000 for local non·profit organizations in the last seven years alone. This season TCS continues the tradition by donat·ing all concert ticket proceeds to groups that pro·mote youth leadership development.  
A TCS Christmas will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, located at 4900 Connecticut Ave., NW.  A free reception will follow the performance. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors and students. To order tickets for the concert, call 202-232-3353, or email: info@thomascirclesingers.org. 
Auditions for The Ron Brown Story Planned for Dec. 3 and 4 
Stuart-Hobson Middle School, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Arts Network, announces audi·tions for The Ron Brown Story, a "docu-musical." 
The production team is seeking actors, singers and dancers ages 12-18. Singers must have one pre·pared piece for the audition. 

Ink Heart Thomas Circle Singers Present 
By Cornelia Funke Christmas Concert Dec. 14 · 
Auditions will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 3 and 4 at Logan School, 215 G St., NE. For more informa·tion, interested persons may contact Thomasena 
With Local Boys' Choir as Special Guests Allen at 202-422-5589. 
Now Open Holiday Hours 




BusinessBits



and recent Plaid patron said. "There goes the money. first it was shopping for home improve·ment, now it's dresses, I just hope she doesn't start selling shoes here, or I'm done!" 
While All About Jane, Daisy, Wild Women Wear Red and other designer stores can be found thriving in Adams Morgan, Georgetown and on U Street, can $150 blue jeans succeed on Capitol Hill? Chellgren seems to think so. "I looked at demo·graphics within three miles of here provided by the DC Marketing Center, and found there to be a mar·ket," she said. "It seems to be working, and design·ers are intrigued by the area--they didn't want their pieces to be in more stores in Dupont Circle or Georgetown." 
Chellgren says she was hesitant about leaving the world of computer consulting to pursue her dream. "I was tentative about it. I saw so many people with their own businesses loving it, I thought there must be a secret society you have to get a key to," she said. "I started with the little things. I wanted to push back the point of no return as far as possible." She eventually took the plunge without hesitation: "It's something I've always wanted to do, but I didn't know if it was feasible. I think a lot of people want to do something like this, but don't think it's possi·ble, they believe they have to have a nine-to-five job in a cubicle." 
The addition of Plaid to 8th street has impacted surrounding merchants as well. "The more retail destinations we have on the street, the better it is for everybody," said Laurie Morin, owner of Hoopla Traders and Capitol Hill Bikes. "There is a synergis·tic effect when people can shop for clothing, furni·ture, gifts, and cap the trip off with a dining experi·ence." 
Chellgren has been amazed at the amount of pos·itive feedback and foot traffic she's experienced since opening--especially as a Hill resident of five years who never would have ventured onto 8th Street. "I've lived blocks from here for years, and never thought about coming to this area," Chellgren said. "I can't imagine what more stores would bring to the area, especially a furniture store," she said. 
The store owner says she hopes to feature mer·chandise from more local designers and expand the business to eventually create a Plaid brand. 
Erica Stanley is a new contributor for Voice of the Hill. Erica lives on Capitol Hill and works as a com·munications specialist for a non-profit wilderness organization that works to protect public lands for future generations. 

Historical Hardware 
BY URSULA GR OSS 
Certain service practices have slowly fallen away over the decades: milk at our doorsteps, newsboys in the mornings, and elevator operators announc·ing floor numbers. But, every so often, we hear of a store or a service that reminds us of when doctors still made house calls. Today, District Lock and Hardware on Capitol Hill is not so different--it, too, will come to your home to repair a bothersome squeak or runny faucet. 

Opened in 1946 by a World War II veteran, the business succeeded because of his determination and hard work. Harry Kroll was a second-genera-tion locksmith, and this storefront business was both his livelihood and his life, according to Mike Horwat, the present owner. Horwat began working for Kroll in 1987 as a contractor, and Horwat's own diligence impressed Kroll. Although Kroll--having worked into his 70s--had offers from businessmen to sell his store, he passed it on to Horwat for about half the price of the previous offers. 
"Harry knew that I would run the business with the same integrity that he did," Horwat explains. 



Upon retirement, Kroll bought a full-page adver·tisement in a local magazine thanking the neigh·borhood for supporting him and his business. 
Frequently, when the torch is passed from one generation to another, the services that placed the business in the era of milk bottles and newsboys are modified for today's market. Mike Horwat, howev·er, continued to run the type of hardware store that makes house calls for minor repairs. Even today, when Horwat believes that "everyone is looking for the big jobs," District Lock and Hardware still hap·pily does the "nickel and dime" repairs. 
Not only is he a competent and versatile handy·man, Horwat also prides himself on being honest as well. "No one is getting rich," he says of his busi·ness, but "we're happy." While every business must charge fees for services, Horwat is quick to cite instances of finding lower-cost solutions to customers' problems. 
Unfortunately, though, some jobs he has to turn down. His customers may not have the financial resources for the repair, and Horwat is not able to reduce the cost further or find a creative solution. He considers this predicament the worst part of his job--the inevitable disadvantage to his line of work. While he relishes helping people "in a way they can afford," sometimes the job is beyond the scope of either his customer's finances or his own resources. 
Nevertheless, the interaction Horwat has with everyone from senators to the elderly makes him proud of his work. Horwat also acknowledges that while he provides a service that other local hard·ware stores may not, the other stores also have their own advantages and specific services. 
Harry Kroll made the right choice when he passed on his business to his contractor in 1994-- Mike Horwat continues to run the store with the service mentality of a bygone era. "I feel good about what I'm doing," is how Horwat describes his moti·vation. 
District Lock and Hardware is located at 505 8th St., SE, and can be reached at 202-547-8236. 

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An Interesting Pair

Pilgrim Baptist Church Weighs Rehab of Paired Houses on 
7th Street, NE For Affordable Housing 
BY MAR Y FARRELL 

ilgrim Baptist Church, munity organization Near Northeast detailing, were built shortly after the located at the northeast Citizens, but the process, known as coming of the trolley line to H corner of 7th and I Streets, cultural resources survey, is a labor-Street, NE. The houses represent a NE, is being urged to con-intensive one that will take several building type that once filled entire sider rehabbing and using years to complete.  squares, with three or four pairs fac-for affordable housing, two paired, In the meantime, unless interim ing on each block.  But in the ensu·1870s frame houses that it owns on protections are enacted, preserva-ing decades, as the area became the east side of 7th Street, between H tionists will be forced to respond to more densely developed, these gen-and I Streets, NE, at 819 and 821 7th each threat as it arises with the only erously spaced, early frame resi-Street NE.  tool available to them--the applica-dences were gradually replaced by 
The church purchased the houses, tion for local landmark designation. rows of attached masonry houses, which were in disrepair, over a 10-Thus the Citizens Planning generally more substantial in size. year period, with the intention of Coalition, a city-wide organization After 1877, frame houses were no razing them to create additional off-that works on planning and historic longer built in the L'Enfant City, as street parking. The house at 819 was preservation issues, filed a DC rules prohibiting frame construc·purchased in 1992, and the one at Landmark application for the build-tion, as a fire prevention measure, 821 in 2002. After finally gaining ings at 819 and 821 7th Street, NE, in began to be enforced. titles to both houses, Pilgrim Baptist August 2pplied for a raze permit. Rehabilitation Considered 
The application raised a red flag 819 and 821 7th Street, NE In a meeting held in September for the city's preservation communi-The paired houses at 819 and 821 7th between Pastor Louis B. Jones and ty, which must monitor the list of Street, NE, were identified by the members of Pilgrim Baptist Church raze applications carefully because so Cultural Resources Survey team as and concerned preservationists, and much of the city's historic building the only examples of this once com-attended by the staff of the DC stock remains unprotected. The tri-mon building type still extant above Historic Preservation Office, the angular area of the L'Enfant City H Street, NE, and two of the approxi-church was urged to consider using above F Street and below Florida mately 65 frame houses remaining only the side and rear yards of the Avenue, NE, known as Near in the survey area. Both houses have houses for parking and to rehab the Northeast-Capitol Hill North, is one front porches, and 819 still retains its buildings to provide affordable hous·such area. Documentation of the distinctive side porch and yard.  ing and shield the parking from the neighborhood's building stock was These paired houses, with com-street. This alternative would pre-finally begun in 2002 by the com-modious side yards and Italianate serve important elements of the his·toric streetscape in the 800 block of 7th Street and ensure eyes on the street for public safety purposes.  

T. David Bell, of Bell Architects, offered to do an analysis showing how much parking would be lost if the houses were retained, and the preservationists offered to seek grants and loans to fund the rehab and to help investigate additional nearby sites for parking. At the October meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A, the Commissioners also encouraged the church to consider the rehab alter·native and voted to postpone taking a position on the Landmark nomi·nation in order to allow the parties to negotiate. Members of Pilgrim Baptist voted in turn to waive the Church's right to a landmark deter·
819 and 821 7th Street, NE mination on the part of the City within 90 days of the filing of a raze permit application. Accordingly, the Historic Preservation Review Board will not consider the landmark application until December. 
The houses were in a state of disre·pair when purchased by Pilgrim Baptist, and since the church was planning to demolish the buildings, it did not invest in restoring the exteriors.  However, it kept the build·ings well sealed from the elements, which preserved the interiors from deterioration. Original room config·uration, wooden floors, staircases, and trim are intact, as are period bathrooms with original fixtures. The houses were evaluated by Bell, who estimated the cost of rehab at $127,500 each. With that informa·tion in hand, the Citizens Planning Coalition has begun to seek funding for the work. 
History of Pilgrim Baptist 
The Pilgrim Baptist Church is an his·toric institution with a long tradi·tion of serving the people of Washington. The church was found·ed in 1910 by a small group of people associated with the Rehobeth Baptist Church, who established a new con·gregation under the leadership of Brother George Bray. In March 1911, the group, by then 75 strong, estab·lished themselves in the Faith Chapel on M Street SW, between 4th and 6th Streets. They elected their first pastor, the Reverend Herman Franklin, in June of that year. In 1917, under the leadership of their second pastor, the Reverend William 
L. Washington, the congregation built a new church at 3rd and M Streets, SW. During the SW urban renewal era, the church moved to its present site in the 700 Block of I Street, NE, dedicating its new loca·tion in 1956. 
Since that time, the church has provided an anchor to the people of a sometimes troubled neighborhood. Pilgrim Baptist's programs have grown to include a day-care center and a job-training center, as well as substance abuse and ex-offender programs. 
In recent years, in order to address crime and disorder problems in the neighborhood immediately sur·rounding the church, Pilgrim Baptist has undertaken a program of acquir·ing nearby properties to improve them and to provide affordable housing in the neighborhood. This work provides a needed service to a community that is under great development pressure and is suffer·ing from displacement caused by rapidly appreciating housing prices and rents. 
Mary Farrell is a Hill resident and free·lance writer. 


CapitalKids

BY COLIN GUSTAFSON 
Tucker Barbour, 16 Wilson High School 
In many ways, Tucker Barbour is a 16-year old who is well beyond his years. 
Over the phone, he speaks with an adult-like clarity, and, in person, he possesses a surprisingly confident, level-headed demeanor. Tucker's outlook on life seems equally mature. 
He often stresses the importance of keeping an open mind. He likes to take risks. (Recently, he delved into two challenging, new activities: crew and newspaper reporting.. But, above all, Tucker believes in approach·ing every endeavor with discipline and commitment-- personal qualities he credits the Boy Scouts for helping to teach him. 

"Scouting forces you, at a young age, to take responsibility for yourself," says Tucker, an Eagle Scout who has been a member of Capitol Hill's Troop 500 for the past five years. "And that's definitely helped me in terms of confidence and leadership skills." 
While Tucker emphasizes the value "building character" through Scouts, he is still someone who knows how to have fun. 
For years, he has been an avid outdoorsman. Last summer, he and his troop traveled to the Caribbean, where they spent a week swimming and learning to sail in the crystalline waters along the palm tree-lined coast of Granada. 
The year before that, he participated in an outdoor survivalist program in the New Mexican desert. Hiking across rocky, arid terrain in blistering 100-degree heat, he and his fellow scouts traveled more than 70 miles in 10 days on a journey that took them to the 12,000-foot summit of Mount Baldy, one of the tallest mountains in the state. 
Tucker clearly loves the outdoor opportunities afforded by his member·ship in the Scouts. Still, he cautions that Troop 500 is more than just a recreational outing club. Being part of the troop requires patience and hard work, and sometimes that's more than some of the younger recruits are willing to give. 
As a result, Tucker says local membership has declined slightly--to about 30 people--in recent years. 
"Being a scout is not all fun and games, all the time" he explains. "Our attitude is generally 'work before play' and sometimes the recruits don't like that, so they end up quitting after a month or two. It's really too bad." 
Still, Tucker always encourages the younger scouts to stick with it once they've joined. He finds it particularly rewarding to see those, who initial·ly considered quitting, eventually reap the benefits of their commitment as they rise in rank and esteem within the troop. 
Community service is another rewarding aspect of scouting for Tucker. 
Every year, at the beginning of winter, his troop holds a day-long coat drive at Eastern Market and, in recent years, has collected more than 300 coats for the area's homeless. 
Over the summer of 2003, Tucker earned his Eagle Scout badge by plan·ning and directing the restoration of a brick restraining wall around Lady Bird Park (at the corner of Massachusetts and Constitution Avenues, NE) that had been badly damaged by a car accident. To fix the wall, Tucker worked meticulously with other scouts, consulted a local mason, and even traveled to Baltimore to obtain the right kind of bricks. 
Eventually, this hard work paid off. Tucker was awarded "Eagle," one of the highest ranks in Boy Scouts, and gained the respect of neighbors who proudly dubbed the project "Tucker's Wall." 
But, the benefits of completing this wall have amounted to far more than a little local recognition and an impressive array of accolades. 
"[The project] really brought everything together for me--everything I've learned in the Scouts sce I was 11," Tucker says. "It solidified my role as a leader in the troop and that, I think, has built my confidence as a leader outside of the Scouts." 
Colin Gustafson has worked as the Voice's intern. 

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What's Going on on H Street? 
First Steps Bringing Notable Gains 
BY KEVIN PALMER AND RICHARD LAYMAN 
It's been a busy few months for H Street Main Street. Things continue to move forward. Our committees are working hard to shape the future of our neighborhood, more and more volunteers are joining in our efforts, and we are working with merchants to help improve their businesses and attract new cus·tomers to the H Street commercial district. 
citylivingDC Booth a Big Success 
Their questions also clued us in to some aspects about housing that we need to think about as a neighbor-hood-questions ranging from issues of affordability to increasing the stock of apartments, and adding condominiums to the neighborhood housing mix, to provide not just more housing but a diversity of housing types appropriate to a wide range of family types and income levels. Because housing prices are escalating so rapidly in our neigh·borhood, we also distributed infor-
In late October, we joined the city's mation about the neighborhoods 
other Main Street programs in just to the north of us (Cluster 23: 
exhibiting at the first "city living, dc Trinidad; Ivy City; Carver Terrace), 
style" expo at the Washington particularly lower Trinidad, which has beautiful housing stock that remains more afford-
H Street Main Street participated in able. 
citylivingDC. Many thanks to the Promotions Committee for their legwork and the vol-unteers--Derek Dyson, Mary Farrell, Delores Montgomery, Amira Moore-Page, Geri Murphy, Alan Page, Erin Palmer, Drew Ronneberg, Anwar Saleem, Furard Tate, Donnajean Ward, and our official Main Street Convention Center. Our colorful booth welcomed potential new resi·dents to the neighborhood and pro·vided information about our neigh-baby, Amina Page, perhaps our neighborhood's best advertise-ment--that gave a portion of their 
borhood's history, population precious weekend to help set up and growth, and new energy. Materials staff the booth on Saturday and from the DC Marketing Center and Sunday. Office of Planning, and the last minute addition of lollipops, round-Talk About H Street ed out our presentation. Campaign To Be Launched 
More than 1,000 people stopped The exhibit gave us a chance to by to talk to us about why we think gauge response to an advertising our neighborhood is a great place to campaign we are developing for our live now, and how H Street Main commercial district and the broader Street volunteers are working with neighborhood. These ads highlight other neighborhood stakeholders the assets, strengths, and potential and the H Street Strategic of our neighborhood, interspersing Development Plan to make the vintage photos and current images neighborhood even better. People of businesses, events, and develop-have been hearing that things are ment projects. The campaign is infi·happening on H Street and they had nitely versatile. Ads can be used in a a lot of questions for us. variety of ways, such as the pop-up son. A door-to-door campaign yield·ed eager helpers including a number of children full of such energy that in their zeal they broke some of the tools! The plants were paid for by the participating merchants and a grant awarded to HSMS by Garden Resources of Washington (GROW), an organization dedicated to build·ing community by supporting neighborhood greening projects. Although the weather was some·what gray, volunteers cleaned and planted 15 tree boxes along the H Street corridor; the torrential rains following the planting completed the project. Watch for future plant·ings in the next year. signs we showed at the Expo, in store window posters, as flyers, and in printed advertisements. Called "Talk About H Street," this campaign's advertisements will begin appearing over the next few months. 
Greening the Corridor 
On the same weekend as the citylivingDC event, members of the HSMS Design Committee organized a tree box beautification project with the help of committee and commu·nity volunteers, such as ANC6A Commissioner Gladys Mack and her The greening of H. 

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Executive Director Steps Down 
It was bound to happen. Our Executive Director, Tomika Hughey, was a star, and she was wooed away from us. H Street Main Street thanks Tomika for her efforts over the past nine months and wishes her great success in her new career at WMATA, where, as assistant project manager, she will work on DC transit studies-- studies that may lead to the develop·ment of new light-rail trolley lines along H Street and Florida Avenue in our neighborhood as well as in other areas of the city. Tomika has prom·ised to stay involved on the HSMS Economic Restructuring Committee. We are interviewing new candidates for the director's position, and we expect to fill the position shortly. 
Coming Soon or Here Already 
H Street continues to benefit from the opening of new businesses. 
Phish Tea Café (1335 H) hasn't quite opened yet--they are still working on finishing touches. We are looking forward to the grand opening of this elegant establish·ment and its relaxed Carribean·influenced atmosphere. 
Quimby's Shoes (517 H) opened in November. Stop by to look at their collection of over 20 different lines of women's shoes including Joan and David and Bellini, jewelry, handbags, and accessories. Stop by on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 2 p.m., when Councilmember Sharon Ambrose will be on hand to cut the ceremoni·al ribbon for Quimby's grand open·ing. 
Footlocker (721 H) has rejoined H Street, adding more strength to our athletic shoe and sports apparel retail category. 
Subway (815 H), one of the largest sandwich restaurant chains in the country, will be opening soon in the H Street Connection shopping cen·ter. 
Also opening within the last few months: Citizpizza (504 H), offering carryout and delivery pizza, sand·wiches, and other items; GameStop (817 H), selling new and used videogame cartridges for all game systems including PlayStation2 and Xbox; and Kumar's Check Cashing (1406 H), featuring Western Union Money Transfer services. 
Holiday Open House Scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20 
Although December is a busy month for all of us, H Street Main Street hopes you will be able to join us on Saturday, Dec. 20 for our First Annual Holiday Open House from 12-3 p.m. at our office at 961 H Street NE. Fit in some last-minute holiday shopping along H Street and stop by to see Santa! Sing some Christmas carols with the Washington Community Fellowship and the Neighborhood Learning Center, have some holiday punch and cookies, and take advan·tage of holiday specials from H Street merchants. 
H Street Main Street Committees Need Your Help 
Lest we forget, there's still a lot of work to be done and that work hap·pens in HSMS's committees. All meet·ings will be held at the H Street Main Street office in the former Bank of America building at 961 H Street NE. 
Design Committee: Monday, Dec. 15, 6:30 pm.  Keith Sellars, Chair, ksellars@dcmarketingcenter.com; 
Economic Restructuring Committee: Wednesday, Dec. 17, 
6:30 pm. Orlando Brooks, Chair, o.brooks@verizon.net; 
Organization Committee: Wednesday, Dec.10, 6:30 pm. Kevin Palmer, Chair, kevin.m.palmer-@vezon.net; and 
Promotions Committee: Tuesday, Dec. 16, 7 pm.  Richard Layman, 
Chair, rlaymandc@yahoo.com 
Planning Beginning for 2004 H Street Arts Festival 
The influence of the growing theater district on H Street NE will be reflect·ed in the 2004 H Street Festival's new emphasis on the arts, including visu·al arts (painting, sculpture, print making, ceramics, and photogra·phy); performing arts (theater and dance); and crafts, both domestic and imported. The festival is sched·uled forfFall 2004, and planning and fundraising is beginning now. Those interested in participating should phone Richard Layman at 202-213-3971. 
Join Us 
Remember that the Main Street pro·gram is essentially a blue print for galvanizing community support for shaping the neighborhood's own commercial district. The success of the H Street commercial district depends upon you--our merchants need your patronage and our Main Street program needs your help. The program has a great many aspects the can draw on the talent and cre·ative energy of a broad range of peo·ple. Just choose one and join in!  H Street: It's Our Neighborhood. It's Our Business. 



Paging through Yesterday 
Finding the Past With a Look at Washingtoniana 

copies of manumission papers, deeds, wills, birth records, death records and it's pulled together by family name. So anyone can review or search those files by their names." 
Star Attraction 
Among Washingtoniana's strongest and most sought-after collections is its Washington Star Collection. The library houses more than one mil·lion photographs and 13 million clippings from the now defunct Washington Star, once the city's pre·mier paper.  
Many of the pictures are breath·taking. Collectively, the pictures tell not only the story of the District, but also document the sometimes turbu·lent social and political history of the nation. The most stirring images come from the 1960s and 1970s: the Civil Rights movement; President Kennedy's assassination; the Anti-Vietnam War protests. The works of legendary Star photojournalists Randolph Routt and Bernie Boston are available to visitors by appoint·ment and under the supervision of one of the library's archivists. Routt shot the famous photograph of John 
F. Kennedy, Jr., saluting his father during President Kennedy's funeral procession. Boston shot the unfor·gettable photograph of a peace marcher placing daisies down the barrel of an M-16 rifle.      
Bill Triplett, a freelance writer, used the Washington Star photograph collection to research a story he is doing on the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' first live U.S. concert at what was the Washington Coliseum in February 1964. 
"I found a very helpful collection of photographs from not only their appearance here, but a whole series of photographs from the 60s," Triplett said. "The librarian brought out three fat folders of pictures for me to browse. I also looked at micro·film from the Washington Star from February '64 to see what they had to say about the concert." 
The only drawback to using the Washington Star photograph collec·tion is there is no online catalogue. And if there is a catalogue at all-- online or otherwise--it is tucked away in the tenacious memories of Washingtoniana's librarians and archivists. It's not available to the public. 
"Everyone wants it catalogued and catalogued online--someday," Goodbody said. 
But there is something to be said about coming into a smelly, dusty archive and immersing oneself in history. History, after all, is supposed to be dusty. 
Local writer Timur Loynab is a regular contributor to The Voice of the Hill. 
www.voiceofthehill.com 
BY TIMUR LOYNAB 
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, with its matte black steel construction, bronzed-tinted glass and 400,000 square feet, dominates the northwest corner of 9th and G Streets, SE. 
On a cold and rainy November day, the heated building is a refuge for some of the area's homeless. In addition to being warm--the kind of warm that triggers lethargy on dark dreary days--visitors are greeted by a musty odor that permeates all seven floors (four above ground and three underground) of the library. The mustiness is deceiving, because the building smells a lot older than its 31 years. 
The lack of climate control and musty odor aside, the library offers a gem on the third floor. Visitors should bypass the one working ele·vator, which is unnervingly slow, and dash up the stairs to the library's Washingtoniana Division where his·tory awaits them.  There on the third floor, patrons will find, as the name Washingtoniana suggests, anything and everything related to the District of Columbia--its present and especially its past. 
"We collect almost anything about Washington history," said Margaret Goodbody, the collections librarian for Washingtoniana.  "We focus on the history of the neighbor·hoods, the people who were born here, and the people who have con·tributed to the history of Washington." 
Goodbody is responsible for main·taining and building the library's collections. Her biggest challenge she said is "filling in the gaps." Goodbody scours used book stores all over the metropolitan region in hopes of filling these gaps and adding to the library's collections.    
In the Archives 
Volumes of archival materials are stored in Washingtoniana. The Division boasts more than 25,000 books and other printed materials ranging from a relatively new acqui·sition, "Deaf Girls Rule," a photo·graphic essay of the 1999 champion Gallaudet University women's bas·ketball team to a rare antique book from 1866, "The Etiquette of Washington," to several crudely bound self-published books by local authors. 
Washingtoniana's rich and com·prehensive archives are well known among the community of Washington historians, but the gen·eral public maybe unaware of the collection's impressive scope. The archives are most commonly used by people who are studying the archi·tectural history of their homes or by individuals conducting genealogical research, Goodbody said. 
The Division's extensive collection of maps dates back to 1887 and gives researchers a glimpse into the ori·gins of their homes and neighbor·hoods. 
"You can  look at what was going on in 1887--what the house was made out of; how the lot was divid·ed; whether there was a stable in the back of the home; what the streets were made of; where the sewer lines were; what the elevation was," Goodbody said. 
Kenneth Jordan, a first-time visi·tor to Washingtoniana, was doing genealogy research as part of a course assignment for the National Genealogical Society.  Jordan, who was acclimating himself to the library's genealogical resources, was especially interested in the work of Dorothy Provine.  Provine wrote a book about emancipated slaves who lived in Washington during the early-to-mid-19th century. She donated all of her research to the library. 
"Often African Americans who want to do genealogical research come in here and I point them to her [Provine's] work," said Fay Haskins, archivist for the DC Community Archives. "She has 

A Site for Kids' Eyes 
Looking for Stuff for Kids to Do? New Website Helps Hill Parents 
Go City Kids - DC educational/developmental value. www.gocitykids.com Mondry highlights activities such as Leith Mondry, Washington DC Editor story readings, plays, and other dual DC@gocitykids.com purpose opportunities. 
Two things make the Go City Kids BY NICK GERMANOTTA website unique. First, there's a search 
engine that allows you to pick events Got a child in need of entertain-that are suited to the age, interest of ment? Rainy day with nothing to your children, and even the weather do? Friends with kids coming in (indoor versus outdoor alternatives). from out of town? Check out Go This "ActivityFinder" lets the user City Kids! select by type of day, kind of fun, 
Go City Kids (www.gocitykids.com) and child's age. Furthermore, there's 
is a website that collects kid-friendly a neighborhood selector for those
events from around the city and pro-looking for local fun. A quick click

vides them in a user-friendly, search-on "Capitol Hill" yielded over 50
friendly format. "Parents need as things to do for kids.
mup as they can get," says The events are also grouped by

Leith Mondry, Washington, DC, edi-subject--from after-school activities
tor, and using the site is like "some-to childcare to kid services to sports

one doing all the work in the back-centers--just to name a few. There
ground for you." are also opportunities for parents to

The events collected on the site share opinions through "Best of the 
are not all just for play; many have City" polls. 
Next, there's an Activity Calendar where one can slice the events by day. Free access gives today's events; subscription access allows a user to see six months of events in any of the site's now 13 cities. A "Traveler's Special" allows full access for two months--a way to try out the site or to have it as a resource for an upcom·ing trip or out-of-town family visit. 
Along with the extended calendar, subscription access provides a week·ly email newsletter containing high·lighted events for the week.  These events are re-confirmed for availabil·ity, pricing, and venue to make it even easier to join the fun. The newsletter also highlights future events that are likely to sell out. Mondry points out that even free family events fill up and sell out. 
There are currently over 400 DC events on the site. Mondry reports that the DC site received nearly 36,000 page views in October.  
Events come from Mondry's research of local events, as well as from interested viewers of the site. There's an option for parents to sug·gest events to be added. Mondry also sees growing opportunity for busi·nesses to advertise their child-friend-ly events on the site. 
Coming soon is the ability for local schools or daycare organiza·tions to do a fundraiser using the site. For a given month, a school or local organization can receive $10 for every subscription received. The organization can have the site link on its home page and a newsletter template is provided to help publi·cize the plan. More information about this opportunity is expected on the site in December. 
Go City Kids was founded by Drew Kristofik in New York City. It has since expanded to 13 cities across the country, primarily by parents being interested in the site and wanting to spearhead a version in their own city. Mondry points out that it's also a great way to scout out kid-perfect events in other cities--cities a family might be planning to visit on an upcoming holiday vacation. 
Mondry sees the site as a "tremen·dous resource for parents." The site is a one-stop-shop for kid-friendly events across the Hill and the city, organized in such a way that parents are sure to find the perfect venue for their children.  
DC resident Nick Germanotta is a regu·lar Voice of the Hill contributor. 


A Reconciling in Christ Congregation 
SUNDAYS: 
Worship: 8:30 am and 11 am Christian Education: 9:45 am Children's Chapel: 11:20 am Nursery: 9:45 pm 
ADVENT WEDNESDAYS 
7 pm -Evening Prayer Service December 3, 10, and 17 
CHRISTMAS EVE 
7:00 pm Family Service with children's pageant 
11:00 pm Festival Service with musical prelude beginning at 10:30 pm 
NEW YEAR'S EVE SERVICE 

212 East Capitol Street  202/543-4200 Chapel Open Daily Handicapped Accessible 

What are your memories of singing during the holidays? I remember my first thrilling concert. I stood in the front row of singers on the tiny ele·mentary school stage and sang "Up on the Housetop" and another song that began "When Santa goes to Mexico, he takes a reindeer called Pablo..." I loved it. The director, Mrs. Shearer, gave me a wonderful intro·duction to choral singing and instilled an enthusiasm and joy for singing that I keep even now after nearly 40 years. 
When I attended a concert of the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus last year, all those joyful childhood memories came flooding back. I reveled in the memories and simultaneously lis·tened to contemporary tunes, songs about cats, and old folk melodies. The children concentrated on their harmonies, solos, drumming, finger snapping, and spoken introductions. Each child was challenged and each child had an opportunity to shine in some way. When their music direc·tor, Regina Carlow, whispered to them, "I know you can do it," the children believed her and then made beautiful music to fill the space. 
Warming Up for the Holidays 
"I love connecting with the young singers of the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus," says Carlow. "Watching them learning, hearing, seeing, and being 'in' their energy as they sing a song is quite a thrill."  
Each week the ensemble works toward their next concert dates, Dec. 6 and 7, when they will perform with the Capitol Hill Chorale.* "The title of the concert is 'Innocence Rekindled' and it includes our Youth Chorus participation," says Carlow. "The chorale has been very generous, and we are honored to sing with this renowned group." 
The Youth Chorus portion of the December program includes a Noel written by King Henry VIII, a Spanish carol, a composition of Vivaldi in Latin, a traditional Hebrew melody, and a swing rendi·tion of "Jingle Bells." These selec·tions are typical of the multicultural variety within the Youth Chorus repertoire. 
Celebrating "Capitol Hill Winter Revelry" on Dec. 14, the Youth Chorus will be on stage again. This major fundraising community event for the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) features entertainment and arts in conjunction with tours of homes decorated in holiday themes.  
In addition to their December events, and performing for other community events during the year, the Youth Chorus gives concerts each winter and spring. For 2004, the concert on January 25 will fea·ture songs of winter and winds. The 






Joyful Harmony

Youth Chorus Celebrates the Season 
BY LAURIE LINDSAY A OMARI 
spring season culminates in "Just Choral Arts Society of Frederick, and Folks" on June 6. This concert will teaches at Rolling Terrace showcase folksongs from around the Elementary School in Silver Spring, world. MD. She is a doctoral candidate at 
the University of Maryland. 
Crescendo of Accord Maddy Carr, a sixth grader at Regina Carlow began working with Burgundy Farms Country Day the Youth Chorus in June 2002. She School, and a member of the 
has been an instructor for general Chorus, says, "Our director is really 
and choral music at all levels but is good. We sing songs that have differ-
passionate about this group. "I've ent voice ranges. The director been teaching for more than 20 encourages us to try things. Then, a 
years, and I've really not experienced lot more people can do it." the enthusiasm, the focus, and the According to Marian Connolly, joy for singing's sake quite like this President of the Youth Chorus 
before." Governing Board, "Ms. Carlow is a "We are an open, inclusive com-critical cornerstone of the group's 
munity chorus for children starting recruitment, educational, and per-at age 6," explains Carlow. The formance success. She accepts any Youth Chorus does not audition its child interested in singing and 
members. This is good news for inspires them while building many children.  parental support. As a result, in only 
"We believe that all children have two years, the Chorus has grown 
the right to learn to use their voic-from 20 children to more than 40 es," says Carlow. "The atmosphere this fall. It's fulfilling its mission of for singing is supportive and nurtur-building connections among a ing. It allows kids on the Hill to diverse group of public, private, and 
come together and learn, sing, and home-schooled children on Capitol perform regardless of age, ability, or Hill." background. I am incredibly proud to be the musical leader." Two-part Harmony Carlow's brings considerable expert-"As our membership grows and the ise to the Chorus. She holds a B.S. in children mature vocally and musical-music education from Westminster ly, we provide more graded or devel-Choir College, a M.Ed. in music edu-opmentally appropriate opportuni·cation from Catholic University, and ties," remarks Carlow. an Academic Year Certificate from This year the Chorus embarked on the Kodaly Music Training Institute a split rehearsal format that allows at the University of Hartford. Carlow greater age-appropriate inction. is on the faculty at Frederick Dana Gust Carr, accompanist for the Community College, conducts the Chorus, describes how this works. 
"The younger group, or 'juniors,' rehearses first with less complicated music that has easier parts for them to learn. Then the older group, or 'seniors,' joins them. Finally the 'seniors' rehearse alone. 
"This system helps engage and motivate the younger singers more," says Carr. "It provides a mentoring opportunity for the older ones when all the singers get together." 
Carr continues, "The most fun is watching some of the kids' faces when they sing. The expression of vitality and innocence is exciting." Carr contributed her wealth of arts experience during the founding of the chorus. She has studied and per·formed piano for many years and has been an accompanist for both youth and adult choirs. A longtime resident of Capitol Hill and a mem·ber of the steering committee for the Capitol Hill Art League, Carr regular·ly shows her watercolor paintings at the CHAW gallery. "When I was younger and involved in both choir and art, it was a great experience. I want that experience to be available for my own child and for other chil·dren on the Hill." 
Kudos from Kids 
Without a doubt, Maddy Carr likes being in the Youth Chorus. "It's fun and it gives me a chance to sing and know that there are more people out there like me. I like the music we do. We sing songs of all religions and we do songs in different languages. It wouldn't be as exciting if we sang songs that were just from one period of time or one culture." 
Eight year old Sam Holliday emphatically endorses the Chorus for other children and says, "I learn a lot of new music." 
Kristina Danielyan, a resident of Virginia and a fifth grader at Rock Creek International School, tells why she thinks other students should join the Chorus: "It helps your memory. The Chorus not only teaches you songs, it teachers you voice skills. Kids improve their singing a lot with the Chorus. It sounds very nice with all those strong voices together." 
Carlow comments that the diversi·ty of musical experience and the broad age range of the members are two things that pose challenges. "But we have come an incredible dis·tance in a short time," she says. "We're committed to pushing the boundaries of what we do even far·ther and we're proceeding carefully as we figure out how to manage what we have created."  
Children interested in participat·ing in the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus can register through the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. The Chorus tuition is $75 per child per CHAW semester. This modest fee and several scholar-
www.voiceofthehill.com 

ships help attract an economically diverse group of students.  
"I am deeply committed to CHAW's mission of building com·munity through the arts," says Carlow. "The diversity in all aspects of our chorus reflects the Hill com·munity. Our accessibility through CHAW is something that makes me proud and is indeed a guiding light in all aspects of my work as a teacher and conductor." 
Chuck and Susan Holliday, par·ents of Chorus member Sam Holliday, found the Chorus through CHAW. "We moved from the sub·urbs in 1999 but continued to com·mute to southern Maryland for dance, art, and music classes until we were invited to CHAW by a class·mate of Sam's," says Chuck Holliday. "We were impressed and thrilled with CHAW. Sam started singing with the Chorus last year. Absolutely, I would recommend the Chorus to other parents."  
Starting Together on the Same Pitch 
The Capitol Hill Youth Chorus is a joint project of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop and Christ Church, Washington Parish (620 G Street, S.E.) in association with the Capitol Hill Chorale. Marian Connolly explains the origins of the Chorus. "Christ Church played an influential founding role for the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus. The Chorus exists because of the vision of the Rector of Christ Church, Judith A. Davis, and the former Executive Director of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW), Jeffrey Watson. They saw the value of forming an institutional partner·ship to sponsor a community-based youth chorus.  
"The church generously provided a rehearsal and performance home, as well as operating and scholarship funds, adds Connolly. "To facilitate a number of after-school logistics this year, rehearsals moved just down the street to CHAW at the corner of 7th and G Streets."  
The Capitol Hill Community Foundation recently awarded the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus with another grant for the fall Chorus program. "We are very grateful of the support of the Foundation and donations from individuals and businesses in the community," she continues. 
The Final Measure 
Even if the children only participate in a chorus for a few years, they will learn a lot about music.  They will find out what it's like to be part of a non-competitive team where every·one contributes and blends at the same time. They will have a little experience with stage fright and get·ting past it. They may experience "fitting in" at a time they there are a lot of situations where they feel uncomfortable. Unconsciously, they will use what they learn from singing in other parts of their life. 
Carr reveals her optimism about the Youth Chorus. "My dream is that we are in such demand that the kids can take a break from school and travel worldwide!" 
Carlow declares, "My goal is to have every child on the Hill from first grade through high school singing in some sort of choir. I hope the Chorus will represent the Hill community in all aspects, that it will be the place music teachers on the Hill want to send their students, and that it will serve as a healing agent for the racial and economic tensions in the District." 
*Hear the Chorus and the Capitol Hill Chorale 
The Capitol Hill Chorale (with the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus singing as guests) presents its holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and 4 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 212 East Capitol Street, SE. Tickets are $20 for preferred seat·ing, $15 for general seating, and $10 for students and seniors. Children under 12 are admitted free. Call CHAW at 202-547-6839 for tickets and information. 
Laurie Lindsay Aomari, RD, LD is a contributing writer for Voice of the Hill. She has participated in choral, instrumental, and dance ensembles since elementary school.  Aomari is an author (Making the Breast of It:  A Cancer Survivor Talks About Reconstructing Her Life with Resilience, Resolve, and a Robust Sense of Humor) as well as a registered and licensed dietitian. She specializes in food and nutrition communications, particularly presentations and writing. See www.makingthebreastofit.com or www.LaurieAomari.com for more information.  

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Andy Walton: Embracing Change

New Pastor at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Has Seen the Sights


When Andy Walton was eight years old, he stood before the world and announced he was going to become a preacher. 
His world at the time was the Ali, a junior at Woodrow Wilson Douglasville (Ga.) Baptist Church, High's decorated arts and humani·and he made his declaration on an ties program, and older sister Jayme, altar call, but it was clear at the time a freshman at Agnes Scott College in what he wanted to be. Decatur, Ga. 
He started on that journey some "I remember my parents going to 29 years later as a 37-year old semi-a preacher friend there in the nary candidate with a wife and two Atlanta area to ask him what they children, but if there is anything dis-should do" about their son's cernabl about Walton, 51, who, in announced vocation, Andy Walton November, officially took the pulpit said. "He told them not to bring the as the Capitol Hill Presbyterian subject up again" until Andy did. Church's new pastor, it is that he has That would come nearly three embraced change from early on, too. decades later. 
Sara Fritz, who, along with vice-chair Susan Owensby, led a pastor Creating Art on the Stage 
nominating committee that unani-First, there came a foray into the the·mously selected Walton from a list of ater. While Peg Walton worked her about 120 candidates, said that what way into a banking executive job, a 
was impressive about the former pas-fund-raiser for Agnes Scott, a degree tor at Forsyth (Ga.) Presbyterian in psychology with masters hours in Church was his warmth, his intellec-marriage and family counseling, and tual capacity, and the fact that he just recently heading a county-wide had come into the ministry from literacy program, Andy set his sights another profession. on the stage and stayed there before 
"We were interested in Andy fulfilling his self-prophesied aim.because he had come from another He went to what was then called career," said Fritz, Washington Georgia Southern College in bureau chief for the St. Petersburg Statesboro as an English major, but Times. "A lot of our applicants were after tangling with a French class, he second-career people. We wanted opted out. He and his advisor somebody from the 'real world.' worked out a speech and drama 
Washington is pretty much of a course in which languages were not company town, and it's important to required. Right away, he took an 
have somebody who has other expe-interest in musical production, par·riences." ticularly the lighting end of it. 
Those Walton and his wife, Peg, "Things just loosened up," he said. have had. It is not so much that they "I had found a calling; something 
have changed careers, but have that I was passionate about. I shared them in various venues that enjoyed becoming involved in the bring a richness to the old church at production end of it. The fact that 
201 Fourth Street, SE. you could create art right there on They will be joined by daughters stage was amazing to me." 
Walton graduated from Georgia Southern in 1974 and fed his muse in a most ironic way. 
The military was pumping money into a national arts program for its service men and women as a postu·late for its highly popular USO shows of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. 
Civilian government employees were going to bases and organizing productions for the subjects at hand. Walton was one of these. 
Under the auspices of Margaret Lynn, one of the original chorus members of the Broadway show Oklahoma, Walton went just down the road to Savannah, Ga., and near·by Fort Stewart. 
There the future minister called himself a "practitioner," doing everything from producing and organizing the shows to promoting the program and sweeping the stage. 
Then he and Peg moved to Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla., the Army's chief artillery training site. 
There he found a willing troupe of troops--literally and figuratively--to produce art. As Walton explains it, because of its import to the military, Fort Sill drew a cross-section of peo·ple who were cosmopolitan in their tastes, many of whom stayed on later in Lawton when their service time was done. 
The community was ripe for good shows, and as director of the dinner theatre at the officer's club, Walton was willing to bring them. 
His group put on the first American production of Evita in the state of Oklahoma, along with Annie, Same Time Next Year, and Deathtrap, among others. 
Redirected Goals 
It was during this time, in the early '80s, that Walton and his wife, Peg, 
BY JIM LAISE 
decided to take a respite in Charlotte to try freelancing for a while. It was there, while listening to a sermon, that the Georgian began to feel a new calling. 
"We had been invited to a small Presbyterian church in Charlotte, and I heard a sermon there that touched me in a certain way," he rec·ollected. 
Peg and Andy Walton returned to Lawton soon after, but with redirect·ed goals. Both Ali, who shares her passion for theatre with her father, and Jayme, a stellar soccer play at Scott, were born there, and Andy and Peg returned to church fulltime. 
"We were a lot like a lot of people in our late 20s and early 30s who had gotten away from church," Andy Walton said. 
This time they would take on their new Presbyterian home with fervor. Peg became an elder, and Andy taught Sunday school. He even found time to do some lay-preaching on the side. 
Soon, the Army was running out of money to support its various artis·tic endeavors, so Walton took a job with the city of Lawton to direct its arts and humanities program. The city of several hundred thousand funds an opera, a philharmonic, bal·let and three working playhouses. 
Andy and Peg were invited by friends at this time to visit Decatur's Columbia Theological Seminary, the home of the late Peter Marshall, the premier homilist of the denomina·tion during the '50s and a rising star in Dr. Walter Brueggemann, a pre·eminent Old Testament scholar. 
Almost by the time he set foot on the residential campus, located near Emory University, he felt at home. "There was an overwhelming sense of 'You're supposed to be here,'" he said. 
www.voiceofthehill.com 

He and Peg decided on the min·istry as his next move, and he went to visit his mother, Lorene Walton, in nearby Douglasville, to tell her of the move. 
It was then that she told him the story of how the preacher, many years before, had told she and her late husband, Thomas, to keep quiet until Andy made the first move. 
Walton had been raised a Southern Baptist, and though he had embedded himself for several years in more moderate Presbyterian churches, he held tight to the tenets of his original church, among them a more literal translation of the Bible. 
When he and the more liberal Brueggemann met, sparks flew. 
"When I went to seminary I felt like I had all the answers," Walton said with a chuckle.  "And I felt I had the duty to impose them on the church. When I left, I had more questions than answers." 
Brueggemann and Walton remain friends to this day, and what the stu·dent said the professor gave him was a "different way" to approach his faith. 
He graduated seminary in 1992, and took his first and only preaching post at nearby Forsyth, Ga., where he remained until late October of this year. 
An Axial Age 
He is philosophical about his faith and that of the church in changing times. 
From his personal research, Walton says the denomination, the church, the faith--indeed, all insti-tutions--have reached what he calls an "axial age., a time when changes are afoot in all areas, fueled by changing positions on issues of race, gender, sexual preference and theol·ogy. 
He believes it is a good time for all faiths to examine themselves. Directed by a book called Battle of God by Karen Armstrong, Walton says the Christian church is under·going a cultural change, just like all major beliefs, and says experts claim a new reformation may be on the horizon. 
"There is a thought out there that politically, religiously, and economi·cally, we may be in an axial age," the minister said. "Times transform, and then reform.  In the Christian church it seems to happen every 500 years." 
It is this desire to change, while keeping his feet firmly planted in the 



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Gospels, that keep Walton whole. 
During his candidacy sermon to the congregation earlier this fall, "He was really preaching from the Gospels," Sara Fritz said"You could tell he was passionate about what he said." 
Indeed, in that sermon, Walton sourced everybody from the late Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard to evangelist Tony Campolo to the ancient Greek philosophers. A mixed bag, if you will, from a man who has seen the sights. 
It appears Fritz, vice-chair Owensby, a retired schoolteacher, and the Capitol Hill church got their man. Fritz said he was the first can·didate to come before her panel and remained the first choice after four other interviews ensued. 
After a lifetime of change it appears that the Waltons have come home--or, at least to a second home. They plan to set up shop at the old church's nearby manse on the Hill, and make themselves a fiber of the community. 
Among the many things that impressed the church congregation about their new pastor was the way he got out into the community dur·ing a break in the formal interview process. 
"I think he has the ability to embrace many people," Fritz said, perhaps because he has worn many hats. 
The Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church is located at 201 Fourth Street, SE.  
This is Hill resident Jim Laise's first contribution to this newspaper. 




the AIDS epidemic there. Cambodia holds the dubi·ous distinction of having the highest rate of HIV infections in Southeast Asia. 
Although, he went to Cambodia as a freelancer with no institutional back·ing, he was able to build relationships with many of the NGOs working in the forefront of Cambodia's fight against AIDS. These NGOs afforded him extraordinary access to hospices and orphanages, brothels and STD clinics defined by scourge of AIDS. 
Ofer says his month·long journey to Cambodia was a "roller-coaster ride of emotions." Some six months after his return, he is still stirred by the images he saw, many of which he 
One of Ofer's most evocative images, "Potty captured on camera. He Training." still hears vividly the 
trousers always evokes a reaction from curious onlookers who visit Avner Ofer's makeshift gallery in Eastern Market. People are either charmed or disturbed by the image of the shoeless baby boy, on the back of a grimy pick-up truck, whose bare backside salutes Ofer's camera. But concern quickly surrenders to under-standing--even awe--in some who take the time to read the story that accompanies the photo Ofer affec·tionately calls, "Potty Training." 
"All over Asia, in places like Tibet and Bangladesh, they potty train babies by cutting a slit in their pants," Ofer explains. "There are no diapers in Tibet so the babies learn to squat and do their thing." 
"Potty training," like most of Ofer's work, tells the story of a cul·ture. Ofer, 35, is an up-and-coming artist who has created a niche for himself in cultural photography. Viewing his work is like immersing ture the people and cultures of some the world's most remote areas, from Tibet and Cambodia to Guatemala and Honduras, where western luxu-ries--like diapers--are few and far between. Life is raw and rigorous. 
"There are beautiful photos all over the world, but the images that speak to me are those that are infused with meaning," Ofer says. "My job is to convey meaning and create an understanding of the cul·tures I photograph." 
To communicate meaning and go beyond just a beautiful picture, Ofer has to establish an intimacy with the culture he's shooting and earn the trust of its people. He relies on his instinct, earnestness and preparation to bridge the initial gaps of intimacy and trust. For his most recent proj·ect, a self-assigned photo essay on AIDS in Cambodia, he spent months researching the country's complex political history, learning the lan·guage, and studying the explosion of haunting wails of Ong Suphea, a 7·year old girl he met outside an orphanage in the slums of Phnom Penh. 
"I want to go home. I want to go home," he remembers her crying. 
Ofer's visit to the orphanage, which housed HIV-positive children between the ages of 3 and 5, coincid·ed with Ong's first day at the home. For Ofer, the image of the teary-eyed little girl who yearned to go home symbolized the vicious cycle of par-ent-to-child infections and the fear and shame still associated with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia. 
"Her mother had just died of AIDS," he explains. "Her father is institutionalized somewhere in Vietnam. Her aunt took her brother in, but was too afraid of having her [Ong] live with them because of the HIV." 
The orphanage doesn't accept children older than 5, so Ong will have to be moved, Ofer says.  
"She has no home. She has noth·ing," he says as he swallows hard to fight back his own tears. 
Despite, witnessing an onslaught of despair, Ofer says he left Cambodia with hope. He captured this hope in a photograph of Ta Prohm, an ancient temple in Angkor Wat that is shrouded in dense jun·gle. While colossal tree roots seem·ingly strangle the stone ruins of Ta Prohm, the majestic carvings depict·ing apsara dances (a classical dance form dormant in Cambodia since the 15th century that is being revived) are still visible. Ofer says Ta Prohm is a metaphor for Cambodia--its past and present struggles and its future triumphs. 
"In the tree roots I see the holo·caust of AIDS that Cambodia is cur·rently struggling with," Ofer says. 
But the most compelling aspect of the picture is a beam of light--in an otherwise lifeless temple--that shines on one of the apsara statues.  
"In this temple that was left as it was found...and the history of the Cambodian people is celebrated, I found one sign of light," he writes in an essay about his journey. "The photograph is...about realizing the past and looking forward. Today the teaching of the apsara dances to young girls is reviving a lost tradi·tion. There is hope for the future. The children carry the torch for·ward. Now we just must make sure they live." 
Ofer's work is profoundly person·al. "You can see his heart in his pho·tos," says his wife, Kate Krezel. "Photography for him is life." 
So when Ofer found himself at a personal and professional crossroads in 1994, he chose life. Although his job as a computer specialist earned him a good living, it left him unin·spired. The summa cum laude gradu·ate with a degree from California State University, Fullerton was also considering several fellowship offers from prestigious universities. 
"But, I literally felt that I'm not on my path--that this is not what I'm supposed to be doing," he says. 
Following his intuition and a sense of urgency, he quit his job, sold his car and bid Orange County farewell. He packed up his camera and took the next year and a half to explore the world. His first destina·tion: China. 
"I knew my passions were travel and photography," Ofer says. 
His parents, while supportive of his dream, thought he was crazy to leave a high-paying job for an uncer·tain future, he says. 
But it was his father, an amateur photographer, who introduced him to the art of photography and inspired, in part, his decision to abandon everything in pursuit of his dreams. 
"I picked up my dad's old Pentax camera in high school, and I've been shooting ever since," he says. 
At 37, his father went back to school juggling his responsibilities as a husband and father with his desire to find "his position--his path in life," Ofer says. 
Ofer's father was an emissary of the Israeli government. Every few years his job shuffled the family from their home in a small town outside of Haifa, Israel to, what ulti-
www.voiceofthehill.com 


Ta Prohm, an ancient temple in Cambodia. 
mately became their second home, in Pittsburgh.. Ofer's father ran a Jewish community center in Pittsburgh and promoted travel to Israel. 
Ofer was 6 the first time he moved to Pittsburgh. The family was trans·ferred back to Israel after only a year and then returned to Pittsburgh for a three-year stint.  
"In Israel, I grew up in a little town where everyone knew everyone else--the kind of town where you walk barefoot and take a bus to get around," Ofer says. "There was no 'drive me to a friend's house.'" 
In retrospect, moving back-and-forth between Israel and the United States, learning two languages and adapting to different cultures were experiences that would shape his career pathAnother defining period, for Ofer was the six years he spent in the Israeli army. The army recruited him after high school because he showed 


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computer-savvy. They agreed to pay for his education so he signed up for service. But, the military's regiment·ed culture was less than ideal for Ofer. He felt stifled. 
"I'm not into bureaucracy and rules," he says. "It was very difficult for me to be in a place where I have to be in uniform, clean-shaven and have my hair a certain way." 
His aversion for military life deep·ened when his best friend was killed by a stray bullet during a routine training exercise.  
"That was very difficult for me," he says. "I became bitter and sarcas·tic." 
He also became numb to the tur·moil plaguing the region. He had grown up in the reality of war--gas masks and bombings, screaming sirens and nightly evacuations to shelters. 
"I remember the Yom Kippur Wars," he says. "I was 5 years old. My dad was off fighting. My mom would go outside and put black sheets around the windows. We would have flashlights. Sirens would go off and my mom would take me out of bed and carry me and my sister to a neighbor's house who lived on a lower level. For a long time I thought it was normal to live in a state of where around the world. You have the same suffering, the same joy. You have birth, you have life everywhere. That's so much more powerful than destructive fighting."  
Ofer has devoted the last nine years of his life to studying the world and photographing the cultures that give the world its hues of beauty and complexity. He's driven by passion. That's evident the instant he begins talking about his work. It's almost like he goes through a physical transformation. He's not a big guy. He has a slight build and a quiet, unassuming nature until he starts talking about the places he's been and the images he's captured. Then, he becomes Herculean in stature. His blue eyes light up and widen with interest until they seem like they'll bulge out of their sockets. It's easy to get caught up in his enthusiasm. At times he's childlike. He's a young boy describing his beloved toy car. Other times, he's a wise old soul whose work has clearly taken him on a spiritual journey. 
"I want that," his wife, who's a mapmaker for National Geographic, says. "What he has is amazing. If I could bottle his passion and take it, I would." 
But the pursuit of his passion has apart from one another. Ofer's work takes him away frequently during the year, sometimes for a couple of months at a time. He spends his weekends--12 hour days each--at Eastern Market showing and selling his photography. 
While the separations are hard for Krezel, she says she would never deny him his passion. 
"I'm the one who says: 'You will go to the market. You will send your photos to the National Geographic, '" she says. 
Encouragement, however, doesn't pay the bills and sometimes neither does freelance photography. It has forced Ofer and Krezel to live day-to-day, bill-by-bill. 
They share a home with two other people in Mt. Pleasant. Their bed·room, a 12x18 box, also serves as their computer room, Ofer's mat-cutting studio and Krezel's yoga stu·dio. 
"There are days when Kate comes in and she's super frustrated that we live in such a tiny room with no organization," Ofer says. 
But Krezel maintains that there is organization. 
"It's just the tightest organiza-tion--like puzzle pieces," she says. "You have to put everything back exactly where it goes and if you don't it's a mess." 
The main attraction in the room is a 13 inch color TV circa 1980--the kind one may find at a neglected public library. It's metallic and boasts a broken knob and antenna, but on a good day it can get up to four channels. It's the same TV on which Krezel used to watch the Smurfs as a young girl. 
"When you turn it on, there's an extra special spot of bright red on the bottom of the picture because the tube is going," Krezel says almost proudly. 
Ofer puts his "deluxe digs" in per·spective. 
"You see so many things when you travel," he says. "You see so many people suffering, or living sim·ple lives or having to deal with basic survival that when you come back to the states that perception stays with you and the details of your own life become less significant." 
Ofer and Krezel may be poor, but they're happy. 
Timur Loynab is one of the Voice's newest contributing writers. Originally from Kabul, Afghanistan, he works as a political writer for an Internet news service and lives in Northern Virginia. 
anxiety and fear." 
What saved him was the perspec·tive he had gained from his travels. 
"The knowledge that you gain from studying the world is priceless, he says. "You realize the absurdity of fighting wars. What makes us differ·ent is so much less than what we have in common. A mother's grief over her lost son is the same every come with plenty of sacrifices for both Ofer and his wife, Kate Krezel. Ofer and Krezel, met three years ago when they were interns at National Geographic. Despite a 10-year age difference--she's 25--they fell in love and eloped in Las Vegas in January 2002. 

The most difficult sacrifice for the young couple is the time they spend 


add chopped onions, cilantro and a there's no reason why those same 
nice tomatillo salsa (if you can't find ingredients can't become a warm, fresh tomatillos and you probably hearty tomato soup. Hint: if you 


A Dish for 
won't in the dead of winter, buy have leftover pesto in your freezer, 
canned). stir in a tablespoonful and you'll 

All Seasons 
Cooking up Leftover Party Food 
BY CELESTE MCCALL 
The occasion was our annual Although he Celestial Celebration. Each June, prefers a leg of Peter and I mark our wedding lamb with anniversary (this year was our 31st) mint chutney and my birthday with a big backyard rather than turkey for Christmas 
bash. But the next day we're often dinner, he has definite ideas about faced with a problem (other than turkey if he cooks too much of it. headaches), which could also arise Sometimes, he recycles it into pavo 
after a holiday f