Quotes To Inspire

Oh my, our blog is starting to get more traffic.

Thanks to those of you who visit this site monthly and or weekly, your views and comments are much appreciated. For you first time readers, this is our Neighborhood Association blog. We active citizens in the Omaha Deer Park neighborhood wanted to start a site that would allow readers to learn of the things occurring in our neighborhood. On this site you can learn of not only the things we are doing to improve our community, but the concepts and ideas that spur our ambitions. I started this posting group called Think Tank to share the different scholars and teachings I am using to implement new growth strategies in our neighborhood.  

In this month’s Think Tank I wanted to share some timeless teachings. Now I know that there are a few renditions of the preceding quotes, but please do not get a hang up on if it was quoted perfectly. All these quotes have been written in several versions of their according texts. Personally, I recite a saying or proverb in my mind on an hourly basis, not sure why. I often wonder if others do as well, I bet you do. Regardless, the following quotes are ones that I think to myself on a monthly if not weekly basis. I hope they motivate you as much as they do me. Enjoy!

"Do all the good you can, and make as little fuss about it as possible." - Charles Dickens

While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many.  - Lady Bird Johnson

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." - Albert Einstein

“One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade. “- Chinese Proverb

“...A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. You, the people must give it this soul.” - Pope John Paul II
“When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

"Some people give time, some money, some their skills and connections, some literally give their life's blood. But everyone has something to give." - Barbara Bush

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Mahatma Gandhi 



"To give, and not to count the cost  to fight, and not to heed the wounds,  to toil, and not to seek for rest,  to labor, and not to ask for any reward, “ — St. Ignatius of Loyola

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was:  "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?"  But... the good Samaritan reversed the question:  "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." - Helen  Keller

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”  -Winston Churchill

"I know of no great men except those who have rendered great service to the human race." – Voltaire 

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” - Cesar Chavez

Don't forget to Recycle !!!

Hey everyone, I hope you are ready for some warmer weather, I am.

Well, as we are getting geared up for spring, that time has come to start thinking about spring cleanup. I know it is a drag to think about chores when the warm weather starts, but I recommend not waiting until it so nice outside that you wont want to clean. Get a jump on the spring cleanup season and start getting together some of your plastics, cardboard, and other recyclables ready for pick up.

If you do bot have a recycling bin, I should let you know that the city no longer drops them off. Sadness right. Oh well, the good news is that there are several places throughout the city where you can pick one up.


Recycling bins are available to single family households within the City of Omaha, at these locations.

UnderTheSink, Special Waste Facility

4001 S 120th St

Wednesday

9AM  –  4:45PM

Thursday

9AM  –  6:15PM

Friday

9AM  –  4:45PM

Saturday

9AM  –  NOON

Omaha Joint Use Facility

8750 Vernon Ave (64 blocks North of Dodge)

Available Monday through Friday, excluding City of Omaha Holidays, 8AM  –  2PM

Enter the Office at the Southwest corner
Do not drive into the facility's maintenance yard.

Omaha Sewer Maintenance Facility

6880 Q St

Available Monday through Friday, excluding City of Omaha Holidays, 8AM  –  3PM

Enter the facility's main entrance on the South side
Do not drive into the facility's maintenance yard.

Omaha Traffic Maintenance Facility

4303 S 50th St

Available Monday through Friday, excluding City of Omaha Holidays, 8AM  –  3PM

Enter the facility's main entrance on the West side
Do not drive into the facility's maintenance yard.

Not Quite sure what to recycle, visit the City of Omaha's Wastline website for more detailed information about recycables.

So, get a jump on the spring cleaning and start gathering you recyclables for pickup. Take care everyone and I hope to see you at our March meeting.

Oscar Duran: Deer Park President

Rourke Park

Did you know that Rosenblatt was not the first popular baseball park in our neighborhood. 

The story begins in 1867, when Issac Skinner Hascall, a former New York Lawyer, purchased thirteen acres of forest land for an “amusement center”. This was just one of his projects in this area, but more on that story later. Following nearly 30 years of on again off again Omaha baseball leagues, Mr. Hascall designed the 1899 Western Leagues’, Nonpareil Stadium. The grand stand and bleachers of the Nonpareil could hold 3,600 fans. The team was originally co-owned and co-managed by William “Pa” Rourke and Colonel Buchanan Keith, but after personal differences “Pa” Rourke bought out Keith’s share and proceeded to lead the team. Pa’s team finished their first season winning 17 of their last 18 games and by 1904 won its’ first pendant after winning 15 consecutive games and finishing 90-60.

From the Nonpareil Stadium to Rourke Park, and later from Vinton Street Park to League Park,  like many things in that era, the neighbrohood name of the park followed the headings of the local newspaper.  Regardless of the name, Omaha’s baseball history was rather unstable prior to the construction of the Nonpareil Stadium, and thanks to this Mr. Hascall’s vision of an amusement center along Vinton, our area was on the map in Omaha baseball history. 

If you look below you can see a 1918 Circa map of “Rourke Park”. Looking at this map you are likely thinking, “this park looks like it could hold more than 3,600 fans”. Well it could, in fact the park you see below could hold 7,500 fans. Next month, I will tell you the second half of this story and unfortunately, the baseball parks’ history has a sad ending. 

If you wish to read more of Omaha baseball history, you should get Devon Niebling and Thomas Hyde's Baseball in Omaha. This great little book is full of pictorials and includes the story of Rourke Park and many others. You can get a used copy at the link provided for around $8, but I would splurge and get a new one for $16. Thanks Mr. Niebling and Mr. Hyde for helping others learn about this part of our neighborhood's history.  For Nebraska Baseball history, visit a website hosted by Bruce Esser, Nebraska Baseball History. At this website there is an abundance of history on Nebraska baseball's fields. leagues, and players.

Oscar Duran: Deer Park President

A Young Lady's Adjustment to the Near South Omaha

“Look!  That house looks like our house!”  As my husband and I were driving home on Sunday, I was ecstatic to notice a house that was constructed similarly to ours.  I thought our neighborhood in the old Ostronic Heights was one of a kind, but I was proven wrong.  I have only lived in the area for about three months, but I am ashamed to say that the only parts of our neighborhood that I have really seen are between our house and Bag N Save. 

I was raised on a farm about an hour from Omaha and went to a grade school where I could count the number of kids in my class on one hand (with a few fingers left over).  Moving to West Omaha last year was a big step for me: I moved to the “big city,” but I still had that safety blanket of being in a safe neighborhood and closer to home.  I had about 7 grocery stores in a 2 mile radius and was minutes from the mall.  I had 4 different family members that lived within 10 minutes that I could easily call on if I need anything.

When I got engaged in February, it was evident that I would be moving to Near-South Omaha.  He moved to the neighborhood because of his passion for diversity and he saw all the great advances that were approaching the area.  My husband would be the first to tell you that I wasn’t too pleased with the decision.  I was accustomed to the familiarity of my neighborhood and to be honest, I was under the impression near south Omaha wasn’t the safest area.

I learned that you aren’t completely safe anywhere when there was an armed robbery just across the street from my apartment.  I had been to my boyfriend (now husband’s) house countless times in a year and always felt safe.

After living in our house for nearly four months, I can honestly say I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.  I love how many of the restaurants and businesses in the area are not franchises and you see the owners working all the time.  They put their heart and soul into the businesses.  I love the history of the buildings.  My husband has a book about Vinton Street and it’s amazing to see how many theaters and dance halls used to stretch along the street.  We are only the second owners to our house and it was built over 70 years ago. 

My goal is to take a more complete tour of our neighborhood in the next month.  I am anxious to meet neighbors and walk to El Aguila’s in the summer.  If you see a group of moped riders, it’s probably me, my husband and our friends.  We hope you wave and we get to meet you!

Katie Duran: Deer Park Secratery / Newsletter Editor

Vinton Street "Community Meeting"

Greetings everyone. I wanted to inform you that one of our neighbors, local photographer Larry Ferguson, will be hosting a community meeting at his studio on Vinton Street this coming Wednesday. The agenda of this meeting is to share opinions and thoughts on the future of our beloved historic Vinton Street. The Deer Park Neighborhood Association has put a lot of effort and funds into the beautification of this area, and we are pleased to see community meetings being hosted to talk about the future and aspirations of Vinton Street. The Omaha Chamber of Commerce organized this event and plans to have one to two more meetings in the proceeding months. If you are a resident of our neighborhood,

PLEASE, come to this meeting and share your vision as we discuss this part of our neighborhood's future.

When: Wednesday, Jan. 19, 6 – 7:30 p.m. Stop by anytime, whenever is convenient for you!

Where: Ferguson Studio – 1701 Vinton Street (The building in the blue box above)

FOOD & REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED!

If you have any questions or wish to receive more information about this meeting, contact the Omaha Chamber representative, Karen Mavropoulos, at karen@projectsouthomaha.org or (402) 978-7929.

See you there!

An Introduction to Social Exclusion

The concept of social exclusion is used in different ways, but in most cases is often viewed as synonymous with poverty, inadequate social participation, lack of social integration, and or lack of power. Canadian Sociologist Dr. Daniel Béland of the School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan, briefly outlines the history of this concept in his work, The Social Exclusion Discourse: Ideas and Policy Change. Béland's work reveals that two principle writings by Jean Klanfer and René Lenoir, offer insight into understanding the formulating concepts of social exclusion. Klanfer’s 1965 book, L’Exclusion sociale: Étude de la marginalité dans les sociétés occidentales [Social exclusion: The study of marginality in western societies], emphasized personal responsibility. Béland cites that in this writing, the term ‘social exclusion’ refers to people who cannot enjoy the positive consequences of economic progress due to irresponsible behavior (Klanfer, 1965). Acknowledging the existence of social exclusion as a denial in opportunities for economic progress, René Lenoir sought variables aside from, self induced “irresponsible behavior”. In Lenoir’s, Les exclus: Un français sur dix [The excluded: One Frenchman out of ten], excluded peoples, les exclus, were those citizens separated from mainstream society because of factors like disability, mental illness and poverty (Lenoir, 1974).

Béland elaborates that, although Lenoir’s social exclusion is where our modern use of the term emerged, the prevalence of modern social problems like long-term unemployment combined with growing concerns about racism and discrimination, have altered the meaning of social exclusion. The imperative notion to gain, arising out of the evolution of the term’s definition, is that social exclusion’s existence is rarely debated. Proceeding Klanfer and Lenoir’s works, researchers and civic advocates across the globe have spent the last three decades engaged in debates on the social implications of social exclusion. Béland states that the modern social exclusion paradigm revolves around how a lack of social integration, relates to limited access to labor market opportunities. Some state that an individual’s segregation, or social exclusion, from community and civic opportunities has no weight on their ability to maintain long-term employment. Others state that, not addressing policies to combat racism and social exclusion leads to increased long-term unemployment in addition to crime. Regardless of the position, several things can be concluded of social exclusion discussions.

Sir Tony Atkinson an academic based at Oxford University, argued in a 1998 article, that in discussions of social exclusion, three main themes recur:

v  Relativity - Social exclusion is relative to the norms and expectations of society at a particular point in time;

v  Agency - Social exclusion is caused by an act of some individual, group, or institution. A person may exclude themselves by choice or they may be excluded by the decisions of other people, organizations or institutions;

v  Dynamics - People are excluded not just because of current circumstances (e.g., unemployment /underemployment), but because they have little prospects for the future. “Social exclusion may apply across generations.”

In his article, Social Exclusion, Unemployment, and Poverty, Atkinson makes several conclusions in regards to social exclusion; (1) Since Social exclusion is not just a matter for one government department, the setting up of the inter-departmental Social Exclusion Unit is essential, (2) government policy can make a difference, and (3) economic analysis, for all its limitations, does have a useful role to play in illuminating the different elements of social exclusion.

As has been previously noted, one purpose of this blog is to link concepts and theory to modern practice and application. Upon reviewing introductory readings and research on social exclusion, I have begun to ponder how to apply this to our third sector (non profit)’s mission and strategies. Rather than engage in the paradigm debate of social exclusion implications, I seek to incorporate/address the preceding concepts in our organizations growth strategies.

In consideration of Sir Atkinson’s conclusions, I see it imperative that we address such concerns on a civic organization level. In spirit of linking concepts to practice, I move that our organization establish something in essence of a Social Exclusion Unit, strategize a policy to mend social exclusion, and promote analysis to understand the different elements of our areas' elements of social exclusion.  I would like to publically thank Sir Atkinson and Dr.Béland for their recent work in this field, and highly encourgae the reading of their works through the links provided in this post. 

Oscar Duran: President

Think Tank

Greetings all and I welcome you to our Think Tank. The purpose of this project is to offer researchers, scholars, public officials, residents, and community advocates, opportunities to examine theories and strategies our organization uses to spur positive change and growth in our neighborhood.

I debated launching a dedicated blog to host this information, but wished to provide readers a connecting path between theory and application.  Blog posts tagged “Think Tank” will offer readers insight into civic concepts and theories that have inspired us most. Blog posts tagged “An Exciting Future” will update readers on our current community projects.  For those of you unfamiliar with the blog layouts, you may look to column on the left and select the posts groups by their according tags. In other words, if you click the Tag group, “Think Tank”, only posts with this tag will come up on the blog page.

Managed by volunteers, The Deer Park Neighborhood Association uses grass roots tactics to improve and strengthen our community. Please, I encourage your input and comments on all posts. I aspire for a network of community advocates to engage one another on this blog. With your comments and input, I am certain we can continue to improve our neighborhood and the field of community development.

Oscar Duran: Secretary