I was born in Kenilworth, into the family of a white, Mennonite pastor who moved to the area in the 1960s and started a church.  In 2003 I returned to my childhood street.  For the next three years I lived in Kenilworth, researching the history of the neighborhood, writing stories about my family, and occasionally taking on the mantle of 'community activist.'

My years there resulted in my publishing a 32-page booklet of Kenilworth neighborhood history and completing an extensive oral history project that is now archived in the DC public library system.  You can learn more about both these projects below, as well as find other stories from Kenilworth's past.

Please contact me if you have questions, feedback, or a story of your own to share!

In 2006 I wrote and published a booklet - Kenilworth: A DC Neighborhood By the Anacostia River - about the history of my neighborhood in Washington DC.  You can download an electronic version of this popular work here, and read a summary of my grant and community funded history project.

Carolivia Herron, niece of Douglas Street historian and gardener Richard Johnson, has published the first of her Catalpa Tales, a series of stories about Douglas Street as told by her mother, Georgia Herron.  Pick up this wonderful children's book, Little Georgia and the Apples , and enjoy hearing about the community and families of Douglas Street.  Carolivia is also the author of Nappy Hair , a book whose narrator is based on the character of Mr. Richard Johnson.  Learn more about her at her website, www.carolivia.org .  

 
I wrote these stories for elementary/junior-high age students to learn about some positive aspects of Kenilworth history.  Read about Kimi Gray, a dynamic leader who turned her in-trouble neighborhood around; about Walter McDowney, a kid from Kenilworth Courts who grew up to be an award-winning park ranger at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens; and about Elmer and Fannie Lapp, country Mennonites who came to big-city Kenilworth to spread God's love.

Owen Davis was one of the first two black men to rise up the DC police force's chain of command, becoming the first black deputy chief in DC.  He was also a proud resident of Eastland Gardens, active in both the local and city-wide community through the Kenilworth Elementary PTA and other organizations.  Posted just after his October 7, 2007 death, this page has the text of Owen Davis's Washington Post and DC Metropolitan Police Department obituaries.  In addition, it contains excerpts from an oral history interview with Mr. Davis and a few reflections by Joe Lapp on this extraordinary man.

Read an article I wrote about Kenilworth history that was published in the East of the River rag in November of 2005.

Read an article about the history of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens that I published in the East of the River rag in June of 2006.