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Project-related Accomplishments and Activities
Produced and shared Kenilworth-based writing at a creative nonfiction
writing class at the Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland (Fall 2003)
Letter to the Editor, “Let There Be Lights,” published in the District Weekly section of the November 20, 2003 Washington Post
Essay, “Wild In the Streets,” published in the Outlook section of the February 8, 2004 Washington Post
Essay, “The Siren Call of Disaster at Our Door,” published in the
District Weekly section of the February 12, 2004 Washington Post
Church
and neighborhood history exhibit and a reading of Kenilworth-based
creative writing held at Fellowship Haven Chapel (March 2004)
The Kenilworth Project and Joe Lapp featured in the April, 2004 edition of East of the River, a monthly community newspaper
Display of Kenilworth history posters at the July, 2004 Water Lily Festival at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
Display
of Kenilworth history posters at the August, 2004 Kenilworth Reunion,
an event that draws many current and former residents of the Kenilworth
Courts complex
Presentation of a lecture, “Of Urban Plantations and the Rural
Amish: Ms. Kimi Gray and Mr. Elmer Lapp in Kenilworth,” at the April,
2005 meeting of the NE D.C. Historical Society
Neighborhood history talk given as part of the April, 2005 Earth Day celebration at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
Neighborhood history talk to youth in the Marshall Heights Community
Development Organization’s “Discover the Anacostia” Summer Youth
Program (June 2005)
Exhibit featuring Walter McDowney, local hero and former Kenilworth
Aquatic Gardens park interpreter, displayed and a neighborhood walking
tour conducted as part of the July, 2005 Water Lily Festival at the
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
Neighborhood history talk to the Seniors group at Kenilworth-Parkside Recreation Center (July 2005)
Poem, “Kenilworth Praise Hymn,” published late summer 2005 edition of Divided City, a local literary journal
Launched www.wengerdc.com/WhereIsJoe, a web site featuring material from The Kenilworth Project
Informal sharing of historical knowledge and history collection with
community residents also interested in neighborhood history (ongoing)
Volunteer for Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens as a historical researcher (ongoing)
Led group of young adults in a job skills training program on a tour of
Eastland Gardens, Kenilworth, and Kenilworth Park/Anacostia River as
consultant for Covenant House Artisans Woodshop (September 2005)
Won $1,300 grant from Humanities Council of Washington DC for
development and printing of a 16 to 20 page pamphlet on Kenilworth area
history (October 2005)
Led twenty-five attendees on an hour and a half long walking tour of
the Kenilworth neighborhood as part of Cultural Tourism DC’s
“Walkingtown DC” (October 2005)
With a Humanities Council of Washington, DC grant and additional
community support, published Kenilworth: A DC Neighborhood By the
Anacostia River, a 32-page, two-color, offset-press booklet with text
and pictures highlighting the full scope of Kenilworth area history
from the time of the Nacotchtank Indians until today (February 2006)
For the release of the Kenilworth booklet, coordinated and moderated a
two-hour long Kenilworth community history celebration in the
Kenilworth neighborhood that was attended by over 75 people and
featured displays of historic photos and community members sharing
their own stories of the neighborhood and the area (February 18, 2006)
Gave an hour-long talk on Kenilworth neighborhood history at the
Smithsonian’s Anacostia Museum as part of their regular neighborhood
history lecture series (February 21, 2006)
Exhibited Kenilworth booklet and several pieces of Kenilworth-related
art at an arts exhibit organized by the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative at
Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (February 23, 2006)
Short talk on The Kenilworth Project and on Kenilworth area history to Kiwanis group (March 2006)
Poem “The War From This Side of the Anacostia River, Kenilworth, DC,” a
peace poem based on my experiences in Kenilworth, in online journal
Beltway’s spring 2006 issue
Read Kenilworth project poems as a featured reader in Beltway Online’s
war issue reading at Busboys and Poets, April 16, 2006 (Easter Sunday)
Tour of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to twenty young adults volunteering with the Earth Conservation Corps, June 29, 2006
Gave an hour-long tour of the Kenilworth neighborhood to twenty youth
from San Antonio, Texas, in town for a week-long learning session about
the environment with the United Methodist Church, July 6, 2006
In spring 2006 completed a three-year oral history project on the
Fellowship Haven Church, the Lapp family, and the Kenilworth
neighborhood. The project includes 36 interviewees, 116 recorded
cassette tapes, and 1,475 pages of transcribed documents. Project
donated to the Washingtoniana Division of the Martin Luther King Jr.
Public Library in July 2006.
Launched a website featuring information about the Kenilworth Project
and the debut of “Kenilworth Stories,” a web space for people to share
their stories about and pictures of Kenilworth, September 2006
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