The Pleasant Ridge Tribune
• Summer 2024 •

Greetings! It is the thick of summer in "the Ridge" and there have been, and still are, many events and opportunities to engage our community. With this weekend's Ridge Day & Night, the Play in the Park series having just wrapped, and still a month to go enjoy the PR CRC pool and splashpad, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the good life in our neighborhood.

There are several openings to get involved with the PR Community Council, all listed below along with other pieces about businesses, community actions, history, and more! We have many new neighbors so please share this quarterly with friends and family, near and far!

The upcoming public PRCC meetings, held every first Tuesday of the month at 7pm on the 2nd floor at the PR Cincinnati Recreation Center, is 8/6, 9/3, 10/1, 11/5, and 12/3. We are working on a live virtual "view only" means of attending the public meetings.

If you have a flair for marketing and communication, and would like to take the reigns of our outreach efforts, PRCC is looking for a communications chair. Please email president_prcc@pleasantridge.org if you are interested!

Ridge Day & Night is finally here!!! Hooray!!!

Ridge Day & Night will take place on Saturday, August 3rd from 4pm to 10pm at 6134 Montgomery Road, the parking lot in front of Moler-Hollywood Beauty Academy, rain or shine. 

For more details and updates, be sure to check out the Ridge Day & Night Facebook page.

There is still spaces to help volunteer! Please visit the SignUpGenius page and take a shift to help set up, our some drinks, or help clean-up afterwards.

Stop by the Pleasant Ridge Community Council Booth! We will have free schwag to hand out and give you info on how to get involved, including helping set up events like Ridge Day & Night. See you there!

Oh, and is this the Pleasant Ridge Maybe Marching band practicing to kick-off Ridge Day & Night? Why yes...yes it is.

A Wrap on the Play in the Park 2024 Series

A packed house watches My Nose Turns Red Youth Circus at the

Kennedy Heights Art Center Linder Annex

Talk about resilience! Play in the Park 2024 just wrapped its summer programming with a great array of performances, wonderful turn-out, and feeding plenty of families and neighbors while navigating weather and a water main burst.

With eight events across June and July, including performances by Madcap Puppets, The Cincinnati Opera Storybook, the My Nose Turns Red Youth Circus, and music acts from Latin, Bluegrass, Rock and R&B genres, the Play in the Park series gave a little something for all.

But equally impressive was the ability to shift the events to the wonderful indoor space at Kennedy Heights Arts Center Linder Annex after this summer's pop-up storms and a water main burst taking out much of the usable space in Kennedy Heights Park.

A big thank you and recognition to Susan Wade Murphy for leading the wonderful group of organizers and volunteers to make Play in the Park such a wonderful summertime event for our community. And props to Cincinnati Water Works and Cincinnati Parks for completing the water drainage project and making the grounds safe and Play in the Park ready!! We look forward to next year's events and good food!

PRCC is proud to be a sponsor of Play in the Park along with Kennedy Heights Community Council and Arts Wave.

Pleasant Ridge Community Council Election Results 2024

On the May 7th public, elections were held for the new President and Vice President of PRCC. Here are your new Executive Board Members:

So, yes, you have two bearded west-coast transplants at the helm of PRCC.

We would like to recognize former President Bill Frost, to whom we greatly appreciate and thank for his years of service to improving our neighborhood. We wish him the best as he, hopefully, fully embraces retirement!

The New PR Pocket Park comes Alive!

Contributed to by Barbara Didrichsen and Erik Brueggemann

After months of planning, sweat, collaboration, sweat, plantings, sweat, installations, and sweat, Pleasant Ridges' newest space, the Pocket Park, is ready for company! Go ahead and take yourself, kids, ice cream cone, or even a slice of pizza over to the new tables and benches.

The creation of this Pocket Park has been a collaboration of several people and organizations within the community including (but not limited to) the PR Development Corporation, PR Community Council, PR Business Assn., St Peter's United Church of Christ, the Architectural Art Glass Studio, and Cafe Alma.

This parklet adjoins St Peter's United Church of Christ, a property enclosed on 3 sides by the church and Architectural Stained Glass on Ridge, and in the back by Café Alma.

On the selection of planting of flowers in the Pocket Park, please see this 5/29 note from PRCC Parks lead Erik Brueggemann:

"We had a great event today - at our peak we had 10 people from the neighborhood helping out.  I volunteer all over the county and having 10 people show up for an outside, labor heavy event is pretty amazing.  10 people on a Wednesday morning is even more amazing.

 
The Natives we planted were:

Rattlesnake Master

Purple Prairie Clover

White Prairie Clover

Wild Lupine

Little Bluestem

Royal Catchfly

Prairie Phlox

Showy Beardtongue

And around 20 different types of zinnia and cosmos.

Everything was grown from seed in Pleasant Ridge.

All the wildflower seeds were sourced from prairiemoon.com or everwilde.com.  Growing native plants is not easy.  I started most of these last October in my backyard.  Most native plant seeds need to go through freeze/thaw cycles (amongst a lot of other requirements) before they will germinate.

All the zinnias/cosmos seeds were sourced from rareseeds.com.  These will germinate within hours if the conditions are right.

The best site I've found for researching Native plants is wildflowersearch.org.   The app for this site - Ohio Wildflowers - is even easier to use.  This site has links to numerous other websites.  I've found the most beneficial link to be to illinoiswildflowers.info, which is a hard site to navigate but easy to use through wildflowersearch.org.

We will probably have another planting even in the Fall where we will concentrate on Native plants.  At this event we will also collect seeds from the zinnias and cosmos to replant next Spring.

Hopefully, everything we planted today survives.  

If they don't survive, that's OK.  The long term goal for this space - all native plants - will take a few years to accomplish."

Erin Fay, a local realtor and the chief organizer of the PR Tour of Homes, has dedicated most of the proceeds from last fall’s Tour of Homes to this effort, which paid for the new tables and chairs.

We want to recognize all that has made this possible so far, including PRCC Parks lead Erik Brueggemann, Regina (Reggie) Sansalone of the Architectural Art Glass Studio, Clint Bourgeois and Rev. Derek Terry of St. Peter's, Barb Didrichsen, Erin Fay, Algis Aukstuolis, Lainey Richler and so many others who volunteered their time and sweat

Big shoutout and thanks to Cincinnati Fire Department's Engine 8 (FAO Mark Fischer, Firefighter Mike Taylor, Firefighter Keona Brown, and Captain Andy Herber), who answered the call for help with painting the back wall! Not only did they show up, they finished the job!

Now that the back well is prepped, we're ready to start working with local artists, St Peter's and the community on a colorful mural. Stay tuned as details develop.

There's much work to be done across our green spaces in Pleasant Ridge. If you are looking to get involved with our new parks committee, please reach out to prccparks@gmail.com.

Speak Up! Fielding Ideas for the Community Budget Request

Every two years, each Community Council can submit up to 3 projects to the City of Cincinnati that they would like to see happen in their neighborhood through a process called Community Budget Requests (CBR). This process is intended for community councils to provide suggestions on funding projects that are paramount to the preservation and/or revitalization of each neighborhood. The communities’ projects are reviewed by appropriate City departments during their budget preparation (i.e. repaving a road would go to the Department of Transportation and Engineering). Potential funding options for the projects are considered and recommendations will be made to City Council in the proposed FY 2026-2027 budget.

Projects should relate to the implementation of an existing neighborhood plan or are paramount to the preservation and/or revitalization of the neighborhood.

Now is the time to submit any ideas you have for the Pleasant Ridge Community Council to consider! Either attend the August PRCC 7pm Public Meeting (where we will dedicate a section of time to discuss) or send a detailed idea to president_prcc@pleasantridge.org before then.

Please read the Invest in Neighborhoods CBR page to get a better understanding of this great city program, including submission schedule, criteria, and examples of potential projects. We can submit three projects, which can be anywhere in Pleasant Ridge.

Key deadlines:

- Friday, August 30, 2024: Community councils initiate contact with City Project Managers.

- September 2024: Community Councils formalize their CBRs.

- September 30, 2024 at 4:00 pm: Community councils must submit CBR request forms through the online portal.

- May 2025: City Manager’s Recommended Budget is released containing funding recommendations pertaining to CBRs.

PRCC Needs Your Help! Open Roles to Help Improve our Neighborhood

The Beautification Committee (picture above) needs a new leader!

The Pleasant Ridge Community Council has had much turn-over in the last year, and we have A LOT of roles open for those who want get involved and make an impact in our community. Please see the below links to each role/committee that currently has a opening and need for someone(s) to step up and help us help Pleasant Ridge!

• PRCC Secretary (major and immediate need!)

• Beautification Committee Chair and Members

• Communications Committee Chair and Members

• Gateway Lead (Orchard) and Gateway committee members

• Resources Committee Chair and Members

• Safety Committee Members

If interested in any of the above roles, please contact Andrew Bernier, PRCC President at president_prcc@pleasantridge.org.

The Great Former Burger King Lot Pick Up!

Photos by Dave Smith

The old Burger King in Pleasant Ridge has been many things. Once, an actual functioning Burger King, but over the years it has been an eyesore, a running joke, a hotspot for litter, a home for food trucks, and a point of desire for those who crave building demolition.

For several years the property has provided much needed additional parking to the blossoming business district in Pleasant Ridge including Café Alma, Everybody’s Records, The Gas Light Café, Queen City Comics and recently added Catch Me If You Can (to name the nearest). As the business district continues to develop it is vital that the parking lot is welcoming to residents and visitors alike.

So, PRCC has been coordinating with the Pleasant Ridge Development Corporation (PRDC) and Business Association (PRBA) and received approval and funds for a community project to clean up the property and prepare the building for a potential art installation. While the art installation is not finalized at this time, the parking lot is now clean and the building ready for a coat of outdoor primer, making it ready-to-go.

Led by new PRCC Vice President Jeff Hitman-Mason, the clean-up project happened on Sunday July 14th, so when you come to Ridge Day on August 3rd, know that there was a dedicated effort to help improve the space by an awesome turn out of volunteers! Thank you so much to those who came out and helped PR become ever better.

Also, a big thank you to Catch Me if You Can, Cafe Ama, Tacos Locos, and Make.Do. who have agreed to send staff to clean litter in the lot each night. We greatly appreciate and recognize this assistance to maintaining our business district.

A Little Pleasant Ridge History: The Old Town Hall and Incorporation into Cincinnati

 Submitted by Jim Cundiff, revered unofficial historian of Pleasant Ridge

Photo Credit Unknown

Some may be surprised to learn that Pleasant Ridge was briefly its own distinct municipality. According to the “Pleasant Ridge Bicentennial” booklet compiled in 1995, “Pleasant Ridge was incorporated as a village in 1891 when its population exceeded 1,000. John H. Durrell…became the first mayor. The village enacted certain improvements, such as board sidewalks and oil street lamps.”

Another publication found at the Pleasant Ridge library provides evidence that some policy debates will always be with us (emphasis added): “By incorporating Pleasant Ridge as a village, residents could gain better control over fire and police protection, water supply, and roads. Although contested by many small businessmen who equated village government with higher taxes, the faction favoring incorporation won. Represented by H. B. Turrill, Charles H. Davis, and John H. Durrell, they were for the most part the bankers, lawyers, and businessmen who commuted to Cincinnati each day.”

Mr. Durrell, a businessman and descendant of the pioneer Wood family, is recognized as our first mayor both in the bicentennial booklet and on the historical marker at the corner of Woodford and Montgomery. In addition, an 1891 Cincinnati Enquirer piece lists him as the nominated candidate for mayor on both tickets in the field, the Republican and Citizens’ tickets. Yet some recently-uncovered sources suggest that Mr. Durrell may not have been our first mayor; these contradictions in the historical record require further research and may be addressed in a subsequent column.

Returning to the bicentennial publication, the aforementioned Wood family is recognized as our “first permanent settlers.” Their presence may still be felt via various PR street names that incorporate the family name - see below for an example.

Also still with us from bygone days is the building which served as town hall. Constructed in 1884 to serve as Columbia Township administrative offices, the building at the northwest corner of Ridge and Woodsfield became the Pleasant Ridge town hall. According to notes found at the library, the building “was used by the Village Council, police and volunteer fire departments, and the library. In the basement was the jail, occupied regularly by the town drunk.”

That building is currently occupied by the TCP World Academy, and is easily recognized by the sign above the front door which reads “Pleasant Ridge Lodge 282 F&AM” (F&AM is short for Free and Accepted Masons.) Sadly, the building’s current owner reports that no trace of the jail cell remains.

Political junkies might be interested to learn that the PR election scheduled for July, 1891 would be the first held in this county under the Australian law. (A gold star to anyone who understands this without reading further.)

In the early days of the republic voting was done by voice, show of hands, or via a handwritten slip of paper. Eventually political parties would produce ballots which citizens could use to cast their votes. Under this system the buying and selling of votes was often widespread.

The adoption of Australian law changed all this. Under the Australian voting system the government printed taxpayer-funded ballots, which included the names of all candidates. The ballots were available only at the voting place, and most importantly, the votes cast were secret.

Pleasant Ridge’s 1891 commitment to self-government was short-lived. From the bicentennial publication: “The petition to be annexed by Cincinnati just 20 years later had a lot of opponents, but the proponents believed the added services would outweigh other disadvantages. Pleasant Ridge became part of Cincinnati on a vote of 260-174.”

Photo by Jim Cundiff

Make Up for Lost PR Trees with the Hamilton County Native Tree and Shrub Sale

It has been said that trees are the only urban infrastructure that improves with age. Thankfully, The Hamilton County Conservation District and the Great Parks of Hamilton County are partnering once again to host a Native Tree and Shrub Sale. The sale offers a variety of native trees and shrubs at a low cost.

Planting trees and native plants can reduce the negative effects of stormwater runoff. Trees and native plants can intercept and hold large amounts of water while reducing soil erosion by slowing down the speed of stormwater runoff. Native plants are adapted to our local climate and provide rich habitat for local wildlife.

Plants will be in 3-gallon containers and will be 1-5ft. tall. 

Order: July 15th - August 23th 
Pick Up: Saturday, September 7th from 9 am - 1 pm

Please click on this link to see the list of trees available. Ordering closes August 23rd! And if you still have a mature tree(s) on your property, please do consider all you can to keep it. While they may be owned and cared for by individual property owners, approach them as a steward, as a mature tree's presence, ecological service, and financial gain is a shared benefit to us all.

Composting 101 Workshop and Bins

Want to do something better with your kitchen scraps than just throwing them away? Come to the Backyard Composting 101 Workshop from Hamilton County ReSource!

Backyard composting is easy and helpful for the environment. It will improve your soil quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and cuts down on the weight and volume of stuff we send to the landfill.

Elise Roalef from Hamilton County ReSource will show the basics and answer questions in a one hour information meeting Thursday, August 22, 2024, 7:00 – 8.00 p.m. in the Kennedy Heights’ Art Center’s Linder Annex at the corner of Kennedy Avenue and Montgomery Road.

All who attend will receive a kitchen collector for food scraps and an informative brochure.

The first 30 who register, attend and agree to submit weekly data for three months on food composted will receive a free backyard compost bin.

The workshop is hosted by the Kennedy Heights Community Council with support from the PRCC Parks Committee.

Pleasant Ridge Business highlight: Baldwin Music Education Center

In 1862 Dwight Hamilton Baldwin opened the doors to his music store in Cincinnati, Ohio. D.H. Baldwin was both a music teacher in the Cincinnati Public Schools and an Independent Voice and Piano teacher.

During the next quarter century, Baldwin became one of the largest piano retailers in the Midwestern United States. In 1891 the first Baldwin Piano was built, and the same year Baldwin Piano & Organ Co. moved to the Gilbert Ave. building. In 1965 the 9’ Baldwin Grand was introduced to the world and so was the Baldwin Music Education Center located at Gilbert Ave.

For nearly 60 years, the Baldwin Music Education Center has offered unique group music/piano classes to students of all ages. And, today, the Baldwin Music Education Center, now owned by Rachel Kramer, is in the heart of Pleasant Ridge in All Saints Episcopal Church. Classes are offered year around, 6 days a week for students ages 6 months to 5 years.

To find out more about the Baldwin Music Education Center and become part of legacy - go to: www.BaldwinMusicEduCenter.com

Pleasant Ridge Business highlight: Eden Urban Gardens, LLC

What started with 3 hand tools and a vision, 1200sqft of land as a small urban farm in 2016 in Pleasant Ridge by Pleasant Ridge resident April Pandora, grew to include 3 properties and a little over half acre, 22,000sqft in USDA Certified Organic Produce & Real Organic Food Project (soil) grown produce among our urban fields in Pleasant Ridge, Avondale & North Avondale, what is now called Eden Urban Gardens,LLC.

With no traditional financial backing for capital start up, years acquiring urban land access to farm and challenges of farming in the city, farmer April, known as the neighborhood farmer by some, has overcome much adversity in the last 9 years to cultivate the soil and feed our urban neighborhoods. EUG grows organic produce: veggies, fruits, herbs and microgreens from March thru December among their 3 plots, one includes a high tunnel for year round growing.

Most of the produce is sold direct consumers in our home delivery and pick up locations. However, Scrap It Up purchases bulk produce, using proceeds from their store to give back and provide quality organic produce to those who need it. This organic produce is then delivered by Eden Urban Gardens, LLC to The Caring Place, a local food pantry weekly in season. Both of which are home to Pleasant Ridge.

Eden Urban Gardens, LLC home delivery area is from Pleasant Ridge to Avondale and all the neighborhoods in between Amberly, Norwood, Evanston, Bond Hill, Roselawn, North Avondale, Paddock Hills and Avondale. And also has weekly pick up options in Pleasant Ridge (east) and Cheviot (west).

Most people are just shocked when they see our urban fields with the intensity and amount of crops being grown, the organization and professionalism as farmers. The idea that a working farm exist in our city is new to many. The biggest challenge is letting people know the produce is available for sale online a la carte personal orders, and weekly, biweekly small and large farm box subscriptions with skip options too. To increase access we offer home deliver for $2 fee with no minimum order requirement and pick up locations.

Due to our own food & financial insecurity experiences, we provide a variety of sizes to get produce for all budgets and no minimum purchase requirements. This way people can work with whatever they have available. Visit www.edenurbangardens.com for our online store to preorder with home delivery or pick up options https://app.barn2door.com/edenurbangardens/all

Watch our Now in the Nati - Fox 19 Interview!

VoteRiders: Help for getting your Ohio ID/DL for Voting in The Upcoming Presidential Election  

Submitted by Shelly Bromberg, VoteRiders

With the changes to Ohio’s Voter ID law in January 2023 the need for voters to acquire an Ohio State ID/DL became even more important. While the ID is “free,” for many Ohioans the underlying documents needed to get an ID can be costly and difficult to obtain. The average price of a birth certificate is $30.00 and requesting one often requires a photo ID. For anyone whose name changed with their marriage, the cost of providing certified copies of their marriage certificate(s) can add up as well. Ohio also requires new ID/DL applicants to show their Social Security card or one of three acceptable alternatives (W-2, 1099 Form or a pay stub that displays the entire number).

If you are not able to produce one of these 4 social security forms of proof, you will have to either request medical records or school records that have your full social security number, along with your vital information. School transcripts can range from $7.00 to $25.00 and the cost of medical records depends upon the institution. Finding and requesting these documents is time consuming and often frustrating. The average wait time for a birth certificate in Ohio is 6-8 weeks.

There is help, however, for anyone who needs assistance with their ID/DL. VoteRiders, a national non-partisan, non-profit organization is focused on helping Ohioans get their ID/Dl, whether it is your first time, or you need help with replacing an ID/Dl that has been lost or stolen. VoteRiders will pay for all underlying documents, do the research to locate those documents and, once you are ready, arrange for a ride to the BMV or other agencies to complete the process. If you, or someone you know, needs help with their ID, you can CALL OR TEXT OUR HELPLINE at 866-ID-2-VOTE or go to the website https://www.voteriders.org/freehelp

PRCC Committees (always looking for volunteers!)

Committee Spotlight: Ridge Day & Night

Planning for a party is fun, but it takes a lot, from getting sponsors, signing-up vendors, netting food and beer trucks, finding volunteers to pour said beers (along with set-up/tear-down), ensuring public safety, and more. But if you have a flair for events, and time on your hands from March to August, consider joining the Ridge Day committee.

Reach out to ridgedaycommittee@gmail.com for more information.

Event Calendar

We are updating how our webhost integrates the calendar feature, so we hope to have that here next time. Click the button below to visit the calendar on our website. You are also welcome to visit the calendars of our community services, such as the Pleasant Ridge Library Branch, The PR Recreation Center, and Community Happens Here.

Please contact us if you would like your event included in the calendar.

Get in Touch! Here is How