walks. The 2016 schedule includes a little something for every taste,
including appealing strolls for those with a sweet tooth, a hearty thirst
and a curiosity about the past. The Committee will provide leadership for
many of the walks, but local guests will also provide expertise and
comment. Meeting places will vary but the meeting time will always be 7pm.
Check the Seward Walks thread at Minneapolis Seward Neighbors Forum at
http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-seward/
* July 6-Silk Stockings and Social Justice- Seabury Avenue on Seward’s far
east side has been home to a long list of illustrious bourgeoisie and
political figures. From the Governor of Minnesota, to his labor activist
father-in-law and his department-store-owner uncle. Seward History book
editor and retired professor Rick Musser leads this walk. Meet at east end
of Franklin Bridge at boulder.
* July 13-West Side Story- The Green Version - This walk will feature
environmental wonders of Seward's West Side. Join the SNG Environment
Committee as we visit residents and organizations doing their part to
keep-it-real-green. The walk will begin at the Nice Ride MN bike station
located at 22nd Ave S & Franklin (just east of the Holiday Gas Station)
where there will be a short demonstration of how to use these short-term
rental bikes.
* July 20-A Sweet Walk on Franklin- How sweet it will be when we meet at
the K’UL farm-to-bar artisan chocolate shop at 2211 Franklin Ave. There
we’ll get a tour of how they roast, winnow and grind cacao to create treats
and improve the lives and environment of those who grow and harvest the
beans. But wait; there’s more: We’ll finish the evening at Beez Kneez honey
house and learn about pollinators and pedal-powered honey extraction.
* July 27-Micro Housing/ Housing on Back Lots - So you thought the Tiny
House movement was a new thing? Not here in Seward, where we’ve been living
small by necessity for decades. Jerry Herby former Seward resident will
lead this look at homes that are micro— not Mc—mansions. Meet at Matthews
Park Community Center.
* August 3-Discovering Seward’s Lost Stores- Seward’s old-timers can recall
a neighborhood with a small store on nearly every block. Those businesses
are long gone. Some remain as residences, some disappeared as urban renewal
changed the face of the city. We’ll meet at Matthews Park Community Center
and Wendy Epstein, Seward History Committee’s lead researcher (who also
lives in a rehabbed family grocery) will take us on a stroll.
* August 10—Historical Seward School and Tour the rebuilt Montessori
School- Our neighborhood gets its name from the local school. There have
been three Seward schools. We’ll get a bit school building history and then
Seward School Principal Tammy Goetz leads us on a tour of the newly
remodeled building. We’ll meet in Seward School’s multi-purpose room.
* August 17-Three Bars on Franklin- We will meet at 2027 Franklin Ave.,
once the site of the Blue Nile and, before that, home to a series of
historic bars from Seward’s rough and tumble days. We’ll end our pub crawl
through neighborhood history at the Seward Café and at Tracy’s Saloon,
other drinking spots with a Seward legacy.
* August 24-Seward’s Urban Forest-Local arborist and urban forestry
instructor Peter-Jon Rudquist will lead us on a walk through the urban
woods of Seward. Meet at Matthews.
* August 31-The Bridges of Seward- We will meet at southeast end of
Franklin Bridge at the boulder. There, Paul Backer, who is the project
engineer for the restoration of the historic span on Franklin will talk
about the neighborhood’s bridges across the Mississippi. If summer
construction goes well, we might even get to step out onto the new bridge
deck.