All neighbors are invited to the monthly potluck meeting Monday, April 22, We’ll have two guests this month: Officer Shelley Clemons will report from KPD, and Kasey Crouse, the city’s urban forester, will be sharing info about trees. We’ll also be voting on officers for the coming year.

Location is St. James Episcopal Church (enter at the back, off Folsom). The potluck starts at 6:30pm and the meeting will begin around 6:50.

We won’t be meeting in May but will resume again in June.

All neighbors are invited to the monthly potluck meeting Monday, March 25, at St. James Episcopal Church (enter at the back, off Folsom). The potluck starts at 6:30pm and the meeting begins at 6:50. We’ll be electing this year’s board members and sharing news and upcoming events. Hope to see you there!

After a couple of months off for the holidays—and the return of home tour!—we had to postpone our January potluck and meeting because of the snowstorm. We’ll be meeting at 6:30pm on Monday, January 29, in the Parish Hall of St. James Episcopal Church. There’s a lot to catch up on, and all neighbors are welcome to attend. Check the Facebook group for details or email donnspen@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

Join us for our 33rd annual Victorian Holiday Home Tour!

Candlelight Tour: Saturday, December 2, 4–9 p.m.
Afternoon Tour: Sunday December 3, 1–5 p.m.

We have seven amazing homes for 2023, including six restored homes and the chance to see the restoration in progress for one of the neighborhood’s crown jewels that has never been on the tour before.

Get advance tickets now at victorianholidayhometour.com. Tickets will also be available at the tour.

Park and ride shuttles from First Lutheran Church (1207 N. Broadway) or Rose Funeral and Cremation (1421 N. Broadway).

Fall is one of the best times of year in Old North, and there’s a lot going on in the neighborhood these next few weeks. Come out and spend some time getting to know neighbors and celebrating the season!

ONK Potluck and Meeting
Monday, September 25, 6:30pm, St. James Episcopal Church Parish Hall
Bring a dish to share, connect with neighbors, and find out what’s happening in Old North.

Cleanup at Beth Ann Booker Park
Tuesday, September 26, 6–8pm
Please come help out with weeding and cleaning our neighborhood park! Bring your own tools or borrow ours. Rain date is Wednesday, September 27.

Neighborhood Pancake Breakfast
Saturday, September 30, 9am–noon, St. James Episcopal Church
$5 adults, $2 children  
Enjoy friendship and good food with our neighbors at St. James. Tickets will be available at the door, but if possible RSVP at this link by 5pm Friday, September 29. Additional dates: October 14 & 28, November 11.

National Night Out Ice Cream Social
Tuesday, October 3, 5–8pm, Beth Ann Booker Park
Celebrate our neighborhood with an ice cream treat! Bring your favorite topping to share if you wish. We will have a firetruck for kids to explore (5–7pm) and police officers will be in attendance.

St. James Neighbor Day Concert
Tuesday, October 3, 6–7:30pm
Before or after the ice cream social, stop by St. James parking lot for a free outdoor concert in celebration of Neighbor Day. Bring a chair and enjoy Chattanooga bluegrass from Dismembered Tennesseans.

First Creek Cleanup
Saturday, October 21, 9am–noon
Meet at 1240 Cottage Place by First Creek Park. We will have refreshments, doughnuts, and muffins, as well as cleanup tools and bags. Wear appropriate clothing. Rain or shine.

We’re collaborating with Keep Knoxville Beautiful for the annual North Knoxville Community Cleanup the morning of Saturday, March 4, from 9:30am to noon! We’ll have supplies available for pickup in Booker Park (aka Old North Knoxville Park, at 416 East Oklahoma Ave.) along with a map showing where you can drop off bags when you’re done.

Families and individuals are welcome to participate, and no advance signup is required. Let’s get together and help prepare the neighborhood and North Knoxville for spring!

After a couple of months off for the holidays—and the return of home tour!—we’re back to meeting in person this month, with a Zoom link for those who can’t attend in person. The meeting will begin at 6:30 on Monday, January 23. Because of renovations at St. James we’ll be in the main sanctuary—which sadly means no potluck until we can return to the usual meeting space. Check the Facebook group for details or email donnspen@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

It takes lots of hands to help keep our green spaces looking their best! No experience required and both adults and families are welcome—even if you can’t stay for the whole time, come for as long as you can. Bring tools if you have them.

Beloved longtime neighbor Beth Booker died January 23 after a long and hard-fought battle against cancer.

Beth spent more than 20 years in ONK, and her contributions to our neighborhood are enormous. She served on the board and chaired the beautification committee for many years. With her husband, David, she launched the First Creek Greenway cleanups and led them for two decades, contributed recipes and stories to the newsletter, and shared countless cuttings and photos from her spectacular garden. She was instrumental in creating, beautifying, and maintaining the Old North Knoxville Park on Oklahoma Avenue. She even started the ONK tradition of the Easter Egg hunt for children, first held in her yard on East Scott Avenue and then moved to ONK Park. A dietitian by profession, she gave the world the Rule of 95: if the temperature reaches 95, it’s OK to have ice cream for dinner.

Beth was a gifted and prolific cook, baker, and knitter, wildly generous with her talents, her time, and her thoughtful care. The influence of her kindness, intelligence, strength, energy, and humor will continue making our neighborhood—and the world—a better place for many years to come.

A memorial event is in the planning stages for spring. Meanwhile, we hold David and their daughter, Lauren, in our hearts.

“Beth and David have lived in the neighborhood for almost 22 years and begin, almost immediately, working to create beauty in the community; gardening in our parks, partnering with KKB for cleanups, and twice a year 1st Creek cleanups (21 years!).  She also contributed her time and energy being a board member and committee chair for Old North. Besides that, she was selfless in her individual support of neighbors and others.”
—Susie Laise Smith

“When I moved to Knoxville three years back I became involved in the ONK community. I live right in the middle of the First Creek Greenway, and wondered how it could be made safer and cleaner, a better place. Beth was the Beautification Chair at the time, and was very welcoming and supportive of my ideas. She was behind my efforts of connecting me with the right people in Knoxville. Now we have a better swing set, a planting with a park sign, and have plans to improve the whole park. Without Beth’s encouragement and guidance it would not have been possible.

 “As time passed, I became a good friend of Beth’s. Though she had increasing health struggles, she would always care for my well-being. She has given me many seeds and plant seedlings from her garden, and we met there often when Covid started. Beth was a friend until the very end. She packed a wellness gift bag, which was delivered to me the day before she passed away. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

 “It is an honor for me to have taken on her former ONK position. I will do my best to continue Beth’s love and care of nature in ONK.”
—Margareth Olsson

Please leave a comment with your own memories of Beth.