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Allow us to welcome your new

neighbors to Historic Kenwood.

Susan Rohr is our new Welcome Wagon volunteer. Please let her know when you have a new neighbor moving in. You can contact Susan at skrohr@gmail.com

Welcome Baskets are a Hit in Historic Kenwood

Readers who grew up in suburbia in the 1950s through the 70s or so may remember Welcome Wagon, whose peppy "hostesses" showed up on new residents' doorsteps carrying baskets of practical, everyday goodies like automatic dishwashing detergent or a can opener. In those pre-Stepford days, the women would be invited into living rooms where they explained the social workings of the community to eager Moms.

However if you don't remember Welcome Wagon, it's understandable. The home delivery service ended in 1998, having been on the wane for a couple of decades. Happily enough, the idea has been reborn in Historic Kenwood, apropos a local touch to the offerings.

For the past 3 years, Molly Davis and members of the HKNA Garden Club have delivered what they call Welcome Baskets to recent arrivals in our community. And as their pleasantly surprised recipients can attest, these baskets have caught up with the times. In fact, they're positively upscale.

Over 60 of the festive baskets have been distributed in the past year, according to Molly Davis, who has taken over their preparation and distribution. The baskets are filled with a variety of items such as dog biscuits or catnip from Calling All Dogs Pet Sitting, note cards from A Painted Haven which specializes in home portraits, chili cookoff cookbooks, pocket calendars and pens from Mona at Wahoo Mortgage, Dr. Thomas O. Johnson DDS, 2663 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg 33713, donated toothbrushes, Susan Avent Irvine contributed body lotion, body bar, hand cream, body soap, and baby lotion and Carolyn Gambuti (for Bank of America) donated pens and sticky notes, plants from the Garden Workshop, and Grand Central "1" cards from the Grand Central District. Some Historic Kenwood residents have also donated items, such as beach balls, beverage cozies, pride t-shirts, and fridge magnets by Tim and Cat martin. Also possible is HKNA merchandise, gift certificates and/or coupons to Kenwood owned businesses and shops. The idea, along with the kind thought, is to promote a connection between Historic Kenwood and the District.

"Recipients have been blown away by the generosity and shocked that we make this effort," Davis said in an e-mail exchange. "Many recipients have shown up to general meetings as a result of having been reached out to this way."

The welcome baskets have become so successful that HKNA and the Grand Central District Association have teamed up to promote GCDA businesses along Central Avenue. Businesses are being invited to donate items to be included in the baskets.

According to former HKNA president and current Grand Central District president, Jim Longstreth, Historic Kenwood averages an increase of five new residents per month. Also, word of mouth about the baskets is often a valuable draw for longer term residents who may not have visited the business district lately.

To Donate Items:

Business owners and Kenwoodians may donate items to help welome our new neighbors. Both should contact Susan Rohr at: skrohr@gmail.com. If you have small baskets or extra household items, please think about donating them. If you have a local business, this might be a great way to promote it. Businesses are asked to include five to ten small items to be split up among different baskets.

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The origin of the "Welcome Baskets".

During a meeting in '95, a discussion arose around how to increase membership. We wanted to find a way to reach out to people who had recently moved into the neighborhood. Among other ideas that we came up with was one proposed by Steve Hess. He said, "What if we do something like a Welcome Wagon?". It was talked about some more, and this is what we came up with.

All new "Neighbors" would be given a "Welcome Basket". We would collect small Easter type baskets from the members. A welcome letter was written describing the association and some of the things we have accomplished. This was put into the baskets along with a small blooming plant, to add color,and a copy of our newsletter for the past 2 or 3 months. We also got some code brochures about painting, parking, fire protection, etc. from the city staff and included those.

We then asked anyone who had a new person or family move in on their block to give us the address. Jim Bloodworth even scanned the property transactions in the newspaper to cover anybody who fell between the cracks. Once armed the info, the new member committee would make a call to the house. We would give them their "gift" and use the chance to meet them and give them the neighborhood pitch. Everyone enjoyed the thought and some were really surprised that an association would reach out this way.

While this idea was implemented, it served as a great way to meet new neighbors and pass out information. Steve and Carol Hess did this the first year. Sue and Bill Heyen did it for '96. Board member Lorain Giles took over in '97. Halfway through the year she left.. When no one volunteered to pick up the ball, the program just faded away for a time. It was then reinvented by C.F. and the Historic Kenwood Garden Workshop.

This moment in Historic Kenwood brought to you by:

Bill Heyen

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