We’ve elected a new board for 2010-11!
President – Kyle Ward
V Pres – Michele Colbert
Secretary – Diane Sherman
Treasurer – Trey Taylor

This is my last President’s message for the newsletter since I will not be eligible to serve another term. It has been my pleasure to serve these last two years as president. I have enjoyed every minute. It has gone by much quicker than I had anticipated. The first few months of my term were consumed with many trips to city hall, trying to defend our historic ordinance and zoning overlays against a number of outside sources. We won some battles and lost some others. All in all, the folks at city hall know the Winnetka’s voice will be heard.

“Thanks for all the support you have given me these past two years. It is all of you folks that live and work and play in this wonderful little corner of North Oak Cliff that make theneighborhood so special.”

Thanks to the magnificent work of our Holiday Home tour and Night in the Heights committees, our coffers are full. Our outstanding balance is the highest it has ever been. We are now strategizing how to use our funds to best meet the needs of the neighborhood. I thought the Davis St. Rezoning issues would be over by the time my tenure was up, but the hearings continue to be postponed. It appears now that this will extend into the next president’s term. Stay tuned to see how all of this will play out.

We also finished up a very successful Centennial Celebration in 2008 thanks to the leadership of Butch and Carla Boss. Things like the July 4th parade have now become an annual tradition thanks to the Centennial impetus.

Then, there are always lots of behind-the scenes meetings that take place that don’t get a lot of press time, but are necessary to keep things going. I will not bore you with any details The opening of the Kessler Theater is going to make Winnetka Heights a destination point. I think this is an exciting time in the life of this neighborhood and I want to wish the owner, Edwin Cabaniss, the best, in his endeavor.

Thanks for all the support that you have given me these last two years. It has been much appreciated. This neighborhood is so much more
than just a board and a neighborhood association. It is all of you folks that live and work and play in this wonderful little corner of North Oak
Cliff that make this neighborhood so special.

See you on the front porch!
David Haedge
WHNA President

It’s almost time for the 2009 Winnetka Heights Holiday Home Tour. The tour has been around since the early 1980′s, just a few years after we reached our Historic District designation 30 years ago. In the early years, the tour was held somewhat sporadically, mainly due to the fact that most of us in the neighborhood were in the middle of some sort of renovation project and really didn’t want to show our homes off until they were at least presentable.

This tour actually marks ten consecutive years of the tour. We have not missed a year since 2000. That amounts to around sixty different homes in those short years. Twenty-five years ago you were lucky to even find five or six neighbors that were willing to open their homes for a tour. This is a testament of what years of hard work and dedication to a once dying neighborhood can come to. Winnetka Heights is now a vibrant neighborhood with countless people pouring new life into this collection of 600 or so homes that make up our district. I hope you take some time this year to enjoy the tour, visit with your neighbors and start your holiday celebrations right here in the hood.

Yay! For the first time in over a year we finally have every position on the board filled. Kyle Ward and I have been sharing the Community and Planning Development activities, but now Anne Hagan has stepped up and enthusiastically accepted the challenges of this demanding position. With so many things happening at the city level affecting Winnetka Heights like budget cuts, proposed zoning changes, and new development, it is important to have a person dedicated to the cause.

Our other boards are functioning well also. Crystal Gonzalez has accepted the co-chair position for Membership along side of Erin Slettebo. George Lee and Kirk Kirksey are keeping the crimewatch and NOCUPP activities flowing smoothly. Linda Ward, the Code Awareness chair has been presented a new challenge with upcoming budget cuts. We will probably be losing one of our best code officers, although we are hoping for the best. Jeff Fahrenholz is doing an outstanding job with the Communication board and the newsletter. Lots of new energy there. Jeff Jones, the webmaster is keeping the website fresh and frequently updated.

Our new treasurer, Trey Taylor and new secretary, Diane Sherman are on board and each doing a great job. Erin is also our Green Leader and has been active in the Oak Cliff chamber’s Green initiatives. We found out at the City budget meetings that all of Dallas will be going to once a week regular trash and once a week recycling in the spring. Erin will keep the neighbors apprised of how we will be affected. Kyle Ward, VP, has been a real work horse and is active in a number of neighborhood issues. Paul Maute, our Past President is still a regular attendee at board meetings and continues to serve on the Davis St. Zoning committee. Any of us can be contacted through our email addresses on the website. Feel free to do so anytime.

When you see any of the board members, thank them for the great job they are doing. They are making a big difference in the neighborhood. As you read this newsletter, you will see that Fall will a busy time for the neighborhood; meetings, Turner House activities, home tours, happy hours, etc. I hope that you will find the time to enjoy some of these opportunities and find out why we have such a great neighborhood.

Cheers,

David Haedge

We have one house on the OOCCL tour this year, 300 S Montclair. We need 4 teams of 2 to
be porch sitters for the house. The dates are October 12 and 13. Two shifts
per day, 12-3 and 3-6. Porch sitters will receive FREE home tour tickets to
tour the rest of the homes. If you, or your neighbor, or any of your friends
are interested, please contact David Haedge at your earliest convenience. Also state
your time and day preference.

Here it is already July.

Hope everyone is having a good summer. Your WHNA board is keeping very busy with a number of neighborhood issues, most of them concerning the Davis Street corridor.

You may have noticed that the Davis/7th connection has been closed diverting most of the 7th St. traffic in the neighborhood to Davis. Our Vice President, Kyle Ward, has been working closely with the city streets department to make this happen. Future plans call for the complete removal of the connection and hopefully provide for some additional green space in the neighborhood.

The Kessler Theater is being resurrected at the corner of Clinton and Davis/ A groundbreaking was recently held to commemorate the beginning of this rebirth. This is going to be a great project for our neighborhood.

The Davis Street Rezoning Study is finally going before the City Plan Commision for public input. We will be heavily involved in the ongoing talks concerning this study.

Our goal is to recommend a plan that not only respects our past, but also looks to future improvements for our section of Davis Street.

We have another strong board this year and we will strive to continue doing things necessary to keep Winnetka Heights a strong and vibrant community of great neighbors.

Cheers!

David Haedge

This year’s Holiday Home Tour culminates our year of celebration commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Winnetka Heights. The fact that we can celebrate 100 years as a neighborhood is in itself quite remarkable. Located in the heart of a city that prides itself on tearing down the old and erecting the new, how refreshing it is to find a neighborhood that prides itself on the exact opposite.

A few years ago a previous resident of the 1940’s-era Winnetka Heights was in town and decided to visit her childhood neighborhood. She drove down Rosemont Avenue expecting to see her house torn down, replaced by a newer, modern home. Imagine her amazement when she found the entire neighborhood pretty much the way it was when she was a child. She stopped at her old house and knocked on the door. My wife answered the door and invited her in. She told stories of her childhood and what it was like living in our neighborhood a couple of generations ago. She talked of the neighbors, playing with friends across the street, and what a great house she grew up in.

Two generations later, we still talk about the same things. We are not just the owners of these homes, we are the caretakers of the neighborhood, hopefully preserving our unique heritage for future generations that will call Winnetka Heights their home, too. I hope you enjoy this year’s Home Tour.

Don’t forget the Winnetka Heights Centennial Proclamation at the
Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont, tomorrow, Saturday October 11, at
10:00AM.  Council members Dave Neumann and Elba Garcia will be there
on behalf of the mayor to present the proclamation.  We will also
have the ceremonial planting of the Centennial Tree.
Come early for coffee and donuts.  This event marks a truly major
milestone in the history of our neighborhood. Please don’t miss it.

Also make plans to attend the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League’s
Fall Home Tour.  The tour is focusing on Winnetka Heights this year
with four homes on the tour.  The Turner House will be have a
wonderful history exhibit and will be decorated with period
furnishings for this event.  Truly a onetime opportunity.  Go to http://ooccl.org
for more information.

Hope to see a lot of you at these Centennial events.

The city has placed a trash dumpster at Windomere and Jefferson for any bulk trash that you may have so that we can do last minute cleaning of the neighborhood before the tour next weekend. Please tell your neighbors that it will be there all weekend and that you are free to put any and all trash in the dumpster.

The WHNA is having its quarterly general meeting this coming Tuesday, Sept 30 at 7:00PM at Tyler Street United Methodist Church.  Councilman Dave Neumann will be our guest speaker and he will be available for any questions you may have.  We will also have reports from the Centennial Committee and reports about the upcoming home tours, the Fall OOCCL Home Tour which highlights Winnetka Heights this year and our Holiday Tour in December.  We will also discuss issues concerning our historic ordinance and a number of other neighborhood related items.  Hope to see you there.