Stumblin’ In | Creative Little Garden | Mother’s Day Card
Alright @YouTheReader, this Stumblin’ Along on Mother’s Day is Stumblin’ In because it’s one of my Mom’s favorite songs. Here’s a bit of research on it @Mom…
This song was released in 1978. It was written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. Chris Norman was the frontman for the band called Smokie. Chapman and Chinn had previously written for Smokie before the band decided to cut ties with the writing tandem. Chapman was producing Suzi Quatro's album “If You Knew Suzi”, which they were recording in Cologne, Germany. By random happenstance, Smokie received an award in nearby Düsseldorf and after the ceremony, Quatro & Chapman joined them at a party where music broke out. According to Chapman, "Suzi was playing bass, and Chris was there with his arm round her, and they were singing into a mike, and I thought what a fantastic duet they’d make because they looked so great together. The next day, I was in the studio with Suzi, and during a break, I came up with the line, 'Our love is alive'…I looked at Suzi and said 'What about this, with you and Chris? Wouldn’t it be great?' and she said it sounded fantastic.” (Source: The Record Producers)
Chapman finished writing the song with Chinn, and the duet was included on Quatro's album. This song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979 at #4 in the US. Prior to Stumblin’ In, Suzi Quatro had never been on the US Top 40 and Smokie’s "Living Next Door To Alice” had reached #25. Stumblin’ In, a song that happened under random happenstance at a party, ended up being the biggest hit for everyone involved. It is a great tune @Mom.
YouTube Rabbithole
Suzi Quatro's appearances on Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero
Hey, I mean, if you click the link, that’s on you @YouTheReader…
Creative Little Garden
Located at 530 East Sixth Street, Creative Little Garden is a Certified Wildlife Habitat. The Garden in East Village was founded in 1978. The space of land actually has a bit of history to it prior to the 70s. The area of the East Village was originally settled by Germans in the 1840s and was known as ‘Kleindeutschland’ meaning Little Germany. By 1855, The City only consisted of Manhattan but was considered the 3rd largest “German” city in the world, after Berlin and Vienna. German-Americans in The City at the time represented over 60 percent of all cabinetmakers, cigar makers, and barbers. In 1855, they also accounted for more than 50 percent of all bakers, shoemakers, locksmiths, tailors, and, of course, brewers. On the other hand, only about 9 percent were laborers, and 11 percent, served pints. (Source: LESPI) One of the German-owned bars in the area was Atlantic Garden, a beer garden and music hall established by William Kramer in 1858.
Maybe we’ll do a bit more on this spot later, sorry I got distracted with the history of beer in the area. Anyway, by the 1880s, the Irish started invading the East Village. The Germans said enough with that, we’ll head over to Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Eastern Europeans and Italians also started densing up the population. There was a good mix of immigrants in the area and they were there because of the garment factories (@Fellas that means clothing factories, it’s okay I had to look it up too). Then, in the 1910s, the subway system started to become a thing and people were able to move out of the slums right next to factories, they could afford to start to spread out all over The City so the population in the area started to decline. Then in the 1950s, Puerto Ricans moved into the area around Creative Little Garden, and the area that was once Kleindeutschland was now nicknamed Loisaida.
More population declined in the area in the 1960s and buildings all around the spot started to become abandoned. In the 1970s, a mix of Spanish, African American, and Bohemians took over. Many buildings were now being “homesteaded”. Some buildings (including the one that stood where our garden is now) were totally demolished. (Source: Creative Little Garden)
This brings us to 1978 when The City leased the plot of demolished land to Françoise Cachelin, the leader of NYC Parks GreenThumb. GreenThumb is proud to be the nation's largest urban gardening program, today sustaining over 550 community gardens and supporting thousands of volunteer gardeners throughout New York City. The Creative Little Garden at 530 East Sixth Street was one of the first initiatives. According to Creative Little Garden, Cachelin was an outspoken and staunch supporter of individual and community rights, and without her, the garden would not be here today. Françoise passed away in ‘03, but GreenThumb still continues to take inspiration from this former member of the French Resistance and spirited advocate for the rights of downtown residents.
The Creative Little Garden had a couple of hiccups, namely in ‘06 when neighboring buildings were being renovated and a large portion of the garden ended up in the neighbors’ basement. It's a "community backyard," maintained by volunteers from the surrounding neighborhood. There are no plots tended by individual gardeners, instead, members collaborate on the landscaping of the whole park. Everyone, not only members, can relax, read, have lunch, work on their laptop, or just enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of our garden. They routinely have Music Under The Willow and the garden even has its own stage area for performers.
@YouTheReader the Creative Little Garden is a pretty cool and unique use of land from a demolished building. I saw it while I was Stumblin’ Along The City drinking Pints of Guinness. It reminded me of my Mom’s own Creative Little Garden back in the River with Pearls.
Mother’s Day Card
@AllYouTheReaderSons who forgot to get your Mom a card this Sunday. Don’t worry, I got you, just send them this over!