A proscenium is a wall that separates a stage from an auditorium. You may recall that at one point, the Lyon Park Community Center (LPCC) had a stage. During the 2015 renovation, we retained the proscenium at the main hall’s south end. Recently, the light behind the proscenium stopped working. What to do, what to do? That light is inconveniently located, and it was unclear what kind of light bulb or fixture was up there. Concurrently, the Community Center’s funds began to run out.

Enter the inimitable Paul Showalter and a crew of student members of the National Honor Society. When asked to look at the light, which requires either a very tall ladder or some scaffolding, Paul readily agreed. When he heard that almost all January and February 2022 rentals had canceled or rescheduled, he suggested he could make a number of other repairs while the building is empty. Here, you see pictures of Paul and his crew at work. In addition, Paul provided a close‐up of the proscenium and all the trash that’s accumulated up there. Yes, he did find balls and a frisbee.

Those of you with a financial mindset probably zeroed in on the sentence that reads, “Concurrently, the Community Center’s funds began to run out.” Indeed, the LPCC has navigated the global pandemic for approximately two years, but the process has been painful. Fortunately, we had paid off our construction loan and also had a little bit of financial padding. We are now at the point where our financial position is precarious.

For that reason, we need to mount a fundraising campaign. We digress. You can read more information about how you can help on page 11 of the May 2022 LPCA Newsletter. Back to the work party…

These pictures show some (but not all) of the work that Showalter’s Honor Students completed with Paul and his wife Sharon. Those of us with creaky knees and bad backs are grateful that they painted the wainscoting throughout the main hall to cover up all the scuffs and spills that occur all too often. In addition, Paul is fixing or replacing the fixture in the proscenium, and he refinished the counters in the small kitchen and did various and sundry tasks. Our community is grateful for your help Paul and Sharon, and we are extremely grateful to the students who stepped forward to help. These students put the “honor” in National Honor Society!

On Thursday, May 13, join Lyon Park, Glen Carlyn, and Ashton Heights Citizens’ Associations for an evening with Wilma Jones, a fourth-generation resident of Arlington’s Halls Hill neighborhood and author of My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood. Wilma will share stories of growing up in the historically-Black neighborhood of Halls Hill.

Halls Hill was a segregated Black neighborhood that got its start in the mid-1800’s when 327 acres of land was purchased by Basil Hall for a plantation. Following the Civil War, the neighborhood became completely African American, with a population of residents that were descendants of slaves. It was later walled off and fenced in by developers with the permission of Arlington County Government from the early 1900’s until the 1960’s. Wilma’s family has called Halls Hill home for four generations. Her brother, Michael Jones, was one of four 12-year-old Black students to integrate public schools in Virginia in 1959. My Halls Hill Family tells the history of the neighborhood from its inception in 1866, until the County government, in a display of institutional racism common for the time, closed their neighborhood school in 1966.

Wilma is a top performing corporate information technology sales director during the day and is president of her own management consulting firm, Wilma J, LLC where she works with organizations to support development of a healthy and engaged staff. She is also a popular keynote speaker and workshop leader. Wilma is an author of three books, a grant consultant, civic activist, and nonprofit board member. In her volunteer activity she works with organizations supporting underserved communities to impact positive change.

The program, which is part of Lyon Park’s Dialogues on Race and Equity program, will take place on Thursday, May 13, from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.  Ms. Jones will speak for about 45 minutes and answer participants’ questions for the balance of the time.

Any resident of the partnering neighborhoods who wants to take part must register in advance.  A confirmation email along with the Zoom link will be sent immediately afterward.

Those who wish to read Wilma Jones’ book before the program can order it (available in Kindle and paperback editions) at https://amzn.to/3d6Trsr.  (There are also four copies in the Arlington County Library – and several people on the waiting list.)