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Every winter brings holiday festivities, complete with tree-lightings and Santa-sightings. It’s the time of year when people get in the spirit of things, adorning their homes and windows with twinkling lights and merriment.
For six years, one group has made it a mission to dress up their neighborhood, beginning with the plot of land on the northeast corner of Third Street and Moyamensing Avenue. Each year, the area known to all as the garden is adorned with Christmas trees, inflatable decorations, plastic snowmen, lights and ornaments. At the gazebo entrance, which sits in the corner adjacent to the back alley, stands an artificial white Christmas tree dotted with multicolored lights.
A few of the residents began the tradition of taking care of the site during their own time and on their own dime.
"It had become overgrown and we didn’t want it to become a weed park," Rebecca Narkin, of the 1900 block of Moyamensing, said.
Narkin, husband John and neighbors Kathy and Matt Snyder, of McKean and Galloway streets, help maintain the garden’s aesthetics throughout the year. Although Christmas was the first holiday in which they decorated the 75-by-15-foot space, the neighbors enhance it each season and almost every calendar holiday. According to Narkin, silk flowers and appropriate flags are changed and displayed year-round. For the first year, the display consisted of items from their personal decoration stash, but they purchased objects specifically for the garden each subsequent year.
The community utilizes the space as often as possible for sidewalk sales, summer block parties complete with a slide and pool, tea parties (more than 40 women attended) and numerous bashes. For a short time, before being decorated regularly, one neighbor whose wife suffered from breast cancer used the space to raise awareness.
"We try to involve the community and we’ve had a lot of different functions," Narkin, 49, said. "It really does a lot for us and gives us a sense of community."
The site once housed Moffa Photography, now a few blocks north at Pennsport Mall. When the building burned down and Moffa moved, an empty lot was left behind. Owned by a New Jersey resident, the location was entrusted to the care of state Rep. William Keller. Similar to this one, Keller has turned dozens of lots in his district into something more with the help of local unions. IBEW Local 98 took care of the electrical wiring and the Cement Mason’s Local 592 apprentices designed the Third-and-Moyamensing space’s intricate patio effect. Once updated, the lots are turned over to the community where those interested became the caretakers.
"Some worked great and some didn’t," Keller said about the projects. "I wish every community would do what the neighbors around Moyamensing and McKean did. It’s now an asset to the community and makes people feel good about it."
Since turning it over 10 years ago, residents have been responsible for the site’s daily maintenance. They pick weeds, plant new flowers, trees and bushes and clear trash in addition to making it more aesthetically pleasing.
Although it doesn’t happen frequently, the Narkins, who have lived in the same house for 12 years, paint or repair the white picket fence that surrounds the property when necessary. Each couple does what needs to be done on a daily basis.
"We don’t have yards ourselves, so we’re very fortunate," she said of having the community space.
The garden — as the neighbors call it — has definitely become a shared haven.
"I think it brings everyone together. It’s uplifting and nice," neighbor Maryanne Sharpe said. "It’s good for the community and they have it looking beautiful."
People have donated foliage, decorations and even money to the cause.
"We get people who slow down in cars and come up to us and give us money — these are strangers, not neighbors," Narkin said.
Once, a passerby approached and donated $20 for holiday lights on the spot. The two families spend anywhere from $200 to $300 a year in ornamental replacements and, if inexpensive or on sale, Narkin can’t resist. Her husband almost always assumes something new in the house is headed straight for the garden.
The group continues to accumulate items to remain in line with the trends, especially at the request of local children. What started as a few decorative odds and ends has blossomed into the Narkins and Snyders, who both are in their late 30s, having hundreds of pieces stashed in their respective basements.
Since the electrical work was installed more than 10 years ago, it’s not quite equipped to handle such a large wattage that new decorations can bring. A rain- or windstorm can cause a power outage. This year, the two couples didn’t put out the Nativity scene because of bad winds. And, recently, half of the lot lost power due to temperamental weather conditions.
"The problems we keep getting into now with all of the new stuff and decorations are wattage problems," Narkin said, adding Matt Snyder handles any fixes. "It wasn’t wired for the electrical needs."
Through it all, the land has become known for its beauty not just during the holidays, but all year long.
"We live here and want it to be nice, plus the community loves it," Narkin said.
