Please Renew Your Membership!!
Go to TobinHill.org
Please plan to attend
Public Meeting with Elections January 25th 6 pm
EcoCentro
Happy New Year!! We have a lot going on with many events in the upcoming month!!
The THCA is preparing for the upcoming Annual Meeting. We have several members on the board that will be term limited and I would like to introduce you to our candidates who will be running for the board. The President will be up for reelection as this position is up annually. Cody Doege will be running again for the Presidents seat. We have three Resident members that will be filled and One Business member slot.
Resident Candidate
Frederica Kushner 405 E. Myrtle St.
Frederica lives in an historic home in Tobin Hill. Research into the history of that home and others in the neighborhood, as well as reading about the American Arts and Crafts movement has helped inform her point of view about historic neighborhoods. She has written two articles for the Office of Historic Preservation: one on the history of Tobin Hill, and one on Oriental Style bungalows.
She worked for designation of the original Tobin Hill Historic District and, more recently, the Tobin Hill North and East French Historic Districts. She was a member of the Planning Team which produced the Tobin Hill Neighborhood Plan, adopted by the City in 2008. And, more recently, she was a member of the Historic Preservation and Cultural Heritage Working Group which contributed to the SATomorrow Comprehensive Plan, now being implemented by the City of San Antonio.
Frederica is a member of the Steering Committee of the Tier 1 Neighborhood Coalition, which advocates for neighborhoods close to Downtown and educates their leaders in how to navigate within the San Antonio City government.
She has been a member of the board of the San Antonio Conservation Society and has chaired both their Historic Building Survey and Historic Gas Station Survey Committees. She is also active in the Tobin Hill Community Association as chair of the Historic Preservation Committee, which functions as an architectural review committee.
Resident Candidate
Anisa Schell
I’m Anisa Schell, and I’ve lived on E. Mistletoe Ave. for 4 years. Our family moved to San Antonio from Denver, CO in 2013. After spending a year getting to know San Antonio, my husband, Rick, and I decided Tobin Hill was the place we wanted to raise our three kids. Over the years we’ve grown incredibly close to our neighbors. It has been a joy to see the neighborhood growing and more families moving into Tobin Hill.
In 2006 I left my career in construction estimating and project administration to stay home with my children. Since that time, I have served on numerous boards and committees in my community that have ranged from organizing a city-wide event with the Denver Botanic Gardens, to serving as the secretary for our previous neighborhood’s community association. In 2015 I helped found a homeschool school co-op that currently serves more than 75 families in San Antonio with over 250 members; I was on the on the board from 2015 to 2017 as both the president and vice president. In 2016 and 2017, along with my neighbors, I helped organize the Dia de los Muertos Porch Crawl, an annual event along E. Mistletoe Ave. Currently, I am serving on the Tobin Hill Community Association’s Historic Preservation Architectural Review Committee, as well as representing neighborhoods on one of the five Technical Working Groups for the Mayor’s Housing Policy Task Force. I would be thrilled to bring my community organization skills to the board of the Tobin Hill Community Association.
Resident Candidate
Trey Porter
Trey Porter has been a resident/owner in the Tobin Hill Historic District since February 2015. Originally from East Tennessee, Trey moved to San Antonio in 2008 to attend law school at St. Mary’s University School of Law. Trey’s first job out of law school was at a firm located in Tobin Hill. Trey quickly became familiar with the neighborhood, and also had a front row seat to the growth and redevelopment of the area. Trey still works in Tobin Hill, where his law practice focuses primarily on Criminal Defense. Trey is passionate about making Tobin Hill an even greater place to live, work, and play. His primary interests are working to grow the membership and member involvement of both resident and business owners, as well as the further development and improvement of Crockett Park.
Business Candidate
Blayne Tucker
Mr. Tucker has worked on virtually every aspect of the music and entertainment business for a variety of clients including Cyril Neville, Bobby Valentino, and Gary Clark Jr. On behalf of Gary Clark Jr., Mr. Tucker has participated in every aspect of his career: management, business management, legal affairs, tour management, booking, promotions, marketing, publicity, merchandising, fan club interaction, and publishing administration. He is the founder of the North St. Mary’s Business Owners Association, served as Commissioner on the Tricentennial Commission when appointed by then Councilman Ron Nirenberg, and is owner of The Mix on North St. Mary’s St.
Additionally, Mr. Tucker is the managing partner for Do210.com. San Antonio’s premiere event calendar listing providing the most comprehensive event database for local and national events.
Mr. Tucker was in private practice handling a wide variety of cases that involved: business litigation, multi-district litigation, criminal defense, business transactions, international law, wills and probate, personal injury, divorce, child custody, adoption, and appeals before the Court of Veterans Appeals and Air Force Board for the Correction of Military Records. Mr. Tucker has practiced extensively in both state and federal district and appellate courts.
Mr. Tucker completed his B.S. from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in just over two years, as well as attaining his J.D. from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth, Texas.
As you can see we have a lot of talented candidates…I look forward to seeing each of you at the upcoming meeting!
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TOBIN HILL’S CHURCHES – PART 1
There are four active houses of worship located in Tobin Hill, with histories into the 1920s and before. Bethany Church, located at 611 E. Myrtle St. is one of them.
In 1904 the Evengelische Friedens-Gemeinde zu San Antonio (the Peace Church or Friedens Kirke) was formed, meeting in a building on the south side of Elmira St. In 1927 the congregation built a new building at 611 E. Myrtle St. When the church was dedicated, however it only consisted of a parsonage, an education wing, and a fellowship hall (a basement). The sanctuary and bell tower were not built until 1951, after the Great Depression and World War II. Drawings for the Bethany Evangelical and Reformed Church Addition, 1948-1949, by the architectural firm of Henry J. Steinbomer are located at the Alexander Architectural Archive at the University of Texas at Austin. The list of Steinbomer’s drawings also includes one titled Evangelical Friendan’s [sic] Church Building, which could be a drawing of the original church building, either on Elmira or on Myrtle. Meantime, in 1936, the congregation changed its name to Bethany Evangelical and Reformed Church. In the 1960s the church began to minister to the elderly in Tobin Hill, and in the 1970s it started a nutrition program for the elderly in the Tobin Hill and Government Hill neighborhoods.
In 1975, Bethany Church began to engage the Hispanic population. Soon a Spanish-speaking congregation formed under the name of “Betania, Iglesia Unida de Cristo”.
From 1977 to 1978, Bethany Church facilitated the formation of the Tobin Hill Neighborhood Association, its pastor becoming the first secretary of the Association.
In 1979 the Bethany congregation united with Pilgrim Congregational Church and moved to that church’s facility in the Dellview area, in northwest San Antonio.[1]
The buildings are now occupied by the Metropolitan Community Church, which continues the tradition of providing food for the needy.
In case you may have wondered about the empty metal bell tower at the back of the Metropolitan Community Church sanctuary, the bell accompanied the Bethany congregation to their new location in Dellview.
[1] Coming Together in Christ: a Centennial History of Bethany Congregational Church, 1904-2004 / by Rev. John B. Culver, Pastor Emeritus
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El Mardi Gras
The 2nd annual El Mardi Gras will be held on February 11th, from 1:00-6:00 PM, at the corner of St. Mary’s and Mistletoe. The money raised from this event goes back into the Tobin Hill community. We are looking for volunteers to help the day of the event with set up, trash collection during the event, and clean up. A volunteer sign up will go out soon. Thanks so much for considering helping out during this fun and purposeful event. We look forward to seeing you there!
For questions, please email Rhonda rhonda@summermoon.coffee
May is National Stroke Awareness Month. In celebration of Stroke Awareness Month, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital would like to share Stroke Awareness information.
