Residents Gather in the Ballroom to Recall the 1976-1980 Struggle to Preserve McLean Gardens from Urban Renewal.
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In 2010 residents launched a new organization, the Club for the History of McLean Gardens and the Friendship Estates. The group’s initial purpose is to spur more research on the history of the land on which our contemporary community stands, perhaps from pre-Columbian times to the present. Whatever form the end product of this research takes, perhaps a book of individual essays, it will be available for the 75th anniversary of McLean Gardens in 2017. The club intends to host several “History Evenings” each year. These events might present oral history interviews with current and former residents about particular phases of the history of McLean Gardens. Scholars who are doing work that focuses or touches on the history of our community could make presentations on their research. McLean Gardens has extensive archival materials that could be used in workshops to uncover interesting but forgotten aspects of the community’s history. Some members of the club will conduct individual oral history interviews with long-time residents to capture their recollections of life in McLean Gardens.
The club has an email-list of interested residents and plans to meet quarterly. |