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A Walk in the Park
Series Profiles the Daily Life of a Community's Urban Oasis
 View a photo gallery of Walter Pierce Community Park
Listen and learn more about stories in this series
August 2003 -- Independent radio producer Katie Davis presents tales of the "other" Washington -- the city that doesn’t make it into the news headlines. She profiles the people that make Walter Pierce Community Park, in the heart of the city's Adams Morgan neighborhood, the centerpiece of a diverse, vibrant urban community:
 August 5: 'Country Bobby'
"Country Bobby" Lowry is the guardian of Walter Pierce Community Park in Washington, D.C. He's been keeping an eye on the park for almost three decades, and knows more about how it than any city official -- he knows the trees, the plants and the kids. In the first of four stories about the park, Katie Davis introduces us to this transplanted farm boy who never takes shortcuts in his work.
August 12: Machetes and Marigolds
Meet Don Victor Zebina, who has the last word always at the community garden in Walter Pierce Community Park. You need a piece of land, you have to go to Victor. You don’t, your plants might get ripped out. Davis maps the intricate boundaries and passions of the community garden in Adams Morgan -- the most diverse neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Recently, there has been a line of people asking for new plots. The tension among gardeners has even led to "garden wars."
August 19: Every Move You Make
Sit by the basketball court at Walter Pierce Community Park and you will find the men in the neighborhood vying for ranking. This competition peaks every summer in the annual Hoopin' in the Hood Basketball Tournament. It's the day the neighborhood men plan for all year long. They recruit, talk trash and then play their hearts out trying to win bragging rights for the rest of the year. Hear the call and response of the playground game.
August 26: Leah’s Doing Hair
An ode to Leah at Walter Pierce Community Park, who braids hair by the basketball court while the guys play 5 on 5.
These audio portraits are part of Katie Davis' ongoing Neighborhood Stories radio series. The stories are edited by NPR's Neenah Ellis and funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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