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The week of Thanksgiving, November 19-25, is National Family Week. Fittingly, this month’s neighborhood profiles celebrate special families in Butcher’s Hill – the Evans Family of South Castle Street and the Rager Family of Lombard Street

Describing the Evans Family, Carolyn Boitnoit said, "they epitomize what being a good neighbor means. They look out for their neighbors, they are involved in our local school, and if they have to take the extra step, they do. They are very special."

Angie and Tim Evans have lived in East Baltimore their entire lives. The childhood sweethearts grew up six doors apart on Patterson Park Avenue. Now they are raising their three children a few blocks away on South Castle Street. They bought their home eleven years ago, anticipating the birth of their first child, Timothy. Since then they have had two more children, their daughter Toriella who is seven and their baby son Lark who is one.

"I loved the house," said Angie, "it was a small, quaint street." There were a lot of children on their block back then. Tim remembers the "old folks" who also made South Castle their home. Times changed. A lot of families moved out, some of the old folks died, and now many houses on their street are vacant. "All the kids are gone," said Angie, "My neighbors’ and my kids are the only ones on the street." Tim and Angie are hopeful that the recent renovation work in many of the vacant houses will mean that new families will join them on South Castle.

Being city kids themselves, Angie and Tim both said, "I like city life." "Everything is so close," said Angie, "I can speak to people I know while walking the kids to school." Tim enjoys proximity to downtown, being able to see the water and being close to Patterson Park. As he explained it, "I have the grass, but no lawn to mow." The Evans Family also values being close to their own family roots with parents and siblings living close by.

As comes with city life, they also expressed some frustrations, but not many. Parking isn’t allowed in front of their home, so unloading groceries is a challenge. Angie thinks, "some people don’t believe that others notice what goes on in the smaller streets." But Angie said that her family does notice what goes on. When residents of a nearby house became involved in drug dealing, they joined their neighbors in bringing it to the attention of others. The Butcher’s Hill Association petitioned the City, designating the house as a "nuisance house," and the drug activity has since ceased.

Another issue that affects their quality of life is the dumping of bulk trash in their street by residents of the main streets. Bulk trash is only picked up once a month. During the month, some people dump bulk items in the smaller streets, maybe because these streets are invisible to the main traffic of cars and people. Unfortunately, this trash is an eyesore and sanitation problem for the residents of the side streets until bulk trash day.

As busy parents, Angie and Tim aren’t often able to make it to Butchers Hill Association meetings. The Evans family keeps up with community happenings by reading the newsletter and keeping in touch with their neighbors. Angie is a supervisor in a downtown restaurant and attends PTA meetings among other activities. About her involvement in the school she said, "I am a regular face. I don’t just drop my kids off." Tim, is an ex-marine who now drives a truck for a living. He proudly said, "I served my country diligently and I’d do it again!"

It’s clear that two things are very important in the Evans’ household – their children and their neighborhood. Whether its working together on the computer, going to basketball games or learning Spanish – the Evans family enjoys spending time together. Their children’s extracurricular activities and homework take precedence in their household. Tim stressed that with the way the world is today, it is important that their children get a good education. They don’t only look out for their own children. They also work hard to make their neighborhood the best place it can be for everybody.

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We also celebrate the Rager family who have dedicated themselves to improving life in Butchers Hill for more than 20 years. We honor them and wish them well as they begin a new phase of their life in retirement in Mississippi.

In the mid 1970s, Harry and Joanie Rager moved to Butchers Hill with their eight children to a house on the 2100 block of Lombard Street. Both Harry and Joanie were commuting daily to Washington, D.C. She worked the day shift at the Pentagon; he worked the night shift at the Capitol Building. Since then the Ragers have experienced a lot of changes. They have worked hard to raise their children (four sons and four daughters) and watched them grow into adulthood. Sadly, they’ve lost two sons in accidental deaths along the way. They have also seen the house by house renovation of the neighborhood and the diversification of its residents.

Harry was one of the early presidents of the Butchers Hill Association. He worked hard to cultivate relationships with Mayor Shaefer and other civic leaders in Baltimore City that were key to getting things done. Arriving home from work when others were just getting to the office enabled Harry to make the right calls to the right people. During his tenure a lot of energy was directed at improving the look and feel of the neighborhood. The concrete and brick sidewalks on the 2100 block of Lombard were one accomplishment. When the old sidewalks were condemned by the City, Harry negotiated their unique replacements for a fraction of the usual cost, through "sweat equity". Thus Harry and a few neighbors rolled up their sleeves and dug in. Harry worked to see that other digging took place. Under his leadership more than 80 trees were planted in Butchers Hill in one weekend.

In his role as president and as a parent, Harry had many reasons to want Butchers Hill to be a place for families to thrive. Therefore he fought for the closing of two local bars that were often the place of rough and rowdy crowds. Nearly 50 neighbors joined him in marching into a bar that was at the corner of Chester and Pratt. Additionally, he encouraged redevelopment of "flop-houses" into places for families.

Harry also worked to bring cultural celebrations to the community. Ed Polecheck, Butchers Hill resident and deputy conductor of the Baltimore Symphony, worked with Harry to bring a concert series to the Pagoda in Patterson Park. The summer concerts featured not only the symphony, but also bluegrass, country and jazz music to reflect the diversity of the community. In addition to the music, Harry orchestrated the 4^th of July fireworks in the park and the hot air balloon races (that are now held in Druid Hill Park).

It’s no surprise that under his leadership, Butchers Hill was recognized as Most Improved Community by the City of Baltimore. It’s hard to believe that so many wonderful things happened during three short years as President!

Certainly such accomplishments were only possible through the support of Joanie and their eight children. As former neighbor and friend Roger White said, "they raised their children to be concerned citizens". Roger’s seen them display this concern as they dug holes for trees with their father, as they returned lost children to their homes, and as they stood up against wrong doing in Butchers Hill.

In the years since the 1970s, Harry has served as advisor to other association boards. He has worked to eliminate drug dealers from his neighborhood. More recently, Harry was involved in renovating the Pagoda upon its 100^th anniversary in 1994. He worked to get donations of materials and skill for the iron fence that now surrounds it. He also worked with the Taiwanese Consulate to have the Palace Lions given as a gift from the people of Taiwan. That great event was celebrated with a Dragon Dance, a visit from the governor and a broadcast by Connie Chung to Taiwanese news stations.

Butchers Hill salutes the Rager Family for their many contributions to the community. Their hard work has benefited all of us. By spurring neighborhood reinvestment and community involvement they laid the foundation for the Butchers Hill we live in today.

Content for the Rager Family profile provided from an interview with family friend Roger White.