The Voice - December 2020
/City Update: New Dog Park & New Trails
Submitted by City Manager Tom Fromme
This is an article that I find great pleasure in writing. I’m pleased to announce that alongside the new Dog Park, trails have been cleared nearby that go under I-471 adjacent to the library. Previously this area was approximately four acres of overgrown and litter-strewn land that was an absolute eyesore.
Considering that this work has mostly been done during the ongoing pandemic, it was quite a feat. During the past ten months, the work included removal of trash that had been dumped in the area over the past several decades. Approximately four dump truck loads of garbage were removed, involving countless trips to the dumpsters at the city garage with loads of debris from the area.
Cutting trails through the heavy overgrown brush has been accomplished slowly during these past ten months. Painting over large amounts of graffiti on the concrete overpass, along with moving a large amount of dirt to make a bike trail directly under the overpass, has created an area for our youth to enjoy.
A lot of this work has been done by Newport Police recruits Tyler Hatfield, Jason Samples and James Hauenstein. Several citizen volunteers including Will Gustafson, Zach Newman and Dennis Schaber, under the direction of Police Captain Paul Kunkel, have provided their valuable time and assistance to the cause.
More work is planned, but people in the area are already taking advantage of the trails to walk their dogs, hike, ride bikes, or just walk while we continue working on the trails. This green space and the area under the bridge, along with the sidewalk that encircles the Dog Park, connects Providence Park, 6th Street and hopefully in the future, the Party Source and New Riff lot.
Please enjoy this wonderful area and help us keep the area safe and clean for the enjoyment of everyone.
As always, if you have any questions, please email bholiday@newportky.gov or call the office at 859-292-3687.
Newport’s Online Resources:
City Website: http://www.newportky.gov/
City Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CityofNewportKY/
Newport History Museum @ The Southgate Street School Facebook: www.facebook.com/
NewportHistoryMuseumattheSouthgateStreetSchool/
Thanks for making Newport a great place to live, work, shop, dine and play.
Think Big Shop Small
Submitted by Bev Holiday, NBA Vice President
This holiday season, our Newport Business Association (NBA) is hosting a virtual tour, Think Big Shop Small, to showcase our city’s brick-and-mortar businesses for holiday shopping, dining, entertainment, and more! Step inside Newport’s many venues to see what gift selections and services are available for gift giving this holiday season!
Take time to view the five videos (takes approximately two minutes to view all five) and see a variety of business owners telling their stories: Red Hot Promotions, Mokka and the Sunset Bar and Grill, The Yoga Bar, Pompilio’s, Headquarters Historic Event Center, Seventh Street Gifts, Karmaic Beauty, eat well celebrations and feasts, 828 The Turn Event Venue, York Street Café, Sis’s on Monmouth, Urban Chick Boutique, Costume Gallery, Knit On!, James Noll Law, Jerry’s Jug House, Mazzocca Bros. Furniture & Antiques, Sweet Tooth Candies, Dresser Up Vintage Boutique, and Interactive College of Technology.
Launch the 5 videos (see right column on the video page).
Be sure to check websites and Facebook pages for the featured video businesses to confirm hours of operation and any other details.
A Big THANK YOU to David Dalton and his co-workers at The Think Shop for compiling the vignette of Newport businesses promoting Shopping Local this Christmas Season!
Please note: The NBA videos were made before Governor Beshear’s Executive Order prohibiting inside dining at restaurants and bars/pubs from November 20 through December 13.
A Beary Merry Christmas around the City: Animatronic Bears Have Returned!
Visit mama bear at The Sweet Tooth. (Photo Credit: The Sweet Tooth Candies.)
Our popular animatronic bears are back, brightening Newport’s storefront windows and offering great selfie photo opportunities. A Big Thank You to the following businesses for hosting Christmas bears:
Northern KY Open Box Outlet, 1813 Monmouth Street, Newport Shopping Center
The Baker’s Table, 1004 Monmouth Street
915 Monmouth Studio, 915 Monmouth Street
Monmouth Street Antique Gallery, 822 Monmouth Street
The Think Shop, 811 Monmouth Street
Knit On! 735 Monmouth Street
Heritage Bank, 647 Monmouth (Momma Bear is wearing a face mask!)
Dickey’s Glass, 525 Monmouth Street (A year-round staple with ever-changing attire!)
Mokka and the Sunset Bar and Grill, 500 Monmouth Street
John Nolan Auto Service, 15 East 4th Street
Karmaic Beauty, 737 York Street
Kentucky Furniture, 201 East 10th Street
Sweet Tooth Candies, 125 West 11th Street
What's Cooking in the East Row?
By Paula Brandon
Culinary Farmer Brett Sutton and Chef Dominique Khoury are adding flair and zest to the East Row during the pandemic, making creative, local food products available to our neighborhood. Their artisanal pies were the highlight of many Thanksgiving tables and in September, they created pawpaw ice cream and sorbet, plus delicious angel food cake made from the leftover egg whites. Through notices on our listserv and word of mouth, they quickly sold out of every product.
Brett Sutton and Dominique Khoury kept the home fires baking with EXQUISITE pie creations this thanksgiving.
“Great food starts with great ingredients from the best farmers, millers, distillers, and beekeepers,” says Brett. “During September, we harvested pawpaw fruit in the Cincinnati/Kentucky area from our own trees, local farmers and adjacent native forests. This delicious, native-heritage fruit offers a palate of banana, mango, guava, and pineapple and has an incredibly creamy, custard-like texture.” Thanksgiving’s made-from-scratch pies included Kentucky bourbon butter pecan, spiced honey apple and pumpkin. “We partnered with Scott's Farm in Burlington and incorporated some of the best local butter, honey and bourbon out there,” Brett says.
Brett and Dominique, who got engaged last spring, explain that while the pandemic sparked quite a transition in their lives and roles in the Bay area of California, our area has always been on their radar. Brett is the son of East Row residents, Mike and Kim Sutton.
Dominique is a former sous-chef and traveling sous with Chef Dominique Crenn of three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn, and Brett, a culinary farm director (Bleu Belle Farm, Sonoma) for the Crenn Dining Group. In addition, Dominique has experience working for Portside Bakery in Sausalito, where she also created the perfect brioche breads and more for Petit Crenn, San Francisco, for years. Brett has experience baking for Cincinnati's own Blue Oven Bakery and for Avenue Bakery in Bellingham, Washington.
If you missed out on any of the amazing creations of Brett and Dominique, fear not. Rumor has it that sourdough breads may be in our future.
Peluso's Market is a Well-Loved Holiday Tradition
By John Gilliam
Season’s Greetings! Please enjoy this touching and entertaining tribute to one of Newport’s small businesses, written by longtime East Row resident, John Gilliam. This article first appeared on the East Row Foundation’s website, and we’ve updated it for 2020.
From left, peluso’s market is a well-loved landmark on newport’s monmouth street. tom mitts, pictured at top right with his mother, mary, was a well-known, fine artist who captured the essence of northern kentucky and in particular, our east row homes. tom’s christmas tree lot behind peluso’s now belongs to david dennis and is a popular local tradition. Below right are frances and andrea, who along with other family members help keep peluso’s running smoothly.
Peluso's Market is a time-honored treasure of Monmouth Street. It is the place to go for your Christmas trees and bulk candy.
Sherry is running the store these days. She will be glad to fix you a deli sandwich for $2.50. When she doesn't have a customer, she plays gin rummy with her mother Frances. It might not sound like much, but recently when I took a friend there, she burst into tears at the sight of Frances, a spitting image of her beloved grandmother. Frances is actually 92 years old. She started working there when she was 18. That means she has been on the job for 75 years. I asked her son Jerry if she ever gets the day off. What a crazy idea!
The Christmas trees have been sold out back since World War II. Tom Mitts, the well-known artist and house painter had been in charge for a decade, but after his passing his good friend David Dennis took over the Christmas tree lot. Many of you are fortunate enough to know his mother, Mary Mitts, with whom he shared a close bond. She is very pleased that Tom Mitts Christmas Trees will continue on. Dave is taking over one of Newport's best Christmas traditions.
Giovanni Peluso arrived in the United States in the early 1920s. A few years later he made it to Newport and started the market in the middle of the depression. He opened his produce market on the west side of the 700 block of Monmouth St. in 1931, where the former State Theater movie house was located. He had 12 children. His career as a grocer came to an end when he was in a head-on collision with a Green Line bus on the Short Way Bridge.
For those of you keeping score, Jerry, our former mayor, who was once in charge of the Christmas trees, is Giovanni's grandson, Frances's son and Sherry's brother. Jerry is the one you will see out front with a shovel any time it snows. There is another sister, Angie, a self-described good girl. Twice a day for the last ten years of his life, she would deliver a meal to her Uncle Johnny, also a Newport mayor.
Frances's other son, Jimmy, serves us well as our constable. And let us not forget Red, the store cat, whose spirit watches over the store. One glance at him and you knew he too could tell a story or two.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Gift Ideas Help Us Celebrate Newport
What better way to honor a dog- or cat-loving friend or family member? Another round of bricks will be installed at our new dog park when enough orders have been received for the next section. Let’s get those orders in now to be part of the legacy of our new dog park. Here’s how to order:
$75 Donation – 4x8 in. brick
$500 Donation – 12x12 in. brick
Visit PolarEngraving.com/NewportDogPark
PayPal or checks accepted
New Riff community bourbon barrel bottles are available for purchase: The limited edition 225th anniversary bottles “Proudly Celebrating Our Diverse Past & Making History Every Day” are available for purchase in the New Riff Distillery Gift Shop at 24 Distillery Way. Thanks to New Riff’s generous donation, a portion of each bottle sold will benefit the 225th Anniversary Celebration of Newport’s History.
The Newport History Museum @ The Southgate Street School is offering for purchase a limited supply of architectural pieces from the former 1936 Fourth Street School. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the promotion and interpretation of the 225-year history of the City of Newport. Items include:
Terra Cotta Decorative Block - $55
Slate Deli Cheese Board - $28
Oak and Brass Stair Railings - $75
Newport 225 Coasters and magnets are also available, locally handcrafted by Studio Vertu.
Coasters - $10
Magnets - $6
Contact Scott Clark at sclark@newportky.gov to order items from the former Fourth Street School.
Thank you for your continued support of the Newport History Museum!
Ever Wonder about the History of Your East Row Home?
Submitted by Jeff Richardson
Editor’s Note: Most of us think of ourselves as caretakers of our well-loved, East Row homes, honored to be part of the fabric of time that makes our neighborhood special. Jeff Richardson has researched and written a number of house histories over the years for publication in our garden walk and Christmas tour brochures, and we plan to feature some of those histories in upcoming issues of The Voice.
History of 635 Overton: This home is one of Newport’s best examples of a patterned masonry Queen Anne style townhouse. The patterned masonry style is an uncommon form, combining traditional Queen Anne elements with expressive brick corbeling, stone and tile work in the porch and main front gables. The house was built in 1887 by Thomas Laurens and Mary Keturah Taylor Jones, daughter of Colonel James Taylor (from whose estate the East Row was developed). The home was initially occupied by the family of James Taylor Jones, their son, a clerk in his uncles’ James Taylor & Sons private banking firm. The house was purchased from another Jones heir in 1902 by William and Della Hamilton and remained in the Hamilton family until 1995.
The house is two-and-one-half stories tall and two bays wide, with a stone stringcourse that separates the first and second floors. It has a projecting full-height gable front bay framed by brick piers. The first and second floors have triple windows with stone sills and lintels topped with stained glass transoms. The upper half story is characterized by an arched, divided window with stone keystone with patterned tiles in the gable. The overall motif is replicated in the piers, arch and gable of the single story entry porch. Also of note is the decorative stone swag in the main façade, which is believed to possibly represent a Jones family emblem (and may have originally been replicated above the porch).
The home was fully restored by the previous owners. The interior is marked by original pine plank floors and custom molding around the doors and windows. The five ornately designed mantels and sconce lighting are also original. The back of the home features exposed brick walls in the kitchen and a delightful garden courtyard. The current owners have updated the second and third floors while attempting to maintain the original character.
The Voice
Editor: Paula Brandon
Send articles to voice@eastrow.org. The editor reserves the right to edit or reject submissions due to length or content.
