NPR and the Sewanee Police

I was interviewed by Nashville Public Radio again last week. This time the chickens were interviewed also. I was told the interview will broadcast this Tuesday morning and maybe afternoon. I bet they run the part where I claim I suspect the Community Council ruled in my favor after my threat to move to the beach. We shall soon see...

In more important Sewanee news ... I failed to report that last week's Community Council meeting ended with a standing ovation to former police Chief Jim Parrott who retired this summer. Chief Parrott, who has been an outstanding leader of a police force that takes the motto "serve and protect" seriously, has retired from police service but will remain on campus as a head resident of one of our dorms.

On my walk this evening I watched a patrol car wander in and out of parking lots - just checking things out and making themselves known. They waved at me as they drove by. Yes, they know me, but they'd have waved at anyone because they're good people and here for the right reasons. It's been like this my entire life. We're very lucky.

"HENS GRANTED AMNESTY"

My parent's rather traditional pets, Muffy & Joe, nervously await the chicken decision. Unfortunately my sister Julia and her husband Greg were in Denver for the DNC and could not make the chicken meeting.
On Thursday Sewanee's local paper the Mountain Messenger printed the following report on this week's Community Council meeting:

"Katherine Alvarez, manager of Stirling's Coffee House, has lived in Sewanee for 30 years and in the same house on University Avenue for 13 years. She has kept chickens in her backyard for the past two years and has three pet hens: Antoinette, a Frizzle; Chloe, a Polish and Alysa, a bantam Cochin. Though Alvarez does not own a rooster, this summer one of her neighbors lodged a complaint about noise with the lease committee, which referred the problem to the Community Council. Alvarez's father, Laurence, started the discussion on Monday evening by saying the University's lease agreement prohibits livestock on the Domain, yet all the definitions of livestock he has researched do not include chickens. [the Tenn. Department of Agriculture's definition: "Livestock is defined as cattle, equine, swine, sheep or goats."] He said Katherine's chickens are not running around freely in the front yard and are not bothering anyone.

According to Alvarez, her chickens make less noise than dogs, cicadas, tree frogs, children or alumni. They live in a children's play house and adjacent screened-in porch, and when she lets them out into the backyard, deer netting around the yard keeps dogs and other animals out. For photos of Alvarez's chickens, her house, backyard and the chicken house, see <savesewaneechickens.blogspot.com/>.

Approximately 25 people attended the meeting in support of Alvarez. District 4 Representative Mary Blount said some of her constituents are concerned that too many chickens may be allowed on the Domain. She said, "The lease agreement was written to help us all live together. We should suggest to the University to refine it's definition of livestock."

As District 4 Representative Annie Armour could not attend the meeting, she asked Provost Linda Lankewicz to share her written opinion with the council: "I believe that as a community we should always look beyond traditionally accepted norms to new possibilities. In this case, there are lots of animals, including chickens, that are becoming socially acceptable as pets. Moreover, chickens fit into Sewanee's plan to become a leader in self-sustainability, too, since they eat ticks (thus helping one avoid spraying poisons in the yard) and provide eggs to eat. I think dogs can be much more of a nuisance than chickens, yet I would never ask that they be banished from the Domain. ... I do not see chickens as nuisances. They are not dangerous, noisy, vicious or particularly smelly. I do not see a compelling reason to ask Katherine to get rid of her chickens."

Professor of biology and Sustainabiliy Committee member David Haskell said that he and his wife had asked the Lease Committee's permission to keep their animals [including goats]. He and others on the Sustainability Committee are working on proposed revisions of lease rules to allow small-scale livestock for home consumption. Haskell said that the lease agreement says exceptions may be made if people present their requests to the Lease Committee. "I would hope we could allow some exceptions to allow animals for families to raise their own produce," he said.

District 1 representative Marymor (Boo) Cravens said, "What's the difference between an Easter bunny and a pet chicken?" She made a motion that the Community Council recommend that hens be allowed on the Domain subject to the Sustainability Committee's recommendations to the University and the Lease Committee; and the motion carried unanimously. Superintendent of Leases, Barbara Schlichting will present this recommendation to the Lease Committee at it's Sept. 17 meeting."

The Community Council Meeting

Dad and I at the Community Council meeting. Don't we look intimidating!The Community Council met tonight with a larger group and longer meeting than usual. (Okay well, seven of us were my family). As much as I wanted to have the chickens attend - they love a good social event - I wanted more not to embarrass my father.

After talking about the golf course and cell phone tower, it was time to devote most of the meeting to the chickens. Clearly there were two issues: me and my chickens and our lease - as well as the greater and more important issue of making the entire domain a more chicken friendly place. My father spoke to the former, discussing the fact that our lease does not prohibit chickens and since they're not walking around the front yard pecking people on the sidewalk or creating any other nuisance, there is no grounds to have me remove them.

I spoke about the benefits of raising hens. I explained how a hen raised as a pet will behave as a pet - much like a cat or dog: sit in your lap, eat from your hand, come when called... I talked about noise, smell and mess - pointing out that an animal about 12 inches tall will produce a proportionate amount of waste and mess - less than most dogs, foxes, raccoons... I got a hardy laugh when comparing the immaterial noise factor of chickens to the rather greater amount produced by alumni. I talked about the significant health benefits of home raised eggs and yard benefits of nitrogen filled droppings.

As I talked, pictures of my chickens and yard were passed around. Half way through I noticed warm smiles and heads nodding around the room - and not just from friends and family - the administrators of the University appeared engaged and supportive.

There followed discussion, opinions, anecdotes. Important points were made about this issue being much larger than just our town and our need to revisit the lease laws. Boo Cravens was adamant that MANY lease laws be revisited (she doesn't care WHAT color you paint your front door!). There was talk of local food sources and quality of life and then more stories of when there were horses, ponies, goats and chickens, (not to mention a dry cleaner and a grocery store) in town in the good ole days...

A motion was made to recommend to the Lease Committee that hens be allowed, subject to rules to be defined in accordance with the University Sustainability Committee. The motion was approved unanimously. Next the Lease Committee meets in September and then I expect it will go to the Sustainability Committee which will take all the necessary practicalities into consideration when coming up with specific chicken rules.

It was raining (hooray!) and past the chicken's bedtime when I returned home so I didn't run out to tell them the good news. They weren't worried anyway - they know they belong here.

Sunday Afternoon With the Girls

As the self described "mean Aunt", I have some rules about my yard. Rachel is good about following them and her friends think she's cool because her aunt has fancy chickens 1/2 a block from the Elementary school.

My niece, Rachel is collecting feathers to make me a fan.Chicken tricks - they'll jump for a treat, but it's hard to catch on camera...
I promise - they're about to jump
Okay, whatever - Elisa decides she's out of here and flies away...

Last May 1st I was home in the afternoon cooking dinner for my spring employee party. I heard noise in the front yard and went to investigate. Mrs. Seiter's had her elementary school class on my front walk where she was teaching them a valuable lesson.

I know this for a fact because she taught my children second grade, me piano lessons for several years while I was in middle school, I babysat her children, her daughter is best friends with my sister, I made her daughter's wedding cake, she lives 3 doors up from me.... Suffice it to say that I know she is a wonderful person and enthusiastic teacher.

Each year on May Day I find a "May basket" of flowers on my front door handle. It's one of my favorite things about living here because my brother and I used to make May baskets and leave them for neighbors when we were children.. The beauty of it is there is no note, it is a simple anonymous kind gesture.

Sometimes receiving is as good as giving when one has given themselves and can appreciate the significance.

So back to May Day 2008 - I went to my front door to find a class of giggling children delivering baskets and invited them to my back yard to see the gardens. "YOU HAVE CHICKENS!" They exclaimed. A couple of the little girls told me they had chickens too.

The boys loved stomping around in my large stand of bamboo. Much to their dismay, I made them get out of it and explained about it's growth pattern. Mrs Seiter's took a picture of one of the children handing me the May basket for the local paper - and they were on their way.

It was very sweet.

I would love to schedule classes to come by and see how it is possible to have a few chickens in the middle of town. It is increasingly important for people to understand their food, where it comes from and how they can control some of it. The college and high school are working on it, I'm not sure about the elementary school, but I plan to volunteer.

Tomorrow night is the Community Council meeting. 7Pm, open to the public, chickens are on the agenda, should be fun, stop by.

The Beginning of a New Year

My audience... "Now girls, listen up. The Community Council meeting is on Monday and the future of all Sewanee Chickens is at stake."

Here in our little college town, the freshmen are arriving today. All over campus people have been getting ready for the new school year.

Students from the organic garden who were back in town early, came by my workplace and dug compost out of our yard and took many of the hundreds of glass bottles we've kept for potential recycling. They're putting the bottles to use in a landscaping project. Our county doesn't recycle glass so it's a haul to get it done. I'm so happy to see students with innovative, earth friendly ideas taking the initiative. They are full of enthusiasm and energy!

I work with about 30 students. I love them. They come to my house for dinner a couple times a year. They love getting out of the dorm, and coming to a real house with home cooked food. In the spring we eat outside if the weather is nice. They can't BELIEVE I'm having a problem with my chickens.

There is a prep school on your way into town http://www.sasweb.org/home/ . I have friends & neighbors who work there and my children and siblings have attended over the span of many years. St. Andrews has long been in the forefront of "going green" and is growing some of their own produce for the dining hall and hoping to raise chickens.

Doesn't this sound like a town where it shouldn't be a problem to have backyard chickens???

Small Town Living

My mother just got a "pocket" dog. This is my new brother, Joe. Yesterday my brother called to say that our dad was alright. Last time I got a call like that was in November when Dad and Grandfather were on a National Geographic ship touring the Antarctic. Another ship was sinking and we were relieved to know it wasn't theirs. Like last time, I was delighted to know that he was okay, but not sure why the information was necessary. It seems Dad experienced some chest pain while baking a chocolate cake. After finishing the cake and no doubt eating some of it, he decided to go to the emergency room. Although Mom says you get right in when you say you're having a heart attack, there was still a wait, during which the nurses wanted to know how the chickens were doing...

They determined there was no heart problem, kept Dad around for observation, then sent him home to his cake. Meanwhile I went to the hospital to help. Had I known then about the cake, my priorities might have been different - after all - I already knew he was alright...

At the hospital desk there were three nurses I'd never seen before. I said, "I understand you have my dad." They replied, "He was released just a few minutes ago." Not - "who is your dad?" or "what is your name". I love this town.

I pulled into my parent's driveway and cracked up. Dad was in the yard watering plants. We all ate cake and lived happily ever after.

Thank goodness he'll be in top form for the Community Council meeting next week!

A Lovely Summer Evening

Sewanee's main quadrangle

I just returned from a wonderful social event. It took place across the street from my house on the grounds of Otey Parish. The step daughter of the man who sold me my house got married. I babysat for the bride when she was an infant. Her sister babysat my children when I moved back here. Both sisters grew up in Sewanee and then went off to college. Both sisters ended up transferring back to Sewanee and they both worked for me on campus. I traveled in the Caribbean with one sister for a couple of weeks about 5 years ago. They are wonderful girls and I am crazy about of both of them - although it's been several years since I've seen them. Their mother is a well known potter in these parts and in the early 70s their father started Shenanigans, the local beer and sandwich joint. http://national.citysearch.com/profile/9358294/sewanee_tn/shenanigan_s.html . The bride and groom are spending their first married night together next door in a cabin rented from my neighbor.

None of this has anything to do with chickens (although the topic came up many times at the reception). It is merely an illustration of the kind of town I live in. We are a supportive, close knit community. Many people come and go and many people remain for generations. We are proud, interested and interesting. We care for each other and ourselves. We keep coming back to Sewanee because there is something compelling here. We love it.

I am certain that on August 25, there will be a large presence of community members who agree that keeping a few chickens in our backyards, if we desire, adds to what makes Sewanee a genuinely good place.

I will be on vacation for the next week and don't know what kind of internet access I'll have. I SO appreciate all of you who read this on a regular basis. I love the "old Sewanee" stories and will post more of them as they come in. It's amazing to hear from people around the world who just find this site while searching chickens and it's very cool that so many people I've known from so many parts of my life are following this too!

Thank you all - I'll keep you posted!

Vice Chancellor Guerry and General Lee

This is Gertrude, who turned out to be a rooster and moved to a student's family's home outside Chattanooga.
Barney Black, C'66 from Charlotte, recently attended the Summer Seminar and is following the chicken story. He owns the former "Stirling" house in Sewanee, has "a vital interest in Lease Committee decisions" and supports me on the chicken issue. I hope he won't mind if I take one of his comments out of context for a minute ... he thinks I'm "brilliant"!

Barney wrote with the following story from his college days at Sewanee...

"There is actually a precedent for the "no fowl" rule in Sewanee history.

When Alexander Guerry was Vice Chancellor of the University, Miss Amy Brooks Eggleston and her husband "Egg" Eggleston had a beloved pet rooster named General Lee who lived alone in a coop in their back yard.

Every day at the crack of dawn, as roosters are supposed to do, General Lee would crow loudly, not once but multiple times. Vice Chancellor Guerry lived a few doors down the street within easy ear shot of General Lee's coop. General Lee's crowing would awaken Vice Chancellor Guerry every morning long before the VC was ready to awaken.


After several years of this, Mr. Guerry had endured all of General Lee's crowing he could tolerate, at which point the VC informed Miss Amy and "Egg" of his annoyance and told them that General Lee would have to be euthanized. "Egg" complied with the VC's request and decapitated General Lee. Being a very practical fellow, "Egg" served General Lee up as the entree at his and Miss Amy's next Sunday dinner. When "Egg" told Miss Amy that General Lee was the bird in the platter on the dinner table, Miss Amy was horrified at General Lee's fate. Miss Amy left the table and took refuge at Miss Polly Kirby-Smith's house leaving "Egg" to feast alone. Miss Polly was Miss Amy's sister. Anyway, after that all lived happily ever after except for General Lee, of course.

When I was a student at Sewanee, I roomed at Miss Polly's house on University Avenue. Miss Amy was a frequent visitor and also a dear friend of mine. By then "Egg" was residing in the cemetery. Miss Amy told the story of General Lee and the VC many times, never without sadness in her voice.

Most things at Sewanee have their roots in tradition."

Please keep in mind that I only have hens now - no roosters.

Other Birds About Town...

The Emus in front of the Vice Chancellor's house on University Avenue

Once upon a time, in a land far away, a pair of emus wandered the Sewanee campus at their leisure. It was a cold and foggy winter and the rumor was that an emu farmer (but not one who owns a bike shop) set them free when emu meat did not turn out to bring the riches promised. To the town's delight, it was like living in Dr. Suess land for a while - which is not a bad way to live.

4th of July

Stirling's Coffee House LOVES chickens! Chloe explains herself to a couple of passersby

The 4th of July is adorable in Sewanee, TN - population somewhere around 2,000. It involves all the lovely things about living in a small town - cat & dog shows, cake contest, dunking booth, children's games, music, craft fair, parade, street dance, fireworks and more... Many people come back to visit so you'll always find generations of families walking around.

I live on the main drag, University Avenue, so I'm in the middle of it all.

Late morning my niece and nephew came over with their friends and made more "Save Sewanee Chicken" signs. I took Antoinette out to the street to greet her public. People spend the day wandering up & down the street to the various booths & events and most wanted to stop & pet the chicken.

Little kids asked, "how much does it cost to pet the chicken"
My nephew Joshua, the young entrepreneur, replied, "Fifty cents."
I could have made a killing.
(No money actually changed hands)

The kids were walking around with their signs singing their version of, "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVyHi5PTqdc Antoinette seemed to enjoy the attention and few people had seen a Frizzle before. No one accused me of handling livestock and few could believe anyone would question my right to keep this bird as my pet. It was great. I got to explain the joys of a small backyard flock and swap chicken stories with fellow chicken lovers.

After a while I took Antoinette in for a well deserved water break and brought Chloe out for a visit. People would stop and say, "Is that the Sewanee Chicken?" She's so distinctive looking, everyone recognized her picture from the blog. We took a walk up the street. Chloe had fallen asleep in my arms and I almost forgot I was carrying a chicken around.

Before I knew it - it was almost time for the parade to start. I rounded up all the chicken signs and raced down to the line up for the parade. I walked past the floats handing out signs to anyone who wanted one. One went to my closest neighbors who have always delighted in the chickens.

So, although we opted not to be in the parade, we had representation throughout. With the environmental theme this year (Sewanee goes green for the red, white & blue) we couldn't have blended in better. It was a great deal of fun and we got wonderful exposure and support.

My favorite thing that happened today

I ran into Ron Daniels today in the Sewanee Market. Ron retired from years and years on the police force last year. After chatting for a minute I went outside & there was an old Ford tractor parked out front. I poked my head back in the Market and said, "did you drive your tractor here?" Of course he did. He was climbing up on it drinking his soda as I pulled away.

I love this town.