A weekend without a downtown festival. What would I do with myself? I could have ventured out to Vestival, which I’m sure was a lot of fun just over the river. We actually spent a good bit of time just doing what we moved to the city to do: Hanging out downtown. We went to the Farmers’ Market and bought food. We relaxed in the house. We split a crepe at the French Market.
And I hung out with Ronald McDonald.
I didn’t plan to. It’s probably been years since I’ve been inside an actual McDonald’s, but this was different. I got an emergency plea to photograph the 30th birthday party for the local version of the home that has served so many over the decades since it started. Our local Ronald McDonald House has served over 52,000 people during that span. They offer a home away from home for families who have children in long-term care in Children’s Hospital or any other local hospital. Families are asked to pay $5 per night they stay in the home.
To celebrate the March 8, 1985 opening, they didn’t simply pat themselves on the back and invite city officials, rather they opened the house to the community and to those who have stayed in the home over the years. What developed was roving hordes of very happy children running around and about the home and the outside grounds. Cake, cupcakes and ice cream with all the toppings covered the large dining table.
Toys were passed out at various stations as “prizes” for knocking down bowling pins or pulling an apple from the large tub. Hula hoops, Corn Hole, digging for treasure, sidewalk chalk, face painting and bubble blowing were situated at every turn. And then there were the celebrities: Ronald McDonald and a host of animal characters who are so out of my current experience, I have little idea where they came from, but there were two Moose, an Armadillo, a Bee and a ventriloquist – which isn’t an animal, but you get the idea.
There were also poignant reunions as families who had spent their most traumatic and difficult personal moments in the home returned. A number of children who have survived life-threatening illness were also present with their children. I can’t really imagine a happier spot existed in the city Saturday afternoon. I’ve chosen not to show photographs of children’s faces at this event, so you’ll have to trust me on that part.
You might quibble as to whether the home is actually downtown. Located at 1705 W. Clinch, it is a hike from the center of the city, but I walked, so I’m counting it. Just over 17th Street going west, it is located in the western section of Fort Sanders. It’s worth the walk just to see the home which was built in 1903 and survived some dark years in which it was subdivided and rented to UT students much as many of the Victorian and Queen Anne homes in the neighborhood exist today.
It’s a good example of finding a current use for homes and older buildings as an act of both preservation and practicality. The main house and a building behind it currently are able to serve as many as sixteen families or over 60 people at any given time. They could use your support – either financial or as a volunteer. It’s something to consider.
The last home pictured here is located on Clinch just before Seventeenth and I passed it on my walk. I hate to lose beautiful old homes, but there is something sad, wistful and compelling about ruins and this one was no exception. Only the facade remains of what was once a beautiful mansion with real people living out the joys and sadness of their lives. The party, the ruins and the lengthy hike made for an interesting interlude in my festival-free weekend.