Unsung Heroes:
Our community has a great deal of "Unsung Heroes", people who in their everyday life in our community accomplish many wonderful things for the benefit of us all but who are unknown to most of us because they are not part of the Village “clique” that rewards its own group members with praise and awards even when some of those accomplishments are of questionable or little value.
 

The Unsung Heroes I write about clean our streets, report crimes to the Baltimore City Police Department, have dangerous situations such as leaning street lights addressed by the proper authorities, make sure area dumpsters are not overflowing, and contact their representatives and request the services that are due but are not being provided.  Often our Unsung Heroes are dismissed by certain groups as “pains”, because these "pains" complain to those in authority and hold their feet to the fire, acting to provide benefits to the residents of this community rather than being silent and accepting of the status quo.  However, if being such a “pain”, means that you push officials, large institutions and commercial property owners to do what they are supposed to do in order to provide us with a cleaner, safer community, then a “pain” is someone that we need and want in Charles Village.  Below I will report on the first person on the Unsung Heroes list, someone who makes more contributions to this community as an individual with no more power than that of any individual citizen but whose continued hard work results in more good for us than most of the so-called “community leaders” who in reality do little or nothing.  The Unsung Heroes I write about are not seeking any political appointment or medals, often do not attend meetings or belong to any "group", and who do not want anything other than a “safe and secure” neighborhood.  So I would like to start a Hero Day for these individuals in which to thank them, to acknowledge their achievements and to let others know of their community work.   This doesn’t mean a great deal but is my attempt to have recognition of good things done by our neighbors since you won't read or hear about their work in any other local publication or community meeting but you will feel their accomplishments in the betterment of your life in Charles Village.

Today our Hero is:
John Houston, a Calvert Street resident who as an individual resident and homeowner has had streets cleaned, street lights and signs put in where needed for pedestrian and driver safety, the high grass in the empty lot on 32nd and St. Paul St. mowed and kept up by the property owner, dumpsters checked that were creating additional rat problems, reported crimes to the Baltimore City Police Department and who regularly inspects a large area of Charles Village to alert the City agencies as to what needs to be attended to for our safety and well-being.  Over the years John has aggressively taken steps to cure so many ills in our community while other associations and agencies merely promise such help while delivering nothing.  John is the epitome of a good neighbor and we thank him for all his time and trouble spent to make Charles Village shine.  The next time you see John please say “thanks for all of the work you do in this community”.  Say, “thanks for contacting our elected officials and requesting their assisting the community and thanks for your love of your neighbors, because without you Charles Village would be a far less desirable neighborhood than what we enjoy today.

If you know of other individuals who have demonstrated service to this community, please let us know.