At Olney's edge, 6100 N. Franklin wins block beauty contest

In 1988, when Evelyn Harvey moved to the 6100 block of North Franklin Street at the northern edge of Olney, she fell in love with the tidy rowhouses and the sense of community that kept the block clean and beautiful.

In defiance of the usual urban narrative, Franklin Street has remained that way. With its well-maintained houses and colorful gardens, the block may be even more attractive than it was two decades ago.

It certainly impressed the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee, which named 6100 North Franklin the winner of the city's Clean Block Contest. The top prize came with a $1,000 check, which was presented at a banquet Friday attended by Mayor Nutter and Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson.

Pride was palpable on the block Sunday.

"It's fantastic," said Harvey, as she showed off the giant ceremonial check. "My feet haven't touched the ground yet."

Up the block a ways, Yvonne Minter-Smith, 46, and her husband, Butler, 50, were doing something typical - sweeping and raking. Butler was also raking leaves from his neighbor's plot of grass.

"The beauty of this block is that we all look out for each other," said Butler, a SEPTA Paratransit driver. "The men get together and talk about what we can do for the community."

Their son, Justin, 21, a scholarship student at Shippensburg University, was so proud of the block's triumph that he posted the news on his Facebook page.

"This is the most respectful and friendly block you'd want to live on," said his mother, Yvonne.

"Everything has to go back to her," said Butler, referring to block captain Harvey. "I give her 110 percent credit. She walks door to door, meeting and talking to people, handing out fliers. She stays on top of things."

Butler called Harvey "the driving force," "the backbone," "the mother of the block."

Harvey, 54, a retired paralegal and the widowed mother of a grown son, smiled at the description.

"I call it the Franklin Street Family," said Harvey, who says she went down a pants size from all her house-to-house outreach and organizing.

The 60 or so dwellings on the block were built in the late 1930s and after World War II. On one side of the street they are faced in red brick; on the other, in gray stone, at a time when suitable attention was paid to quality and aesthetic appeal. The street has virtually no trees, an absence that allows abundant sunlight for the many gardens, flowers, and shrubs.

The residents are a United Nations of diversity: white, black, brown, and yellow, from such places as Haiti, Mexico, Korea, Vietnam, Liberia, and Portugal. The oldest resident, "Aunt Hannah," is 97; the youngest, 2 months old, Harvey reports.

Several nurses and teachers live on the block, and education is prized. Many residents are enrolled in continuing education (including Harvey), and most of the youngsters who grew up on the block have advanced to college or joined the armed services.

"The key is communication," said Ernestine Turner, 57, block cocaptain and a retired school district cook, speaking of the block's special magic.

"Not only communication, but respect," interjected Sharon Black, 54, another member of the block committee. "We respect each other's individuality and diversity, and we bring it all together. We all have thoughts about what we'd like the block to be."

Franklin Street is like "our own little town," Harvey says. It's a place where people wave to one another, watch one another's homes, check on one another's well-being, do chores, and go shopping for the elderly. Earlier this year, when a fire broke out in one house, neighbors flooded the street, offering help and blankets. When it snows, one resident shovels everyone's sidewalk.

Grass is mowed, yards are manicured, and gardens are tended lovingly. Some residents pooled their horticultural talents to create a small community flower garden at the end of the street where it runs into Fisher Park.

Litter and trash, of course, are picked up promptly, and everybody observes the rule of waiting until after 7 p.m. on the eve of trash collection day to set out waste receptacles, which are immediately removed when empty.

It's all about "mutual respect," Harvey says. That includes noise. After 7 p.m., the block falls silent. "People are considerate," Harvey said. "At night, you hear nothing but crickets."

In early October, a week before the judges visited, the Franklin Street Family undertook a special cleanup, with various residents participating in shifts as schedules permitted. The sight of so many neighbors pitching in moved Harvey to tears.

Community bonds are strong, and growing. The committee sponsors "Friends, Family, and Fun Day," a Labor Day weekend block party, and the street has its own e-mail address and Facebook page, as well as an evolving informal newsletter and a walking club.

Now, energized by the contest victory, the committee plans to do more. The monetary award will be used as seed money for a wish list that includes installing solar lampposts, fixing curbs, and launching a scholarship fund to help Franklin Street kids pay for school supplies and other educational expenses, Harvey says. Also under consideration: a coat drive and flea market.

"I'm proud to be captain of Franklin Street," Harvey said. "I love the way people come together on this block."