Hazel Park Neighborhood Enrichment comes to a close

HAZEL PARK — For around 20 years, Hazel Park Neighborhood Enrichment has brightened the community with curbside appeal awards, gardening projects and more.

Now, due to dwindling membership and other concerns, the group has decided to disband.

HPNE first formed in the early 2000s. The late Jan Parisi, a former mayor of Hazel Park who died in October 2021, helped start the group as a club focused on beautification efforts. That is also when most members first joined.

Andy LeCureaux, a member of the Hazel Park City Council, described the way Parisi and HPNE inspired the residents.

“One of the things about (HPNE) is it showcased some of the beautiful yards that are hidden gems in the city. There were garden tours, and to sit in some of the backyards, it was like an oasis, where you wouldn’t know a freeway is a block away. It inspired me to do more with my own yard,” LeCureaux said. “Jan was a hometown girl — she was born in West Virginia, but she graduated from school here, she lived her life here, and she loved Hazel Park. She wanted to show the beauty of our town and the people who take pride in where they live.”

Darlene Shaughnessy and Leigh McLaughlin were among the core members of HPNE. In a series of emails, they discussed the difficult decision to disband the group, which had about a dozen core members in recent years.

“My feelings are sad, a bit frustrated, and that it was necessary,” said Shaughnessy, the club vice-president.

She noted that while last year was a “great year,” with more activity than usual, it also saw membership continue to decline, with more work spread among those who remained.

“I think the pandemic had an effect on everyone,” added McLaughlin, HPNE’s secretary from 2006 to 2022. “Quarantine forced us all to do things differently, and it allowed us to reflect on the things that mattered most to us. For some of us, it’s health matters, or taking care of ailing family.”

In recent years, the group would often meet inside Baldwin House on East Woodward Heights Boulevard in Hazel Park, with members paying annual dues of $2 a year. Together, they would brainstorm ideas for ways to enhance the town and divvy up volunteer duties.

One of the club’s goals was to encourage pride in home ownership. HPNE would recognize exceptionally well-maintained homes with awards during the warm months, as well as for seasonal decor at Halloween.

Homes were nominated by residents, who were invited to share any aesthetically appealing properties that caught their eye. Those addresses were shared on Facebook, at which point club members were dispatched to evaluate them based on elements such as flowers, brick or decor items, originality and general upkeep.

“Three to four people would divide the city and spend three summer months going up and down neighborhood streets, placing award signs on lawns, along with a letter for bragging rights,” Shaughnessy said. “Garden bragging rights in Hazel Park are taken very seriously by the residents — we’re hoping another group will take over this activity. At times, it was very hard to make a decision on just one or two houses, due to serious neighbor competition.”

Winners kept the large yellow-and-red sign for a week before the next home was chosen.

“Those signs are expensive!” said McLaughlin. “We know some folks think they’re ugly, but you can see them from very far away, which was the point. If we gave you an award, we wanted to make sure everyone could see it.

“We tacked on awards for Halloween decorations, too, when we realized there were folks that might not be good at regular summer plants, but who were really great at decking out their houses in spooky stuff,” she said. “Believe it or not, we also did the winter holidays, but we had to let it go. There was really no practical way to put a sign in the ground when it’s frozen.”

HPNE also undertook gardening projects, such as the flower circle at Kennedy Park at the corner of Merrill and Pearl avenues. The circle there is about 15 feet across, with a hazelnut tree — Hazel Park’s namesake — in the middle, surrounded by a variety of hardy plants such as sedums, daylilies and rose bushes, as well as tulips in the spring. Club members helped maintain the circle, but now the city’s Beautification Commission will handle it.

There is also a community garden there, which HPNE installed in 2005.

“At first, the soil was so depleted it didn’t even have worms,” McLaughlin said. “We found so many odd screws, nuts and bolts — there was even an old stove buried there. The city knocked down an old building, got us access to water, and put a fence around the garden. Now it’s got some of the best soil in Hazel Park to grow vegetables in.”

Two years ago, HPNE participated in the Library Garden Refresh Project at the Hazel Park District Library, adding more drought-resistant perennials and pollinator-friendly plants, as well as a mix of bark mulch, eggshells, banana peels and compost to enrich the soil. The plantings were finished this year, and Shaughnessy said she plans to continue gardening there as a private citizen.

She also said HPNE was known for the high level of physical labor it contributed. In addition to the gardens, club members participated in park cleanups and tree plantings, maintained landscaping at the corner of Nine Mile and John R roads, set up holiday lights at Hazel Park City Hall, and more. The group also held community fundraisers, organized citywide garage sales, and participated in events such as the city’s Memorial Day Parade, and the Hazel Park Schools’ Hometown Huddle.

Members say the group was very passionate about its work.

“We were loud, very vocal,” Shaughnessy said. “We also loved to eat and made every excuse to have food. We were loyal to our neighbors, and the city’s future.

“We now hope that some of our activities will continue in the community,” she said. “Our legacy can be seen on numerous park benches, in gardens, and in resident memories throughout the city.”