THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605020130
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
The United Civic League of Cavalier Manor represents more than 3,000 households - one of the largest communities in Portsmouth.
And leaders of the civic league don't worry that most meetings draw somewhere between 25 and 40 people.
While those civic volunteers would like to see a bigger turnout, they have no doubt of their neighbors' ongoing allegiance or the league's ability to rally hundreds to a cause.
And it's always been that way, says Joseph Wright, a longtime member and president of the neighborhood watch that works hand-in-hand with the civic league.
Wright attributes that neighborhood unity to a historic pride in the sprawling neighborhood of green lawns and middle- to upper-middle-class homes.
``I like to think it's because we overcame the odds at the time they were building this section out here,'' Wright says.
Because it was built primarily for black home buyers, he says, ``remarks had been made. `It would be a slum in less than five years.'
``So, it's the pride.''
Carlton Carrington, who just passed the gavel this year after three years as president of the league, agrees.
Built in the 1950s and '60s, Cavalier Manor came along at a time minorities had trouble finding decent homes even if they had the money, Carrington says.
At one time, Cavalier Manor was considered the largest suburban development built primarily for black home buyers in the country.
Over the years, they've supported everything from the building of a recreation center to the ongoing drive to get the city to fill in two unsightly ditches that ran down the middle of two long streets through the area.
``I think this has really been the thrust of it,'' Carrington says.
``You take a neighborhood of this size that's been here this long when some predicted doom for it . . . You probably have enough people out here that remember that.
``Those are the ones that are hanging in.''
People like Elihu Dillahunt, who hasn't missed more than a handful of meetings in 40 years.
And now the civic league is busy building on the generation that might not remember those early days.
In January, 38-year-old Elijah ``Buddy'' Sharp stepped in as the league's new president.
Carrington and Wright both see that as a good sign the younger generation will increasingly take its place in watching over the community's concerns.
``I think he's going to be a dynamic leader,'' Wright says. ``The young and the old like him.''
Sharp grew up in Cavalier Manor and has always been aware of the civic league's presence in the community.
``I honestly think that it has been the backbone of the community, since the time I've been growing up,'' Sharp says.
And he likes the idea of working alongside the same people who saw to it that he and other youngsters had little league coaches and a recreation center.
``It's wonderful Mr. Wright is still out there,'' Sharp says. ``He has been there for a long, long time.''
And he's the man people of Sharp's generation remember being out there with them in the ``cold, rain or shine.''
Now Sharp is concerned about some of the same things. He and other youth coaches would like to see an old, abandoned school building torn down, and they envision an expanded recreation area with a children's park and more youth league fields.
Sharp has gathered some of those neighborhood youngsters to help senior citizens clean their property before a communitywide cleanup, which will be followed by a city codes inspection.
And he hopes to bring young and old residents together for a day to celebrate their community pride, complete with food, entertainment and pony rides.
Sharp says he got involved in the civic league through little league, and he calls it ``all really one big ball,'' including the neighborhood watch.
Carrington agrees.
``Over the years, we've worked very well together. I think that's the key.''
While president of the civic league, Carrington served as second vice president to Wright's neighborhood patrol.
``He keeps me informed, and he doesn't miss one of my meetings unless he calls me,'' Carrington says. ``I don't miss one of his unless I call him.''
The neighborhood patrol meets weekly, the civic league monthly. Those frequent meetings, along with the daily patrols, keep civic leaders communicating and visible to the neighborhood.
The fact that Sharp and some of the little league coaches are becoming a regular presence in the civic league will further strengthen the community network, Carrington says.
But regardless, Carrington and Wright have no doubt the civic league will remain an important factor to people in the community.
``They know there's this nucleus that's going to be there,'' Carrington says.
People come up to the civic league leaders and want to know what they're going to do about one issue or another, he says.
``When they have a problem, they know where to come.'' MEMO: Main story on page 14 and related stories on pages 15 and 16.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Carlton Carrington, past president of the league, and Joseph Wright,
who heads the neighborhood watch, stroll through the neighborhood.
by CNB