The first two issues of The Brazolot Times newsletter have included a total of two pages each, but the community effort is helping the residents of Brazolot Drive to come closer together during the lockdown.
The newsletter began with Jeff and Mary Axson, who for almost 20 years have lived on the short street near Edinburgh Road South and Youngman Drive. Before they moved there themselves, the street made an impression on the couple as the kind of street where everyone decorated for Christmas.
They liked Brazolot so much that they purchased and moved into the house next door when it became available about 10 years after they first moved to the street because it was a better fit for their family.
“When we moved we got 20 of our friends together and it took one hour — it looked like a stream of ants going back and forth,” said Jeff. “We didn’t have to rent a truck, it was the shortest move ever.”
Mary came up with the idea of a newsletter for the street. For its first issue, the couple reached out to neighbours to contribute stories and ideas and from there,
Jeff started the project with a pretty good idea of the make up of the people living on the 42-home street.
“I knew that we had a fair amount of single moms, older neighbours, and some shut-ins who might find it difficult to get out for shopping, prescriptions, etcetera,” said Jeff. “We wanted to do something that would turn this (lock down) into a positive and get us to know one another.”
A total of 15 people answered the call for volunteers to help those people in need and that list of volunteers took on a life of its own a newsletter once neighbours began to contribute.
“The people who need help aren’t necessarily the ones who will come forward. They are proud and might not want to ask for help,” said Jeff. “It brings us more together. I can’t tell you how much people walk by now with their dogs and there’s always a 'hi' or a conversation and a smile.”
The newsletter is printed by Jeff and Mary and delivered to every house on the street by volunteers, who are mindful of physical distancing.
Among the features of the first issue are a recipe for oatmeal cookies, a puzzle and a story written by the 12-year-old daughter of a family of four who immigrated to Canada and have lived on Brazolot since 2016.
The second issue includes a story by Jeff about the history of the street and 91-year-old Pete Brazolot, after whom the street is named.
Jeff said learning more about his neighbours has been a silver lining during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“It’s really fascinating to find out all the things that people do,” he said. “You see them go off to work in the morning but you don’t know where they’re going. Through this process we are all learning about each other.”
Issue 2 also includes a recipe for lentil soup and aerial photos of the street under construction, taken by Al Pentland, an original resident of the street who still lives there with his wife Karen.
“He built his house and was a pilot and got some pictures of it being built, so we put in a few of those pictures,” said Jeff.
Jeff said he thinks a similar idea to the Brazolot Times could work in just about any neighbourhood. The key for him was to keep it small and to include as many of his neighbours in the storytelling as possible.
“I think these are the types of things that take just a little vision to start but can have really positive results,” he said.
