Caption: Neighbors got together to clean up Grey's CreekPhoto by Mona Cheslak
A story told to and recorded by Nancy Nelson
Hello. I’m one of the hidden streams of Duluth’s Hillside. People call me Grey’s Creek, although I really don’t know why. I suppose some family named Grey lived close to me for a while, but I don’t remember them. I’d really rather be named for something that reflects my personality – perhaps I could be called the “Little Laughing Water.”
I’m a lot smaller than my neighbors Brewery Creek and Chester Creek, but that’s because I only have about one-tenth of a square mile of land from which to collect my water. I flow through the East Hillside neighborhood, carrying rainwater from the Summit School hilltop, past the Peace Church and Grant School, and down the hill between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue all the way to Lake Superior.
Like all the streams in the Hillside, I flowed free until about 140 years ago, when people decided to build a city right here. It wasn’t long before I was hidden away in underground culverts from my mouth at Lake Superior all the way up to 4th Street. But I didn’t complain. The buildings that were put on top of me were mostly houses and apartments for the working folks of the city. Those folks were a lot like me – hard-working, minding my own business, and just wanting to make Duluth a beautiful place to live.
Because I don’t have any waterfalls or high rocky cliffs, no one ever built any big fancy parks along my streambanks. But for the same reasons, short stretches of me were left open here and there. It was just a few years ago, in 2002, that one of my most beautiful open sections, right below East 6th Street, was put into a culvert and disappeared.
But I still flow free in several places. My eastern branch flows along Kenwood Avenue from Partridge Street to Skyline Parkway and then down a steep hill to the Grant Recreation Area. My western branch can be seen in a few spots near 9th Avenue East from Skyline Parkway to the Recreation Area. These two branches join together to flow through a beautiful half-block stretch right across the street from Grant School. Then it’s underground to the alley below 10th Street, where I get another half-block of freedom. I cross under East 9th Street near Foreign Affairs, flow free to 8th Street and then catch my last glimpse of daylight near the corner of 7th Street and 8th Avenue East. After that it’s dark, cold culverts the rest of the way to the lake.
A few of the folks who live near me enjoy having me for a neighbor, and they’ve built decks and porches so they can sit outside and listen to the sound of my water flowing gently down the hill. In other places I’m taken for granted and used as a dumping ground for grass clippings, branches, and trash.
But every now and then, people in the neighborhood rediscover me and spend time cleaning up the trash. This happened most recently on May 19 when some nice young neighborhood kids organized a cleanup along my free-flowing section near Grant School. About a dozen people showed up and hauled away lots of stuff that otherwise might have ended up in Lake Superior.
It’s great when people come to visit me and help take care of me – after all, that’s what neighbors are for. It’s a nice neighborhood that’s grown up around me, and I try to do my part by carrying water down the hill to Lake Superior. So next time you’re in the East Hillside, be sure to stop by and see what I’m doing. And maybe you’ll remember to call me Little Laughing Water instead of Grey’s Creek!
A story told to and recorded by Nancy Nelson
Hello. I’m one of the hidden streams of Duluth’s Hillside. People call me Grey’s Creek, although I really don’t know why. I suppose some family named Grey lived close to me for a while, but I don’t remember them. I’d really rather be named for something that reflects my personality – perhaps I could be called the “Little Laughing Water.”
I’m a lot smaller than my neighbors Brewery Creek and Chester Creek, but that’s because I only have about one-tenth of a square mile of land from which to collect my water. I flow through the East Hillside neighborhood, carrying rainwater from the Summit School hilltop, past the Peace Church and Grant School, and down the hill between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue all the way to Lake Superior.
Like all the streams in the Hillside, I flowed free until about 140 years ago, when people decided to build a city right here. It wasn’t long before I was hidden away in underground culverts from my mouth at Lake Superior all the way up to 4th Street. But I didn’t complain. The buildings that were put on top of me were mostly houses and apartments for the working folks of the city. Those folks were a lot like me – hard-working, minding my own business, and just wanting to make Duluth a beautiful place to live.
Because I don’t have any waterfalls or high rocky cliffs, no one ever built any big fancy parks along my streambanks. But for the same reasons, short stretches of me were left open here and there. It was just a few years ago, in 2002, that one of my most beautiful open sections, right below East 6th Street, was put into a culvert and disappeared.
But I still flow free in several places. My eastern branch flows along Kenwood Avenue from Partridge Street to Skyline Parkway and then down a steep hill to the Grant Recreation Area. My western branch can be seen in a few spots near 9th Avenue East from Skyline Parkway to the Recreation Area. These two branches join together to flow through a beautiful half-block stretch right across the street from Grant School. Then it’s underground to the alley below 10th Street, where I get another half-block of freedom. I cross under East 9th Street near Foreign Affairs, flow free to 8th Street and then catch my last glimpse of daylight near the corner of 7th Street and 8th Avenue East. After that it’s dark, cold culverts the rest of the way to the lake.
A few of the folks who live near me enjoy having me for a neighbor, and they’ve built decks and porches so they can sit outside and listen to the sound of my water flowing gently down the hill. In other places I’m taken for granted and used as a dumping ground for grass clippings, branches, and trash.
But every now and then, people in the neighborhood rediscover me and spend time cleaning up the trash. This happened most recently on May 19 when some nice young neighborhood kids organized a cleanup along my free-flowing section near Grant School. About a dozen people showed up and hauled away lots of stuff that otherwise might have ended up in Lake Superior.
It’s great when people come to visit me and help take care of me – after all, that’s what neighbors are for. It’s a nice neighborhood that’s grown up around me, and I try to do my part by carrying water down the hill to Lake Superior. So next time you’re in the East Hillside, be sure to stop by and see what I’m doing. And maybe you’ll remember to call me Little Laughing Water instead of Grey’s Creek!
