Delaware Street Commons Members

Linda J

My name is Linda Journeys. I chose my last name, and I'm interested that many people react strongly to a "taken" name, whether with interest and curiosity, or with discomfort and disapproval.

My family moved to Olathe, Kansas (from Oklahoma via a one-year detour through California) in 1969, so I effectively grew up in Olathe. I lived in Lawrence while attending the University of Kansas, then spent 15 years in greater Kansas City. After a divorce I lived alone for the first time in my life in 1999, an experience I found both dismaying and enjoyable. Since then changes in my personal and professional lives led to several moves, including several months in Texas, but mostly in greater Kansas City and Lawrence.

By profession, I work as a system administrator supporting back-end servers running OpenVMS or U*x. When not working, I like to read, visit with friends and family, read, go to plays, and read.

I was at the first meeting of the group that later became Delaware Street Commons, in November of 1999, and am also one of the original investors. I currently live with my extended family in Olathe, Kansas, and expect to live there for the foreseeable future, although I look forward to living in Delaware Street Commons at some later date.

Rich

In 1993, I married Vicki. We met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I earned a master's degree in urban and regional planning at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. I was originally trained as a chef at the Culinary Institute of America before earning a BS in business administration from Duquesne University. I now am collaborative projects coordinator for Success By 6 Coalition of Douglas County, a coalition of agencies and individuals concerned with issues facing families with children under age 6. In April 2003, voters of Lawrence and other areas served by Lawrence Public Schools elected me to serve on the Board of Education.

Vicki and I have two children, Sophia, born September 1997, and Joseph, born January 2000.

I come to Cohousing with a lifetime of experience as a vagabond -- a wanderer -- accustomed to stepping into and out of different communities and cultures. Cohousing offers me the opportunity to participate with others to shape a community of my own making.

I garden, read theology, philosophy and contemporary literature, practice yoga and cook with great passion.

Vicki

Vicki grew up on a dairy farm in Beatrice, Nebraska. Her family of origin is Mennonite and she grew up with many relatives and a deep sense of community. She was active in the public school participating in music (vocal, orchestral and band), leading the international student club, and presenting 4-H projects at the local fair (including diary cattle, clothing, foods, and food demonstrations).

She graduated from Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas with a degree in Social Work. After college, Vicki volunteered for two years in Pittsburgh, PA working with homebound elderly, coordinating a restorative justice coalition, and working with families of incarcerated individuals.

Vicki met her husband Rich while in Pittsburgh. Following her volunteer assignment, Vicki attended Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and received a Master of Divinity degree in 1995. She was ordained in the Mennonite Church (USA) in 1998. She has served in both associate and solo pastor positions. Vicki currently serves as Chaplain at Lawrence Presbyterian Manor.

In addition to her work, she volunteers as the Chairperson for Womanspirit Connection, an interfaith spiritual network for women in Lawrence. She serves on the local elementary school site council and helps convene a group of clergy women in Douglas County.

Rich and Vicki have two children - Sophia, 9 and Joey, 7. On top of balancing family and work, Vicki enjoys reading, singing, playing piano, contemplation and walking.

Vicki says, "Cohousing fits very well with my long held values of community, simplicity, nonviolence and practicing inclusive love as modeled by Jesus. I'm excited to share my long held values with my children in contemporary, relevant ways."

Linda P

Hi! My name is Linda. I'm a C++ computer programmer currently working at Google, writing software for radio automation systems. I'm fortunate to be able to work at home, though I'll be happier when the project is finished, and I can have someone to talk to during a break. I'm a native Kansan who has lived and worked in a number of other locations, before deciding to come back home after a layoff in 1988.

I'm single, but otherwise owned by a tabby cat named Kaluha and a tuxedo cat named Tarika, who loves to ride on my shoulder. When I'm not sprawled in the recliner providing a warm lap and fingers for furry critters, I'm apt to be sitting at my computer, surfing the Internet, or attempting to write stories or create artwork.

I've been aware of intentional communities for some years, and was briefly part of a group in downtown KC. When Linda Journeys told me about this group in late 2000, I was very interested, and started to attend meetings in February. I joined as an equity member in July 2001, and moved to Lawrence from Overland Park in early 2003. I'm looking forward living in a community that I can be part of even after I retire. Some people are looking forward to not having to cook several times a week: let me just say, I'm looking forward to cooking--for more than one person, that is!

Jen

Jennifer's search for a community that supports families brought her to co-housing. Jennifer was attracted to cohousing as a concept when the first communities were built on the coasts in the 90's but never thought it would come to the Midwest. Soon after she and her husband, Ralph, moved to Lawrence she saw a newspaper article on Delaware Street Commons, and she became an active member in 2001. Starting out as note taker, she dove right in to the work and just never gave up on the project. Now Delaware Street Commons feels like home and family.

Jennifer loves living in Lawrence, and has made it her "home town". She earned her professional engineering license in 2006 and works in Topeka as a researcher for the Kansas Department of Transportation. In the rest of her time she enjoys knitting, reading, dancing, and riding 'Clyde' the tandem bicycle with Ralph.

Ralph

"Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

Ralph is much more comfortable behind the camera than in front. He's also going to be flogged if he doesn't finish writing his profile. Others have made up fantastic adventures in the absence of available facts. Once again, his reputation seems to be having a much wilder time than Ralph himself. The truth is likely to be much more boring than the stories his well-meaning publicists have concocted.

Comfortable with nearly all things technical, he is most often found repairing broken things: widgets, computers, bikes, and other assorted machinery.

Locals believe he is building a mad scientist laboratory in his basement. Igor denied that there even is a basement.

Gay

Gay grew up in Westchester, Illinois outside of Chicago. She has lived many places since leaving Illinois at the age of nineteen. Along the way she raised eight children and now enjoys visiting her thirteen grandchildren, including one adopted grandson. She also quilts, travels, reads, and likes a glass of white wine now and then.

"I like Italy because of the attitude of the people. They seem happy and drink wine."

She sees life in cohousing as a way to continue to be independent and to contribute to society as she ages. She also sees cohousing as an environmentally friendly way to live, and she is looking forward to living near her son Rich and his family.

"When I was little, there was a depression. Everyone was poor. I remember my father found a quarter in the snow one day and went to a diner for a cup of coffee and some breakfast but felt so guilty about not sharing it with his family, he couldn't finish the food in spite of his hunger. Someone left milk outside our door several times a week but we never knew who. I was too little really to do anything to help. So, I decided that I would grow up to always be a contributor."

Judy M

Judy, a life-long learner with a movement background, grew up in the mid-west in the 50s with extended family around her. During her teaching career, she lived on the east coast with her family. She began to appreciate the value of community as her sons left for college and she stepped into a new phase of life.

She has been drawn to work in community with others to develop a network of colleagues who are committed to educating the general public about the importance of movement in learning.

Presently splitting her time between cohousing communities in Kansas and Virginia, she enjoys the 19 families at Virginia's Blueberry Hill who share a common interest with Delaware Street to develop an old fashion neighborhood in a new way. She is grateful for the extensive effort that has gone into the project to advance it to the present state and welcomes the privilege of being part of this community.

Mary H

Mary grew up in a close-knit neighborhood in Los Angeles where the nuns at her grammar school had known her family for two generations. As an adult, her thirty-two year career was with the Santa Fe Railway, specializing in claims management, marketing and customer service. Moving up in the Santa Fe ranks, she lived in Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Topeka, where she fell in love with Kansas. She currently spends part of her time in the tall grass prairie of the Flint Hills with her trusty dog, PD, where her goal is to be a good steward of the land's native grasses, wild flowers and wildlife.

Mystery, science fiction, nature photography, travel, the winter sky and sitting in the sunshine are some of her favorite things.

For Mary, co-housing is a return to the kind of place she grew up in - urban, diverse and multigenerational.

Judy H

If I am one of the jobs I've had then I am a Peace Corps Volunteer -- I am cause-oriented, culturally curious, travel ready and improvisational. Likewise, a Gemini, non-fiction reading, dog person who likes line dancing, cribbage, NPR, and NBA playoffs, KU's Institute of Haitian Studies and Greek food. I have been a Democratic activist, involved in many campaigns.

Born in Kansas, I spent much of my life Nebraska Red, and in recent years, lived nine miles from Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota's Black Hills. While officially retired from public administration and politics, I am busy with a multitude of interests.

I was led to co-housing through hands-on participation in the straw bale construction movement, and have been able to visit a dozen co-housing communities. DSC caught my eye when Rich was marketing at the 2003 National Co-Housing Conference in Boulder. Delaware Street - see you there!

Liz

Liz is a writer living in Lawrence. A southwest Kansas native who attended Kansas University, she recently returned to Lawrence after living in Chicago and then on the East Coast for more than 30 years.