I received the following comment recently and felt moved enough to post it here on the blog.  Although it happened so long ago it is never too late to shed light on an incident that hurt so many people and where there was never a serious inquiry into what happened.  Feel free to forward this post around in hopes of generating renewed interest in what happened in Murray Hill some 40 years ago.

Sandy Bonesteel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4HKB4v3nRY | stillsouthernhearted@yahoo.com | 70.120.229.51

My family used to live in Murray Hill in the ’60’s.

My 10 year old brother was found deceased in the 3700 block of Mayflower St. on February 4th, 1968.

Despite the many suspicious things about Glen’s death; his death was determined and ruled to be “accidental”.

40 years later Glen’s family is still seeking and fighting for justice for Glen.

A family friend has made a youtube video and we would like people in Jax to please view the video and the pass it along to others. Since my family no longer lives in Jax; we are asking the people of Jax to help us get the video circulating around Jax; particulary in the Murray Hill district.

We are hoping that there are people in Jax who remember the news story about the little boy who was found “hanging” on Mayflower St. in Jax in 1968.
And we are hoping that there is someone in Jax who might have heard or seen something on the night Glen was missing (Feb. 3rd) or the following morning when his body was found (Feb. 4th); 1968.

We still cling to the hope that there is someone who can provide new information about Glen’s death.

The link for the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4HKB4v3nRY

If that link doesn’t work; please just go to:

http://www.youtube.com/

And then enter the search words Justice For Glen Davenport

 

King of The Hill Flyer

This Friday July 25th at 8:00 pm The Murray Hill Theatre will kick off the 2008 Battle of the Bands.  From the website:

Jacksonville’s Premier Battle of the Bands is back and better than ever!  Over the next 8 months 20 bands will via to become “King Of The Hill”.  Grand prize winner will receive $500 cash plus other prizes.

Bands can email Tom at thehill@usa.net to sign up if they are interested in competing.

It looks like Friday’s show consist of The Abandoned(metal), Abetting Royetta (Screamo/Experimental), and Sewer Gators (Hardcore/Southern Rock).  Support your local arts…

Please keep in mind that The Murray Hill Theatre is a faith based establishment geared towards teens and young adults.

After thwarting a robbery attempt at the Game Stop on 103rd Street the police chased a car with two of the four the suspects to Murray Hill.  Evidently the suspects car hit a parked car on the 4600 block of Post Street causing the car to flip.  The two in the car got out to flee causing the police to shoot and eventually kill one of the suspects, the other was arrested.  The other two suspects tried to run from the scene of the robbery, one was arrested and the other got away.  Total:  two suspects were apprehended, one was shot and killed and one is still on the loose.

It is not clear what prompted the officer to use deadly force, but I am sure that will be investigated and hopefully the officer will be exonerated of any wrong doing.  If anyone has any information on the fourth suspect or was a witness to the car accident and police shooting they are being asked to contact the JSO.

Related Article from Jacksonville.com

This Saturday May 31st The Murray Hill Baptist Church is holding a community garage sale in their parking lot on Post Street.  There is a $15 fee to participate which is going towards a the purchase of a document camera for Ruth Upson Elementary School.  The $15 gets you two parking spaces to set up your merchandise.  The sale runs from 8 a.m. till noon on Saturday.

Check out Jaxscene  for a post on the Positive Vibe music and art gathering at the Murray Hill Theater.

Check out the email I received from Tiffany concerning the movie that was partially shot in Murray Hill a little over a year ago originally titled “Throwing Stars” 

I wanted to let you know that a local film Who’s You Monkey (formerly called Throwing Stars) that was shot in Murray Hill is hitting theatres for one week only. Who’s Your Monkey will be shown all week starting tomorrow at the River City Market Place Hollywood Theatre (large shopping center near the airport). Folio is always a great supporter of the local film scene so I thought this would be up your alley!
 
It was screened at the 2007 Jax Film Festival with rave reviews and it also won the Audience Choice award at the CineVegas Film Festival in 2007.
 
Here is more information for you and attached is the poster artwork.

•Showtimes (same times for all days)
Friday, March 28 – Thursday, April 3 at 2:15 p.m., 4:20 p.m., 6:35 p.m. and 9 p.m.
 
Hollywood River City 14
12884 City Center Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32218
(904) 757-9862
 
•More facts
Name was changed from Throwing Stars to Who’s Your Monkey
Starring Jason London, Kevin Durand, Scott Michael Campbell, David DeLuise, and Scott Grimes
Won the Audience Choice award at the 2007 Cinevegas Film Festival and was screened locally at the 2007 Jacksonville Film Festival
Showing this week in 6 theatres across the country with a possible wider distribution if it is successful at these theatres.
 
•Website
www.whosyourmonkeythemovie.com  (this is the most updated website with the trailer and complete info)

Check it out to support your local art scene…

Tired of paying $3.20 for a gallon of gasoline?  Well, relief is on the way…for a short time.  See the flyer below from The Murray Hill Baptist Church:

From:  Murray Hill Baptist Church

            4300 Post St.

            Jacksonville, FL 32205

RE:  Murray Hill Baptist Church will be sponsoring a “Gas Buy Down”

         on Saturday March 15th

Church to Sponsor Gas Discounts for Community

Murray Hill Baptist Church will sponsor an event to ease the pain inflicted at the pump by high gas prices.  On March 15th, 2008, the “Gas Buy Down” will be held at the Kangaroo Express Gas Station located on the corner of Post St. and Edgewood Ave. in Murray Hill.  Beginning at 10 a.m. the price of gas will be reduced by $0.50 per gallon for two hours.  The gas prices will be reset to their original price at exactly 12:01 p.m.

The discount will be limited to 15 gallons per customer in order to provide the discount to as many people as possible.  The gas station will be set up as a ‘one way’ station; with an entrance on Edgewood Ave. and the exit on Post St. / Cypress St.

Kangaroo is pleased to partner with the church and to offer this unique price reduction to its customers.  They will be providing free drinks to customers who purchase gas and will be having raffles throughout the two hour time period.  The Kangaroo mascot will be present as well, to give out balloons to children.

As a follow-up event, the church will be hosting a community wide Easter Egg Hunt the following Saturday, March 22nd at the Four Corners Park at the intersection of Lawnview and Lamboll in Murray Hill.  An inflatable bounce house, egg dying, and other Easter arts and crafts will be available for the children following the egg hunt.  The event will last from 10a.m. to 11 a.m.

“We want to be so much more than a place to gather on Sunday mornings.  We want to make a difference in our community each day of the week.  This is just one way of sharing God’s unconditional love with our neighbors,” says Doug Axtell, Pastor of Murray Hill Baptist Church.

Murray Hill Baptist Church is located at 4300 Post St. and has Sunday morning services at 10:30 a.m.

Thanks to the Kangaroo Express and The Murray Hill Baptist Church for their community involvement, as well as a reader Jay for the heads up.

Located at 1186 Edgewood Avenue the highly debated billiard parlor has opened on The First Block.  I stopped by Saturday night after realizing they were open and they had quite a crowd for a new business.  I went by again yesterday hoping to meet the owners and get their opinion on the controversy surrounding the establishment.  I’ve followed this development from the planning procccess and documented the opposition that the owners of the building faced while trying to convert the old Wood’s Pharmacy to an upscale billiard parlor.  Well, the time has come to see if all the uproar was worth the trouble.

I had the pleasure of meeting Gary and Amy Goff the owners of Perfect Rack Billiards, a pleasant couple that plan to manage the billiard parlor until they can get their feet under them.  I got the impression they were genuinely surprised by the amount and ferocity of  hostility they encountered from the neighborhood and the planning department over their intended use of the building.  With all of that in the past it is time to see if the hard work and tenacity of the Goff’s can make their vision come to fruition.

The space itself  has a  simple but elegant decor with a seated bar area and 11 brand new Olhausen pool tables.  There are 5-6 flat screen televisions on the walls so you can catch sports or news.  There is little to no wall decorations, the owners are trying to decide certain themes.  One wall near the bar will be dedicated to local artists displaying work for show or sale.  Also tucked away in the corner are two electronic dart boards, maybe I can convince management to switch these out for genuine dart boards where you have to actually keep your own score. 

The floorplan is virtually identical to the one I previously posted that was submitted to the building department.  A cool aspect about the bar is that they reclaimed wood floors from the second floor and refurbished them to finish the top of the bar.  Pool is $4 per person per hour which seems reasonable considering the quality of the tables to be played on.  From 11:30-2 pool is free with the purchase of lunch and Friday and Saturday children under 12 play free while accompanied by an adult.  Those types of specials confirm what the Goff’s had envisioned, a family friendly environment. 

There is a modest menu consisting of burgers, wings, and sandwiches that will be expanded as demand dictates.  They serve beer and wine but liquor is prohibited due to restrictions imposed by the planning commission while approving their exemption application allowing the desired number of pool tables.  Council for the Goff’s have told them that after 6 months or so of positive commerce they can go before the appropriate government agencies to try to get a full liquor licence and loosen other restrictions currently imposed on the establishment.  Some of those have been noted before:  no live music, closing time is midnight sharp, no exceptions, two off duty police officers required Friday and Saturday nights, etc. 

All in all the Goff’s said they have received positive feedback.  A majority of the surrounding business owners have embraced Perfect Rack and Gary from Edgewood Bakery has even come by to offer support.  The main thing that I took away from my meeting with the Goff’s is that they understand this is a neighborhood.  Not just some strip mall to plop a pool hall in…this is Murray Hill.  All of the staff hired at Perfect Rack are from the neighborhood and represent Murray Hill well.  They were all super nice and accommodating. 

I am glad that I took the time to listen to what was being said and not blindly opposing the billiard parlor.  Hopefully we will all look back and agree that a diverse First Block is a prosperous one.

Pictures to come soon…

The Hill checked out the new restaurant 1171 on Saturday night not to be disappointed.  Luckily I made a reservation because it was crowded at 8:30 despite the nasty weather.  The place was larger than I had envisioned with a bar area on one side of the room and seating for dinner on the other.  If I had to compare 1171 to another restaurant I would say it closely resembles Bistro AIX in ambiance, prices, and quality of food.  The menu is all a la carte and you can request half orders of the entrees for reduced prices.  I had a Caesar salad and the filet for my main course.  I always start with the basics at a new restaurant because if you can’t get those right there is no need to take it any further.  There was a full liquor bar and a decent wine lists where you could purchase by the bottle or the glass. 

Again the food was very good and although it is a fairly new establishment the service was respectable.  I hope these qualities are consistent.  The Reservation Chophouse started out with the same vigor but the service started out shaky and never improved causing their ultimate demise.  I’m excited to have a new dining option on The First Block and hope the neighborhood will support 1171.

I normally despise those types of headlines because there are geographically inaccurate but this time that is not the case.  Apparently a man in a dispute with his exgirlfriend shot her and then himself in the Bank of America parking lot on Edgewood Avenue Saturday afternoon. 

The woman died at the scene, the man lived through the night but died Sunday from the gunshot wound.  This appears to be a domestic violence incident and hopefully an isolated one. 

Other related articles:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=95037

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=94974