The time has come to bid adieu to Germantown as a writer as I am now a downtown writer for Louisville.com, leaving my original post as a Germantown reporter. When I first started covering Germantown-Schnitzelburg I didn’t know what to expect because I was new to Louisville and, apparently, there are mixed opinions of the area around the city.
For example, I lived in Schnitzelburg for a brief time at the end of 2010 and when I first arrived, friends, even those living in the neighborhood, told me to keep a close eye on my dog because dogs in the area have been dog-napped to be used for dog fight practice. This seemed a bit far fetched, but I took the warning to heart. After a while my dog hopped our fence, as dogs are wont to do, and the dreadful advice sent me into a panic.
However, within a few hours a delightfully cheery woman was on my doorstep with my puppy at her feet. This repeated several times (thank you to all those that took care of my pup on her adventures).
I have also said some less than flattering things about the Germantown-Schnitzelburg neighborhoods (anyone remember that Beer Walk article), but after meeting local residents, community leaders and local celebrities, I began to see the area as a neighbor collective with its own charm. Germantown-Schnitzelburg is a neighbors’ neighborhood if there ever was one, and it is unique in the sense that people here actually put time and effort into the success of the area and the city overall. Danny McMahon's creation of the Germantown-Schnitzelburg facebook page, as simple as it sounds, revolutionized the communication and projects of the neighborhood; and Susan Brunton’s GoGreen Germantown has already made a substantial impact on the city, and they’re only getting started.
And they are surprisingly open to sharing this with those who are interested, and those who are in need (I’m not much one for Christmas cheer and whatnot, but was honestly impressed with the neighborhood’s recent reception of soldiers stranded for the holidays).
In short, I have enjoyed my time learning about this little pocket in Louisville and I look forward to seeing more stories come out of the area. Also, your dog won’t get dog-napped for dog fights in Germantown-Schnitzelburg.
