Keeling Neighborhood Profile
Keeling Neighborhood by Marlene Avelino
The Keeling neighborhood is bordered by Fort Lowell to the north, 1st Ave to the east, Grant to the south, and Stone Ave to the west. The neighborhood is named after Helen Brown Keeling, an educator of many years and the first woman to head the Arizona Education Association in 1922. She went on to become principal of Amphitheater School in 1933 and in 1938, Keeling Elementary was opened and named after her. In 1955, the first Gem and Mineral Show was hosted in the Keeling cafeteria!
Keeling Elementary, Grade 2, 1953-54
Keeling Desert Park is located at 245 E Glenn St. It is a small, .4 acre parklet with a couple picnic tables, a small play area, a bike rack, and a walking path. The park also features public art sculptures scattered throughout. Earlier this month, a much beloved Lizard Cowboy was stolen from the park and neighbors immediately took notice. Please keep your eyes peeled and let us know if you see the cowboy pop up anywhere.
Lizard Cowboy statue recently stolen from Keeling Desert Park.
The Keeling Neighborhood Association was started in 1993 by JJ Moats who sent out a postcard to the neighborhood that read “Are you tired of seeing your property values go to potk? Join me for a meeting to start the Keeling Neighborhood Association.” Today they meet every other month, on zoom for the last two years. Jane Evans is the current President and she has lived in Keeling for 34 years. She and her husband Gene built their house on Fontana between Laguna and Blacklidge the summer of 1988. “I have always liked living in Keeling because so many good people live here. We have wonderful neighbors. One thing that always strikes me as unique is just how so many people in Keeling know their neighbors. As far as a place to live, this is one of the most convenient places in town to live. We are close to downtown. We are close to the River park. We can get on to major streets with little traffic impediment. I really have everything I need and want within a 3 mile radius. It is a perfect neighborhood to walk and bike to great places.” Jane also shared that her mother was the first teacher allowed to teach while showing her pregnancy in the Amphi school district 68 years ago! To connect with the Keeling Neighborhood Association email Jane: jre@lithops.com
Gene Joseph and Jane Evans at Plants of the Southwest. Photo by Andrew Brown for Arizona Illustrated.
Jane and her husband Gene also own Plants of the Southwest, located at 50 E Blacklidge Drive. The nursery has been in the neighborhood since 1933, owned by Jane since 1978. Kristin Woodall wrote a sweet article about it for this newsletter only a few weeks ago, if you missed it, please check it out. Arizona Illustrated also produced a great piece about them in early February, you can watch it here: https://www.azpm.org/p/video/2022/2/10/206826-plants-for-the-southwest/
Tucson Food Share has also been written about in the newsletter but they are worth a quick mentioning again. Located at 2500 N Stone, they are a mutual aid group that provide free groceries and some prepared meals to anyone that asks. They are funded through donations and run on volunteer efforts. They host a public refrigerator on the southside of their building, anyone can contribute what they can and anyone can take what they need. Check them out at: https://tucsonfoodshare.org/
My last shout outs in Keeling go out to Mario’s Pizza on Fort Lowell and First Ave and to Raspados Tropical on Stone Ave and Jacinto, both are neighborhood treasures!