Residents look to improve neighborhood on Aiken's northside

Jul. 27—Two residents are leading a group to return a neighborhood on Aiken's Northside to its former glory.

Teresa Callahan and LaShawn Hamilton-Ryans formed Eyes on Aiken earlier this year to improve the Washington Circle neighborhood.

Washington Circle is located off Hampton Avenue and west of the Pinecrest School. The main street through the neighborhood is of the same name and references the first president — President, Senate and Representative drives are nearby — and that street is a circle through the neighborhood.

Both Callahan and Hamilton-Ryans grew up "on the circle" and watched their parents form a community where neighbors helped each other. And both moved away. Callahan left for four years while her husband served in the Army and Hamilton-Ryans for a longer time.

Callahan said her father died on Father's Day 1971 and, since then, she and her mother were like twins. She said her mother didn't drive so she flew back once a month to make sure her mother had supplies she needed. After her husband's service, Callahan, her husband and her daughter took care of her mother.

Hamilton-Ryans said she moved back from Huntersville, N.C., to take care of her mother.

They said other residents in the neighborhood didn't have children that wanted to come back to Aiken.

So, they both stepped up to help those residents.

"I became their kid," Callahan said. "They raised me. It [Washington Circle] was a village and you don't forget that."

She said some of those residents died and their homes, unwanted by their children, were sold and some became Section 8 housing.

A rise in crime, trash and unkempt yards followed.

Now, they're working to improve Washington Circle.

They've scheduled trash pickups. They've appeared at city council meetings and called for and received more police patrols.

Already they have seen some results.

Hamilton-Ryans said a neighbor recently told her she didn't want to live anywhere else because of the sense of community in the neighborhood.

Callahan added another neighbor told her something similar.

They also want to expand the effort to include more neighborhoods.

"We want it to spill out," Hamilton-Ryans said.

A trash pickup is scheduled for 6 a.m. July 28 on the circle.

The next Eyes on Aiken meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 26 at the American Legion post located at 602 Hampton Ave. N.W.

For more information, email EyesonAiken@gmail.com.