Cramer Street Block Party – Recap!

The neighborhood activities at the 3100-3200 North Cramer Street Ninth Annual Block Party on Saturday, August 16th were a step above the usual gathering of friends getting together for great food and good conversation.   An added activity for the group consisted of constructing sensory boards for students with autism at the 81st Street School.  A sensory board is basically a board that has attached objects with different textures and can be used to meet the special needs of the significant population of autistic children at the 81st Street Milwaukee Public School.

A week before the gathering, neighbors were asked to check their drawers and closets for miscellaneous scraps, craft material, rocks, wood etc. for potential use in the design of the sensory boards. The variety of objects brought to the block party were varied and interesting and included old round clothes pins, bottle caps, smooth foil tape, fur, texture cloth, Velcro, wood craft sticks, colored plastic disks, river rocks, wood pieces, washers and much, much more.   Jim Salinsky, who proposed the project idea, used his craftsman skills to construct twenty 16” x 12” boards that were framed with wood and sanded by neighbors.

With glue guns in hand and lots of scrap material to use, the creative potential of the neighbors was released for an evening of fun and great interactions. The sensory boards were delivered on August 20th to the 81st Street School as part of GE Community Day of Service.  Check out our photo gallery to see the event and the creative sensory boards that were produced.

Murray Hill Neighborhood Association (MHNA) wants to recognize the contributions of its neighbors in the interesting events, milestones, happening that occur in the area. The story here is but one example of the many interesting activities that are happening in the Murray Hill neighborhood.  If you have an article, pictures or topic to share, please contact us at: messages@murrayhillna.org.