Vol. XLIX, No. 1
January 2025
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THE NOE VALLEY VOICE Noe Valley 2025
• Grace D’Anca •
The new year started off drier than our soaking December. Citizens of Noe gratefully grabbed a seat at the 24th Street parklets or the Town Square where there’ll soon be yoga, music and dancing.
Buttons Ancient royal blue tin yellow roses almost worn away dented top hard to open buttons scattered into the linen closet among line dry scented sheets my mother would apply hospital-cornered.
¿Dónde Estå Mazook? This January edition allows Voice reporters, editors, columnists and the Crossword to take an additional break while the creative writers of our nabe showcase their wares. We’ll do the same again in August. It’s appropriate at this time to acknowledge some of the creative people that make this neighborhood so unique. Elizabeth Dekker and her Art Haus at 3977 24th Street showcases her wonderful paintings and mixed media. Art Haus also features art classes for kids and kids at heart. Almost across the street at 3980 24th, artist and craftsman Basil Racuk creates one of a kind fashions and accessories from leather and silk and more.
Tiny cocoa-colored buttons my grandmother covered for her hand-made peau de soie dress I would resurrect decades later along with Bakelite buttons shaped like mountains snipped from dark wool coats too shabby to wear wool repurposed in braided rugs shipped across the country along with the cherry rocker rescued from frozen winter rafters. Blue buttons all hues, forms, functions origin unknown I cannot part with stashed now in the secret space behind the O’Keefe and Merritt stove the door hard to open without a plyers.
How About a Warmup? Didja eat yet? Noe Valley is the perfect place for nourishing fare— known for decades for the best coffee and bagels. Now you can count in Shari’s Dumpling Kitchen at 3913 24th Street. It joins Firefly,NOVY (I’m on my 79th Chicken Wrap) and Mr. Digby’s (best burger ever) in insuring we’re fortified for Spring
I wait and know the time will come for them.
Words About Our Sponsors Those who buy and sell property in Noe Valley have excellent agents ready to assist them. In addition to geting the best deal for your dollar, many of them support the Voice through advertising. Thank you Rachel Swann, Jessica Branson, Claudia Siegel, Danielle Lazier, Stefano DeZereg, Hugh Groocock, Lamisse Droubi and the entire team at Corcoran Icon. They and many other small businesses enable the level of professionalism that makes The Noe Valley Voice the best newspaper of its kind. And a belated Happy Birthday to our premier kids store Small Frys at 3985 24th Street. They celebrated 40 years in business in 2024.
More poetry by Grace D’Anca on page 7
Elizabeth Dekker Sports the Classic American Denim jacket made by Basil Racuk.
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Photo by Jack Tipple