Planeview residents invested in bettering the neighborhood

As a former graffiti-removal worker with the city of Wichita, Marc Kemp has seen his fair share of vandalism.

Walking along his neighborhood bike path on Sunday, he found that a concrete wall he had helped build was now covered in graffiti. It’s a problem he wants to help curtail, especially because it’s now in his own backyard.

“We want our neighborhood to look decent and stay presentable for guests,” Kemp said. “When you get a new family moving in, stuff like this is a deterrent. It sends people away.”

About three months ago, Kemp played a role in re-establishing the Planeview Neighborhood Association, for which he serves as vice president. Melodee Meyers, a mail carrier who works the area, was the catalyst behind the group’s formation, Kemp said.

It was born of a tragedy, Meyers said.

In May 2014, a woman was shot and killed while walking in Planeview. Meyers said the homicide was a wake-up call for her that something needed to be done in the community.

“The response to her murder was, ‘Oh, Planeview just needs to be firebombed,’” Meyers said. “I was like, ‘You guys don’t even realize what wonderful secrets are in Planeview.’

“Aircraft workers, veterans, doctors live there and people don’t think that of Planeview. They just think of it as somewhere you don’t drive at night.”

Kemp, 47, said he has lived in Planeview, in southeast Wichita, most of his life. He’s seen significant changes in the neighborhood over the years, and he’s hoping the new neighborhood association can bring about another change.

A positive one.

“There’s quite a few people that’s putting forth a lot of positive effort to see that this association is a success story, and I think it will be,” Kemp said. “I believe it’s going to grow.”

Neighborhood’s changes

Planeview was one of three developments built as temporary wartime housing near Wichita in the 1940s.

The other two were Beechwood, which was demolished in 1955, and Hilltop Manor, which still exists west of Oliver, between Harry and Lincoln streets.

In its heyday, Planeview was its own miniature city. It was home to a souvenir shop, cafeteria, movie theater, bank, doctor’s office, dentist’s office and a supermarket, according to records from the Kansas Historical Society.

Over the years, the neighborhood has become home to many ethnic groups, Meyers said, and continues to be one of Wichita’s most diverse neighborhoods.

“You wouldn’t believe the integration,” she said. “It’s awesome. You don’t see it anywhere else in the state.”

Kemp calls himself a “Planeview native.” His family has lived in the same house on South Vassar since 1955, when they bought it from the government, he said.

“We’re actually a real rooted part of Planeview, and we’ve seen a lot of things over the years,” Kemp said.

“My mom was raised in this house,” he said. “… My mom raised us in this house, and now I’m raising my children in this same house.”

Kemp said he left the neighborhood when he turned 16. He moved back in with his mother about eight years ago, when she became sick with cancer, he said. Now he, his wife and children – ages 15, 14, 12 and 8 – live in the same house.

When he was younger, he said, he could sleep outside on the porch.

In Planeview in 2015, such a notion would be ludicrous, he said.

“Compared to the way it is now, I would feel uneasy if my kids weren’t in the yard, in sight, or in view after dark because of the change that has come throughout time,” he said. “We don’t see the police as often as we used to back in the day, either.”

He said he hopes the neighborhood association will lead to increased community policing, to “keeping an eye out for another neighbor.” In turn, the association will provide law enforcement a window into the community for increased interaction, Kemp said.

One of Planeview’s problems, he said, is that a disconnect has grown between its youth and the Wichita police force.

“The kids need to not fear the police – they need to know the police are here to help us, to serve us, and to come to our aid if needed,” Kemp said. “ If a police car got behind my car, my kids would be nervous, and that’s not the way it should be.”

The neighborhood association, which has seen attendance double over three meetings, plans to establish community gardens, host cookouts and picnics, and sponsor neighborhood cleanups, Kemp said.

“We all want to work together to see that our neighborhood is just as good as any other neighborhood in the city,” Kemp said.

This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Planeview residents invested in bettering the neighborhood."