Before they had children, Catherine and Ron Hughes — an Acxiom executive and an energy efficiency consultant, respectively — lived in a small house on Palm Street in Hillcrest. But in 1995, when they discovered they were expecting twin girls, the couple “realized we might someday need something larger than a medium-sized closet to raise them in,” jokes Catherine.
They fell in love with a home they saw in the paper. It was on a cul de sac and had an acre of azaleas in the backyard. They looked at the home for three hours, made an offer the same day and never looked back.
Twenty years later and the couple still have no regrets. Their home lies on the fringes of both Hillcrest and the Heights, in the Normandy area, with close proximity to several of the city’s best neighborhoods. “We fondly call it ‘The Normandy Triangle’ because people come in here, wander around hopelessly, get lost, and frequently never find their way out,” says Catherine.
As one can imagine, the Hughes have made a lot of great memories over the past two decades, many of which involve their neighbors. For instance, when their twins were born early, just two weeks after they moved into their home, it was their previously unknown neighbors who came to their rescue.
“We didn’t even have baby beds yet,” Catherine remembers. “Total strangers from around the neighborhood brought us food and took pity on us (the babies were in the NICU for the first several weeks). One of those strangers, Dr. Steve Mangan (also the father of twin girls), not only brought us food, but offered to make little molds of our daughters’ tiny feet out of the material he uses in his dental office to make tooth impressions.”
Then when the couple’s house caught on fire in 1999, everyone pitched in to bring them clothes, food and all the essentials. “Not to mention the fact that our recently married, two-household neighborhood couple, Jody and Bud Cummins, even provided us with one of their houses to live in, where we stayed for over a year while our house was being rebuilt,” Catherine says. “We truly are blessed to live among such kind and generous people.”
Here, Catherine tells us more about the perks of living in Normandy.
Normandy Favorites:
MODERN-DAY MAYBERRY. “We’ve enjoyed the absolute neighborliness of living in this area. When we first moved in and attended a neighborhood gathering, David Schindler, a longtime resident, informed us that the police referred to our area as ‘Candyland’ because it was so safe. With our next-door neighbors, Ron and Mary Katharyn Hope, we have a tradition of ‘borrowing’ at will from each other (even if no one is home — we have each other’s keys), with the only rule being that you never have to return or re-supply whatever it is that you borrowed — and that even goes for emergency bottles of wine!”
FAMILY-FRIENDLY AREA. “We love the location of our house because [we’re] surrounded by neighbors in front and by several acres of wooded green space in back. When our children were little [Haley and Alexis], it was great to be able to send them outdoors and tell them to ‘go play in the street’ and not feel like bad parents. There were 10 or 12 other kids who lived nearby, and they were always going on adventures in the ravine behind our houses where there was a stream that they could follow through the woods and underneath several streets for half a mile or so. And we had this amazing rope swing tied to a 40-foot tree, high up on a hill in the ravine that allowed for some pretty extreme soaring activities over the years. Sometimes even the parents took a turn!
There’s a longstanding Normandy tradition around Halloween, where all of the neighbors come together for a cookout and costume party on Sharp Circle, just up the street from our house. Hayrides for the kids, lots of visiting around a bonfire amongst the adults — it started before we moved here and we expect it’ll continue for as long as there are little children in the neighborhood.”
DELICIOUS DINING. “There are so many great places within five minutes of our house, and we tend to eat out a lot! Boulevard, of course, plus U.S. Pizza and Trio’s, ZAZA, Fantastic China, Baja Grill, Acadia, Cafe Prego, Big Orange, Cafe Bossa Nova, Mylo’s, SO, Brave New, The Faded Rose, Cheers, and the list goes on. We love them all!”
EXCELLENT SHOPPING IN ALL DIRECTIONS. One of the Hughes’ favorite places to shop is Kraftco. “It’s the best place ever for just about anything you could possibly need or want in the hardware, housewares or garden department, and the service there is always superb! There are probably at least 300 years of combined experience among the Kraftco salespeople, who are super-knowledgeable and friendly. And they don’t look at you funny if you come in and want to buy just one nail,” laughs Catherine. “Wordsworth Books is another favorite. We are in there all the time, and our children were practically raised there.” Additionally, the Hughes love Ozark Outdoor Supply, Mr. Wicks, Tipton & Hurst, Sissy’s Log Cabin, Cupcakes on Kavanaugh, Heights Fine Wines, and “any number of other small shops in the area where ‘everybody knows your name.’”