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EZRA TEMKO
Ezra Temko was born in Newark in 1985, and lived in Arbor Park for a time before moving to Christianstead, a neighborhood on the western outskirts of Newark. As a graduate student at the University of Delaware he studied the civic health of Newark and served as a student member of the Town Gown Committee. He currently serves on the Newark City Council as the representative of District 5.
What did you do as a child in Newark?
My memories of Newark are very much around community events and playing in the woods. I remember we had a stream and woods in the back yard that I used to go exploring in a lot. There was a lot of open space around.... It was definitely a trek (into the center of town).
I grew up here going to all the different events like Newark Night and Community Day .... Community Day is the one that's interactive and Newark Night's the one that kind of is partially a celebration of reclaiming the town.... When I was little I remember kind of when they had the bubbles and those types of experiences. When I was older it transitioned from Newark Night being my favorite one to Community Day because I think Community Day has a lot more non-profits and community organizations there. There's a lot more of a community feeling to it, and it is more of a shared town-gown experience.
When did you first become aware of the university?
My oldest sister (went to UD) when I was about 9 years old. She...would come home and fill up her bag of groceries from our pantry and do her laundry and then head on back. I remember she took me to the dining hall and they let me in for free because they didn't think I'd eat anything and I enjoyed it very much.... I think I learned a lot about the university through my sister's first experience with it.
Source of information:
Temko, Ezra. Transcript from a videotaped interview on April 22, 2009 by Veness and students in Geography 315 (Spring 2009).
Links to additional information:
Temko's personal web page: http://www.ezraTemko.com/
