An Editorial Article

Two weeks ago I wrote a story in this space about a lost-cause house at 822 Gaines St. that is coming back to life thanks to a city of Davenport rehab program and dedicated people who want to make their historic Gold Coast neighborhood a better place.

Jack Haberman is one of those people. Haberman is a retired IBM engineer who is married to Marion Meginnis, president and general manager of WQAD-TV. They could afford to live anywhere, but they have chosen Davenport’s Gold Coast because they love big old homes, and they apparently love making a difference.

The Gaines Street house is being rehabbed by the nonprofit Gateway Redevelopment Group, of which Haberman is president, and as he showed off the work-in-progress, he ticked off other positives happening in the neighborhood.

n Dennis and Pam LaRoque, who own the Beiderbecke Inn, are working with Churches United of the Quad-Cities to replace a food pantry operated by John Lewis Community Services that closed in July. That pantry served about 350 families and although the new one won’t be that big initially, it’s a start.

“There’s so much need out there,” says Pam LaRoque, whose inn once belonged to jazz great Bix Beiderbecke’s grandfather. “And the way the economy is going with gas and utilities, it’s only going to get worse. People sitting in government offices just don’t have a clue. That’s when grassroots people need to step up and say,

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