Where I Live: Finding peace, quiet and park space in Fort Worth’s South Hills neighborhood

By Don Wheeler

I grew up on the Near Southside, and my parents and I would go out to Benbrook Lake through South Hills. We’d be sitting at that traffic light, and I’d see Kellis Park, and I’d say this is a great park.

I finally got the opportunity to buy a home here, and I’ve lived here on the park for 17 years. The neighborhood is about 75 years old, and I think it’s the nicest neighborhood in Fort Worth.

My home is small; I don’t need a big home. It’s just me and my dog, Blue. He’s 10 and a mix of pit and blue heeler. I found him here. I saw a black SUV pull up, open the door, push the dog out and speed off. The dog saw me and came up. He didn’t have a tag. He didn’t know what was going on. I walk him here at the park every day.

Don Wheeler picking up trash at Kellis park in south Fort Worth on March 14, 2025. (Billy Banks | Fort Worth Report)

I like the open space of the park; there’s tennis courts, playgrounds. Later in the afternoon, there’ll be pickup basketball games and people walking their dogs. I like to clean up the creek in the park so the kids can hunt for fossils.

It’s a diverse community. It’s people of different ethnicity, colors and ages. It’s working-class people and retired people. There are some students here. We all get along.

There’s not a lot of commercial entities; it’s pretty much a bedroom community. I like to ride my bike, and you can get to the Trinity River in 10 minutes. There’s a bus stop; I’ve taken it up to TCU.

The neighborhood association is active. There was a point six or seven years ago where we couldn’t find enough officers. Then-City Council member Ann Zadeh came to a meeting and said it’s difficult to get an association reestablished once it dies out. Some people volunteered.

We got zoning changed from duplex to single-family to prevent multifamily. We had something like four trash cans at the park that were just sitting around; sometimes, the kids would roll them into the creek. I would complain to the city parks department; eventually, we got some posts to fix the cans in place. A couple of years ago, I mentioned to council member Elizabeth Beck that it would be great if we could have a much needed water fountain and a short time later the parks department installed one.

The city closed the pool several years ago. I think we could use a pavilion on that site. I haven’t asked for any park benches. I may acquire some myself and just put them in place where I want and hope nobody notices them. Other than benches and a pavilion, I’m pretty much content.

I want to say the neighborhood is still affordable. My house in 17 years has tripled in value, which was unexpected. You have different house styles. There’s some midcentury modern, and there’s some ranch-style homes.

People looking to buy homes are starting to look in this area. I don’t know if the prices have affected people or not. But the last year, there weren’t any homes for sale. Now I’ve seen more than I’ve seen in the last few years.

I still work. I’m 71 and a landscape architect and irrigation consultant, and I’d planned on retiring, but some of my clients wanted me to keep working. I’ve since found out you can never have too much money. I’ll keep working for as long as it’s fun and people are willing to pay me.

I’m able to work my own hours. I like to get up around 10 in the morning and eat a light breakfast and feed the dog. I check my email and make sure there aren’t any fires that need to be put out. Then I sit down and get some work done. I work until 4 in the afternoon, then around 5 or 6, take the dog for a walk.

It’s quiet. I’m real close to the train tracks. I’ve been around that train for 70 years. To me, it’s white noise.

Don Wheeler, a landscape architect, has lived in South Hills for 17 years.

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