The Garden Party continues with Day Okay Jazz Project
Park to be renamed the Richard C. Carlson Garden.
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The Day Okay Jazz project performance Saturday night was more than a night of music.
It was a night to honor the work done by Richard Carlson for nearly 20 years at the park in the 700 block of Second St. by the Elks Building.
"He's done a fantastic job, and it’s been his vision, and mostly his work," said Mayor Hawkins. "It's a labor of love."
Carlson, who arrived later in the evening, was brought to the front and thanked by Darcy Swon on behalf of Lift-WC. Swon was joined by other board members, John Hawkins and Shannon Swon, as they announced the park was to be renamed the Richard C. Carlson Garden.
According to Swon, he was both surprised and pleased."
"He's a man of few words," said Swon, "he didn't say much, but when we announced the name of the garden, he said 'whoo hooo!'"
The park, owned now by Lift-WC, has been cared for by Carlson since 2008. According to a DFJ article in 2010, the garden area was originally a project of the Webster City Pride Committee that was organized at that time. Carlson headed up the garden installation from the beginning, with a plan in mind. He has been tending to the garden ever since, planting trees and flowers, installing benches, and various features in addition to adding the pergola, weeding flower beds, and working on the gravel path.
"We were very happy we could honor him this way," Swon continued. "There will be a plaque on the arbor, and one towards the garden entering from the back or going into the Elks." said Swon, "It's a great collaborative effort."
According to Carlson in the 2010 interview, the original design was planned for another vacant lot in the 500 block of Second St. When that property was sold, the Reveiz family, still owners of the lot in the 700 block, agreed to let the land between the Washing Board Laundry and the Elks building be developed.
The property was donated to Lift-WC by the Reveiz family about two years ago according to Hawkins. A second property, referred to as the Main Street Park, at the corner of Des Moines and Second St. was also donated to Lift-WC at the same time. That property has since been given to the City of Webster City.
But putting a garden in the middle of a city block had its share of challenges.
The original topsoil was brought in from a road ditch by the Kendall Young Library farm. The city crews stored it until the project was ready, and mixed the topsoil with compost to improve the quality of the soil. Members of the Town and Country Garden Club have provided some of the plants as well as hands-on assistance with plantings over the years. He has accepted donations of plants from gardeners redesigning flower beads, and rescued rose bushes from other sites.
The Pride committee received a grant from the Hotel/Motel Tax in the early years and Carlson has received monetary and material donations from other organizations. The project has taken a good amount of money, from private donations, to Carlson bankrolling some of the work over the years.
In the 2010 interview, he stated his goals.
"My concept was that we could turn this into a sort of destination garden," he said, "We hope people who hear about it may want to come in and enjoy it."
"It's been a good collaboration," said Swon.
During the evening, an update was also given by Tony Nelson on behalf of the Wildcat Distillery owners. He spoke for a few moments on the beauty of the garden and of The Elks and he spoke with excitement on the future of their operations. He assured the assembled group they will be open in August, once the final pieces are in place. Their space in the Elks will be twice as large as their previous location on Second St. He commended Lift-WC for their work restoring the building, and the creator of the beautiful park beside it.
With the nearby location of Grama's Diner, with snacks and beverages easily available, the evening seemed to have all the elements of success.
Carlson, who retired from Farmer's National Co., spends several hours a week working on the garden. It's hard to get him to say too much about himself or the garden, but his smile spoke volumes Saturday night.
All the planning, all the years of work, it all seemed to come together. The plan was to bring people into the park, to make it a destination.
With an estimated crowd of around 75 people who came and went throughout the evening, it was a perfect evening to celebrate friendships, the community, and the Day Okay Jazz Project, making the space into the dream that Carlson envisioned.
The Richard C. Carlson Garden; it has always been his baby.