Desert Messenger

April 19, 2017 www.DesertMessenger.com 11 Special tour of Celia's Rainbow Gardens By Joanne Winer At a recent Park Board meeting I was asked to give a tour of the Gar- dens to the Park Board since some of the members of the board had never been there before. I was also asked to invite the Town Council and Mayor as well as the Town Manager to see if they wanted to take a tour if they had not been there either. We met at the entrance to the Gardens and while we were all at the same place, I explained some of the history of the Gardens and what each area represented--also how much more had to be done to fi nish off each area. Then we walked around the Gardens and I showed them what we had done to this point. It was great to have both the park board and the council (not all of them but enough so they got a good idea and could pass it on.) They had a lot of questions for me, and I was happy to answer them. I was also very happy to learn that both the Park Board and Council members felt that the Town could do more to help with the project if they knew what I needed to get it done. This is a project that Paul and I took on in 1995--a year after Celia passed away. We wanted to give something back to the town for all the support we got from everyone when she died, and also when Paul's brother Dan died exactly a week later. It was a devastating time for us, and the peo- ple here rallied around us and gave us their love and support, and helped us through some really dark times. We took on this project thinking that it would not take too long to do, but we really underestimated just how it would grow into what it is today and how much time and effort, not to mention money we would have to put into it. In spite of this, we have remained committed to this for the past 22 years, and remain committed to seeing it fi nished. Last summer, my health took a turn for the worse and I almost died- -it gives you a new perspective on things that you need to get done be- fore you can't. I used to be able to do a lot of the heavy lifting--cement bags, rocks, trees, etc. --but now I fi nd that I just don't have the strength or the energy to do it as much as I want to. When we fi rst started the Gardens I had over a hundred volunteers from different groups coming out on a reg- ular basis to help plant trees, water, make displays and everything else that needed doing. Unfortunately, most of them are now either passed away, moved back to where they're from or just in poor health, so it's been a struggle to get a lot done. I am hoping that this renewed interest by the Park Board and Council will change things; that with their sup- port and the town workers doing a lot of the heavier work, more people will see what is getting done and want to be a part of it and volunteer to help. I am especially proud of the new Heroes Bell Gardens and am anxious to get the monuments into place so we can landscape to make this the special area it is meant to be. If you or your family have ever used the services of the groups we are honoring--police, fi re, military, search and rescue, etc., you already know how much these brave men and women have done for our country and our community. I've had the honor of working with all of them at one time or another over the years, and especially since we have been in Quartzsite. This special area of the Gardens is a permanent thank you to honor them all for their ser- vice. I am hoping that anyone who feels the same way will want to be a part of it and will volunteer to help if they can. We are going to start with the monument to our Fire Dept. Chief Hess and his crew will meet with me and choose what designs or insignias they want for their monument. We can then have a work session and get the cement block foundations in place and then add the colored rocks. There will also be monuments for Law Enforcement, the Military with all branches honored, a special one for 9/11, and another one for the Yar- nell 19 fi refi ghters who lost their lives 3 years ago, as well as one with other groups of fi rst responders. They will each be designed with input from the groups themselves, and hopefully some of them will have time to do a work session to get the monuments built before we can start landscaping with trees, bushes and benches. There are a lot of other areas in the Gardens that also need to be fi nished, and a few things haven't been started yet. I am so thankful to be working with this Park Board and Council and the Town workers so we can keep it progressing, and hope that some vol- unteers will come forward to work on it with us. I don't know how long my health will hold out, but I will never give up doing whatever I can to make this dream of a legacy that our daugh- ter Celia would have loved as our gift to the town who helped us in our darkest times. I would like to thank the Park Board, Town Council and Mayor, and Town Parks and Recreation Dept. for their offer of help--this is how the Gardens fi rst was planned--as a community project. It has seen many problems over the years, but I really feel that with the groups we have now, we will be able to do a lot of the work as we Call Bud 928-583-3905 bUD'S Desert HANDYMAN Services Residential & RV Services Services FREE ESTIMATES! (w/work) All Work Guaranteed! Plumbing Electrical Carpentry Yard & More! Not a licensed contractor Quartzsite Business Licensed OPEN YEAR-ROUND! LARGE LOTS! ~ FREE WiFi ~ Laundromat ~ RO Water ~ Thrift Shop ~ Delights Gifts & Antiques 455 E. Main St. Quartzsite - PROPANE SALES - Open 365 Days/Year for Your Convenience! 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