Tom Thank you so much for your post. Maybe others will mention some of their endless opportunities for parks and recreation in Minneapolis. Explaining the Minneapolis Parks to the people of Minneapolis is like explaining water to a fish. It is hard for us to imagine the city without these amenities. It is important to recognize that this didn't happen by accident.
Speaking of the gardens, the Lyndale Park Rose Garden at Lake Harriet is the second public Rose Garden designed and built by Theodore Wirth (1907). That Rose Garden can be considered the inspiration for the White House Rose Gardens whose design and development was directed by Theodore Wirth's son, Conrad Wirth when he served as the Director of the National Park Service. Theodore Wirth is also credited for the design and development of the first public Rose Gardens in the USA in Eliizabeth Park in Hartford Connecticut in 1903. He was the Superintendent of Hartford Parks 1895 - 1905. Joan Berthiaume Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Taylor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "JOAN BERTHIAUME" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "Jason C Stone" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, December 20, 2004 5:53 PM Subject: ELOISE BUTLER RE: [Mpls] The Independant Park Board potects the UrbanPark Nirvana > Let us not forget Eloise Butler in the history of our Park system and how > the wild flower garden that is named after her came to be. > > from > http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/northern_gardening/16250 > > "As the city of Minneapolis grew and spread over the surrounding > countryside, Eloise became more and more upset about the destruction of > native wild flower habitat. She several times over the years had petitioned > the City Park Board and the University of Minnesota to develop preserves for > their protection. Such requests from her were politely and sometimes not so > politely ignored. Finally, understanding that they would never listen to > just her, she spent the winter of 1906-1907 drumming up support from the > citizens of Minneapolis. She called on every woman she knew to try to get > her husband to sign the petition. In the spring, with nearly every prominent > woman's signature and a few of their husbands, she was able to get the Park > Board to grant her three acres in an existing park to "save in a natural > condition the wild things already established in the garden and to extend > the flora to include that of the whole state"." > > As her wildflower garden was expanded to 14 acres before her death Eloise > Butler understood the idea that sometimes you gotta raise fewer lady > slippers and more hell. > > Tom Taylor > 612-788-4252 > > "Raise less corn and more hell." > Mary Elizabeth Lease > > > JOAN BERTHIAUME writes > How did we get all of this? The wisdom of the state legislature which > guaranteed the structure of the independent elected park board in 1883, > and then the visionary planners, especially Landscape Architect, HWS > Cleveland, consultant to the Minneapolis Board of Park Commissioners 1883 - > 1894 and also Theodore Wirth, Landscape Architect and longest serving > Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park System, 1906 - 1935. > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
