LAKEPORT, Calif. – On a beautiful, sunny April morning more than 20 people gathered at the Westside Community Park to plant trees in the new Memorial Grove.
Twelve evergreen English oak trees were planted in the grove in memory of people selected by those donating to this project.
The grove is located just south of the Jane Barnes Field sign as you enter the parking lot.
Honorees are listed as part of a beautiful tile mosaic sign designed and installed by local artist Chris King of Nice.
In the near future, a bench donated by the Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis club will be placed among the trees.
According to Dennis Rollins, chairperson of the Westside Community Park Committee, “The bench has arrived and will be moved into position as soon as a concrete pad is prepared.”
One of the 12 being remembered by the recent tree planting was Marla Ruzicka, a local woman who lost her life on the road to the Baghdad airport in Iraq in an IED explosion. She was in Iraq on a humanitarian mission to assist the victims of the war.
The tree planting was held on April 16, the 11th anniversary of her death. The planting of a tree in her memory was sponsored by her parents Cliff and Nancy Ruzicka.
Others donating to the Memorial Grove and the people they were recognizing are: Jack and Rebecca Southwick in remembrance of William Bennett and Ruth Jantz; Jim and Carol Dvorak in remembrance of James Dvorak Sr.; The Thorn Family in remembrance of lost loved ones; Susie La Pointe in remembrance of Jack W. Humphrey; Jim and Alice Holmes in remembrance of George and Doris Knevelbaard and Jim and Billie Holmes; Gary and Linda Cambra in remembrance of Tony and Sophie Cambra; Leanne and Jim Harvey in remembrance of Helen Barbara Harvey; Carol and Dr. Sandy McGeoch in remembrance of Ruth Jolin; Linda Everson in remembrance of JL and CE Shin; the Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation.
“The Memorial Grove will be completed this fall with the construction of an area made from red bricks etched to recognize additional individuals. Bricks will be available for purchase for $100 each,” Rollins said.
Information and an order form will soon be available on the committee’s Web site, listed below.
The Westside Community Park is being constructed by the volunteer, nonprofit Westside Community Park Committee through donations of time, materials and money contributed by local donors.
More information on the park is available at www.westsidecommunitypark.org .
The park is located at 1401 Westside Park Road off of Parallel Drive just past the Kathy Fowler Auto Dealership in Lakeport.