up front encore
Sowing the Dream
Groups work together to maintain MLK Park Olga Bonfiglio
Brian Powers
by
12 | Encore JANUARY 2016
Landscape Love volunteers Sara Wick, left, and Jane Kramer, center, weed and clean out flower beds while Ron Kramer rakes up debris in Kalamazoo’s MLK Park.
In 1989, the Kalamazoo Junior Girls, an organization on the city’s north side that promotes the positive development of young girls, “adopted” the park as a community service project. Members of the organization work in the park several times a year, cleaning up trash, planting flowers and providing other maintenance. “I started the KJG to teach girls from eight to 18 how to engage in the community, assume civic responsibility, take pride in their city and learn what giving back to the community means,” says Pamela Roland, executive director and founder of the Kalamazoo Junior Girls. “We adopted MLK Park as one of our projects.” The park’s proximity to the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Ministry with Community, the Rickman House and the Kalamazoo Transportation
Brian Powers
I
n 1989, a half-acre park on North Rose Street that had been known as Kingston Park was renamed to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In the center of the park is an intricate cast-bronze statue of MLK created by Lisa Reinertson, whose father walked with King in the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery. Little did those who sought to create an homage to the slain civil rights leader know, but in future years MLK Park would become a symbol of King’s legacy, bringing people from various walks of life together to work for the good of others. The city of Kalamazoo has 36 parks with more than 400 acres that city workers maintain. As a result of budget cuts over the years, there have been fewer workers to maintain those parks, so, in the spirit of Dr. King, a number of local organizations and individuals have stepped in to maintain MLK Park.