Garden City (from previous page)
Dale Park Driving along Wooster Pike, the motorist passes Dale Park, which covers about five acres on the north side of Wooster Pike. The area was originally a soggy meadow, with a layer of quicksand that threatened to swallow up a steam shovel being used to dig out the basement of Dale Park School. The quicksand was drained into the creek that runs through the old crawfish meadow. In addition to the school, now owned by Cincinnati Waldorf School, the park encompasses the area of the lich gate near the cemetery, as well as the section containing the Family Statuary group. The parkland around the charming statues is formal and well tended. Compacted limestone paths lead to the statues and seating area, and the perennial beds are kept full of color in the growing season.
The Beech Grove Proceeding along Wooster Pike, one comes to the Mariemont Square with its daffodil fountain and park benches. Just past the Square is a three-acre wooded lot dedicated in 1961 to Mariemont’s first Mayor, E. Boyd Jordan. A granite monument marks the site at the corner of Miami Road and East Street. This small park, bounded by Wooster Pike, East Street, and Miami Road, is largely a natural landscape Dale Park with the statuary and Parish Center in featuring a fine grove of American Beech trees. The trees continue into the median dividing the Pike. the background. Some maple, oak, and hickory fill out the park. It is important to keep the woods natural and un-mowed, since the beech trees reproduce by dropping their nuts into the fallen leaves which decompose to form new soil, nurturing the saplings and replenishing the beech grove. Efforts to remove invasive honeysuckle have been very successful and the trees seem to be thriving.
Two Mariemont Parks,
Two Famous Ladies
By Rex Bevis
Two Mariemont parks are named after iconic Mariemont women: Ann Buntin Becker Memorial Playground and the Isabella F. Hopkins Park. Ann Buntin Becker Memorial Park is bounded by Chestnut, Beech, Murray and Oak Streets immediately to the west of the Old Town Square. This open area was previously the Victory Garden plots tended by residents during and immediately after World War II.
I met with Nancy Becker recently to gain an understanding of the history of the Park. Her husband, Dr. Robert Becker, who passed away several years ago, was the son of Ann Buntin Becker. According to local lore and detailed notes provided by Dr. Robert Becker, after WWII neighbors in the immediate area wanted to transform the Victory Gardens into a playground for their children. As Dr. Becker states in his written notes, “This suggestion was turned down by the Mayor. There followed a great battle at the American Legion arguing the pros and cons, and when the dust settled, lo and behold, trucks arrived, the Gardens disappeared, and playground equipment appeared instead! Whether Ann Becker had a hand in this is not recorded but an educated guess might suggest some behind the scenes pressure on the Mayor in favor of child welfare.” The plaque at the west end of the Park reads as follows:
Isabella Hopkins Page 10
Ann Buntin Becker Memorial Playground Erected by the Mariemont Civic Association together with citizens and organizations of the Village in appreciation of Dr. (Ann) Becker’s contributions to the health and happiness of our children. 1951
According to research conducted by former resident Polly Juengst in 1991, the northwest corner of Wooster Pike and Pocahontas Avenue has a colorful history. The Mariemont Filling Station and Motel occupied this space until the land transferred to the Village of Mariemont in 1966. Soon thereafter, Mr. Sidney Faxon of Faxon Development Co. was interested in obtaining the land for development purposes. Mr. Omer Leatherwood circulated a petition requesting that the land not be developed but instead become open space. Village Council passed Resolution 25 in 1966 establishing this area as a park and dedicated the park in memory of Isabella F. Hopkins, sister of Mary Emery. Concern for the Park resurfaced in 1991 as the Park was showing signs of age and neglect. Donors came forth and the Isabella F. Hopkins Park was reinvigorated. In 1995 the Park came under the sponsorship of the Garden Club of Mariemont and that sponsorship continues today. Fundraising by the Garden Club in 2013 permitted additional revitalization and the Isabella F. Hopkins Park remains a vital green space on the eastern border of the Village of Mariemont.
Mariemont Town Crier • 75 TH Anniversary Edition