Building a Beautiful Community

STORY BY BRITTANY SMITH PHOTOS BY CLIFF WILLIAMS & COURTESY OF ELAINE FORBUS

In 2018, after several years of dormancy, the Dadeville Beautification Board was revived by an ambitious group of volunteers. New projects took off with a bang, and the city was on its way back to beauty. From planting trees and replacing signage to keeping roadsides free of litter, these volunteers help to create a more aesthetically pleasing place to live, work and play.

The Dadeville Beautification Board has ongoing projects such as the Yard of the Month program, recognizing one business or commercial location and one residential location each month with yard signage and a certificate. In addition, they also clean up litter along the roadways, decorate the town gazebo for different seasons and revitalize areas around town that need it, such as Keebler Park.

Back in the spring, after a terrible storm came through Dadeville, the beautification board and Hellas factory teamed up together to clean and restore Keebler Park. The team worked two straight days and used the initiative to clean up Mother Earth on Earth Day.

The two groups worked in tandem to remove debris and restore the gazebo’s, pergolas, tables and rock beds surrounding the walking path.

“Keeping Dadeville clean and beautiful is why the beautification board was revived,” said Mickey Forbus, president of the Dadeville Beautification Board.

“For us, part of maintaining that beauty is to

The board plants trees in honor of Dadeville HIgh School Alumni

The board awards a residence and a business each month

The board keeps the square fresh with new flowers and trees

make sure that our trees are well taken care of and prospering. We’ve been a designated U.S. tree city for three consecutive years, and we’ve applied again this year,” said Elaine Forbus. “There are so many places around town to plant trees.”

One of the board’s most significant accomplishments to date has been the Class Memorial Tree Project. The fundraiser would allow them to plant trees on Tallapoosa County Schools properties on behalf of Dadeville High Schools’ alumni classes.

“When this first started, Mickey said, ‘If we get 10 trees, it will be a good year.’ And before we knew it, it kind of became a competition between the classes, and we ended up planting 56 trees,” Elaine said. “And so with each tree goes a plaque, and we are in the process of getting those put in place.”

The cost to donate a tree is $250, which covers the tree, plus ongoing maintenance.

The beautification board also has begun restoring the loading platform connected to the Tallapoosa Historical Society Building.

“Someone donated money to the historical society, and so the beautification board is working in conjunction with them to restore the loading dock,” Elaine said. “The handrails are being made and are almost ready to go up. It will no longer function as a loading dock, but rather as a place for people to sit and enjoy the view of Pennington Park.”

“The railings that we are having made mimics the one from the old Miller house uptown that was

torn down,” Forbus said. “Those were antique, and supposedly they came from France, but whether they did or not, we are taking liberties with that pattern so that everything ties in and matches.”

Forbus added that the handrails look like something that would have been crafted in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

In addition to cleaning up and restoring the town, the beautification board also enjoys many other duties. The group participated in the Kiddos and Cops event in the spring of 2021. In addition, they have applied for Alabama Power’s Grassroots Grant, which is an honor that the beautification board has received in the past. The board has also solicited and raised approximately $18,000 over the past two years for new holiday decorations around the town square. The beautification board has been instrumental in getting the planters cleaned and mulched around town and at the police station. They have made it their job to see that the town square is beautiful for the holiday

season. “We are going to put the new 16-foot tall tree up again on the courthouse lawn and decorate the square with soft white lights,” Forbus said. “We are trying to reestablish ‘The City of White Lights.’” The beautification board asks that everyone on the square decorate and those around town, The beautification board helps clean-up around town too. The board’s only request is that the lights be soft or warm white and that decorations be visible from the street and aesthetically pleasing. “We currently have about 13 really active members, and we encourage more volunteers to come out and help us make Dadeville beautiful,” Elaine said. Anyone who wishes to participate or volunteer with the Dadeville Beautification Board can call Mikey Forbus at 334-329-0905 or email dadevillebeautificationboard@gmail.com.