SYBENE – To the accompaniment of startled honking geese from the Ohio River, patrons of the Multi-purpose Sybene Senior Center dedicated their new memorial garden Monday with the hymn, "In The Garden.

Tuesday, July 25, 2000

SYBENE – To the accompaniment of startled honking geese from the Ohio River, patrons of the Multi-purpose Sybene Senior Center dedicated their new memorial garden Monday with the hymn, "In The Garden."

The garden, which circles the back of the center, contains 38 memorials to deceased patrons of the senior center and three memorials to honor people who are still living but have helped the center immensely throughout its 16 years.

Marilyn Grant Howard, director of operations with the Ironton-Lawrence County Area Community Action Organization – the organization that operates the center – said that there are plans to add more memorials in the fall.

The memorial garden has been an idea for 16 years, and a goal for six, Mrs. Howard said.

The seed for the idea was first planted by Clara Huey Watson, a board member for the county’s council on aging, she said.

The center began planning for the garden 10 years later on its 10th anniversary.

Part of the reason that the garden has taken so long to put together is that the funds and manpower to do the project right have become available only now, Mrs. Howard said.

"This is a huge facility," she said. "It would never have worked if we ran out here with a bush or flower whenever we could afford it. Those plants would have been lost in this huge landscape."

The funds for the memorials come from family and friends of deceased patrons of the center. The center began collecting funds for the memorials when it announced plans for the garden.

"It’s a custom at the center to take up a collection when a patron dies. Sometimes this money is used to send flowers to the funeral or just given to the family," Mrs. Howard said. "But now the money can also be used to put a memorial into the garden in the deceased’s name."

The minimum contribution to the garden for a memorial is $30. The money goes to the purchase of a stone monument and a few perennials. The center relies on volunteers to maintain the garden.

If the family and friends of the deceased want other ornaments, then a garden committee works with the family to find a suitable memorial that would fit into the garden’s unified theme.

Some of the monuments are reminiscent of the people they memorialize. One, a cherub with a basket which stands next to the entrance to the garden, is a tribute to Garnet Adams, a volunteer with the center.

"Garnet Adams took meal reservations and collected money so we put the cherub by the door to remember her," Mrs. Howard said. "We even put a few coins in its basket."

Mrs. Howard said that she hopes that the garden will some day encircle the building.

"This brings back wonderful memories," Patti Voss said.

Mrs. Voss’s mother, Hazel Scott, has a memorial in the garden. Mrs. Voss and her sister-in-law, Marilyn Scott, attended the dedication.

"I can remember my parents talking about how much they loved this place."

"I’m sure she’d love it (the garden)," Mrs. Scott said.