POLAND Club plans to restore Centennial Gardens

Club members want the gardens to become a destination.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- The Village Gardeners Garden Club wants to restore the splendor of the Centennial Gardens, next to village hall, while reviving the community spirit that inspired them 40 years ago.
"One of the things we're trying to do is to make this a community effort," said Ginny Meloy, a member of the garden club and the project committee.
The club, established in 1943, is seeking public and private donations to help with the goal, which fits with the club's master plan developed with assistance from landscape architects.
American Beauty Landscaping of Boardman is implementing the objectives.
The original gardens were created in 1923 by Judge James B. Kennedy and the house became village hall in 1960.
To mark the village's 100th anniversary of incorporation, village and township residents restored the Centennial Gardens in 1966, planting trees, shrubs and thousands of flowers.
"The whole community got involved," Meloy said.
Members of the Poland gardeners club have tended the gardens since that time using its funds.
But the gardens don't attract the visitors the club believes they could.
Sparked revitalization plans
Wendy Meub, club vice president and the project co-chairwoman, said the realization that people weren't using the gardens prompted the revitalization idea.
"We want people to use it and enjoy it," she said.
Liz Majer, president of the club and the other project co-chairwoman, said the idea is to make the gardens a peaceful place for residents to visit.
"We want to create a point of destination where people can come and sit a spell," she said.
The gardens also will be handicapped-accessible.
"We're preserving the green space but with historical architecture," Majer said.
They plan a three-phase project that will proceed as funding is available. First, the overgrown shrubs in the gardens will be replaced with a pergola, an arbor-like structure with columns found in gathering places in Greece. The pergola parallels the Greek Revival style of Town Hall and that of the Poland library branch across state Route 170.
It also mirrors the pergolas erected in Peterson Park, at the U.S. 224-Route 170 intersection.
The 9-foot-high structure is a memorial gift from one of the club member's families. Engraved paving block and roses will surround it.
Work in phases
Phases two and three map out the planting of memorial trees and bushes, laying stonework and installing benches at each garden entryway.
Although the work will occur in phases, Meloy emphasized that each element will add to the gardens.
"The journey will be enjoyable," she said.
The gardens provide a connection to the Yellow Creek bridge under which movies are shown during summer months. It's also close to Poland Woods and the Poland library branch, Majer pointed out.
"It's a valuable part of our history," she said. "It's a community asset."
The revamped plan retains the original millstone that was part of the old gristmill that ground flour nearby. It sits at one end of the gardens and was donated by the Cover family many years ago. The gardens also include a time capsule, buried in 1976 to be excavated in 2076. The capsule contains messages and memorabilia contributed by residents.