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Memorial Grove will provide place for loving shrines Mail Tribune photos/ Jim Craven Donna Taylor, director of WinterSpring, walks through a stand of oak trees where a new Memorial Grove will be created in the northwest corner of Donahue-Frohnmayer Park in Medford. The grove will provide a shared space to remember deceased loved ones. The drawing at top shows what a portion of the memorial will look like at Spring Street and Springbrook Road. 'Having a physical place of remembrance is a way of claiming that relationship.' - Donna Taylor, WinterSpring director By JONEL ALECCIA The calls come almost every month, Greg Jones says, pleas from bereaved families seeking a lasting way to remember their loved ones. They want to plant a tree, says the director of Medford's Parks and Recreation Department. They want to buy a bench. "So, I call the parks superintendent and they buy a tree and we'd plant it," Jones says. The result has been a patchwork of private memorials dotted throughout the city's parks, scattered shrines that challenge work crews trying to balance reverence and basic maintenance. "They want plaques," explains Gwendolyn Scott, coordinator of the city's tree program. "But plaques get in the way of mowers and plaques get vandalized. Trees and plaques just don't mix." Soon, they won't have to, thanks to a cooperative effort aimed at creating a public memorial space in one of Medford's suburban parks. Plans will be announced today for the WinterSpring Memorial Grove, a 11/2-acre refuge featuring new trees, a waterfall and an inscribed stone wall to be constructed in the northwest corner of Donahue-Frohnmayer Park. The project, set to begin construction next fall, culminates more than a year of discussion between the city's Parks and Recreation Department and WinterSpring, a local center that helps people coping with loss and grief. It also has been designated as the city of Medford's Millennium Project. The idea, says WinterSpring Director Donna Taylor, is to improve a public park while at the same time providing a shared space to remember the dead. "A relationship doesn't end just because someone has died," she says. "Having a physical place of remembrance is a way of claiming that relationship." Eventually, Medford mourners will find a tranquil oasis at the corner of Spring Street and Springbrook Road, she says. Plans designed and donated by landscape architect John Galbraith call for a "Wall of Remembrance," a low wall constructed of stones inscribed with loved ones' names; a "Friendship Fountain" that offers cool drinks to people and pets; and a 200-gallon recirculating waterfall constructed from huge boulders. A stand of trees will be planted to create an "Evergreen Passage" and a dry streambed filled with river rocks will allow visitors to create "cairns" or temporary memorials. The space will include private benches and pathways constructed of decomposed granite, which offers a firm surface for wheelchair access while maintaining a natural effect, Taylor says. Organizers hope funds for the project, estimated at $240,000, will come from donations by bereaved families and others. Before plans were public, $1,600 had been raised, but Taylor expects much more. Contributions of any size are welcome, but for $150, donors can reserve an inscribed memorial. Because donations make for an uncertain income stream, the area has been designed for gradual growth. "This is a project that does not have a specific completion date," Taylor says. "At the same time, it will never look unfinished." By next Memorial Day, WinterSpring and city officials hope the space will be well on its way to becoming a center for public ceremonies and other gatherings. It will provide a focal point for private reflection as well, Taylor says. She expects it to be especially important to people whose loved ones are buried elsewhere or who have no physical site to visit. "Memorializing is a process that's important in order to heal grief," she says. Even those not struggling with sadness will find the memorial enhances the public park. "It's a place to be quiet," Scott adds. "That's so important in this day and age. It's so hard to find true quiet." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.