By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As the band played, and the rain clouds respectfully waited, townspeople wrapped around the new gazebo in Bowling Green’s Wooster Green Friday afternoon with a community embrace.
“Four generations of my family graduated from school here,” Wendy Novotny said of the green space that now sprawls where the Bowling Green high school then junior high stood. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Others felt the same way, and by time the dedication began, the walkway surrounding the gazebo was packed with people.
The gazebo is the first structure on the 1.2-acre space at the corner of West Wooster and South Church streets.
“It’s a great beginning,” said Bob Callecod, who has worked on the Wooster Green project. “It’s really a great send off for the entire project. This is going to be a great addition to our community.”
Tom and Dianne Klein believed so much in the value of the town gathering space, that they donated the $50,000 needed to construct the gazebo. Their contribution was in honor of their parents Meredith and Gloria Davis, and Milt and Ruth Klein.
Dianne and Tom Klein, with Gloria Davis and Mayor Dick Edwards
Gloria Davis, 92, was there for the dedication.
“I think it’s beautiful. I love it,” she said. “I love to hear the band play, and the kids sing. I think it’s lovely.”
The generosity was a payback to the community they cherish for Tom, a retired BGSU professor, and Dianne, a retired BGHS teacher.
“This has become our hometown,” Dianne Klein said. “We would like it to flourish.”
The green gathering place is consistent with Tom Klein’s philosophy, he said. “From the time I was 7 years old, I was an organizer and gatherer of people.”
The gazebo and surrounding space will fulfill that purpose, he said.
“This will bring people together to talk, to learn, to have fun, to support diversity,” Tom said. He’s hoping the space will go one step further. “Spaces like this make social change happen.”
Mayor Dick Edwards speaks.
The idea for Wooster Green was born in 2013 with a letter penned by Diane Vogtsberger – another retired BG teacher – to Mayor Dick Edwards. The old junior high had been torn down, and the fate of the open space was unknown. In her letter, which the mayor had saved and displayed on Friday, Vogtsberger wrote about traditional American small towns that are defined by their public spaces.
“Creating this town square is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Vogtsberger said at the dedication. And what better place than the former site of a school, so it could be a tribute to all who attended and taught there, she said.
“I just want to thank everyone for making this a reality,” she said.
Her letter may have planted the seed, but others in the community then started nurturing the idea. Eric Myers led a green space task force, which then led to City Council taking action to preserve the land as a public site.
Nadine Edwards and Dick Newlove took the next shift by heading the citizens group making plans for the site. Poggemeyer Design Group donated its expertise on the site as the business’ 50th anniversary gift to the community. And City Council President Mike Aspacher donned his hardhat and used his construction skills to help as the gazebo was built.
The team of people behind the site could barely fit behind the giant ribbon for the official ribbon cutting.
BGHS Jazz Cats, led by Bruce Corrigan, perform.
But now the Wooster Green project will be turning to the rest of the community to help with its next steps.
Soon, a fundraising campaign will begin to help complete the gathering place plans. More than 60 percent of the total cost of $450,000 has already been raised through donations – even though the official campaign has not yet begun.
“So many people have stepped up already,” Edwards said. “This has really captured the attention of people.”
The fundraising is being coordinated by Sharon Hanna, who expects to send out one mailing to city residents this year and another next year.
“It’s just amazing to me. I’m so delighted with the expressions of affection for this town,” said Hanna, who has worked in fundraising for several years. “I don’t think I’ve had a project as satisfying as this.”
The Wooster Green project will continue next spring when the site will be reseeded, walkways will be poured, an arched entryway will be constructed, and benches, drinking fountains and lights will be installed. The goal is to have the space completed by the end of 2019, according to Assistant Municipal Administrator Joe Fawcett.
Townspeople filled area around gazebo.
Even when it was nothing more than an acre of grass, it became a gathering place of the community. People rallied there to celebrate and to protest. The organizers believe it can be all that and more for townspeople.
“Now there will be a downtown space that we can be proud of,” said one of those organizers, John Calderonello.
“I didn’t have high expectations because I didn’t know what it was going to look like,” council member Bruce Jeffers said. “It’s fantastic. It’s a pavilion, not just a grandstand.”
Roger Mazzarella, a retired biology teacher who taught at the old junior high, offered an historic perspective on the location. He talked about the students, the old building, and his favorite classes, such as eyeball dissection lessons.
Now the site will be place of other stories.
“I look forward to sitting under mature trees, eating my lunch, listening to a concert, and maybe telling another story to grandchildren,” Mazzarella said.
People set up chairs for dedication.
