TODAY’S THE DAY: REDEDICATION
LINCOLN PARK NEWSLETTER: Park Service cleans up Lincoln Park in advance of Bethune ceremony. Workers rip native plants out of sponsored urn.
Unveiling of the Mary McLeod Bethune statue in Washington, DC’s Lincoln Park, 1974. Photograph by Milton Williams.
Gift of Milton Williams Archives, © Milton Williams to NMAAHC
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE MEMORIAL EVENT BEGINS THIS AFTERNOON
Park Rangers, in a previous, smaller ceremony, lay wreaths in front of the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial during a Birthday event.
NPS Photo
MAYOR, MARINE CORPS BAND, MUSIC HIGHLIGHT EVENT
Today is the day for the 50th anniversary rededication of the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial in Lincoln Park. The ceremony is hosted by the National Park Service, with support from the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and Bethune-Cookman University.
Special guests to include the Honorable Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington, D.C., and Dr. A. Lois Keith, board chair of NCNW.
Formal rededication ceremony is from 3:30 – 4:45 p.m. followed by music and informal activities starting at 5 p.m.
The ceremony will mirror the original 1974 program, including speeches by leaders of the National Park Service and NCNW and the reading of Mrs. Bethune’s Last Will and Testament by students from the Washington School for Girls.
“Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.”
—Mary McLeod Bethune, Ebony magazine, “My Last Will and Testament” by Mary McLeod Bethune, 1955
There also will be performances by the “President’s Own” Marine Band and the Bethune-Cookman University Choir, and a grand unveiling and rededication of the memorial.
At 5 p.m., DC Strings will perform.
At 6 p.m. actor Leslie Jones will portray Mrs. Bethune, highlighting key moments in Mrs. Bethune’s life and selections from her most famous speeches. In keeping with the 1970s flavor of the dedication, “The Tribe Band” will perform R&B and funk music.
This is actress Leslie Jones, but we are unsure if she’s the re-enactor, or it is someone with the same name.
There will be ranger tours, organizations tabling, hands-on activities, food trucks and an area called “Legacy Lane” where visitors can learn more about Mary McLeod Bethune, the National Council of Negro Women, Bethune’s statue and the historic 1974 memorial unveiling event in Lincoln Park.
The event will also feature a special commemorative NPS “Passport to Your National Parks” stamp and a Bethune Birthday Junior Ranger Badge.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE EVENT
Workers build tent for the event.
The temporary fence was removed on Friday.
Fixing the trash cans.
MIXUP LEADS TO VOLUNTEER’S PLANTS RIPPED OUT OF URN
The following are excerpts from an exchange with the National Park Service that led to the accidental removal of native species from Urn No. 9.
It began when the park service commented that the urns on the east side of the park looked dead. The volunteers who sponsored the flowerpot explained that there were native species in the urn and they weren’t dead.
The exchange follows:
Urn Gardeners Defend Their Plants
“Though I understand it doesn't look as ‘showy’ as some of the urns, we've been proud of the little native plant spot we created that could endure the intense sun of that location.
“These particular plants have run their cycle for the year - they bloom in early spring, and then throughout the summer are picked clean by birds and insects for pollen, seeds, and nesting material. The heat caused them to run this course quicker than usual, but they are hardy, full-sun loving, native perennials and will start to grow anew in the Fall. They've made it through two winters now, so we think they're well-established now!
“We'd request the urn not be torn out just for one weekend. If they are torn out, please put our planter up for grabs, as we will not be starting from scratch after the time (and money) we've put into it the last few years.
“Perhaps NPS leaders could flip the script and encourage (but not require/mandate) other urns be planted with natives and let it be a learning/teaching moment for Lincoln Park’s user base!
“Thanks again, and best of luck this weekend with the event.
“Andrew & Lucy”
The park service indicated that the urns would be refreshed on Friday, but instead plants were ripped out on Thursday.
Friends of Capitol Hill Parks Complains
“Despite this heartfelt plea (see below) from the gardener in Urn 9, directly behind the statue, your employees did in fact rip out the expensive, native perennials planted by Andrew and Lucy. This was done on THURSDAY rather than Friday, as you said. The white and pink -- and boring, non-native -- annual vinca plants are about as pedestrian as it gets and in violation of the park-wide initiative to plant native species.
“We believe that you owe Lucy and Andrew a sincere apology. As you can see here, they now will be abandoning the urn because of this unfortunate screwup. It is very disappointing.
“We have known that this event was coming up for weeks and yet you chose to contact us just days ahead of time about the urns. Then, you say we have til Friday but instead rip out the flowers on Thursday. We offered to meet you at the urns on Friday to make sure this didn't happen and you never replied. This was all after we moved swiftly to respond to your very late request and yet you explicitly ignored a sincere and heartfelt request from one of the volunteers.
“We are very disappointed.
“Friends of Capitol Hill Parks and Mary Farran”
The Parks Service Apologizes
“Our sincere apologies for our accidental removal of the native plants. Our intention was to provide a splash of color for the event and then the plants could be removed and the owners of the urns could again plant their urns. It was my mistake to think all of the plants in the urns were dead. There are many moving parts to the event and our team moved quicker than I anticipated.
“Again, very much apologize for the unfortunate removal.
“Michael Commisso, Deputy Superintendent@
Urn Gardener No. 9 Accepts the Apology
“Michael gave me a call and was very apologetic, but I echoed the frustration.
“I also told him that it was frustrating for this to happen while NPS wastes significant resources on the continued, never ending replacement of the central turf area without attempting to make it more resilient. If they are unable to enforce rules for the park - and I completely agree that it's not reasonable to expect NPS staff to patrol every unit in the thousands of acres they manage - they need to focus on resiliency. They need to restore the soil there so it's no longer concave (this is called crowning the field) and water can drain: as it stands now, you need almost two inches of standing water before it goes in to the drainage system, and in that time it'll turn in to a mudbowl. …
“We're going to move on from the matter, and let our biggest take away be our appreciation for your looking out for the park and helping oversee the important work to keep it beautiful and accessible. If there's ever an opportunity for more public input into how the park is being regularly managed by NPS, though, consider me interested in joining the dialogue. They can do a better job of applying their limited resources to maintaining the park - there's a middle ground here they're not hitting! - and helping maximize the time and energy volunteers like you put in to it.”
Annual Lincoln Park Turf Improvement: A Suggestion
By Andrew Wilkins
The National Parks Service has an organization-wide directive to prioritize native plants and pollinators at their facilities.
We watch NPS workers struggle to reseed and restore the nonnative turf in the middle lawn every year - an expensive endeavor made more challenging since the field isn’t properly crowned for drainage.
It would be nice to see more durable options pursued elsewhere in the park, both for ecosystem and budgetary purposes.
Brown grass across the middle of the turf, not caused by dogs.
GOLDEN WATERING CAN TO BE AWARDED ON JULY 21
The annual potluck for urn gardeners will be at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 21.
At that time, we will have the annual urn contest at which the coveted Golden Watering Can, along with a cash prize of up to $10 million, will be awarded for the best-designed urn.
Get ready for the competition.
This is a good time to refresh your urns to get ready for the contest.
Program from the 1957 National Council of Negro Women annual convention.
Photograph of Dr. Bethune and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt published in Delegate magazine, 1976. Published by MelPat Associates.
Gift of Anne B. Patrick and the family of Hilda E. Stokely to NMAAHC
Here is the urn map
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1VAZgfCet1HjsOZBS8_WRa9vYzJILYqlRLcaXCnOL7Lw/edit?usp=sharing
Time to start thinking about planting your summer flowers.
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Through consultation with NPS, PLANTS volunteers will purchase and install plants, which will also include aromatics.