Marshall Traster and Vernon Traster cut the ribbon marking the opening to the new Indianola Buxton Park Children's Garden. The family of Lynn and Jim Cooper and their daughter Patricia Traster gave the initial gift the led to the new garden. Others sho supported hte project were the Indianola Community Foundation, Indianola Park Friends, Warren County Philanthropic Partnership, Ackworth Garden Club, Indianola Tour of Homes and Ray and Joanne Walton.
Indianola has always held happy memories for Andrea Warnken. Learning to ride bikes, land cartwheels and walk to Buxton Park are coveted flashbacks.
Her family is now honoring that love. Children of all ages will enjoy a new addition to Buxton Park, in memory of Warnken's grandparents, Lynn and Jim Cooper and their daughter Patricia Traster.
Dedicated to fun learning: Indianola Buxton Park Children's Garden
The family of Lynn and Jim Cooper and their daughter Patricia Traster made a donation that led to the creation of a Buxton Park Children's Garden. The garden officially opened Saturday.
The children’s garden features a play tunnel, outdoor musical instruments, a sandpit and other child-friendly activities.
Warnken, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was caring for her maternal grandmother who had dementia and was steadily getting worse.
“I knew she wasn’t going to live a lot longer and I just started seeking out ways to honor her and my grandfather. They loved Indianola so much and had so many great friends and neighbors,” she said.
Warnken connected with Angie Buchanan, the city’s horticulturalist, early on.
Benches and artwork were discussed, but Warnken said those ideas weren’t quite right.
“I liked the idea of doing something nice for the park, but maybe we could find something more in line with what they were all about,” Warnken remembers. “Angie said, ‘Well, ya know, I’ve always had this dream of doing a children’s garden and it hasn’t happened yet.’ She talked about how much seed money it would take to get it started. We agreed it would be a great project and she thought she could get some grants or other donors, so we went all in.”
As far as location goes, the park was an obvious choice, she said.
“It’s a place we spent a lot of time,” Warnken said.
Final details are being completed in anticipation of a ribbon-cutting ceremony, to be held Saturday, Oct. 5, at 10 a.m.
Although Warnken isn’t available this weekend, her father, Vernon Traster, of Indian Lake, Ohio, and brother Marshall Traster, of San Francisco, plan to attend.
“We gave a significant amount of money to get it started,” she said. “I think of it as my grandparents' money, in a way. I think it’s lovely that my mom’s name will be on it, too.”
Warnken’s grandparents were lifelong educators. Her mother and Warnken herself followed in their footsteps.
“We’re all about kids and it’s just a great thing. I love the park and I think it’s a great different thing for the community.”
In the garden, children also can play their way through a life-sized Natureland game.
“There are also planter boxes that have various touch-and-feel plants and vegetables for kids to interact with and learn about, ” Buchanan said.
"Oh what joy for every girl and boy" in Buxton Children's Garden
The family of Lynn and Jim Cooper and their daughter Patricia Traster helped fund the creation of a Children's Garden in Buxton Park. A opening ceremony is set for Saturday at 10 a.m. A bronze jump rope archway sculpture offers a fun entry for Isaac Greene and his sisters as they visited the garden with their grandmother Linda Brewer Tuesday.
A bronze jump rope archway sculpture, part of the Randolph Rose Collection, was installed earlier this week. The garden also will feature two benches by artist Jeff Tadsen, donated by Ray and Joanne Walton.
“At the ribbon-cutting, we’ll have a couple of different fun activities for kids to do,” Buchanan said. Attendees will make faces out of found nature items and create ribbon twirlers.
After a few speakers from the community, “we’ll have ribbons draped across the archway and we’ll let the community members that were involved in it cut the ribbon,” Buchanan said.
The children’s garden was established thanks to donations from several entities, with the Cooper descendants spearheading the effort.
Buchanan said it’s unusual to have a project – nearly $31,000 – totally funded by donations.
“This is unique in the fact that so many groups contributed toward one grand project,” Buchanan said. “Oftentimes groups are involved in different things, but usually it’s not as many groups all at once.”
Warnken said the memorial has worked out perfectly.
“My grandparents loved the community. Even after my mom had moved to Ohio, it was always the place we wanted to come,” Warnken said. “Both because of my grandparents and the community itself. It’s great to give something back.”
The Fallen Soldier Memorial - Battlefield Cross - at Clarkstown's Street Community Center