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Community Corner

Flowers at Fourth and State 'In Memory of Genevans Loved and Lost'

Family members and friends the Villarreals, McNeals, Fagots and others, volunteer their time and talent to beautify Geneva, honor loved ones who died too soon.

Those aren't just flowers at the corner of Fourth and State. They're memories of Genevans loved and lost, and dearly missed.

On Sept. 4, volunteers flooded street corners throughout Geneva, planting fall flowers as part of the Geneva Beautification Committee's ongoing efforts to beautify Geneva's downtown with corner planing beds and flower boxes and pots. 

At Fourth and State, once home to a stone edifice known as "The Wall," is a special set of beds. All the plantings at that intersection, as well by Giesche Shoes a block north, comprise the Geneva Memorial Garden. The ambitious plot was begun originally in memory of Geneva High School football player Dustin Villarreal, who died his freshman year in May 2006. The blooms now also honor Dustin's classmate and teammate John McNeil, who died in fall 2008; as well as their football coach and GHS parent Marc Fagot, who succumbed to cancer in March 2009.

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That 2009 class was hit hard by loss, with not only those deaths, but also the passing of a number of parents. The garden honors and remembers them all, and others as well.

"It's in memory of all those we loved and lost: students, parents...," said Janice Lucchetti, whose family is one of the garden's guiding lights and green thumbs. "We are here to support each other. It's a way to keep their memory alive."

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In the beginning, it permitted Dustin's teammates to create a tangible memorial to him. With the students now scattered, post-graduation, it's mostly moms and dads who create the beauty. "It's a social outlet," a volunteer said, pausing in her weeding. And a labor of love, as well.

Volunteers drop in and out as changing circumstances dictate. Mary Pat Wright was there that Saturday.

"Jen and I were pregnant with our kids together," she said, clippers in hand, remembering days long past. "We've had parallel lives."

Tom Bloore saw a newspaper item years ago seeking volunteers for the beautification project. He's helped ever since.

The corner formerly sported "big ugly evergreens," said Geneva Alderman Dorothy Flanagan, a driving force of the Geneva Beautification Committee. The volunteers proposed a landscape design to dramatically change the look, then set to work to create the garden.

In the spirit of volunteerism that drives the Beautification Committee, the corner thrives via donations: including through Ball Horticultural Co., Geneva Firewood & Mulch, parents who contribute plants from their own yards, even the owners of the Fargo Theater Building, who set up hoses for the volunteers, among others.

It's now an inviting spot, filled with blooms and beauty. People sit on the benches, perhaps eating their lunch from the nearby Subway, or taking a break from the workday.

Once upon a time, teens hung out at the Wall. "It's once again a meeting place," said Lucchetti. "We invite community members to visit."

The garden is a reminder that from terrible loss can come something good.

"It's taking his death and making something positive," said Jena Villarreal, pausing in her planting. The garden gives back something to the community which has offered her family overwhelming support, she said. She loves planting, so it's a perfect outlet, a way to give "positive energy toward losing him." 

Does she visit, enjoying this place of beauty, of memories? A soft and simple "yes," said it all.

For more information on Geneva Beautification Committee, see http://plantgeneva.org/.

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