A group of residents restoring one of the city's oldest landmarks is now turning its attention toward citywide beautification, at least in its own corner of town.
The People Preserving Peteetneet, which recently completed renovations on the old Peteetneet school (now Peteetneet Academy), also recently broke ground on the anticipated three-year Peteetneet Memorial Gardens project. That project involves landscaping and installing sidewalks on the nearly 12,000-square-foot patch of ground outside the school's chain-link fence along 100 North.Coralee Wilson, chairwoman of the committee over the project, said her family has a long history regarding greenery improvements on the Peteetneet grounds.
"My grandmother (Cora Fairbanks) lived across the street from the school, and she hated looking out on the field there, which was originally nothing but a dirt wall," Wilson said.
Fairbanks began planting irises on the hillside, a 20-year labor of love that took more work than it might seem, especially since at the time there was no irrigation system to water those plants, Wilson said.
"My family had to carry water over there in buckets to water the plants, and it became kind of our family garden," she said. "And some of those beautiful irises are still there, even though my grandmother has been dead for 25 years."
It's to her grandmother and other relatives of residents that she hopes to dedicate the memorial gardens project. That idea was partially spawned from PPP member Kathy Bona, who envisioned it after seeing Spanish Fork's Memorial Square Park, according to Wilson.
"We want to brick in a sidewalk along that ground, and have bricks, plaques and benches available for residents to be able to pay tribute to their loved ones," she said.
Landscaping for the project will entail planting rose bushes, climbing bushes, irises, trees and lilac bushes along the fence, concealing it to a certain extent - and actually beautifying a patch of ground that hasn't necessarily been an eyesore, but hasn't actually been a city asset either, Wilson said.
"We want it to be really special for residents," she said."It should be really comfortable, in an old-fashioned sort of way."
Additionally, the group plans on installing a bird bath, a rock garden and a sundial in the garden, which Wilson said she hopes will complement other renovation and improvement projects on the Peteetneet grounds.
Approximate costs for the project are between $15,000 to $20,000, which the group hopes to raise through donations and also by selling the garden's plaques, benches, flowers and bushes. Already, the bird bath and sundials have sponsors, and work will begin this spring, she said.
The project, as well as the many others the PPP group has undertaken, has found an admirer in City Council member Brent York.
"This is a classic case of commitment by volunteers and has accomplished something (city officials) never could have afforded to pay anyone to do," York said. "The PPP group has taken a piece of property and increased its value tenfold. The city provides water, sewer, gas and electrical power, and that's been the limit of Payson's financial investment since PPP took over."
York said the group has suffered "through frustrations with funds, finances and unfulfilled promises, but the enthusiasm for the project hasn't dimmed."
Donations of work and time to the project are welcome, as are inquiries about sponsoring plants or other landscaping features. Contact either Bona, 465-3850, or Wilson in the evenings at 465-9170.