Local volunteers including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, veterans and other community members came out for the third annual Labor Day Weeding Worknik at Remembrance Park on Sept. 2.
“We’re making it a tradition that Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is when we do this,” said Holly Myers. “There were lots of branches that needed to be cut and hedges to be trimmed but it was just really neat.”
A few years ago, under the leadership of Myers, township residents began an ongoing effort to refurbish the park, according to the website for the Moorestown Improvement Association (MIA).
“It takes somebody lighting the spark, and I’ve been lighting the spark, but it’s so easy to find other people who are interested in supporting this,” Myers acknowledged. “That’s something that comes easily to me, to be a spark.”
Remembrance Park is the triangle of land located at Camden Avenue and Second Street. An oak tree was planted on the property in 1919 by Hose Company No. 1, with a plaque to honor seven Moorestown residents who gave their lives during WW I: Franklin Fortiner, Russell Jones, Samuel Lippincott, Armydis Sorden, John Nicholson Jr., T.H. Dudley Perkins and William Snyder.
The memorial stone was renovated and rededicated in 1994 by American Legion Post 42. The larger property – donated to the MIA – was subsequently donated by the association to the township.
“It’s heartwarming,” Myers noted of seeing people care for the park. “It’s very satisfying. We’re committed to keeping it simple and sustainable. I think there’s quite a number of people who have a vested interest now in keeping it going.”
Moorestown’s Master Plan indicated a need for pocket parks n 2000. Early the following year, Community Link, led by Lynnan Ware, developed a proposal and presented preliminary plans to council and a neighborhood association.
The first meeting with partnering collaborators took place on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after the tragic events of 9/11. Remembrance Park was chosen as its name, and on May 22, 2004, after more than three years of collaborative community effort, the property was officially re-dedicated as Remembrance Park, according to the township website.
“This (is) a commitment to kindness, kindness to ourselves, to our community, to one another and to our Earth,” Myers indicated of the upkeep involving Remembrance Park. “Remembering loved ones, friends, family, heroes, and having that be a quiet space for remembering.”
If interested in donating to help revitalize the park, visit www.moorestownimprovement.org/remembrance-park.html#/.
