Special guest cuts ribbon at Panhandle Park dedication
Eleanor Patterson Blacker cuts the ribbon to officially open the Panhandle Park.
Eleanor Patterson Blacker of Dayton was recognized as a special guest at the dedication of the Panhandle Park in Uhrichsville June 14. Blacker’s father was the late Luther Martin Patterson Jr., who once operated the former City Auto business on the property that has now been turned into a park for the community.
Blacker’s youngest daughter Nancy Blacker Tynes of Virginia attended the program with her mother. Blacker also has two other children, Betsy Burton and Chip Blacker, both of Ohio. Also attending were Eleanor Blacker’s dear friend Jane Brown and Blacker’s caregiver Julie Davis.
The project was important to Eleanor Blacker.
“Ellie had her initial meeting with Greg (DiDonato, mayor of Dennison), and he referred us to Beth (DiDonato) with the chamber, and that was 2 1/2 years ago,” Nancy Blacker Tynes said. “This project has been a real blessing for Mom as she sees this park coming to fruition, and she’s delighted she was able to donate the flagpole in memory of her father.”
After the dedication program near the flagpole, guests moved to the park’s archway, where Eleanor Patterson Blacker cut the ribbon officially opening the park.
Though located in Uhrichsville, the park is on the border with Dennison, and both communities worked to finish the project along with the nonprofit group, Twin City Park & Waterways. The park is the trailhead for the Panhandle Passage Trail, which connects the two communities.
During the dedication ceremony, the history of the site was highlighted. It was the site of a landmark business in Uhrichsville — City Auto.
“It was owned and managed by Luther M. Patterson from 1920-54. It was an auto dealership and a repair service garage for automobile brands that no longer exist but were very popular in their day,” said Rita McPeak, president of Twin City Park & Waterways.
After 1954 the building changed hands several times. At one point the building caught fire but changed hands once again around 1981 and was closed one year later.
The building also once housed the City Auto Lunch restaurant.
It also was used as a commercial storage building before falling into disrepair. In 2010 funding from the Dennison Railroad Festival was used to purchase the property for public use and raze the building. The project then went dormant until around 2016-17.
“Our goal here with the park was to increase its usable green space and provide a tranquil spot in the very heart of the Uhrichsville and Dennison community for events, celebrations and family gatherings,” McPeak said.
The park area now features safety and decorative lighting along an accessible pathway that is wide enough for strollers and wheelchairs.
One of the key elements of the project was to provide shoreline protection for the Little Stillwater Creek, and riprap was installed to prevent erosion. The new park also has a spot to launch kayaks into the creek.
The park space also was made more usable due to the application of 2,500 tons of fill dirt over the past two years, most donated.
The park has a unique feature that can’t be seen during the day — lighting along both the Center Street and Grant Street bridges that border the park. A previously donated gazebo in memory of Kenneth Welch was moved from the Center Street side of the park to the Grant Street side to make way for a new archway welcoming guests to the park.
The lighthouse along the Little Stillwater Creek was a water storage tank that couldn’t be moved, so organizers decided to turn it into something decorative.
From purchase of the property to the completion of the park, organizers are estimating more than $275,000 was donated in cash, grants and in-kind contributions.
The Twin City Park & Waterways group is not finished. Prior to completion of the park, they removed log jams along area creeks, and they plan to have other log jams removed to keep the Twin City waterways safe. They also will complete a few small unfinished projects at the new park.
The Twin City Park & Waterways commemorative brick fundraiser is ongoing. Bricks can be donated by, in memory of or in honor of for a $50 donation. The bricks are placed around the flagpole. Call 330-691-1589.