It was 25 years ago that Huron Garden Club members took on what would become one of their greatest endeavors, creating a Memory Rose Garden in Huron where living memorials could be planted in tribute to the many special people in our lives and community, whether still living or lost.
Wednesday, club members, along with the Hardy Rosariums from Aberdeen, met at the park to celebrate its success.
 The garden area, now located in Winter Park adjacent to the hospital, has grown into one of Huron’s prettiest points of interest. At the north end of the park, a large white gazebo opens up to four expansive flower beds filled with 100 rose bushes. They consist of mostly Hybrid Tea Rose varieties, but also offer a few assortments of Floribunda and Grandiflora.  At both ends, two arbors rise up covered with William Baffin climbing roses. Latticed areas have been built containing another 40 rose shrubs donated to the park by the Bayer Company of  Brookings. The backdrop to all of this is a 70 foot long stone wall with four pillars flanked by Juniper Evergreens. And throughout the area, many “In Memory of” benches are scattered for one to sit and enjoy the roses.
Longtime club members Carol Place and Doris Dahl are always eager to share the sometimes arduous history behind the park. “The Memory Rose Garden was first established in 1993,” Doris Dahl explained. “One of our club members brought this concept back to us after touring a memory garden in Oklahoma City. We thought it was a wonderful idea.”
For 14 years, the Rose Garden was in Campbell Park, south of the library. It was ideal, since the library building shielded the garden during the winter months. “I think the first year we lost over 24 rose bushes,” mentioned Place. “Roses can be very temperamental, especially in South Dakota’s unforgiving climate. We were told by the staff at McCrory Gardens in Brookings that hybrid tea roses couldn’t be grown in South Dakota. It gives us great satisfaction to have proved them wrong.”
Years later, the expansion of the library forced the club to re-locate the garden. An area in Winter Park, located at Fifth and Oregon Avenues Southeast, was offered to the club by the Huron Parks and Recreation Department. Being wide open, it was far from ideal, but with the support of the department’s crew, many of the problems have been resolved.

Park caretaker Abby Huether, who has been maintaining the garden for the last seven years, can’t give enough credit to the guys at the shop. “They came in and built this beautiful wall and added the Junipers as a windbreak from the cold winter wind,” she said. “And every fall, they fence the rose beds off and backfill with leaves for additional protection.”
Seven years ago, the crew rescued the gazebo from the flooded out Riverside Park where it was sitting and rusting. Today, it looks brand new.
In her years of taking care of the Memory Garden, Huether has become quite knowledgeable in roses herself as she’s quick to point out the different varieties by name and color. “Did you know that every color of rose has a different fragrance?” she asked. ”Everyday, I get the chance to stop and smell the roses,” laughed Huether. “My favorites are still the red varieties.”
 Last summer, Huron Garden Club members visited the Kuhnert Arboretum Rose Garden in Aberdeen and quickly established a friendship with members of the Hardy Rosarians of South Dakota, the group responsible for the care of roses grown there. The two clubs have kept in touch sharing their personal experiences, tips and advice on growing roses. Both clubs agree on the importance of creating living tributes within the community.
“The Rose Fund is supported by community donations and all funds received are used to add, replace and maintain the Rose Garden,” Place stated.
A “Memory Book” documenting all memorials and donations, is located within the Library. “Cards are sent to the person or family being honored, along with a thank you to the donor.”
The Huron Garden Club encourages the public to utilize this area for weddings, reunions, company picnics, or for just a peaceful, quiet place to relax and enjoy the eternal beauty and fragrance of roses.
To schedule an event at the park, the public can contact the Parks and Recreation Department from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at 353-8533.

DIANE CARTER/PLAINSMAN
Members from both the Huron Garden Club, the Aberdeen Hardy Rosarians of South Dakota and the Parks and Recreation Department, met at Winter Park Wednesday morning to celebrate the Memory Rose Garden’s 25th Anniversary. The restored gazebo and memory bench are beautiful additions to the Memory Rose Garden, and bottom, a pink and white Hybrid Tea Rose is one of the many varieties on display. Huron Garden Club members Doris Dahl, left, and Carol Place, right, are standing with park caretaker Abby Huether in front of a rose covered arbor at The Memory Rose Garden located in Winter Park.