Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 21, 1994 TAG: 9405230121
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ERIKA BOLSTAD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
About 200 hours of labor will pay off today at 11 a.m. when the fountain and the fence are dedicated to the memory of Edwards' father, James Robert Edwards.
``They told me they wanted to recognize all of my hard work,'' Edwards said. ``I thought it would be nice to dedicate it to the memory of my dad.''
Like many of his Old Southwest neighbors, Edwards was concerned with the condition of the neighborhood and Highland Park.
Edwards, who spent the past 10 years renovating his house on Woods Avenue, became active in efforts to preserve the historic neighborhood. He became chairman of the Highland Park Committee of Old Southwest Inc. and joined its board of directors.
To help improve Old Southwest and Highland Park, neighborhood groups applied for grants to buy playground equipment and to renovate the fountain.
The fountain, originally downtown, was dedicated to the National Humane Society. It was intended to be used by horses and dogs. In the 1950s, it was moved to a corner of Highland Park but never was hooked up to water.
Edwards, who works for the Roanoke Water Department, found rusty pieces of wrought-iron fencing stored at Victory Stadium. He traced the fence back to Elmwood Park, where it surrounded a duck pond. He estimates the fence to be about 100 years old.
Edwards persuaded the city to donate the old fence to Highland Park.
With the help of a community-development grant, labor and materials donated by Roanoke Valley construction companies, and a lot of sweat, Edwards was able to put up the fence and a surrounding brick walkway. The walkway is made from leftover star-glazed brick seen in older parts of the city.
The fountain dedication will kick off the Day in the Park '94 celebration.
In the past five years or so, Old Southwest has ``undergone a metamorphosis,'' said Petie Cavendish, who lives on Walnut Avenue across from Highland Park.
``There are more young families that have come in with children,'' Cavendish said. ``Young mothers with children up on the playground saw that the place was a wreck. People in the neighborhood got interested in rehabilitating the park.''
Old Southwest Inc. President Dick Willis agreed.
Roanoke's Parks and Recreation Department stepped in to help, as well, said city Parks Planner Lynn Vernon. In addition to regular park maintenance, the city brought in some new playground equipment, changed the sand in the play area, put a practice T-ball field in, upgraded the lighting, fixed the cables along the park road and put a fence along Fifth Street.
``The neighborhood itself got grants to relocate the fountain and fencing,'' Vernon said. ``A lot of the things we've done have been in cooperation with the neighborhood association.''
Cavendish thinks all the work was worth the effort.
``Now I can sit on my porch and listen to the children playing,'' she said.
by CNB