hoods better to tell their stories than - Allegheny West Magazine

32 Allegheny West Magazine September/October 2012
"Today marks a very special day in the life of the
[Pittsburgh] Botanic Garden," Board Member
Nancy Zappala said, during groundbreaking
ceremonies on July 25.
From an idea and a concept that sprouted back in
1988, this gloriously bright and sunny July day
marked a major step toward the opening of the
460-acre Pittsburgh Botanic Garden. The
groundbreaking was held outside the Allegheny
County maintenance barn on six acres in Settlers
Cabin Park that was leased to the botanic garden
by Allegheny County.
That barn will soon become the Bayer Welcome
Center.
This major mile marker in the ongoing development
of the botanic garden now gives this
enormous project a huge boost in both accessibility
and visibility.
Also on the platform during ceremonies was Greg
Nace, president of the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden,
who has traveled as far as Kauai, Hawaii, to help
establish other such gardens across the nation.
Now, he is lending his expertise to help
Pittsburgh’s garden move to the next level.
Bill Flanagan, executive vice president of the
Allegheny County Conference, said that Pittsburgh
is the only major city in America to not yet have
such a garden, and acknowledged Greg Nace for his
vision to bring such expertise to the city.
Bill Worms, who serves as chairman of the
garden’s board, and is vice president of marketing
at Bayer Materials Science, thanked the many
supporters, volunteers, and others who have
worked hard to bring the gardens to this point.
Bayer is a major supporter of the project, after
which the welcome center will be named.
Heather Heidelbaugh of Allegheny County
Council spoke of the garden being a future place of
learning for today’s children and their children.
Following the groundbreaking ceremony,
attendees boarded busses for a behind-the-scenes
tour of the grounds.
Tour guides George Watzlaf and Robert Hedin took
attendees to the future main entrance of the gardens,
which will be located on Noblestown Road across
from the Rinker Pipe Plant. They walked the
Reclamation site. The site is named as such because,
as tour guides pointed out, coal is being mined from
the Pittsburgh seam, 50 feet below the surface. The
mined coal will provide significant financial support to
pay for the reclamation process of the garden project.
The mining project, which emerged following the 2004
floods from Hurricane Ivan, faced a short delay after
the death last year of Ralph Mashuda, owner of
Mashuda Corporation, which was in the midst of the
project.
John Cherup has taken over responsibilities for the
reclamation project with his company.
During the walk, attendees also saw the coal mining
project in progress, and viewed a coal seam. They
learned that the property was once a chicken farm
owned by the McGill Family. The late William and
Ethel McGill owned and operated an 85-acre farm that
they sold to Allegheny County back in the 70s. Part
of it became Settlers Cabin Park, and the remaining
property was donated by County Commissioner
Larry Dunn to be used for the botanic garden.
Beth McGill Ellis, whose parents owned the farm,
was on the tour with her husband, Allan.
She pointed out areas where she remembered
playing as a young child, as well as where the chicken
cages and her home were once located.
"I recognize some of the trees still standing, and the
garden areas that my dad once tended," she added.
She noted that the family had to carry water into the
property because of the sulfur in the stream on the
farm. Her dad would bring jugs of water from a
relative’s home in Oakdale. While the water on site
was good for the chickens, it wasn’t good for much
else.
From this vantage point, where the botanic garden’s
LEFT, TOP TO BOTTOM: An
exposed coal seam near the
future Appalachian Trail; John
Cherup has taken on the task of
finishing the coal mining at the
site; attendees walk one of the
Woodland Trails that will
eventually connect to the Bayer
Welcome Center; currently a
site for dropping coal to ready it
for its travels elsewhere, this
spot will house the garden
greenhouses; tour guide Robert
Hedin explains how the coal will
be removed from the seam;
Beth McGill Henry tells attendees
on the tour how this was
once her family’s property.