Memorial garden donated for New Lisbon residents by Knights, garden center
December 21, 2023 at 10:35 a.m.
In lieu of an annual Christmas party during the COVID-19 pandemic, three years’ worth of funds from a Marlton Knights of Columbus council and other donors have helped create a Garden of Remembrance at the New Lisbon Developmental Center, New Lisbon, memorializing 47 residents who died during the pandemic.
The 130-by-60 site was completed after a year and a half of work by many people, and will give the adult residents with developmental disabilities a safe space to enjoy nature and remember their friends.
For more than 40 years, the Father John P. Wessel Knights of Columbus Council 6530 has supported New Lisbon, holding an annual Christmas party for its residents in the facilities of St. Joan of Arc Parish, Marlton. Attended by as many as 50 residents, the luncheon has included music and a special visit from Santa Claus, who brought each resident a gift. The pandemic put that tradition on pause.
Support from the Knights
The Knights, who accumulated funds totaling $15,000 in absence of the Christmas gathering, approached officers of New Lisbon to see how donations might best be used.
The New Lisbon officers envisioned a way to honor those who had died in the pandemic: a memorial garden. They gave a hand-drawn example to the Knights of Columbus, who took it to a local landscape architect and owner of a garden center.
“He generated [and donated] a beautiful, detailed drawing of various garden items — trees, bushes and colorful flower pieces that would bloom throughout the year, and mulch, gravel and boulders to accentuate the garden,” said former Grand Knight Andy Kavulich.
A gazebo at the center of the site also was repurposed, and the project got underway in early summer of 2022 with materials from the garden center.
“The existing garden site needed a lot of work to clear it,” Kavulich said. “The New Libson maintenance staff performed many hours of work, including removing existing fencing around the site, dismantling a few cinder block structures, framing out the new concrete walkways and installing the concrete.”
Planners chose a sprinkler system to ensure easy watering through summer months. A contributor to the Knights of Columbus Christmas Party over the years donated the $6,650 needed for the system, and members of the Knights council facilitated the installation process.
Garden finally completed
After 18 months of coordination and communication with various contributors to the project, the Garden of Remembrance was named and completed in November. The total cost of site development and completion came to more than $35,000.
Although illness among several Knights preempted the annual Christmas party for New Lisbon this year, they plan to return to the celebration in 2024. Meanwhile, a dedication ceremony for the Garden of Remembrance is planned for the spring.
“The officers and residents of the New Lisbon community have enjoyed the progress of the garden and look forward to enjoying it in the spring,” said Kavulich. “It has already been visited by several residents and officers, and they are honored to dedicate the garden to the residents who passed away during the pandemic.”
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In lieu of an annual Christmas party during the COVID-19 pandemic, three years’ worth of funds from a Marlton Knights of Columbus council and other donors have helped create a Garden of Remembrance at the New Lisbon Developmental Center, New Lisbon, memorializing 47 residents who died during the pandemic.
The 130-by-60 site was completed after a year and a half of work by many people, and will give the adult residents with developmental disabilities a safe space to enjoy nature and remember their friends.
For more than 40 years, the Father John P. Wessel Knights of Columbus Council 6530 has supported New Lisbon, holding an annual Christmas party for its residents in the facilities of St. Joan of Arc Parish, Marlton. Attended by as many as 50 residents, the luncheon has included music and a special visit from Santa Claus, who brought each resident a gift. The pandemic put that tradition on pause.
Support from the Knights
The Knights, who accumulated funds totaling $15,000 in absence of the Christmas gathering, approached officers of New Lisbon to see how donations might best be used.
The New Lisbon officers envisioned a way to honor those who had died in the pandemic: a memorial garden. They gave a hand-drawn example to the Knights of Columbus, who took it to a local landscape architect and owner of a garden center.
“He generated [and donated] a beautiful, detailed drawing of various garden items — trees, bushes and colorful flower pieces that would bloom throughout the year, and mulch, gravel and boulders to accentuate the garden,” said former Grand Knight Andy Kavulich.
A gazebo at the center of the site also was repurposed, and the project got underway in early summer of 2022 with materials from the garden center.
“The existing garden site needed a lot of work to clear it,” Kavulich said. “The New Libson maintenance staff performed many hours of work, including removing existing fencing around the site, dismantling a few cinder block structures, framing out the new concrete walkways and installing the concrete.”
Planners chose a sprinkler system to ensure easy watering through summer months. A contributor to the Knights of Columbus Christmas Party over the years donated the $6,650 needed for the system, and members of the Knights council facilitated the installation process.
Garden finally completed
After 18 months of coordination and communication with various contributors to the project, the Garden of Remembrance was named and completed in November. The total cost of site development and completion came to more than $35,000.
Although illness among several Knights preempted the annual Christmas party for New Lisbon this year, they plan to return to the celebration in 2024. Meanwhile, a dedication ceremony for the Garden of Remembrance is planned for the spring.
“The officers and residents of the New Lisbon community have enjoyed the progress of the garden and look forward to enjoying it in the spring,” said Kavulich. “It has already been visited by several residents and officers, and they are honored to dedicate the garden to the residents who passed away during the pandemic.”