Adding to the beauty of Wallace

WALLACE — Novelist and playwright Frances Hodgson Burnett once said, “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”

The Wallace Flower Park Committee (WFP), alongside Wallace Jr./Sr. High (WHS) Advanced Woods and Advanced Metals students, are working together to build benches for the Sixth Street Park. At the helm of this project is Committee President Elmer Matilla, working alongside WHS shop teacher Brandon Voorhees.

“Last year, Elmer reached out to me and wanted to see if I was interested in the students building some benches for his flower committee,” Voorhees said. “We went back and forth with design ideas, and he was going to get together some of the funding through his committee.”

Last school year proved not to have enough time to complete the project, so Voorhees told Matilla that if he wanted to pursue the same project this year, he would be more than happy to knock it out for him.

“Over the past couple months, I have been working with Elmer and figuring out what the design would be for him. I presented a drawing to him and his group, and they really liked it. From there we got the materials, and started on the project about six weeks ago,” Voorhees said. “The students are working from a drawing and design, and they are really close to being finished.”

The finished benches will be placed at the Sixth Street Park about when the flowers will be displayed for the season, with small metal signs also added to the benches thanking the WHS students.

“The Melodrama owns the vacant lot and is behind the cleanup efforts. Zanetti Brothers donated gravel which the city crew leveled. The lot was cleaned up, posts for hanging baskets were added and lights were strung up as well,” Matilla said. “Bike racks were donated by the city and metal benches were purchased from the Wallace Ace store. Triangular sun shades donated by the city will again be added. This two-year project will be complete with the new school benches, and a Sixth Street Park sign will be installed.”

The students working on this project are excited to have a personal connection with what they are building and placing in their town.

“I just had one student telling me that he will be able to brag to his other buddies that ‘hey, I was a part of this,'” Voorhees said.

With weather permitting, Voorhees is hoping to get the painting done on the benches outdoors, as the welding and fabrication are just about completed. Students are also working on prepping the boards for the seat bottoms and backrests, so they are ready to attach once painted.

“I’m hoping that at the end of next week, I will have one, if not two benches completed. The target is the first week of May, and we are right on schedule for that. We will load the benches up on the truck, and then have the students, with Elmer’s guidance, show where they want us to place them,” Voorhees said.

The entire WFP instills a sense of community by being involved and has many local and out-of-town volunteers that look forward to helping every year.

“Our goal is to help beautify our city. Last year, we tackled the vacant lot at the Sixth Street Melodrama as a city improvement and we continue to look for ways to enhance our town. The city helps with funding, as well as the Morbeck, Magnuson and Callahan/Zeller foundations. Private donations are also a huge part of the overall picture,” Matilla said.

To volunteer or find more information about donating to the project, visit www.growwallace.org.