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Thursday, July 19, 2007 North Brentwood garden dedicated in honor of African-American veterans |
Raphael Talisman⁄The Gazette North Brentwood Mayor Petrella Robinson speaks during the dedication ceremony of the North Brentwood Memorial Garden Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Park in North Brentwood. 
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Residents and local elected officials turned out Saturday for the dedication of the North Brentwood Memorial Garden honoring African-American men and women who served in the Armed Forces since the Civil War.
It took five years of research, collecting, planning and fund-raising to create the memorial garden, done in conjunction with the Neighborhood Design Center at a cost of $55,000, according to a news release from the center.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Open Space Program donated $25,000 to the project and the balance was provided by the Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation.
All trees, plants and mulch were donated by the Prince George’s County Livable Communities Initiative Gorgeous Prince George’s Day Program. Volunteers worked on the garden portions of the site.
Neighborhood Design Center’s Program Director Jan Townshend and former Mayor Lillian K. Beverly were instrumental in the planning and construction of the project, according to the release.
The project began in late 2002 when two volunteer landscape architects, Meredith Byer and Keely Lauretti, produced plans for the garden, while volunteers from NDC and Gateway Community Development Corporation sought funding, the release said.
North Brentwood is the first incorporated African-American town in Prince George’s County and the Washington, D.C., region. With a population of fewer than 500, 244 veterans’ names appear on the monument.
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