It is that time of year! A small group of Nevada City Rotarians took advantage of short break in the atmospheric rivers to plant more daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses. Good news is the ground was soft for Walt Stickel, Cathy Wilcox-Barnes, Tom Ryan, Gayle Denney, Kelly Babineau and Dave Brown.
It is a tradition we enjoy as a time for camaraderie, digging in the dirt, and enjoying Cathy’s cookies! And of course it has a history ... Kelly and Tom, making it look easy this year (2024)!A small cadre of Nevada City Rotarians took advantage of the mid-January 2023 sunshine to do a bit of cleanup and replenish blubs planted in Penzance Park. Cathy Wilcox-Barnes, Tom Ryan, Chris Newsom, Walt Stickel, Tom and Robin Milam planted over 200 daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses.
A bit of history from former Nevada City Mayor Cathy:
In the late 80’s, Nevada City became a twin city with the town of Penzance in Cornwall, England. At the time, Cathy was serving as Nevada City’s first female mayor.
In 2005, the Mayor of Penzance and his Sergeant-at-Mace/Chair of their Sister Cities Committee made an official visit to Nevada City. In preparation Nevada City council passed a resolution designating the lot at the corner of Sacramento and Adams street (across from the Chevron station) as a park commemorating our Sister City Penzance.
Nevada City Rotary stepped in do major cleanup of 40 years of brush, blackberries and downed trees before they arrived. The mayor of Penzance sent back some Cornish wildflower seeds and bulbs (which unfortunately got confiscated coming into the country!) Again, Nevada City Rotary stepped up with Cathy's leadership and replaced the confiscated bulbs.
The small park adopted by our Club has been blooming with tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths each spring ever since thanks to Cathy’s ongoing dedication and support of fellow Club members.
Our annual (or thereabouts) work parties carry on the tradition.
In the Spring, neighbors and our community will enjoy the blossoms with us!