Downtown street manager honored
A garden behind the Little Red School House was dedicated Sunday to honor the memory of Becky Smith.
Smith was Butler Downtown's main street manager from 2008 to 2011. She died Sept. 24, 2011, at age 30 from injuries she suffered in a car accident.
Butler Downtown started collecting donations for a memorial to Smith at a November 2011 memorial luncheon in Butler, said Bob Dandoy, past Butler Downtown president.
By late 2012, the group had decided it would work with the Butler County Historical Society to put in a small memorial garden behind the Little Red School House museum on East Jefferson Street.
The garden includes landscaping, a bench and a plaque honoring Smith.
They felt a memorial at the museum would be fitting and reflect her commitment to historical preservation, Dandoy said.
“One of Becky's greatest gifts to this community was to come here from Warren, Ohio, and make us look up from the pile of problems and see the great things that are in our community,” Dandoy said during a brief dedication ceremony Sunday.
This sentiment is reflected in a quote from L. Frank Baum's “The Wizard of Oz” chosen for the plaque in the garden: “If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard.”
Dandoy said he hopes the children who visit the schoolhouse will take a moment in the garden and look at the memorial.
“These children are our future, and they come through the past, stopping here to remember and receive some inspiration,” he said.
During her three years in the city, Smith was credited with making strides to revitalize downtown. Several downtown murals, walking tours, bicycle street lanes and concerts were added during her tenure.
Members of Smith's family also were in attendance Sunday. Her father Bob Smith thanked the group and said the garden was a good way to remember his daughter.
“I'd like to thank Bob and everyone here for their efforts in remembering Becky and this fine little garden and a beautiful monument, a little monument so the kids can see it well,” he said.The garden became a reality thanks to donations from businesses and individuals and efforts of volunteers with Butler Downtown and other groups.Some of the contributors to the memorial garden included the City of Butler, the Butler City Fire Department, the Butler School District, the Butler County Chamber of Commerce and the historical society. Penn State Master Gardeners agreed to maintain the garden and landscaping.The Little Red Schoolhouse was built in 1838 and was used as a classroom until 1874, according to the historical society's website.It has been used as a museum since 1966 and was restored after the Butler School District donated the building to the Historical Society in 1993.Tours of the museum are available by appointment, and numerous school and other groups visit every year, said Pat Collins, historical society executive director.With the fifth-grade students attending the Butler Middle School next door for the past two years, every fifth-grader in the district has come to the museum in the spring for a multi-day history lesson taught by volunteers with the historical society.The fence surrounding the garden was replaced by the school district last year and now includes a gate, giving students easier access to the garden and schoolhouse from the Middle School parking lot, Collins said.
