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[from Dallas Baxter]
Photo credit: Nancy Whitlock
Railroad Park Garden Welcomes New Locomotive
The gardeners at Alpine’s Railroad Park Gardens are celebrating the holidays with festive lighting throughout the gardens and the arrival of a new locomotive. The public is invited to enjoy the additions to the park at 6 p.m. Wednesday, December 2 at the Railroad Park, Holland and 5th St. in Alpine.
The locomotive, created by Alpine concrete artist Thomas Lancaster and funded by dozens of donors, is a memorial to the late Gwynne Jamieson, whose energy and creative spark inspired gardeners and gardening organizations in Alpine to come together in 2017 to bring the once moribund park back to life.
Three years later, the park is planted with hundreds of native plants within its meandering pathways and features in the center a large concrete map of the state of Texas with its major rivers highlighted.
Jamieson’s dream for the park was a locomotive which has been artfully created by Lancaster, down to its cow-catcher and smoke stack.
The park also features a wall of tiles, created by ceramicist Kathleen Griffith, to celebrate friends, pets, businesses and families. Griffith will be taking tile orders and answering questions about the tiles at the event. Tile prices vary from $35 to $150 depending on the size. The funds benefit current and future park projects.
And as a memorial to Jamieson, the park is also accepting donations toward the cost of the locomotive. Checks may be made out to Railroad Park Gardens and given to Griffith during the event.
The community is invited to join this winter celebration with hot cider, friends and a walk through the festively lit garden paths of the park. Masks please.
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: billarmstrong
