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Ingleside Club seeks donations for project

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A group of ambitious gardeners work to prep the Triangle Park area for upcoming improvements. Ingleside Club members from left Dorothy Tangeman, Julie Parker, Helene Kuempel, Katherine Brown, Joanne Finch, and Joan Good excavated plants to save for later placement. The City crew removed the sod and Ingleside Club will replace it with mulch to create a labor saving, sustainable foundation. (Press photo by Caroline Rosacker)

By Caroline Rosacker

Ingleside Club of Guttenberg is a local women’s organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service. 

Ingleside Club history

In 1902 a group of eight visionary women had a desire to revolutionize the three-mile cow pasture along the Mississippi River into a place where family and friends could gather to enjoy beautiful river views. This fellowship formed the Ingleside Study Club. Their mission was to preserve the riverfront and call it Ingleside Park.

The club members, their husbands, and a team of horses worked very hard transforming the pasture into a park. The group enlisted Martin Keller, a New York landscape architect originally from Guttenberg, to create plans for the recreation area. 

In the 1930s Ingleside Park was turned over to the City of Guttenberg. Although the park remains a major focus of the group, the study club also raises funds through membership dues and projects during the year to support many other local projects. The initial sidewalk along the dike, built by Guttenberg’s Rotary Club in 1997, was extended an additional 4,000 feet through fund-raising efforts, grant money and the hard work of Ingleside Club members.  

Triangle Park renovation 

Civic-minded members of the all-women group have decided it's time to embark on their next city project. The group was granted approval by the Park Board in August for the renovation of Triangle Park, located at the intersection of North River Park Drive and North First Street. Jane Staebler, Ingleside president and spokeswoman for the group, commented, "Triangle Park has always been an area of interest for Ingleside and it’s time for the park’s renovation." 

The group recently met with Amy Speed, Director of Marketing & Development at Guttenberg Municipal Hospital & Clinics and appointed Director of Foundation of Cornerstone Communities, and Emily Yaddof, Community Vitality Director, each explaining their role and efforts in community developments. "Ingleside Club was recently voted to be an ambassador group for the Foundation of Cornerstone Communities," noted Staebler. "Ingleside would like to partner with these entities in fund-raising for the Triangle Park project."

“The Community Vitality Advisory Team conducted a survey of community leaders and they identified community beautification and design coordination as one of their top priorities to work on in the coming year," said Yadoff. "It's great to see community groups already working on beautification projects, such as improvements to Triangle Park, and we are happy to support these efforts, perhaps by facilitating connections with other partners here in our community or even through the securing of grant funds.” 

Hands-on hard work

Group members have excavated plants to save for later placement, and city workers removed the existing sod. Ingleside Club will replace the sod with mulch to create a labor saving, sustainable foundation. “With the help of the City of Guttenberg in removing sod, and Ingleside members getting their hands in the dirt, this will be a beautifully renovated little park," commented Staebler.

Gardening enthusiast and Ingleside Club member Katherine Brown commented, “If you want to get something done – do it yourself, and have good reliable people helping you."

Third-generation Ingleside Club member Julie Parker remarked, “I feel the best part of this project is the coming together of these ladies to accomplish a great goal for our community, and the positive impact our club promotes, hoping to attract members!" She added, "One day while club members were working in Triangle Park a woman from Lincoln, Neb., stopped by with her sisters. She asked about the project and loved the idea. She indicated how much they enjoy Guttenberg and she would love to move here someday." 

Seek donations

Residents who stroll the river walk or bike along River Park Drive will notice the renewed beauty. The improvements will be especially nice for neighbors living adjacent to Triangle Park. 

Juanita Loven, club member, concluded, “Ingleside Club’s Triangle Park will be a great example of what a yard beautification project can look like. Donations in any quantity will be much appreciated.” 

Checks can be made out to Ingleside Club Triangle Park Project and dropped off or mailed to Peoples State Bank,P.O. Box 430, Guttenberg IA 52052.

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