Bentonsport’s Rose Garden 40th anniversary celebration is June 26

The public is invited to attend the 40th Anniversary Party for the Bentonsport Rose Garden June 26, from 1-4 p.m. The work and achievement of the volunteers who turned the stone remnants of the Brown mill pond and mill foundation into a beautiful rose and perennial garden with its adjacent butterfly garden is a testament to what generations of volunteers (who have come from several Van Buren villages) can accomplish together with spade, will power and a common goal: a garden enjoyed by visitors to the village.

The 17-member Fairfield Big Band will entertain in the gazebo near the Rose Garden with a 70-minute program beginning at 2 p.m. Refreshments will be served by the gardening volunteers throughout the party. This is a free event.

Kathy Fisher of Keosauqua, with the help of her mother and father, Oneida and Dick Fisher, planted and tended the first historic roses inside the pond stone foundation in 1981. Three of those rose bushes, which are very thorny, are blooming profusely this year. By 1983, the garden was so impressive that the Iowan Magazine awarded Van Buren County Conservation (owner of the property) a $300 grant to invest in the garden.

Through the years several of the volunteers have been recognized with garden ornaments, benches and an arbor. A water garden was added. Bronze sculptures made by nationally recognized artist Chris Bennet, a Bentonsport villager, have been installed.

Three years ago, an archeological probe completed by the Iowa rivers program inside the mill pond foundation, revealed six feet of silt lay on top of bedrock: great for growing flower gardens. It also means the rock foundations are six feet taller than what shows above ground.

The Fairfield Big Band will perform jazz, Latin, rock ‘n roll, and easy listening genres in big band style in the gazebo across from the gardens at 2 p.m. Featured vocalist is Emily McIntyre. Band instruments include trumpet, trombone, saxophone, piano, bass guitar and drums.

Members of the Fairfield Big Band are highly accomplished musicians and play for a number of civic and religious musical events. They are also members of the Fairfield Municipal Band. A few play in Keosauqua’s own Tarnished Brass Band. Big Band members include the multi-talented Alex Roth and Emily McIntyre of Roth-Norton Family Dentistry with practices in Keosauqua and Fairfield.

Bring along picnic blankets or lawn chairs and enjoy the Fairfield Big Band’s program. Stroll through the Rose Garden and the adjacent Butterfly Garden in the Brown Mill stone foundation. Bentonsport is a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon. Donations are not necessary, but appreciated.