Page 5 - TR Hometown Batesville May 2017

HOMETOWN BATESVILLE • ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2017 5SS
[I want] to just
absolutely get the park completed and then
maintain the park and open it up to the public and let people enjoy it. That’s the ultimate goal.”
— DANNY DOZIER
MAIN STREET BATESVILLE PROJECT MANAGER, VICE PRESIDENT
Her family, [the Maxfields], were some of the earliest merchants to come to Bates- ville. The original members of the Maxfield family came to Batesville in the 1840s, so over the years, [the Maxfields] were some of the largest merchants in town and owned property all over town,” he said.
He added that Strahl had begun selling much of her property in the area, as her health was worsening, and she was aging.
Dozier said Strahl wanted to deed a half- acre to the city, so they talked and came up with a vision of what they wanted in the park, vowing to have Main Street Batesville design and build the park because the city likely had too much going on to have time for the project.
“Over a period of probably six months, we talked about things we would like to see in the park if it became a park, so we agreed with that, and we presented it to the city of Batesville,” Dozier said. “The understand- ing, as it was deeded, was since the city was probably not going to have the time or financing to develop the park, Main Street Batesville would take on the challenge of trying to build the park. So I was voted to try to head up that task, and I’ve been work- ing on this for probably 2 1/2 years.”
Strahl died in January 2016.
Along with raising money for the proj- ect, Dozier said, the community came together to offer a lot of in-kind services. These came from businesses, individuals and friends of Dozier. He said his expec- tations for the park are high now that people can visualize a bit more of what his vision is.
“[I want] to just absolutely get the park completed and then maintain the park and open it up to the public and let people enjoy it. That’s the ultimate goal,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to see the response from local
SARAH DECLERK/THREE RIVERS EDITION
Maxfield Park was made possible by Anne Strahl’s donation of land to the city of Batesville.
people who have helped out to this point and made it get this far. I’m really a lot fur- ther than I thought I would be at this point.”
While parts of the park will be blocked off for the June 24 celebration, future phases of the project will add a children’s playground, a restroom facility called The Whistle Stop, a covered pavilion, a large deck, parking around the perimeter of the park, more rock work and a gateway to the entrance of the park. Dozier said the rock work is some of his favorite work to do on the park and that it gives life to the park.
“It’s been a big thing for me. I enjoy working, especially with older things that have already put a footprint on the Earth, and you kind of restructure them or reinvent them and use them again. This park is just full of those kinds of items, a lot of historical things that have come about that will be used in the park, so it’s going to tie to the roots of the community,” he said.
Dozier added that the June 24 celebration will be a time for people to discover the park and have fun while eating catfish. Being a guitarist himself, guests might be treated with some music from Dozier even. He said the project still needs funding and that a foundation called the Batesville Downtown Foundation has been set up so the donations are used for the park, specifically, and that all donations are tax-deductible.