By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Just hours after the unveiling of the plaque honoring the donors who made Wooster Green possible, people were already busy preparing the grounds for the Firefly Nights festival that was to take place that same evening.
The ceremony marked the completion of the project that began in 2016.
Mayor Emeritus Dick Edwards still has the letter from retired English teacher Dianne Vogtsberger proposing to turn the former junior high site into a town square. The school, which was originally the high school, was demolished in the summer of 2012.
He noted that the letterhead indicated that the letter had been sent from Chatham, Massachusetts, where the retired teacher spent summers. She had grown up in Northport on New York’s Long Island. Both places, she said, had town squares, and both had gazebos. Now, eight years later, Bowling Green has its own town square with a gazebo.
The space has been put to good use. John Calderonello of the Wooster Green steering committee quoted a story by Jan McLaughlin in the BG Independent: “It’s a place where the community comes together to celebrate, to mourn, to learn, to enjoy music, to protest injustice and to stand up for a right.” And that was written when “Wooster Green was just a hope and a dream,” Calderonello said.
He offered a sampling of the diverse activities that take place on the Green: children’s play hours at the library, food truck Thursdays, a drum circle, a Kiwanis cornhole tournament, concerts, the Juneteenth commemoration, the Rainbow Rally, a solar eclipse viewing gathering, a Better BG Bash, a concert honoring the elderly, a drug take-back, social justice protests and rallies for immigrant families.
All this, says Calderonello, is proof of the success of the original intention.
(The ceremony, which included a ribbon cutting, was scheduled for Wooster Green but was moved to the City Council Chambers due to weather.)
His committee colleague Bob Callecod said all of these groups had “used it with respect.”
The field is “still in its infancy,” he said. “It would be good to see more of what is already happening.”
He noted that “a lot of people in town don’t even know about it.”
Sharon Hanna, who led the fundraiser, said they started with a “blank canvas” and it took $400,000 in private funding to realize the vision.
While Wooster Green is a new landmark for the city, the ceremony was also a celebration of Bowling Green’s history. Sixteen historical markers were strategically placed throughout downtown Bowling Green.
John Sampen, chairman of the Historic Preservation Committee, said the signs are “windows into the past.” The signs, which were installed on July 18, “add a historical dimension to the public’s appreciation of our city.”
They study in detail the history of both existing historical buildings and buildings that no longer exist.
(RELATED: Signs of the times: BG’s historic signs tell stories about the city’s glory days, disasters and reconstruction)
Planning Director Heather Sayler said this is a gift to the community. “These buildings are special.”
She added: “Thank you to those of you who care for these buildings. We know how much time, money and love goes into these buildings.”
Without them, Sayler continued, “Bowling Green would not be what it is today: such an authentic and special place to live and do business” or to attract visitors.
Also present at the ceremony was the great-granddaughter of George W. Gaghan, who built the building on the southwest corner of Main Street and Wooster Street.
Marsha (Coover) Bloxsom and her husband, Walter Bloxsom, drove five hours from Lexington, Kentucky, to attend the ceremony.
Her great-grandfather ran a store on the corner in 1875, and when a fire destroyed the building in 1887, he immediately built the current building.
Bloxsom said he sold the building in 1901 and moved to Toledo, where she still has family.
Although she was aware of her connection to Bowling Green, she had never visited the city until this week.
Her grandfather was a veterinarian. He and her grandmother lived in Lexington most of their lives.
Her husband is a geologist, and they acknowledged that much of BG’s wealth came from the oil industry. The image of oil rigs in the courthouse murals would not be unusual in South Texas, where she spent much of her life, but is notable in Ohio.
She only learned of the dedication because she called the city and asked for genealogical information for a project she was working on.
Although she was well aware of her family’s connection to Bowling Green, she had never been here before. But when she heard about the ceremony, she knew she and her husband had to make the long drive to attend. After all, she said, how many people can say their families have been honored in such a way.
