Garden gates unveiled in Milton Memorial Park
Two forged metal sculptures were unveiled in Milton Memorial Park June 24, commemorating the Milton Garden Club’s 20 years of service to the town.
Garden gates of three tulips and three sunflowers will now greet folks as they enter the park.
Created by Forged Creations of Delaware City, the sculptures were the brainchild of Milton Garden Club President Sandy Winterbottom and member Kathryn Greig.
“Our main goal is to make everything look beautiful for the town,” said Winterbottom. “We just want to do a lot of great things for the town because I think it’s up and coming.”
The garden club was founded in 1998. Eleven people attended the first meeting, with nine more showing up at the next one.
“Today we have 69 members, and we’re still doing the same thing they originally started,” Greig said. “The whole goal was to make Milton bloom with flowers.”
Blacksmith Kerry Rhoades and his apprentice Ken Adams spent many, many hours over the course of a few weeks to create each gate.
“It’s definitely been an honor to do this,” he said. “I hope everyone enjoys it.”
Winterbottom and Greig first visited with Rhoades in Delaware City, where he took them around and showed off some of his creations. The tour sealed the deal.
The project was completed without any town funds, as the garden club was able to cover expenses through a silent auction and donations.
“I don’t think we can emphasize enough the contributions the garden club has given this town over the past 20 years,” said Mayor Ted Kanakos. “They have a vision. They work hard at it. And they work hard at it every year.”
Nick Roth is the news editor. He has been with the Cape Gazette since 2012, previously covering town beats in Milton and Lewes. In addition to serving on the editorial board and handling page layout, Nick is responsible for the weekly Delaware History in Photographs feature and enjoys writing stories about the Cape Region’s history. Prior to the Cape Gazette, Nick worked for the Delmarva Media Group, including the Delaware Wave, Delaware Coast Press and Salisbury Daily Times. He also contributed to The News Journal. Originally from Boyertown, Pa., Nick attended Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania, graduating in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He’s won several MDDC awards during his career for both writing and photography. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, going to the beach with his family and cheering for Philadelphia sports teams.
