Fickle Spring ArrivesThe Olmsted Linear Park is bursting with vibrant pinks and oranges as Mother Nature teases park visitors with warm, spring-like weather. The dogwoods proudly show off their bright whites and muted pink flowers. The redbuds showed up early with their beautiful purple blooms scattered throughout the park. The best surprise was in Shadyside where we discovered the return of trillium and beautiful coral blooms of Columbine in an area once overcome by English ivy. It is so exciting to stroll through the park and find those hidden treasures. Each day brings on new surprises and we are certain Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. is smiling down, giving an approving nod to the park’s grandeur and beauty. ■

Welcome Chuck Ellis – Director of DeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural AffairsDirector Ellis comes from Hollywood, Florida where he served as the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Director and has 35 years of experience working with government entities starting in his home town of Lexington, KY. Ellis re-ceived a Bachelor of Arts from University of Kentucky and a Master of Public Poli-cy and Administration from The Martin School at University of Kentucky. He is a Certified Parks and Recreation Profes-sional designated by the National Recre-ation and Parks Association.■

Update on the Deepdene BridgeDeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs (DCRPCA) department is in the process of hiring a contractor to restore the bridge that was demolished by Hurricane Irma last fall. They are seeking multiple bids and the pre-bid meeting is set for May 16. We understand that this is a lengthy process. We appreciate your patience as we work closely with DCRPCA in restoring the bridge to its original state. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Atlantaolmstedpark@gmail.com or call (404) 377-5361. Thank you for your continued support to the Olmsted Linear Park. ■

Olmsted Linear Park Alliance Volume 14 No. 1 Spring 2018

Beautiful flowering Dogwood - Cornus Florida Flowers

Purple Trillium - Trillium erectumChuck Ellis

Olmsted Linear Park Alliance Page 2 Volume 14 No. 1 Spring 2018

Happenings in the ParkBy George IckesOver the past two years, OLPA engaged in a plant rejuvenation pro-ject to help tame some of the over grown plantings in the park. It was a long arduous process but worth it. The areas of focus look fantastic. This year, OLPA continues to work with Arborguard Tree Special-ists on the tree sustainability program. Almost all of the trees in the pastoral park segments have been documented and tagged. OLPA will continue to monitor the tree canopy health and address issues that arise during the year. The Maintenance crew planted over 35 new plants in Springdale this past fall. This spring they planted blueberry bushes and Sum-mersweet Clethra in Deepdene. Many thanks to Michael Bamford from the Azalea Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society, who helped select new azaleas for the Deepdene promenade area. We had a volunteer workday in March to remove invasive plant ma-terial along the paths and in the forest near the mead. We thank Janice Whitener, George and Ruth Gray and Erin Trapaga who braved the weather to help out. Our next volunteer workday is Sat-urday, May 19 in Deepdene. As you know the maintenance work crew spend many hours keeping our park looking beautiful. Please help us keep them safe when they

are working. They handle noisy equipment and may not hear you ap-proach. Thank you for supporting our wonderful green community.

See you in the park! ■

Allie grew up in the Druid Hills neighborhood and remembers what the park looked like in the 90’s. These days, she spends her time campaigning for clean en-ergy at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE). Allie promotes clean energy through-out the southeast region, fo-cusing on volunteer outreach,

grassroots campaigns and on-line engagement. Prior to her work with SACE, Allie focused on wind energy advocacy in the South, providing education and research on the opportunities for wind energy development across the region. When she isn’t working as an environmen-tal superhero, Allie is cheering

for Atlanta United and walk-ing her dog Tanji. Allie serves on the OLPA Young Leader-ship Council and now as an OLPA Board Member. Allie is a 2013 graduate of UGA with a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Ecology. ■

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s (and Grandfather’s) house we go! Greetings! My name is Irene Purser (Reenie for short, along with my 50 oth-er nicknames), fur-daughter of Rebecca Purser and grand-dog of Michael Purser and Robin Chalmers. I am a rescue Eng-lish Bulldog – when I was found as a stray I had eye problems, a skin infection and was scared of everything. My Mama adopt-ed me a year ago, and now I am living my best life in Midtown, Atlanta. I like to es-cape to my “country home” (aka my grand-ma and grandpa’s house) in Druid Hills as much as I can. The fresh air keeps me

young and beautiful. My grandma takes me on walks with my aunt Libby through the Olmsted Linear Park when I’m there – more trees than I could ever dream of in the Midtown concrete jungle! On Thanksgiv-ing, I walked through Deepdene forest with all the dogs in our family. I love running through the crunchy leaves and getting my “zoomies” out. Good way to work off the turkey, too! I’m very focused on my fitness. If you’re ever in the Olmsted Linear Park and think you’ve spotted a fast piggy – take a second look – it might be me. ■

BOARD NEWS Welcome Allie Brown

Irene – PAWS in the Park

Native azaleas in the Dellwood park

Olmsted Linear Park Alliance Page 3 Volume 14 No. 1 Spring 2018

Donald Allan Kenagy left us much too soon on May 14, 2017. Don and his wife Carol Sleeth, had been married 34 years and had both been tireless volun-teers in the Druid Hills com-munity and supporters of the Olmsted Linear Park. Don’s middle initial “A” should

have stood for Adventure. Near-ly every year, with friends and family, he camped and canoed in the Okefenokee Swamp, ex-plored most of the flat-water rivers in South Georgia and in the Southeastern United States. Don visited all fifty states in the U.S. and 58 countries. Among his impressive adventures, he and Carol hiked the 480-mile Caminode Santiago in Spain

twice – one among many of their impressive travels. Don was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Penn State for undergraduate and MIT for graduate school. Don is survived by his wife and partner in adventure, Carol Sleeth, and by his five children (Marc, Kate, Justin, Jason and Dougal) and by his 6 grandchildren (Isabelle, Delia, Chiara, Kayleigh, Kendall

and Luke.)■

Lorraine Loftis was a force of nature in the Druid Hills com-munity. Born and raised in New York, she and her family moved to Georgia after she graduated from Hunter College. Lorraine began her career as a teacher and met her husband James Loftis, a real estate investor. They lived on Lullwater Road and had one

daughter, Nanette. Lorraine was an active member of the Lullwater Garden Club and the DeKalb Federation of Garden Clubs. She was a char-ter member of the Federation’s Life Membership program and served on the Federation’s board of trustees. During 1997 to 1999, Lorraine served as Redbud Dis-trict Director. She served as the liaison between Stone Mountain and the Yellow Daisy festival for

16 years and served on the Gar-den Club of Georgia’s board for more than 20 years. In addition to her garden club work, Lor-raine was a member of the Druid Hills Civitan Club, Druid Hills Golf Club and Emory Presbyte-rian Church. Lorraine was also a supporter of the Olmsted Linear Park where she had a bench ded-icated in memory of her husband in Shadyside Park. Lorraine al-ways had a smile to share and will

be greatly missed.■

Ted Maloof, a native of Copper-hill, Tennessee, attended Notre Dame and Emory Universi-ty School of Law. In Atlanta, Ted co-founded the law firm of Hicks, Maloof and Campbell. Ted was married to Gloria Idrau

Maloof for 58 years and the cou-ple had one son, Julin. Ted had long been interested in all forms of art, especially kinetic sculp-ture and photography. Ted became a renowned pho-tographer whose work was col-lected and displayed by many of his fans. In addition, his pho-tographs were in the permanent collection of the Museum of

Contemporary Art of Georgia. A gallery in the Atlanta Photo-graph Group’s headquarters is named after Ted and Gloria. For the past 20 years, Ted gen-erously donated one or more of his photographs to the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance Gala Ben-efit auction. Ted’s wit, art and presence will be sorely missed in Druid Hills.■

Theo was a remarkable young man. He left us too soon at age 15, but accomplished much in his young life, for which family and friends took pride, and expressed hopes for his promising future. Born April 3rd, 2002 in Decatur, Georgia, Theo grew up in the his-toric Candler Park neighborhood in the City of Atlanta, attending Mary Lin Elementary, Samuel Inman Middle and Henry W. Grady High School. A gifted stu-

dent of science, math, literary arts, essay writing, public speaking and Greek and Latin languages, he had a dream of one day serv-ing in fields of cybersecurity and computer technology. He served as an acolyte for several years as a lifelong member of Annuncia-tion Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Atlanta, under the direction of Fr. Paul Kaplanis and Fr. Chris-tos Mars. A Boy Scout who rose from his 1st grade Tiger Cub den with Pack 586 at Epworth United Methodist Church through the rank of Star Scout with Gryph-

on Patrol in Troop 18 at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church, he lived an oath to do good turns daily through service projects for South Fork Con-servancy, Olmsted Linear Park Alliance, Candler Park and oth-er non-profit organizations. His proudest moments came from the opportunities to compete in public speaking as a member of the Grady High School Jesters in programs of impromptu and extemporaneous speaking under the guidance of the club's long-time coach and mentor, Mario

Herrera. Theo is survived by par-ents Constance and Walt Wei-mar, and older brother Robert of Atlanta, Georgia and many aunts and uncles.■

Don Kenagy (1941-2017)

Lorraine Loftis (1933-2018)

Maurice “Ted” Maloof: Artist and Attorney (1931 -2017)

Theodore Cole Weimar (2002 -2018)

IN REMEMBRANCE by Jennifer J. Richardson

Julie Zaharatos and Kristina Bowen

Olmsted Linear Park Alliance Page 4 Volume 14 No. 1 Spring 2018

Kelly Dye and Martha Brooks

Jenna Biegel and Conan Zhao

Jean Bowen, Carolyn Hall, Brian Bowen, Billy Hall, Joni Winston

Caleb Peng, Darby Jardeleza, Hillary Li, JuliannaChristman, Mandel Mparuri, Nate Henneman

Ther

e was

dan

cing.

..Thank you for supporting the 14th Annual Party for the Parks on Ponce Gala Benefit.

OLPA raised $65,000 that will benefit the tree sustainability program and ongoing maintenance needs in the park.

Paul DeSandre and Michael Ross

Wendy Hogg, John Noel, Allie Brown and Ian Karra

Sravanthi Meka, Steve Saenz, Sandy Kruger, Beth Grashof

Olmsted Linear Park Alliance Page 5 Volume 14 No. 1 Spring 2018

Thank you to all who attended the Gala Benefit, our sponsors, host committee, volunteers and auction donors.

Council member Jennifer Ide

- District 6

Joni Winston receives Frederick Law Olmsted Legacy Award

Peggy and Barrett Walker

Sally Harburgh receives Frederick Law OlmstedLifetime Achievement Award

George Ickes receives Frederick Law OlmstedStewardship Award

THANKS TO OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS FOR 2018

Olmsted Linear Park Alliance Page 6 Volume 14 No. 1 Spring 2018

THANK YOU TO OUR GALA HOST COMMITTEE

VISIONARY

CHAMPION

PRESERVATIONIST

CONSERVATIONIST

OAKMartha & Toby Brooks Ann & Frank Critz Jenny Fletcher Carolyn & Billy Hall Carrie & Rich Lassiter Cecile Maissa & Gareth Perry Elena Parent & Briley Brisendine Jr.

MAPLE Mary Ann Hite Christiana & Pete Jacxsens Becky & Bob Lough

DOGWOODLillian & Gene Ansley Anne & Daniel Arwood Jean & Brian Bowen Mary & David Bower Krista Brewer & Gary Flack Jodi & Patrick Buckley

Carol & Aubrey Bush Robin Chalmers & Michael Purser Sally Cohen & Rocky Atkins Kim & Steve Comstock Julianna Critz & Stephen James Graff, Jr. Robin & Justin Critz Caroline & Charles Driebe Amy Erwin & Elliott Albers Becky & David Evans Susan Doyle & David Goo Beth Grashof Jari & Doug Grimm Paige & Bruce Harvey Janet Fath & Richard Henneman Peggy & Henry Hibbert Shirley & Bill Hollberg Linda & Richard Hubert Dr. & Mrs. James Hughes Nancy & George Ickes Marguerite Colville Ingram Kirsten & Michael Jacobson David McCauley & Gary Siebert Marilyn & John McMullan

Cynthia Messina & Jeff Gold Caroline & Phil Moise Susan Muller & Steve Budnick Sherry Neal & Daniel Wright Martha & David Pacini Judy & Tony Ragunas Julie & Tim Ralston Kate & Carl Seville Mary & Wendell Reilly Gloria Seymour & Sunny Lee Jonathan Shakespeare Claire Sterk & Kirk Elifson Kevin Steward & Philip Thompson Kim & Scott Storbeck Sue Strauss & Rod Martin Tally Sweat Elizabeth & Bob Wagner Fentress & Jim Waits Connie & Walter Weimar Suzanne White Janice Whitener Julie & George Zaharatos

OAKMs. Barrett Batson Mathew & Natalie Bernstein Krista Brewer & Gary Flack Martha & Toby Brooks Ann & Frank Critz Robin & Justin Critz Paul & Lynn Farnham Katherine Fritts & Steven Cappel Billy & Carolyn Hall Spencer & Gail King Daniel & Megan Kurzius Mel & Ellen Moore Carrie & Chad Parker Zac Pasmanick Joanna & Roger Quillen Kathryn Lee Taylor Wayne & Jane Thorpe Janice Whitener Joni Winston

HICKORYTina & Jim Chueh David H. Cofrin & Christine Tryba-Cofrin Max & Rosalie Cooper Craig & Heather Couris Aiden Critz Julianna Critz Eric James Dusenbury Richard & Susan Fenichel Tom H. Hemby Diana Hicks David Hudson & Lainey Papageorge Dr. & Mrs. James Hughes George & Nancy Ickes Christiana & Pete Jacxsens Elizabeth & Stuart Johnson Robert Kerr & Linda Disantis Cloe & Christian Larsen M.H. Mitchell Inc.Stephen & Sherri OzcomertMartha & David PaciniMark & Kathryn PetraliaAlida & Stuart SilvermanKevin Steward & Philip Thompson

DOGWOODJoseph Agee Marcia Bansley Chris Van Beneden Kristina & Patrick Bowen Donna Jean Brogan Kevin Burke Manuel & Dale Cadrecha Robin Chalmers & Michael Purser Ann & Jeff Cramer Russell Currey & Amy Durrell Phil & Jennifer Cuthbertson Robert Davis Elliott Albers & Amy Erwin Audra & Daniel Esrey Arnold & Joyce Evans Todd & Dorothy Evans Brad & Leslie Fletcher Allen & Michelle Futral Beth Grashof Ruth & George Gray Chip & Dana Harbaugh Jim & Sue Heerin Dr. Kent & Eva Holland

Matthew Page & Nicole Iannarone Vivian & John Ingersoll Robert & Christine Introna John Juricek Emily Elaine Katt Stacey Key Sandra & Walter Kruger Rich & Carrie Lassiter Elizabeth Lyon Robert Marshall Mary Merchant & John Green Penn & Donna Nicholson Katie Orr Amy Phuong Margaret Pierce Melanie & Mac Platt Judy Ragunas Claudia Saari & Jeff Boatright Virginia Schenck Drs. Patty & Arthur Schiff Bill & Sandra Sexson Frank & Donna Smith P.J. & Lindsey Sones Amy Stout Jami Buck-Vance & Han Vance Viridis Garden Design Inc. Fentress & Jim Waits Catherine Woodling & Evan Strange Martin & Holly York

REDBUDBryan Adams Bob & Jeanne Allen Lisa Armistead & Daniel Kidder Naka Nathaniel & Meridith Artley Anne & Daniel Arwood Arthur & Susan Auerbach Jesse & Deborah Austin Wendy & Jefferson Baer Beryl Bergquist Paul & Barbara Bianchi Jenni Blankenhorn Katherine & Joseph Bleser Scott & Becky Bracewell Stephen Breeser Arline Browder Allie Brown Jill & George Brown Andrea & Robert Bruce I. Emerson Bryan IIIJoanna BuffingtonCarol & Aubrey BushKris Byron & Ross RubensteinKatharine & Steve CardwellDennis & Wendy CareyLinda Grabbe & Terence ChorbaCIRCAHarry & Linder ClarkSydney & Craig ClelandSam CollierCarrie & Joe ConwayCasey Cornell & Ritchie McNallyMary DabbsDon & Dee DeBraRichard Delay & Francine DykesPaul DeSandre & Michael RossRob Dretler & Muffie MichaelsonHelen Hughes Evans & Eric SorscherDolly EvansPaul FerdinandsWilliam S. Fletcher

Martha Foster Ruth Garner Susan Baker & Rick Gilkey John & Kristin Giordano David S. Godfrey Dr. Maria Nelly Golarz de Bourne Mark & Marlene Goldman David Goo & Susan Doyle Lisa & Scott Gordon William & Pat Graves Philip & Ashley Hager Honora & Dan Handley Evans Harrell & Charity Scott Shed & Debbie Harrison Virginia Hepner & Malcolm Barnes Emily & Robert Herndon Preston & Linda Herren Maria Higgins Donna & Carl Holladay Melinda & Phil Holladay Shirley & Bill Hollberg Carol Holliday Catherine Howett Chip Jones Kelly Jordan Judy & Andrew Keenan Lynn Kerpel Leslie Pope & Judy Kisla Dewey & Victor Kramer Howard & Faith Levy Bruce & Dell MacGregor Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Mailer Chuck & Betsy Marvin Annette & Steven McBrayer Dan & Mary Emma McConaughey Fredda McDonald Ted & Catherine McMullan Sravanthi Meka Perry Mitchell & Pam Woodley Phil & Caroline Moise Randolph & Rebecca Moore Sally Morgens Hampton & Carter Morris Elizabeth & Allen Moye Paul & Anne Murdoch Joseph Neal Sherry Neal & Daniel Wright David Graham Nelson Jim & Margaret Newsome Dr. Nancy Newton Aneli Nugteren & Steve Place Donald & Helen O’Shea Park Pride David & Nan Partlett David & Susan Peterson Lois Pippin Catherine P. Powell Julie & Tim Ralston Helen Rice Dr. Henry Ricks Rebecca Rollins Ronald Russell Steve Saenz Cyrus & Emily Samai Benjamin & Patricia Schneider Sam Schwartz Kate & Carl Seville Janpen & Andrew Sherwood Norman Slawsky & Marcia Abrams Carol Sleeth Kim & Scott Storbeck

Sue Strauss & Rod Martin Valerie & Charles Surasky Elaine Swobe & Jeff Hopper Lynda & Bill Talmadge Chantel & Rob Taylor Dr. Nancy Thompson Sydney Thompson & Nathan Aarons Kerry Traubert & John Raevuori Doug Bremner & Viola Vaccarino Nancy Verber Vivian Waldrop Barrett & Peggy Walker Connie & Walter Weimar Ruth Woodling George & Julie Zaharatos Jonathan Zimring & Jennifer Howard

MAPLECathy & Bucky Askew Terry C. Bird & Clark Lemons John Boswell Dave Butler Elaine Chambers Judy Clements Matthew Cone Dina Franch Ann & Lewis Freedman Pamela Frey Doris Lee & Scott Gabler Mr. & Mrs. Les Garber Adele & Patricia Gipson Smoke Rise Morning Glories Pat Godbee Jennifer L Goodwin Richard Henneman & Janet Fath Cynthia Hoffner Walter S. James Carol Jean & Timothy Johnson Consuelo & Robert Kertz Frederick Koehl Sarah & David Kruse Teresa Kruzan & Richard Wilinski Andrea Larner Jeffrey Leasendale Lion’s Gate Condominium Joy Martin Mary Donovan & Tim Merckens Sandy & Robert Monett Mary Sloop & Andy Montgomery Lynne Moody & Michael Thun Robert Bradley Morris Denise Neely Steve Noble James & Lois Overbeck Bobbie Paul Osvaldo & Elsa Pena Sophia Brothers Peterman Bruce Rado Elliot Royston Brian Ruppert Don Saliers Deborah Schneider Brian Seinberg Neel Gandhi & Sarita Shah Kim & Hank Siegelson J. Miller TobinErik TrumSteven Harris & Wendy Weeks Pauline Rose Clance & Nancy Zumoff

Thank you to the Olmsted Linear Park Supporters.Gifts received November 9, 2017 – April 15, 2018

Olmsted Linear Park Alliance Page 7 Volume 14 No. 1 Spring 2018

OFFICE1788 Ponce de Leon Avenue, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30307

404.377.5361

www.AtlantaOlmstedPark.org

AtlantaOlmstedPark@gmail.com

Executive DirectorSandy Kruger

Park Maintenance DirectorGeorge Ickes

EditorJennifer J. Richardson

Photo Credits:Sandy Kruger Julia Purser Randy McDow

Graphic DesignGareth Perry

Thank you for supporting Olmsted Park. Please remember the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance in your estate planning. Visit the OLPA website for more information at Atlantaolmstedpark.org.

Ask your employers about matching gift opportunities.

The Olmsted Linear Park Alliance is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organisation.

DIARY DATESVolunteer opportunities and work daysIn Deepdene

9.00am - Saturday, May 19 9.00am - Saturday, June 23

Bring work gloves and reusable waterbottle

Picnic in the park4.00pm - Sunday, September 23

PO Box 5500 | Atlanta, Georgia 31107

Phot

o cre

dit:

Julia

Pur

ser

We appreciate our matching gift partners.Caterpillar FoundationThe Benevity Community Impact FundUS Bank

Thank you to the Olmsted Linear Park Supporters.Gifts received November 9, 2017 – April 15, 2018 (Cont'd)

A Northern Red Oak in Shady Side Park