GREENVILLE — Greenville City Park Board members discussed the upcoming dedication ceremony for the new Marling Bandshell at their monthly meeting Thursday.
As discussed during February’s meeting, the Greenville Municipal Band’s first concert of the season, titled “A Celebration of Independence,” will be held July 1. The dedication ceremony will likely take place at that time, but details of the event are still being closely considered.
Band conductor J.R. Price brought up the idea of doing a simple ribbon-cutting, but also suggested a more elaborate gesture, such as having a new piece of music written especially for the dedication of the bandshell.
“The roses on the cake ought to be as nice as the cake itself,” Price said. “Having some kind of little dedicatory piece written… it’s a nice thing to have something like that done, musically.“
Price went on to inform the board that having a musical piece commissioned would probably involve a degree of expense, however, since they would not be able to rely on the services of Ken McCoy, a former arranger for the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers Chorus who lived in Greenville for many years and often wrote music for the band.
“Having Ken McCoy right there in our neighborhood was more of a blessing than anyone will ever know,” Price said.
McCoy, also a former Ohio State University Marching Band staff member, passed away earlier this year. Price assured the committee, however, that whatever their decision, Greenville residents will be in for a great show.
“As far as the music is concerned, I think we’re going to have an incredible show no matter what,” Price said.
For their part, Price said, members of the municipal band are eager to begin performing.
“The band is incredibly anxious to get into that shell,” Price said. “If I called a rehearsal during a blizzard, I think 90 percent of them show up.”
Board president Dale Musser was adamant about using some part of the ceremony to acknowledge the many Greenville residents who contributed to the bandshell construction through donations.
“I don’t want to make a distinction about who donated what,” Musser said. “I just want to have all the donors there, and bring them all up on stage.”
In other news:
Greenville resident Kay Sloat spoke to the board about putting up a tree in honor of Dr. Dan Berger, a local physician who passed away in February of this year. Berger was apparently a lover of the park who would often complain about the trees there being damaged by lawnmowers.
“We’ll put mulch or something around it so that no mower is going to damage Dan’s tree,” Sloat said.
Jana Deeter, a representative of the local nonprofit Friends of the Greenville Parks, announced the group’s annual pancake and sausage breakfast, which will take place Saturday, April 14 at the Greenville Masonic Lodge. Deeter also offered to donate a box of Christmas decorations to the park.
“You can have them, but you’ve got to come get ‘em,” Deeter said.
Mark Middlecoff, of Darke County Person-Centered Services (PCS), announced that the park’s Roundhouse will be opening for business April 16. The Roundhouse is staffed during the spring and summer months by PCS clients.
Park manager Deb Fall announced that the park’s swimming pool will be open Memorial Day weekend.
The next meeting of the Greenville Park Board will take place Tuesday, April 17.
