Serenity Garden ceremony held to dedicate bricks

Nearly 100 people gathered Sunday in the Serenity Garden at Ridgeview Park for the dedication of 31 bricks in honor of those affected by cancer.

Raymond Reed, of the garden’s board of directors, told those in attendance that the garden is in a “spectacular location,” not far from the playful voices of children and the solemnity of Ridgeview Cemetery.

“We built this so people could have a tangible place to reflect,” Reed said.

The garden, formally dedicated in June with donated plants, 38 bricks, eight benches, a bell and an information kiosk, has continued to grow as family members and co-workers chose the spot to remember loved ones. The garden also includes a new curved stone seating area around the dedicated bricks.

“It doesn’t seem like too long ago when [Reed] first approached me,” Mayor Timothy Williams said, describing his wonderment at the “healing place.”

Sunday’s dedication included music and prayers and time for families to see their bricks and remember.

Many took photographs.

Some cried.

“We used to come up and walk. We figured it’d be a good place,” David Whitley said of a brick in memory of his father, who passed away in 2004.

Holly Young, of Waynesboro, photographed a brick dedicated to her father, who passed in August. She sat three of her late father’s grandchildren around the brick, calling their attention before snapping the photo.

“It was something nicely done,” she said.