Cherokee park is one of the major parks in Louisville. It is a beautiful place located on the East side of the city in the highlands area. I have chosen the park to be my place and source of writing for this English class. Not only is it one of my favorite places in Louisville but also it reminds me of being younger in the country. Surrounded by nature’s beauty and the sounds of wild life. The park is full of treasured spots such as big rock and Hogan’s Fountain. Cherokee park is truly an iconic place in Louisville. I decided to go on an adventure to my place with my brother. I roll the windows down and turn the radio up as we make our way through the curvy road. We drive on the long scenic route in the park until we finally reach our destination. Big Rock. The sun is making its slow disappearance in the distant. We both spray ourselves from head to toe with a shield of bug spray. As I walk to Big Rock I am with my older brother Brian. Brian is only a year older than me so we have always been really close friends. We always have each other’s back and I am glad we are taking time to explore the park together. He loves being outside just like me and has been to big rock a few times himself. Being the big brother he is he naturally takes the lead on the path. He moves quickly and I break a sweat trying to keep up with his energetic steps. This moment takes me back to when we were kids running around without a care in the world. We would always race each other and I was never quite as fast as he was, even though I tried my hardest. Normally when I walk this trail I take my leisurely time. I love to see what has changed along the path. As the seasons transform, so does the park. Winter lays a think blanket of white over the trails. The cold strips the trees of their leaves. Spring comes along and the park is reborn. New life appears all around. The leaves on the trees reappear. Flowers bloom into a rainbow of colors. People begin to discover what winter kept hidden for months. By summer the park is in full swing. Every sunny day will bring countless louvillians to Cherokee. Whether they come to run, walk, or explore. Fall is my favorite time to come to the park. The weather is magnificent at this time in Louisville. My perfect weather for exploring the outdoors. The park is magnificent at this time of year. The leaves start to turn into shades of orange and brown and gently trickle to the ground. For me Cherokee park is the most beautiful place, during any season, in all of Louisville.
When considering how I should go about finding someone who was connected to the park I was a little lost at first. My thought was that it was just a park and there wasn’t really anyone solely connected to it. So I began to research. Thankfully, I came across a foundation for saving the teepee pavilion in Cherokee park rightly named The Save Hogan’s Fountain Teepee Pavilion. Through many emails I was led to Virginia Mattingly, no relation to myself. Funny enough she actually works at the law library at the University of Louisville. I was told that she was the most active volunteer for the foundation. I was also told that she was cute as a button and would be the perfect person for a video interview. I decided Virginia would be just right for this project and so I pursued getting in contact with her. When I called her she was more than willing to set up a time to meet me. She sounded excited and ready to answer any questions I had for her. This made me excited to meet her and learn about all she knew regarding the park and the teepee.
We met at Cherokee park at 12:00 on a Sunday. The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining but the heat was bearable. The park was completely awake and alive. A family had rented out the teepee pavilion for a cookout. Across the pavilion is Hogan’s Fountain. A couple had let their chocolate lab off its leash by the fountain. The dog immediately jumped into the pool of water to cool off. It was so cute and made me want to do the same thing. I had business to take care of first though. I saw a petite woman wearing a driving hat and a cross-over shoulder bag. She had a smile on her face as I approached and I knew this must be Virginia. Since the family had rented the pavilion we sat on a picnic table on the outside perimeter. From the get go you could tell Virginia was super nice and outgoing. It was easy to start a conversation with her. With the smell of hotdogs on the grill and the sound of kids laughing from the playground to the side, I started my questions. Virginia is definitely a talker. Which was great for all my questions. She gave good personal details to her stories. I learned way more than I expected to learn from my interview with Virginia. I found it easy to keep asking her questions because I was genuinely interested.
Virginia was extremely familiar with Cherokee park as a whole. I was shocked at how educated she was on Cherokee park. I discovered that I pretty much knew nothing about it. Virginia’s main tie to the park is her dedication to saving the teepee pavilion but she is also someone who just really enjoys going to the park. She comes to Cherokee about every other day. During the interview she talked about how the park was in her high school days. It had been a place to come and hangout with your friends. Virginia expressed, “after school this was the meeting place.” It was a central place for teens in the east end to meet up, hangout, and have fun. She told me how her friends would race through the loop in their cars. She also told me not to do that. Cherokee park is still a big destination for people in Louisville. Time hasn’t changed the purpose of the park.
A particular memory she has of the park is when she was in high school and she attended her first political rally. Gatewood Galbraith was speaking at Cherokee. Galbraith has run for governor of Kentucky four different times as a democrat and has been unsuccessful. Galbraith was a vocal advocate for the legalization of marijuana. A huge crowd gathered at Cherokee park to hear him speak. Virginia smiled and said, “It was like nothing I had ever seen before.” She explained how there were fire throwers there. Many people were making speeches. All the kids were playing hack-e-sac. This was a major turning point in Virginia’s life. She exclaimed, “This rally is what got me to really start thinking about my own political views.” For her it opened up this whole new world. She realized that she had a voice and it mattered. That may be the most important reason why she holds Cherokee park so close to her heart. The memory of that day will always be a cherished one for her.
Virginia is a very active person in Cherokee park. She brings her dog for a walk every other day. She participates in the races that happen in the winter, especially the Polar Bear Grand Prix. This race happens every February and goes trough Cherokee park starting at Hogan’s Fountain. The foundation Virginia is a part of had a bring your dog day at the pavilion. Every one involved with the foundation brought their dogs up to the pavilion and they cooked up some food. It was great fundraiser for the foundation and also gave people a chance to talk to others concerned with saving the teepee. Virginia had a happy expression on her face the entire time she talked about Cherokee park. She discussed living in other places in the Country. She proclaimed, “I always miss Louisville’s park system.” To her there is just nothing like what Louisville’s park systems have to offer. Living in a city has its benefits but you just can’t beat having a great park right around the corner.
Frederick Law Olmsted did a great job designing the park systems in Louisville. He made Cherokee park a truly peaceful destination. Olmsted is known as the founder of landscape architecture. He is more popularly known for designing Central park in New York City. Cherokee park is the 69th most visited park in America. Roughly half a million people visit the park annually. The Cultural Landscape Foundation expresses, “The rich and varied scenery follows the contour of the land within four distinctive landscapes of the park: hills, slopes, a creek valley, and sinkholes.” I love the description of the park to be seen as “rich”. This brings a whole new feel to the park. It is not just a random location filled with trees, grass, and hills. It is nature’s very own work of art.
During the course of the interview I learned that the teepee was built in the 1950’s. Its iconic structure is dedicated to the Cherokee Indians that once inhabited Kentucky. The structure stands strong to this day. It is built with an opening at the top to let hot air escape. This keeps the entire pavilion cool and nice for those hot summer days. Now the teepee is in danger of being destroyed. The foundation trying to save the pavilion has until next summer to come up with the proper funds to restore the damages made over the past years. The teepee pavilion is one key element to what makes Cherokee park so special and unique. The Park has character because of all the distinctive and artistic structures within it. By destroying this pavilion they would be destroying important history. This is not the first time the community has come to the rescue at Cherokee. According to a city forester back in 1974, "I don't believe that anyone alive today will see Cherokee Park as it was before the storm." On April 3, 1974 the park was hit by an f4 tornado. Many of the parks oldest and tallest trees were uprooted. Because of the damage done a massive re-replanting took place. It makes me incredibly happy to know that the community was supportive of the parks restoration. Louisville loves this park and wants to see it look its best most definitely. But that being said they are not ok with tearing down a historical landmark in order to make the park “look better” The teepee gives the park character and is a one of its kind structure that pays respect to the people who roamed the land before we did. The teepee pavilion must be saved.
Proposal
Cherokee park is home to many unique structures. Including Hogan’s fountain, Big Rock, and the Teepee pavilion. The Frederick Law Olmsted Foundation wants to tear down the teepee pavilion and build two new smaller pavilions in its place. The pavilion is not as beautiful as it once was and the Olmsted foundation wants it gone for cosmetic reasons. I spoke with Virginia Mattingly an active volunteer for the Save Hogan’s Fountain Teepee Pavilion Foundation. Virginia gave me good insight on what was going on with the pavilion. The foundation has until next summer to raise $80,000. If the money is raised than the proper restorations can be made to the pavilion and it will be saved. The teepee is an iconic structure in Louisville and the community is willing to spend energy and time to see that it is properly restored and kept form demolition. I think the teepee should not be torn down. It is a one of kind structure and its teepee formation gives tribute to Cherokee parks history. The pavilion is not of any danger to people and only requires some cosmetic changes. I propose that whatever funds are raised should be stretched to make the most important repairs. That way both sides win. The Teepee will look good in the park and the community will get to keep this important part of our history.
“Cherokee Park” tclf.org. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, n.d. Web 19 June 2011.
“Cherokee Park” Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. 15 June 2011. Web 19 June 2011.
Mattingly, Virginia. Personal interview. 3 July 2011.
"Gatewood Galbraith." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 15 Dec. 2010. Web. 22 July 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatewood_Galbraith>.
"Frederick Law Olmsted." Frederick Law Olmsted - Founder of Landscape Architechture. 2011. Web. 22 July 2011. <http://www.fredericklawolmsted.com/>.
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