Memorial Garden Honors Deceased Alumni in Unique and Historic Space
When E. Clarence Jones installed an elaborate circular garden behind his North Broadway estate in Saratoga Springs in 1918, he couldn't have imagined that, some eighty-five years later, it would be transformed into a memorial for generations of Skidmore alumni. After passing through several owners, Jones's Broadview Lodge was acquired by Skidmore College in 1967 and is now known as the Surrey Williamson Inn. The property's original ";East View" garden has been renovated as the college's Alumni Memorial Garden.
The project originated in 2002 when Florence Andresen '57, Barbara Mansfield Saul '57, Elizabeth Hartz Hewitt’57, and Marge O'Meara Storrs '57 decided to restore the long-neglected garden and hold a private ceremony there for deceased classmates during their forty-fifth reunion. As the balloons released in honor of lost classmates floated above circular beds bursting with the 650 impatiens they had planted, the four alumnae realized they were on to something. Soon graduates from other classes expressed interest in collaborating on a garden enhanced by sculpture, seating, and signage that would offer all alumni classes a range of memorial opportunities.
Work began on the site in September 2003, when the soil was prepared for an initial planting of several Cusa dogwood trees; white-, pink-, and red-flowering azalea bushes; and purple-leaf ground cover. There was a complete restoration of the four quadrants and circular granite wall surrounding the sunken garden, as well as curation of garden furniture, sculpture and ceramic vessels donated by renown Skidmore alumni artists. A watering system and lighting was installed in 2004. Formal dedication of the Alumni Memorial Garden took place in June 2005.
A stone-paved walkway encircles the 6,000-square-foot garden and divides it into four quadrants, in which engraved stone bricks commemorating each graduating class, beginning with the Class of 1903, are laid. Florence Andresen established the pre-Commencement tradition of having senior-class officers plant a flower near the brick engraved with their class year.
A sculpture of Hindu goddess Bhumi Devi,* created by artist Barbara Stroock Kaufman ’40, stands at the center of the garden surrounded by the Cusa dogwood trees. Descriptive plaques identify trees donated by alumni, as well as custom teakwood memorial benches built by exterior design firm Munder-Skiles, owned by John Danzer ’75. Eight decorative urns adorn the garden, courtesy of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. In recent years, the benches as well as the entire east wall of the garden have been restored and rebuilt; the sculpture of Bhumni Devi, stored each winter, is periodically removed for special cleaning.
Led by Diana Clark Crookes ’69, the garden is tended from May to October by Leslie Valk Benton ’69, Sharon Walker Boyd ’66, Nancy Coull Erdoes ’66, Laura Lee ’67, and Betsey Chandler Sutton ’67. During Reunion Weekend, an alumni memorial service is held to honor the lives of alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the College. This very moving ceremony allows reunion goers to mourn the classmates who have died since their previous reunion (five years earlier). Yellow Roses are left on the bricks representing these classes.
The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation selected Skidmore's Alumni Memorial Garden as the recipient of its 2016 Preservation Recognition Award.
An endowment fund has been established to provide for the care and maintenance of the garden into the future. For more information on the garden or the fund, contact Beth Brucker Kane, associate director, donor relations at 800-584-0115. ext. 5677.
In Memoriam