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By Mark Risley
The Oakwood Historical Society will be hosting an educational walking tour of Oakwood’s woodland parks on Saturday, June 23rd from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. The trails of Loy Garden, Elizabeth Garden and Houk Stream will be featured with a gathering at Smith Garden where refreshments will be served. Parking will be available at the Edwin D. Smith Elementary School playground. A shuttle will transport participants to Loy Garden, pick them up at the Houk Stream Runnymede Road park entrance and proceed to Smith Garden. The shuttle will return to Smith School to complete the route.
 Loy Garden - Situated between Park Road and Forrer Road on 1.58 wooded acres, Loy Garden was created in 1929 as a device in the will of Katherine Loy as a memorial to her late husband Henry. Their former home sits adjacent to the park.
Loy Garden features a multi-level walking trail that rises and falls as it follows the stream through the park. Notice the large taxus bush near the Park Road entrance. In one area, facing park benches provide a quiet retreat in which to enjoy the park’s natural features. Stone stairs lead down to a wooden footbridge with a handrail. The trail rises again, then winds its way downward toward Forrer Road.
Elizabeth Gardens - A joint effort of prominent citizens Eliza P.T. Houk, John H. Patterson (founder of NCR) and Henrietta Parrott established Elizabeth Gardens along with Houk Stream in 1912. Both parks sit on 12.5 acres of natural woodland and, in 1919, another 1.34 acres was added where Park, Forrer and Ridgeway Roads meet. Elizabeth Gardens is named after the mother of Mrs. Parrott.
There is a trail entrance from Forrer Road across from Loy Garden. The trail is mostly level and meanders along the stream through the park. Several park benches are nestled among the trees and overlook the stream that cuts deeply into the landscape. A walk along what was originally a bridal path provides the best enjoyment of the park. The trail ends near the intersection of Forrer and Ridgeway Roads.
 Houk Stream - Across Ridgeway Road, Forrer Road becomes Oakwood Avenue. In this area is the entrance to Houk Stream Park. From Elizabeth Gardens, the stream is directed under Ridgeway Road into the park. Also a former bridle path, the trail follows the stream through mature woodlands. Park benches are also provided in this scenic area.
There is a small dam that gives the restful sound of falling water. Just beyond the dam, the stream cuts down to bedrock to reveal the ancient seabed from the Late Ordovician Period, approximately 440 million years ago. Fossilized remains of shellfish and coral from a time when a shallow sea covered Ohio can be seen in this area.
Photos by Erin Crooks
The path continues through tall, old growth trees before ending at Runnymede Road. In the spring of 2007, a large tree fell in this area creating an opening in the leafy canopy above the park. Over time, nature will fill in this area with the broadening of other nearby trees and new growth from the forest floor.
In the first of three series of Blanket Concerts at Smith Gardens (800 block Oakwood Ave.), the Madcap Puppets will be presenting “Cart Tales.” It’s a small cart – just a wagon really – but oh the magic it holds! It belongs to Quincy wilder: world traveler, fearless adventurer and amazing storyteller. With some assistance from the audience, he will pull giants, fairy tale folk, and creatures of all sort from his magical cart.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. and admission is free and open to the public.
Remodeling is a process where you trust someone you probably know very little about to put hammer and saw to your home and create something they only told you they could, and have it turn out the way you envision. No stress there. Take heart, with some preplanning and organized participation with the contractor you can reduce the stress and problems many people have when they remodel. The class will cover pre-planning, finding a contractor, getting the bides, choosing a contractor and getting the job done.
Join us at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 23 at the offices of Miami Valley NARI, 136 South Keowee St. for a NO COST, two- hour class on how to have a stress free remodeling project. Call 258-0745 to reserve your spot, as seating is limited to twenty people.
Gary A Porter is a Certified Remodeler and a Certified Kitchen and Bath Remodeler and has been a Registered contractor for 31 years.
Super sleuths and daring detectives, preschool through grade five, are invited to join Get a Clue @ Your Library at Wright Library this summer. The 2007 Summer Reading Club will feature performers, prize
drawings, storytimes, school-age programs, and more. Registration for the Summer Reading Club begins on June 9 with refreshments in the Children’s Room and continues through August 4.
Visit their website at www.wrightlibrary.org.
A Blood Drive will be held at the OCC on Saturday, June 23
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring picture ID or birth certificate. Must be 18 or older. Sponsored by the Oakwood Rotary Club.
Cool music with Broadway/Jazz/ pHop steps. Join Trisha Burke-Williams of Red Hotz and Lollipops as she teaches you show-stopping leaps, turns, jumps and moves that get you ready for those auditions or just plain have fun moving. This is a fast-paced camp with hip music and lots of fun. Proper technique, line and rhythm will be emphasized during warm-ups, center work and dance combinations. Come to class and then go cool off in the pool. During Friday’s class there is a small show for family and friends.
Dates: June 25-29, 10:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m. (entering grades K - 3). Show at 11 a.m. on Friday. 11.30 a.m.- 1:15 p.m. (entering grades 4 - 6 ) . Show at 12.30 p.m. on Friday.. 1:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. (Jr High/ High School). Show at 2.30 p.m. on Friday.
Jean Berry has put together a summer theatre workshop for sixth to tenth grade students who would like to be teen actors. Participants will have the unique opportunity to choose, write, design and direct a group of short plays based on familiar Greek myths. “I’ll have the kids read a selection of myths and decide for themselves which ones they want to dramatize,” Berry explained. “Next they will write the scripts, design, direct and, finally, perform the plays.”
The “Mythic Shorts” project will be held from June 25 to July 28, Monday through Friday, with rehearsals from 12 noon to 3 p.m., in an air-conditioned double classroom in Harman Elementary School.
“Sign up is at the Oakwood Community Center and I have space for thirty kids and will keep a waiting list. The cost for fifteen hours a week, for a total of five weeks, is $120.” She added, “I checked the schedules for swim teams and other activities and this workshop shouldn’t interfere with other extracurricular programs.”
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