Living Memorial Gardens

When art teacher Jane Beran looked at the weed lined former swimming pool in Sidney, Nebraska, she saw possibilities for a beautiful new garden.  Her vision took root and flowered into reality, thanks to a local government receptive to fresh ideas and a community willing to volunteer time and labor toward a common goal. Beran approached the city council about her idea for the pool in 1982.  A new municipal pool had been dedicated in town in 1978, and since that time the now defunct pool in Legion Park had become unused and abandoned.  The council gave Beran two weeks to come up with a plan for transforming the site, telling her that after that deadline, they would begin taking bids for the pool’s demolition. Beran’s hope was to see the pool turned into a sunken garden.  With feedback from the community and an inspiring idea from resident Helen Hiner, a plan for a memorial garden – with trees, shrubs and plants growing in memory of loved ones – developed, and the Living Memorial Gardens was born.  The LMG Association was organized, and monthly meetings were scheduled for anyone interested in helping.