TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Dunedin Keeps It Simple Naming Park

ADVERTISEMENT

By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: July 25, 2008

DUNEDIN -- Purple Heart Park it is.

Thursday night the City Commission reviewed several possible names for the pocket park along Alt 19 at the entrance to Main Street.

In the end commissioners opted for Purple Heart Park because it is home to the city's monument honoring recipients of the medal awarded to those who have been wounded in combat.
The monument will be dedicated 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 7.

For years the patch of green space at the western entrance to downtown was known as SunTrust Park because the banking corporation owned the land. Developer Joseph Kokolakis donated the green space to the city after he acquired it along with a row of Main Street Shops adjacent to the park property.

Earlier this year commissioners decided to place the Purple Heart memorial in the park.

Thursday night, Danny Sowder, a local veteran who prompted the city to undertake its eventually successful effort to be name the nation's first Purple Heart City, suggested the park name reflect that. He urged the commission to name the park "First Purple Heart City Park."

Sowder is a member of the Clearwater chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the national organization that bestows the Purple Heart City designation.

When Sowder approached Commissioner Dave Eggers two years ago with the idea of Dunedin seeking to become the inaugural Purple Heart City, Eggers put Sowder in touch with city staff and brought the item before the commission, which endorsed the project.

Sowder then began lobbying the Military Order of the Purple Heart to win the distinction for Dunedin.
After the city was named a Purple Heart City, Dunedin officials pledged to have a Purple Heart monument ready for dedication by Aug. 7, 2008. President George Washington created the Badge of Military Merit, the forerunner of the Purple Heart, on Aug. 7, 1782.

City staff and local veterans groups collected more than $11,000 to purchase the monument. Memorial bricks are still being sold by the city to raise funds for park improvements, such as trees and benches.
With a monument dedication ceremony planned, Thursday night all that was left to decide was a suitable name for the park.

Sowder suggested, since everyone worked so hard to make Dunedin the nation's first Purple Heart City, it would be appropriate to name it First Purple Heart City Park.

Other suggestions included naming the park "Ladies of the Oaks Park" in honor of women who attempted to protect oak trees from being removed along Main Street in the early years of the city.
Two others suggested names included a play on the city's name: "Garden of Edin Park" and "Memorial Oak Garden of Edin."

The green space could have been named Hope Park, after the city's first female postmaster, Edna Trask Hope. Her homestead and post office was once on the property.

Eggers said he heard suggestions based on the city's Scotish heritage. Ideas ranged from "Scotland's Yard" to "Stirling Park," after Dunedin's sister city Stirling, Scotland.

Eggers, however, said he favored of keeping the name simple, noting Purple Heart Park "has a nice ring to it."

Commissioner Deborah Kynes liked Sowder's name suggestion, but commissioners ultimately decided to just go with Purple Heart Park.

A sign will be placed in the park noting Dunedin's status as the first Purple Heart City, commissioners decided.

Mark Schantz can be reached at 727-815-1075 or mschantz@suncoasntnews.com.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT