Ground Cover December 2014 [Winter Edition] | Page 6

Guess who had
a birthday?
Jack Frick and Wylie Bledsoe!
We celebrated a number of our volunteers’
birthdays in October by having cake in the
McAleece building.

All Hats Off to the Office

PURRRFECTLY

WONDERFUL NEWS

The DABG has acquired a new and
noteworthy volunteer. Please stop by the
Heinemann Center office upstairs and
meet “Mac.” Mac has already earned
his stripes as a respected volunteer. His
position: hospitality, mouser and guard
cat! He is named after Mac Marshall, the
founder of Marshall Park.
Mac is a 2-month old gray tiger kitten
with fox-brown ears and distinctive black
markings, adopted from the Dubuque
Regional Humane Society. What makes
Mac purrrrrr? Sunbeams and warm laps,
jingle balls and kitty treats! He loves
people and is quite a charmer.
As you can tell by the picture, Mac has
made himself at home in the office. Jack
has a “pet name” for Mac. He calls him
“Pooch,” but his name is MAC!

In the loft of the Heinemann Center are unsung heroes. Their tireless labors
support all the workings of the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.
This crew of ten men and women are multi-talented, performing everything
from phone reception to the everyday business of making reservations,
taking orders for memorials and processing DABG memberships.
The office volunteers represent the DABG to the public. They answer the
phone, addressing questions such as, “Can I reserve the gazebo for an
anniversary picnic?” and “Do you accept donations of pots?” “How do I find
the park?” and “What does it cost to take pictures?” If you have a question,
the office volunteers either have the answer or will find the answer for you.

The calendar comes from the offi ce.
The park events are orchestrated in the office.
The meetings are scheduled in the office.
Data is compiled from office records.
Acknowledgments are written from, you guessed it…the office.
Our thanks to the dedicated office volunteers who steer the happenings of
this place. The office is the hub of the DABG wheel.
If we may be of service to you, don’t hesitate to stop by!
Submitted by Sue Lemon, Volunteer Coordinator

If You Plant It, They Will Come…
And in 2014, they most certainly did come to the Dubuque
Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

visit DABG and utilize the facilities each year. Besides those
who are here to tour the gardens, the Music in the Gardens
free concert series and other events literally bring thousands
of visitors to DABG each week, May through August.

They came from all across this land: from California, from
Michigan, from New York, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana,
Texas…the list goes on and on. Visitors from 35 states found
their way here and signed DABG’s guest book.

In 2014, nearly 80 weddings were conducted on the DABG
grounds, with the majority of those held on weekends in
the gazebo. There were some weddings during the week,
however, and in other venues such as the English Garden
and Japanese Garden. Our screened porch hosted countless
birthday parties, anniversary parties, memorial services and
bridal showers. The list goes on.

As one might guess, the majority of DABG visitors come
from Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. But DABG’s reputation
for botanical beauty has spread and grown far beyond the
Tri-State area…very far indeed. Dubuque Arboretum and
Botanical Gardens had visitors from India, from Australia,
from Nigeria, from Italy.In all, visitors from 16 different
countries traveled across oceans to experience the
tranquility and beauty of our gardens.

Dubuque has been called the Masterpiece on the
Mississippi. The DABG is the crown jewel of that
masterpiece.
Submitted by Curt Diehm, Office Volunteer

The number of people who actually sign the guest book is
but a small percentage of the actual number of people who
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