OTTAWA - The late Anna Mattes loved gardening and played a major role in the beautification of Ottawa, and a fund set up in her memory will continue to support Ottawa gardening projects.
Mattes was a founding member of the Ottawa Garden Club and a University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener. She worked especially hard for many years to maintain the natural beauty of Washington Park, the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate and a National Historic District.
"Anna had a beautiful vision for Ottawa and she spent much of her lifetime working to make Ottawa a special place full of beautiful flowers, plants and trees," Mayor Bob Eschbach says. "I especially remember and value her hard work and leadership in beautifying Washington Park. We all deeply miss her."
Mattes' friends and those who appreciated her work to make Ottawa a beautiful place are creating Anna's Fund. In recognition of Anna's special interest in Washington Park, the first project supported by Anna's Fund will be the renovation this spring of the gardens around the Lincoln-Douglas statues and fountain in the center of Washington Square.
While the planning of these redone garden areas is ongoing, it is expected that at least one of the garden areas will have a pollinator theme, reflecting Mattes' interest in building habitat designed to encourage the Monarch Butterfly.
Anyone wishing to contribute to Anna's Fund may do so by making checks payable to the "City of Ottawa", writing "Anna's Fund" in the memo section of their checks and sending their donation to the Ottawa City Hall.