International Friendship Gardens is located in the heart of Indiana Dunes Country in a place once home to the Potawatomi Native Americans and where Father Marquette made friends with them in 1675. These gardens began in 1934 at A Century of Progress in Chicago. There the Stauffers started this philanthropic institution focusing on peace and friendship of all peoples of the world. Presidents, kings, queens, governors, artists, musicians, educators, scientists and many others were charter members of this organization. When the Century of Progress closed, this organization established its new location on 100 acres in Michigan City. Here many of the finest operatic, choral and orchestral productions were presented during the summer, attracting music lovers from across the country.

In the early 1970s the gardens fell into decline as a result of neglect. Yet they were neither gone nor forgotten. Today a support group of concerned area residents: Friends of the Gardens is reviving and enhancing the gardens and, among other things, creating representations of various cultures by planting typical gardens such as African, Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Lithuanian, Native American, Norwegian, Polish, Prairie, Rumanian, Scottish, South Asia, Spanish and Latin American - a truly international focus! And what better supporter of these efforts than Rotary Club of Michigan City. We, along with other organizations in the Michigan City area, each have chosen part of the garden to support, maintain and enhance. We began this project in 1998 under the leadership of Dr. Bruce Smith and with the encouragement of our liaison to the gardens, Ron Bensz. Rotary member, Jim Bell, volunteered his wife, Master Gardner Chris Bell, to help our club with garden plans. Dr. Smith continues to be the driving force of this effort.

A group of inmates from the Indiana State Prison, under the supervision and direction of Temple Alexander, began the garden process by removing existing weed over-growth in August of 1999. In September 1999, on two weekends, the garden flower beds and bulbs were planted by Rotarians, their spouses and children, and STRIVE mentoring students. The year 2000 focused on “filling in” bare areas and admiring the beautiful reincarnation of Nature’s beauty. Rotarians had two outings to further nurture the growth of their adopted garden. In 2001 we dedicated our Rotary’s Millennium Garden - a gift to our community in this new millennium. This included our new Club Sign for the garden and the “planting” of a Peace Pole in honor of our connections with our students in the Rotary Youth Exchange program from Denmark, Brazil and Japan. The flowering spaces are a great place to read, renew, rejuvenate and relax.

We meet Thursdays at Noon at:
Lubeznik Center for the Arts
101 Avenue of the Arts (101 W. 2nd Street)
Michigan City, IN  46360
http://lubeznikcenter.org

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Location: Michigan City, LaPorte County, Indiana Rotary: Rotary International, District 6540

Copyright 2001 - 2007 The Rotary Club of Michigan City
The Rotary Club of Michigan City, P.O. Box 9372, Michigan City, IN 46360