KINGSFORD — The Northwoods Garden Club continues to focus on area beautification projects.

The club was organized during the summer and fall of 1988 and had the first official meeting on Jan. 4, 1989. Sally Jacobs was the first president and remains a very active member, striving to make the cities of Iron Mountain and Kingsford more attractive.

The Garden Club has adopted many projects over the past 32 years and continues to be active in the community. The red-shirted gardeners are often seen planting, watering and weeding the many flowerbeds around town.

Among the many beautiful areas planted and maintained by the Northwoods Garden Club, the Gazebo Park on Woodward Avenue is perhaps the most well-known. Construction of the 16-foot octagonal gazebo began in 1993 with matching funds donated from the Rotary Club and the Northwoods Garden Club.

The park previously was named Senior Citizen Park, by community consensus but was not officially listed as a park under the Parks and Recreation Committee until Sally Jacobs and Lynnele Lehmann proposed that NWGC get involved.

Each year, the NWGC has purchased plants, tended the flowerbeds and oversees sanding and repainting of the gazebo and fence, while the city of Kingsford helps to maintain the grounds.

The city was able to allocate funds to construct concrete pathways and a handicap accessible drinking fountain in the center of the park in 1995.

“This was a great addition for the walkers and bikers exercising in Kingsford, as well as thirsty gardeners needing a break,” said Sarah Nieschulz, treasurer of the Northwoods Garden Club.

The Kingsford Lions Club added a picnic table and bench to the park in 1995.

Gazebo Park has become a venue for weddings, a site for prom and graduation pictures, and a spot for visitors from the nearby Woodward Apartments and ManorCare Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to sit and enjoy nature.

Gazebo Park is featured on Kingsford’s Parks and Recreation webpage and is listed as a pavilion that can be reserved at no cost.

The club hosts its annual Strawberry Social fundraiser at the gazebo the weekend after the Fourth of July. The first social was on Sunday, July 16, 1995, and had been an annual event until 2020, when they were unable to host due to COVID-19.

The gazebo has become an icon for the Garden Club, in which they have maintained it to the best of their abilities for the past 26 years. Members once again are seeking help from the city of Kingsford, area businesses and organizations, and the community for repairs. Due to its age, the gazebo has broken cedar shingles, some of which have become dislodged, allowing water to penetrate the roof and leak onto the structure within. The presence of standing water on the interior concrete also has begun to damage the posts at the base of the structure.

The Northwoods Garden Club hopes to replace a large portion of the gazebo while maintaining the iconic charm the community has gotten to know and love, Nieschulz said.

Donations for the gazebo repair can be sent to Northwoods Garden Club, P.O. Box 104, Iron Mountain, MI 49801.

All donations will go directly to the materials and labor needed to repair this iconic symbol for both Northwoods Garden Club and the community that has helped sponsor their endeavors to beautify the area in the past 32 years, she said.