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1954 - Stumps and brush! Motel is in
the background..
1954 - Grass seed in bags, ready to spread.
Remember the fountain? ... Removed in 1973
when the highway was widened.
1958 - all our equipment fit in the garage
stalls at the Admin Bldg (now office).
1963 - Devotion: note the size of the
crabapple trees newly planted.. New Last Supper Feature is in the
background.
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Hi. I’m Ruth Seebeck, co-manager of WCMPark. My
husband, Ed, and I are continuing a family tradition of keeping ‘our Park’
a place “Where Beautiful Memories Remain Beautiful”. WCMPark
was started in 1954 by my parents, George & Thelma Ferver. Dad had worked
with several cemeteries in southwest PA and wanted to bring the
memorial-park concept to a new location. After much exploration around
this half of the state, they selected Warren County as their new home,
sold their house in New Castle, purchased 50 acres from the owners of the
Warren Motel centrally located on Route 6 and 62, and moved to a rented
home on the Allegheny River with two children under six!
After clearing thornbrush and stumps, the front section was graded and seeded during late
summer of 1954. Then Hurricane Hazel hit, and all of the seed and topsoil
ended up across the highway! Not an auspicious beginning. But Dad and Mom
were not people who gave up easily, and the cemetery started to take shape
– first with the Garden of Devotion the Administration Building
and Veteran's Circle.
During the next several years, other garden areas were developed, with
products and services added to provide extensive personalized service for
our lot owners and their families.
Following college and a career as a
travel agent (of all things!), Ed and I married and returned to Warren in
1976 at Dad’s request. We have endeavored to continue his spirit of
innovation and service to the families of Warren County.
Since Dad's death
in 1981, the Fountain Garden section was added as a tribute to the founders of WCMPark with a
dedication plaque, a beautiful fountain piazza, and a display of the 23rd Psalm.
Rose-and-gray granite Legacy Columbariums provide niches for cremation
placement. In 2004, WCMPark introduced
the “Cherished Hearts, Cherished Memories”
care programs to assist families in dealing with the grief and loss of a
loved one. “Cherished Hearts” received an international award for
“excellence in personal service” to families.
On September 11, 2006, the Emergency Service
Memorial was dedicated with more than 250 in attendance. Seven flags
fly in remembrance of those who died on 9/11/2001, and in honor of all
who serve as Warren County’s first responders.
On September 11, 2007, almost 1,000 people attended
the dedication of the Military Service Memorial on Veterans Circle.
Seven flags represent the branches of service, and all POW/MIA’s.
WCMPark continues its legacy of service
with annual Memorial Day (Sunday evening) services, a Christmas memorial
service, and dual services on September 11th.
The staff of WCMPark continues to provide the families of
Warren County with the finest in interment and remembrance options,
along with the excellence of maintenance that our lot owners appreciate,
insuring that your memorial park will always be a place "Where
Beautiful Memories Remain Beautiful." |
