List of species found in Orr Park:
Fringe Tree
Black & Blue salvia
Bronze fennel
Butterfly weed
Common milkweed
English thyme
Greek oregano
Lamb's ear 'Helene von Stein'
Lantana 'Chapel Hill yellow'
Lavender 'Grosso'
Liatris
Pink Muhly grass
Purpletop vervain
Rosemary 'Blue spires'
Stonecrop 'Autumn Joy'
Red hot poker
Sage
Yucca 'Color guard'
Comments delivered at Orr Park Renewed, May 17, 2018
Downtown Clinton is being revitalized, one step at a time.
This project began with a small step. It was obvious there had been a bench and a tree here before. There was a grate and marks for at least one bench. The city put in new benches. When Clinton Canopy started talking about putting in a new tree, we discovered a plaque, covered in leaves under the grate, referring to this as J.A. Orr Park. The suggestion of a park caused us to expand our vision.
Who was J. A. Orr? We began trying to piece together a bit of his story. He once owned the Western Auto across the street. After selling the store, he opened the City Bicycle Shop in the alley behind Musgrove Street and often repaired kids’ bikes for free. There is still a sign there with the hours he was open. I have a vague memory of a little man with thick glasses. As I’ve asked around, I’ve heard so many people say, “I just remember that he loved children.” He was honored with tree, a bench and a plaque just before his death in 1998.
Why renew a little patch of land named for a man we barely remember? Because Mr. Orr represents who we are as a community. The more we researched, the more we learned. As you have heard from Jeff, he invested in Clinton; he invested in its people; he loved children. In an editorial after Mr. Orr’s funeral, Russell Dean was quoted as saying, “he was the consummate community servant.” He was especially concerned with the quality of life for residents of Clinton - something that resonates with the mission of Clinton Canopy. Adele put in the public invitation that this is a celebration of J.A. Orr Jr. and his contributions to Clinton. I would extend that to say this is a celebration of all our downtown business owners. They are more than just business owners. They are friends and neighbors. They work hard to provide us with a successful downtown and contribute to our quality of life. As we shop local, we support, not only our local businesses, but our entire community. I think Mr. Orr understood that. We are interconnected
No single business or project alone will make our downtown what we want it to be. Every project matters in creating our downtown atmosphere. Each one adds to the whole and together they build success. This park is an example of how one small idea snowballed: we went from replacing a bench to planting a tree to a collaboration between the city and a group of volunteers to create a space that will attract more than just butterflies. Clinton Canopy has put out signs to identify the plants in the park. The signs have QR codes which you can scan with a smart phone to get more information about each one. Some of the plants here are herbs that can be used in cooking. Perhaps you’ll eat some oregano from here on your pizza across the street.
The next step we hope to take is to have a mural painted on this wall. We have several artists here today to consider the possibilities. They’ve been looking, listening, and dreaming. I invite you to talk with them. Chat about ideas. Keep the ball rolling.
