By MORGAN LEWIS, Morning Journal Writer
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| Buddy Miller stands in his 40 acres of property that he donated to Lorain County Metro Parks. (Morning Journal photo by Ross Weitzner) |
"AVON -- Buddy Miller knows how fast Avon is growing, and he wants to keep his 40 acres of nearly untouched woods from being ravaged by developers. So he donated the land to the Lorain County Metro Parks.
The 61-year-old former city construction worker walked around his property yesterday and discussed his decision.
"With the way Avon is building up, I didn't want these woods to be destroyed,'' Miller said. "There is no (nature) in Avon Lake or Westlake no more. It's all destroyed.''
The Metro Parks board accepted Miller's donation of 40 acres yesterday. The land, which will eventually be called the Miller Nature Preserve, will be the first Metro Parks location in Avon.
Miller grew up next door to the property which he purchased and started calling home 30 years ago.
"The value of this property is just unbelieveable,'' said Dan Martin, Metro Parks executive director. "This is an incredible donation. We are so grateful to Buddy.''
Martin wouldn't estimate when the new park will open to the public.
"These things take time,'' he said.
Neither Miller or Martin would discuss the actual value of the property, taking into account the current building boom and demand for land in Avon.
Up the nearly half-mile gravel drive of Miller's property off SR83, sits a cozy home with a garage and a large white barn. But the gardens are the highlight of the estate. Dozens of arrangements of yellow, red, purple and orange flowers, nestle around trees. Long, rolling assortments of plants and flowers line gravel paths and surround a fountain that connects to the French Creek, which runs through the property.
Despite the extensive gardens, most of the property is dense with tall trees.
The future park will be kept close to the way it is now, Martin said. The Metro Parks will loop a trail through the woods and around the gardens and put a bridge over the French Creek.
"Avon's got a wonderful park system,'' Martin said. "This will simply compliment their system.''
Three dogs -- a gray and white spotted mutt named Sparky, a fat rottweiler named Bozo and a small black terrier named Chipper -- plus a donkey named George currently share the land with Miller.
"George is a better watchdog than the dogs,'' Miller said. "You can hear him from a mile away.''
Land developers have approached Miller with handsome offers he said, but he has turned them all down.
"They've been pestering me for years,'' he said. "But I always said no.''
Miller said he has been thinking about donating the property for 15 years, but over the last year, the talks started to get serious.
"I sleep better at night now.'' Miller said. "I'm glad that the (donation) is through. I know the woods are going to be in good hands.''
Miller's wife, Susan, died 11 years ago. Miller said she would have wanted the land to be preserved for others to enjoy. Miller said he would keep four acres until he dies and then that land would be willed to the park."
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Press, 7-6-05, By Julie A. Short
[Mystery Headstone]
``AVON -- Avon resident Joe Kapucinski dug up more than the good old earth when last week he began to renovate the front porch of an Orchard Street rental property he has owned for six years.
"I was digging up the front porch to put new pavers in when I found this big piece of sandstone," Kapucinski said. "My daughter's boyfriend helped me flip the stone over and we saw that it had writing on it."
After brushing dirt from the stone, Kapucinski was shocked to discover it was a tombstone dating back to the early 1900s. The inscription on the tombstone reads: Anna M. Miller, 1877-1919. Also included on the headstone are a symbol and the words: In memoriam- Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle ...
The tombstone was traced to the long-time Miller Family of Avon and given to Buddy Miller. Anna was Buddy's great-grandmother.
"I'm going to put the stone in one of my gardens," Buddy said. "It will be a nice tribute. I have many people visit my gardens everyday. The other day more than 500 people came through."
Buddy owns property off Center Road (where the large cement address marker sits). His property has long been a stop for many garden enthusiasts over the years. "When I die, I want my ashes spread all over my gardens," he said.
Anna's son, George Miller, 93, who is visiting Buddy for the summer, was 4-years old when his mother died and has no memory of why the headstone was buried at the Orchard Road home, once owned by the Millers. He did note later that he believed both his parents were buried at St. Mary's Cemetery on Stoney Ridge. Kapucinski visited the cemetery and found a large headstone with the names of George, Anna and another son, Walter. George died in 1912 and Walter died in 1914, putting to rest the theory that the new headstone was purchased because George passed away after Anna, thus the family disposed of Anna's.
"I guess we'll never know why this headstone was buried by the house," Kapucinski said. "I became a little spooked after I found it and since then, I keep hearing noises in the house almost like footsteps. It's a century old home I'm renting out and no one lives there right now, but I swear, I heard noises."
Kapucinski also began researching the reference to the Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle on the Internet. "It appears that the group may have helped families after someone passes away by giving them a free headstone," he said. "Both Anna and George were members. His larger tombstone has a reference to Woodmen."
According to an Internet web site, The Woodmen Society is the largest fraternal benefit society with open membership in the United States. Joseph Cullen Root on June 6, 1890, founded it in Omaha, Neb.
The acquisition of the Woodmen Circle, which served as the women's auxiliary of Woodmen since it was founded, added more than 130,000 members to the organization. Through the merger with the New England Order of Protection, which had earlier merged with lodges of the first fraternal benefit society started in 1868, Woodmen can trace its history to the beginning of fraternalism in America.
Spanning three centuries, Woodmen has evolved into a modern financial services organization, offering life and health insurance, annuities, investments and home mortgages. Today, Woodmen is one of the largest fraternal benefit societies with more than 810,000 members who belong to more than 2,000 lodges across the United States and conduct volunteer projects that benefit individuals, families and communities.''
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