Major Gift Launches the Green the Garst Tree Donation Program

The Darke County Historical Society is pleased to announce that a donation made in the memory of Sherlie Steffens Baker has created a wonderful start to the museum’s new “Green the Garst Tree Donation Program.” Sherlie Baker is the late mother of Garst Museum’s Executive Director, Dr. Clay Johnson. Dr. Johnson, his brother Dr. Christopher R. Johnson and sister-in-law Dr. Katharine Coles of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Sherlie’s husband, Blaine Baker of Dayton, Ohio, donated twenty-four large trees that were recently planted on the Garst grounds.

Prior to her passing away in 1994, Sherlie was an Executive Committee member of the Miami Valley Health Improvement Council where she was recognized for her outstanding volunteer support of area wide health planning. Sherlie was also a former President of the Miami Valley Long Term Care Association and the former Administrator of the Covington Care Center in Covington, Elm Creek in Dayton, Crestview Manor in Kettering, and was the Administrator of the Canterbury Care Center in New Lebanon in 1993.

Following the donation of the former Buchy Food Service property in 2012, the museum grounds expanded to over nine acres. The City of Greenville recently awarded the Darke County Historical Society a Community Fund Grant to assist in its planning of converting the former Buchy property into an attractive, landscaped property and to create additional parking for the museum. In its fourth year, The Gathering at Garst has welcomed many thousands to its grounds in the last full weekend in July. As the Gathering’s popularity has increased, so has the need for shade for the vendors and patrons. “The Green the Garst Tree Donation Program” is a way the community can participate in beautifying the museum grounds and help create a lasting legacy.

Spencer Landscaping, Inc. of Greenville will administer the new program. Currently, the program will focus on the museum’s main grounds, east of the museum between Garst Avenue and Wilson Drive. Trees donated throughout the year will be planted in the fall based on the museum’s landscaping plan. Donations will be recognized on a plaque placed next to the Lowell Thomas House. Large Red Oaks, Marmo Maples, and Autumn Blaze Maples are available for donation for planting on the main grounds. The donation includes professional installation. As the planning for the former Buchy property evolves, additional landscaping options will be made available.

For more information about “The Green the Garst Tree Donation Program,” please contact the Garst Museum at 937-548-5250 or Josh Green at Spencer Landscaping at 937-548-1800.