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A small pocket park in downtown Rutherfordton has taken on a new meaning and is springing alive with new plants, trees and a mini-garden. It is hoped to be an inspiration to all those who knew and loved the late Butch Melton.
Located between Main and Central streets, many of Butch's family and friends are paying tribute to her by investing in something she enjoyed and cherished -- beautiful flowers, gardens and downtown Rutherfordton.
To honor their mother, the Melton children --Kim, Scott and Janice -- made a decision earlier this year to share in her passion for gardening by creating a Memorial Garden. The Main Street Park, located beside the former Dalton's Department store where Butch spent more than four decades of her life working with the public, became the perfect place for a garden in her memory.
According to town leaders the Park was due an upgrade so Butch's family began to raise money to support purchasing new flower pots, new native plants and other items for the garden. The family spearheaded the initiative through a Go Fund Me page for the Butch Melton Memorial Garden.
More than half the $8,000 goal has already been raised and there is plenty of time to make donations for the Park's maintenance, new plantings and further additions (visit Butch Melton gofundme for details).
"Our mom was a lifelong resident of Rutherfordton and worked at Dalton's for 45 years," said daughter Kim Melton.
Butch was as much a fixture at Dalton's as the store itself located on Main Street. She took great pride in helping people look and feel their best through their clothing and also through her kind and gentle spirit as she helped customers.
Kim said it was her husband that recommended the family do a memorial garden and decided the Main Street Park would be a perfect location to plant a garden, "which mom loved -- flowers and making beauty."
"My mom loved fashion and helping others look their best. As mom battled her illness, she always remained positive and her favorite saying was, 'If given lemons, make lemonade, but toward the end of her life she changed it to make lemon pie'," Kim said.
Kim's brother Scott and his wife Donna, said when they think of Butch they see her at the grapevines examining each cluster before deciding to pick them.
"She always had a thoughtful, quiet dignity in the garden as in all part of her life," she said.
The children said their mom was always positive and enjoyed helping others find clothes they wanted.
"She enjoyed helping others dress nice," Kim said.
"She always said she had the best kids in the world. Mom loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved all kids," said Kim.
"My mother only saw the positive and that's all she could recall," said Scott.
As the thought of a Memorial Garden became even more real with the GoFundMe page, the Melton family reached out to Rutherfordton residents Lindy Abrams and Dot Abrams to help with the garden plantings.
"We chose trees for the garden that would reflect meaningful floral throughout the town like the ginkgo beside the Woodrow Jones building, the deodar cedar at the courthouse and the crepe myrtles that line Main Street, presenting the same species in a different list and fashion," Lindy said.
"We chose ornamental and native perennial flowers and grasses mixed with traditional garden favorites," Lindy said.
"Aesthetically, the goal is to soften the architectural space color and movement. The palette, tree and flower selections are all in homage to Butch and some of her favorites, the history of our small town, and a nod to what was here before we even arrived."
"I want to thank Dot and Lindy for all of their hard work, love and support," Kim said.
Kim also expressed her thanks to Rutherfordton Town Manager Doug Barrick the Town of Rutherfordton and all friends and family who donated to the Go Fund Me.
"Our mom would have enjoyed the park and we hope that visitors will for years to come," Kim said.
So as spring time turns into summer and foot traffic increases in downtown Rutherfordton, enjoy a stroll through the Butch Melton Memorial Garden and remember the kind, petite woman who worked next door helping people feel and look their best.
