How it started (2010)
The Happy Place was inspired by some of the children in Mount Horeb's Intermediate Center who have had a hard time in their personal lives. They felt that perhaps by creating a special place where they could just sit and enjoy, some of the bad things might not seem so bad for a little while. The goal of the Happy Place is to create a place where people can go to find peace and maybe a smile, as they remember the happy moments of their lives.
From there it started to grow, just as a garden should. People started getting involved, drawn to the pure, simple wonderful thought of a happy place created for the people we love and have loved in our lives.
The steering committee for the Happy Place presented the idea to the rest of the children at the Intermediate Center and asked them to write down their ideas of what they would like to see in the Happy Place. They agreed it should be heart-shaped to reflect the love it would provide and have a happy face to welcome visitors.
Click here to see the list.
Ann Fenley has been the driving force behind the whole idea. Her energy and enthusiasm for this project is inspiring. She cares so much for her kids at the IC and has has devoted hours of her personal time above and beyond her duties of running the IC to make the Happy Place a reality.
Craig Kittleson a parent at the IC and owner of Kittleson Landscaping and and Mick Klein-Kennedy, owner of Wisconsin Landscapes, came on board to help design the layout of the garden. Craig was able to secure the donation of pavers and stone for the retaining walls and patio from one of his suppliers. Mound Vue Garden Club has pitched in with donations and ideas. Jeanne Louther, another parent at the IC, saw the layout and signed on to help. She worked on the happy paver brick promotion and created this website.
We hope to see many of you get involved with this wonderful project in the years to come.
Update 6/10/2010: Happy Place construction
The first phase of the Happy Place is complete! Volunteers were out in force on Saturday May 15, looking like a hive of buzzing bees. The amount of work that got done is staggering! If you haven't seen it yet, drive by the school and take a look. There are wind chimes, wind socks, gazing balls, flowers in bloom... it looks "fantabulous"!
What you can do to help
Please help the Happy Place Garden continue to grow. There are many ways that you can help. You can check out "Volunteer Opportunities" to the left, or if you would like to donate to the construction and future maintenance fund, please check out "Donation Information".