Please note: I am one of the coordinators of this effort.
St. Croix Valley community members have come together to revisit the opportunity to name a new flagship Stillwater park and celebrate the area’s long human history and exceptional natural resources.
With appreciation and acknowledgment for the work of the Stillwater Parks and Recreation Commission and the Stillwater City Council, we seek additional brainstorming around different ideas for the name of the city’s newest park. This 15-acre site with nearly a mile of river shoreline will surely be treasured for generations.
We believe the city can do better than “Lumberjack Landing,” and has a responsibility to thoughtfully consider the message delivered by a park name. We seek a name that can be woven into what was, what is and what can be. A name can be multi-dimensional, descriptive and inspirational. Names should remain relevant as the community grows and changes.
Stillwater has promoted a lumberjack narrative for decades. It is an important part of the community’s heritage, but is widely used and overshadows other stories. We seek a comprehensive perspective—there is more here to share and more to build upon. Logging lasted less than a century, while the river valley’s human and natural history stretches back at least 10,000 years.
We’d are on the agenda for the city council’s August 10th workshop, when we would like to present options to them.
We welcome anyone who wishes to join this effort, please sign up to receive updates and action steps. This effort is coordinated by Tracy Maki (Stillwater), Heather Rutledge (Stillwater), and Greg Seitz (May Township).
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4 responses to “Community members seek different name for Stillwater’s newest park”
I couldn’t agree more re: naming of the Aiple parkland. Logging is a small part of Stillwater history and not one we should really be proud of. The logs were taken from land indigenous people had occupied for centuries and probably longer, thus depriving them of habitat they needed – and treated with great respect. We should, rather, acknowledge that by paying them some much overdue respect and name the park after them.
Iroquois Park (after the native Indian tribes)
How about “Still Waters”?
I was the person who threw out Loggers Landing- but also said we need to have a land acknowledgement statement. It was just one idea that fit, but not my favorite – doing a name that honors native culture and heritage would be best. I sent Mayor Ted links that he asked for with contacts to create a well thought out LAS. He said he liked the idea. Also, changing the name now is newsworthy, in that we are saying it’s important too have learned from this past year about marginalized BIPOC communities and culture. Follow up by asking for input from BIPOC Stilwaterites and those living in the valley.