Joanne Winer
QUARTZSITE TIMES
January 8th, 2009
When Celia's Rainbow Gardens was first started in October of 1995, one year
after the death of 8-year-old Celia Anne Winer, it was part of a dream to help
give something back to the community of Quartzsite for all the help they gave
our family through some very rough times.
Celia was a miracle baby, born
after just 5 1/2 months and weighing only 1 1/4 lbs. (670 grams) in Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada. She spent the next four months in an incubator, fighting for
her life every day and having some ups and downs along the way.
She was
finally released when she reached 5 lbs., by this time she was 4 months old. She
had a tremendous will to live and this helped her over some very hard hurdles in
her early life.
By the time she came to Quartzsite, she was a 5-year-old
and much healthier. She loved this town and all her friends at school and around
the town that she met through the next few years.
She was often called
an "old soul" by those who met her and talked for any length of time. It seemed
like sometimes she had the weight of the world on her little shoulders.
She wanted so much to "save" the world, especially the children and wildlife.
Her love of nature and her desire to make a difference were the inspiration for
Celia's Rainbow Gardens after her death.
When the Gardens was first
started, there was nothing in that area of the Town Park but a few trees and
lots of scrub bushes. With the help of town workers, the first water was piped
into the area to one tap. After we got the trails marked out, we started
plantingcacti along them. We only had one water spigot, so we had to walk along
the trails with her little red wagon filled with water jugs that we had to keep
going back to the tap to refill. It was pretty primitive back then.
Many
years have passed since that first year and each year new things have been added
by many groups, volunteers, and people who have adopted areas to remember
someone they have lost. It has grown considerably since that first year and it
has become a real labor of love for everyone who has been involved for such a
long time. Progress has not been as fast as hoped but all good things take
time and this is just one place that cannot be rushed because everything that is
done comes from the heart.
People who have been going to the Gardens for
years have noticed many changes. There are many new display areas, a pavilion
that will have displays added soon and most recently, the wall surrounding the
fountain at the entrance has been completed, thanks to the Brunet family from
Quartzsite (and Colorado).
Celia's portrait in granite is now gracing the
entrance stone and the amphitheater is almost finished. More water lines have
been added over the years and more will be added as new areas are opened up or
worked on. The chapel trail on the upper level as well as the veterans' area
have been added to and the miniature Pioneer Village is in the process of being
refurbished and repainted.
The fountain at the entrance is being worked
on to fill it in and plant around once the pipes and pump are replaced and
another solar panel is added (pump and solar panel were stolen years ago).
There is still much work to be done but the dream lives on and new volunteers
are taking the place of those who have passed on or moved.
Thanks to all
the volunteers and groups like the Rock and Gem club, Historical Society, Master
Gardeners, Veterans Association, Red Hats, Cactus Dodgers, and several RV parks
which have adopted areas — it has become a true community endeavor, one that is
continuing to grow for everyone to enjoy.
One of the biggest supporters
of the Gardens since the beginning is the BLM office in Yuma, which has helped
over the years with donations of trees and saguaros, cacti, materials needed to
make displays, and work sessions to help build areas and plant them. They have
made a significant contribution to this enormous effort, and are greatly
appreciated.
Everyone who has worked in the Gardens or has helped in some
way to either raise funds to further the work there has made a big difference.
The Gardens would not have become what it is today without such dedication and
support.
You can see the love that has gone into each area where family
members are remembered. You can feel the peace and serenity when just sitting on
a bench and looking around you. It is a special place, and one that is unique to
Quartzsite as far as we know. If you have never been out to see it, please take
some time to visit it before you leave town. You will see a part of Quartzsite
that you have never seen before — a community and its winter visitors working
together to create a beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert.
The
Gardens is full of surprises, from the patchwork-quilt like areas that
individuals have landscaped to the sounds of the birds, the bunnies running
through the washes, the lizards and mice and other critters. It's a great place
to walk the trails or sit on a bench and just enjoy the beauty of our desert.