Westside park renamed in honor of Tillie K. Fowler
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060207/nen_173795375.shtml
By SANDY STRICKLAND, sandy.strickland@jacksonville.com
Westside Regional Park opened in 1996 as a wooded oasis in the midst of urban sprawl.
The pristine retreat for nature lovers is now the Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park in honor of the woman who lobbied for its development.
A new entry sign is in the works for the 509-acre park off Roosevelt Boulevard across from Jacksonville Naval Air Station's main entrance.
Shortly after the 62-year-old former congresswoman died of complications from a stroke in 2005, City Councilman Michael Corrigan met with Fowler's close friends and husband, Buck, to discuss her legacy. Her family agreed she would be proud to have her name associated with the park, Corrigan said.
"That park wouldn't be there without her efforts," said Corrigan, who introduced a bill that was unanimously approved by the council.
Fowler, the council's first female president, served eight years in Congress before retiring in 2001 and was a nationally recognized authority on military issues.
In 1991, she began pushing for the park when she represented the area on the council.
The $2.4 million project came together when the Navy, which owns the land and used some of it for Navy housing during the 1940s, agreed to lease it to the city for $1 a year.
At the grand opening, Fowler told The Florida Times-Union that she was prompted by a lack of park facilities on the Westside.
It also was the best way to protect the land from squatters and other illegal uses.
The park has such amenities as a boardwalk that winds through wooded wetlands, a 33-foot wildlife viewing tower, an education center, pavilion, picnic areas, butterfly garden and playground.
That's great, I think it's a very appropriate way to honor Ms. Fowler...not only because it's something that everyone can enjoy, but it's right near the base...and she worked hard for our military.