The Gardens at the Palestine Public Library will be dedicated Thursday, June 25 at 9 a.m. at Palestine Public Library.

An “adventure” that began with water mysteriously flooding the Youth Department concluded with beautiful gardens welcoming visitors to Palestine Public Library.

The designs were created by Anderson County Master Gardeners. Installation was performed by Jo Ann Pigeon Landscaping, Anderson County Master Gardeners, members of the community, and Blackstone Irrigation. Prep work and paving work was provided by community work crews from The Gurney Unit of TDCJ with supervision of the Palestine Public Works Department.

Funding was provided by a matching grant from Palestine Economic Development Corporation, Palestine Library Friends, and Palestine Library Memorial. Benches are being provided by donations from Pionette Garden Club, Palestine Library Friends, Palestine Library Memorial, and friends and family of Janeene Kiely.

Here are more photos from the garden:

The Palestine Public Library will hold a really cool program at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday as part of the last day of the “VANISHED — German-American Civilian Internment 1941-1948” exhibit.

Michael Luick-Thams, scholar and the director of Traces, a non-profit educational organization TRACES Center for History and Culture based in St. Paul, Minn. that created the exhibit, will give a talk at the library. Accompanying him will be Heidi Gurcke Donald who lived in one of the camps as a child and wrote a book about it called “We Were Not the Enemy.”

I had the opportunity to talk to both of them on the phone Saturday, and I am really excited about this program.

Heidi Gurcke Donald tells such a fascinating story (Read the Gurke family history here) that I know everyone is going to enjoy listening to her story.

Photo: Heidi Gurke Donald's family photographed at Camp Crystal Citiy in 1943