After years of organizing and fundraising, Wyuka Cemetery officially cut the ribbon Thursday morning on the newly revitalized pond on the southwest side of the grounds near 35th and “O” Street.
This marks the completion of phase-1 of the Wyuka Masterplan, what Facilities Director Greg Osborn calls the “infrastructure” portion of the cemetery/public-park’s refurbishment project.
First Lady Suzanne Pillen cuts the ribbon, marking the completion of renovations to the Wyuka Park pond. (Chase Porter, KLIN News)
“This pond has been an extremely important part of our park renovation… Without this, nothing else matters,” said Osborn, addressing the crowd gathered for the event, which featured a cadre of Nebraska dignitaries such as First Lady Suzanne Pillen, City Councilwoman Sändra Washington, State Auditor Mike Foley, and Lt. Governor Joe Kelly.
“Wyuka is such a treasure, for Lincoln and for Nebraska,” said Kelly. “I just can’t imagine how wonderful it’s going to look like when it is all completed.”
With the pond’s infrastructure complete, it will now play a vital role as the stormwater runoff area for 255 acres south of “O” Street.
With phase-1 in the books, phase-2 will be the long awaited installation of Lincoln’s iconic Pershing Mural on the north side of the pond. In phase-3, the greenspace on the westside of the pond will be transformed into the ideal place for play and picnics with the an all-inclusive playground.
Osborn, who has championed the project since talks began in 2017 among the Wyuka Board of Trustees, says they still have $1.4 million to fundraise for the project, totaling $4.2 million.
The layout for Pershing Mural’s restoration, set to be as wide as the pink colored stakes and tall as the bottom edge of the crane bucket. (Chase Porter, KLIN News)