Imogene community perseveres, Irish Rose Forest blooms

October 17, 2023

From the tragic death of a young woman a quarter-century ago has come a new Imogene park bursting with life. Its mission is simple: Give visitors something that its namesake, Margaret Rose “Peggy” McGinn, sought but struggled to find in the last seven years of her life – serenity.

On Sept. 17, Imogene dedicated Irish Rose Forest to the memory of Peggy and those like her who cope with mental illness.

What started as a patch of land with old foundations and bedsprings hidden by overgrowth is now, thanks to the perseverance of many, a calming retreat with hammocks, benches, a walking path, and even a 5-foot-tall wind chime shaped like a harp. One can almost hear its strings being softly plucked by the wind as a melody of birds and rustling leaves plays.

The lyrics of this melody repeat the same refrain: “Be at peace.”

“We’ve come a long way in the past 25 years in understanding mental illness, with more research, better understanding and better medications,” said Peggy’s mom, Mary Lou McGinn. “Most cases are very treatable and the stigma is less (thanks to better education) but we have a long way to go.”

The birth of the park goes back to 2003, when Peggy’s father, Joe McGinn, bought a little piece of property in his wife’s hometown of Imogene just down the hill from St. Patrick Church. 

“We got it, but we had no idea what we would do with it. A house used to be there. It was a place where little animals would run in and out,” said Mary Lou. 

Joe and Mary Lou, of St. Peter Parish in Council Bluffs, decided to honor the memory of their daughter by naming their land the Irish Rose Forest. 

They held on to the property for 11 years, then gave it to the Sons and Daughters of Imogene, a local nonprofit focused on community betterment.

The vegetation had taken over the property. A community-wide cleanup in 2018 made a dent but the property needed a lot of work to become usable.

As the property was cleaned up, the community had a vision and could more clearly see the potential for the property.

“Someone said ‘Hammocks’ and someone said ‘A walking path that’s handicapped accessible, a parking lot, and art,’” said Carla Kucirek. “Truly, it was the hands and the minds of probably 30 volunteers” who pulled together to make the vision a reality.

In 2022, the Sons and Daughters of Imogene received a grant from the Freemont County Foundation, and the community could get heavy equipment on the land to remove dead trees and do some work, said Rita Laughlin. 

Since last year, the community installed tiling to dry out some areas, laid limestone for a walking path, purchased benches and two picnic tables, and installed four hammocks “for people to relax and calm their minds,” Laughlin said.

Local metal worker Bob Brand created the beautiful wind chime harp. 

The community celebrated mental health awareness by dedicating the park to the memory of Peggy and those who grapple with mental health issues. Information was available from Shenandoah Medical Center, the National Alliance of Mental Illness of Southwest Iowa, and St. Patrick Catholic Church. 

“The stigma of mental health is still there. I think the park and bringing awareness is a way we can ease into ways to have conversations about mental illness,” Laughlin said. “There’s still hope. There’s still people to surround yourself with in the community.”

“Through my eyes, I think of it as a serenity park,” said James Doyle, who did much of the heavy lifting in bringing the park to life. “We could carry on Mary Lou’s dream to dedicate this to her daughter and to mental health awareness. That was the focus of the whole thing. I just hope it serves its purpose.”