Environmental Issues
The Bedford Garden Club, a strong supporter of environmental issues, has been dedicated to preserving trees in Bedford. As early as 1934, the Club formed a committee to identify and catalog important trees in the area. Again in 1987, the Bedford Commons project, headed by Bertine Southworth continued this endeavor of identifying trees with aluminum markers. A tree guide was published naming the trees on the square and in the cemetery. This was a 60th Anniversary project for the Club that year.
In December, 1954, a letter written to Governor Lausche protested construction of Ohio Turnpike Exit 2 passing through Hinckley Reservation. The governor wrote back saying he “would take it into consideration.” A May, 1961, notation asked members to write Governor DiSalle indicating their objections to building Route Eight through Virginia Kendall Park. The route was relocated to the east of the park. In March, 1963, the Club tackled the “light company” and its policy of topping trees. President Mrs. Howard Wood and Mrs. Pat DeWitz met with an official of Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company at lunch and extracted a promise to cooperate on shaping and trimming trees cut through by power lines.
Through the Club’s efforts, Bedford was declared a Bird Sanctuary in July 1964 by the National Audubon Society. The City established Ordinance 2821-64 making it official. The Club voiced its disapproval to the Ohio Legislature of placing quail on the state’s hunting list. This organization over the years man-aged to find time to put down its trowels and rakes and take up worthwhile causes.