If I hadn’t known what to look for, I would not have seen it. Life is like that. We can miss things until we learn the story behind them. So I headed out to Willard, Utah to check out a retaining wall. Wanted to see first hand the project that fueled a friendship that continues to spread the word about nature and the importance of gardening.
For me, Willard, Utah is between here and there. Until today, it was one of those places I drove through on the way to someplace else. When life had me head to Logan for a day trip or some less that favorable appointments…Willard was on the way. Back in my running days, the trip to Brigham to run in the Peach Day Race had me drive through Willard. Nice town. Amazing views. Mountains to the East. Lake to the West. Choice of scenery to be sure. Just did not have a reason to stop. Until today.
Today I had a specific destination . Willard Bay Gardens. To see a retaining wall. Not quite Zanadu or Oz but still an adventure. After all, this was no ordinary retaining wall. This wall was built long ago. The first of many that followed. This wall was built out of, you guessed it, tires.
The story of this particular retaining wall could be a fairy tale if told correctly. It had people in need, a hero, magic, and a fairy tale ending. This story was better than a fairy tale though because this one didn’t have any ugly in it. This story was real and its magic still spreads. A special kind of magic. The magic of sharing.
Sharing that began years ago. So long ago, the people involved are not sure when it actually happened. It happened. It really did. Back when the folks at the Willard Bay Gardens needed some help holding back a mountain.
Willard Bay Gardens had a little problem. The mountain that was their home kept slipping to the nearby lake. They needed a retaining wall to keep the sandy base of the mountain from pushing the Nursery from “on the mountain” to “into the lake”. It was one of those needs that exceeded resources available. Lucky for them, help arrived in the form of Tire Man.
He knew exactly what to do. Tire Man went to work and built a retaining wall out of used tires. They all pitched in and used the resources they had….time, muscles, dirt, and lots of used tires. What they lacked in cash, they made up for in manual labor. Soon, salvaged rubber products embraced the mountainside. What was a slippery slope became a permanent friendship.
A friendship of nature lovers. One that specialized in plants and flowers and another that made magic with former firestones. The folks at the Gardens were happy to let Tire Man build a display that showed his work right on the very ground that his work made more stable. The years progressed and the partnership blossomed, literally.
Tire Man maintained his display and the Willard Bay Gardens crew sang the praises of his swings, planters, and, of course, retaining walls. It was a linkage more about enriching than getting rich. It enriched on many levels…as it did the other day when the Nursery folks heard about the new garden at the Ogden Nature Center. They immediately offered plants and trees to jump start the project.
No strings. No ads. No banners. Just people doing the right thing to foster the opportunity for others to learn about gardening by example. They knew Tire Man and also knew the folks at the Ogden Nature Center. They understood the project was for the right reasons…to help folks become self sufficient and more. It would profit generations to come. They also understood it was good for business. The business of taking care of the environment.
Years ago, Tire Man made a retaining wall. Today, I went to see the wall and better appreciate the mountain of good that it put into motion. The folks at the Willard Bay Gardens played it forward. That is the fruit of sharing that nourishes hope long after we give our best.
(If you are a doer, get to tirecrafting.com, get Tire Man's book and DVD, and do. We have a world to save. Now wold be a good time to start.)
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