A long-awaited dream was officially realized and celebrated on a balmy Saturday morning as the Apgar Family Water Plaza — located next to Mega-10 Park just off of South 6th Street — opened to the public following a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting.
Arts + Culture Alliance Executive Director Amber Danielson, whose organization played a key role in the design of the unique water feature and also helped to catalyze fundraising efforts, remarked that the event signified “so much more” than the opening of a water plaza.
“We celebrate a vision realized. We celebrate what can happen when a community dreams boldly, plans intentionally and works together to bring something special to life. Projects like this are never built by a single person or an organization. They’re built by communities,” she said. “This project exists because people believed in an idea. They committed to it over time, and this project exists because of public-private partnerships.”
Funding for the plaza, whose name is a tribute to both Burmese water festivals and the plaza as a central gathering space in Latino culture, came from the namesake Apgar Family, the city of Marshalltown, a Destination Iowa grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) for a total of four Linn Creek District projects, local businesses and nonprofit organizations, private individual and family donors and foundations. Danielson gave special shout outs to City Public Works Director Heather Thomas and Parks and Recreation Director Kelsie Stafford for their efforts and noted that planning for the plaza has been ongoing for over a half decade.
The roots, she said, were planted with the Imagine Marshalltown plan all the way back in 2007 and reiterated through the Arts and Culture Master Plan, and Danielson was proud to share that an Iowa artist — Hilde DeBruyne — was involved in the design process from the very beginning.
“Art was not just added at the end. It was the heart of the project from day one. Creativity was treated as an essential ingredient, not an afterthought,” Danielson said.
The result, she added, is a work of art, a gathering space and a reflection of the Marshalltown community. Before passing the microphone to the next of six total speakers for the morning, she offered heartfelt words of thanks to Tom Apgar for his contribution to the project and his investment in the future of Marshalltown.
“Just as the Water Plaza was designed around the idea of ripples, your legacy will do the same. The impact of what you’ve created will generate a ripple effect, reaching further than anyone can see today, sharing experiences and leaving a lasting mark in this community,” Danielson said. “Children who have not yet been born here will run through these waters. Families will gather. Friends will connect. Strangers will become neighbors. Visitors will discover Marshalltown, and here, pride will be renewed, revived and strengthened in our community.”
Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO John Hall joked that he would never let Danielson speak before him again and noted that while the weather was a little warmer than typical “Chamber of Commerce weather,” everyone would be ready to get into the water by the time the ribbon had been cut. Hall touted an “all of the above” strategy for attracting workers and families to Marshalltown and mentioned the plaza as a prime example amidst other ongoing positive developments in the community.
Mayor Mike Ladehoff kicked off his remarks by instructing Marshalltonians to “look at what you have done.”
“Whether you have donated large or small, whether you have helped plan, whether you have helped design, whether you managed to get by some of the menacing comments on Facebook from our warriors out there, our keyboard warriors, whether you hoped like heck this was actually gonna happen, whether you voted for and continue to vote for this project at city council level, everyone in this community has a part in this. Everyone does. This is what community looks like,” he said. “Everyone joining together to make something like this happen, because these things don’t just happen on their own.”
The mayor praised the city’s “thoroughbred” workhorses and asked those in the audience to think about what big idea will be next in Marshalltown, advocating for a continued spirit of cooperation and collaboration in the future. He was followed by Stafford, who joined the city staff about a year ago and relished the opportunity to have played a role in the project’s completion.
The penultimate speaker, MARSHALLTOWN Company President/CEO Joe Carter, shared some personal reflections on his friendship with Tom Apgar’s parents Pat and Dorothy after moving to the community. The family ran the Apgar Photography Studio for multiple generations before Tom retired and sold the West Main Street building in 2020.
“Pat was not only the finest of photographers, but he was a real gentleman and a first class human being. He was a world-renowned baton twirler, and he was also the last guy doing a backstroke in the Elmwood Country Club pool,” Carter said.
Carter’s son Sam did landscaping work for Pat, who was nearly 90 at the time and passed away in 2019 at the age of 96, and he understood that it had to be perfect for Pat. When he did a job well, he received a silver dollar as a tip.
Carter also reflected on Dorothy Apgar’s role as a dedicated historian — she wrote an 869-page “Continuing History of Marshall County” — and an advocate for preserving the historic courthouse. He never met Tom’s brother John, who died in 1981 at the age of 28 after a battle with cancer, but Carter felt the plaza would serve as a tremendous tribute to Pat, Dorothy and John.
“This isn’t something someone has to do. It’s generosity at its finest, giving for the greater good. These kinds of gifts help our community be better without thinking of oneself, yet adding another piece of legacy to the Apgar family and their love for Marshalltown,” he said.
The final speaker before the ribbon cutting was Tom Apgar himself, and while his brother and parents are both passed, he had several relatives from Colorado in town for the occasion. He stressed the importance of positive investments in the Marshalltown community for future generations.
After reciprocating praise on the Carters and sharing a bit of his own family history, Apgar shifted his focus to the four major Linn Creek District projects — the water plaza, the Martha-Ellen Tye Playhouse renovations, the Ann C. Keyser Trailhead and the Emerson Bridge, which received a total of $2 million in funding through the Destination Iowa grant.
“These projects are about bringing young people back, investing in our community, and in the multigenerational businesses that define it, like the Gerviches, like the Hellbergs, like the Buzbees, like the Stahlins,” he said. “What brings them back? It’s quality of life. It’s recreation. It’s efforts like this. That’s why I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Calling it “a win-win-win,” he urged Stafford to brag about the plaza and bring other parks and recreation professionals to town to see it, and he hoped it would foster further business development while providing a free space for children and their families to gather. Finally, he felt it would leave a lasting legacy on the community while honoring his own family.
Apgar spoke of major recent investments in education in Marshalltown, the city’s major employers continuing to grow, the preservation of the historic courthouse and various quality of life projects.
“These are some of the reasons I believe so strongly in the future of Marshalltown because our future is shaped by the investments we make today,” he said.
He went on to thank city leaders and department heads for “seeing the big picture” and urged them to overcome cycles of negativity, warning that Marshalltown won’t grow without continued investments in groups like the Arts + Culture Alliance and the Chamber. Apgar also thanked Nancy Adams for writing a series of stories about his family that were published in the T-R ahead of the event and local media for its coverage of positive local developments, along with the Community Foundation of Marshall County, Hall and his team at the Chamber, and Danielson.
Finally, he shared the story of how he came to collaborate with Danielson and Hall on the project, referencing the line “You had me at hello” from the film “Jerry Maguire” after they presented the idea to him. The speech ended with tributes to John Apgar, who was a lifeguard and pool manager as a Marshalltown youngster and was working for the Motorola corporation at the time he became ill, and his parents Dorothy and Pat.
To sum it up, he reiterated his belief in the future of Marshalltown and its leaders.
“I believe this is the best wagon I could possibly hitch my horse to,” Apgar said. “This is a win because it’s the perfect place to collect my family’s legacy, something meaningful, but more importantly, it’s a win for the community. It’s a win for our residents, our visitors and for community pride — something for us to brag about… I truly believe Marshalltown has positioned itself for even greater growth given our leaders, given our quality of life that’s already, and at the end of the day, we will succeed when we work together.”
From there, it was time to cut the ribbon and turn on the water as hundreds of children splashed to their hearts content. Food trucks were onsite, and dancers representing a total of seven countries performed dances, six of which were sponsored by JBS. Weather permitting, the Apgar Family Water Plaza will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. between May and September.
After the dust had settled, Danielson reflected on the plaza and what it means for Marshalltown.
“It was the perfect day for the opening of the Apgar Family Water Plaza. After years of planning, it was wonderful to see so many people experiencing the joy of the space. Opening day was a testament to what can happen when a community comes together around a shared vision,” she said.
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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.