75 years ago next month, an estimated 50-thousand people came to a little patch of land between North Dakota and Manitoba for the opening of the International Peace Garden.

Now, workers are preparing the Garden for the 75th anniversary celebration.

And, as Jim Olson reports, it's a celebration that will happen in a place that's being prepared to look like its old self.

(Doug Hevenor, International Peace Garden) "And the turf is starting to look like turf again, so I'm very pleased with that."


(Jim Olson, KX News) Doug Hevenor is liking what he's seeing these days at the International Peace Garden. He sees land where weeds have been attacked, and flower beds - more than ever - are ready to be planted.

(Doug Hevenor, International Peace Garden) "Typically we plant between 120,000 and 150,000 annuals in the Garden. This year we're going to shoot for between 150,000 and 180,000 annuals in the Garden this year. And we'll have annuals in places never seen before."


(Jim Olson, KX News) Hevenor is in his second year at the helm of the Garden and says his vision is of the past

(Doug Hevenor, International Peace Garden) "What I really wanted to do was capture the essence of the Garden."


(Jim Olson, KX News) But in order to show how things were done in the past at the Garden, some work needs to be done. And thanks to the North Dakota Legislature's grant of almost a million dollars for infrastructure work, things will be getting done.

(Doug Hevenor, International Peace Garden) "We've dedicated $55,000 to the repair of that garden and the upgrade of some of the fountain jet pumps in the fountain so we can beautify the display. We've identified about $75,000 in need for repairs in the stone displays too."


(Jim Olson, KX News) In addition, the new money has allowed some plants at the Garden to go brown - they've been able to kill weeds and do fertilizing that had to be ignored in the past. Hevenor says the support of the legislature has been tremendous.

(Doug Hevenor, International Peace Garden) "When I first came I was a little disenchanted thinking people didn't really have a strong feeling for this Garden. But when that vote in the Legislature came, 93 men and women voted and 90 of them voted for this so that really said the voice of the state was behind the Peace Garden."


(Jim Olson, KX News) And what about July 14th? The date of the 75th anniversary event? Tourism promoter for the Garden Aggie Buhler says it'll have many activities including at lease one that duplicates what happened in 1932.

(Aggie Buhler, Tourism Promoter) "We're going to have a tug-of-war, Canadians against Americans. And this was done 75 years ago at the original dedication and just for the record the Canadians did win."


(Jim Olson, KX News) Sounds like a challenge to me. Annual flowers at the Peace Garden will be planted beginning about a week from now and will be in bloom in plenty of time for the anniversary celebration. At the International Peace Garden, Jim Olson, KX News.

The first event of the season at the Garden will be the Old Time Fiddlers Contest at the Music Camp that begins at the end of next week. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list