Friends recall Carr’s activism
Katharine “Kay” Carr not only was a founding member of the Green Gardeners in Uniontown, she remained an active member of the group until her death Sept. 18 at age 89. Carr help found the organization 51 years ago and remained active in it over the years, even leading a protest last summer over Uniontown city council’s decision to place Marshall Park in a tax-free Keystone Opportunity Zone.
“She was fired up,” said fellow Green Gardener Ellen Ulmer. “She was somebody who stayed involved right up to the end. I feel really lucky to have known her and worked with her, because she was so energetic and enthusiastic about what she believed in.”
Carr played a key role in the Green Gardeners’ evolution from an organizer of flower arranging contests and flower shows to a group that has brightened up sidewalks and street corners with flowers and that has planted most of the trees lining downtown streets.
“Most of the trees you see in town came from the Green Gardeners,” said Bernadine Hagan, now the last surviving club founder.
“We were the only two left from the founders,” Hagan said. “We’ve been friends (for) I don’t know how many years now. The garden club had its 50th anniversary last year, so I’ve been friends with Kay for at least 51 years.”
Hagan said club founders wanted to get involved with something more permanent than flower contests and shows. They decorated the city parking lot, where the parking garage now stands, with trees. When the city had the garage built, the contractor planned to level the trees.
“Kay went to the builder and said, ‘Look, you can’t touch those trees. Those are memorial trees,’ and he didn’t. They covered the trees and built the garage,” Hagan said.
She and Carr also were members of the Uniontown Downtown Business District Authority. “When we needed a contact with the city, Kay always went to the mayor.”
Carr was instrumental in creating the city’s Tree Commission, which keeps records on all the trees planted along city streets.
“We have a record of all street trees and can give recommendation on pruning and maintaining them,” Hagan said.
The Green Gardeners plant flowers in the large cement urns on Main and Church streets and plant and maintain the garden at the George C. Marshall Memorial Plaza at Five Corners. They also plant and care for the Heritage Garden at the corner of Pittsburgh and Main streets, Ulmer said.
She said the club wants to plant another garden across Main Street from the Heritage Garden, with memorial donations made to the club in honor of Carr.
Hagan said her late husband, I.N. Hagan, who owned Hagan Ice Cream, said the club’s planting of flowers and trees was the best thing that ever happened in the city.
The city presented Carr with an award in 1995 for her lifetime of service to the community.
“She’s been active in the community her whole life, not just the garden club,” current Green Gardeners President Valerie Sesler said.
Her friends credit Carr with starting the city’s first recycling program.
Carr also was a longtime member of the Uniontown Public Library’s board of directors.
“She was a wonderful board member, loved and respected,” said Christy Fusco, library director and head librarian. “I can honestly say the board is a fantastic group of individuals dedicated to the library. I had a particular fondness for Kay. She was just very devoted and dedicated. I really respected her. She will be sorely missed. The staff and the board here really miss her.”
Fusco said she considered Carr as a mentor when she was hired as the children’s librarian 12 years ago. “She introduced me to the community. She was always accessible and available. She was always willing to give of herself,” said Fusco, also a member of the Green Gardeners.
Born Aug 13, 1914, in Amherst, Mass., Carr married Phil Carr in South Carolina during World War II. They later moved to Uniontown. They were married for 57 years. She is survived by three children and numerous nieces and nephews.