One of Westlock’s most renowned citizens has now been commemorated with a park in his honour.
Longtime doctor Georges L. Whissell, who served the Westlock community from 1942 until he retired at age 85, had his legacy recognized with the grand opening of the new Dr. Georges L. Whissell Park on Sept. 6.
Whissell, whose name graces the Whissellville area of Westlock, was born in St. Andre, Que. in 1907 and passed away on May 9, 2006 at the age of 98.
The park is located at the north end of Main Street in the space that used to be Towne Square Park, land the Whissell family donated to the town in order to create the park. The grand opening featured Whissell’s five children unveiling a plaque on a giant boulder commemorating their father’s memory.
Before the plaque was revealed, numerous dignitaries spoke to the assembled crowd, thanking everyone involved in the project for creating such a beautiful space.
Whissell’s son Brian spoke on behalf of his family, and thanked the crowd for being there to mark his father’s memory.
“It’s an honour to grant the park to the Westlock Blooms Foundation,” Brian said, singling out the foundation for being the driving force behind rejuvenating the property.
“It means a lot to our family to have people here to mark his life and memory,” he added.
Westlock Blooms president Shirley Toporowski led the festivities, and recognized all the people who had a hand in transforming the park. It took volunteers more than 70 hours to plant 70 shrubs and trees in the park, she said, a feat that perfectly illustrated the idea that it takes a village to raise a child, with a twist.
“It takes a community to raise a park,” she said.
Other speakers included Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Maureen Kubinec and Westlock County reeve Charles Navratil.
Kubinec brought congratulations from the provincial government, and hinted at the dedication required to bring such a project to fruition.
“You must be proud of the effort that went into this,” she said.
For Navratil, the park meant a little bit more.
“What a doctor,” he said in reference to Whissell, while recounting a story from when he was only six months old. At that time, Navratil was very sick, and Whissell suggested trying a different treatment method, which is the reason he is still alive today.
“For everyone who doesn’t like me, you can blame Dr. Whissell,” he said to a round of laughter.
As for completing the park and making it a destination in downtown Westlock, Navratil said that could not have been done without the hard work put in by the volunteers on the Westlock Blooms Foundation.
“The Blooms Foundation has done a job,” he said.
Westlock deputy mayor David Truckey spoke about the park’s history, dating back to when the land was occupied by a building. He also mentioned the history that was uncovered when the Blooms Foundation started to landscape the park — several old bricks and a Heinz ketchup bottle.
The park could not have been completed without more than $25,000 in grant funding from the provincial government’s Community Initiatives Program and CN Rail’s EcoConnexions program, Toporowski said.
When the grants were announced in June, she said there were already fairly solid plans in place for what the Blooms Foundation wanted to do with the park.
Those plans included planting new shrubs and trees in the park, as well as doing some little landscaping to make it a mini oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown Westlock. All of that would also come complete with a view of the mural on the wall of Arth’s.
“It’s just to beautify that last bit of green space downtown,” Toporowski said. “We just would like it to become a place for respite, and for people to sit and enjoy the day. When you plant trees, you create space instead of just having an open space.”
