Park Employee Spotlight: Dan Urkevich,
Parks and Recreation Specialist
by Kathy Dugan
Dan’s official title does not do him justice, in my opinion. I think of him as the Master of the Gardens or The Garden Maestro. I had the privilege to interview Dan on June 4 when the gardens out front were almost done being planted. The plants were so much smaller than they are now, only two weeks later, living proof of the rapid changes that occur here during the growing season.
Dan has been working at the park since 1978, all because a friend needed a ride to work. He put in an application because he thought the park looked like a nice place. He started as a greenskeeper on the state run golf courses planting flowers around all the tee boxes. When the golf courses became privatized, he moved to work on the park gardens.
Standing by the garden at the Route 9 entrance, Dan said, “This used to be nothing.” That all changed in 2000, when the garden space as we know it today was created. Dan has been working on these gardens ever since and says his goal is make each garden better than the previous one.
The Friends are extremely grateful to Dan for all his help in providing a temporary home for our five (5) live holiday trees in the south front garden until they were moved into the permanent location this spring.
