Please note: This column was written in February and scheduled to appear in the East Side Monthly in late March–before the pandemic and park closures, not to mention temporary suspension of the monthly’s publication.
Happily, the temporary closure of Blackstone Boulevard Park to walkers and runners still allows us to enjoy watching the spring bloom unfold as it does each year.
Good News! by Jane Peterson
Mushrooms Growing on the Boulevard?
Mushrooms carved from tree stumps have sprouted on the Boulevard, a welcome distraction during the bleak winter. The touch of whimsy is created from a dead tree stump in five to ten minutes with a chainsaw wielded by city tree trimmer Keith Yeaw, who works throughout Providence with fellow Parks Department employee Dave Masso.
When they show up to work, says Yeaw, ‘People come up to us ask, “Are you the guys in charge of the mushrooms? You make me smile.”’
Yeaw, who calls himself a swamp Yankee, likes to spend time outdoors with his son and to mushroom in the wild. Three years ago he carved one out of a stump in his small woodland in Scituate for his then six-year-old son. To their delight, wild mushrooms are now growing on that stump.
Carving wood is a hobby done for friends and family as inspiration strikes. “I see something in the wood and take the chainsaw and start carving away,” says Yeaw.
The grey heron Yeaw carved next to the carousel in Roger Williams Park didn’t turn out quite as planned. “The legs are too skinny,” he laments, saying, “It looks more like a gargoyle.”
Still, people are enjoying that heron, just as they are enjoying the mushrooms.
New BPC Leadership
The Blackstone Parks Conservancy is celebrating three new board members and a new president, Carrie Drake.
Of the new board members, planner Martha Fraenkel has contributed valuable advice and hands-on help to the Park Committee for several years. Newcomers, Jennifer McLean and Jeff Williams bring talent and energy to this able board as well. Jennifer, who works in development at Brown, promises to strengthen outreach and help with outdoor projects. Jeff, who is experienced in IT and real estate, has worked with the Park Committee in the Loring section of Blackstone Park.
New President Carrie Drake is a longtime member of the board and a neuroscientist who wears her academic credentials lightly. She left a successful research and teaching career in New York to concentrate on her children and Providence. Having served the BPC in many capacities in the last 10 years, Carrie improves every project she touches.
