Your Voice, #YourMemorialPark

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Your Voice, #YourMemorialPark

What is #yourmemorialpark? It’s about voices coming together to highlight and share all the different ways Memorial Park is here for the community. Earlier this year, that’s just what happened. The Conservancy collected quotes from Park users who answered the following question via postcards and digital submissions:
What does Memorial Park mean to you?
Over 50 quotes were curated by Houston’s Youth Poet Laureate, Madison Petaway, to be permanently inscribed in the inner circle that frames the central lawn of Memorial Park’s Eastern Glades, the first major project of the Memorial Park Master Plan. Together, these quotes represent the Park’s power to unify and heal while symbolizing the collective voice of the Park itself. The Conservancy deeply thanks everyone who participated, our contributors, and Madison for helping us share Memorial Park’s stories.
Take a look at our contributors below, and scroll down to submit your own!

Houston’s Youth Poet Laureate

Madison Petaway is a senior at Westbury High School and serves as Houston’s current Youth Poet Laureate. Her work grapples with the complexities surrounding mental illness and education, while celebrating and advocating for youth empowerment. She is a member of the 2019 Meta-Four Houston Youth Poetry Slam Team and has performed her work on local and national stages.

About Houston’s Youth Poet Laureate Program

Your Memorial Park Quotes

Chris Abundis

Rain or shine, Memorial Park will always be mine!

Kay and Nancy

We two friends walked and talked out our lives around Memorial Park for twenty years. It absorbed our hopes, fears, laughter, and tears – sacred ground.

Camille Attie

Memorial Park made me love Houston forever.

Tony Banks

I am a native Houstonian and 50 years ago I discovered true natural wonders in and around the Park, and I continue to be inspired.

Autumn Breese

Memorial Park is my backyard, my home away from home.

Chen Chen

All in every day—it’s my life.

Ralph Clark

A real Houston jewel.

Eduardo Garcia

An uncharted territory for a family to explore and enjoy.

Holly Efting

Running is a form of religion! My boys started running when they were four and this Park will leave footprints in their hearts forever.

Corey Flores

This is my Park and it has my heart.

Mary Glover

I seek shade here. Birds sing to me as I walk the winding path. No worries follow me.

Am Gonzalez

Memorial Park represents the runner, the marathoner.

Misha Granado

You welcome us, unselfishly cleaning the air for us all.

David Hoyer

Memorial Park is a vital place to run and escape the problems of daily life, solving them by enhancing health and wellness.

Taran Jensvold

Each visit to Memorial Park creates space in our lives to be awed by the natural world, nurturing a collective sense of wonder. We are better for every moment spent here.

CJ Johnson

So many cities don’t get to enjoy having such a diverse park space to use.

Zenaida Kalie

It is a living reminder of the beauty and resiliency of Houston’s past, present, and future.

Kiril Kundurazieff

Memorial Park is a place to walk and explore, nurse your physical health, and discover and indulge your creative side as a writer and photographer.

Kay Lynn Kuper

A haven away from the busy life in Houston. When I am in the Park, you cannot see the city, only green and sky.

Wendy Larsen

Here is where I learned to turn my disability into a passion for wheelchair sports. Here, I took my first steps to becoming a marathoner.

JP Leite

The harmony between people and wildlife.

Magda Davila

Memorial Park is a place to de-stress and restore, an oasis in the middle of the city.

Rebecca Marvil

Memorial Park is a restorative walk in nature; an escape from the chaotic life of a big city.

Suzy Minor

We fell into step with each other for 2.9 miles of ‘getting to know you.’

Patrick McKee

As a native Houstonian born in 1949, I’ve known Memorial Park all my life.

Jeffrey Mojica

Memorial Park is home to me.

Jenny Montgomery

It’s a special place to me. I have forever in my memories renting horses many years ago with my sister. I lost her, sadly.

Mark Much

The nearest piece of heaven you will find. All the wonders and wisdom of life are right here. Behold!

Melissa Richards

A connection I can make with nature in the heart of a bustling city.

Stephen Newman

It’s where time stops to give yourself over to nature and reoxygenate your soul.

Keith Newton

Memorial Park is a place of living history where I remember those who previously trained and served our country on the site.

Selin Oney

Here, time slows down and we are immersed in the beauty of our surroundings.

Kristina Pham

A place where different people can meet.

Leslie Poitan

I remember as a child celebrating my birthdays here.

Townes G. Pressler

An inclusive community and a source of pride for me and for our city.

Jennifer Parison

Walking in Memorial Park is an adventure that lasts a lifetime, an adventure I now share with my daughter.

Treena Pritchard

The breeze blowing through the trees is urging you along the path of life. Follow your senses and embrace the heartbeat of nature.

Jacquelin Sanchez

It is the place I go when everything else goes wrong.

Terri Schlather

It is therapy for the body and soul.

Gus Serrano

A place where I can revisit childhood memories.

Leta Shideler

Nature in the city; something to remind us that life and nature is always present and sustaining.

Barrett

I envy the birds who get to see the Park from above.

Anita & Gerald Smith

We have the wilderness right in our backyard.

Meredith Soper

The Park means Houston to me. We’re beautiful and historic. We’re metropolitan with a hint of nature.

Marianne Standley

Sweet memories of family, childhood, our puppy, and the only time in the week to breathe – and fresh air!

Patricia Tamez Trussell

Memorial Park is the memory of my father, meeting friends who are like family, and my transformation from recreational runner to marathoner.

Anne Vance

Walking the trails of Memorial erases all distractions and fills me with joy. I discover something new every time!

Molly Vaughan

Love! My husband and I would often meet and run after work at Memorial Park when we were first dating and still walk there today.

Keri Wagner

#runningismyhappyhour

Timothy Webb

Graceful hawks. Quiet coyotes. Playful squirrels. Peaceful trails. Community of friends. The essence of who we are… together forever.

Yvonne Ziegler

I’ll never forget the morning I rounded the corner and witnessed the trees breathing, yes, the trees breathing as the sun rose… miraculous!

Anonymous

Retreat in paradise. The only place to feel privacy in nature.

Anonymous

Memorial Park is a refuge for my spirit.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN

Memorial Park is a special place that provides the community with a connection to the great outdoors as well as opportunities for physical activity and personal reflection. For some, visiting the Park means reducing stress, practicing self-care, and social distancing during a challenging time.
Many voices have joined together to share what the Park means to them, and now it’s time to add YOURS. After all, it’s #yourmemorialpark! Tell us:
What has Memorial Park meant to you during the COVID-19 pandemic?