International Peace Garden, History and Progress

              Progress
The Second World War put a temporary stop to Federal aid in the develop­ment
of the Peace Garden. In 1948 the Board of Directors of the Garden launched
a campaign for funds with which to resume development. An appeal was made
to individuals and organizations, to State and Provincial governments, and to
Federal governments on both sides of the line. Congress voted $ 100,000 to be
expended in the years 1950 to 1953. The Canadian Government voted $ 15,000
yearly but this was reduced to $ 10,000 in 1953. The State of North Dakota made
grants providing $ 4,000 annually. The State Historical Society of North Dakota
also contributed substantially by making available the services of its officials and
by practical co- operative assistance. The Province of Manitoba gave $ 2,500 in cash
in 1953 and in addition provided substantial assistance in the form of free labor,
engineering service, use of equipment and in road construction. Many rural
municipalities, towns and cities, Chambers of Commerce, business organizations
and service clubs joined actively in promoting this great project.
Women's organizations have given wonderful encouragement. The Federated
Women's Institutes of Canada, and the Homemakers of the United States, the
Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the
Business and Professional Women's Clubs have not only assisted financially but
they have also used Peace Garden literature in their study groups. These women's
organizations recognize the part that this International Peace Garden can play
in moulding, developing, and sustaining the peaceful relations that now exist
between these two nations. The Garden can be made into a place of beauty
that will call the attention of nations everywhere to the fact that here on the
North American continent is a frontier 3,987 miles long between two nations and
the only fort is this Fortress of Friendship, located in the centre of the continent.
The blueprints and plans drafted by the National Parks Service of the United
States in consultation with the National Parks Service of Canada provide for
distinctive features in the garden area. Two large natural parks, one on each
side of the Boundary, are being developed, as well as a Formal Area that will
extend along the Boundary. The latter will consist of a series of panels, which
jointly will extend for three- quarters of a mile westward from the main entrance,
and will be constructed so that one side will be an exact duplicate of the other.
From east to west they will be: the Peace Panel, the Terrace Panel, the Sunken
Garden, the Cascade Panel, the Reflecting Pool and the Peace Tower.
Peace Panel
The Cairn, situated on a turf plot on the Boundary Line, is the outstanding
feature of the Peace Panel, with the national flags of the two countries waving
colorfully in the breeze on either side, one to the north, the other to the south.
Surrounding the Cairn are the plots of the National Home Demonstration
Council of the United States and the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada,
who have assumed financial responsibility for the landscaped grounds north and
south of the entrance roads to the Garden. There, ornamental shrubs first meet
the eye, a number giving early bloom. Tulips in glowing colors greet the spring
visitor, followed by Morden Pink Lythrum and other perennials in summer, and
Gladioli and Autumn Asters in the fall. Some 2,500 bedding plants of annual
flowers are set out in the spring of each year. The Homemakers Clubs of North
Dakota and the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada financed the building
of an Information Booth in this area in 1952, and have since contributed further
to its upkeep.
Adjoining these plots are the large turfed areas financed by the Junior Red
Cross of both countries, stretching in verdant greenness along the Boundary Line
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