Fountain landscaping restoration honors former Modesto Eagle Scout

With shovels in hand, friends and family honored the memory of a former Modesto High School graduate and Eagle Scout this weekend.

A group of volunteers gathered Saturday morning to restore and replant the triangle of land around the fountain at 19th, H and Burney streets in downtown Modesto. The fountain’s irrigation and landscaping had been the Eagle Scout project of Ryan Dickerson in 2003. The Modesto teen died at age 18 in a swimming accident at a Texas youth camp in 2007.

Dickerson’s parents, Ron and Lynn Dickerson, spearheaded the restoration project at what has been dubbed “Ryan’s Fountain.” Over the years, budget cuts in the city’s parks department and general wear and tear had taken their toll on the area. There had been no major updates done to the landscaping since 2003, said Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods acting Director Andy Johnson.

Ron Dickerson said he had wanted to work on sprucing up Ryan’s Fountain for a few years, but hadn’t had the time or resources before. But then the couple sold their frozen yogurt shop, Oodles, in north Modesto last October. So with his new free time, Dickerson said, he picked up the project and began talking with city officials in December.

Park Planning and Development Manager Loren Holt worked with the Dickersons to draw up the plans and guide them through the design. The Dickersons rallied friends and businesses to donate all of the materials and labor needed for the project. The existing irrigation system was replaced, and all of the greenery, save for two trees, was removed and replaced.

The new vegetation is all more drought-tolerant and includes ground cover, shrubs and ornamental trees that use less water and are lower-maintenance.

“Here is a group, an organization that takes pride in a small area of Modesto and wants to keep it up,” Holt said. “Any time we can partner with people like that, it’s always a positive. With our limited resources, their generous donations always result in a greater sum.”

Johnson said the city did not have the resources to keep up the area, which had become overgrown and trash-strewn. The fountain itself has been turned off for the season, and no decision has been made on whether it will be started again this summer. While the city created the plans for the landscaping project, no other materials were provided.

Instead, the Dickersons called on community members for help. And they answered the call swiftly.

Family friend Brian Kline, who owns Hedgecock Paving, signed on to helm the project. The Grover, Nagle and John Deere landscaping companies donated materials and labor. All told, Ron Dickerson said, more than $25,000 in materials was donated to complete the project.

Then on Saturday, as thousands took part in the community service day Love Modesto, volunteers also gathered at Ryan’s Fountain to help put in the more than 300 plants, shrubs and trees. Lynn Dickerson, who is chief executive officer of the Gallo Center for the Arts, said she wasn’t sure how many people would take part, since the project was not officially associated with Love Modesto and spread mostly by word of mouth on Facebook.

On Saturday morning, more than 30 people came to the small spit of land bordered by busy streets.

“It felt great. I’ve been thinking a lot about it,” Lynn Dickerson said about all of the volunteers. “In some aspects of our life, we’ve had some pretty dang bad luck. Yet we have such great friends. I honestly cried driving down the freeway yesterday heading there. One of the things that makes our community special is the people.”

The work was done in about an hour and a half, far less time than Ron Dickerson said he expected. Before the day started, he was worried they might not be able to finish and he would have to fit the remaining plants in his car to plant another day. Dickerson has agreed with the city to maintain the area himself moving forward.

“I do want it to look good for Ryan’s memory and for us, the people of Modesto, and whoever drives by to enjoy it,” he said. “I want them to say that’s a neat-looking fountain and park landscape. This whole project has felt really good.”

This story was originally published April 19, 2015 at 9:45 PM.