By Kyle Peveto, Staff Writer

A liberty garden dedicated to the memory of those killed on Sept. 11 was constructed and dedicated this summer near the Taylor County courthouse.

At the corner of Oak and North 3rd, a garden was constructed around the preexisting Veterans’ Memorial by Keep Abilene Beautiful.

Keep America Beautiful, the national organization Keep Abilene Beautiful came out of, issued a challenge to organizations across the United States to commemorate the victims of Sept. 11’s terrorist attack by building liberty gardens for those who lost their lives, said Sarah Craik, director of Keep Abilene Beautiful.

The garden was dedicated July 3 with a picnic and Sarah Craik singing the national anthem. Local musician Lane Frizzell, from the band Slim Chance and the Survivors, sang patriotic songs while guests had a cook out.

Currently, no plaque or monument stands to commemorate the Sept. 11 attacks, but plans are being made for a monument of some kind. Previously only grass grew where the garden now stands. The garden is filled with crape myrtle and red tip photinia. A park bench was also placed under a tree by the memorial garden. “It makes it all really beautiful,” Craik said.

Keep Abilene Beautiful is coordinated by the city of Abilene. Formerly Keep Abilene Clean and Proud, the organization was founded in 1986.