Three decades later, Allouez Beautification Committee still making a difference

ALLOUEZ – What started as a simple idea to keep Webster Avenue beautiful has transformed into a volunteer-led, transformative effort: the Allouez Beautification Committee.

The committee — originally called the “Make a Difference Committee” — has a rich history, recently celebrating its 30-year anniversary.

“Wishing to become a ‘positive force for change and growth’ in Allouez, the Make a Difference Committee which formed to oppose construction of an Osco Drug [store] has changed its name and its mission,” read a 1995 Green Bay News Chronicle article. “The goals of the newly formed Allouez Beautification Committee, as stated in a letter to the board, are to preserve the residential character of Webster (Avenue) between Allouez Avenue and (Highway) 172 and to enhance the office/commercial development that occurs north of the intersection.”

Thirty years later, the committee has achieved this goal and more, beautifying the community through several projects including the many flower planters throughout the village.

Jim and Kathie Sickel were instrumental to the beginnings of the committee, both having served in leadership roles in the 90s.

“The Allouez Beautification Committee was an outgrowth of an issue with regard to the building of a big box store on the corner of Webster and Allouez Avenue, where a school was initially,” said Jim. “A lot of us in the neighborhood didn’t want a big box store right in the center of the village… A lot of people showed up [at village hall] and said, ‘If you’re putting a store there, we don’t want a big box. We want something more in keeping with the neighborhood.’”

Kathie and another community member, Mary Ann Smith, then had the idea of planting flowers in village medians to make them more attractive, leading to a partnership with Charles Schroeder and Schroeder’s Flowers.

“At first, [Mary Ann] said no, we’ve tried it and you can’t do it,” said Kathie. “And then she called me back one day… All of a sudden I realized she was saying, ‘Let’s try this.’ Then we talked to Charles Schroeder, and things went very well from that point. He was in.”
With the help of Schroeder’s flowers, the committee planted flowers along Webster Avenue.

“It got such a wonderful response,” said Jim. “There didn’t used to be a lot of medians with planters. Now, you look in De Pere, there are. You look in Ashwaubenon, there are, and [Green Bay] itself, especially Mason Street, they’ve done planters.”

Schroeder passed away in May, but his legacy lives on through a continued partnership between Schroeder’s Flowers and the committee, which continues to be a positive force in the Allouez community.

The committee is now led by Marlene Sharman, who joined the committee around 10 years after its inception and started as a volunteer weeder.

“I think 30 years ago Allouez — and De Pere may have started around that time too — was one of the first communities in the area to really try to do this with flowers,” said Sharman. “Charles was super supportive. He wanted everything to look great… His son now is continuing that; they’re still supporting us. We still work with Schroeder’s.”

The work of the committee has garnered attention from not only Allouez residents, but from members of the greater Green Bay community.

“We get tons of comments from people who don’t live in the area of how much they love the plantings on Webster Avenue. I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘When we drive by there in the morning or home from work, if we’ve had a bad day and we see those flowers, it just makes us feel better,’” said Sharman.

This year, the committee’s projects have included maintaining the Amanda Cobb garden, located near the entrance of Heritage Hill State Park; taking care of the flowers on Webster Avenue and Riverside Drive; and beautifying the village’s welcome signs.

“The Allouez Beautification Committee is a wonderful group of volunteers that has worked tirelessly over the years to beautify the community, whether that is fundraising for landscape plantings along Webster Avenue or planting and maintaining the roundabouts and village entry signs, to name a few,” said Allouez’s Director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry Chris Clark. “Without partnerships like this, Allouez would not be the great community that it is today.”

To learn more about the Allouez Beautification Committee, visit allouezbeautification.org.