Benny's Park by Cafe Mir
Don protégé
We're raising money in order to help purchase & build a park on a small property next to Cafe Mir (where our cousin Ben worked with his cousins Nathaniel & Josh almost every night since Cafe Mir opened in 2017, despite having a day job as an electrician) in the city of Fertile, Iowa. We hope to create a simple & beautiful little park, open to the public, & dedicated to the memory of our recently dearly departed, Benjamin James Frederick.
Benny loved this property, & had attempted to purchase it with the aim to clear away the old structure & build his own house there. Although it turned out that the overall cost of doing such a thing was prohibitive for him at that time, he continued to dream about the possibility & talk about it with us.
Our cousin knew both brilliant light & disorienting darkness, but his actions & his smile told us all that the light was still keeping him strong among us. On a Friday night, May 22nd, strange circumstances led to Ben taking his own life on a hill out in the country, just a stone's throw from cousin Josh's place. He had lived with Josh for quite a while & loved the countryside right there along the Winnebago River.
Our original goal was maybe overly ambitious, so instead of a full marathon & $15,000 our goal is now to raise $5,000 by running/walking/biking a half marathon (13 miles) in North Iowa starting at 7:30am on Sunday the 13th of September. Tanna will be the main runner, but family, friends, & anyone inspired to join along the way will be encouraged to do so on foot or wheels anywhere along the route. It turns out September is Suicide Awareness Month, so the timing is painfully apt.
Behold the route!
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7:30am:
-Leaving 2400 North Shore Drive in Clear Lake, heading east along North Shore Drive
-Just past the Surf Ballroom, left onto Buddy Holly Place
-Northward across Highway 18, past the red house on the right where Ben spent many days as a child, where his late father & our uncle Jim Frederick lived (a house Ben nostalgically would go out of his way to pass by when driving from Clear Lake to Fertile)
-Right onto 275th Street
-Left onto Grouse Avenue
-Left onto 310th Street
-Right onto Eagle Avenue all the way into the town of Fertile
-Left onto Main Street
11:00am (or so):
-Finish Line! at 113 West Main Street (Cafe Mir) where there will be coffee, donuts, mimosas, beer, & maybe some other good stuff.
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The money raised will all go toward the purchase of the property in Fertile. Any money the campaign raises beyond the $5,000 goal will go toward the demolition of the building & the construction of the park.
The park will be a place of peace, remembrance & hope. & I don't doubt that somewhere out there Ben's infectious smile will be radiating toward it & all who enter its little realm.
Thanks for considering donating to our campaign or joining in along the way!
-Nathaniel
Benny loved this property, & had attempted to purchase it with the aim to clear away the old structure & build his own house there. Although it turned out that the overall cost of doing such a thing was prohibitive for him at that time, he continued to dream about the possibility & talk about it with us.
Our cousin knew both brilliant light & disorienting darkness, but his actions & his smile told us all that the light was still keeping him strong among us. On a Friday night, May 22nd, strange circumstances led to Ben taking his own life on a hill out in the country, just a stone's throw from cousin Josh's place. He had lived with Josh for quite a while & loved the countryside right there along the Winnebago River.
Our original goal was maybe overly ambitious, so instead of a full marathon & $15,000 our goal is now to raise $5,000 by running/walking/biking a half marathon (13 miles) in North Iowa starting at 7:30am on Sunday the 13th of September. Tanna will be the main runner, but family, friends, & anyone inspired to join along the way will be encouraged to do so on foot or wheels anywhere along the route. It turns out September is Suicide Awareness Month, so the timing is painfully apt.
Behold the route!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:30am:
-Leaving 2400 North Shore Drive in Clear Lake, heading east along North Shore Drive
-Just past the Surf Ballroom, left onto Buddy Holly Place
-Northward across Highway 18, past the red house on the right where Ben spent many days as a child, where his late father & our uncle Jim Frederick lived (a house Ben nostalgically would go out of his way to pass by when driving from Clear Lake to Fertile)
-Right onto 275th Street
-Left onto Grouse Avenue
-Left onto 310th Street
-Right onto Eagle Avenue all the way into the town of Fertile
-Left onto Main Street
11:00am (or so):
-Finish Line! at 113 West Main Street (Cafe Mir) where there will be coffee, donuts, mimosas, beer, & maybe some other good stuff.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The money raised will all go toward the purchase of the property in Fertile. Any money the campaign raises beyond the $5,000 goal will go toward the demolition of the building & the construction of the park.
The park will be a place of peace, remembrance & hope. & I don't doubt that somewhere out there Ben's infectious smile will be radiating toward it & all who enter its little realm.
Thanks for considering donating to our campaign or joining in along the way!
-Nathaniel
Organisateur et bénéficiaire
Tanna Frederick
Organisateur
Fertile, IA
Nathaniel Frederick
Bénéficiaire