In the history of Firestone Park, it is often forgotten that both Harvey S. Firestone and his wife, Idabelle Smith Firestone, bequeathed the town of Columbiana the land as well as the recreational facilities that became Firestone Recreational Park. Columbiana was the place where Harvey was born, attended school, and is now buried along with his wife and family members. The signature on the deed/document bears both of their names.

In recognizing this, the Restoration and Beautification Committee decided to honor Mrs. Firestone and recognize her noteworthy achievements as a musician, gardener and philanthropist and add to the Firestone legacy to our town.

The beautiful little pavilion you now see from Park Avenue as you drive by provides a visual axis between the cemetery and the park. The decision to call it a “Gathering Place and Gardens” was apt, in that it is both, and reflects the gifts Mrs. Firestone pursued in her lifetime.

The gardens showcase beloved heritage plants favored in the mid 1930s: roses, peonies and bearded iris to name a few. Also prominent will be marigolds to call attention to the naming — by internationally-known hybridist David Burpee — of a special variety named the Idabelle Firestone Marigold. Adjacent to these gardens, the Lilac Stroll Garden provides a walkway to Park Avenue to cross over into the cemetery. The Great Tree Lawn and the Donna Bekar rose garden also add to the lush greenery and color of the gardens.

The small pavilion itself was designed by Paul Hagman, a local architect. In researching the park and cemetery and its structures, he chose to use stone to align it with all the other stone pavilions, and classic columns to mirror the Firestone Memorial in the cemetery. It houses two rooms — one a classroom and the other a kitchenette — as well as a public restroom and water fountain. The classroom is designed for groups learning about the park and their community, as well as gardens/plants, music and other areas of interest. Its capacity is 20 to 30 and no more. This purpose is in keeping with Idabelle Firestone’s significant areas of accomplishment and adds a new dimension to the park’s offerings and activities.

The stately front of the pavilion provides a stage for musical groups to perform. The dedication in September of this year will feature a 40-piece symphony orchestra. The seating is on the hillside to the west where an audience of up to 200 can be accommodated. It is an amphitheater open to a variety of performances to be scheduled and rented through the park office. A perfect place for weddings, community concerts and festivals, with the interior offering a place for classroom-learning and activities.

A look at Idabelle Firestone’s life evidences an accomplished, gracious and genteel lady — a lover of both music and gardening. Also a philanthropist, her charitable work included establishment of the Idabelle Firestone Nurses Home at Akron City Hospital, as well as Akron’s Summer Home for the Aged and the Salvation Army.

Born in 1874 in Minnesota, she studied music in college, married Harvey Firestone in 1895 in Detroit, who eventually ended up in Akron, Ohio, where he founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. She raised five sons and one daughter and became a prominent composer.

Her musical background resulted in a number of popular songs of the day featured on radio’s Firestone Hour. At her death on July 7, 1954, the program featured the songs composed for her lost loved ones — her husband in 1938, and three years later her only daughter; another son died in 1951. These included “If I Could Tell You,” “In My Garden” and “You Are the Song in My Heart.”

The Gathering Place and Gardens, with its planned magnificent heritage plantings, abundant flowers and musical lawn and performance amphitheater, will be the central feature of the Legacy Trail Loop. How fitting that the garden showcase within the park will be dedicated to Idabelle Firestone. An excerpt from “In My Garden” written by this great lady conveys her love of gardens, music and her beloved ones.

“A garden sweet, a garden small,

Where rambler roses creep along the walls,

Where dainty phlox and columbine,

Are nodding to the trumpet vine,

And now each flower is sweeter dear;

I know it is just because you are here.

We sit alone from all the world apart,

And love is blooming full within my heart.”

A Recent Visit to Firestone Park from a Firestone

Late in June of this year, Diane Firestone, great granddaughter of Harvey and Idabelle Firestone, visited Columbiana’s cemetery and its park. Diane, 63 years of age, is the daughter of Harvey Firestone III. She recalls coming to a funeral as a young child, but told us she did not visit the park at that time. Her father died at the age of 32 when Diane was two years old; she said she knew little about her grandparents and great-grandparents and is just now becoming aware of her rich family heritage. Now living in Australia, she was full of questions and admiring of the many projects for restoration being completed today and for the upcoming dedication. She particularly admired Idabelle’s Gathering Place and the dog park. We had a phone call from her recently pledging a donation. We hope other family members of her generation will be with us in early September for the ceremony, adding to the legacy of the park and the Firestone’s important role in its establishment. For more information about the renovation of the Harvey S. Firestone Recreational Park, visit restorecolumbiana.com.