Pattern shows eclipsing of ‘Riding’
For 85 years, beginning in 1926, Reflection Riding Arboretum’s 300 acres have been extensively developed. Part of Chattanooga’s patrimony and history, it received national honors and international recognition. John Chambliss left it an endowed gift “perpetuity,” a unique quiet place of healing and reflection.
Thirty-three years ago, Reflection Riding invited the Nature Center to 17 adjacent acres. It has never been part of the arboretum but has used some of its land for environmental education. Its mission is very different from what Chambliss envisioned for his arboretum.
July 13, celebrating a new merger of the two boards, the Nature Center’s John Mitchum, now president of the joint board, never says “Reflection Riding,” He calls it “Our Place.” (sic)
The name John and Margaret Chambliss chose was erased. The arboretum newsletter was replaced with the Nature Center’s newsletter. The PR in newsletter, signs, news releases, and websites shows a pattern of eclipsing Reflection Riding and reshaping it in the image of the Nature Center. What travesty is this?