Women’s Chamber Votes to Dismantle Rose Garden

Published July 2, 2026

After nearly 40 years, the Dodge City Area Women’s Chamber of Commerce has requested the demolition of its Rose Garden on the DC3 campus. [Photo Courtesy of Vickie Williamson]

After nearly 40 years, the Dodge City Area Women’s Chamber of Commerce has decided to retire its memorial Rose Garden on the southeast corner of the Dodge City Community College (DC3) campus.

Due to an aging membership, Kathy Ramsour, Women’s Chamber member and DC3 Board of Trustees vice chair, said the group could no longer adequately care for the garden.

“We had a few women who worked tirelessly, deadheading, weeding, fertilizing and, yes, killing ants and bugs, which were devastating to the roses. However, I was not one of those people who cared for the rose garden,” she said. “I believe there is a special place for gardeners in heaven, but that is not my forte. Although I did have a rose planted in memory of my daughter.”

Before making the difficult decision to remove the Rose Garden, the Women’s Chamber reached out to various clubs and organizations in search of volunteers willing to help maintain it. Despite their efforts, no group was found to take on the responsibility. The Women’s Chamber Board of Directors then called for a vote of its membership to decide the garden’s ultimate fate.

“We decided, since many roses and, yes, us, were getting older, it was time to let the garden go,” Ramsour said. “But we needed a plan to make sure our roses — the healthy younger ones — were taken care of. Our Beautification Committee met with the college to come up with ideas. Thank heavens DC3 had many exciting ideas for us to discuss.”

Jared Stevens, DC3 Director of Facilities and Operations, said the decision to remove the garden was not taken lightly.

“It was after many meetings and a lot of thought that it was ultimately decided to remove the garden,” he said. “We knew that some of the roses meant a great deal to people in the community, so we treated everything within the confines of the garden as respectfully as possible.”

The Rose Garden, officially known as the Dodge City Area Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Memorial and Commemorative Rose Garden, was created by the Women’s Chamber Beautification Committee as a place of reflection and remembrance on the DC3 campus. After years of research, planning, and fundraising, the first roses were planted in spring 1987, and the garden was formally dedicated on July 16, 1987.

According to a Women’s Chamber brochure, the garden was created as a place where visitors could sit, relax, meditate, and simply take time to “smell the roses.” The group also hoped it would serve as a welcoming stop for tourists seeking a peaceful place to spend a morning or afternoon.

The garden consisted of several raised planting beds connected by brick pathways. Each bed accommodated five to 10 rosebushes, with plaques identifying memorial and commemorative plantings. A drip irrigation system provided efficient watering, while a large sign at the entrance recognized those honored throughout the garden.

Before the Rose Garden’s demolition, a large sign at its entrance listed the names of the honorees and the locations of the roses planted inside. [Photo by Lance Ziesch]

Before demolition work began on April 2, Stevens and Women’s Chamber members identified several features that could be preserved elsewhere on campus. Plans included relocating the gazebo to the southeast side of Lake Charles, salvaging bricks for future paving projects, moving the James Mooney Ranch marker, and transplanting several rosebushes and other plants.

Stevens said that after posting on social media that much of the remaining garden was available for repurposing, community members “came out in droves.”

“Everyone seemed very excited to help repurpose anything they could from the garden,” he said. “The community really cleaned out about 80% of the garden, from the plants and cedar fence to the paving bricks. The demolition was complete by April 22.”

Although the DC3 maintenance team still has some rosebushes potted at its shop awaiting new homes, several have already been transplanted around campus, including near the Skinner Student Activity Center. The gazebo was reinstalled at Lake Charles on April 30.

On April 30, during the demolition of the Women’s Chamber Rose Garden, the gazebo located on its southwestern side was relocated to the southeastern shore of Lake Charles. [Photo by Lance Ziesch]

“We do plan on making some repairs to the gazebo, including on the roof,” Stevens said. “This fall, we are also planning on giving the gazebo a fresh coat of stain and sealant.”

Although the Women’s Chamber no longer cares for the Rose Garden, Ramsour said the Beautification Committee remains active throughout the community.

“We clean the stretch of road between Wyatt Earp Boulevard and the golf course, work with the city to help them in the park, and we support the college in the care of its grounds,” she said.

Ramsour said retiring the Rose Garden was one of the group’s most difficult decisions.

“The decision to put our Rose Garden to bed for good was a very hard one,” she said. “There were lots of meetings, self-reflections, and we knew the minute [demolition] work began, lots of comments [from the public] would follow. But we felt good about our decision to turn it over to DC3.”

With the gazebo now overlooking Lake Charles, Ramsour said she hopes visitors will enjoy what she calls the “reimagined Rose Garden.”

After church one Sunday, she and her granddaughter drove to Lake Charles and spent time talking by the water. During their visit, her granddaughter recalled fishing there when she was in the third grade.

“It dawned on me that I didn’t need a rose garden to remember that beauty is in the view, the calmness of the water, and the laughter of students,” Ramsour said. “So, in the future, when people are sitting there by the lake or in the gazebo, I hope they will close their eyes and just smell the roses.”

By Lance Ziesch
DC3 Director of Marketing and Public Relations