SEATTLE—January 20, 2003—On Monday, January 20, Governor Gary Locke paid a visit to a P-Patch at NewHolly to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by helping to install new retaining walls. According to Gov. Locke, "At the heart of Dr. King's philosophy was the principle of service. Together, we are making this holiday 'a day on, not a day off' to honor Dr. King’s life, and his work."

Gov. Locke praised the efforts of the group gathered at NewHolly, "We’re building the foundation of a community garden – a place where residents will gather, and work, together," he said, "That same spirit of teamwork is the reason why the NewHolly community is such a success story."

"The public-private partnerships created to help improve this neighborhood are now serving as a model for the rest of the nation to follow. You should be proud of your success. The work we do here today will make this already-vibrant community even more beautiful."

For his part, Gov. Locke, wearing jeans and sturdy boots, brought his work gloves and pitched in. He worked with a group of AmeriCorps volunteers constructing NewHolly’s newest P-Patch, the "Power Garden."

Located just uphill from townhouses in Phase II of NewHolly, at the edge of the power line right-of-way, the garden is scheduled for planting this spring. Over 50 volunteers from AmeriCorps agencies around the city, along with NewHolly residents and staff from the P-Patch program donated many hours of service on MLK Day to construct retaining walls in the new garden.

A series of walls, made from broken- up pieces of pavement from the old streets of Holly Park, will help to contain the plots along this gradual hillside.

Martha Goodlett, P-Patch staff member for the City of Seattle, reports that the new garden is expected to be ready for use by May of this year.

First priority for use of the garden will go to people living in NewHolly. Some will be gardeners who cultivated the P-Patch in the Lower Holly area, now abandoned to make way for Phase III. The new garden is open to renters and homeowners alike, and is available for general use.

This garden is the fourth new P-Patch in the NewHolly neighborhood. Others include a second garden under the power lines, further up the hill, reserved for NewHolly youth, a market garden and another community garden.