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Article: Kennebec
Journal
April 16, 2007
(article below)
Jose's vision blossomed into Garden of Hope
By BETTY ADAMS Staff
Writer
AUGUSTA -- During most of the year, motorists winding
around Memorial Circle see a small park bordered by black wrought-iron
fence, bearing a big sign for Kennebec Savings Bank and sprouting
thousands of colorful tulips.
Unless they have traveled in Augusta
for years, drivers may not realize the green grass covers the
site of a former service station bought by the bank 13 years
ago at the prompting of longtime bank director and car dealer
Harry T. Jose of Augusta.
"Harry Jose suggested to the board
that we consider buying the old Mobil station which was closed
at the time, tearing down the buildings and making it a better
view of the bank and maybe putting in a park and signage," Kennebec
Savings Bank Senior Vice President Andrew Silsby said.
Jose knew
it would provide a better view of the restored 1816 Tappan-Viles
House, now home to some of the bank's offices.
Upon his retirement
from the bank's board at age 75, the bank dedicated a granite
stone to Jose at that site.
"We call it Harry's Park," Silsby
said.
Each spring, the park blossoms into life as the Garden
of Hope, with more than 7,500 tulips purchased through Parkinson's
Society's annual fundraiser.
"We put a nice stone up there
thanking Harry for his vision," Jim Chase, also a senior
vice president of Kennebec Savings Bank. "It's one of few
green spaces on the rotary. That's what we're happy about, we're
able to provide a very nice green space on the rotary."
The
rock recognizes Jose's contribution to the bank as a director
for 30 years. The bank also recently purchased and razed a nearby
former motel and related buildings, but has yet to decide on
long-term plans for that property, Silsby said.
Jose, who operated
Jose Motors on the opposite side of the circle, recalls the years
before the rotary was built.
"The circle didn't go in until
1949," Jose said. "It was a standard intersection --
State Street, Grove Street and Western Avenue."
It wasn't
until Memorial Bridge was installed -- taking some of the Jose
property in the process -- that the rotary became the rotary.
"I
think it had five roads coming into that area, and I think they
felt that a circle would be better than putting in a traffic
signal," Harry Jose said.
Today, Memorial Circle is targeted
for more development.
A Walgreen's Pharmacy, slated for the northwest
quadrant of the circle, is making its way through the city's
permitting process. It would replace Duke's Rotary Barbershop,
the former Fantasies florist, a tanning salon and several other
buildings.
"I see no problem with them coming in there," Jose
said.
Jose also praised the work of the city in maintaining the
plantings and landscape of Memorial Circle and the tiny Monument
Park.
Jose still has his hand in the circle: He remains owner
of property currently rented to Meineke Car Care Center and Motor
Supply Co.
Changes or improvements at his property, which is
less than an acre, are governed by the Capitol Planning Commission.
At one time, Jose thought he might lose more property to a plan
that considered expanding Memorial Bridge.
Jose owned and operated
Jose Motors -- selling Ramblers, AMCs and Jeeps -- on the circle
from 1954 to 1987. He then sold the assets, including the right
to sell Jeep and Eagle vehicles, to Charlie's Subaru, outer Western
Avenue.
Jose had inherited the dealership from his father, who
started selling Franklins in 1925 near the Cony Circle.
The business
jumped to the State Street site and added Nash automobiles in
1936, after a flood forced a retreat from a short-lived move
to Front Street.
Memorial Circle's visiblity was good for the
dealership, but it had drawbacks, too.
"I had two cars that
were total losses after people who were inebriated (drove) into
our lot," he said.
Today, Jose still enjoys driving and
automobiles. He and his wife, Joyce, drive to visit their four
sons and their families, and he keeps busy fabricating elaborate
stained glass table lamps and doing other carpentry work.
Betty
Adams -- 621-5631 badams@centralmaine.com
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