Micke Grove Regional Park is a 132-acre public park located in Lodi, California. Founded by the Micke family, the park was donated to San Joaquin County in 1938. Park features include the Micke Grove Zoo, the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, and several gardens.

History

Wlliam George Micke (1874–1961) and his wife Julia bought 464 acres of land south of Lodi and north of Stockton in 1920.[1] Amidst their vineyards of tokay grapes was a 65-acre grove of oak trees.[2] The idea of Micke Grove Park began in the late 1920s, when Micke offered the grove of oak trees to the local American Legion for their annual picnic, charging $1 a year for 10 years on the condition that the organization's members clear the brush and improve the grounds. Legionnaires gradually added an open-air dance floor and concession stands to the grove.[3]

In the 1930s, workers employed by the Civil Works Administration and Works Progress Administration (New Deal programs to provide jobs during the Great Depression in the United States) built cement curbs and gutters, picnic benches, a baseball diamond, a cottage, comfort stations, a wading pool, lawns, horseshoe courts, softball courts, tennis courts, bocce ball courts, volleyball courts, and installed fencing.[4]

Micke deeded the 65-acre grove to San Joaquin County on February 23, 1938. He would later increase his donation to include 145 additional acres. In 1953, Micke financed and constructed a swimming pool at the park, dedicated to his wife who died in 1952.[1][5] The swimming pool replaced the original wading pool. The swimming pool was then replaced by a water feature in 2006.[4]

In 1955, Micke added the Julia Harrison Micke Memorial women's lodge and auditorium, which he built in a T-shape to avoid removing any of the oak trees.[6] Micke deeded the new structure to the county several weeks after its dedication.[7] The zoo, which was also dedicated to Julia Micke, opened in 1957.[1]

After Micke's death, the park was expanded to include the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, as well as the Japanese and camellia gardens.[1]

Features

Japanese Garden

Micke Grove Zoo hosts native animals and exotic, species, some of which are endangered. The zoo participates in the Species Survival Plan and offers local educational programs.[8]

In 1966, the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum was established at Micke Grove. The 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) museum contains multiple collections and exhibits, including the county archives, and operates living history programs.[9]

The Japanese-American Citizens' League developed the three-acre Japanese garden at Micke Grove.[10][11] It was created in 1959 and designed by the landscape architect Nagao Sakurai.[12] It was opened in 1965.[13] The garden includes fish ponds with stepping stones and koi fish, and a five-story pagoda lantern donated to the park by Lodi's sister city, Kofu, Japan.[12] The 200 koi fish were donated by the Japanese Agricultural Department.[10]

The Lodi Garden Club contributed a rose garden in 1961. By 1964, the garden contained 227 roses. The club later added a three-tiered rock garden to the display.[14] The Joaquin Camellia Society planted a camellia garden east of the Japanese Garden in 1965. The garden was dedicated to K. O. Hester, who donated many of the camellia plants, in 1966.[15]

The addition of a public golf course at Micke Grove was one of the provisions in Micke's will, however initial public hearings were controversial, with zoo proponents concerned that a golf course would interfere with plans to expand the zoo.[16] The county Board of Supervisors approved a contract for construction of the golf course in 1988, funded by the Micke Grove Trust.[17] Micke Grove Golf Links was designed by Garrett Gill and George Williams.[18] In 1991, the new 18-hole course hosted the 16th annual San Joaquin County Invitational Golf Tournament.[19]

A monument to San Joaquin County veterans was added to the park in 2014, consisting of a bronze statue of a soldier, flagpole, memorial wall, and picnic area. The veterans memorial was donated by local vineyard owner John Kautz.[20]

In 2023, $1.3 million was approved to build a miniature golf course to replace the amusement park which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and $3.2 million was approved for a future Pioneer Village project by the San Joaquin County Historical Society.[21]

Funding

County officials estimated that Micke had donated more than $1million to the county over his lifetime.[22] After Micke's death, the county received $1.4 million from his estate to develop and maintain the park.[1][lower-alpha 1] Over the years, the county purchased additional land surrounding the acres donated by Micke.[16]

A 2017 investigative report found that attendance at Micke Grove Park and Zoo had increased between 2013 and 2017, but that revenue from parking fees and zoo admission had dropped by nearly 25%, which the report attributed to annual membership passes.[25] In 2019, a civil grand jury found that San Joaquin County had relied too heavily on trust funds to support the park's budget, noting that over the previous decade, the county's budget had increased by 39% while reducing funding for parks by 16%.[26]

Notes

  1. ↑ The amount left to the county in Micke's will is variously reported as $1.4million, almost $2million, and $2million. Relatives challenged the will, and their challenge was settled out of court for $15,000.[23][24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 White, Byron (October 23, 1977). "Micke Grove, Park, a dream fulfilled for Lodi grape grower". Modesto Bee. p. 29.
  2. ↑ "Vineyardist's Vision". The Sacramento Bee. September 17, 1974. p. B3.
  3. ↑ Clark, R.A.; Society, L.H. (2011). Lodi: 1945-2005. Images of America. Arcadia Pub. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7385-7548-3. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  4. 1 2 "Micke Grove Park Maintenance and Improvements". Living New Deal. June 4, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ "William G. Micke in Dedication of New Swim Pool". Stockton Record. August 17, 1953. p. 14.
  6. ↑ "William G. Micke Erecting $200,000 Memorial in Grove". Stockton Record. June 18, 1954. p. 1.
  7. ↑ "Micke Memorial Deed Given Co". Stockton Record. June 17, 1955. p. 13.
  8. ↑ Miller, Jim (December 12, 1997). "Animal House". Modesto Bee. pp. 80–81.
  9. ↑ "Mission and Overview". San Joaquin County Historical Society & Museum. Archived from the original on October 17, 2009.
  10. 1 2 McFadden, Dorothy Loa (1976). Oriental gardens in America : a visitor's guide. Los Angeles: Douglas-West Publishers. pp. 70–72. ISBN 0-913264-21-0. OCLC 2366855.
  11. ↑ Emanuel, Richard (September 7, 1989). "Writer's gardening enthusiasm germinates in written form". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 39.
  12. 1 2 Machelle Homer (July 26, 2014). "Micke Grove Regional Park: A special place of discovery". Lodi News. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  13. ↑ "Lodi Japanese Garden". California Gardens. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  14. ↑ "Rock Garden Will Be New Addition to Micke Grove". Stockton Record. March 11, 1964. p. 36.
  15. ↑ "Camellia Garden Dedication Set for Micke Grove". Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. February 25, 1966. p. 15.
  16. 1 2 Dewar, Clare (March 21, 1988). "OK requested for golf course". Modesto Bee. p. 3.
  17. ↑ Dewar, Clare (March 23, 1988). "Micke Grove golf links get go-ahead". The Modesto Bee. p. 13.
  18. ↑ Shiels, Michael Patrick (2008). Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects: A Treasury of the World's Greatest Golf Courses by History's Master Designers. Skyhorse. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-62873-279-5. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  19. ↑ "County sets golf tourney". The Escalon Times. April 10, 1991. p. 14.
  20. ↑ Johnson, Zachary K. (November 28, 2014). "S.J. County vets memorial to be funded by donation". Modesto Bee. p. B3.
  21. ↑ "Micke Grove Park gets millions in funding, including $1.3M to turn old amusement park into minigolf course". Lodinews.com. June 24, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  22. ↑ "W.G. Micke, Lodi Philanthropist, is Found Dead". The Sacramento Bee. March 4, 1961. p. 9.
  23. ↑ "$3 Million Micke Bequest is Challenged by Relatives". The Sacramento Bee. September 30, 1961. p. 9.
  24. ↑ "Will Fight is Compromised". Stockton Record. June 4, 1963. p. 14.
  25. ↑ Phillips, Roger (July 23, 2018). "How can SJ boost its parks?". Stockton Record.
  26. ↑ Phillips, Roger (June 13, 2019). "Grand jury faults SJ for parks, zoo funding". Stockton Record.

Official website

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