MONTGOMERY, Texas — The name of Memory Park in the town of Montgomery has two meanings. While it is a place to memorialize loved ones, it is also a place where you can make new memories.
"I think to come out and walk this park shows so many things to so many different people," says Don Carter, who serves on the Memory Park Executive Committee.
The park's roughly five acres include a waterfall and stream, a pond stocked with huge koi and always hungry turtles, a Little Free Library where kids can grab a book to enjoy in the literacy garden or reading spot, a butterfly garden full of native plants to attract pollinators, a tile wall where Montgomery children left their mark and individual nooks.
"It’s dedicated to so many loved ones out here," says Charlie Parada, treasurer for the Lake Conroe Rotary Club, which is involved in caring for the park.
A number of gardens scattered along a trail, which winds around the pond, are all tributes.
RELATED: KHOU 11's Hidden Gems
"When (a garden is) finished, it’s truly a memory and a very fond memory that people can cherish the rest of their lives," Parada says.
Walking around the park, you may notice spots where new gardens are in the works.
"It is always evolving," says Parada. "In fact, we often wonder at what point in time do we stop? But right now, we still have a lot of undeveloped area."
That means there's a lot of room for old memories in a space that’s already generating new ones.
RELATED: HIDDEN GEM: Memorial Park history
"I know we’ve had some marriage proposals. We’ve had some funerals. We’ve had a lot of graduations," Carter recalls. "I think those are the things I enjoy more than anything, just the family togetherness that doesn’t happen enough today."
Memory Park allows visitors to honor the past by very much living in the present.
"This is a dream come true for a lot of people," says Parada.