A little love
OPINION —
For nearly a century, Teas Nursery occupied five acres of property in the Bellaire section of Houston. The family business began in Indiana in 1843, moved to Texas in 1910 and closed in 2009 with the death of John Teas.
Teas made quite an impact in the city. It was not only the first business in the Bellaire district — they were actually brought in by Bellaire developer William Wright Baldwin to landscape and beautify the area as it was being built. They did such a good job that in 1912 that they were hired by Rice University (then known as Rice Institute). From there the business took off. Patsy Teas said that over the years the nursery was involved in planting over a million trees in the Houston area.
But all this came to an end in 2009 with the passing of John Teas and the closing of the company. The land on which the business was located was going to be sold for residential use. What had been a little oasis of green space, would be swallowed up and become just a memory.
But then something happened.
There were two brothers, Bo and Jerry Rubenstein, who lived in Bellaire. When they heard the property was going to be sold for residential use, they decided to intervene. They ended up purchasing the land and then deeded it to the city to be transformed into a park that would be known as Evelyn’s Park in honor of their mother.
Then the brothers went a step further. They commissioned a local sculptor to recreate the Mad Hatter tea party scene from Alice in Wonderland in a corner of the park. The sculpture is 24 feet long and weighs 6,000 pounds. It’s interactive in the sense that children can (and do) sit in the chair with Alice, pretend to drink the tea pouring out from the kettle held by the Mad Hatter, or simply take a seat at the table. You won’t be surprised when I tell you that the exhibit is called “Wonderland.”
To the left of the sculpture, made of the same material, is an open book on a pedestal that says:
Once upon in a time,
In a land called Bellaire,
There were two brothers,
Bo and Jerry Rubenstein.
The boys wanted to do something special
To honor their mother, Evelyn.
Evelyn would often say,
“The way to make a difference is by giving and sharing.”
And so . . .
The brothers created Evelyn’s Park
And placed within it . . .
Wonderland!
So that’s the story. A mother plants the seeds of giving and sharing in the hearts of her sons and like a tree it grows into something that spreads its branches of blessing over an entire community.
A little love can still go a long way!
Find more of Bruce’s writings at his website: a-taste-of-grace-with-bruce-green.com.
