EVERETT — A new park will not be named after a professional fighter, as some have suggested.
The city of Everett asked the public to help name a park in the Glacier View neighborhood, and received about 140 submissions. The Historical Commission has chosen three different locals to decide among, including David Dilgard, Emma Yule and Dr. Art Grossman.
Some ideas were creative.
Both “Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture Park” and “Parky McParkface” made it into the top 10. Couture got two votes, while the other received three.
Couture has ties to the city. He was born here in 1963. He wrestled for Lynnwood High School before going on to join the Army. Later, he became a well-known mixed martial artist for the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization.
Other proposals from the public included “Helen Jackson Park” and “Lushootseed Park,” along with classic geographical monikers such as “Glacier View Park” and “Colby Corner.”
The Daily Herald’s Julie Muhlstein suggested in a May column naming the park after either Jackson or Dilgard.
The space is next to the future YMCA site on Colby Avenue. It used to be home to the Everett School District headquarters.
“How apt it would be to see a park named for either Dilgard or Jackson — both so keen on learning,” Muhlstein wrote.
Dilgard was an expert on Everett’s history, and worked at the Everett Public Library for 40 years. He and historian Margaret Riddle founded the Northwest History Room there. Dilgard died in May at the age of 73.
Yule, the second choice, was the first teacher at the city’s earliest schoolhouse. She moved here from Iowa in 1891. Yule died in 1939, and is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery on Broadway.
The city’s board of park commissioners have recommended naming the park “Art Grossman Memorial Park.” His name was also submitted to the city more than any other, with 33 mentions. Dilgard’s name followed.
Grossman was a family practice doctor and obstetrician in Everett, where he had worked long enough to “deliver the babies of babies he had delivered,” according to his obituary in The Herald.
One of Grossman’s passions was fitness. He tried to ride his bike 14,000 miles each year and was an exercise class instructor at the Everett Family YMCA. He taught until three weeks before his death. Grossman also was on the city’s parks board.
Grossman was diagnosed with ALS, a neurological disease that deteriorates muscles over time. He died in 2017 at the age of 71.
The public was able to submit suggestions from May 23 to June 7. The historical commission plans to narrow it down to one at its Tuesday meeting. It then would be up to the City Council to make a decision.
Herald reporter Rikki King contributed to this story.
Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey @heraldnet.com. Twitter: @stephrdavey.
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