McHenry VFW peace garden is healing balm for veterans, bounty for community

Some of Joe Menotti’s earliest memories are of being at his Ukrainian immigrant grandparents’ Chicago home, working in the garden with his grandmother.

He left for the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam before returning to McHenry County and a career at AT&T. Gardening was something Menotti continued to enjoy, so much so that after he retired in 1994, he received master gardener certification from the University of Illinois Extension.

Then about seven years ago, Dwane Lungren, who was then commander of McHenry VFW Post 4600, learned about Menotti’s master gardener status. Lungren had read about Peace Gardens as a way to give veterans a healing spot in nature and asked Menotti if he’d take on the project of creating one for the local VFW.

“The garden is designed to provide a peaceful gathering place for those dealing with PTSD,” said Menotti, who also is a VFW member.

It is the first of its kind at any VFW post in the U.S., according to Menotti, and is “a sanctuary for healing and tranquility, especially for those affected by post-traumatic stress.”

The garden now takes up much of the far northeast corner of the VFW’s property on Route 120. Nestled next to a McHenry water tower and one of the VFW baseball fields, the garden includes nearly 300 feet of raised or in-ground garden plots, a greenhouse and garden shed, berry bushes and fruit trees.

The fruit trees and berry bushes were planted by a local Boy Scout troop and Eagle Scout candidate Riley Zander. Much of the raised beds and dirt, fencing and sheds were donated to the VFW by Home Depot, Menotti said.

“I heard that Home Depot would give grants,” he said, so he went to the Crystal Lake store to ask. An associate told him to give her a list of what they’d need and he did – nearly $9,000 worth. Not only did he get everything on the list, but the store sent volunteers over to install the beds, Menotti said.

According to a VFW Facebook post from 2021, Post Commander Ben Keefe, who died Monday, was also a big part of the project, helping “in many aspects, including getting the excavation done and procuring donations of materials.”

“Gardening gives us the opportunity to talk and relax while helping others.”

—  Joe Menotti, McHenry VFW Post 4600 member and master gardener

Those vegetable plots and fruit trees are bearing food to go back to the community. In the 2023 growing season, the VFW garden gave 1,600 pounds of fresh produce to food pantries.

What the garden needs now, Menotti said, is more volunteers and more veterans interested in gardening.

“We do have veterans who come back here,” Menotti said, but just a few have become regular volunteers.

Menotti is not the only master gardener there. Mary Conkling of McHenry and Laurie DiGrazia of Wonder Lake also volunteer with the VFW Peace Garden. Conkling said those who want to learn more about gardening can volunteer, and not to worry so much about the green-ness of their thumbs.

“I kill tons of stuff,” Conkling laughed. She doesn’t have a lot of space for gardening at her own home and mostly does container gardening on her patio.

DiGrazia got involved with the garden after hearing Menotti speak about it at a master gardener event. Her son was also an Eagle Scout, and her husband was a veteran, so volunteering there made sense.

She calls spending time in a garden “forest bathing. It is freeing and it takes the stress away.”

While the food grown there goes back to McHenry County food pantries, it is not the garden’s primary focus.

“The main purpose of the garden is to provide a peaceful place for those dealing with stress from all walks of life and all ages,” Menotti said. “Gardening gives us the opportunity to talk and relax while helping others.”