GARDEN DEDICATION
Capital Roots honors Dean J. Leith Jr.
TROY, N.Y. » Members and supporters of Capital Roots, the area’s premier provider of community gardens, turned out under sunny skies Saturday to open the organization’s latest garden, one that honors the late founder, Dean J. Leith Jr.
The small fenced plot on 117th St., between 4th and 5th avenues, is the 52nd community garden opened by the organization. It has 11 raised beds where “farmers” are already growing tomatoes, squash, zucchini, eggplant and much more. It is a vibrant and fitting tribute to Leith’s vision of giving others an opportunity to garden.
“We’re not just opening a new garden but remembering a great soul, somebody who was so special to all of you, all of us, and so many more people who couldn’t be with us today,” Capital Roots CEO Amy Klein said. “Capital Roots has been around for over 40 years and it would not be here if not for Dean Leith. All the good work we’re able to do and continue to do is because of Dean made it possible. He didn’t just start the idea, he kept it going.”
Capital Roots’ mission is to
nourish health communities by providing access to fresh food and green spaces for all. The idea for the organization, which was long called Capital District Community Gardens, sprang from a single project in 1972 that had long germinated in Leith’s mind.
As the general manager of then Troy- based Garden Way, Leith pushed the company to support community gardens. That single project became a registered non-profit in 1975. Leith created it and, as a 40- year member of the board of directors was instrumental it seeing that was successful and that it would continue.
Leith passed away in January at 84.
Klein was joined at the opening by Leith’s wife and the couple’s three children — Elizabeth, Andrew and David. In brief remarks the three siblings gave a sometimes humorous portrait of a father, mixed with love and affection for a man who refused to let life darken his days.
“If you knew my father you know he had piles of legal pads,” said his daughter Elizabeth ( Leith) Hazen. “These are some of the things he wrote down. Make a list every day; hope for the best and plan for the worst; grow something — a person, a place or an idea; never ever, ever give up; faith is doing; cultivate the big picture; attend to all the details; and fasten your seat belts.”
In his remarks Andrew Leith described how the family moved from New York City to the Capital Region so his father could manage Garden Way. As he explained the trials and tribulations the family seemed to confront, he gave insight into the quiet, deep, determination and goodness inside his father.
“There were times of want and times of need but he just kept making decisions,” Andrew Leith said. “He never dreamed about it but he always did it. He always tried to push people to do their best.”
Also attending and speaking at the opening of the garden were Troy Mayor Patrick Madden and Rensselaer County Supervisor Kathy Jimino. Before declaring the day Dean Leith Day in the city, Madden recalled working with Leith at Garden Way as a young man.
Dean Leith, Madden said, was into the quality of the product and ultimate customer satisfaction long before they became corporate buzzwords in the manufacturing world.
“Dean gave people opportunities. They were allowed to do creative work. He was a terrific man and he ran a great, stellar company,” Madden said. “He was a real treasure for the city of Troy and that treasure keeps giving in Capital Roots.”
Jimino thanked the Leith family for sharing their father and husband with the community.
“What’s so beautiful about this morning is we’re telling those stories and they may inspire others to be the same way,” she said. “Dean is still an inspiration to people. He didn’t climb the highest mountain or land on the moon, yet he made a difference every single day.”
Klein noted Leith’s longevity and its importance to the success of Capital Roots.
“Dean was not just about finding funding, he was about the community,” she said. “To create this garden in his name is so incredibly special and to have it so close to Garden Way is kismet.”