At the picnic pavilion at the Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail, Genie is holding court. Her face projects a 100-watt brightness as one person after another leans down next to her to chat. People going back 50 years, some she’d not seen in years, even decades, representing groups that she and Ned headed up.
She sparkles as four of the power-women directors of Texas Committee on Natural Resources (TCONR), now called Texas Conservation Alliance (TCA), pay homage: Beth Johnson, Annie Melton, Susan Peterson, and Janice Bezanson. She smiles and bounces slightly in her chair as Bill Oliver, who entertained at many a TCONR forest rally, spins his songs from those days.
Genie melts as Steve Houser speaks of how Ned and she remain his greatest influences, as her grandson Michael McKee tells stories of his nature-infused childhood, as Kristi and others read Ned’s poetry. As I relay a testimonial from congressman Alan Steelman, who paired with Ned to oppose the Trinity barge canal, she touches her heart.
Truly a day to honor Genie and remember Ned! A half-century of memories come alive with David Gray, Nancy Bateman, Lorlee Bartos, Susan Grundy, and other Dallas eco-activists of Save Open Space and the Trinity River tollroad opposition. Diane Tasian and the gang from League of Women Voters Dallas where Genie remains a legend. Richard Grayson and other admirers from her church, First Unitarian. Representatives from Dallas Sierra Club, Dallas Audubon, Texas Conservation Alliance, and more.
So many stories—it was like old times! Wrapping things up, we shout our affections in unison—We love you Genie!—and sing her a happy birthday.
A lifetime of Ned and Genie, coming together to launch a project to honor them in perpetuity. Afterwards, some of us walked the trail to experience first hand what Ned and Genie helped preserve. We’re off to a great start!
Enjoy this video of the entire launch party shot by Fritz Kuehn and Russell Blair of First Unitarian: https://vimeo.com/705188727
Photos by Jim Domke. (Thanks, Jim!)
