ROCKLAND — “Maritime Energy is proud to be an inaugural supporter of the Eliza Steele Memorial Garden in honor and memory of our family, Roland and Iva Ware, and the generations who built and sustained this community,” said Maritime Energy, in a Rockland District Nursing Association news release.

Maritime recently contributed to the creation of The Eliza Steele Memorial Garden, located at MacDougal Park in Rockland. The garden honors Rockland’s legendary nurse and founder of Rockland District Nurses Association, through remembering the district nursing story and commitment to a healthy community. 

The design envisions a welcoming, tranquil, public space, incorporating more than 60 varieties (500 plantings) of trees, bushes, perennials and annuals, with textures, smells, and colors evolving through the seasons. The cornerstone will be a legacy maple in memory of Eliza Steele, RN.  

The garden is overseen and maintained by volunteers, and supported solely through community donations. An opening celebration is planned for June 2020.

For decades, Maritime Energy’s (formerly Maritime Oil Company) founder, Roland G. Ware, Sr. and his wife, Iva Ware, RN, were actively involved in the Rockland community.  Iva Ware worked many years as a nurse alongside Eliza Steele, RN and the Rockland District Nursing Association (RDNA). 

“Our family has the upmost respect for the dedication and passion my grandparents put into this community and RDNA,” said Susan Ware Page, president of Maritime Energy.  “As the third generation of Maritime Energy, I couldn’t be more proud for our family business to be a sponsor for the Eliza Steele Memorial Garden. Maritime Energy invites the community to join in bringing this community garden to life.”

Future opportunities for residents to honor friends and loved ones will be available.  

Donations may be sent to RDNA, Eliza Steele Memorial Garden, PO Box 1713, Rockland, ME  04841. Make checks payable to RDNA, with the memo “Eliza Steele Memorial Garden.”  

RDNA, a 501(c)(3) organization, is the garden’s fiscal agent. For more information, visit rocklanddistrictnursing.org or email garden@rocklanddistrictnursing.org.