The City of Redding recently published a long history about the two Matson Mowder Howe gardens: the Matson, Mowder & Howe Community Gardens next to the Diestelhorst Bridge, and the Matson Mowder Howe Celebration Garden next to the North Valley Art League’s gallery in Caldwell Park, Redding. We want to give our readers a brief overview of the gardens and people involved.
Gary Matson, his partner Winfield Mowder, and Matson’s former wife, Marcia Howe, were Redding community activists involved in many organizations. They founded Carter House Science Museum, the precursor to Turtle Bay Exploration Park and Redding Arboretum. Matson was very active in the Shasta Chapter CNPS and was a founding member of Horsetown–Clear Creek Preserve. Matson and Mowder were killed by two religious fanatics in 1999; Marcia died an untimely death due to lung disease at 53 years of age.
Originally, the Celebration Garden was restored and maintained by Michele Driggs, with help from Shasta Chapter CNPS. Currently, this treasured garden is being kept up largely by Doug & Sue Mandel, with considerable help from Shasta County Master Gardeners and Shasta Chapter CNPS volunteers. With all this TLC, the garden is aglow every spring with all of its many flowering native and horticultural plants.
For a more in-depth dive into this important Shasta County history, read the City of Redding’s July 1, 2024, bulletin, A Living Legacy: The Matson, Mowder & Howe Community Gardens. ~David Ledger
