Cancer Memorial Park

10/04/2026

So happy to announce that the winner of the quilt was Diane C. from Texas! I’ll be mailing the quilt to her. Many thanks for all those who bought tickets. Many thanks to all those who shared my posts on it. We raised over $1000!

10/02/2026

Harvest is here- Consider a gift of grain🌾
What a great option! Farmers can give a portion of their grain to a charity tax free! It is a meaningful way for local farmers to make a difference.

As harvest is underway, consider turning a portion of your hard work into a much needed gift to the Cancer Memorial Park Foundation. Talk to your tax accountant and help build the new park. Every bushel can make a difference!

Please share and mention to the farmers that you know.

Thank you and God bless you. 🌾

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10/01/2026

There are only 2 days left before the winning ticket for quilt raffle will be picked! This will happen after 6 p.m. at the Pike County Hope event, this Saturday, October 3rd. You still have time to purchase chances! This beautiful batik quilt is one of a kind. It was sewn by Debbie Atwell and quilted by Peggy Bibb.

Chances are 1 for $5 or 6 changes for $20. You can pay by Venmo -daffron-3. I need your name and phone number for the ticket so enter it on Venmo or contact me to be sure I have your information.

I will have a table near the registration tent on Saturday at the Pike County Hope, Bowling Green Mo event in the Bowling Green city park. You can stop by to get your raffle tickets there. The event runs from 2:30 till 9:30. See the Pike County Hope FB page for more details. Come support your neighbors with cancer in Pike County by attending this event! All proceeds stay local.

09/15/2026

In case you didn't see it in the comments of my last post..... Raffle tickets are still being sold for this beautiful batik quilt. The winning ticket will be picked on the evening of October 3rd at the Pike County Hope event. You do not have to be present to win. In fact, if you live out of state and are will to pay the shipping I will mail the quilt to you! This quilt was sewn by Debbie Atwell and quilted by Peggy Bibb so it one of the best.

Chances are 1 for $5 or 6 changes for $20. You can pay by Venmo -daffron-3. I need your name and phone number for the ticket so enter it on Venmo and contact me to be sure I have your information. Thank you!

09/12/2026

I am at Heritage Days festival today raffling off this beautiful batik quilt. It was sewn by Debbie Atwell and quilted by Peggy Bibb. They don’t get better than this! I’m selling chances for 1 for $5 or 6 chances for $20. Buying chances helps fund the new park!

Come by our table to buy your chances or you can message me to give me your name and phone number and Venmo me at -Daffron-3. I need your name and number so contact me to enter your tickets!

09/01/2026

Cancer park news update: On July 14 the city informed us that the quit claim deed for the new cancer park property at 16 S Court Street was signed and recorded. We are excited to be landowners and to be able to go forward with our plans to move.

We created a portfolio of information to send to potential landscape architects to get blueprints needed for cost estimating and the construction. The portfolio includes a preliminary drawing of the new park and pictures of the old and new park sites, the property survey and pictures of the old and new parks. A list of requirements has also been drawn up to finalize the packet This information has been sent to 2 potential architects at this time. If you have a recommended architect, please add the name in the comments or send me a private message.

The cancer park board voted to add 2 new members to boost the project. We welcomed Julie Henry and Barb Goetz to the board this summer and look forward to their help and expertise!

We thank you for your patience and your prayers as we go through this process. I know we are slow getting started but we feel it is necessary to have a blueprints of the park in hand first. From those we can estimate costs and start the process of fundraising and seeking contractors to do the construction. Updates will be posted as we have information to share. I will post pictures of the plans and blueprints as soon as they are available.

God bless you and thank you for your patronage!

PS Rest assured that every memorial previously purchased will also be in the new park!

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05/19/2026

GOOD NEWS!!! The Bowling Green Board of Alderman voted unanimously last night to donate the lot at 16 S Court St to the Cancer Memorial Park Foundation. It is the lot next to the MASH store and practically across the street from the back entrance to the current location of the cancer park. The cancer park board meets on May 28th to vote on finalizing the transaction. The only expense to the cancer park will be the cost of recording the deed!

There are many pluses to this location. It's near the square. The lot is 42.5 X 120 which is larger than our current location. It is an open lot with no demolition required that we know of at this point. It's so close to the current park that the pavers may be carried from one park to the other without need of heavy equipment. And, it was donated!

We want to thank Mayor Tom Thompson for suggesting that something be done for the cancer park. This is amazing because it was his very first meeting as mayor. We thank the board of alderman for their generous response and donation of this land. (When the vote more than one alderman spoke up to second the motion) We thank the 22 people who shared my last post on May 1st. By doing so the Mayor was given the opportunity to read it. We thank Linda Luebrecht for all her efforts to see this through. And last but not least thanks and praise be to God from whom all blessings flow!

We have a lot of work to do now to plan the park and raise funds to complete the construction. Please share this post so others know the good news. Please visit this site often for upcoming information.

Thank you all for your patronage and all your support in the past and the support you will provide in the coming months. Please pray for all those who have lost loved ones to cancer. Please keep those fighting cancer in your prayers. Please pray for all the cancer park efforts coming up. So much to do now....... Thank you!!!

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05/01/2026

I don't know where to begin because it has been a while since I've posted and so much has gone on. As you know, the City of Bowling Green Board of Alderman closed the park last September due to the deterioration of the old Dos Primos building. I want to you to know that we consider this a temporary situation. We cannot remain in the space we are in now. It's just not feasible. Many have asked me if we were going to fix the wall. We were told if we spent 100,000 it wouldn't last 10 to 20 years plus the fact that we don't own it. Our only recourse is to move. I have consulted a mason who tells me almost everything in the park can be moved. All the pavers in the floor are set in sand. The Jesus statue can be disassembled and put back together. We can move all the memorials purchased to date.

Since September we have been searching for a new location. We have not been successful yet but are still looking. We still have possibilities to research. The Cancer Park Memorial Foundation board wants to keep the park near the square so that has been our challenge. There hasn't been anything for sale in the area so I've been cold calling businesses and individuals to see if they would consider selling or donating properties to us. Property prices have really gone up so this is asking a lot but we are still hopeful. There is no doubt that we will need to raise funds to make this move. I have not started to do so yet because I want you to know exactly what the money is going for when you donate. I plan to have a location designated and a construction and moving plan in place so we know exactly how much money we need.

We appreciate your patience and prayers. I knew this wasn't going to be easy and it hasn't been. All good things are worth waiting for, right? If you have information on properties around the square that could be available I'd appreciate a private message. Thanks for reading and please share. Karen Daffron

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