Marywood helps Garden of Cedar grow new features in Scranton
'I said you can do what you want, but I just have one challenge. The challenge is to design things that have form and function, because we are a garden, and that offer some sort of reverence or respect to the neighborhood that we're in. I think they've accomplished that,' Dubas said Thursday during a ribbon-cutting event unveiling the new features.
The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic wall planter system (shown in photo), and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Those features at the garden at 715 Cedar Ave. include native plants, vertical planters, bee nesting 'hotels,' and a hydroponic wall planting system and sculpture that pay homage to the city's history as a cradle of the industrial revolution.
The collaboration broadly engaged hundreds of students over a few years, including in competitions and across several majors — architecture, interior architecture, business, graphic design, environmental science and math, said Michelle Pannone, associate professor of interior architecture.
'These projects don't just happen, they really do take a village,' Pannone said. 'They take the creativity, the passion of the students, the support and mentorship of the faculty, the various departments on campus and collaborators that supported us along the way — and of course the trust and vision of a client that believes in the next generation of students.'
The largest new feature is a T-rail sculpture that represents a key part of the city's history dating to the mid-19th century, when the historic Scranton Iron Furnaces helped forge the industrial revolution. Still standing from a bygone era, the furnaces at 159 Cedar Ave. originally were operated by the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co. between 1840 and 1902. It was the site of the first mass production in the United States of iron T-rails for railroads.
Dubas explained how the sculpture represents the four main rails that were produced at the Iron Furnaces. The large, permanent artwork also has a grid representing a map of the South Side Iron District neighborhood, perforations representing rail lines that run through Scranton, wavy lines for the Lackawanna River and Roaring Brook, and a compass pointing to the Iron Furnaces, the Garden of Cedar and the railyard roundhouse at what is now the Steamtown National Historic Site.
The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a T-rail sculpture homage to the city's iron furnace history of manufacturing rails for railroads (shown in photo behind a planting bed), native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a 'living T-rail' sculpture (shown in photo, an homage to the city's historic Iron Furnaces that made rails for railroads during the Industrial Revolution), native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
'They really, really did a remarkable job,' Dubas said of the sculpture. With the garden having planters also representing the arches of the Iron Furnaces, Dubas said, 'There's a lot of representation, there's a lot of history here.'
Iain Kerrigan, a 2023 Marywood graduate in architecture, and who was born in Scranton, lives in Old Forge and works in Wilkes-Barre, said he is very grateful to have been involved in the design of the sculpture.
The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Recent graduate Iain Kerrigan, at left, speaks during the event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
'It's great to have a positive impact on my local community,' Kerrigan said. 'It was a great opportunity for professional development while I was a student studying, which helped me in my career.'
Sara Melick, a Marywood instructor of environmental science, said the collaboration between the university and the garden gave students the opportunity to go beyond the classroom and 'really to connect their education with real-world impact.'
The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters (shown in photo), a hydroponic wall planter system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Dubas founded the Garden of Cedar in 2018, began construction of it in 2022 and opened it in 2023. The garden features winding, raised planting beds and a planting wall that local residents can use to grow their own vegetables and plants. Dubas also has used the garden for various holiday displays, including having set out for past Valentine's Days a sea of thousands of large red hearts inscribed with individualized personal messages.
The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Photo shows Yamileth Palafox, 1, of South Scranton, whose family uses the community garden to grow vegetables and attended the event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Marywood's former president, Sister Mary Persico, I.H.M., recalled how Dubas had spoken of seeing a vacant lot at 715 Cedar Ave. and dreaming of putting 'something beautiful and wonderful' for the community there.
'You have to understand that things don't happen in life unless somebody has a dream to make them happen,' Persico said. 'And so, if he didn't have that dream when he walked by this lot, this would not be here today.'
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas, at left, leaning on a bee hotel podium next to a T-Rail Sculpture, and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic wall planter system (shown in photo), and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas, at right, and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic wall planter system (shown in photo) and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters (shown in photo), a hydroponic wall planter system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Recent graduate Iain Kerrigan, at left, speaks during the event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Photo shows Yamileth Palafox, 1, of South Scranton, whose family uses the community garden to grow vegetables and attended the event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas, at left, and Marywood students and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a 'living T-rail' sculpture (shown in photo, an homage to the city's historic Iron Furnaces that made rails for railroads during the Industrial Revolution), native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a T-rail sculpture homage to the city's iron furnace history of manufacturing rails for railroads (shown in photo behind a planting bed), native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
*
The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas, at left, leaning on a bee hotel podium next to a T-Rail Sculpture, and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Fox Sports
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Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to navigate their way through the twilight of the Sidney Crosby era to the dawn of whatever comes next. It's a transition general manager Kyle Dubas has repeatedly said will not be easy, or particularly quick, and would require a coach who can connect with veterans while simultaneously developing young talent. Enter Dan Muse, who has spent the last two decades dabbling in the former and excelling in the latter. Dubas hired the 42-year-old Muse as Pittsburgh's coach on Wednesday, tasking the former New York Rangers assistant with helping the Penguins find their way back to relevance after three straight springs spent with their noses pressed to the glass while the Stanley Cup playoffs went on with them. Muse replaces Mike Sullivan, who split with Pittsburgh in April after a nearly decade-long tenure that included back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. The Rangers scooped up Sullivan in early May. Sullivan's departure was amicable. He even took out a billboard in Pittsburgh last week thanking the city. In New York, Sullivan will find a more experienced roster ready to win now. That won't be the case for Muse in Pittsburgh. The seventh of the eight coaching vacancies filled this offseason — Muse's hiring leaves the Boston Bruins as the only club still searching — is walking into a job that will require patience, prodding and maybe a bit of politicking to thrive. Dubas said the team met with 'many candidates' before deciding on Muse, who has spent the last half-decade as an assistant at the NHL level. Muse also has a track record as a cultivator of talent and served as the head coach of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program from 2020-23. 'What separated Dan was his ability to develop players, win at all levels where he has been a head coach and his consistent success coaching special teams in the NHL,' Dubas said. 'From his success in developing college and junior players, to his impactful work with veteran players during his time in the NHL, Dan has shown a proven ability to connect with players at all stages of their careers and help them to reach their potential.' Muse has been part of coaching staffs that have won titles at multiple levels. He was an assistant at Yale when the Bulldogs claimed the NCAA championship in 2013. He served as the head coach for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League — the top junior league in the U.S. — when the Steel captured the Clark Cup in 2017 and helped the U.S. under-18 and under-20 teams win world titles. When Muse reached the NHL in 2017 with Nashville, he oversaw a penalty-kill unit that was among the league's best. He produced similar results when he took over a similar role with the Rangers in 2023. 'His overall body of work, attention to detail and vision for our group showed us that he is the best coach to take our team forward,' Dubas said. The list of players Muse has worked with during his time at USA Hockey includes forward Rutger McGroarty, a 21-year-old now considered the top prospect in the Penguins' system. Muse's job will be to find a way to mesh McGroarty and the rest of what likely will be a substantial youth movement with a team that for now remains defined by franchise icons Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Crosby signed an extension last fall that could keep him in Pittsburgh for two more seasons. Letang is signed through 2028. Malkin, who turns 39 in August, is about to enter the final season of his contract, with retirement perhaps not far behind. Dubas has long known this day was coming and has spent a significant chunk of the last 16 months stockpiling draft picks. The Penguins have 30 selections over the next three drafts, including 18 over the first three rounds, though Dubas is likely to turn some of those selections into packages designed to acquire NHL-ready players. While Pittsburgh should have a little more room under the salary cap to fill out the roster, Dubas is focused on trying to build something sustainable for the long haul rather than a quick fix. Muse will inherit a team that has serious questions in net, where Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic struggled last season, and is in urgent need of depth scoring to complement Crosby and linemates Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. The last time the Penguins hired a coach without NHL head coaching experience, Mike Johnston was fired just over two months into his second season. He was replaced by Sullivan, whose fiery persona — along with significant help from heady moves made by then-general manager Jim Rutherford — made Pittsburgh the first team in nearly 20 years to win consecutive Cups. Sullivan's mandate was clear: Wake the Penguins up. Muse's is, too: Help the franchise successfully navigate the bridge from one generation to the next. ___ AP NHL: recommended
