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Brownsville Northside resident Kay Gammon was honored over the weekend by family, friends and neighbors.

Kay Gammon

A memorial bench, installed in the 500 block of North Market St., Brownsville, has been dedicated to the longtime resident, who founded the Northside Beautification Committee in 2007.

The honoree effectively planted the seeds for a self-sustaining group, beginning with a successful holiday house tour that raised funds to purchase and maintain flower planters along Market, parts of Brashear and Front streets in the Brownsville Northside Historic District.

With proceeds from ongoing holiday house tours and more recently, ghost walks, the committee maintains 32 flower planters on the Northside and has purchased holiday and historic district pole banners and 50 American flags for both sides of North Market Street.

Gammon, a Princeton, WV native, and her late husband moved to Front Street in 1987, buying a converted residential property that originally housed one of the first banks west of the Alleghenies. At the time, they had two sons in college and a 12-year-old son.

During the committee's formative years, the Gammons frequently held parties in their grand home. The highlight of the Christmas season in the neighborhood would be their holiday party, which always included a piano player.

Over the weekend, 25 of the honoree's family, friends and neighbors gathered to recognize her community spirit, efforts and foresight in establishing a group that's had a lasting impact on the neighborhood. She was surrounded by her family - son Hurley, daughter-in-law Gretchen and three granddaughters. A reception was held in the social hall of Brownsville Fire Co. 1, 520 Market St., following a brief afternoon ceremony to install an engraved bronze plaque.

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