The great-great granddaughter of Rosalie Tilles, for whom two parks in St. Louis are named, Nancy Carver worked with park systems in St. Louis City and County to document all our public parks and their amenities.  She notes that Metro St. Louis ranks fourth in the country in its number of parks! Drawing heavily from Central Park and from England, our beloved Forest Park is the crown jewel that fostered the growth of many other area parks. 

Ms Carver has authored two other books. Talk with Tilles is a history of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Making Tracks is the previously untold history of horse racing, at what were our 18 metro area racetracks. It includes racing tidbits related to the 1904 World's Fair, the St. Louis Browns, our city's inauguration of night racing and a little-known account of how Delmar Loop got that name. In addition to this writing and editing, Ms Carver worked for 25 years in Washington DC, serving in various positions related to real estate management. 

Her presentation will address the impact of England's first public park on landscape architects who created Central Park and greatly influenced the creation of Forest Park.  It will indicate how picturesque, Eighteenth-century gardens in England also influenced many of our local parks. Discovering Public Parks in St. Louis will be available at the luncheon — with  a portion of proceeds benefiting Missouri Forest ReLeaf, which donates and plants trees in our parks.