Volunteers plant hundreds of bulbs at Riverview at Hobson Grove on Saturday with an eye toward the spring, when the grounds at Bowling Greens only historic house museum will be in full bloom. Photo by Clinton Lewis.

When a group of Bowling Green women in the late 1960s decided to restore an Italianate Victorian mansion that had fallen into disrepair and was under the threat of being torn down to make way for a golf course, they never dreamed that decades later the home would be what many call Warren Countys best-kept secret. This place was a shambles, said Pat Frederick, whose late mother, Gertrude Hines, scrubbed floors, painted, made curtains and did a lot to return Riverview at Hobson Grove to the splendor with which it was built by Atwood Hobson, who started construction in 1857.Yesterday morning, nearly 30 volunteers braved chilly temperatures to plant more than 700 bulbs that will, this spring, bloom and continue to make Riverview Bowling Greens only historic house museum even more beautiful. She would be amazed at how beautiful it is, at how its continued on, and at how people are working with it, Frederick said of what her mother might think, just moments before a tree was planted at Riverview to honor Gertrude Hines and her late husband, Jimmie D. Hines. According to Riverview Director Susan Redick, the Hineses gave much of themselves to make Riverview a place that future generations could enjoy. Hobson House Board and Commission member Georgeanna Hagerman said Gertrude Hines and a number of her friends made up their minds they were not going to let this place go down. There was no job that was too lowly for them. And Daddy knew several legislators and helped Mother in the process of getting matching funds for (the restoration of) this place, Frederick said of the house and grounds that were bought for $1 by the city of Bowling Green in 1965.During a prayer at Saturdays tree planting ceremony, Bowling Green City Arborist David Draper said, We hope that these trees will serve as a living legacy to them and future generations to come. A tree was also planted Saturday in memory of Helen Victoria Stafford Word, whose son, Levi Word, was interim director of Riverview for several months this year after Lindsey Bland left the directors position to take a job in environmental consulting. Jonathan Jeffrey, a member of the Hobson House Board and Bowling Greens Landmark Association, said he thinks its important to remember such people with things that will add to Riverviews beauty. And I think its a good opportunity to celebrate the new life that will come in the spring, he said. Brigette Redick, the 13-year-old daughter of Susan Redick, planted crocuses at Riverview on Saturday. Brigette said she thinks its important for people to work to preserve historic places in Bowling Green. Its kind of like what Bowling Green was like when it was a young town before it was big and fancy, she said as she stood outside Riverview, which was once used to store artillery for Confederate soldiers, who vowed not to destroy the home if Atwood Hobson let them use the place during a time when the nation was divided by the Civil War. Riverview at Hobson Grove is open to the public for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays from February through late December, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $3.50 for adults, $1.50 for students, and free for children under age 6. There is a family rate of $6 a family, which includes a parent or parents with school-age children. Warren County school groups may tour the home free. Group rates are available for groups of 20 or more.