OXFORD — After years of dreaming and months of construction, uptown parks have come together.

        From the flag-raising at noon Saturday to the fireworks at dark, rededication festivities provided a generous slice of Americana.

        Scouts, veterans and an ROTC color guard participated.

        There were stirring renditions of patriotic songs.

        But most of all there was a sense of community among those who gathered to enjoy the new look of Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Memorial Park, in the center of Oxford's uptown business district.

        “The parks were envi sioned as a centerpiece. The design was an effort to make them flow together as one park,” Acting City Manager Jane Howington said.

        “More than $200,000 was raised through the Oxford Community Foundation. People bought tables, benches, bricks and trees. We're continuing to sell bricks.”

        When Oxford's water tower came down in 1998, there was considerable debate about how to redevelop Memorial Park, in which it had stood, and Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

        The foundation worked with the city of Oxford to plan and raise money for the new landscape.

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