Memorial Park Receives Makeover

The Bettye Prigga Memorial Park received a makeover recently.
A small memorial park honoring a local resident received a much-needed makeover.
The beautiful garden, named in honor of one of Sistersville’s outstanding citizens of the past-Bettye Prigga, is located in the southeast corner of the park, behind the hospital and along the walking trail. The memorial park was originally dedicated in August of 2014, but had recently become overrun with weeds and overgrown plantings hiding the memorial from anyone enjoying the walking trail.
The Sistersville General Hospital’s ground crew undertook the large task of trimming the plantings, removing the weeds and installing new mulch. The improvements to Prigga Park have been amazing.
Bettye Prigga was well loved in the community, known for assisting in any way she could and always being willing to help. Bettye was a 1940 graduate of Sistersville High School and served as historian of the SHS Alumni Association. She was a 1944 graduate of the Ohio Valley General Hospital School of Nursing and was a Registered Nurse and a Health Occupation Instructor at PRT (MOVTI).
Bettye was the first woman to be elected in the State of West Virginia to a city council seat.
She was a member of the Presbyterian Women’s Association, a member of the Martha Washington Chapter #22 Order of the Eastern Star of Sistersville, the Rhododendron Twig, volunteered at Sistersville General Hospital, and she assisted with the billing and fund raising for the Sistersville EMS Squad.
With temperatures cooling, make sure you take a stroll along the walking trail behind the hospital to enjoy the newly improved Prigga Park.