AUBURN -- Imitation, as the saying goes, is the sincerest form of flattery.

In back of Willard Memorial Chapel, hidden from view, is the chapel's small maintenance shed. The structure is brown, with steeply slanted roofs and an octagonal window above the door -- eerily similar to the beautiful chapel itself sitting majestically a few feet away.

The shed was built last year by Mennonite carpenters and the design required approval from the New York State Historical Society, since the chapel itself is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

The maintenance shed was just one of the attractions presented at the Cayuga County Women's Republican Club's annual Victorian Garden Party, which took place at Willard Chapel Sunday afternoon. The party included free refreshments and lemonade along with tours of the remodeled garden, and coincided with an informal organ recital by Joan Haff.

"(The creation of) this garden was actually a brainstorm during the city of Auburn's bicentennial celebration of 1999," said Jean Wright, the club member overseeing the project during a tour of the grounds Sunday afternoon.

For more, read Monday's Citizen