Some of the most hard-working and creative local citizens can be found within the Morrison Garden Club. Nine men and women were in full force despite a chilly day in the teens, on Wednesday, November 28, 2018. They gathered at the Fire Station at 9:00 a.m. and dumped mounds of cut plant material onto the floor. Fire Chief Dave Benters had given his approval, and retired Fireman David Brandon, Jr. watched over holly, balsam fir, pine cones, willow twigs, hydrangea bundles, etc. until they were transferred to pots.
“Boy, do we have a mess down there to clean up!” stated Sharon Moore. She thanked Benters and Brandon for their support of the club’s annual winter project.
Members worked in well-orchestrated teams to prepare Main Street and “the sandwich corner” in Morrison, IL, for the upcoming Christmas season. Sixteen pots on Main Street, two on the east side of City Hall, and three at the southeast corner of U. S. Highway 30 and IL Route 78 would be transformed that day.
A final touch was application of spray glue and iridescent glittery snow to the boughs.
However, there was considerable effort expended before “prettying of the pots.” During warmer weather 21 pots had to be cleaned and prepared. The public is advised that City flower pots are not “ashtrays” for disposing of cigarette butts! Diane Garcia, Sharon Moore, and Patti Nice removed and disposed of smokers’ litter, before soil preparation could begin.
Nice explained soil was covered with newspapers; a large foil pan [to absorb the sun’s heat]; plastic wrap, secured by duct tape [to form a greenhouse.] This insulated the soil, so it would not freeze. In the past, they have “had to drill holes into solid ground” in order to insert plant stems into the pots. Truckloads of various greens and dried plant material were harvested and trimmed.
This group stands ready to transform a pot in front of Edward Jones-Terry Wilkens. Left-to-right are Diane Garcia; Kathy Anderson; Jan Mayes; Becky Brady; Patti Nice; Sharon Moore; Mary Latwesen. Her husband, Vern, was not photographed.
“What Elves Do When Santa is Away” is the theme of the 2018 Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade and Walk. Each year, Morrison Garden Club creates whimsy at the site of the Christmas Tree Lighting and Community Carol Singing. Look for three decorated pots into which elves have dived–head first. Only their legs and jingle bell shoes are visible. Who knows what they might have been doing!
Sharon Moore stated, “We are also commemorating the 70th Anniversary of when the club started, which was December 10, 1948.” Patti Nice added, “There are two second-generation representatives of family members” present at this decorating event. Several women mentioned the need for new, creative, younger men and women “recruits,” to sustain the beautification of the City.
Annually, Morrison Garden Club conducts four beautification initiatives:
- several spring beds that encircle Odell Public Library
- plantings at the fountain in Grove Hill Cemetery/Memorial Park, prior to Memorial Day
- summer containers and (sometimes) artistic representations at the southeast corner of U. S. Highway 30 and IL Route 78
- Main Street and and “the sandwich corner” planters, prior to the Christmas Walk.
A second group photo included Latwesen; Anderson; Mayes; Brady; Nice; Moore; and Jan Kelly. Below are the pots beside City Hall, prepared by Latwesen and Nice for a second year.
