Ste. Genevieve Herald

Weekend In Ste. Gen Is Garden Lover’s Delight

Garden lovers will have a chance to see some of Ste. Genevieve’s most attractive public and private gardens this weekend, as well as attending lectures that will add to their garden expertise. The 2008 Spring Garden Walk will take place on May 17 and May 18.

Almost two dozen gardens are on this year’s tour, including sites at both private homes and locations not usually open to the public. They range from formal gardens to “riot of color” gardens, and include some that recreate with great accuracy the kinds of gardens that would have been popular here in earlier days.

Plant sales will be held on both Saturday and Sunday. At the Bolduc-LeMeilleur historic houses, visitors will be able to purchase culinary and decorative herbs, as well as other plants.

The Master Gardeners Plant Sale at the Great River Road Interpretive Center will offer a variety of flowers, ground cover, vegetables, and herbs, beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday. (Proceeds from the sale assist the Master Gardeners to carry out community beautification projects.)

The Ste. Genevieve Farmers Market will be open on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. at the corner of Third and Jefferson. A variety of flowers and plants will be offered for sale, along with fresh vegetables, canned products and baked goods.

Participants also may take home a gardening-related gift basket; one will be given away each day as an attendance prize.

During the walk participants can view and enjoy the town’s many downtown “street” gardens, attend garden-related lectures (see related story), visit a Creative Minds for Mental Health art and crafts show and sale (39 N. Main), and watch Ste. Genevieve Art Guild members painting in several garden locations.

Some of the other 22 locations on the tour are the Guibourd-Valle House, Felix Valle State Historic Site, private homes, local businesses in the downtown area, and at Riverview-At-The-Park.

The garden walk hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 17; and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 18. Tickets and Garden Walk information are available at the Interpretive Center. Tickets will be $6 on the days of the walk.

Advance tickets will be sold through May 14 for $5 at the Interpretive Center and Extension office (255 Market). Tickets will cost $6 during the walk.

The event is sponsored by the Ste. Genevieve County Master Gardeners Inc., a program of the University of Missouri Extension. For more information visit the University Extension website, http://extension. mi-ssouri.edu/stegenevieve.

Bolduc Gardens Are Among Historic Jewels Of Ste. Gen

“If you’d like to know what it was like to stroll through a garden in the 19th century, you definitely should make a stop at our gardens,” says Lorraine Stange, director of the Bol-duc House and related historic properties. “The vintage herb and scented gardens are reminiscent of that period, and they are very beautiful.”

During the Spring Garden Walk on May 17-18, visitors are invited to tour the Bolduc LeMeilleur gardens and participate in a number of other garden-themed activities that have been scheduled at the historic properties on Main Street, including a “garden gathering” talk celebrating the use of herbs and all things herbal in the Herb Cottage at the historic site.

Norma Lemons, basket weaver and owner of Stone House Willow Baskets, will speak on growing, harvesting, drying and weaving the willow, and will demonstrate techniques she uses to create her one-of-a-kind, handmade, signature creations.

“The baskets are just the thing for the seasoned basket collector, as well as those who have just turned their attention to basketry,” Stange says. (The baskets are sold year-round at the Bolduc Museum Shop.)

In addition, Steve and Veronica Baetje of Baetje Farms will be featured at the Beauvais-Linden site on Saturday. The Bloomsdale area farm produces pure, artisan farmstead goat cheeses. “In essence, the cheeses are produced in an old world, European style,” Stange says. “In their presentation during the garden walk the owners will share their very delightful story.”

A limited supply of cheeses will be for sale, including Coeur de la Creme, a heart-shaped fresh cheese that is hand-crafted and seasoned with a variety of fresh dried herbs, such as garlic and chive, dill, three-pepper blend, herbs de province, or plain.

Coeur de Clos, a soft, ripened cheese inspired by Camembert and is aged “from the outside in” for 60 days also will be available, along with Fleur de Vallee, a hard cheese, pressed and aged for one year.

One special feature of the activities at the Bolduc is the official announcement that Calendula officinalis (also known as Pot Marigold) has been designated as the 2008 Herb of the Year.

“To be selected for such distinction, the plant must be outstanding in at least two of the three major categories–medicinal, culinary or decorative,” Stange says. “This well-known plant has been grown for centuries in cottage gardens and in large, informal beds, as well.”

A limited number of Calendula will be available for sale during the walk. Complimentary herbal handouts also will be available.

“We look forward to greeting you at these special activities,” Stange says. “Things will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, and we hope we’ll see many old and new friends during the weekend.”

(The historic properties’ herb and plant sale will continue throughout the month of May.)

Bolduc Historic Properties are owned and operated by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America/Missouri. The NSCDA/MO was a recipient of the 2005 Preserve America Presidential Award in recognition of the organization’s efforts to protect and enhance the nation’s cultural and historical heritage.

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"Nothing symbolizes the VFW’s pledge to ‘Honor the Dead by Helping the Living’ like the Buddy Poppy,’ says Dorothy Pfeifer, chairman of Post 2210’s Buddy Poppy Committee.

“Millions of these blood-red artificial flowers are made in this country each year by disabled veterans–disabled on the same battlefields on which their buddies were killed. And this weekend, we’ll be conducting our sale of them to raise money for needy veterans and their families.”

The local annual Buddy Poppy Day sale will take place this Friday, May 16, at various locations in Ste. Genevieve.

The poppy campaign was introduced more than 80 years ago, Pfeifer adds, as a symbol of hope amid the carnage of war. It actually got its start in Europe.

The theme came from a poem titled “In Flanders Fields,” written in 1915 by Colonel John McCrae, a World War I Canadian veteran.

The poem presented a striking image of the bright red flowers blooming among rows of white crosses marking the graves of Allied war dead in a cemetery in Belgium.

Shortly after World War I, Madame E. Guerin, founder of the American and French Children’s League, became concerned that the free world was “forgetting too soon those sleeping in Flanders Fields.”

Guerin adopted the poppy as the most appropriate memorial flower. She began urging servicemen’s organizations to enact a resolution that would ask every member and his or her family to wear a red silk poppy in remembrance.

The French embraced the idea, and it spread, gaining the support in England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Cuba. In each country, veteran’s organizations and auxiliaries began to sell memorial poppies. In the beginning, the money raised went to the children of France.

In April 1919, Guerin (by then known as “the Poppy Lady”) made a visit to the U.S. Her primary purpose was to advocate for financial assistance to help France’s homeless and jobless get back on their feet. But she also introduced the idea of the poppy campaign to veterans’ groups. The VFW agreed to take up the effort and in May 1922, the organization conducted the first nationwide poppy sale in the United States. Later in the same year, the organization adopted the poppy as its official memorial flower.

The money-raising effort shifted to support for veterans as the program took off in the U.S. By 1923, the VFW had developed a plan to pay disabled and needy American veterans to make the poppies. A VFW poppy factory was set up in Pittsburgh.

It was those first disabled poppy makers who inspired the name which would be the flower’s trademark. The red silk flowers were dubbed the “Buddy Poppy” in honor of the poppy makers’ remembrances of their buddies who never came back from war. The VFW officially registered the name with the U.S. Patent Office in 1924.

Since the program began, the VFW has sold some billion Buddy Poppies. The money is used used exclusively for the benefit of disabled and needy veterans and the widows and orphans of deceased veterans.

“As long as Americans continue to spill their blood in defense of freedom, sales of these blood-red poppies will undoubtedly continue to be strong,” Pfeifer says. “We hope local people will join the effort this weekend.”

Poppy sales will take place all day Friday at Country Mart, the Save-A-Lot store, and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at a roadblock on Fourth Street at Ste. Genevieve Farms.

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Rain Did Not Dampen Enthusiasm At Citizens Electric Corporation’s Children’s Safety Day

Although the bucket truck rides were probably the biggest hit, elementary students who attended the Children’s Safety Day at Citizens Electric Corporation on May 8 found all of the events exciting and educational.

Since the year 2000, Citizens Electric has held Children’s Safety Day events for area third and fourth graders. This year, over 400 students and teachers attended from Ste. Genevieve Elementary, Valle Catholic Grade School, St. Joseph Grade School (Zell), Sacred Heart Grade School (Ozora) and Bloomsdale Elementary School.

Sporadic rain throughout the day didn’t dampen enthusiasm as the children watched linemen demonstrate how they operate trucks and equipment to set poles. They also watched a lineman demonstrate his pole climbing skills and allowed them to lift his tool belt that he wears while climbing.

Each child received their own tree sapling to take home and plant after watching a demonstration about how trees in electric lines can cause power outages affecting an entire area. Instructions about planting the right tree in the right place were included in their goody bags along with Energy Hog books to teach them how to reduce electric usage.

Engineering and operations personnel gave a live-line demonstration that showed how high-voltage electricity can jump from power lines into trees, causing a tree to become energized.

“They were told to never climb a tree that is near power lines. Always stay away from downed power lines and call Citizens Electric immediately,” a spokesperson said. “If you come upon an automobile accident where an electric line has fallen onto the car, call 911, and stay away from the vehicle. If you’re in a vehicular accident involving a utility pole or electric line, stay in the car and wait for help to arrive.”

Children attending safety day were told to be “their Dad’s eyes” whenever he is using a ladder outside. “Remind him to watch out for overhead power lines. Call Citizens Electric to come and cover lines that may be within 10 inches of a work area,” a spokesperson said.

Citizens Electric offered the same program last week for schools in the Perryville area, and will be demonstrating safety for students in the Altenburg-Fruitland area.

“Citizens Electric is committed to keeping our members and their families safe around electricity,” Barb Casper, Manager of Member Services, said. “We hope that what the children learned today will prevent future electrical injuries and may inspire some of them to work in the electric industry someday.”

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Ste. Genevieve Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dena Kreitler is this year’s recipient of the Ste. Genevieve Jaycees Distinguished Service Award. The award and other honors were presented at the 43rd annual DSA Banquet held May 10.

State Representative Joe Fallert Jr. introduced Kreitler before she received the award.
The Jaycees also honored other community members during the event. Hadley Litterest received the Doc Doyle “Friend of Sports” award; Valle Catholic Schools teacher Jan Weiler was named “Outstanding Educator”; Bobbi Williams received the Butch Straughn Memorial Award; Scott Drury of the Ste. Genevieve Fire Department was named “Fireman of the Year”; Ste. Genevieve Police Officer Ronnie Brittin received the “Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer” award and David Streiler of the Ste. Genevieve County Ambulance District was named “Paramedic of the Year.”

In addition, the Jaycees honored one of its members, Christy Wehner, by naming him a JCI Senator. Wehner becomes the seventh member of the local organization to receive the honor.

Wehner, a member of the Ste. Genevieve Jaycees since 1997, has held several offices and has volunteered in club projects for a number of years including the Punt, Pass and Kick contest, Ste. Genevieve Special Games, Toys for Tots, Jaycees Winter Barbecue and Jerry Lewis benefit roadblocks.

A number of presidential awards were announced at the banquet for organizations, businesses and individuals who helped Jaycee members with projects over the past year. Donations also were made to the Ste. Genevieve Fire Department, Ste. Genevieve Police Department, Ste. Genevieve County Ambulance District and Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff’s Department.

The importance of service, not awards was the main focus of Litterest’s speech to those attending the banquet.

“It takes the efforts of everyone to help the community and its young people,” he said. “The Jaycees play a vital role, from sponsoring sports activities, like baseball, to providing scholarships and helping families through the Toys For Tots Drive.

“One of the most special events the Jaycees are involved in each year is the Ste. Genevieve Special Games. These individuals get the chance to participate in sports and be honored for their efforts, no matter where they finish. The biggest reward is seeing smiles on everyone’s faces, and you see plenty of that at the Special Games.”