Marigolds — and love — blossom for Mother’s Day
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
LOVE IS IN BLOOM — Last Wednesday, pre-kindergartners at Mapleton Elementary School visited the SAD 1 Educational Farm for a Mother’s Day tour where they transplanted orange and yellow Little Hero marigolds to take home to their mothers. Filling their containers full of potting soil are, from left: Henry Doughty, Alek Bushey and Isabel Berry, students in Phyllis Hanson’s class.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Many local Moms have already received their Mother’s Day gifts — marigolds planted by their sons or daughters.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
CHILDREN FROM MAPLETON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL recently visited the SAD 1 Educational Farm where they transplanted orange and yellow Little Hero marigolds to take home to their mothers for Mother’s Day. Working on the project are, from left: Claude Sutherland, Carole Soucy, pre-K ed tech; Cody Allen and Ryder Chandler. The boys are pre-kindergartners in Phyllis Hanson’s class.
Several pre-K, kindergarten, first- and second-grade classes visited the SAD 1 Educational Farm recently to transplant orange and yellow Little Hero marigolds.
“Educational tours are one of the integral parts of the puzzle for us,” said Farm Manager Aaron Buzza. “We try to get agriculture into the minds of young people at an early age. One of the things we do is a Mother’s Day tour, which has become a tradition for the district. We give the kids a lesson about flowers and how you start in a greenhouse, talk very simply about photosynthesis, and the highlight for the kids is to plant a marigold for Mom to take home for Mother’s Day.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
PREPARING TO TAKE her marigold out of the container being held by Kristi Kingsbury, who works at the SAD 1 Educational Farm, is Mapleton Elementary School kindergartner Sarah Sonntag as Trinity Hanning looks on. The girls are students in Julie Savage’s class, and attended a Mother’s Day tour at the school farm last Wednesday.
“We’ve been doing this for about 12 years,” he said. “We’re booked for two weeks prior to Mother’s Day. It’s fun and it’s something the children look forward to. We always use marigolds. For us it’s a fast-growing, very hearty plant and it can sustain being handled by children.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER — Brianna Rodgerson, left, poses with her mother, Anne Blanchard, who is the principal at Presque Isle Middle School. Rodgerson, a 2000 graduate of Presque Isle High School, has been substitute teaching at the middle school since January while her husband, Derek, continues his Air Force training. After this school year, the Rodgersons will relocate to Washington state. Rodgerson said she enjoys being in the same building as her mother working with the students as education is very important to her. Rodgerson herself is the proud mother of an 18-month-old son, Beau.
The marigolds that the children receive are started on the farm by seed.
“They were planted in early March — we’ve got it exactly timed out so they’re blossoming for Mother’s Day,” said Buzza, noting that between 600-800 students will give their mothers marigolds this year.
“This is a way for us to give back,” he said. “The mothers really appreciate it, but the kids really enjoy doing something special for Mom or the special person in their life. It’s a way for them to give back, and they’re very proud of their flower.”
Photo courtesy Tammy Ladner-Scott
LADNER FAMILY — Gathered for a Ladner family photo, in front from left are: Allison and Beth. In back: Germaine, standing behind Margo; Tammy (in first communion attire) and Dan Ladner.
Last Wednesday morning, pre-K and kindergartners from Mapleton Elementary School, participated in the Mother’s Day tour.
“My Mommy’s going to like it very much. Usually I make her a card, but this year I’ll give her a flower and a card,” said Isabel Berry, a pre-kindergartner in Phyllis Hanson’s class. “I love my Mom a lot and it was fun planting a marigold for her.”
“This was the first time I ever planted a flower,” said Daniel Smith, who is also in Hanson’s class. “I liked doing it and it was easy to do. The lady at the school farm said to help plants grow, we had to name it and talk to it. I named my marigold ‘Goldie.’ I think my Mommy’s going to like it a lot.”
Photo courtesy of Susan Feeney-Hopkins
PARENTAL PINNING — Sean Robertson, 17, of Ashland Boy Scout Troop 179, is shown here receiving his Eagle Scout pin from his mother, Sandra Robertson, during his Eagle Court of Honor ceremony that was held April 16 at the Portage Lake Town Hall. Formerly of Portage Lake, Robertson is now a senior at Presque Isle High School.
This wasn’t the first time Ava Holder, a kindergartner in Julie Savage’s class, has tried her hand at gardening.
“This was the second time I ever planted a flower; the first time I planted a rose. It was easy to do and I liked getting my hands dirty. I love my Mom a lot and I think she’s going to love her marigold, too. I learned how to plant a flower and a little bit about vegetables. It was fun coming here.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
A FAMILY AFFAIR — Barb Bartlett, assistant principal at Presque Isle Middle School, is not only lucky to have her son, Nick, in the building, but also her mother, Vicki McCrum. Nick, 12, is a sixth-grader, while McCrum, seated, volunteers weekly and assists with PTO fundraisers, as well as other events.
Depending on the recipients’ green thumb abilities, the marigolds can last all season.
“If the plant’s cared for like it should to be,” said Buzza, “watered, deadheaded, kept clean in a nice, sunny area, or put out in a garden, it will grow all season. They’re annuals, so once winter comes they’re gone, but they can last all season if cared for properly.”
For more information on school farm tours, call 764-7725.
