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| Flowers on Smith Island of the Route 302 rotary. |
There
are many benefits to planting flowers – and enjoying their spectacular colors
and beauty is among them. Due to a few community volunteers, local residents
and visiting motorists, alike, have come upon a colorful display of scenery at
the round-a-bout at the intersection of Routes 302 and 202 in Windham for the
past 32 years. Who are the landscaping creatives and how did it all begin?
In
his June 6, 2017 article, Reporter Walter Lunt shared the following: “The
rotary gardens have their roots in Windham’s 250th year celebration
back in 1987. The town went all out with lectures, historical programs, open
house events in old homes and churches, various entertainment venues, a parade,
festival and gardens featuring red, white and blue plantings. (The color theme
is retained in the current rotary gardens.) Gary Plummer, General Chair of the
1987 event, said the rotary flowers were well received by the public, so it
became a spring tradition.”
But
becoming a tradition almost didn’t happen. Plummer recently stated that the
flowers were originally provided by June and Dick Hawkes, who once ran a
greenhouse on Windham Center Road. “At the end of the 250th
celebration, our committee had several thousand dollars left in our account. We
gave that to the Town of Windham and in return we asked that the town pay for
the flowers for us to plant every year. The town did this for several years,
but then cut this money from the budget.”
When
this happened, Plummer polled members of the group and they all agreed that they
preferred to remain gardeners, not fundraisers. “I went to the town council and
apprised them of our decision and told them that we would work with them in
closing down the gardens,” Plummer said. “When I got home that evening, I found
two messages on my answering machine offering to help provide for the
continuing of the gardens. Those calls were from Joe Gagne of Roosevelt Trail
Garden Center and George Hall of Hall Implement Company.”
And
thus, the tradition was able to continue.
Naming
themselves the “Rotary Club”, members depend upon donations and on
contributions of flowers and mulch. Plummer credits Joe Gagne of Roosevelt
Trail Nurseries and Cooper’s Greenhouse with major contributions.
Plummer
explained that there originally were four different groups that planted one
island each. “Over the years, as people were no longer able to plant and
maintain their island, we worked together as one group,” stated Plummer. “At
this point, I am the only person that has been there since the beginning.”
Roosevelt
Trail Garden Center donated the flowers for many years and Hall Implement
Company still donates the mulch. After Roosevelt Trail Garden center stopped
growing their annual flowers, they donated many perennial flowers to keep the
gardens going.
“Gaylene
Cooper of Coopers Greenhouse contacted one of our members and offered to work
with us to add a little more color to our gardens,” Plummer said. “For the last
few years, we have purchased flowers from Coopers at a discounted price.”
The
current source of funding is a grant that was given to the Rotary Club by Lake
Pine Association when they sold their building on Route 302. “There is still
enough money left to keep us going for about two more years. If the project is
to continue after that, we will need to seek donations.”
Many,
many people have been involved over the years. The current active members of
the Rotary Garden Club are Tom Tyler, Sandy Tyler, Beth Hall, James Minott,
Barb Maurais, Jennifer Harmon, Betty and, of course, Gary Plummer who has been
there from the beginning.
“Over
the years, we have named each island. The island on Route 202, nearest Hall
Implement is called the Hall Island,” Plummer stated. “The island on Route 302,
nearest Seavey’s store is the Seavey Island. The island on Route 202, nearest
the Smith Cemetery, is the Smith Island. The island on Route 302, nearest
Hancock Lumber, is known as the Hancock Island.”
If
anyone is interested in joining The Rotary Club or making a donation, please
reach out to Gary Plummer at geplummer@aol.com
