About my three visits to the "Healthy Kidz Community Garden"

[Phil Rhoads]

Today (Saturday) I met Gladys and Mary (from St. Paul's AME Zion), Gary and Sue Hughes (who brought sister Rose visiting from Milwaukee), Rev. Jan Heide and husband Joe Heide (Rosedale Congregational UCC). Also, Bernita & Hal Boyts and R.C. Masonbrink came from Rainbow.

Bernita & Hal just came by to meet people and look over the garden. R.C. brought tools and really worked up a good sweat. Bernita said that in 1967 when she and Hal first came here, Rainbow was cooperating with St. Paul's and Rosedale Congregational on several projects (summer Bible School?) and that it would be only natural for us to join with them on this garden, and that there is room on their sign to add "Rainbow Mennonite" below their names.

Joe Heide was wearing a Master Gardener hat and seemed to know his way around a hoe pretty well. There are a lot of new tools and a long hose kept in the unused motor boat parked in the driveway of the owner's house next to the garden. Joe showed me how well the Swiss Chard and new plot of beans were doing that were only planted about 4 weeks ago. The tomato plants were just loaded and the sweet potatoes are really thriving. Gladys wants them to plant more sweet corn next year, and agrees with Bernita that there should be at least two rows so they can pollinate each other. I asked why they can't pollinate each other front-to-back and not just side-to-side. No one would explain to me the facts of life about corn. Maybe it's just an OLD WIVE'S TALE, but both OLD WIVES agreed, and I was the ODD MAN OUT.

This is an example why community gardens are so much more fun than other gardens!

Jane Heide explained that since Rosedale Congregational is holding their Healthy Kidz Kamp next week, not to pick anything, but to leave everything for the kids to pick on Monday morning.

Mrs. Pulliam, who owns the lot where the garden is, and lives next door, had Erskine mow down the row of turnips the day before, because the turnip greens were getting too old and bitter. Evidently no one likes the turnips themselves, just the tender young greens.

By the time I was ready to leave, Gary Hughes & I got into a long conversation covering many topics from the Hyatt collapse in 1981 up to when he got out of the National Guard in 1999, back to Emperor Constantine and the Byzantine Empire, up to Obama, etc. As the temperature was rising, and the shade was shifting, I got more and more ready to leave. We never got down to talking seriously about Christian pacifism and whether God affirms same sex orientation. Gary tends to wander in his monologues, which is good for me to check my own tendencies this way (like this email).

Finally as I was packing my tools and empty water bottle into the car, Erskine was coming up the street on his bicycle. And then we got into a pretty long conversation about Jesus and the woman at the well and who was the first person Jesus saved (the thief hanging on a cross next to him), etc. Erskine had mowed most of the grass around the garden on Friday morning -- he worked about 4 hours all together mowing between the rows and up and down the steep hillside which connects to a neighbors back yard. Erskine grew up on this block and attended Frank Rushton Elementary School on 43rd in the 60's, and now attends (but is not a member of) St. Paul's AME Zion. He is a strong Baptist but is open-minded about other denominations, and is a regular attender at St. Paul's "as a representative of the neighborhood." I tried to clarify who Mennonites are, not to be confused with Mormons. Erskine leads the adult Sunday School class at St. Paul's and is sad that there are no men in the class except him. He says he is open-minded to hear other people's opinions during question-and-answer time after his lessons, but if someone disagrees with him after he explains it to them, then he just says they are lost. I asked him if he thought the Holy Spirit could speak through one of his students, and even though he can accept that idea in principle, but maybe in has never occurred to him before and therefore has never happened. Regarding acceptance of gays and lesbians, and a pacifist orientation on the Iraq War, I think Erskine is in sync with Rainbow. Erskine is also a good singer and often sings solos accompanied by instrumental music on CD's. As Gary Hughes was driving off, he commended Erskine for his singing. (Gary and Sue attend the Wednesday night prayer service at St. Paul's.)

All in all, it was a wonderful time, to be outside as the temperature rose through the 80's into the lower 90's, and to keep one's mind occupied with earth and green plants and new friends.

To recap Friday morning's visit and Thursday evening's, here is part of the email I sent yesterday:

We can finally get our hands dirty! We can join with the volunteers from the two churches (Rosedale Congregational UCC and St. Paul's AME Zion which started this community garden in Rosedale just this Spring. The garden is located on the 4100 block of Minnie: 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=4162+Minnie,+Kansas+City,+KS+66103&sll=39.054884,-94.618442&sspn=0.008615,0.016651&layer=c&ie=UTF8&ll=39.054551,-94.618485&spn=0.008615,0.016651&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr&cbll=39.052048,-94.618882&panoid=a6fi4rlTwkLZHWVLMoYxRg

I met with the pastor of Rosedale Congregational (Jane Heide) at the garden Thursday night and pulled weeds for an hour or so, and I took my mower Friday morning to help mow around the edges of the garden and between the rows. I have met three neighbors who help take care of mowing, etc. -- Herman Taylor, Erskine and Kevin Pulliam.

We can "try it out" and see if we would like to become an official sponsor of this "Healthy Kidz Community Garden," and add Rainbow Mennonite to their sign. Rev. Jane Heide has hopes of also enlisting a fourth congregation (Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist) to become an official sponsor, and that this "mother garden" can be the beginning of many, many community gardens in Rosedale.

Come see if her enthusiasm can "rub off" on us!

So far it seems really fun to work with these people from the neighborhood and from the other churches. As Ted Zerger says, vegetable gardens are for growing food, community gardens are for growing people.

Phil Rhoads

6600 Marty St., Overland Park, KS 66202

Home: 913-722-3938 • Mobile: 913-397-9660

http://groups.google.com/group/rainbow-community-gardens

[Muriel T. Stackley]

Phil, did you send Ted Zerger a copy of this?  Looks like good news.

 

Muriel

 

[Boyts Bernita]

phil, you do a great job of recapping!  it's a nice reminder of the people we met or may meet...bb

----Bernita Boyts

9521 W. 122 Terr

Shawnee Mission

KS 66213

913.685.9484

[Vtze...@aol.com]

It sounds exciting! I'm happy to see things are moving along. Be careful! Community gardening is adictive. There are worse adictions however.

   Ted


**************
Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews on AOL Autos.
(http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 )