A feel good post …
Do any of you remember the Victory Gardens of World War 2? Food was rationed during those years and the government promoted families to join with their friends and plant neighborhood gardens to produce the needed vegetables.
Well, I was reminded of this yesterday when a friend told me what her mother shared with her. It was about a woman in the small town where her mother lived. She is in her 80's and lost her husband 3 years ago. They owned a small farm on about 40 acres of land and, although they had given up animals a long time ago her husband had still kept the property pristine. After he died she was lost. She loved her home and selling it was not an option but she had no idea how she would have the energy or the will to take on that responsibility.
It
was a grandson that came up with the solution. He convinced her to
fence off 15 acres that would include the house, most of the barns
and her lovely flower garden. That left 25 acres of prime land and
she contacted the Garden Club in the small town to tell them of her
idea. She was offering her land, under the tutelage of the Club, to
be used by those in the town in need
of food. They would be free
to plant small individual vegetable gardens with
no cost to them as long as they tended them well.
Everyone
involved is amazed how well it has turned out. Many
more people were in need than had been
expected and she has a new set of
friends of all ages, colors and ethnic backgrounds. The
families keep
her supplied with fresh vegetables and often surprise her with home
cooked meals and the cookies that the children love to bake and decorate. It's
a win win situation and her greatest joy is getting to know a whole segment of her town that she never even knew existed.
posted by Goldendaze-Ginnie at 2:00 AM
8 Comments:
Thanks for sharing this, Ginnie.
What a wonderful story! Kindness repaid with gratitude and love.
This is a great story and should be encouraging to seniors who prefer to remain as independent as possible as they age. Giving people of all ages the opportunity to share in gardening and its rewards is truly a wonderful gift and also has the added benefit of being so satisfying to the person willing to initiate such a gift. The sense of isolation/loneliness many seniors feel seems to be rampant today. I bet there are other areas of interest that elders can share. Be a good thing to think about - so I will. Thanks Ginnie.
Well there's some good lateral thinking.
Yes, that is a lovely story and it did make me feel good. Human behavior at its best. Thank you.
Oh, that’s a delightful story! Just shows what is possible in different situations. I recall there were Victory Gardens though we did not have one at the house my mother was renting for us. I don’t recall knowing anyone who had a garden which as a child I probably wasn’t paying too much attention to, but I’m sure many in our small city probably had one. I know other family living at various locations elsewhere in our state had gardens then and after the war — probably even before the war, too. Though most lived in small communities, villages, they prized fresh produce, canning and food preservation, from their childhood growing up on a prosperous farm which depended on what they grew for year ‘round survival.
From my friend Jan:
Beautiful story, Ginnie. And that is the way it should be.The more you give away, the more
you have.Everyone involved gains from this arrangement.She is making some good Karma there!
Thanks for sharing!
What a great solution that benefits so many people, Ginnie. While the Victory Garden years were a few years before I was born, I have seen many exhibits and regret never having asked my parents about those years, but I do know they also had a large vegetable garden and also raised chickens at some point.
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