PHOTO COURTESY MARY SMITHWICK
A meeting of friends — At the October meeting of the Friends of DeLeon Springs, Beryl Hesketh, Corkie Bertholf, Betsy Maraldo, Ranger Jan Wichterman and Jesse Oglesby look at the head of a gator who never played football.
PHOTO COURTESY MARY SMITHWICK
Nectar for dinner — A bee feasts on one of Lorraine Sullivan’s flowers.
PHOTO COURTESY MARY SMITHWICK
Taming nature — Lorraine Sullivan of DeLeon Springs mows her lawn.
posted Nov 17, 2008 - 2:47:38pm
At the October quarterly meeting of the Friends of DeLeon Springs, Ranger Jan Wichterman declared to the astounded attendees that “Gators aren’t just a football team!”
“How can this be?” people asked.
Then Jan, an expert on all wildlife, including football teams, went on to talk about the not-always-shy creatures who like to inhabit the waterways of Florida. They are often big and always scaly-looking. A full room of people listened with rapt attention.
Besides learning from Jan, the Friends enjoyed a delicious luncheon of hot dogs incomparably grilled by Brad and Jody Burris and supplemented by salads and desserts brought by members of the Friends. The music of Clare Laube’s Hillside Ramblers and the beauty of DeLeon Springs State Park completed the enjoyment of the day.
* * *
The DeLeon Springs Garden Club is made up of friendly people, but not always people with identical aims. Most of them are avid gardeners, with gardens large or small, but some just come to meetings because they like to get out in company, and at least one member swears she belongs because the food is so good.
The November meeting of the Garden Club was held at the home of Lorraine Sullivan in DeLeon Springs, one of the club’s most accomplished and hardest-working gardeners. Lush gardens surround her home and strike awe in the hearts of the less ambitious.
The usual splendid array of food was evident, and in the program on container gardening, presented by President Karen Russi, all the mysteries of this type of gardening were made clear. Members were advised to put plants that like each other close to each other. Short plants go with short plants, summer plants with summer plants, and winter plants with winter plants.
Then each member was presented with her very own container garden, complete with lettuce, parsley and a strawberry, all winter plants. From now on, every single member will have at least this array of plants actually growing to make her a bona fide gardener.
Lorraine Sullivan, gardener extraordinaire, is one of a rare breed — a native-born Floridian. Born in Orlando, she went to school in Miami to become a registered nurse and married Bob Sullivan. When Hurricane Andrew leveled her tropical garden and made the Sullivans’ house between Miami and Homestead uninhabitable, the family moved to West Volusia.
After working for nearly 30 years as an operating-room nurse, Lorraine still spends several days a week in the operating room. When she’s not there, she kayaks, bicycles, hikes, works in her garden, and hones her skills in photography, shooting mainly the plants and wild creatures around her house.
What first brought Lorraine to the interest of this writer was her volunteering to assist World War II veterans in an Honor Air flight to Washington, D.C. These Honor Air flights are sponsored by Rotary Clubs, assisted here by members of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. The good news is that a third flight from this area is scheduled for next spring.
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As winter seems to creep up on us — yes, even here — Thanksgiving comes as a warm, welcoming time. Glenwood Presbyterian Church has a history of opening its heart, and kitchen, to all who want to attend the church’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. Religious attachment has nothing to do with it — when they say everybody is welcome, that’s exactly what they mean.
A turkey dinner enhanced by side dishes, salads and desserts provided by attendees, will be served at 1 p.m., and there will be music. For those who find it difficult to help add to the feast, no problem. Come anyway. To give the church an idea of how many to expect, prospective guests are asked to call (386) 734-8617 to make a reservation.
— Mary writes of goings-on in DeLeon Springs, Glenwood and points north. Send her e-mail at msmithwick@cfl.rr.com, or call (386) 985-4707.
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