Nazareth World War II veteran seeks volunteers to keep memorial garden thriving

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

World War II Veteran Harry G. Adams fears the garden he dutifully maintained for the past 15 years will erode and disappear if volunteers don’t step forward to spruce it up.

Adams, 86, a Nazareth resident and former Nazareth Area School Board member, retired earlier this summer from his volunteer job of maintaining the Veterans Memorial Garden at Shafer Elementary School.
Harry AdamsHarry Adams, 86, has retired from maintaining the Shafer Elementary School Veterans Memorial Garden in Nazareth and is looking for new volunteers to help maintain the garden. Express-Times Photo | BILL ADAMS

He returned from a vacation with his five sons and 11 grandchildren this week to find the garden covered in weeds and garbage. Since putting a letter in local newspapers requesting volunteers, only two people stepped forward and have since stopped expressing interest.

“You know how many showed up?” Adams asked. “None.”

Adams had spent countless hours each week tending the 80-square-foot plot that was built 20 years ago by World War II veteran and now-retired Shafer Elementary School teacher, Bob Johnson. He estimated it would take one volunteer eight hours to maintain the garden on a weekly basis, but if eight people came on board, it could be spruced up within an hour.

The job consists of planting flowers in the spring and maintaining an estimated 1,200 flowers and pruning about 64 rose bushes. The garden also includes stepping stones, American flags and park benches for the public to pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

“I am a veteran who took care if it for 15 years. How am I supposed to feel?” Adams asked as he walked through the garden. “I just want to bring it to someone’s attention of what it had looked like.”

Some help could be on the way, according to Shafer Principal William Mudlock.

Mudlock said he will send a letter out to parents requesting their help with the memorial garden, as well as two other courtyards in front of the school’s entrance. He also plans to recruit students as part of a project once school begins.

Mudlock said the two beds in the main part of the garden often become choked with weeds due to the sun exposure that area of the property. He praised Adams for his service and called him an “asset” to the district.

“We’re working on it,” Mudlock said. “We want to maintain it the best we can. It’s an important and integral part of our school, and we’re going to make sure we keep it nice.”

Adams said volunteers don’t necessarily need a green thumb.

“They just need to know weeds from flowers,” he said.

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HOW TO HELP:

To become a volunteer maintaining the Veterans Memorial Garden, call Shafer Elementary School at 610-759-2253 and ask for Principal William Mudlock.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2011/08/nazareth_world_war_ii_veteran.html