By Rosalyn Queen
How many readers remember wearing and/or seeing ladies wearing corsages on Easter Sunday? This month’s photo is one taken at my family’s greenhouse business, but it seems appropriate to share something pertaining to Easter as we’re in the middle of Holy Week. The image was taken in 1943 and shows an employee of Bice’s Greenhouse, Becky (Richardson) Reger, picking sweet peas off of vines in Greenhouse #1.
Though Shinnston didn’t have any greenhouse establishments for most of the twentieth century, Enterprise was never without at least one in business. In addition to Bice’s, the Tetrick and Rockwell families also had greenhouse establishments. The Tetrick family sold theirs to a couple of men who ran the business as Haller and Traxler, but Tetrick’s later relocated at Midway.
The Sturm family had greenhouses at Viropa, where they also operated a flower shop and made many corsages as well.
Speaking for my family’s business, which is now in its centennial year, sweet peas made the simplest corsages during the earliest years of operation. Their multiple colors added much beauty to the lady wearing it and could match with most any dress she had on. The fragrance was also pleasant as most sweet peas have a sweet smell with a sort of fresh citrus scent.
For many years, the entire day before Easter was spent clipping both greenery and blooms from plants and flowers in the greenhouses and then taking the cuttings into the workroom to start making corsages. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, some customers would come the morning of Easter and pick their own sweet peas from the vines growing inside the greenhouses, wait while their corsage was being made, then head off to church services while wearing the freshest corsage possible.
By the 1950’s, most corsages were made with cymbidium orchids. Pink carnations later became popular as well. For much of the twentieth century, all of the greenery and flowers used to make the corsages were grown right inside the greenhouses.
As time passes, some traditions pass with them. Easter dresses are still bought and some ladies hats have made a comeback, but the long gloves and corsages seem to have passed away with time. Those traditions become memories, memories hopefully evoked from reading this month’s story behind the photo.
While browsing through my WVU Extension calendar I saw that April 22 is Arbor Day. I stopped a minute and immediately I started thinking about trees and planting ten free trees that were given to us through my days at East View Grade School. Now that is all I remember about that incident but I started doing some research to satisfy my need to learn more about Arbor Day.
Arbor Day is a national holiday observed each year on the fourth Friday of April, this year being April 25. On January 4, 1872, Sterling Morton proposed a tree planting holiday to be called Arbor Day knowing that Arbor Day would have a positive impact on our planet.
In 1979 President Nixon proclaimed in a national holiday. Countries all over the world observe Arbor Day. With the recent fires out West and the tornadoes and other natural catastrophes we have had lately, we take a moment to think about how many trees have been destroyed, can you imagine a world without trees.
There is more to a tree than that poem Trees. It provides us with shade on that hot summer day, it contributes to sustaining energy, it keeps our hills from eroding and the list goes on and on.
The Arbor Day Foundation was founded as a non profit organization dedicated to planting trees with over three million members who have planted five hundred million trees. Its mission is to inspire people to plant, protect and celebrate trees.
Arbor Day represents a hope for the future. I encourage you to observe Arbor Day. Plant a tree on your property. It might be a fruit tree or a flowering tree or a pine tree that some day soon will help you observe the holidays.
As Joyce Kilmer said in her famous poem “Trees”. I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree …… Poems were written by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.”
I can not imagine a world without trees. The beautiful cherry trees in D. C. The trees of West Virginia in the fall with their glorious colors and the list goes on.
There is one more week of Lent left and still time to observe it in your special way. For Easter Bread call 304 624 6881, The PWA.
Give your kid an extra big hug today, stay healthy and until next week “Now You Have Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
