Master Gardeners visit Kiwanis
Before she joined the Oktibbeha County Master Gardeners, Emily Jones called herself an “unlikely gardener,” because she was not too fond of dirt and bugs until she had retired and joined the club.
Jones and Master Gardeners Vice President of Projects Chuck Rivenburgh visited the Kiwanis Club of Starkville on Tuesday to talk to the Kiwanians their favorite parts of their organization.
When she was younger, she could not wrap her head around as to why people would go through the labor growing their own food when food was easily accessible thanks to supermarkets, but times like when the pandemic first hit last year are examples as to why she believes gardening is important.
“I grew up in the 50s around the time World War II ended and all the soldiers came home, it was around that time when supermarkets also came about, so you could go buy anything you wanted. I was puzzled why anybody would want to grow their own, when you could go buy flowers, roses, whatever you wanted,” said Jones. “Well things have changed now, especially over the last year when we had so many frightening things happen with diseases and so forth to get into our food system.”
When she retired after working for five decades in journalism, the West Pointnative felt it was best to move back to Starkville and find a new hobby now that she had the time.
“I tried tennis, I tried golf, but putting a ball in a hole for 18 rounds just didn’t make sense to me. I credit Charlie Weatherly for giving me this great hobby [gardening]; this is my best hobby forever,” said Jones. “There are so many reasons to garden. I can’t even tell you all of it, but the health aspects of gardening are just tremendous. There are so many reasons, such as stress relief and anxiety, and in this period of our lives where COVID-19 canceled a lot of our sports and social events, everyone’s pretty much stuck at
Thomas, the director of development and community relations at OCHS, spoke about how the humane society chooses which animals go to different events.
“We first decide on temperament; animals who are able to be around large crowds do better in situations like this,” Thomas said. “We also try to target some of the animals that have been at our shelter for a while. There are a few dogs out there that fit that description, and they are really great pets.”
The platinum level sponsors for the event were Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Barbara Coats with Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, who will match donations up to $2,500 from the night. Even before the auction closed at 8:30 p.m., the humane society had already raised about $900, and it all goes to the pets.
One of the biggest things Rowe could emphasize was the impact businesses and individuals in the community have on OCHS.
“Anytime you donate or volunteer with the humane society, you’re helping animals in your own community. We couldn’t do anything we do to help the thousands of animals every year without our community partners, whether it’s local businesses or individuals. It wouldn’t happen without them,” Rowe said.
The biggest help though, comes in a small and accessible act: spaying or neutering your pet.
“Please spay and neuter your pets,” Rowe said. “We have our snip and spay clinic, and we spay and neuter for low-income families. There is absolutely no reason for anyone in the Golden Triangle Area to have a pet that isn’t already spayed or neutered. If everyone helps to make this happen, we wouldn’t have an over abundance of animals in shelters.”
To volunteer with the Oktibbeha County Humane Society or to adopt a pet, please contact the humane society at 662-338-9093 or visit them at 510 Industrial Park Road.