Downtown Beautification

Traveling down Main Street in Ulysses last week you may have noticed a hubbub of activity, which included a shopping cart or two. Not all of the people were shopping;  however, some were busy making downtown more "appealing".

For the past three years, Grant County  Tourism Council has been planting flowers and other plants in huge, reddish-brown colored flower pots. Two of the tourism volunteers involved in the project are Debbie Long and Marsha Flummerfelt.

"The reason we do this is for the beautification of Main Street," said Flummerfelt. "We have been very pleased with the response from the community about how nice it looks. We really do enjoy doing it."

Those assisting the duo last week were Chamber of Commerce Director Marieta Hauser and Grant County Chamber of Commerce Executive Assistant Robin Leonard.

"We have always been assisted by the Chamber of Commerce," Flummerfelt said. "Marieta and Robin are on the Tourism Board, too."

The shopping carts and more are part of what has made the project run more smoothly.

"Over the years, we have learned to streamline and get the help we need," Long said. "Jag-K kids from the high school are so helpful, not only on planting day, but taking the plants out when we are ready. They are good to help us."

Walking up and down Main volunteers had plants and plastic milk cartons full of water - stopping at each location where there was a pot filled with dirt and ready to be planted.

"We have 19 containers and we put a grass, a couple of petunias, and a couple of sweet potato vines in some, and in others we put some Mandevilla plants," Long said. "It is an experiment this year - you live and learn what works on Main Street. We wanted to change it up a bit, and not just have flowers or the same thing in each pot. So, we are trying Mandevilla in every other pot to see how it will do."

The dirt (potting soil) was already in the pots and ready to have the plants added.

"We loaded 22 bags of dirt and filled the pots up this past Spring," Flummerfelt said. "We then got them watered - there is a lot to do before we ever plant."

Long said she has some Mandevilla at her home.

"It is a tropical plant - it should be okay," she said. "I've got them and Marsha does, too. They just do well in our climate."

Around April of each year, tourism begins planning for the next year's round of planting. They give their "shopping list" to Hauser.

"She gets plants and dirt for us," Long said. "She gets the majority of the plants from Koehn's Country Gardens, and the dirt (potting soil) we need from Ace Hardware."

Flummerfelt added, "We do our best to get everything we need locally."

"Marieta gets the dirt and the plants every year - coordinating everything," Flummerfelt said. "She does a lot."

At the April Tourism meeting, they go over what they did the previous year.

"We will talk over what did and didn't work this year - we live and learn," Long said.

The plants recently added to the pots will be taken out in the Fall - they will need cared for in the interim.

"We water and take care of them until Fall," Flummerfelt said. "We meet first thing in the morning and turn on our music and just go down the street."

Bebopping along to 50s and 60s tunes, Flummerfelt and Long say to them, "it's fun".

"We are on the Tourism Board, but we are retired, too," Long said. "We have fun together."

Main street is not the only place Flummerfelt and Long have done some planting.

"The City had asked us to plant the two parks they couldn't get to -at the Gazebo park and at the end of Main Street," Long said. "So, we grab a couple of girlfriends who like to plant and make a fun day out of it."

The ladies appreciate the enthusiasm of City Administrator Luke Grimes.

"We want to make our Main Street pretty and inviting so people will want to spend time there," Long said. "We want to make everyone feel welcome. Luke wants that as well. The City works well with tourism - we all want it to be pretty and inviting."

When asked how much time the entire project takes, Flummerfelt and Long said they don't know.

"It took us an hour to do the planting," Long said. "All of the time we have spent on this, though - it's all volunteer. We enjoy doing it and we couldn't put a time on it."

Flummerfelt reiterated why they do this project.

"We are doing this for the community and we are grateful we have the opportunity to be involved in it," she said.

Other volunteers who assisted with the last week's planting were Historic Adobe Museum Director Ginger Anthony, museum employees Jessica Morphis and Beth Mathis; Jag-K Director Rosalinda Ochoa and Jag-K students: Jr Jackson, Omar Dillon, Alexis Clifton, Korina Montoya and Maylin Aboytes; and volunteers Cheryl Hale, Gloria Mortensen and Lana Coleman.

Long and Flummerfelt said they are "proud" they have not seen many problems.

"We enjoy seeing the community enjoy the pots," Flummerfelt said. "We appreciate the community respecting the project."

Some communities have seen a problem with people using these kind of pots as ashtrays or trashcans - not a good idea since compost burns.

Cost for the Main Street project is covered by the Tourism Council, funded by a local bed tax, according to Hauser.

Volunteers are welcome and always needed, if you would like to assist with this or other projects, contact the Ulysses Chamber of Commerce.