New Vrindaban Gardener Goes Preaching
“Cow protection is the business of the vaisyas and along with our preaching, this is the most important work. We must have a good section of Brahmanas in our society and we must also have a good group of vaisyas who can grow grains and tend cows, and thus supply the society with food-grains and milk products from the cow like ghee, curd, cream, etc”
Letter to: Hasyakari — Honolulu 26 May, 1975
Tapapunjah (Terry Sheldon) is doing both.
Island Community Gardens Now Open
To regenerate a sense of community and to raise interest in growing one’s own food, master gardeners and other volunteers have opened the Island Rat Community Gardens on Wheeling Island, an area once known as the garden spot of the city.
The community gardens, located at 45 Maryland St., behind Madison Elementary School, contain 18 raised beds where area residents can grow vegetables and herbs. Each bed measures 4 feet by 10 feet and is 8 inches deep. All but four of the beds have been claimed; participants include novices and experienced gardeners.
The Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, blessed the new gardens and the gardeners during grand-opening festivities Saturday, May 21. “I’m thrilled to be here,” he said before offering prayers for the new endeavor.
Several members of the Ohio County master gardeners group and members of the organizing committee were on hand to answer questions and offer advice to novice gardeners who are participating in the project.
“These beds are free for use by individuals. Children are encouraged to participate with parental permission,” said the Rev. Theresa Kelley, priest of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Wheeling Island. For more information, call 304-232-7549.
Frank McNeil, a master gardener and committee member, secured permission from property owner Joey Bishop of Bridgeport, W.Va., for the group to use the vacant lot as a garden plot. Bishop’s mother taught home economics at Madison School many years ago, and he indicated that she would be pleased to know that vegetable gardens were being established in the neighborhood.
D.K. Wright, committee member and vice president of the Ohio County master gardeners, said the committee has received invaluable assistance from Danny Swann, coordinator of the East Wheeling community gardens, and Terry Sheldon, gardener of the Garden of Seven Gates, a six-acre site where organic vegetables are grown in Marshall County.
“They (Swann and Sheldon) took us by the hand,” Wright said. “They know more about starting community gardens than anyone…
