We hope that everyone had a great ‘official’ start to the summer season. Mom Nature pulled her usual Memorial Day tricks, giving us half good and half so-so weather for the long weekend; then turning up the heat to miserable to start the new work week. That having run its brief course, we will haul out the sweat shirts for a couple days. And so the weather goes in Michigan.
Our Last Ever garage sale was a good one and reminded us why it is the last. We have only recovered. It takes a team and ours did a great job. Both my sister-in-law and I were happy to find new homes for several old items in particular. The remains have gone off to their greater donation reward and new lives in someone else’s home. The Gardener has the garage back. Contentment reigns.
One of the best things about our sale was seeing a lot of familiar faces, old friends and meeting new neighbors. There was a time when everyone knew everyone else in Winterfield. Ours was primarily a farming community less than a hundred years ago, bound together socially and by our country schools. Believe it or not, there were far more open fields under tillage and fewer and much younger trees only 60 years ago.
As residents of the same place we all likely have a good idea of who everyone is, but we don’t necessarily or personally know everyone in the township. Our little community has become more populated with folks moving into the township and those who call us home on the weekends. We were happy to meet a few new folks over the weekend, among them our near neighbor, Laura Jones who discovered Winterfield a little over a year ago when she bought her piece of the pines. Which, we might add, she is most pleased. We were also happy to find that she is a new and devoted Marion Press reader, and I thank her for her kind words.
We were also happy to find that former resident, area native and also loyal Press reader, Loretta David Britton snuck in under the radar and has been back in our midst for a while now. We all know that home is where the heart is, and Loretta’s is certainly here.
The passing of Helen Reedy Richardson this week likely prompted more than a few memories for Marion folks. It was Helen Richardson who brought the resident florist business to the Marion area with the opening of Flowers by Tender Touch around 1970. Her business was next to her home east of town on 20 Mile Road in a building built for her by husband Ken. This was the best of both worlds for Helen, allowing her to indulge her passion for work with flowers and plants and still be the devoted at home mom for her growing family. She was extremely good at both.
Helen Richardson and Flowers by Tender Touch spent many years serving the Marion area. She married us and buried us and delivered flowers for every occasion in between; all the holidays, birthdays, proms, Mom’s, Dad’s, Thinking of You’s and Just Becauses. No one was ever sorry to see her flowers come to the door. Helen’s work was beautifully done with style and pride, no matter the occasion.
Our wedding flowers were done by Helen Richardson. So was my dad’s funeral some 15 years later. As I recall, for our at home in the Pines wedding in 1976, we ordered two held bouquets, seven corsages, as many boutonnieres and some cut flowers for the table. The cost was an amazing $36, which I thought incredible then and utterly unheard of now.
I stashed a sentimental dried corsage and boutonniere, and all of their memories away in a sealed jar 46 years ago. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has pressed or dried sentimental flowers stashed away.
Helen Richardson and her Tender Touch brought us all smiles. Our condolences to Ken and the girls.
Our photo is of Helen and Ken, in taken in 2016 when the Richardson’s celebrated their Michigan Centennial Farm
