Wednesday Study Club holds meeting for October

Kelly Hughes, librarian for the D Brown Memorial Library, reported at the Wednesday Study Club meeting Wednesday, Oct. 9, that the library had received $4,809.81 cents as a donation from Falls County.

She said the Texas Comptroller allocates portions of unclaimed capital credits from the Heart of Texas Electric Cooperative and that money is subsequently divided between the counties served by the coop. Falls County divided its funds among five organizations in the county.

[That money] “with the $1,000 from the Diana Miles Estate [means] we will be able to redo the restrooms.” Hughes said, referring to a project the club had cancelled earlier because of cost concerns. The club’s primary objective is to support the library.

Vanessa Pfingsten, who with her husband, owns Maple Creek Tree Farm just outside Rosebud at 502 CR 322 presented the program.  Pfingsten said she is from Canada, but she married a Texan. Her husband works in construction, and they have two children. She characterized their operation as, “We’re on a mission to help you love your yard. We would love everyone’s garden to be beautiful. The kids can enjoy the outdoors and plants. Being outdoors gives them some sense of where foods come from.”

She handed out a printout to members of their mission statement, accompanied by an early-fall gardening check list and the tree farm’s card.

The mission statement says, “We are a family-owned tree farm, nursery and garden market. We believe in using native and easy-to-grow trees, plants, flowers, and food. We believe in the importance of spending time outside. We believe in nurturing our communities and teaching future generations how to grow.”

Besides the early-fall check list, Pfingsten said it is better to plant in the fall because you don’t have to water constantly to keep plants alive through our long, hot summers. She added, “Don’t trim trees in March when they say, ‘Ooh’.”

Maple Creek Tree Farm has several types of oaks and pecans, in addition to cypress, redbuds, and crepe myrtles. She also does flower arrangements with fresh flowers. Members were asked to write their names on squares of paper and a drawing was held for a gift bag. Pam Parcus won a weeder, soap, and garden gloves.

Hughes had a display of new books on a table near the door.

The oak serving table was covered with a purple tablecloth, sporting skulls, brooms, cauldrons, grimoires, witches’ hats, crescent moons and stars. Three ghosts formed the centerpiece. Runners of brown and yellow leaves, punctuated by scarecrows, pumpkins and ghosts, decorated the other tables. Hostesses Mary Ann Mitchell, Pam Parcus and Rita Burris served pulled pork and beef sliders with slaw, pickles and chips. Pumpkin bread and leaf- and pumpkin-shaped iced cookies, candy corn and M&Ms comprised dessert.

After Carol Stock called the meeting to order, Pat Runcie gave the invocation and introduced the program. Stock also thanked Runcie for her leadership last spring in planning and producing the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the library building. The building was donated by a local banker Charlie Brown in memory of his late wife, D Brown.