Senior Resource Guide - Ottumwa Courier 2022 | Page 9

From a young age , Marlyn Rietveld-Ebbers , Ann Summitt and Patsy Cody immersed themselves in nature .

Rietveld-Ebbers grew up in her father ’ s garden digging potatoes with her five siblings in potato-sack dresses , hand-sewn by her mother . The garden was their lifeline .
Similarly , Summitt helped her grandfather with his garden on the family farm . She wandered the land and played in a creek nearby with neighborhood children , hands and feet covered in dirt by day ’ s end . Her admiration for her grandmother ’ s Jackson & Perkins roses remains .
A native of northwest Iowa — where the soil is rich , black and cold – Cody remembers the shock of brown soil on the neighborhood children ’ s feet when her family moved to the area . Her mother preferred being outside in the garden over the confines of housework , and Cody and her sisters were always by her side .
“ Nature is born in our bones ,” Rietveld-Ebbers says .
Naturally , the three women gravitated to the Pella Garden Club as adults . And as longtime members , they want others to know it ’ s more than arranging flower bouquets and selling tulip bulbs during Tulip Time — it ’ s a return to ( and love of ) nature .
For the love of nature and community
If one walks or drives around “ America ’ s Dutch Treasure ,” the Pella
Garden Club can be seen almost anywhere .
The club ’ s purpose is to promote a love of plants and living things while providing education in areas of horticulture , flower arranging and landscape design .
The club is known for hosting the Tulip Time Flower Show in Scholte House and selling tulip bulbs from Holland during Tulip Time each year . Their fundraising efforts from tulip bulb sales are then used to support civic beautification in Pella .
“ All of our civic beautification is done in Pella . We spend all of our money in Pella ,” Rietveld-Ebbers says .
“ We try to spread out our money among many different entities in the community ,” Summitt adds .
A few of the club ’ s most recent contributions are $ 10,000 toward the beautification of Wonder Spelen , a new all-inclusive playground in Kiwanis Park ; $ 15,000 for the Tuttle Cabin Learning Walkway , an important historical landmark ; $ 25,000 to Scholte Gardens that surround Scholte House , where Pella ’ s founder , Dominie Henry Scholte , lived the remainder of his life ; and the Memorial Gardens at Fair Haven-Wesley Life , a senior living community .
The club has also completed beautification projects for the City of Pella , the Central Park fountain , Sunken Gardens , the Pella Opera House restoration , Pella Regional Health Center , Pella Community Schools and Pella Historical Society and Museums , among others .
Photos : Left : Members Marlyn Rietveld-Ebbers ( left ), Ann Summitt ( middle ) and Patsy Cody love everything about the Pella Garden Club . Photo by Emily Hawk / The Herald .
Right-Top : A flower show entry .
Right-Middle : A bouquet of flowers assembled by a member of the Pella Garden Club
Right-Bottom : A bed of red tulips at Pella Historical Society and Museums . Submitted Photos
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