This article was written about my Grandmother, Jean A. Brown, in the Indianapolis Star!
Still blooming
Dahlia grower has been exhibiting at fair for 50 years
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By Melanie D. Hayes
For 50 years, Jean Brown has been packing up her dahlias and driving to the Indiana State Fair to exhibit them.
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"When I was little, I'd follow her around in the garden," Brown said. "She said, 'You'll end up raising these flowers because you follow me around.' "
Brown's grandmother exhibited dahlias at the Michigan State Fair every year -- for about 60 years. Sure enough, Brown is following her lead. Brown began growing dahlias in the early 1950s, after her grandmother gave her some tubers (a short, thickened, fleshy part of an underground stem). Brown usually travels around Indiana and surrounding states to exhibit at fairs, where she has won several ribbons over the years. She not only shows dahlias, but also garden vegetables, including cabbage, corn, carrots, green peppers and tomatoes.
Brown currently has 150 dahlia plants, and will exhibit her flowers Aug. 11 and 17.
Taking care of the dahlias and preparing for the State Fair was a family affair. Brown used to get her husband, Billie, and their four children to participate.
Donna Burnett, the Browns' third child, remembers vividly how involved she and her siblings were while they were on summer vacation from school and their parents had to work.
"She'd leave a us a list every morning for things to do," said Burnett, who lives in Virginia Beach. "At the top of the list was 'fertilize the dahlias.' We did that twice a week. She had 300 to 400 plants, and each plant got half a bucket of fertilizer. We had to fill up those darn buckets and carry them up and down the rows a couple of times a week."
On the day of the state fair, the entire family got up very early, sometimes around 5 a.m., to pack up the plants in their vehicle.
"When we would go to the fair, she would literally have 100 blooms," Burnett said. "Back then, there were 20 to 30 dahlia growers, so there were hundreds and hundreds of blooms each year. So us kids would be running through the horticultural building trying to find the right category and space. It was kind of fun and crazy."Burnett and her siblings often won awards through 4-H for various things, and thought it was neat that their mother was also winning her own awards.
Burnett plans to return to Indiana on a visit to see her mother's 50th State Fair exhibit.
Brown likes winning awards, but she also enjoys the work it takes to nurture the dahlias throughout the year.
"I like to go out and see the flowers come through the ground," she said. "I like seeing them growing in all these stages. I go out there and work and forget about everything else going on except what God put there for me to see. I appreciate the talent he's given me to do this."
Call Star reporter Melanie D. Hayes at (317) 444-5538.
This was in the Vincennes Sun Commercial newspaper about my niece, Ashlae!
Ashlae Nelms, a 13 year old in Lawrenceville, IL has made it into the 2nd Round semi-finals for the 14 year old and under category of Kenny Kent Karaoke Idol Contest that is held in Evansville IN. She performed on Saturday July 28th and sang Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler.