New Ada garden club has big plans for summer

ADA — Beatitudes in downtown Ada offers residents a place to meet for monthly community dinners, friendly games of bingo and euchre, and thrift store shopping."I had this crazy idea at the end of the year, and I thought, we are a community center," said store manager Deb Curlis. "And little by little after COVID we've added more things. I just decided to do 'Wacky Wednesdays.' So every Wednesday we have something that the community can come to."The first Wednesday of the month is lunch and bingo. Bible study is held on the second Wednesday, while the third Wednesday is an arts and crafts session.The last Wednesday every month will be a meeting of the new Beatitude Bees Garden Club. The next gathering is at 11 a.m. March 26 and will include a talk by Tom Kier, former associate dean of Ohio Northern University's College of Pharmacy, who is also a bee expert."He will be talking about the bees and the importance of having the bees because a lot of people don't understand that. They see them and they want to kill them," Curlis said. "And that's not what you're supposed to do."Curlis will also teach members how to dry flowers by pressing them in a book. In April, the flowers will be turned into bookmarks.She said 16 people attended the first meeting in January. The group talked about some of the things they'd like to learn about gardening and then made beaded garden stakes to add color to a potted plant."Because gardens of course are all about color, the more the better," said Curlis. "I have a lot of my plants inside that have to have something in them. That's just me. Just like I like lots of jewelry, I like jewelry for my plants."She said the public is welcome to attend one, two, three or all four of the Wednesday events. All begin at 11 a.m."This way we have an opportunity to reach out to more people to give them something to do," Curlis explained. "Wintertime of course is terribly boring, so January, February and March, being able to have something to look forward to is great."It will also be warm enough soon to be outside, she said.Curlis has lots of ideas to share but establishing a community garden is going to be a high point for the club.Members could work it and keep it weeded, watered and harvested. The produce will then be taken to the main store at 210 N. Main St. where they'll be available free of charge for people who may not be able to get fresh vegetables on their own."I know how expensive (it is) and this year won't be any different. It will be expensive. If we could plant eggs, that would be awesome, wouldn't it?" Curlis laughed.At one point there was a community garden with raised beds at ONU, she said. Those have since been removed and the garden has been gone for two years.After hearing their plans, several people have offered spots in the village for gardens, said Curlis. A local garden club has already made a donation to help buy plants."It's funny how things will come together," she said. "The more we can put out, the more we'll be able to bring in to give to people because they love those things."It could also lead to classes about what to do with vegetables in recipes and how to preserve them, she said.Curlis said she's found a lot of people who come in for the center's food pantry and don't know how to cook."I always make suggestions on putting things together. OK, so I've given you this, this, and this and this, and you could put this together, make a fabulous dinner and you've got your whole meal," she said. "We try to educate people. That's the whole thing is to educate them on being able to not just open up a can of spaghetti."Having the gardens will open up a lot of other ideas, she noted, such as growing and using herbs to enhance the flavor of food.Once the club is ready to plant, members will meet more often, said Curlis."There will be several times to get together, whoever can help, and get it all ready to plant," she said. "It's been a long winter and it's time to be able to have something new to work on.""I want to encourage people, even if they're only going to have one pot on their porch, that they can make it and enjoy it," she added.The 501c3 organization was started in 2006 with the name of Restore. Curlis is the only paid employee along with 16 volunteers. Everything is funded through donations. The second shop, the Bee Home store at 228 N. Main St., carries kitchen items, dishes, glassware, furniture, "knick-knacks," frames and decorations.Beatitudes accepts donations of gently used clothing, outerwear, shoes, purses, jewelry, books, toys, decorative items, kitchen items, small appliances, home goods, wall décor, curtains and tablecloths. Furniture is taken by appointment only by calling 419-788-9459, while new sheets, bedding and towels are accepted it they are the original packaging.