The Flowers of Fred's News

As harsh as the New England winters are, typically the spring season is an awakening of all things beautiful. As a child I remember the fun of winter but as the days grew longer and the red buds of Spring appeared we couldn't wait for that first day of warmth when heavy jackets were no longer necessary. The patrons of Fred's News also looked forward to the "growing season". They too knew it meant a sort of rebirth for the little shop and its' immediate West Main Street neighborhood. Slowly the Flowers of Fred's News would appear. The wrought iron park benches with their newly painted seats, the carved fir trees and bears with their hats, as well as the huge stuffed bears begging to be hugged by the little ones, all made their reappearance on the walkways and at the entrance of Fred's News after their long winter's sleep. Conversations inside the restaurant questioning the timing of their exit from hibernation usually started around mid February when all the Flower Shows in the area began to rev-up. Bill and I would also visit local flower & garden centers from Mystic, Connecticut to our neighbors in Vermont.

First a little history on the flowers. Bill has always loved growing anything. Years before Fred's News, he had owned a dairy farm and always loved working the land. Myself, I have always loved flowers. As a young teen I began collecting wildflowers and grasses, pressing and drying them anyway I could. My search to find new ways to preserve these beauties was relentless. Those reference books still fill my collection. With the purchase of Fred's News we didn't have much land to grow many of these glorious flowers, but we did put a small greenhouse behind the restaurant. This began the annual flower project in front of Fred's News. Eventually it evolved into a very large and time consuming project but the results were beyond description. These gorgeous and colorful flowers lined the walkways, covered the old rusted bridge railings, spilled from the flower boxes on the upper level of the building, and beautified a neighborhood that had long passed its' prime. It began at Fred's News, continued over the bridge to the 72 Degrees building, crossed West Main St., came back up towards Fred's News, but not before it first brightened the lawn of the Baltic Methodist Church, then on in front of the old Adams homestead and across the old rusted bridge opposite Fred's News. A safe guess on the length of this visual delicacy would be at least fifty yards. I only wish we had time lapsed photography so that we could of captured this beautiful progression of flowers throughout the Spring, Summer and into Fall's first hard frost. Spendidly breathtaking is just the beginning description of their beauty.

This project was not all fun, games and adoration for our neighbors and patrons. Every year we had to endure vandals and just plain theft. We learned to adapt so this visual wonder could continue. We also learned all flowers planted in the hanging boxes on the bridge should remain in their original pots. That way when vandals pulled the flowers out and threw them "overboard" into the brook that flowed under the bridge, the heavy pots kept them upright, making retrieving and replanting possible. Bill also had a young man named John weld some rugged plant hangers to hold the gigantic moss baskets. They were attached to the facade of Fred's News with a matching chain and lock. These massive hanging baskets of petunias, geraniums, ivies,fuschias and many other colorful varieties were many a hummingbirds' playground. So that we would remember all of these beautiful blooms, hundreds of photos were taken. Many people came by on a daily basis to capture these images. Every morning Bill would be out on the sidewalks, pulling the hose up and down the street at 3:00am. In the heat of the summer their thirst and need for water was extremely demanding, but Bill never let them suffer. In the fall when the days grew shorter, mums in warm colors of the autumn season made their appearance as well. Each day we would listen to the forecast. Even if we missed it, people stopped by or called to let us know "there's a chance for a frost, cover up the flowers!" We would fight a continuous battle we knew we couldn't win, Mother Nature would prevail! Slowly the little store would look so lonely without it's brillant wardrobe of flowers, but the conversations surrounding those blossoms lingered well into the cold winter months. Those who knew us well, knew next years concert of flowers we be bigger, more colorful and more splendidly breathtaking than its' predessor.