Creekside Donates Trees to Marshfield Senior Center
The “seeds in our minds” were planted last April, however the trees were planted this winter. Actually, two trees were planted at the new Senior Center in Marshfield, which were donated by Community Members from Creekside. Why would Creekside donate trees to Marshfield? The answer has to do with the seed “planted in the minds” of our members after attending the Cherry Blossom Festival in the Spring of 2017.
A group attended the Festival for the first time in order to hear Mary Eisenhower, (Dwight’s granddaughter) host a panel of WWII Veterans. The second event of the day was to be a presentation by Richard Nixon’s brother. He was unable to attend so we were delighted when Mary spoke in his place and told stories of her life with her grandfather and grandmother. This was the 16th year for the Cherry Blossom Festival which hosts many former President’s descendants as well as old time television celebrities. Military heroes and special service members are often guests along with famous Missouri authors and philanthropists. The annual three day spring gathering to celebrates American History/Culture.
After our day in Marshfield we invited the Director of the event, Nicholas Inman, to visit Creekside and fill us in on the founding of the festival and the highlights from the prior years. We formed a special bond with Nicholas and the hard work he has put into the event over the years. He has become a regular speaker and friend to our Campus. The Festival as well as Nicholas, are nationally recognized. He has formed lasting bonds with many Presidential families. He is very close to the Carter, Eisenhower and Bush families.
Now, let’s go back to the seeds and the trees. The Community Members are so excited to go to the festival in April of this year that they want to not only attend events, but to also help volunteer. One large part of the Festival is to have the town of Marshfield in full bloom during the event. There are 3 varieties of flowering Cherry trees planted all through the town. With the varieties blooming in different stages, it guarantees the same effect as the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. Creekside plans on donating 2 trees each year to the area around the Senior Center. Our first two donated trees were planted in the front of the Center where there had been no landscaping done at all. The future of the site includes a walking trail behind the building. Creekside Community Members’ current “seed of thought” is to help fill the trail with Cherry Blossom trees as our hearts are committed to planting two trees at the site annually. Each year as we attend the Festival we will drive by and watch our trees grow!
The upcoming Festival will be held April 26th , 27th and 28th. Nicholas will be coming to the Clubhouse on March 1st to give us a preview of this year’s special guests and events.