Volunteer gardener keeps post office flower beds in bloom

Gainesville post office patrons have expressed appreciation for the beautiful array of flowers that bloom in two long beds in front of the building. Karen Van Pelt, shown here, with help from her husband, Melvin, carefully tend the flowers with the goal of having different flowers blooming throughout the warmer months. The flower beds were built when First Home Savings Bank (now Stockmens Bank) bought the old Gainesville Elementary School in 1995 and remodeled it into the present bank building and post office. Jim Edwards and Carole Wise were the first caretakers. When they stepped away from the work, Gainesville teacher Judy Turner, now retired, said she "self-appointed" herself to take care of the beds. Local residents donated seeds, bulbs and "starts" to the project, and Judy kept the beds blooming until 2023, when she handed off the volunteer job to the Van Pelts.