Innovative Programs Initiated.

Main Street Carthage Director Carol Green has announced that the organization has been awarded grants from the Steadley Trust in the amount of $11,800. The funds will be used to promote Carthage in general and specifically the downtown area.

A portion of the funding will pay for the recruitment, training, and evaluation of 40 new volunteers who will make up the Carthage Ambassador Volunteer Program.

Two other programs initiated by Main Street are aimed at bringing more out-of-town visitors to the Community.

The VIP Town Days will designate a day especially for a community near Carthage, such as Lamar. Citizens of that community would be invited to visit and receive special attention and special discounts by displaying their driver’s license. The visitors will be treated to a free Double Decker bus ride and visits to sites of interest.

One out-of-state visitor will be welcomed each Friday by a Ticket To The City issued randomly by the Carthage Police Department. The Ticket will entitle the visitor to a free Carthage vacation valued at $135.

I’m intrigued by today’s feature story ‘bout Main Street Carthage. I can just imagine a visitor cruisin’ around the square, maybe even goin’ the wrong way, bein’ pulled over by the police and informed they have just won a night’s stay and a meal or two from the friendly folks in Carthage. The upside is they won’t be stayin’ in the jail, they’ll be treated to first class accommodations. Gotta be a lot a talk goin’ on back in their home town about that experience. For the cost of a couple a radio ads, more folks will hear about the town of Carthage, Missouri than Carter has liver pills.

‘Course the impact on the City will take some time. But this may be one a those ideas that actually makes some sense.

Now, about those forty volunteers....

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS

by Donna Erickson

When my kids help me pull the tired, tangled and snarled plants out of our little garden plot, it’s an official reminder that the warm and balmy days of summer and early fall have neared completion.

Cleaning the modest 8-by-8 square of dried-out tomato plants, zinnias and dill gone to seed is a chore my kids do half-obligingly, but for me it has become a ritual.

I say goodbye to the seasons I love and face the prospect of a cold Minnesota winter with temps ranging for months between 20 degrees above zero to an occasional, mind-boggling 70 below with wind-chill factor.

When my children remind me that it’s not going to be THAT bad, I snap out of my reverie and we come up with an idea to bring the best of our summer garden indoors. Here’s how we transplanted our rosemary plant and made it into a charming topiary-like design to nurture and display in our kitchen window through the winter months. You may also use thyme or a small ivy plant.

Decorate a clean, medium-size clay flowerpot with acrylic paint or paint pens. We used a gold paint pen and wrote ROSEMARY in fancy letters around the middle of the pot. Let dry. Plant the rosemary plant in the pot. We washed our plant outside before we brought it indoors and enjoyed the plants’ lovely aroma as we rinsed it off.

Meanwhile, an adult or older child may bend a metal coat hanger in the shape of a circle for a form for your topiary. Its size should be in proportion to the clay pot. Use pliers to straighten out the curved hanger portion. Carefully poke the straightened end directly into the soil as close as possible to the center of the rosemary, being careful not to injure the plant.

Wrap the trailing plant around the wire form, tying with string or wire to hold it in place. Place the rosemary topiary in a sunny spot. As new growth appears, clip it off for use in your winter meals or tuck it into the form for a full topiary that will look lovely in your kitchen for months to come.

Note: If you don’t have a garden, small inexpensive plants suitable for growing a topiary may be purchased at a garden shop.