LaVell's Rose Garden

Dad grew roses. He must have had 40 bushes in the front tree bank (area between the sidewalk and the street).

And they had to be watered and pruned. You can't really see it in this picture but the street didn't have curb and gutter in those days. The center of the street was paved, and the shoulders were gravel. Then there was the ditch. It was lined with stones and dropped off about 8-10 inches.

Imagine the challenge for new drivers to parallel park without having the tires fall into the ditch. I recall a couple of times when I got out of the car and realized that 2/3 of the tire was hanging over the edge. I would jump back in and move the car!

Anyway, back to the roses. Dad and Mom were out in the front yard on a sunny afternoon when one of the McAnelly boys came around the corner way too fast and drove his car right over the top of Dad's rose garden.

Now, the McAnelly family lived through the back fence. They were a bit of a contrast in the neighborhood. I think they were from Kentucky or maybe West Virginia. They never had to cut the grass because there wasn't any.

One of the McAnelly boys wanted a convertible so he cut the top off of his sedan.

NASCAR material he wasn't but he managed to miss the telephone pole by a couple of inches on his way to taking out some rose bushes.

Dad ended up saving some of the plants and shortened his garden a bit after that episode. He also added a couple of boulders to the end of the garden just as a precaution.

I'm amazed at how gentle Dad was in some ways. He was pretty tough on his boys, particularly the older ones. But his gardening and his wood carving revealed a more delicate soul inside.