We’ve certainly received moisture here in March! Soon your gardening beds will be soft and ready -- for transplanting out your overgrown perennials, and then possibly planting a few new varieties. We have just the answer for you.
1) Around May 17th or so, thin out your perennials; put ‘em in a pot or something.
2) Bring them to West River Ambulance Garage in Hettinger prior to noon on Friday, 5/19.
3) Come back to the Garage at 2:00 pm that same day to purchase some new, unique perennials and give a goodwill donation toward our Auxiliary Legacy Scholarship. A gardener’s paradise!
That’s right, on Friday, May 19th, from 2:00-4:00 pm, the “46th Annual West River Perennial Plant Sale” will be held at the West River Ambulance Garage (307 Adams Avenue, Highway 12). You might want to be there right at 2:00 pm, as last year most all of the perennials were gone by 3:15! For a goodwill donation, you can purchase perennial plants, and the good feeling that 100% of your gift is going toward a local area student pursuing a healthcare degree, via our “Auxiliary Legacy Scholarship.” And remember, you can deliver your overgrown perennials to the Ambulance Garage before the sale (Thursday night or Friday morning prior to the sale at 2pm) -- to pay them forward! Not only will you be allowing someone else to replant them, but also the WRHS Foundation will receive goodwill donations for the perennials, which will then be paid forward for local student’s academic scholarships.
The West River Health Services Auxiliary, which began seventy-three years ago in 1950 with the new Community Memorial Hospital in Hettinger, started with a group of local volunteers, who helped raise funds for needed healthcare amenities, as well as sewing sheets, curtains, towels and baby bonnets for patients. Eventually the WRHS Auxiliary raised more funds for improvements to the hospital/clinics, plus scholarships for local area students. One of their annual fundraisers, for 46 years now, was the Annual “Perennial Plant Sale.”
Since the WRHS Auxiliary disbanded four years ago, it was hoped that the WRHS Foundation would take on the Auxiliary’s “Perennial Plant Sale.” With the help of longtime volunteers and employees, and former Auxiliary Members, Barb West and Jennifer Seamands, (with one year off due to Covid in May 2020), we held our 45th Perennial Plant Sale last year, raising $1,770 for our Auxiliary Legacy Academic Scholarship for a local area student (Naomi Salazar from Hettinger), who is pursuing a Pre-Dental degree at the University of Alabama.
Therefore, we need local gardeners to consider thinning out their perennial flower beds and gifting them to our WRHS Perennial Plant Sale. Barb West (701-567-2736) and Jennifer Seamands (701-567-4650) are available via telephone if you have any questions about the sale. Just bring your perennials Thursday evening or Friday morning to the West River Ambulance Garage and whatever you’d like to offer for a freewill donation (some years, we’ve received small trees, annuals and vegetables. Strawberry plants, rhubarb and raspberry plants are always best sellers!)
Thank you for considering thinning down your perennials in your garden and making a donation to our 46th Annual WRHS Foundation Perennial Plant Sale on May 19th. Plus, thank you for attending and possibly making a goodwill donation toward our Auxiliary Legacy Scholarship. We always need more sensational care givers. TOGETHER we can and are making a difference for top-notch healthcare, “close to home.” Onward!
By Ted Uecker, WRHS Foundation