Octogenarian:  Someone in his or her eighties, or in other words, between 80 and 89 years of age.

Now that is a big word, and one that we don’t use in our every day speech, but a person that has lived for such a wonderful length of time deserves to have a special word to describe them.

The Chilton County Master Gardeners Association is blessed to have four members that are Octogenarians.  And along with this descriptive word comes a bonus of having a Lifetime Membership in CCMGA.

E.C. Lewis was one of the founding members of the Association and joined in 1999.  Lindy Helton became a member in 2000, Charlotte Word in 2004 and Margaret Goolsby joined in 2006.

The Association wishes to congratulate E.C. Lewis, Lindy Helton, Charlotte Word and Margaret Goolsby for attaining the title of Octogenarian.  All the rest of us hope that one day we get to have this special title by our names! By Pat Farmer and Audrey Giles

Chilton County Master Gardeners lost two long time members in 2015. Thomas Edward (Ed) and Wilma Jean Simmons were part of the 2000 Chilton County Master Gardener class and were active members of CCMGA for thirteen years. They participated in many Master Gardener activities including propagating plants, working plant sales, and helping with the Demo Garden. They volunteered to pick figs and cut fruit for the annual CREC Farm, Home and Wildlife Expo.

Ed was a familiar figure at the ACES Peach Producers Meeting and the ACES Vegetable Marketing Program for Growers Meeting where he helped with set up and take down. He coordinated fig pruning between CREC and Master Gardeners. He taught many of us when and how to propagate fig trees. He served two years as CCMGA treasurer.

Wilma could be counted on to help in a variety of ways such as preparing plants for sales, packing seeds, preparing fruits and desserts for the CREC Expo, and the annual planting of the beautiful flowers in downtown Clanton.

CCMGA member Renee` Powers remembers them as having gentle sincere spirits and that it was always a pleasure to work along side them on any project.

Ed and Wilma quietly contributed their talents to CCMGA and were always willing to show up and help. CCMGA is proud that they were members of our Master Gardener family.

Visit Martin Funeral Home to read their obituaries and learn more about their interesting lives.

Chilton County Master Gardeners held their 3rd annual Christmas Home Tour this year on December 13th. The homes featured were Walter & Sandra Graham, Randy & Gina Lecroy, Nina McCormick, Curt & Charlotte Rowland, and Jo & Pam Teel. Everyone enjoyed touring the homes, which were all in downtown Clanton. This was our best year yet! Many people waited till the last week to get their tickets, probably because the weather has been so unpredictable. If you missed it this year, you missed a great time! Click HERE for a slideshow of photos of the tour.

This summer has been a busy time for our interns and they are almost 100 % certified! Robert Lee Watley was the first of our interns to earn his membership badge and get certified. In July we had Michele Thomas, Ira Jones, Katie Moon, Karen Giles, Jerry Giles, & Don Burdette receiving their badges. In September, we had Anne Moore, Willie Valentine, Kimberly Lynn, and Janis Wilson receive theirs. They have been very active in helping with the redesign of the demonstration garden, helping with preparing for the Fall Seminar, attending meetings, and working the Help Line. We are proud of all our new members!

Our 2015 Master Gardener class is well under way. We have had soil samples turned in, intern shirts ordered and distributed, friends made, Demo Garden slideshow shown, a great composting class, AND lots of scrumptious  food! This could be one of our best classes yet!  Click HERE for a slideshow of photos.