Spring is such a beautiful time of year when everything seems to come alive — with the first, little old-fashioned single-blossom yellow daffodils, that we called March flowers, to the flowering trees.

We find ourselves in a situation this spring like no other we of this generation have faced. The governor of Indiana announced that a ban on non-essential travel goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. on March 24. Now, with all this quiet time at home, I find myself reflecting on special memories of times not so long ago.

In the spring of 1962, the Brown County Extension Homemakers held their spring meeting and all of the individual Extension clubs in Brown County were invited to attend. The meeting was held at the home of Linda Eastman. It was a field trip to talk about trees. Mrs. Eastman was the person who would present the talk about trees of Indiana. She had very tall pine trees in her yard and other species of trees. Linda told us every tree has some kind of a flower, and she proceeded to take us around the grounds so we could see for ourselves.

This was the day I met Mary Morrison. Mary was a member of the Helmsburg Homemakers Club. Mary didn’t drive, so her husband, John, would bring her to the meetings and wait in his truck until she was ready to go home. She was faithful to attend the homemakers meetings.

That day was a learning experience for me. I had never seen a tulip poplar tree blossom, and for that matter, I never knew there was a tree with such a beautiful flower on it. I was just a young homemaker and hadn’t learned about all the beauty that surrounds us yet. Mary brought a blossom from a tulip poplar tree in her yard and she gave it to me. I will always remember that tulip tree blossom and Mary Morrison.

Here at the History Center, there are several varieties of trees represented. There are pawpaw trees in honor of Jim and Beverly Kelp, a red buckeye, a Yellowwood tree (yellow and white), dogwoods, a red bud, a special locust and others. Even though we need to stay at home, to protect ourselves and others from this dreadful virus, we can still look all around and enjoy the many blessings spring brings.

An introduction to Mrs. Mary C. Morrison: born 15 May 1884 in Wells County, Indiana, to John B. and Leah (Sahl) Harden. She married John B. Morrison May 19, 1907, in Brown County, Indiana. Mary was a member of the Mennonite Church of Bean Blossom, Indiana, while her husband, John, was a member of the Church of the Brethren at Indianapolis. They were the parents of a daughter who died in 1940.

John and Mary were members of the Brown County Historical Society, the senior citizens and the Farm Bureau. On Extension Homemakers meeting day, you would see the green Chevy pickup truck with Mr. John Morrison patiently waiting for Mary to be ready to come home with him.

— Submitted by Pauline Hoover, Brown County Historical Society