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4 www.DesertMessenger.com September 16, 2020 Gardening with Dennis - The Master Gardener Program 585 N. Central Quartzsite Open Mon-Fri 8-5 928-927-8787 Johnny DelPino, Owner BEST AUTO RV & TRUCK REPAIR SERVICE YOU CAN DEPEND ON! THRIFT STORE Benefitting the La Paz County Animal Shelter in Parker Supported by your generous donations! 455 E. Main St. Quartzsite Open Tues. thru Sat. 9-3 928-927-4223 By Alex Taft The Master Gardener program began in 1973 in the state of Wash- ington. It was organized because of the high demand from backyard gardeners who needed advice on their yards. The university recog- nized that it needed more man- power to answer all the questions directed to them by local gardeners. The core purpose of the program was to train volunteers to learn the basics of gardening and the care of shrubs and trees through a univer- sity extension offi ce master garden- er course. Then those volunteers can earn their master gardener cer- tifi cation through volunteer hours spent assisting gardeners through- $ 19. /mo. 99 where available ADD TO YOUR PACKAGE FOR ONLY Blazing Fast Internet! CALL TODAY - For $100 Gift Card Promo Code: DISH100 Offer ends 1/31/21. 2-YEAR TV PRICE GUARANTEE "All offers require credit qualification, 24-month commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay. Prices include Hopper Duo for qualifying customers. Hopper, Hopper w/Sling or Hopper 3 $5/mo. more. Upfront fees may apply based on credit qualification. 190 CHANNELS Including Local Channels! America's Top 120 Package for 12 Mos. MO. FREE * Requires eAutopay discount and includes Hopper Duo DVR ($5 discount for 24 months) or Wally/211 SMART HD DVR INCLUDED * Requires eAutopay discount and includes Hopper INCLUDED FREE STREAMING ON ALL YOUR DEVICES YOUR DEVICES FREE VOICE REMOTE The DISH Voice Remote with the Google Assistant requires internet-connected Hopper, Joey, or Wally device. Customer must press Voice Remote button to activate feature. The DISH Voice Remote with the Google Assistant requires 1-855-820-5828 out their area. From that beginning, it branched out to all fi fty states and eight Canadian provinces. The master gardener program of- ten linked community efforts to the program, thus lending gardening expertise to community projects. In Quartzsite, that worked very well. Quartzsite has had, over time, three gardening clubs. The most recent one dissolved before Dennis passed away. Dennis achieved his certifi ed mas- ter gardener status in the state of Washington in 1985. He was deeply involved with the local garden club in Quartzsite and also taught mas- ter gardener classes for the Univer- sity of Arizona La Paz County Ex- tension Offi ce. The master gardener program has had a major impact on the town of Quartzsite with very lit- tle fanfare. The Quartzsite Garden Club and the master gardeners, and the Extension offi ce guided many projects around town. Examples are the landscaped area by the planes at the Town park, the football fi eld which has been allowed to go back to earth, Celia's Gardens- Joanne Winer's vision and creation, the landscaping at the Police Depart- ment, when it was the community building, Quartzsite Museum land- scaping, countless Arbor Day cel- ebrations, Quartzsite Elementary school tree planting projects and support for the Tree City projects. The list of people who donated their time, energy, expertise and money to these projects is a long one, many of whom are master gar- deners. In short, the credit for the landscaping projects and beautifi - cation of the town belongs in large part to the achievements of residents who believed in the potential of Quartzsite and celebrated the com- munity with landscaping projects and with gardening education proj- ects that they created or supported or built. Dennis was involved with most of them. There is no thank you big enough to honor the hard work of all those volunteers. They made a difference in the community that despite changes is still present. One of the fun things about the master gardener program that real- ly made an impact on how the com- munity is viewed by the state was the identifi cation of some of the old- er ironwood trees in the area. When the state centennial celebration oc- curred, they designated "Witness Trees", or trees that had witnessed the history of the state. One of those witness trees is in Quartzsite near Town Hall. It was aged at 1,050 years old. There are others. One is in the Town Park near the commu- nity building and another on Chero- kee lane. Our witness tree by Town Hall was in the center of a brochure illustrating important trees around the state. Hopefully, there will be more peo- ple interested in the master garden- er program and the beautifi cation of the Town through landscaping of public areas and private yards. It all makes a difference! When the Town had a Parks Department, those em- ployees worked closely with the Ex- tension Offi ce and the Garden Club volunteers to take advantage of all the expertise and experience the volunteers shared. Thank you to all those garden club members, master gardeners, former park employees, and volunteers who are residents and visitors. You have made a posi- tive impact that rests in the history of Quartzsite's achievements.

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