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By Marc Hayot Staff Writer n mhayot@nwadg.com Robin Lundstrum has served as Siloam Springs' state representa- tive of District 87 since 2015, but is saying goodbye to the city after 2022. Due to the 2020 census, the House and Senate districts in Ar- kansas changed, causing Lund- strum to lose Siloam Springs in the redistricting. Siloam Springs will now be re- apportioned into House District 17, which will consist of Siloam Springs and Gentry, Lundstrum said during a legislative briefing on Nov. 10, 2021. Lundstrum had the chance to look back on her time as Siloam Springs' state representative and talk about the highlights she has achieved. Growing up Lundstrum grew up in Spring- dale. The Springdale of today is a bustling city with a population of 81,779 as of 2022 according to worldpopulationreview.com. However Lundstrum remembers Springdale as a small town where everybody knew everybody, she said. "Everybody kind of watched out for everybody," Lundstrum said. "It was a neat hometown." While Lundstrum was in school she was a band majorette and was part of the chemistry club and theater, she said. Lund - strum also spent a year running track, she said. She credits her parents and church that gave her good grounding common sense as she grew up. "If you work hard and treat people decently it comes back around," Lundstrum said. Lundstrum believes there isn't anything a person can't do if they work hard and proved it by buy - ing her first rental property at the age of 17, she said. After high school, Lundstrum attended the University of Arkan- sas where she majored in Health Sciences with a minor in biology. She graduated from the Uni- versity of Arkansas in 1985 and immediately went to work on her master's degree, which she obtained a year later. She married her husband, Tom Lundstrum, in 1985. Career before politics Lundstrum has done a lot of work in the Arkansas House of Representatives, but she did not start out in politics. She was working at a rape crisis facility in Tulsa, Okla., when her dream job presented itself. In 1989, Lundstrum applied for a position at John Brown University. A highlight from the interview was getting to meet John Brown III, Lundstrum said. She describes him as a humble person. "I didn't think I would get it," Lundstrum said. "I just wanted to make a good impression, but God intervened and I got the job." Lundstrum was the first profes - sor to teach human sexuality at JBU, she said. Lundstrum started with facts then added Biblical truth, she said. Lundstrum spent approximately nine years at JBU, saying she loved how the col - lege would work to develop their faculty. When she had her sec- Proud Lundstrum says goodbye Redistricting removes Siloam Springs from state rep's district Photo submitted State Representative Robin Lundstrum (R-87) shows her love for Siloam Springs by visiting the "Welcome to Siloam Springs" mural on a campaign stop. Lundstrum has served Siloam Springs since 2015 and will now transition to a new district next year. Lundstrum said she will miss Siloam Springs. Photo submitted State Representative Robin Lundstrum (R-87, left) stopped by to visit Julie Chandler at Creative Corner on Broadway during Girls Night Out. ond baby, Lundstrum was teaching part time at JBU and found out her father had cancer. Lundstrum left JBU to help her mother and also focus on her own family. "It was a wake up call," Lundstrum said. "Life is short and precious. I had a short time to be with my babies. So we made the leap financially and I became a full-time stay at home mom." Lundstrum said she loved teaching, but being a mom at home was the best move for her family. Lundstrum said she still keeps in touch with her former JBU colleagues. Mary Nolan, the director of operations from the Siloam Springs Museum, said she and Lundstrum were at JBU at different times but got to know a lot of the same people, which would help the two get to know each other later on. See LUNDSTRUM on Page C3 See PRIMAVERA on Page C3 Primavera Garden Club turns 60 By Marc Hayot Staff Writer n mhayot@nwadg.com The Primavera Garden Club reached an important milestone this year by celebrating its 60th anniversary. For 60 years, members of the club have been meeting together once a month to share their gar - dening projects as well as tips to make their gardens more appeal- ing, according to Sandra Mickel Martin, the current president of the Primavera Garden Club. Martin, along with club mem- bers Marilyn Holliday and Caro- lyn Robinson, discussed the Gar- den Club and how it has evolved over the years. "The Primavera Garden Club was established March 15, 1962," Martin said in an email. "The regular meetings were held the fourth Thursday of every month. The club flower was the Iris. The first president of the club was Ai - leen Harrison Millsap from 1962- 1964. She was the daughter of the owners of the original Harrison Jewelry store and married to Hal Millsap, who owned IGA." Club members celebrated their anniversary by hosting an evening tea for its members on Tuesday, March 22, at the Siloam Springs Public Library. Club member Jenny Young was the guest speaker who gave a his - tory of gardening ladies from the 1600s to today, Martin said. Martin described the club as a nonprofit whose members have a love of gardening. Holliday said the club has helped the city decorate the gazebo at City Park for Christmas. "We used to help water the flowers, but the city does that now," Holliday said. Martin said the club also do - nates to different nonprofits too. The club uses dues collected to help the Siloam Springs Museum and Bright Futures, Martin said. When the Primavera Garden Club was first formed in 1962 it was a society club, said Martin. The club was in the Daffodil Soci - ety and would go to Little Rock to show their flowers and plants in order to win ribbons, Martin said. As older members phased out into newer generations, the club became limited to the size of each member's living rooms, Holliday said. The club has not been project-based in years, Hol - liday said. "They were mainly part of gar- den societies and did shows and arrangements," Holliday said. The club still has two charter members, Tommye Strassheim and Sharon Wasson, Martin said. Neither Strassheim or Wasson are still active members, but are still considered charter members, Martin said. Club meetings usually feature a guest speaker and the club has two outings a month, Holliday said. Meetings are held at the homes of members, Martin said. The person whose house the meeting is held at is the hostess and she will have two co-hostess - es to help, Martin said. In December the garden club holds a pot luck and asks mem- bers to bring baby shower-type gifts, which are then donated to Choices Pregnancy Center, Hol- liday said. During the pot luck the mem- bers also exchange plants be- tween each other, Holliday said. Holliday did say that because so many plants were brought the group agreed to limit the ex- change to one plant per member. Photo submitted Primavera Garden Club member Susan Fitton (left) poses with Sandra Martin, president of the garden club, and Jenny Young another member of the garden club, during the Primavera Garden Club's 60th anniver- sary celebration on Tuesday, March 22, at the Siloam Springs Public Library. Siloam Springs Herald-Leader Wednesday, June 29, 2022 n C1