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Lansing Beautification Committee begins new season

by Melanie Jongsma

LANSING, Ill. (May 22, 2020) – Back in March, Beautification Committee Chair Vivian Payne had been hoping that life in Lansing would be “fairly normal” by now. New members were added to the team in March and early April, and because of coronavirus concerns, they have not been able to meet the rest of the committee.

But that didn’t prevent them from participating in spring plantings this week. Payne made arrangements for flowers to be delivered to the Lansing Public Works building, and she organized individual pick-up times for committee members—they wore masks and gloves, and they met Payne at Public Works at their assigned time. She helped load plants into their cars and sent them to an assigned location where they worked individually or with spouses.

Two years ago the Lansing Beautification Committee took over the responsibility of beautifying Lansing municipal areas, planting and maintaining flowers in the pots along the Ridge Road business district, at Village Hall, in front of the Patti Leach Youth Center, within the History Plaza, and at the entrance to Fox Pointe. The committee also plants and maintains flowers at all nine welcome signs at Lansing’s borders.

Kathy Fish has been a member of the Lansing Beautification Committee since it was founded in April 2018. This week she planted spring flowers in 11 pots along Ridge Road. (Photo: Melanie Jongsma)
Carl Vandermolen is new to the Lansing Beautification Committee. He was assigned the Lansing Fireman’s Memorial (possibly because he’s a former firefighter). Once he finished planting flowers in the planter wall, he went home and retrieved his weedwacker, weed spray, and broom in order to fully beautify the memorial. (Photo: Melanie Jongsma)
The Friesemas joined the Beautification Committee this year because they were “looking for something to do.” Some of their other volunteer work has been diminished because of the quarantine, so they are happy to make a difference in other ways. (Photo: Melanie Jongsma)
Maureen Grady-Perovich has been a member of the Beautification Committee since it was launched two years ago. She’s also the Village Trustee responsible for the Patti Leach Youth Center, so she chose that location as her planting assignment. (Photo: Melanie Jongsma)

In a typical year, the Lansing Beautification Committee holds monthly meetings from May to October. This year Payne is relying on email and phone calls to share information.

The committee will maintain the areas they’ve planted throughout the summer and into fall. In September they will exchange the summer flowers for fall plantings.

Residents interested in joining the Lansing Beautification Committee and actively participating in keeping Lansing beautiful should contact Vivian Payne directly for more information:

Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma grew up in Lansing, Illinois, and believes The Lansing Journal has an important role to play in building community through trustworthy information.