Theodore Kearley took this photo of Murphy High School’s entrance on Dec. 26. The “S” has been recovered, but other pieces of the sign are still missing. (Courtesy of Theodore Kearley)
MOBILE, Alabama — In the aftermath of the devastating tornado that struck their historic school on Dec. 25, Murphy High School alumni are raising money and making plans to get their campus back in shape.
The school’s Facebook page is up to 846 friends, and the Murphy High School Alumni Association’s website, www.murphyalumni.org, has a “tornado restoration fund” donation link. The motto: “We Will Rebuild.”
Also, Murphy’s band director, Stan Chapman, had some good news to report Thursday from the campus, where cleanup efforts were underway.
The band room may need to be bulldozed, he said, but the instruments and music are in good condition and the uniforms are being dry cleaned. Chapman believes that the band room was damaged by a direct hit from one of the portable classrooms nearby.
The instruments will be stored in a warehouse at the Mobile County Public School System’s central offices in west Mobile, he said. The Mighty Marching Panthers are scheduled to march with the Conde Cavaliers in the first Mobile Mardi Gras parade of the season on Jan. 25, he added. “My plan is to be there,” he said.
Chapman urged Murphy graduates to make their voices heard. “The most immediate need is for everyone who’s a Murphy High alumnus to contact their state legislators, because they’re the ones who will decide about the insurance money and make sure it is properly applied to Murphy,” he said. “They need to make their feelings known. Let the legislators know that we’re concerned and we’re watching them.”
The MHS Alumni Association already had a restoration fund in place before the storms, which was used for projects around the campus, said Theodore Kearley, treasurer. The group has also started a tree restoration fund to be used for maintenance on the numerous oak trees on the Carlen Street property. “We’d just kicked that campaign off in the last six months,” he said.
The Alumni Association’s fundraising efforts, for now, will be geared toward long-term restoration of the trees, Kearley said, once repairs to the buildings are complete. “We’re collecting that money now, knowing that down the road, we’ll need landscaping funds,” he said.
Other fundraising ideas include a benefit concert and block party, but planning is still in the early stages, Kearley said.
Murphy High School’s alumni are eager to help, he said, particularly given the national attention the school has received since the tornado. He has heard from graduates across the country via email and Facebook.
Restoring Murphy should be a top priority, he said, noting that in addition to being an important part of Mobile’s history, the school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Donate online at www.murphyalumni.org, or send checks to Theodore Kearley, P.O. Box 66158, Mobile, AL 36660. Make checks payable to Murphy Alumni Association, Inc. and specify “Tornado Restoration.” For more information, email Kearley at tfkearley@aol.com.
The year of bliss. That’s what the Garden Media Group, one of the top trend-spotting agencies in the U.S., has designated 2013 – the year when gardeners turn their backs on trouble and strife and more actively seek joy and bliss in their everyday life.
The report also sees the horticulture industry becoming much more aggressive in its presentation of the benefits of gardening, not only as a way to make communities more beautiful, but also as a way to protect the environment, improve health, reduce crime, make the air cleaner, and even help kids to become smarter.
Both men, according to GMG, are having a significant impact on the thinking of leaders, not only in the gardening industry, but also in government and communities circles at all levels, and especially on consumers who agree that there are clear benefits to be gained from gardening and creating beautiful garden-like environments.
Demand for ready-to-place potted plants is predicted to increase, along with more interest in making better use of colour-injecting summer annuals and foliage plants.
His book, Homegrown Revolution, has become a bestseller, in which he puts tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica), at the top of his list of unusual vegetables. This is a lime-flavoured tomato-like fruit that Wong claims knocks spots off the tomato.
Costa Farms, of Florida, the biggest supplier of indoor plants in North America, has already teamed up with Miracle-Gro to promote Plants for Clean Air (02 For You) as a way to raise awareness of how plants can be used to boost indoor air quality.
There are greener pastures in Los Angeles these days thanks to Los Feliz’s Farmscape. The landscaping company’s six farmers design, plant and maintain edible gardens—300 so far—across town from Pasadena to Calabasas. Founded in 2009, Farmscape’s goals overlap with the interest in food safety, locally sourced foodstuffs and “the old concepts of homesteading, WWII Victory gardens and kitchen gardens,” according to co-founder Rachel Bailin.
