Community Garden Harvest Friendships

Community Garden Harvests Friendships and Community Support
by Alva Logsdon Cranford

Gary Janke and Al Kirchoff received the 2007 Guardian Angel Award from Christian Community Action (CCA) in Lewisville. The award is presented to an individual, organization, or business who has contributed a major impact to CCA or made a difference in the community. While both are men of humility and kindness, their individual and combined contributions have been like a pebble in a lake, the ripple effects flowing out in an ever widening circle positively impacting many lives for greater good.

The two men share many things in common, including a love for God, serving others, and gardening. Their respective interest in gardens took root at a young age for both.

"Gardening for me came as an extension of growing up on a farm," says Janke. "It was fresh vegetables in the spring and summer knowing that canned vegetables would follow in the fall and winter. A little work with the reward of rhubarb pie and ice cream for supper was a combination us kids could tolerate."

"I grew up on a farm in Iowa, where we always had a large garden and of course my mother canned and froze produce," explains Kirchoff. "I majored in general agriculture at Iowa State University. I joined the Air Force following college so my ag training was funneled into gardening. I developed garden sites, improving the soil from the typical tract home "soil" into productive garden soil."

Their friendship grew when Kirchoff joined Janke on The Lamb of God Lutheran Church Garden of Eatin' gardening team almost three years ago.

"The original group saw a need in the community food pantry for fresh vegetables and accepted the challenge to help fill the need," Kirchoff says. "They started with an old roadway that wasn't much better than what we started with in the Old Town Community Garden (OTCG) and have developed a 6000 sq. ft. garden of the best garden soil in Texas. Gary has been the main driving force on the project, planning, preparing, and coordinating the other activities. Others that regularly help are Irwin Jenke, Gary Summers, myself; several others who volunteer occasionally. The garden produces approximately 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of produce each year for the CCA food pantry."

Since retiring, Kirchoff has further developed his love of gardening by becoming a Master Gardener through the Denton County Master Gardener program this year. Along with Janke, he has been extremely instrumental in establishing the OTCG which was created for experienced and inexperienced gardeners. In transforming an old rocky parking lot into a garden, area residents now have a place to enjoy diverse community, garden, and donate much needed, fresh produce to the CCA Food Pantry, which serves Southern Denton County. In spite of unusual rains in the garden's inaugural year, the OTCG has already donated more than 100 pounds of produce to the Food Pantry.

Their volunteer work in the Old Town Community Garden is unparalleled. They spent months tilling and preparing the soil for spring planting, installing irrigation, teaching informal classes on gardening, composting, and bugs, building the bulletin board, and picking up where others either did not have experience or the time to assure the garden's success.

"Because of their dedication to a community garden, our parking lot is now a garden," says Maureen Cummings, CCA director of programs and garden liaison. "They inspire other gardeners with an upbeat attitude and willingness to share time and knowledge."

A look at the lives of these two men is an inspirational reminder of the far-reaching impact one life can have, enriching the lives of others and making difficult times, a little less so.

This story was published in the August 11, 2007 edition of the DMN Neighbors Go! (cover story).