Mt. Olivet News

There is something to be said about wearing a face mask other than the obvious. It does not show your wrinkles, and you do not have to wear makeup.

All seems to be well in the Mt. Olivet community. Since I am working so hard in my yard this summer, after several years of neglect, I love to ride around and look at the yards and gardens of all my neighbors in the community.

The yard and garden of Rebecca and John Anderson on Mt. Olivet is immaculate. John has a large garden and every row is perfect. Tiny little tomatoes are peeping out of the yellow blooms. There is hardly any grass. When you look at his garden you think “work” and “joy.”

They bought the old James and Gladys Goodnite home on Mt. Olivet road in 2006. They had looked for a house to remodel for more than nine years, and they had almost given up when they found the Goodnite house.

John knew the house was perfect when he discovered that it was built from logs no doubt cut on the property. It is a turn of the century farmhouse and with his expertise in carpentry and Miss Rebecca’s eye for collecting fine antiques they have made the home that James and Gladys would be proud of.

The large yard is perfectly manicured. There are old cedar trees in a circle and they make a perfect arbor. There are bluebird houses all over the yard that John built and used old car tags for their metal roofs. There is a nice apple tree in the yard and he has manicured the crape myrtles so that each year they get better.

While beauty shops were closed because of coronavirus, daughters Renae Gordon Johnson and Jayme Gordon took the opportunity to re-do their mother, Susan Gordan Carlisle’s beauty shop.

The Sheer Country shop has been in Mt. Olivet for many years and is handy for everyone.

No matter how tired she is, I have never known her to say “no” to a last-minute customer.

Renae and Jayme also did some landscaping. There was a large oak tree, whose above ground roots prevented anything else from growing, that now has brick and mulch neatly surrounding it.

The flower garden that Mr. Fondren started at the corner of Joiner and May Roads is beginning to show signs of spring. The knockout roses have grown into huge bushes. In order to make this a community effort, Pat Boucot and I began to dead head some of the spent flowers as we walked May Rd.

The biggest effort was obtained by Pat, Faye Hartman, and Sherry Anderson who worked diligently one afternoon to get the garden ready for spring. Winfred Lawrence also mows the grass around the garden.

While driving down Joiner Rd. where it meets Shady Grove Rd. I saw a huge group of four o’clocks. I dug up several clumps and planted them in my yard. Somehow they just didn’t look right out of their natural habitat.

I looked through my garden catalogs to find something to compliment them. Nearly everything I saw was overpowering and I did not want anything to out-do the beautiful little flowers that so graciously cover many of our roadsides.

Do any of our readers know why they are called four o’clocks?

I’m waiting for your call about that special person or event you would like to see featured in the newspaper. Home phone is 662-563-1742, or you may call or text to 901-828-8824.