Rose Town

Happy Weekend everybody! Yes I know it's only Thursday and I'm not starting a long weekend. Like most other people my weekend is only 2 days long, but mine is on Thursday and Friday. Since the jail is open 24/7 everyone has different shifts and schedules to cover that. My schedule is on what is called 2nd shift - from 2:45 to 11:15 pm -- Saturday through Wednesday . So today is my Saturday. It sometimes makes it confusing as to what real day of the week it is.

Last Sunday (the real one) Kee Ostler (who's husbands family is from Lovell) said she thinks of Dad everytime they go to Lovell because someone told her that he helped plant the roses you see when you enter town. So I asked Dad about that & at first he said no - then after a few seconds he said that he'd helped plant roses on the east side of town that he doesn't think are there anymore. At the time he was about 24 and worked part time for the man who planted both strips of roses. Dr. William Watts Horsley had a huge rose garden around his own home and never seemed to get enough. He even bought a strip of land from his neighbor to fill with more roses. Dad said he would regularly get boxes the size of a refrigerator box full of roses. When he got new ones he often had to dig up old ones to make a place to put them. Dad helped him do that - then took the old ones to his own home. So now we know where his love of roses started.

Out of curiosity I looked up Lovell on the internet to see if I could find any pics of the roses. According to Wikepedia Lovell is nicknamed Rose Town of Wyoming.

I found this info on the town's Chamber of Commerce page:

"Dr. William Watts Horsley came to Lovell in the 1920's. As one of the foremost authorities in the United States on roses, he found the climate in Lovell to be exceptional for growing this flower and began to create rose gardens. This practice became popular in town and soon many yards and gardens became populated with many different types of roses. The Town itself has dedicated rose gardens and prides itself on the popularity and national attention in respect to its bountiful roses. A drive through Lovell in the summer will quickly reveal the dedication by residents to uphold the belief that Lovell is indeed Wyoming's Rose City."