On this year’s Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and everyone knows this means six more weeks of winter.  Groundhog day is special for another reason, but Phil really has nothing to do with it for our Information Desk volunteers, Bev and Elvin.  This Groundhog Day 2009 was their 58th wedding anniversary.  Now that's news worth hearing!

For many years now, Bev and Elvin have shown up promptly at 8:00am every Wednesday to serve our Park guests at the Visitor's Center.  Not only are they knowledgeable about the Park, they are talented and creative.  Elvin serves the Park each week by repairing benches, lights, locks and more.  He is our go-to guy for anything mechanical, wooden, and items described as "on the fritz". 

Each year Bev makes a different Christmas ornament which she shares with family and friends, and each year Elvin uses the photos she has pulled from magazines to make furniture for Bev.  It’s easy to see their deep love and commitment to one another. Between family, volunteering at other organizations, and their many hobbies, these two have as full a schedule as anyone else in the Park but they have chosen to make time for a commitment to serve.  

A Scottish poem is sometimes attributed with the celebration of Groundhog day and it goes like this:

As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and snow
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop

This is a very appropriate rhyme for Elvin, who was raised on his family's farm and now means so much to Shelby Farms Park.  Bev and Elvin are part of our staff, and part of the life of the Park.  We couldn't do it without them.

By Sandee Daniels, Volunteer Coordinator (sdaniels@shelbyfarmspark.org)

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