Where have all the flowers gone? I’ll take and tell you where a good chunk of the flowers have gone: two places, at the intersection of Highway 34 and the Henry-Des Moines County Line Road on the east end of New London, better known as Heald Trucking; and all along Main Street in Mediapolis (Mepo).

They say men are more finicky about their weight than women, and more gossipy. Men can also be more eccentric about flowers. Take Brad Heald of Heald Trucking in New London, and Herschel Smuck, owner of Main Street Tire in Mediapolis, for example. They both love flowers. They both go out of their way to tend and show off their flowers, in a dump-truck way.

For a number of years, off-and-on, Brad has bequeathed his Dad’s old dump truck with marigolds or chrysanthemums (mums) flowing out of the back end of the dump truck. He calls it his Mump Truck. It sits along the south side of Highway 34. Many motorists stop to take pictures and get the back story. This year, marigolds are flowing out of the back end of the Mump Truck, onto the ground, like a bride’s wedding train. In fact, that’s how all this got started in 2018, when his daughter, Coral, got married. Brad wanted to celebrate her betrothal, so he hired the planting of all these mums into the Mump Truck and spilling out onto the ground in honor of her. So unique and creative.

Then there’s Herschel Smuck in Mediapolis. He has a business on Main Street, Main Street Tire, so he has a particular interest in the beauty of downtown Mepo. He’s a member of the Lion’s Club, and every morning, before work, he sets out with his ATV pulling a water tank, and waters all the baskets of flowers hanging from light poles. It takes about an hour and two tanks of water, but it’s something he enjoys while he watches the sun rise. He also potted these flowers, with the help of the Lions.

But Herschel isn’t satisfied with just hanging baskets. No. Across the street from his tire shop sits an old farm elevator, a dump truck and a flower pole. The dump truck (Smuck Truck) is dumping flowers into the elevator, and the elevator is dumping the flowers into a “flower pole.” It’s a poignant sight, like a Granddad Barber Pole. People come from all over just to see the flowers in downtown Mediapolis.

BTW: Brad and Herschel know each other. Brad has bought truck tires from Herschel. They have lots of things to talk about, mainly flowers.

While I was in Mediapolis, waiting to talk to Herschel, I observed him move a semi-tractor and trailer, then a huge combine. (He’s a man of many talents, with hands gentle enough to caress a flower petal, but strong enough to wrestle a combine tire.) When he nearly knocked over a light pole with one of his flower pots hanging from it, he was more concerned about the flowers, than the light pole. There are certain priorities in life.

So, where have all the flowers gone? Brad and Herschel have picked them everyone. (Song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” written by Pete Seeger and sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, still popular today.)

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Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com. Curt is available for public speaking.