Edward’s Garden Center has been helping people of northeastern Pennsylvania grow for 45 years. And while our business has changed and grown itself, we still have the people of the region as our focus. The motto of our garden center is “Explore and Enjoy.” And we truly hope that people who visit with family or friends have a fun experience, whether it’s admiring the calming beauty of our koi ponds and numerous water features; visiting our bunnies, ferrets, ducks and pheasants; marveling at the color and variety of our perennials and other plants, shrubs and trees; or embracing the whimsical touches of gnomes, trains, and hanging monkeys throughout the garden center. We’ve extended that sense of joy beyond the garden center and onto our Cross-Valley Expressway sign. But for some reason, some folks have wanted to steal that joy. And they have…literally…numerous times.
Attached to a directional sign near the Forty Fort Exit of the Cross Valley Expressway is our plastic monkey, Blossom. As many of you know, her job is to help direct customers to Edward’s Garden Center. We dress her in different outfits throughout the seasons to celebrate the holidays in an effort to have fun and to help put a smile on the faces of the kids in our community.
In the past, two of our monkeys were stolen, while a third monkey was removed from the sign and thrown over an embankment. Blossom, monkey number four, struggled this past year trying to do her job. Road closed signs and endless inefficient construction on River Street, stressed her to the max. Then, on Friday, February 3rd, Blossom, outfitted with a tracking device, was abducted from her post to go on a journey that she will never forget.
Helplessly, we watched Blossom travel on Route 81 in Pittston, stopping for lunch at a McDonald’s in Hallstead and eventually ending up in Oneonta, New York. For several weeks we watched Blossom visit different addresses throughout the Oneonta area.
We reached out, by letter, to an Oneonta address and asked for her return.
One Thursday evening recently, we were thrilled when Blossom was delivered to our doorstep, along with a letter of apology. We would like to thank the person who returned her for your decency, realizing that everyone makes mistakes. Blossom will be back to work soon in her new spring outfit.
We appreciate all of our loyal customers and the friends of Blossom who have shared how much she makes them smile when they see her and who have expressed concern when she hasn’t been at her post. We will continue to share our sense of joy with you to lift your hearts and we hope that those thieves of joy (whoever you are) will have a change in your heart.
We look forward to seeing you at Edward’s Garden Center this season and are excited for you to see the changes we have planned. Come Explore and Enjoy!
