Oscar Johnson VA Medical center shows off gardens

Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin veterans visit the Oscar Johnson VA Medical Center for health care.

Medical center employees volunteer their time to make the grounds in Iron Mountain more welcoming for their patients.  This is the third year of their Adopt-A-Garden contest.  Different departments inside the facility adorn garden plots with their choice of flowers and decorations.

The Northwoods Garden Club of Iron Mountain visited Friday morning to judge the plots.

“I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful thing they’re doing, and the gardens are lovely; it adds a lot to the community,” Northwoods Garden Club founder Sally Jacobs said. “We are very honored to be able to participate in judging.”

The contest serves as a way for staff members to take ownership of the VA hospital.  It doesn’t have a groundskeeper.  Boiler room and maintenance staff care for the property when they can.

“I think it would be nice if, maybe, a lot of other businesses throughout the community would do something like this, or establishments,” Jacobs said. “It adds a lot to the community and brings people in to look about.”

The winner will be announced at an employee picnic in early September.  They’ll receive a special traveling trophy…the shovel that was used in the medical center’s 1948 groundbreaking ceremony.