Horticulture students 'scare up' clever projects for civic display

More than a dozen scarecrows created by Penn College horticulture/landscape technology students were installed Thursday in Way's Garden, a well-tended oasis of greenery at West Fourth and Maynard streets, where they will remain from First Friday through Halloween. The Way's Garden Commission worked with Carl J. Bower Jr., an assistant professor in the college's School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies, who has been developing the idea in his mind since seeing a similar project at Hershey Gardens in 2011. Bower's students eagerly accepted the challenge, working for the past few weeks to prepare their seasonal creations for what is planned as an annual attraction. An additional scarecrow was prepared for the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce headquarters in downtown Williamsport.

– Photos by Tom Wilson, writer/editor-PCToday, and Bower

 

Suda makes final adjustments to Kevin the Minion.

Attaching rebar arms to a cartoon icon are (from left) Wanner and William X. DeMarco, of Glen Mills.

... then moved to a comfortable perch on one of the park's inviting benches.

Way's Garden volunteer Tom Tillson secures "Skipper."

A ponytailed farmer – humorously modeled after Dennis P. Skinner, an assistant professor of horticulture – greets visitors at the northwest corner of the intersection.

Bower (left) and Wanner use zip ties to attach work gloves to "Doc," the forester.

'SpongeBob Strawpants," spatula at the ready to flip a Krabby Patty, draws immediate attention from neighborhood children.

Evan G. Velez, of Mohnton, and Suda stuff Humpty Dumpty (created by Oceana R. Copley, of Williamsport) ...

Cellphone photographers pay tribute to a "Flower Child."

... before drawing his face, accessorizing his wardrobe and situating him in his rightful place on the park's welcoming wall.

"Martin the Moose" – born, like many of the pieces, from whimsy and thrift-shop resourcefulness – pulls a hayride through the mulch.

Designed to prolong the scarecrows' shelf life, signs wait to be planted throughout the park.

Meet "Nurse Jackie," her stethoscope at the ready

"Horticulture Horton," wearing a hoodie designating his membership in the major's student club, is bundled against fall's arrival.

Lee snags a selfie before the scarecrows are rounded up for transport.

Landscape/horticulture technology students show off their creative playfulness at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center. Back row (from left): Kendall A. Wanner, Denver; Laura J. LaGrave, Lewisburg; Colin O. Allen, Harrisburg; Jack R. Mannke, Glen Mills; Matthew M. Heaps, Schwenksville; Steven K. Zuziak, Ephrata; Seth R. Farnham, Hughesville; and Drew J. Marsh, Marble. Front row, kneeling or seated (from left): Robert J. Williamson, Fort Washington; Jessica M. Duke, Allentown; Benjamin A. Mowrer, Manheim; Adriana S. Lee, Williamsport; Diana M. Willman (in red), Dillsburg; and Amanda N. Suda, Harrisburg.

"Granny Gardener" carpooled with Bower from the ESC to Williamsport ...