Connie Stone and Normie Dickerson present Brenda McManaway with a gift certificate for her diligent work with the Blue Ridge District Flower Show held at the Salem Museum.

Happy anniversary to us!

Like other anniversaries, So Salem’s marker put me in an historical mood. (Such occasions also prompt cake-lust, but that’s another story.) Hats off to history!

So, Salem, although these seem like random topics from my spring-fevered head, there’s a bit of a theme:

• “Is Connie Stone here?” I asked, entering the Salem Museum for my shift at the recent Blue Ridge District Flower Show.

“She might never have left!” Museum Director John Long and Assistant Director Helen Johnson agreed. “There’s a cot in the back; she could still be here from yesterday,” John joked.

Perfect! I mused. An overnight would have fit the show’s theme: “Night at the Museum.”

Indeed Connie had logged many an hour, heading volunteers from the Salem Garden Club, and working with Salem Museum staff and docents. Proceeds from the event’s plant-&-garden sale benefitted SGC’s landscaping projects at the museum.

Visitors admired floral designs – many cleverly incorporating “museum-y” themes (say, ancient Egypt) – and horticultural entries. And walls were laden with art-depicting-flowers by past, present and “budding” Salem artists. John had been surprised by the response: “We expected a dozen, but received 90 entries.” (The art exhibit ran through April 23rd’s herb sale / Virginia Garden Week homes tour.)

Attired head-to-toe in painstakingly embroidered, family-heirloom finery, docent Laura Norris seemed an elegant exhibit herself. From a charming basket she handed out sachets filled with lavender harvested from the Museum last fall.

With the great Boy Scouting exhibit, and the fascinating World War II POW “Bus-eum” April 18th (co-sponsored by the Friends of the Salem Library) – well, the Salem Museum has been bustling. (“Scouting” will run until about Aug. 6, said John.)

Like that plaque honoring Salem Museum volunteers (full disclosure: donated by my parents), here’s a tip of my colonial bonnet to all who keep us mindful of our history.

• Thanks, too, to teachers who assign interviews with Those-of-a-Certain Age. Just one example: recently Roanoke College student Cord Johnson chatted with my folks about their World War II experiences – including their watching for enemy vessels off Virginia Beach.
• OK, I’m totally shameless, but it IS their anniversary too: Happy 65th, Mama and Daddy (aka Alice and Dr. Bob Paine). Cheers to all long-lived couples! Really.

What’s the best — or worst — advice your mother gave you? Please email me for probable use in an upcoming column.