From making ears of corn with their hands and pea pods with their thumbs, members of Abundant Joy Fellowship and the Alle-Kiski community came together Sunday to make their mark on the new sign for Tarentum’s Greg Blythe Friendship Garden.
The effort was led by Blythe’s niece, Emily Whitco, who painted the sign and helped residents with their creations. Her husband Matt Whitco, built the sign.
Blythe was the pastor of Abundant Joy Fellowship in Tarentum and one of the founders of the friendship garden. He died last November from cancer.
Whitco said she wanted to make the sign as a way to honor her uncle.
“He always loved kids so I wanted a way to incorporate the kids into it,” she said. “So I designed a garden where they could put their handprint, footprint or thumbprint into be a vegetable or flower in the garden.”
At the bottom of the sign a drawing of Blythe is done in gold.
“He’s seen gardening in gold because he had a heart of gold,” Whitco said.
