Danielle Burger, left, and Alicia Derr helped plant the Community Garden at 35 Madison St. in Wilkes-Barre.
Jerry Lynott | Times Leader
Volunteers help dig in as community gardening project blossoms
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Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, right, and Garden Goombas Joseph ‘Cuzzie’ Stuppino, third from right, and to his left, Frank ‘Doc’ Colella, watch volunteers plant tomatoes in a raised bed at the Community Garden at 35 Madison St.
Jerry Lynott | Times Leader
Volunteers Wednesday took part in planting a Community Garden at 35 Madison St., one of five located throughout Wilkes-Barre.
Jerry Lynott | Times Leader
Jonathan Spess, top, left, makes a hole for a pepper plant held by Julio Caprari, right, at the Community Garden at 35 Madison St.
Jerry Lynott | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — Leave it to the Garden Goombas to do the dirty work.
The duo of Frank Colella, doubling as “Doc,” and Joseph Stuppino, of the alter ego “Cuzzie,” dug in Wednesday morning to help plant a Community Garden at 35 Madison St.
And as “Doc” explained with a superlative, the one on the plot managed by King’s College Shoval Center for Community Engagement and Learning was unlike the others throughout the city.
“There were six. Now there’s five. But this is the coolest one … because the Goombas are taking over,” said “Doc.”
His chiropractor practice pays the bills for Colella when he’s not teaming up with Stuppino, a financial adviser and equal partner in the hijinks and gardening tips on display on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/GardenGoombas.
They prepped 10 raised beds for planting a variety of vegetables and herbs, from peppers and tomatoes to broccoli, kohlrabi and chives. Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown and Health Department Director Hank Radulski joined them, along with Larry O’Malia, of O’Malia Farm and Greenhouse in Plains Township, and a handful of volunteers.
“We’re speaking with the mayor right now and, obviously, you have to plant seeds, right? So this is our year one seed and we want to make sure when we spoke to King’s and the city of Wilkes-Barre that we just took what we already had and improved it,” said “Cuzzie.”
The aim is to not only feed the community with the harvest, but also get them involved in the maintenance and care of the gardens.
Jonathan Spess placed a pepper plant in the soft soil as Julio Caprari watched.
“I like it,” Spess said.
Nearby, Alicia Derr dug in too under the guidance of Danielle Burger.
“This is my first time doing this,” Derr said.
Derr and Spess came with NEPA Inclusive to help out. The Pittston-based organization works with special needs high school students and adults, explained Frank Bartoli.
“We help them live in the community and work in the community. This is a good project for them because they have something to do then. We are always looking for something to do,” Bartoli said.
The city funded the gardens with a Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant.
The gardens and their coordinators are:
• Restored Church on Meade Street, Tim Morris, Tim Norris, Amanda Artmount, 570-313-3480.
• Community Counseling Services on Pennsylvania Avenue, James Mrozoski, 570-552-6188
• The Greenhouse on South Franklin Street, Matt Dillion 570-823-3554
• New Roots Recovery on Water Street, Yuri Harden 570-763-4073
• King’s College Shoval Center for Community Engagement and Learning on Madison Street, Maura Modrovsky, 570-208-5915.
Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.