Description
The Petunia Truck of Charlevoix by Linda Boss. This magnet measures 2 inches by 3.5 inches. The image is a reproduction of a painting of Charlevoix’s “Petunia” watering truck.
Operation Petunia started in 1982 at the kitchen table of my in-law’s house, Dale and Marilyn Boss. They have always loved flowers and loved Charlevoix, plus Dale was a real go-getter. (See Petunia Story). Each year Charlevoix planted 60,000 petunias for five miles. It was a sea of color on both sides of the street on both sides of town… north of the Bridge and south of the Bridge. The Petunia truck or Petunia Limousine as Dale referred to it, was used to water the flowers. Marilyn used to call it “his mistress” because he spent so much time with it… watering the flowers and polishing it! They watered all the petunias all summer long with Dale at the helm, getting up at 4 am every morning, donating his time. For years it pulled the float in the Venetian Parade carrying the Venetian Queen and her court on their first official task and then throughout the following summer to all the parades in the north. Marilyn painted it up with flowers and it played music and had a bubble blower for parade viewers.
Marilyn passed in 2013 and Dale followed his childhood sweetheart in 2016. Charlevoix no longer plants the petunia’s alongside the road. They hang baskets from one end of town to the other on metal poles that are sponsored by people that donate to Operation Petunia. There is less weeding and it is easier to water and there are still thousands of Petunias in Charlevoix the Beautiful!
I did this painting as a study for a scene on “Charle-fish” for the Great Northern Fish-In sponsored by the North West Michigan Red Cross as a fundraiser. It is acrylic on fiberglass.
This image is also available as note cards.
