Auburn Career Tech Teacher Scores $50,000

Career Tech Instructor Earns For Classroom $50,000

Auburn High School (AHS) students build real-world skills through career tech classes. Helping hone those skills just got easier for construction teacher Jess Bowlin, thanks to a $50,000 grant earned through the Harbor Freight Tools For Schools program.

“Construction and learning are two of my strongest passions,” Bowlin said. “My hope is students gain an interest in construction while also developing the desire to learn.”

The 2021 Harbor Freight Prize For Teaching Excellence drew more than 700 applications from 49 states. Eighteen teachers made the cut, including Bowlin and Brian Copes, a construction and manufacturing teacher at Chickasaw High School in Chickasaw.

The Alabama Farmers Federation is a fierce proponent of career tech education, annually helping secure state funds for the Career Tech Initiative — and teachers like Bowlin and Copes. County Farmers Federations and the Alabama Farmers Agriculture Foundation also provide direct support for career tech programs such as FFA.

Harbor Freight founded its contest to honor skilled trades teachers and programs in 2017. That year, Bowlin left the private sector to establish AHS’s construction program. Her down-toearth, friendly attitude and passion for education fuels her teaching style and pushed her to apply for Harbor Freight’s grant in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Third time’s the charm.

Recent projects that amped up her application included guiding students as they built a tiny house, which sold for $30,000 in 2020. Over multiple semesters of work, students experienced nearly all construction processes involved with building a new residence, hosted public showings and engaged with local industry and community organizations.

The Auburn University graduate grew up on a farm in Hazel Green and said she enjoys showing the next generation that it’s OK to break the mold in the construction field. Women make up just 10% of construction industry workers, according to the National Association of Women in Construction.

Bowlin simulates the workplace in her classroom, letting students take the lead, whether building a tiny house or constructing the set for an AHS theatre performance.

She plans to purchase a CNC machine with the grant. Students will learn CNC software programming to create products, such as door hangers, they’ll sell for profit and use to fund future projects.

“Even if students realize construction isn’t for them, they’re still learning things to empower them in their own households and in their own lives,” she said.

To learn more about the grant, visit HarborFreightToolsForSchools.org.

Auburn High School construction teacher Jess Bowlin earned $50,000 for classroom projects through the Harbor Freight Tools For Schools program.

Auburn High School students William Hunter and Charlee Whitcomb benefit from teacher Jess Bowlin’s real-world experience in the construction industry. They’re also benefiting from the $50,000 grant Bowlin earned last fall from Harbor Freight.

Simply Southern Spotlight

‘Tis The Season To Concentrate On Christmas Tree Farming

isions of sugarplums won’t be dancing in heads for months,

Vbut the holiday season is always on the minds of Christmas tree farmers like Frank Wadsworth. He grows 8,000 trees at his Wadsworth Christmas Tree Farm in Elmore County.

Saturday, Central Time Market Station Time Columbus, Ga. WLTZ 38 5:00 PM Sunday, Central Time Mobile WPMI 15 6:00 AM Birmingham WBMA 33/40 6:30 AM Huntsville WAFF 48 9:00 AM Montgomery WAKA 8 10:30 AM Dothan WTVY 4 10:30 AM

RFD-TV: Wednesdays • 3 p.m. Central ALWAYS ON: www.SimplySouthernTV.net

Simply Southern: How did you get into the business of growing Christmas trees?

Frank Wadsworth: In 1976, my father-in-law gave me 2,000 Virginia pines. He told me to plant them because everyone was planting them in Alabama for Christmas trees. I did but didn’t do anything to them for about three years. Then I went to a meeting at Auburn University where they talked about all the care Christmas trees need.

With four decades in this business, what changes have you seen?

FW: In the ‘70s, there were a lot more farmers growing Christmas trees. We seem to have more and more customers every year who tell me they’ve never had a real Christmas tree. But the biggest change has probably been the size tree people want. Back in the early days, an 8- or 9-foot tree was big. Now I get people asking if we have 12-foot trees. I’ve even sold some trees that were 15- and 20-feet tall. People are really looking for bigger trees.

What work do you have to do at the farm throughout the year?

FW: Right after Christmas, we start planting new trees. In summer, you have to keep the weeds out from around the trees, so we spray trees once a month, following an herbicide and fungicide program. We mow once a week. Once a tree is in its second year, it has to be pruned twice a year. On about 12 acres, we grow around 8,000 trees, ranging in age from one to seven years old. With my sons and me working, we can prune between 700 and 800 trees a day.

How many years does it take to grow a tree?

FW: Sometimes, a tree will be 6- or 7-feet tall by year three. But we prefer to wait until the fourth year to sell a tree, because then you usually have a field full of trees ranging from 5- to 9-and-a-half-feet tall.

For your customers, what’s the most important thing to remember when caring for a live Christmas tree?

FW: Water, water, water. Don’t let your stand run out of water. Depending on the size of the tree, it may drink a gallon or more per day. If the stand runs out of water, even for just an hour, sap can seal the base of the tree, and then it can’t drink anymore, even though it needs it.

Simply Southern’s segment about Wadsworth Christmas Tree Farm will air on broadcast stations Feb. 5 and 6 and on RFD-TV Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 3 p.m. Central. For more information, visit SimplySouthernTV.net.

Simply Southern TV is sponsored by

Wheat & Feed Grain Checko

Black-eyed Susan

Asters

Daylilies

By Lois Chaplin

Like bird-watchers, “flower-watchers” keep eyes peeled for what might suddenly appear while driving down the road.

“Did you see that? I think it was daylilies.” Or black-eyed Susans. Or verbena. It could be one of many possibilities. A genuine plant nerd will likely make a U-turn to get a better look at the “65-mph plants.” A mass can be showy enough to be appreciated from a fast-moving vehicle but is sometimes impossible to identify without that second look.

These big shows are often along sunny edges of a property. Sometimes they mark the location of an old homestead where the only thing left is a spread of color that grows bigger with each passing year. Many times these are perennial plants, able to come back from an occasional untimely mowing or spray from roadside maintenance. Their roots form a strong underground colony, providing resilience in tough times.

Only gardens with the luxury of space have room to let good plants like this spread with abandon. If the space is available, why not create a pretty patch of color of your own? It’s a small way to make Alabama more beautiful. Here are a few prolific plants easy to start from pass-along pieces or purchased plants.

Thrift (Phlox subulata) is a creeping phlox. It marks the change from winter to spring as it blooms in a carpet of pink, magenta or blue. It pairs beautifully with daffodils.

Rose verbena (Glandularia canadensis) forms a low, creeping perennial ground cover that starts blooming in spring and continues into summer. The popular cultivar Homestead Purple makes a great flowering blanket that does well in poor, sandy soil and comes back well when trimmed (or mowed high) after

flowering. Daylilies, the old-fashioned orange tawny kind, are the classic summer roadside flower, often marking old homesteads. Tawny daylilies are available, but you can also choose from newer daylilies prized for their ability to multiply and bloom more than once. These include Stella d’Oro, Happy Returns and Pardon Me. Hardy gladiolus (Gladiolus byzantinus), another treasure from the past, creates an unmistakable show of hot pink in late spring. Cold-hardy perennial gladiolus differs from fancy hybrid gladiolus by multiplying and spreading to form larger clumps. They are also called byzantine gladiolus. Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia species) include many different annual, biennial and perennial species native to the Southeast that bloom in summer or fall. Goldsturm and American Gold Rush, which spread via underground runners, are most persistent. They bloom mid-to-late summer. Asters make a big show and multiply by spreading underground. Most bloom in summer and fall. The many cultivars of fall-blooming New England aster (Symphotrichum novae-angliae) are easiest to find and are adaptable; they range from 3 to 6 feet tall and vary from purple to pink. Swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius) is common along the Alabama roadside, especially in low areas. A tall, clumping perennial wildflower, it spreads by underground runners and can quickly make a large clump, especially in damp soil. Save this one for a place where a tall plant works well, as it easily reaches 6 feet or more. It blooms in the fall. All of these “65-mph plants” will thrive in open areas with full sun; all except swamp sunflower need good drainage. You can create an evolving show from spring through fall. Now is a good time to start planting!

Lois Chaplin is an accomplished gardener and author. Her work appears here courtesy of Alabama Farmers Cooperative.

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