Roses in October?

The Tyler Rose Garden is in full bloom in mid-October and hosts the annual Texas Rose Festival the third weekend of October. The rose garden is one of Harry and Willardene Purdum's favorite vacation spots. This year, they scheduled a visit for the first week of October, which was a week too early for the roses to be at their peak, but Willardene got to see a 'careless love' in bloom—a variety she had in the flower bed in Oklahoma back in 1968 and we hadn't seen since then. The Purdums were joined by daughter, Ellen and son-in-law Dewey, as well as Dewey's daughter, Sydney and husband Nick for half of the week stay. Dewey's birthday was Sept. 28th, so even being a few days late, Saturday was reserved for a birthday lunch at Red Lobster. Of course, finding great places to eat was high on the agenda for the stay. Besides enjoying what roses were in bloom, the American Freedom Museum in Bullard, Texas was a high point of the trip. This museum's Hall of Presidents featuring a profile of each of the U.S. Presidents is second to none—a must see if you are ever in the area. The museum also has an outstanding display of facts, scenes and equipment of America's Wars. Everyone seemed to enjoy the brief visit and agreed they needed to come back and spend more time. A few pictures will be posted to the Purdum web site— www.purdum.org.