< Previous60 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2023 FEATURE ‘MUM MANIA’ How a Louisiana transplant made it her business to carry on a Texas tradition story by SHANNON CALDWELL | photos by STUART VILLANUEVA I n late summer and early fall, two rooms in Melissa Gorena’s Seabrook home are engulfed in a hurricane of homecoming accessories. “I call it mum mania head- quarters because there are ribbons, beads, feather boas and spar- kles every- where,” Gorena said. “It is a bit crazy and does take over the house, but ever since I could hold scissors, it’s been my passion to make things for people.” Gorena has been making mums, garters and school spirit wear for more than 17 years and runs a pop- ular online store called Melissa’s Design Treasures. “I grew up in Louisiana, so I didn’t even know what a mum was when I first moved to Texas more than 30 years ago,” she said. “When I first start- ed making mums, I actually bought a book to teach myself how. I like to say I’m just a Louisiana girl who fell in love with a Texas tradition.” For the uninitiated, the homecom- ing mum is a corsage embellished with ribbons and beads that has an artificial chrysanthemum flower or flowers at the center. The tradition began in the 1950s when teenage boys would buy mums for their dates to wear to the homecoming dance, where they would wear a smaller match- ing corsage, called a garter, around their arms. Initially, mums were made with fresh flowers and usually modest in size. Over the years, mums have become more elaborate, especially those worn by school seniors that can be huge and include soft toys, flashing lights and multiple layers of ribbons and feath- er boas. Whatever the size, mums usually are worn to school home- coming events, including dances, (Right) Seabrook resident Melissa Gorena has been making mums, garters and school spirit wear for more than 17 years and runs a popular online store called Melissa’s Design Treasures. COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2023 6162 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2023 FEATURE pep rallies, parades and carnivals. In past years, there was an unof- ficial rule that freshman mums had one flower, sophomore mums had two flowers and mums for juniors had three flowers, Gorena said. The mums were made in school colors for all three class levels. Senior mums could be any color and size and usually reflected the interests of the wearer. “I made my first mum and garter for my son and his date,” she said. “They were sweethearts who knew each oth- er from kindergarten, and I wanted to make sure it was really special, as we knew the family well. Now, students still buy mums and garters for their dates, but kids also buy their own or buy them for their friends.” Gorena, who jokes she’s slightly addicted to buying ribbons and beads, begins her mum season by organizing all her materials. She makes the mums in batches and often works through the night. “I’ve lost count of the total number of mums I’ve made over the years,” she said. “These days, I usually make only one or two senior mums each year because they are so time-inten- sive. About four or five years ago, I started making mini mums that the kids can wear on their backpacks, and these are really popular.” Gorena believes her love of color and texture is what makes her mums so popular, along with her ability to customize her mums. A few years ago, she purchased a vinyl cutout machine she uses to make names and gradu- ation dates for the ribbons. She also can make cutouts of school logos and mascots and other images that repre- sent a student’s clubs or interests. Although her main motivation to make mums is her love of crafting and creation, it also provides an outlet for stress, she said. She has twice survived breast can- cer and found making mums in her recovery therapeutic, she said. Gorena is devoted to her husband and three grown sons, especially her oldest, who has special needs. “I’ve been so blessed to find a way to work from home and have an out- let for my creativity and design.” Melissa Gorena combines her love of color and texture into making homecoming mums. While it’s a time-intensive pro- cess, making mums provides an outlet for Gorena’s creativity and design, she said. COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2023 63 EXPERIENCEMATTERS! www.SouthLandTitle.net 409.744.0727-6710StewartRd.,Ste200,Galveston,TX77551 F r i g h t f u l F r i g h t f u l F r i g h t f u l SouthLandTitlehasbeenyourtrustedpartnerto asmoothtransactionfor25yearsandcounting. Letusbringyouhome! 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As a member of the cucurbits family — along with gourds, cucumbers, melons and squash — pumpkins aren’t a difficult plant to grow. They need lots of space, lots of sun and lots of water. And by October, they should be ready to be picked for holiday decorations or a variety of pump- kin-based treats. The decorative pumpkin is what most people think of in October and November. Although pumpkins have been grown in North America for more than 5,000 years, it only has been in the past 500 years they’ve been used as ornamental table deco- rations, dating back to the 1600s in the American colonies. But the tradition of carving pumpkins, or jack-o’-lanterns, comes from an old Irish myth about a man called Stingy Jack, who made a deal with the devil and because of it was doomed to roam the world between the planes of good and evil, with only an ember inside a hollowed turnip to light his way. Townspeople carved turnips, and later pumpkins, with demonic faces to scare Jack away. Because Halloween is associated with the Celtic festival of Samhain, which G e TTY IMAG e S68 COASTMONTHLY.COM | OCTOber 2023 GARDEN VARIETY celebrates the end of summer and beginning of winter, the carved pumpkins were a great match at harvest time. In the eighth cen- tury, the Roman Catholic Church declared All Saints’ Day to be Nov. 1. Therefore, All Hallows Eve, Halloween, would fall on Oct. 31. The folklore of Stingy Jack was incorporated into the Halloween story and carving pumpkins now is an annual tradition. Growing pumpkins requires planting seeds at least three or four months before desired autumn har- vest, said Herman Auer, a Galves- ton County Master Gardener who has been cultivating cucurbits for the past 60 years. “After my spring garden, I plant members of the cucurbitaceae family, such as butternut squash, on an upright fence,” Auer said. “I select the pumpkin I want, such as small or very large jack-o’-lan- terns for carving, a pie pumpkin with very smooth creamy texture and very little fiber, or the naked Galveston County Sheriff’s Office employees and deputies created pumpkins last year for display in the department lobby on Broadway at 54th Street in Galveston. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset credits the Citizen Sheriff’s Academy with coming up with the idea for the carving contest among divisions. Academy members are the judges in the competi- tion. “I thought it was quite creative,” he said. “They came up with some really great entries. They wanted to do something nice and different and fun. I was very impressed.” Ginger Benson, Galveston County Extension Agent for Family and Commu- nity Health, created a blue Cinderella coach from a pumpkin for a contest last year. She sculpted and painted the pumpkin and placed it on a board with wire resembling wheels. seed type used for the edible seeds.” Because of the plant’s massive root system, some watering is needed. After planting pumpkins, Auer watches for aphids and other insects, he said. Each plant can produce three or more pumpkins per vine. The plants need at least eight hours of sunshine daily and should be fertilized every two weeks. Use a fertilizer high in nitrogen when leaves occur, switching to a product higher in phosphorus when fruit starts forming. Water frequently but try not to wet the leaves. Moisture causes rot and disease on the leaves. Pumpkins can be harvested once they start blushing orange. They will ripen off the vine. But remember to leave a long stem on the fruit, when it has been cut, he said. The stem is the handle and as the fruit ripens, it turns brown to brownish green, and slightly curved. PHOTOS: COU r T e SY6807 Emmett F Lowry Expressway, Suite 303, Texas City, TX 77591 832-706-3326 • www.HeightsSkin.com General DermatologyCosmetic DermatologySurgical Dermatology SERVICES Heights Dermatology | Dermatologists & Mohs Surgery located in The Heights and Willowbrook, Houston, Rosenberg, Lake Jackson, Portland, Corpus Christi, Palacios, Columbus, Inside the THRIVE Healthplex, Gonzales, Dallas, Mansfield, Beaumont, Bay City, New Braunfels, San Antonio, Spring, Wichita Falls, Tomball and Texas City, TXNext >