MASCOUTAH, Ill. (KMOX) - Joseph Cunningham, 95, just couldn't wait to plant his daffodils along a busy rural road. So he recently reached out the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for some help.
World War II Navy veteran and retired teacher has been planting daffodils along Route 4 just north of Mascoutah, Illinois for about 35 years. It's a "cheerful surprise" every year for area drivers.
“He’s just an unbelievable man,” said Region 5 Engineer Keith Roberts, who received a letter from Cunningham. “After reading his letter, I just knew I had to meet him. I have not actually seen his plantings while in bloom, but I will definitely be out there next spring to enjoy the fruits of all his labor. I plan to invite him to join me, so we can continue our conversation. He is a very interesting individual. I greatly respect him for all he has done.”
Cunningham asked in the letter last fall when crews would be out to clear the sides of Route 4 so he could plant more of his flowers. He said he wanted to bring his battery-powered hedge trimmers to help them.
So far, he's planted about a half-mile wroth of bulbs in each direction along the road.
Cunningham says his passion for flowers began when he was 4 or 5 years old working in the garden with his father. They lived in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Michigan before settling near Carmi, Ill., according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
He says many of his daffodils were left abandoned in his hometown, so he began digging up the bulbs and replanting them along Illinois 4.
"You're supposed to plant in fall," Cunningham says. "If I were to go back to Carmi in the fall, I couldn't find them. I have to dig while they're blooming, which is against all gardening rules. But they live and do fine."
He estimated he's planted thousands of bulbs, which have turned into millions of plants. He says he has no plans to stop anytime soon.
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