Mary Jean Carlson and Paulette Meyer love to go shopping. The crafty sisters’ favorite store is Hobby Lobby but they also love flowers. Since moving into Goodhue Living (GL) apartments, they have missed being able to purchase and grow plants. Life Engagement Coordinator, Susie Matthees and Ag teacher, Chris Poncelet, set up a visit to the Goodhue FFA greenhouse. This Dare to Dream event allowed Mary Jean and Paulette to choose plants that beautify the facilities outdoor spaces.
Paulette and her husband, Eugene moved into GL in 2024 and Mary Jean has been a full-time resident since January 1, 2025. After touring other facilities, they said GL was “More our style”. Although they live in separate apartments on different levels of the building, Matthees says, “They do almost everything together. They were both just talking together about how hard it is to walk away without flowers when they are out shopping. When we asked Paulette and Mary Jean if they would like this Dare to Dream option, they both said YES immediately”!
The Thursday, May 8th outing not only benefitted the sisters, but the Goodhue Living facility and the FFA program. The greenhouse has been part of the FFA program and plant science class since 2018. The plants are started from plugs in the spring and tended by someone in the class twice a day. The students’ hard work culminates in a public plant sale the day before Mother’s Day. The event draws a large crowd and always sells out. This is the second year the school has invited GL to choose flowers before the sale.
The sisters wandered through the greenhouse enjoying the flowering plants and choosing their favorites to purchase. The outing was funded through GL’s budget. “We’ll spend all the money before we get to the back (of the greenhouse)”, Paulette said in praise of the quality. Poncelet and five students assisted the girls, gathering the containers they chose and placing them in Matthees’ vehicle. Meyer shared that her granddaughter had been an FFA president and both women had some connection to all of the morning assistants’ families.
Having roots in the area is one reason they settled on Goodhue Living even though their sister, Judy lives in Deercrest and brother, Richard in St. Crispin in Red Wing. Other relatives are currently, or have previously resided at GL. Coincidentally, their great-uncle once lived where the facility now stands. The Jonas siblings grew up on a farm near Zumbrota where they attended grade school. They graduated from Red Wing High School after moving to Hay Creek.
Paulette’s 50-year career in nursing included working in the neurology department at Mayo and the Seminary Home in Red Wing. She credits her involvement with the long-term care facility for her four children’s compassionate attitudes. A grandson is now living on the Bellecreek area farm where she lovingly tended to both flower and vegetable gardens. She recalls doing a lot of canning and making lots of strawberry jam.
Mary Jean and her husband, Roger raised 6 children on their Red Wing area farm saying, “Kids played outside more than now days”. She worked at Jostens for 25 years and Roger was a member of the sheriff’s posse. The couple owned Quarter horses, drove and sold Belgium horses, and also raised beef cattle. When Roger died young 22 years ago, Mary Jean said she “Had to figure things out”. She continued to live in the brick house and care for the yard on the Carlson generational farm until passing it on to her son and moving to GL.
After Roger’s death and going through other difficult things in life, Mary Jean and Paulette’s relationship became even stronger. They enjoy each other’s company, especially when they can go shopping together. Their trips to Hobby Lobby usually reap yarn for Paulette who taught herself to knit for a role in a school play. She has made many baby blankets and dishcloths and Barbie Doll clothes through the years. Mary Jean prefers counted cross-stitch and embroidery. Both love to decorate their space and seasonally change the dresser top in the hallway of their respective floors for everyone to enjoy.
Returning from their flower buying junket, Paulette said “I’m anxious to see how it turns out”. The project became a community effort with staff doing the planting, a resident watering the front landscape and memory care residents and volunteers helping with the patio flowers. A month later, Matthees says, “(The plants) are growing and thriving. They look beautiful, adding color to our senior living community!”
