POTSDAM – Another season at the Cecilie Garden is about to begin, but the sign that identifies the garden has disappeared and stunned volunteers hope it will be returned.

The garden, in Lehman Park just south of the village of Potsdam, was established in 2003 by Jessica Pletcher and fellow SUNY Potsdam students in memory of Jessica’s mother, Cecilie Pletcher.

In 2005 the Unitarian Universalist Church in Canton assumed stewardship of the garden through its UShare program. Congregants from Temple Beth El and Potsdam's Presbyterian Church, and students from SUNY Potsdam sororities and fraternities, annually join in the commitment to make wholesome food available to all those in need in our area. The garden produces more than a thousand pounds of organic vegetables every summer to meet the needs of food pantries all across St. Lawrence County.

“We will be gathering on April 29 to get the garden ready for the season,” says Maria Corse, coordinator of UShare, which oversees the work in the Cecile Garden as well as a garden in Canton. “But as we get started, one question on everyone's mind will be: What's happened to our beautiful sign? Can we get it back?”

Members of the community are invited to opening day in the Cecilie Garden on April 29 between 1 and 4 p.m. when volunteers, college students, families, and friends will be preparing the soil for this year's garden.

UShare welcomes any information about the whereabouts of the Cecilie Garden sign.

To learn more visit the UU Church website www.uucantonny.org.

If you have information about the sign, please call the church office at 386-2498.