For the last 70 years, the arrival of spring has brought with it a bright spot for motorists along U.S. 641 near the Lyon-Caldwell county line.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 spokesman Keith Todd says that for about two weeks each year, a half-mile section of U.S. 641, around the 4-mile marker in Lyon County, is lined with bright yellow jonquils, or daffodils. He adds that the bulbs that create the colorful display were planted by Charles Brockmeyer Jr., with help from his friend and farmhand, Kell Moore of Princeton, in the fall of 1949. The flowers first bloomed in the spring of 1950, making this the 70th year they have brightened the roadside right-of-way between Eddyville and Fredonia.
Brockmeyer’s daughter, Sandy Brockmeyer Button, states that her father would be pleased the flowers are still providing an annual splash of color along the roadway. She notes that he fought in the Netherlands in World War II and was so impressed by all the flowers he saw that he wanted to bring something back. When he returned to the states, Brockmeyer Jr. decided to plant jonquils along the highway in front of the family farm in Lyon County and at one time they extended for almost a mile on both sides of the highway. Following in her father’s footsteps, Button planted rows of flowers along roadways near her current home in Vermont.
Retired KYTC Lyon County Highway Superintendent Roger Knoth recalls sighting the flowers decades ago and is pleased that they’ve stood the test of time. Inspired by the rows of flowers near the former Brockmeyer home, Knoth picked up the jonquil planting bug. He and his grandchildren have planted the flowers along sections of Martins Chapel Road as well as almost a mile of KY 810 North in Lyon County.
Todd notes that due to the length of time they’ve been along the roadway, the rows of jonquils are considered a protected heritage site and adds that disturbing the flowers or the digging of bulbs on state right-of-way is prohibited.
Todd states that if anyone is inspired by this story to plant their own jonquils, or any other flower, they must obtain a permit before planting any vegetation along the state-maintained right-of-way.
Photo provided by KYTC District 1
The flowers are likely to be blooming for about another week along U.S. 641 about a mile south of the Lyon-Caldwell County line between Eddyville and Fredonia.
Written By Audrey Lamb/WPKY)