When Jennifer George and Derik Thompson took over the leadership of the Annunciation Catholic School 4-H club last year, they were determined to not just sit and talk about various subjects, but to put that learning into motion.

“We wanted to do something besides just having meetings,” George said Wednesday afternoon, as the 4-H group harvested potatoes in the Elizabeth Sullivan Memorial United Methodist Church garden. “We wanted to be active and involved in the community. We partnered with the Methodist church last year, so this the second time we’ve done this.”

The garden covers about a full acre, and currently has late corn growing as well as the potatoes.

ESM pastor Rev. Bill Moon, Joe Culpepper, Jim Yarbrough, Merlin Duke, Chris Burns, and others, including John Gallaspy, whose son Whit set up the garden on the old Tung Oil Plant site that had burned down in 1970, arrived at the garden ahead of the young students to do the prep work.

“I don’t think the potato crop is going to be that good this year,” Moon said. “But it was real good last year and the year before.

“We’re going to send the kids home with a mess of potatoes, feed the people we normally feed, and then take the rest to the (Bogalusa) Help Center.”

The 4-H group also planted the potatoes. The students cut up potatoes, making sure they had an “eye” in each section, and then planted the sections. And under a warm sun Wednesday, the circle of plant life came complete.