Volunteers Find a Use for Downtown Planter Boxes

A group of volunteers set up some fall decorations on the planter boxes in front of the courthouse in La Grange on Tuesday.

“It’s just an idea that popped in my head,” said Michael Schlabach. “We’ve got these concrete boxes. It looks bad. So let’s do something with it.”

Schlabach mentioned the idea on Facebook a few weeks ago. The folks at J&J Metalworks reached out and offered to help.

Texas Department of Transportation installed the planter boxes late last year. They were intended to stop pedestrians from jaywalking across Business 71 (Travis St.). The City was supposed to plant landscaping inside the boxes, but no one installed a water line to provide irrigation. The boxes have sat empty ever since.

Schlabach, along with J&J owner Jason Teinert, his wife Nancy, their grandson Riley, Mike McCullough, his son Paul and Carlos Gallegos set up the decorations on Tuesday afternoon.

“We put it up in an hour,” Schlabach said. “Everything is anchored down so it won’t blow around.”

Teinert said he and his wife used to set up a big fall decoration display in front of their driveway years ago.

“We have a whole bunch of this stuff,” Teinert said. “We built some of it in our shop, and my wife bought some of it over the years at the antiques show in Warrenton.”

Schlabach said he hopes businesses on the square, youth organizations or local nonprofits might be inspired to expand on the idea.