Like a honeybee, our local hero Susan McCabe takes care of flowers for all of us to enjoy. She does this without any financial aid or assistance. And if you’re like me, you assume tax dollars are being spent on the beautiful flowers and a city employee oversees planting and taking care of them. But like me, you’d be wrong with your assumption.

Susan McCabe spent 30 years nurturing and teaching the youth of Peoria and Pekin in the schools. With the help of her husband John, they together raised two children, Janene and James. Susan is obviously a nurturer and between needing a project, seeing a flower garden on city property that needed attention, and her love of flowers, a new zest of nurturing public flower gardens was born. 

Around 2015, Susan started her first garden on city property in front of St. Joseph Church. There, she saw a garden with more weeds than flowers. Over the last 8–9 years, she has added the garden in front of St. Vincent DePaul, most of the area behind Fast Dragon and Asher’s, and all of 4th Street between Ann Eliza and Margaret. Through 2022 Susan also took care of the Kiwanis Garden across from the Football stadium. The garden boxes at City Hall, the TAPs Garden and the Pekin Welcome Sign on Route 9 are also on her list of garden projects. 

All the plants come from her own personal gardens or from local stores when she can’t pass them up. As her flowers grow, she separates them, and they get transplanted into one of the spots for the public to enjoy. She weeds the gardens herself, but her family does help with the annual cleanups. Susan has also raised money to help others with her love of flowers. With the help of a few other Master Gardeners in the area, they put on a plant sale where they raise money for St. Jude and the Midwest Food Bank. Over the years they’ve been able to donate over $40,000.

Susan’s volunteerism doesn’t stop in the gardens. She also volunteers in Peoria schools helping first graders develop reading skills. Susan is also President of Carle Health Pekin Hospital’s League organization. They are currently raising money to build the Young Minds Projects in Peoria.

This “Hero Among Us” is truly a busy bee. She helps unknown strangers enjoy the beauty of flowers at her own expense and sweat. She also has a passion for helping children develop the necessary reading skills to help make their lives better. Thank You Susan for all you do for this community.