By Tymothy Brown
For over 120 years, Jean (Longo) Anderson’s family has resided in Wakefield. Her roots in this town go back to her grandparents, John and Frances Cicciarella, who came from Sicily through Ellis Island, and eventually to Wakefield. They lived off the land, raising a family at a farm on Valley Street where Jean would spend almost every day after school, learning the ins and outs of gardening which has stayed with her to this day.
Jean loved gardening ever since she had been introduced to it, but it took a while until this hobby would become the focal point of her life. As a student, Jean attended Wakefield public schools all the way from elementary to high school. At Wakefield High School, she was heavily involved in the business programs that were offered and planned to pursue that career after her time in Wakefield was up. These plans would change during her senior year as Salem State offered admission to the top business students in the area to train them to become needed teachers for the subject. Jean decided she couldn’t let this golden opportunity pass and committed to learning how to teach. She graduated from Salem State with a bachelor’s degree in business and education in 1971 and immediately put her degree to work in Jaffrey, New Hampshire as a teacher at Conant High School.
Jean didn’t stay for long though as just a year later she found herself in Wilmington juggling being a teacher and a student. “I loved it up there, but I knew I had to get a Master’s degree, the writing was on the wall.” said Mrs. Anderson, reflecting on her move back to Massachusetts. She had taken a job at Wilmington High School as a Business Teacher while she pursued a master’s degree in the field at Boston University.
Shortly after obtaining her degree from BU in 1976, Jean met her husband whom she would marry just a year later. Jean quickly made a turn as she left her job in Wilmington to start a family with her husband as they settled back in Wakefield. Jean first had her daughter in 1978, then her son two years later as she committed to making the best life for her kids at home while her husband worked. She volunteered at her children’s school as a “Library Mom,” “Room Mom,” and Girl Scout leader. She eventually felt a necessity to re-enter the workforce in 1989 as she began substituting for Wakefield Public Schools (where her kids attended) and in Northeast Metro Tech. She even worked as a part-time Tupperware sales consultant/manager. This more irregular schedule allowed Jean to expand what she would do outside of work as she took on gardening more passionately as a hobby, volunteered for the Wakefield Music Boosters, and for the high school band her children were a part of.
After her children graduated, Jean would return to her passion: gardening. She started selling plants and volunteering herself in the fields of horticulture for the Massachusetts Horticulture Society for over 10 years. Even as she switched teaching jobs multiple times, going back to Wilmington High and Whittier Tech in Haverhill, Jean still spent her free time volunteering and teaching workshops to kids to spark their interest in gardening. The biggest hit of any of Jean’s presentations was by far her second year at the Boston Flower Show when she helped over 200 kids make terrariums. This made a great impression on the horticulture community in Boston and set her up for many more presentations in the future. With the profits from her plant in sales since 2005, Jean has set up a scholarship in her parents’ name with the Wakefield educational foundation. It’s the Joseph N. and Concetta A. Longo Scholarship. She also donates to the local PAWS and Music Boosters, and she gives funds to a couple of her friends who have rescue animals.
Jean found stability at Clark Middle School in Lexington to finish out her teaching career, she retired in 2013 after teaching business for 6 years there. That stability and the calmness of retirement afterwards allowed Jean to continue doing her presentations on gardening to this day. Something special that retirement has allowed Jean to do though is learn how to be a beekeeper. A friend she had met during her time in Lynnfield doing a garden presentation was a honey bee keeper and offered to put hives in Jean’s garden. She happily accepted the offer, knowing it would be beneficial for her plants. When the friend moved to Maine just a year ago, Jean was left with no one to take care of the bees. Instead of getting rid of the hives she already had, she bought more, and devoted herself towards taking beekeeping classes.
With the first courses already complete, Jean is still working on all the skills she needs to be the best beekeeper she can. Her love of gardening continues to guide her throughout retirement as she enjoys life outside in her garden, sharing the wonders of the outdoors with her grandchildren whom she completely adores.
