If you find yourself driving down Mill Street in Worcester, you're likely to spot a beautiful patch of colorful, medicinal, soil-regenerating flowers and plants in the median strip.
In 2006, Pam Saffer's sister started this garden and named it "Bread and Roses." Since (and before) then, Pam has been working towards beautifying the city. She helps with the annual REC Earth Day Cleanup, donates her own plants and garden materials, and solely tends to the "Bread and Roses" garden as her sister is no longer able to. Still, her sister's vision to enhance Worcester lives on through Pam.
The phrase "bread and roses" was coined in a speech in the early 1900s by Rose Schneiderman, an influential woman of her time. She fought for woman's suffrage and labor rights, and inspired others to do the same.
Schneiderman's famous speech where she said "The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too," inspired poems, songs, labor strikes and more! It became a slogan to remind people that they deserved more than subsistence living; more than minimal living. That is exactly what Saffer's sister wanted to do with this garden in Worcester; raise the city above mediocrity, beautify it, make use of unused land.
If you know Pam, you know her love and knowledge of plants and nature in general. We recognize Pam's passion and dedication as a big reason to why Worcester is a more charming, clean city. Thank you Pam, your hard work does not go unnoticed!