Guscio: Son of Blufftonian helps the movies flower and grow green

I imagine many of us watched Dolly Parton's autobiographical television movie several weeks ago "Coat of Many Colors."

I love Dolly and I think most of us do. There is something so "real" about her -- a genuine down to earth icon.

Enter Stephen Wilson, a wizard of "faux" real.

Stephen is the son of Blufftonian Anne Wilson. Anne is an adorable, charming person who lives on Pritchard Street and I see her almost every day. She grew a beautiful garden last year and shared some of her bounty with me. She felt sorry that I have a black thumb and can barely grow grass, a fact she read about in one of my columns.

Stephen lives in Atlanta and worked for years in Buckhead installing beautiful gardens and lawns.

Stephen has spent the last five or so years working in Atlanta on television and in movies with a group known as "green men."

On the set of "Coat of Many Colors," Stephen was the gang boss, which means he was in charge of all of the green things needed for the production. I can't believe it, but his crew made all of the bushes and flowers you see in the movie. They fashioned everything out of wood and silk. Most of the flowers bushes and trees you see are not real.

The crew starts with the foliage then add flowers if they are needed. They also built the barn and the tobacco field. The actors were real, of course, but that was about it.

Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Kate Hudson and Jennifer Anniston are starring in a movie titled "Mother's Day", which will open next May. Stephen is now working on all of the greenery for that.

He has met many famous people he now call friends and loves his amazing job.

A SALUTE TO JOEY

This December will be a very exciting one for Joey Reynolds and his family.

Joey is the grandson of Dianne and the late Cecil Reynolds and the son of Susan Reynolds and Michael Reynolds. Joey spent his first two years in college enrolled in an honors program at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Ga. He then transferred to Charleston Southern University where he will graduate as a 2nd Lieutenant this month.

Joey will celebrate this wonderful event on a cruise to the Honduras , Belize and Cozumel.

After the holidays he is off to Fort Sill , Okla., for officer training.

I know all of his family is very proud of him and we wish him well .

THAT NEW ORLEANS SOUND

I love jazz and if you have ever been to New Orleans, you have heard the best of it.

At the end of the Spanish American War in 1898, the troops were sent home and New Orleans is where many landed.

There was no use at the time for instruments that had been used in bands so they were discarded. So began the big band jazz era in that city. People picked up instruments and taught themselves how to play. The tunes they came up with was the start of some fabulous music.

'GOOD LUCK, JEFF'

Jeff Fulgham has resigned as executive director of the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society.

He brought many new members to the society and helped re-energize the group. He is now working on a book about Henry Woodward the first English settler in South Carolina.

We should all thank him for his love of Bluffton and his caring about our town.

Good luck Jeff.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas everybody.

I hope you have a lovely holiday with your family and friends.

Don't forget to let the dog in.

Babbie Guscio is the social columnist for The Bluffton Packet. She can be reached at The Store on Calhoun Street.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 1:56 PM with the headline "Guscio: Son of Blufftonian helps the movies flower and grow green."