Bruce Arganbright believes he inherited the desire to use his green thumb for service from his father.
When he was younger, he helped his dad landscape and maintain the grounds of their parish, St. Thomas the Apostle, in Rochester, N.Y.
He has performed the same service at four parishes throughout his lifetime, the current parish being Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church.
Arganbright has been a parishioner there since January 2005, shortly after he retired and moved to North Augusta.
The parish has a full-time grounds keeper, but Arganbright spends an average of 10 or 15 hours a week helping out.
"This is just something I've always loved to do," he said. "(I do) just little odds and ends, anything else they need done, " he said of the types of work he does.
He mostly weeds and mows the grass around the annex and around the nursery.
He also volunteers at the school, recently chaperoning a field trip to the pumpkin patch at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church.
Three of his four grandchildren attend the Our Lady of Peace school.
Arganbright said he's just one of many parishioners dedicated to serving the church.
"There are over 30 ministries here," he said. "You're looking at over 30 heads of the ministries and the people that belong to them."
He said the prettiest part of the church is the front grounds on the Old Edgefield Road side of the parish, which are filled with azaleas and camellias. The latter were planted by a previous parishioner whose hobby was grafting them, Arganbright said.
"My predecessors did most of the planting. I'm just (doing) the upkeep," he said.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
