“Retired” Shiloh woman is a force of nature as the head gardener at Restoration Ranch

Yolandea Wood took the sentiment “Bloom where you are planted” to heart when she set down roots in Shiloh while stationed at Scott Air Force Base, retiring in 2006 as a major after 20 years.

Current president of the Sunrise Rotary Club in O’Fallon and involved in nine other civic organizations, Wood has flourished in a second act that also involves being head gardener at Restoration Ranch, which has set aside a large garden patch at the entrance as a fresh foodway for the community.

The garden, at Hartman Lane, is where you can often find Wood planting, pulling weeds, harvesting, and helping volunteers. She’s not always there from dawn to dusk – it just seems like that. In her third year in charge, she has a growing wish list among her to-dos.

She wants to grow a network of volunteers to help with supplying fresh produce for local food pantries, church programs and nonprofit organization needs.

“I’d like to expand our reach. I want to exceed 3,000 pounds of vegetables and fruits this year and continue to increase in the future,” she said.

She said individuals, families and groups can volunteer to help when they can, and even take some produce home. They harvest early on Mondays and Wednesdays, and they only have two delivery drivers.

The garden has about 25 vegetables represented – large yellow tomatoes known as Lemon Boys are among a diverse assortment of cherry, plum and beefsteak varieties. Okra, cauliflower, black-eyed peas, squash, eggplant, and Swiss chard are sprouting because volunteers suggested the plants. Blackberries are ripening on trellis surrounding the perimeters.

“We try to grow what the food pantries want,” she said.

Thinking of expansion, she points out areas that can grow more. “We can grow outside the fence line. We can make things a little bit taller,” she said.

Unflappable and inspiring, Wood is generally regarded as a force of nature. Through her time serving with organizations, she said she can recognize others’ talents and foster a community of support. She gets things done but is the first to give credit to others for helping her.

She considers Bob Winkler from the O’Fallon Garden Club and MaryJo Nowobilski from Rotary as garden mentors, and through the guidance of others, the garden is thriving with herbs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

“It’s awesome to share information. We have no problem with sharing extra resources,” she said.

She found out about Restoration Ranch through a presentation to their Rotary chapter.

“I visited as a possible service project expansion of our garden. Then our club partnered with them for a district grant. The grant led to infrastructure to provide water to the garden directly and a shed. I learned about the importance of a watering system through the Garden Club,” she said. “They had previously used buckets.”

She became a Rotarian after being invited to speak “and kept coming back.”“I joined the service committee and that led me to the Rotary garden that is beside the Seven Hills YMCA. I learned about the Garden Club because of the nexus of the Food Pantry that we both support. I think I joined the Garden Club to get more garden time and experience. So, in a way they were linked,” she said.

Besides the O’Fallon Garden Club and Rotary, she belongs to the Toastmasters, Tuskegee Airmen, St. Nicholas Church, Center for Racial Harmony, and Kiwanis Club. She is an AARP tax aide.

She currently serves as the Hugh J. White Tuskegee Airmen Chapter president and is a former executive national recording secretary. She has also received two national Tuskegee Airmen presidential awards and regional recognition.

“I use the stories of the Tuskegee Airmen to create parables to inspire audiences to follow mama’s rules ‘Always Try and Do It Now’ and ‘Watch Me’ to continue the legacy of the Airmen with action,” she said.

While “mostly retired,” she is an ACE certified personal trainer and started “WorkoutWithYo.” After losing 25 pounds with the Weight Watcher program, she joined the company as a coach and guide. That led to her third master’s degree in kinesiology and exercise physiology.

Does she ever sit still? In the summer of 2017, she spent 64 days paddling over 2,120 miles “Source to Sea” on the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers with a core of two other women in solo kayaks.

Wood says she grew up as a “military brat,” spending a lot of time in California. She planted radish seeds when she was 8 years old, and that was the start of a lifelong passion.

She said she likes putting her skills to use to benefit others. After her military career, she taught high school history from 2006-2010 in St. Charles.

Wood graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1986, and after navigator training, she flew planes, racking up 3,000 hours. During Operation Allied Force, she flew over 35 combat missions in support of NATO Kosovo efforts. After earning two master’s degrees, she returned to her alma mater as an assistant professor of history and a T-43 instructor.

While at Scott, she was an intra theater planner in the Tanker Airlift Control Center, playing a key role in scheduling cargo and passenger moves in support of Afghanistan and Iraq, and receiving numerous awards and medals.

With unlimited energy, it seems, she can accomplish a lot, but she said she likes to contribute along with others.

“I couldn’t do any of it without other volunteers,” she said.

Restoration Ranch is a 46-acre property run by a non-profit church ministry, established in 2020. They sponsor day camps, activities, programs and more. https://www.restorationranchil.com