“Miss Opal” Carnes Lilly, 91,  of Florahome, died Sunday, May 22, 2005, at her residence when a driver lost control of his car and struck her as she was tending the grapevines in her vineyard. Miss Opal  was known for the grapes she grew in Lilly's Vineyard, where customers were allowed to pick the grapes themselves. Despite her age, she still tended to the gardens every day.

   Miss Opal owned, operated and loved Lilly's Vineyard for over 30 years. She was known for her grapehull pie and it was her specialty in baking. "She used to make a lot of grape jelly from the grapes out of the vineyard and it was very good," her niece Lois Carnes said. "She was active in it right up to the end. She was in good health for her age."

     Lois and Opal used to travel together, Lois said, often to gourd shows all over the eastern states. Opal ran a gourd museum from her home where she displayed the decorative gourds she had collected and made herself. A most prized possession was a gourd crafting book signed by Jim Story. Several years ago she sold her gourd museum to David and Ronna Wuttke of Turtlefeathers.
 
 

Opal Lilly with a "Minnie Black"  gourd hat	passing the hat to Ronna Wuttke  of Turtlefeathers	view more gourds in the Opal Lilly collection at Turtlefeathers

    She was born in La Fayette, Ga., and had been a resident of Florahome for the past 88 years. She was 1931 graduate of the Melrose High School and, in her early years she was a turkey farmer having raised over 7,000 turkeys per year. She was a member of the Palatka Woman's Club, the Palatka Garden Club and was a member of the First Church of God in Florahome, which her parents founded. She was always very active with her church and hosted Bible study at her home. She loved flowers and birds, having many bird feeders and had a beautiful vegetable garden.

    I had an opportunity to visit Miss Opal in 2003, shortly after she sold her gourd museum, and she gave me a tour the gourds she had in  her home.  As she showed me around I found something in her hallway that really took me by surprise.  She had a button collection that she started as a young girl in the mid 1920’s.  She had them mounted on construction paper and each page was a picture, outlined in buttons.

    --- Lyn Hunter, Florida Gourd Society Gourdvine Editor