FORTY FORT, Pa. — The crew at Edward's Garden Center in Forty Fort is gearing up for spring, and the place's mascot, Blossom the Monkey, is back.
"Blossom's ready to go. We're getting inventory in every day, and we're ready for traffic," said owner Ed Kopec.
Blossom has been a guide for drivers coming off Route 309 who are making their way to the garden center for years and gets dressed up for every season.
Kopec says she often gets into some trouble.
"We originally put Blossom up. About six months later, she was stolen. So, we purchased another monkey, and we put that monkey up, and another six months, nine months later, that monkey was stolen," he explained.
It happened again late last year when Blossom was dressed and ready for New Year's Eve.
"But this time, we put a tracking device on Blossom, and we watched Blossom travel through West Pittston, through Pittston, on (Interstate) 81. Ended up in McDonald's in New York, and eventually ended up at an address in New York."
Kopec wrote a letter and sent it to that address.
"I basically said that we do a lot of things for children. We dress Blossom up for the different holidays. We get lots of comments on children going to school or to sporting events and how much they enjoy seeing the monkey," he said.
The letter asked the thief to return it or send money to replace it.
"A week later, it was a Wednesday night at six o'clock, the UPS man sent the package that said 'Fragile' on it to our front doorstep, and Blossom was in the package with a very nice letter of apology," he said.
Kopec says he was thankful to get Blossom back in one piece with a heartfelt apology but hopes he won't have to track Blossom down again any time soon.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel.