Southern Pines

'Cactus house' may lose distinctive garden

Late owner's daughter may clear out prickly plants to sell home.

By RON MATUS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 28, 2003

More than 20 years ago, retired cobbler Andrea Messina planted a cactus in his yard to remind him of his roots in Sicily.

He cultivated the cuttings until there were dozens of plants, then propped them up with bricks and pipes so they would grow straight and sure.

By the time Messina died in 2001, his solitary cactus had become a hammock of prickly plants up to 12 feet tall.

And his yard had become a neighborhood landmark.

"Everybody knew it as the cactus house," said his daughter, Anna Messina Cunnane.

In a few months, that could change. Cunnane is selling the house, on MacDill Avenue just north of Azeele Street, to support her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. Her dad's beloved cactuses might be clear cut to make the yard more presentable, she said last week.

"We've had some people say it looks overgrown," she said.

Even if she sells the house with the cactuses intact, Cunnane doubts any new owner would like them.

For more than 25 years, Cunnane's father ran Messina's Hillsborough Shoe Hospital on Tampa Street downtown. He learned to mend shoes while growing up in Sicily, and earned enough from the shop to send five daughters to college.

After retiring in the early 1970s, he channeled his energy into his yard. He pulled weeds, pruned citrus and carted fallen cactus leaves to the curb.

"The yard was perfect," Cunnane said. "He would water the grass every day. By hand.

"I'm sure he's looking down on it now and saying, 'The pits."'

The cactuses served a dual purpose, Cunnane said.

Her father planted them along the edge of the yard and next to the house to deter burglars.

He also loved the fruit that grew on them. In Sicily, "prickly pears," as they're known, are grown commercially.

"Once they bloomed, he was always eating them," Cunnane said. "He said it was sweet."

Sometimes, Asian families stopped by for some. Sometimes, Messina's brother, former City Council member Sam Mirabella, dropped off a few at Sebastian Castellano's dental office across the street.

"I brought it home but I didn't eat it," said dental assistant Brenda Gregory. "I was scared."

But the gesture was appreciated. So was the man who grew them.

-- Ron Matus can be reached at 226-3405 or matus@sptimes.com .

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