RECORD GROUP 4-2 RECORDS OF FALLS CHURCH GARDEN CLUB 1950-2003 (1946-2011), 1950-2003 (1946-2011)

Access and use

Location of collection:
Mary Riley Styles Public Library
Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 North Virginia Avenue
Falls Church, VA 22046
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Peter Sullivan
Phone: (703) 248-5030

Summary

Extent:
4 boxes
Language:
Materials in this collection are in English .

Background

Scope and content:

Most records are from 1950-1970 except The Seedling which is complete through 2006 and a few issues each year from 2008 to 2011. The Yearbooks are through 2003 but many years are missing. There is an additional and more complete set of Yearbooks on the shelf at VaC 635.06 F but note that there is no Yearbook from 1984 nor 2005. The yearbooks contain lists of officers, membership contact information, a calendar of club events and more. There are no photographs in the yearbook.

The most informative view of the Club can be found in the three scrapbooks that cover the organization from 1946, before the club was officially formed in 1950, until 1975. In the scrapbooks there are annual reports of subcommittees, club flyers, photos, news clippings and more. While helpful in some regards, the many files of meeting minutes are vague and dry and do not provide the intimate view of the organization that is found in the scrapbooks. The Seedling, the Club’s monthly publication helps to provide information on club activities and the personality of the Club through the years.

Biographical / historical:

The first meeting of Falls Church Garden Club was held in Madison School Auditorium on Friday, April 21, 1950 with 20 people in attendance. A planning committee was appointed, met within days, and presented a “standard garden club constitution with a few alterations” to the May membership meeting. According to Article II of the Constitution the objective of the Club is to “stimulate knowledge and interest in gardening and horticulture and to promote horticultural improvements in the vicinity.” Records show that the Executive Committee and Club each met monthly and presented a Fall Garden and Flower Show annually. From 44 club members in 1950, the club membership rose to 161 in December 1951 and waxed and waned through the years. In memory of past presidents, books on garden-related subjects were purchased and presented to Mary Riley Styles Public Library. Annual dinners and picnics were always a part of the club’s activities. Tours of member’s gardens and regional gardens occurred regularly.

Acquisition information:
Files were donated June 7, 1979 as shown in the attached Deed of Gift.
Arrangement:

The order and division of the files are essentially the same as when the files were donated to Mary Riley Styles Public Library. Files are in chronological order.

Indexed terms

Subjects:
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