East Longmeadow Garden Club prepares to celebrate 40th anniversary

Date: 8/18/2009

EAST LONGMEADOW Forty years ago, on June 10, 1969, the East Longmeadow Garden Club was formed and the founder, Mrs. Warren (Esther) Rosati, was elected its first president.

The East Longmeadow Garden Club was immediately popular with 69 local women who became charter members. The meetings took place once a month on Thursdays from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., a time chosen so mothers would be home to greet their children when they came home from school. The meetings were conducted in the meeting room of the earlier East Longmeadow Library.

Since 1969, the club has been providing the library with displays of fresh and dried flowers and plants.

In addition to featuring interesting and inspiring speakers at their monthly meetings since 1969, the East Longmeadow Garden Club and East Longmeadow Conservation Commission have co-sponsored an Arbor Day program in conjunction with Mapleshade School and Mountain View School for fifth grade students. Since 1969, the Garden Club has presented a tree or bush seedling to every fifth grade student with instructions how to plant and care for it in each child's yard.

Also, since 1969, the Conservation Commission presents both schools with a tree to be planted on school property.

The teachers, principals, staff, music directors and fifth grade students plan a delightful program on environmental awareness for the Arbor Day ceremonies at each school.

In 1974, the Garden Club, in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce, promoted a beautification program for the center of East Longmeadow. The goal was to have every merchant in town place a floral display in front of their respective places of business. May 24 through 26, 1974 was declared "Beautification Weekend."

A second phase of the Beautification Project was planned for the 1976 Bicentennial. The Rotary Club donated money for the purchase of five tubs for the islands in the center of town and two more tubs were purchased by the Department of Public Works for placement on Shaker Road. The Garden Club planted the tubs with red, white and blue flowers in commemoration of the bicentennial year. The Garden Club has continued to tenderly plant, maintain and care for the plants in the tubs since 1974.

Please join the East Longmeadow Garden Club as we continue in the spirit of our beginnings, offering you an opportunity to enjoy a year of special friendships, interesting programs and field trips and delightful times to remember.

Our constitution states that a member shall be one who is required to participate in two or more activities during the year. We welcome men and women from East Longmeadow and surrounding towns to join.

You do not have to be a gardener to belong, but you should have a keen interest in civic beauty, conservation of natural resources, appreciate the beauty of flowers and plants and strive for a better environment for our town and our world.

Feel free to visit www.eastlongmeadowweather.org. Also check out www.thereminder.com for the complete article on the club.