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Talk of the Town - Sept/Oct 2018
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- story by Denise Jacobs
The Shoofly Magazine joins the Bay/Waveland Garden Club as it celebrates 80 years of service to the communities of Bay St. Louis and Waveland on September 27.
The Bay/Waveland Garden Club was founded in 1938 in the home of Mrs. J. Roland Weston, on South Beach Boulevard. The club, which is federated in the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, was voted the best Garden Club in the Mississippi Spanish Trail District in 2015 by a jury of its peers. |
Talk of the Town
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“We also roll up our sleeves up and work.”
If it blossoms, buzzes, or breathes, it likely falls under the floral parasol of the Garden Club’s mission, which is to advance gardening of all sorts, including backyard and youth gardens, to further city beautification and the conservation of air, water, and soil quality, and the protection of native trees, shrubs, pollinators, and birds.
While Garden Club members can and do happily work alone, they also play well with others. The club has partnered with a bevy of organizations, from the Bay St. Louis Rotary Club to the Hancock County Historical Society (in collaborative efforts to save, document, and register aged oak trees).
The club’s work to encourage the gardeners of tomorrow has included presentations and projects at local schools—public and private—the Boys and Girls Club, and a clean-up collaboration with local Boy Scouts.
In the 70s and 80s, Mrs. John Holmes led Girl Scout Troop #27 to win the Gulf Pines Council Certificate - twice. In 1972, the Bay/Waveland Garden Club won the National Helen Hussey Champlin Award for outstanding service in promotion of gardening among youth.
Mrs. Rene deMontluzin organized the first youth group with 31 girls. It was followed by the OLG Busy Bees and Lazy Daisies, the Sunshine Gardeners, and the St. Joseph’s Academy Red Birds.
A glance at the headings of Sea Coast Echo coverage of the Bay/Waveland Garden Club tells the larger story:
- Organization of Bay-Waveland Garden Club of Civic Interest
- Nearly 500 Visitors Tour City’s Homes and Gardens in Annual Gulf Coast Spring Pilgrimage
- National Convention Hostesses
- Bay-Waveland Garden Club Teams with Hancock Libraries
- Bay-Waveland Garden Club Donates to Community Garden
- Ready for Pilgrimage: Scouts Lead in Clean-up
- Bay-Waveland Garden Club Meets to Discuss Pageant Week Plans
- Bay-Waveland Club Wins National Award
- Bay-Rotary Club Announces 3 New Working Committees