LAGC members, friends and family gathered at the McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage and Cultural Center to honor the club’s history and recognize some of its longstanding members. Attendees received a bookmark to remember the lovely evening.
To begin the program, President, Nancy Madeoy welcomed members and Secretary, Colleen Fingal led members in reciting the Conservation Pledge, by L.L. Foreman, 1946. This pledge used to be said at all LAGC meetings.
Nancy then recognized our longest standing members: Bev Steiger (42 years), Bill Goff (40 Years), Helen Dean (31 years), Peggy Elizeus (30 years), Terry Sarver (30 years), and Lynn Betts (27 years). Combined they have over 200 years of membership. That’s something special to celebrate!
The next part of the program called “Reflections – stories of gardening and friendship” was a chance for our longstanding members to speak about their experiences in being a member of LAGC.
Cindy Stewart spoke on behalf of Bev Steiger by reading Bev’s words about how she joined the garden club 42 years ago at the prompting of one of her friends and former member, Flo Ogden. They joined with little knowledge about gardening, but with friendship and mentoring of Eleanor Dusenberry, they continued to learn and grow with the garden club.
Bill Goff delighted members as he took a walk down memory lane and talked about how he came to join LAGC and remained a member for 40 years. His love of gardening and learning about plants kept growing over the years so that he eventually became a Penn State Master Gardener.
We watched a video where Helen Dean and Peggy Elizeus explained how they designed and planted the Chapel Garden at Passavant Hospital. They said they did not have very much experience when they started but, after working together with the garden club, they continually learned more and ended up being the Chapel Garden Coordinators for many years.
The highlight of the celebration was viewing the “The story of Longvue Acres Garden Club” video which was researched and written by Claudia Hickly and narrated by Martin Karl. The video shows how LAGC began and its many activities throughout its 75 years. Photos and newspaper articles from the first 50 years were pulled from the archives and featured in the video to show how the garden club has grown over the years. We also saw many current members participating in the club activities of the more recent 25 years.
Longvue Acres Garden Club: Celebrating 75 Years
https://youtu.be/MqRGYgWa0Yo?si=cY6OeS0OkAHUJJo3
The formal program concluded with Denny Brown, leading members in a poem called Blessed is the club. According to the LAGC Archives this poem was shared at the 1967 Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania Convention. Denny then invited everyone to enjoy the refreshments and view the memorabilia of photos and program handbooks of LAGC.
Mary Jo Clayton donated beautiful dahlias from her own garden and created beautiful arrangements for the refreshment table. Dianne Machesney, Andrea Maire and Colleen Fingal provided delicious cookies and water to enjoy while members mingled and talked about how they liked the celebration event.
Our sincere thanks and appreciation to the 75th Anniversary Committee for all the time they dedicated to preparing for the celebration: Claudia Hickly, Jane MacCredie, Amy Foreman, Diana Berendowski, Mary Anne Kurtz, Mary Jo Clayton, and Nancy Madeoy. Special thanks to McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage and Cultural Center, Suzanne Schnupp and the HCC volunteers, including Suzanne’s brother, John Mucka, who helped us that evening, also Director of McCandless Parks & Recreation, Abby Lucostic.
Photos by Dianne Machesney, Claudia Hickly, RoseMary Highman
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| Linda Keiser & Jane MacCredie enter History Center. |
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| Amy Foreman, Linda and Denny Brown. |
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| L to R: Mary Jo Clayton, Dianne Machesney, Mary Anne Kurtz, Claudia Hickly. |
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| Program and bookmarks. |
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| Honorees: Bill Goff, Helen Dean, Peggy Elizeus, Terry Sarver, Lynn Betts, and Bev Steiger. |
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| Cindy Stewart reading Bev Steiger's remembrances of LAGC. |
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| Bill Goff ready to shop, each honoree received a gift card. |
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| Refreshment table. |
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| McCandless Town Council resolution honoring LAGC's 65 years. |
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| Mary Jo Clayton with her own dahlias. |
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Members enjoying a friendly chat, L to R: Janine Zink, Chris Kerin, Maureen Berg, Sue Brozick, Jane MacCredie, and Claudia Hickly. |
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| Claudia Hickly, chairperson of celebration, in 50s styled finery. |
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| A portion of the memorabilia over 75 years from Longvue Acres Garden Club displayed at the Heritage Center. |
