LAGC 75th Anniversary Honoring Our Past, notes Sept. 23, 2025

 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 75^th 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

Linda Keiser & Jane MacCredie enter History Center.

Amy Foreman, Linda and Denny Brown.

L to R: Mary Jo Clayton, Dianne Machesney, Mary Anne Kurtz, Claudia Hickly.

Program and bookmarks.

Honorees: Bill Goff, Helen Dean, Peggy Elizeus, Terry Sarver, Lynn Betts, and Bev Steiger.

Cindy Stewart reading Bev Steiger's remembrances of LAGC.

Bill Goff ready to shop, each honoree received a gift card.

Refreshment table.

McCandless Town Council resolution honoring LAGC's 65 years.

Mary Jo Clayton with her own dahlias.

Members enjoying a friendly chat, L to R: Janine Zink, Chris Kerin, Maureen Berg, 

Sue Brozick, Jane MacCredie, and Claudia Hickly.

Claudia Hickly, chairperson of celebration, in 50s styled finery.

A portion of the memorabilia over 75 years from Longvue Acres Garden Club displayed at the Heritage Center.

 

April 23, 2024 Meeting Notes

President Nancy Madeoy welcomed members to the April meeting which was held in the sanctuary of Northmont Church because Fellowship Hall was occupied for election day.

Upcoming program:  The May 28^th program will be a tour of the North Park Wetlands by the Latodomi Nature Staff. Details about where to meet will be sent via e-mail. Our annual picnic will take place on June 4^th at 6:30pm at the home of Bill Goff. The club photo which will be used for the 75^th celebration publicity will be taken at the annual picnic in June. We hope all members can attend to be a part of the photo.
 
Community Coordinator, Lynn Betts reminded members that they can volunteer to help maintain our Chapel Garden at Passavant Hospital. The sign-up sheet was circulated amongst members.
 
Plant Sale Coordinator, Mary Anne addressed the club about our annual perennial plant sale on May 18th. Please bring your 10 to 20 plants to the church by 7:30am. The 4 inch or larger pot should have a plant tag which contains information about the plant such as size, growth habit and flower color. When you arrive, please place your plants in the appropriate row with similar plants. Please wear your green t-shirt and be sure to bring your gently used garden items for the “Free” table. 
 
Claudia has been working on publicity for the plant sale. LAGC members can help promote the plant sale by forwarding the plant sale flyer that you receive in your e-mail or via text. Please share the post on your Facebook page if you are able to do so.
 
Update on the plans for LAGC’s 75th anniversary celebration: Mary Jo said that details are being developed to plant 75 trees at a cost of $1300.  The type of tree or trees has yet to be determined. The 2025 directory will feature fun facts and photos of the club’s history. There will be a reception, drinks and cake type event in September 2025 at the Heritage Center in North Park. Tonight, the club unanimously voted to have a dinner in October 2025. Watch for more details. Sounds like a fun time!  
 
Our hostesses did a beautiful job this month.  Rosemary’s delectable desserts of Apple Blueberry Pear tart, Chocolate Shortbread, Banana Pineapple Cake and pretzels were devoured by members and our guests.  Helen’s Lily of the Valley and ceramic frogs completed the lovely tablescape. Thank you ladies!
 

Helen Dean

 Program Notes
 
The Spectacular Gardens of New Zealand by Martin Karl, LAGC Member
 
Club members and guests were delighted to have our fellow club member introduce us to the many fascinating gardens in New Zealand. Martin has enjoyed visiting this country 6 times for a total of 7 months.  The reason for his travels is to see his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren while exploring the beautiful gardens and enjoying the fantastic views is a bonus.
 

Martin Karl

He began his talk by giving us a few interesting facts about New Zealand:  the country has 4.5 million citizens; the citizens speak English and Maori; the country is about the same size as Colorado; sheep farming and tourism are the primary industries; it’s the last territory settled by humans.
 
Taking care of the land and environment is very important to the people of New Zealand.  There is a rigorous recycling program and toilet habits to conserve water. Most importantly, New Zealanders started a national campaign in 2016 called Predator Free 2050 with the goal of completely removing rats, stoats and possums from the country in order to let the native plants and birds thrive again. They are already seeing progress of birds multiplying and plants and trees growing in the barren land that was destroyed by non-native mammals.
 
Martin explained that every city has a free public garden. His photos show that both public and private spaces are filled with flowers and trees. Roses are a spectacular favorite flower among all the gardens.
 
Of the many gardens that Martin has visited, Hamilton Gardens is his favorite. He likes this garden the best because it has many different themed garden rooms such as, Chinese, English, Indian and Japanese where each one features the plants, trees and structures unique to that country.
 
Wellington Gardens is special because it has a cable car which gives visitors a terrific view of the plants and trees nestled within the terrain.
 
Otari Native Botanic Garden is the only public botanic garden in New Zealand which is dedicated solely to native plants.
 

Dunedin Scottish Garden features some of the oldest trees in New Zealand. One of the trees is 800 years old.
 Otepuni Garden was developed out of what was called the Queens Park and features a stream which draws in many native birds.
Martin gave a very informative talk and it was a pleasure to see Martin’s photos of the beautiful gardens he enjoyed visiting in New Zealand.  
 
 Meeting Notes by Colleen Fingal

Pictures by RoseMary Highman 
 
 

Plant Sale 2023, Excellent sale, Steady downpour

Thank you to Mary Ann who coordinated the sale. As she said, our garden club had over 88% participation!

Hope you all enjoy the pictures from Andrea and RoseMary of set up, plants, customers, and clean up through the light rain to steady, heavy rain that day.

Mary Ann & Ron setting up cashiers' stations.

Helen Dean & Mary Ann Kurtz, Plant Sale Chairperson, looking relaxed as rain eases up and sale is nearly complete.

Annual Picnic June 2022

The 2022 annual picnic was a very enjoyable evening! Twenty-two members attended the picnic which was hosted by Nancy and Marlow Madeoy. Thank you to our gracious hosts!  We enjoyed the variety of delicious salads, side dishes, pasta and mini sandwiches which members brought for the table.  The fruit-filled desserts, lemon bread and chocolate florentine cookies were the perfect sweet ending to the meal. The sunny skies and comfortable weather were certainly welcomed by all.

  

• Colleen announced the names of the 2023 Board Members which are:

President: Nancy Madeoy

Vice President: Marlow Madeoy

Treasurer: Denny Brown

Recording Secretary:  Position is open — Please contact Colleen if you are interested

 

• Mary Ann Kurtz has volunteered to be the Program Coordinator for 2023.  Please continue to submit your ideas for programs or garden tours.  Members are also encouraged to take the lead and plan a program or two.  Before doing so, please contact Mary Ann for direction.
• The programs for the rest of 2022 are as follows:
• July — For the Love of Roses with Craig Jensen
• August — The Monarch Butterfly with Bill Goff.  Colleen Fingal will give a demonstration on how to make herbal salves
• September — TBA
• October — Fall Arrangement with Victoria
• Mary Ann Kurtz is working on plans for us to tour the Botanic Garden on a Saturday morning in August.  More details to come.
• Club Member Diana suggested 2 program ideas and both were well received by club members and will be considered for September 2022 or for sometime in 2023.
• The owner of Fairlamb Lavender Farm in Sandy Creek will come to talk to us about growing and using lavender.  There is no cost for the program other than reimbursing the speaker for gas money.
• Herpetologist, April Claus talks about PA native frogs, toads and salamanders which we would find in our gardens. She would bring the amphibians for her talk.
• Club member, Helen attended a program about the history of North Park which she thought was very good and would interest members. This was another great program idea and we will try to arrange a date with the speaker for LAGC.
• It was reported that the Passavant Chapel Garden looks great.  The daisies are in full bloom.  Deadheading the daisies will be the primary task over the next few months in the garden.  There are still a few weeks open in the schedule if a member would like to volunteer to work at the garden.  Members were thanked for helping to maintain the garden.
• Bill Goff brought a butterfly weed plant, Asclepias tubersosa for each member to take home. In August, he will be giving a talk to LAGC about the plant and its relationship to the monarch butterfly.  Bill grew the plants from cuttings and said that the plants would be much happier and healthier being planted in our gardens now rather than sitting in the pot for a couple of months.  Great idea! Thanks, for the plant, Bill!  We’re looking forward to learning more from you in August.
• Dianne Machesney brought purple, white and peach Iris rhizomes to share with members. The rhizomes are from the home of PSMG Sandy Csikari whose garden we toured 2 years ago. Thanks for sharing, Dianne!
• Dianne Macchesney also had two articles published in the Post Gazette.
•  Spotted Lantern Fly   https://www.post-gazette.com/life/garden/2022/07/08/what-you-can-do-to-stop-spotted-lanternflies-pa-penn-state/stories/202207080002?cid=search

• Poison Hemlock  https://www.post-gazette.com/life/garden/2022/06/24/pa-poison-hemlock-noxious-weeds/stories/202206240014?cid=search

 This evening we were lucky enough to tour the gardens of 4 of our club members. Each beautifully maintained garden is obviously well-loved by its owners and it was a joy to see such a variety of plants and flowers.  Here are some of the highlights of each garden.

 Nancy and Marlow Madeoy’s garden — Asiatic lilies which are 5 feet tall — I bet they’ll be stunning when they bloom; variety of annuals in beautiful pots, including amaryllis in full bloom.

This picture is from prior year which RoseMary asked Nancy to send since we didn’t see them in full bloom.

Terry Sarver’s garden — the front and side garden are filled with mature perennials and shrubs such as butterfly weed, hostas, roses, clematis and many more favorites. Terry also has a collection of tropical plants around her pool such as elephant ears, Bird of Paradise and banana plants.  The wide variety of houseplants on her back porch was an awesome sight! Since these are all tender plants and won’t survive the winter outside in Pennsylvania, she has to take them back inside to enjoy thru the winter months.

 

Helen Dean’s garden — the side garden contains waist high raised beds to grow her garlic, peppers and tomatoes, as well as, a variety of perennials.  The back of the property is a wooded haven for deer so Helen utilizes an ultrasonic deer repellant. 

 

Peggy Elizeus’s garden — the white picket fence in the back of the yard is the perfect backdrop for many favorite perennials like shasta daisies, daylilies, beebalm, and alliums.  The side yard contained shrubs, spiderwort and grasses.

 

Thank you so much for giving us a tour of your gardens.

Photos by Dianne Machesney and RoseMary Highman