75th Anniversary Dinner Celebration, October 28, 2025

 On October 28, 2025, LAGC members and guests gathered at Northmont United Presbyterian Church for LAGC’s 75^th Anniversary Dinner. Last month we celebrated the history of LAGC and this month we celebrated with current members and looked to the future. It was so nice to see so many members attend the event, as well as four guests from the Ingomar Garden who embraced the 50’s theme and wore their poodle skirts.

Claudia was an engaging emcee for the evening.  She encouraged members to socialize with her treasure hunt game where we had to get signatures from members once we identified the clue of an interesting fact about them. The game was a wonderful way to get to know fellow members. 

Bev Steiger with her daughter and grand-daughter.

Chris Kerin and Colleen Fingal trying to identify member trivia.

A tiny portion of the dessert table.

Fellowship Hall was beautifully decorated by the committee with fall leaves, mums, and pumpkins. A few members volunteered to make live pumpkins filled with flowers as centerpieces, which were later given to guests through a name drawing.

The delicious dinner menu was comprised of both catered items and homemade dishes from club members and did not disappoint. We began the evening with delicious citrus punch made by Helen and a variety of appetizers ranging from veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, stuffed mushrooms, and shrimp hors d’oeuvres. For the dinner we enjoyed ham, chicken marsala, green beans, potatoes, potato soup along with pasta salad, oriental noodle salad, green salad, Jello, and many other dishes.

Guests were delighted to receive a memento of the celebration. Every attendee received a couple of Willard and May large cup daffodil bulbs. A few lucky guests won a ceramic coffee mug with the Longvue Acres Garden logo on it. The guest with the nearest birth date to October 28^th got to take home the potted mum plant on their table.

Nancy Madeoy welcomes members and guests to the 75th Anniversary Celebration Dinner.

 Members thanked Claudia Hickly with a bouquet and gift certificate.

One of display tables near the entrance.

While we enjoyed a slice of delicious cake and other desserts, we listened to live music. The entertainment was provided by the North Allegheny Fiddlers Group, which is comprised of students in grades 6 through 12 of the North Allegheny School District. The musicians are taught in traditional aural style or “by ear” meaning that they learn without using written notes. The audience enjoyed the lively songs that they performed from a variety of styles such as Scottish, Irish, Cajun, and Old Timey.

The celebration dinner was the last event of a year-long list of activities to celebrate the longevity of the Longvue Acres Garden Club. We gathered to celebrate the past and to look to the future with friends and members who love gardening.

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. 

Pictures by Bill Goff.

L to R: Claudia Hickly, Mary Ann Kurtz, Mary Jo Clayton, Nancy Madeoy, Diana Berendowski, and Jane MacCredie. Amy Foreman not pictured.

 

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.

 

June 28, 2025 Picnic, Meeting Notes & LAGC Booth at Northmont Church Celebration June 24

LAGC members gathered for our annual club picnic at the home of Mary Jo Clayton. President Nancy Madeoy welcomed members to the meeting and read a beautiful poem about gardening to begin the lovely evening. 

 We thanked Mary Jo and her husband Don for hosting the picnic and providing delicious sandwiches and drinks. Don made a fruit salad which was displayed in a spectacular frog-shaped container made out of a watermelon. Mary Jo and Don made us feel very welcome.

Mary Jo welcoming LAGC Members for a feast and tour.

Photos by Dianne Machesney.

Bill Goff would like to have a peony division exchange. He proposed having this activity in September or October. Please contact Bill if you are interested in exchanging peonies.

 The Penn State Master Gardeners’ Garden in the Park takes place on July 26th, 9am–1pm, at North Park's Trial Gardens (Babcock & Ingomar Rd).

 Mary Jo Benedetti bought annual plants and planted them at the Chapel Garden. Please contact Mary Jo if you are interested in volunteering to help out at the Chapel Garden. We still need volunteers to fill a few slots in the schedule.

 Denny gave a quick update of the budget. The account balance is approximately $6000. 

 Claudia announced that the McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage and Cultural Center has bestowed the Shining Star Award to LAGC. This honor is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the community through volunteerism and involvement. LAGC will be recognized at the Shining Star Gala 2025 at the Camelot Event Center on November 1, 2025. Ticket information and more details will be announced in the coming months. 

 We will take a group photo of LAGC members at our July 22^nd meeting. Please wear your blue T-shirt.

 Mary Anne Kurtz, Plant Sale Coordinator, spoke about the huge success of our annual perennial plant sale. Kudos to Mary Anne for such excellent organization! 

 Here are the points that were discussed:

·       Signage: Very few businesses will allow us to post plant sale signs on their property; it’s good news that we didn’t lose any signs this year

·       Members were praised for the number of plants we brought to sell

·       No need to change publicity efforts; Claudia continues to do a great job!

·       Per Denny cashier/checkout system went well

·       It was agreed that the Holding tables don’t need tablecloths or tabletop signs

·       Friday night drop off of plants at the church – more members used this option

·       Stagers don’t need calculators; can use cell phone if needed

·       Plants were priced well; suggestion to increase the price of specialty plants

·       The receipt will be revised to include 2 items: donation received and if customer is new to our sale

·       An enhanced description of the job duties will be e-mailed to members

·       In order to keep customers from browsing the plants before the sale begins, caution tape or a hostess will be assigned for crowd control 

·       Will discuss buy one get one free vs. half off price at end of sale

·       Plan to take a group photo immediately prior to the start of the sale

·       There’s been an issue of members incorrectly identifying the light requirements on the label with wrong sun/shade picture. This results in plants being placed in the wrong section at the plant sale. Mary Anne has started to compile a list of the most common plants that we sell.  Andrea volunteered to research the light requirements of these plants and come up with the standard that members should use for the plants that they donate for the sale.  Members will receive a copy of the list to review and make additions.

Program – Annual Garden Club Picnic hosted by Mary Jo and Don Clayton

 After a delightful meal and club meeting, members convened for a tour of Mary Jo’s garden and scavenger hunt. Mary Jo has lived in this house for over 30 thirty years, which is evident by the mature trees in the front yard. Our tour focused on the garden area at the back of the house which features a beautiful outdoor eating area and swimming pool. 

Don and just a portion of the layout. Note the miniature plants

.

Don beside the greenhouse.    RoseMary's pictures.

The tour included the following highlights:

·       Greenhouse with potting station

·       An area set up with a garden train and miniature village designed by Don

·       Special Hand and Dagger wrought iron fence

·       Strategically placed fountains and statues

·       Concrete pots of New Guinea impatiens and geraniums around the pool

·       A corner of the garden with Sweet William plants dedicated to her brother

·       Huge, variegated Hostas

·       Various types of Clematis

·       Variety of perennials such as lavender, daylilies, Astilbes, and turtle head

·       A spectacular Ligularia

·       Black Lace Elderberry shrubs

·       Blooming Magnolia tree which perfumed the evening air

·       A large area of Dahlia plants near the house, not in bloom, yet; Mary Jo said that she likes to grow these flowers to make bouquets for friends.  

Members were given a purple hyacinth vine or sweet pea vine as a gift. Thank you very much to Mary Jo and Don for hosting such a lovely evening.

A few of us enjoying the feast, conversation, and beautiful plantings.
Pictures by Bill Goff.

************

Northmont Anniversary with LAGC Activity & Donation

Northmont Presbyterian Church planned a Centennial Celebration for June 24, 2025, and LAGC members were invited to attend. The club took a vote to donate $50 to Bill Goff to have a stand where he will talk about the importance of pollinators and help child attendees pot up a plant. LAGC agreed to give a $150 donation to Northmont Church for the Centennial Celebration. Thanks to Linda and Denny Brown for donating a children's basket on behalf of LAGC for the raffle at the celebration.

Bill Goff helping with a gardening activity for children.

Raffle Basket prepared and donated by Linda and Denny Brown.

Pictures by Claudia Hickly 

 

 

LAGC Meeting Notes April 22, 2025

 Vice President Marlow Madeoy presided over the April 2025 meeting because President Nancy was under the weather.  We started the meeting with what's growing in our gardens: Epimedium, Grape Hyacinths, Bleeding Heart, Iris, Pulmonaria, Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths

 Marlow wished members a Happy Earth Day!  Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22^nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection.  It was first celebrated in 1970. Arbor Day will be held on April 25^th and celebrates the importance of trees.

Kudos to Mary Jo Clayton for organizing our tree planting project! It was a huge success where LAGC members, family and friends gathered to plant 75 trees at the Horse Arena in North Park. The North Park Rangers and Jess with the Allegheny Parks Foundation did a fantastic job to make it a fun project. 

 

Mary Anne Kurtz, Plant Sale Coordinator, spoke about our upcoming annual Perennial Plant Sale which will be held on Saturday, May 17^th.  Please check the e-mail that was sent from Mary Anne for all the details.  Please bring as many plants as you can bring.  If you need more pots to pot up your plants then, contact Mary Anne. Please wear your NEW BLUE club T-shirt to the plant sale.  There is an option to bring your plants to Northmont Church on Friday night at 7:30 PM. This is helpful if you don't think you'll have enough room in your car on Saturday morning. Contact Mary Anne with any questions by e-mail, phone or text.

 

Our May program is a tour of Larry Grundler’s Garden. Larry suggests arriving earlier in the month to ensure we can see the irises in bloom. Club members agreed to move the tour to Tuesday, May 20th at 6:30 PM. There will not be a carpool from the church.

 

Larry Grundler will celebrate his 90th birthday in November 2025. The LAGC is planning to get a card for members to sign for him.

 

Treasurer Denny gave a quick report to say that he paid the few expenses from last month and we now have a balance of $2850. 

 

Claudia gave an update about the 75th Anniversary Celebration. Arrangements have been made to hand out annual plants and seeds to customers at our May plant sale. There will be a new plaque displayed at the Chapel Garden which will be paid for by the Passavant Hospital Foundation. The base which holds the plaque will be refurbished. There’s a possibility of a rededication ceremony in the Fall.  Also, it was decided that the table arrangements for the Member dinner in October will be a live pumpkin arrangement.  LAGC will buy the pumpkins.  Seven members have volunteered to decorate one of the pumpkins and bring it for the tables. 

 

Mary Jo Benedetti gave an update about the Chapel Garden and stated that the garden looks good, but she thinks it could benefit from some annual flowers. She is seeking some suggestions so, please let her know if you have any ideas about which white flowers would suit the garden. There are still openings on the schedule to assist with maintaining the garden. Please consider volunteering to sign up for a week.

 

Bill Goff did a quick show and tell and circulated a spring blossom from the Korean Spice Viburnum which he retrieved from the Northmont Church landscape.  The light pink cluster of flowers has a beautiful floral scent. LAGC has one of these trees planted at the Chapel Garden. 

Bill also talked about the daffodils which he brought for tonight’s arrangement.  He bought the heavenly scented Sir Winston Churchhill daffodil bulbs after Doug Oster mentioned them in his talk that he gave to LAGC.  Bill agrees that the sweet-smelling daffodils are worth planting in the garden for being so heavily scented.

Diana Berendowski reminded LAGC members to attend the upcoming Earth Day Celebration sponsored by Bradford Woods Conservancy on Saturday, April 26th from 10:00am to 2:00pm at the Reserve in Bradford Woods.  Admission is free along with a free picnic lunch.  The highlight at 11:00am is a Birds of Prey Presentation. Enjoy the other programs and vendors. 

Hostesses:  The April table arrangement was another nod to Spring with Bill Goff’s sweet smelling Sir Winston Churchhill daffodils and purple hyacinths.  Chris Kerin’s delicious lemonpoppy seed scones, peanut butter cookies and pepperoni and cheese nibbles completed the lovely table. Thank you for presenting such a lovely table!

 

Program – The Importance of Native Plants in the Residential Garden by Kate Allen

Kate Allen is a Penn State Master Gardener with Butler County and a member of the Wild Ones, Western PA Area Chapter whose goal is to educate people on the importance of native plants. She came to our meeting tonight to explain the key benefits of native plants and why they should be included in our gardens. Native plants or those that naturally occur in a particular region and are well adapted to the local climate soil and wildlife native plants enhance both the environment and our suburban gardens.

 

Kate began her talk by explaining the definitions of 7 kinds of plants.

 

1.    Native – those that naturally occur within a specific geographic region

2.    Pollinator – a flowering plant that provides nectar and pollen for pollinators

3.    Cultivar – a plant that has been selected by humans for specific desirable traits; reproduced through cloning methods

4.    Nativar – a cultivar derived from native parents and bred for a particular trait

5.    Exotic – an introduced species; a plant that has been moved to an environment where it would not naturally occur; when people come to visit or settle, they bring seeds or cuttings with them

6.    Invasive – a non-native plant that establishes in a new area and can negatively affect the native ecosystem

7.    Noxious – a plant defined by a governing body or Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture that's injurious to public health, crops or livestock 

 

Kate spoke about the many benefits of why we should grow native plants:

 

·      Support native animals and insects

·      Water conservation

·      Reduced maintenance

·      Enhance biodiversity

·      Improve soil 

 

She encouraged the audience not to be afraid to plant native plants in our suburban gardens because they are beautiful, as well as beneficial to insects and the environment. 96% of young birds feed on insects. She said not to wait, but get started now.  It’s best to start small and consider the problem areas in your garden that would benefit from some assistance with new plants.

 

Native plants are more readily available in nurseries than ever before.  She recommended

Arcadia Nursery in Washington, PA, which specializes in natives and the Audubon Society at Beechwood Reserve.  The 2025 Wild Ones Native Plant Sale will be held on June 22, 2025, at the Allegheny River Trail Park in Aspinwall and will feature more than 45 species of plants. Lastly, she suggested prairiemoon.com as a good resource for native seeds.

Meeting Notes by Colleen Fingal, Pictures by Dianne Machesney