Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Photo: June 1971. Jessamine Hoveskeland poses at the Regional Meeting in Missoula, with a floral arrangement made in honor of North Dakota. A week later, she was elected president to the North Dakota State Garden Club during the annual meeting in Williston.
Photo: July 18, 1971, a Blue Star Memorial marker was installed at the southeast corner of Riverside Park. The ceremony was organized by the Original Garden Club, and was led by Senator Ed Doherty.
In anticipation of the warmer days ahead, it seems as though there is no better time to introduce the Original Garden Club and the contents of their 1971 Scrapbook.
The photographs in the scrapbook are exactly what you would expect from a group of botanical enthusiasts; flowers, flower arrangements, flower arrangements on exhibit, and club members preparing flower shows. To be honest, reproducing most of these photos in the newspaper just wouldn't do them justice. This collection is best to be viewed online at eddy.county.catalogaccess.com.
The scrapbook includes information from each of the club's travel dates, and it is clear that June was a busy month for the club ladies. They attended the Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting in Missoula, Mont., on June 9-10. The state convention was held in Williston a week later, and then club women returned to their homes to prepare for the local flower show to be held on June 26.
There was more to this club than a bunch of pretty flowers. This local Original Garden Club was affiliated with other clubs across the nation via the North Dakota Federation of Garden Clubs. This gave the club a greater sense of purpose, and better ability to pursue community projects.
Twenty-five years before the Original Garden Club of Eddy County was having their heyday at flower shows, Garden Club women across the country were engaged in a more serious conversation- "How do we welcome our men home from war?"
The Garden Club of the 1940s saw beautification as the best option to celebrate the unique beauty of the American landscape and celebrate. This idea fell in line with other post-war pastimes, particularly the family automobile, the Sunday drive, and the summer road trip.
In 1944, the New Jersey State Council of Garden Clubs planted approximately 8,000 dogwood trees to beautify a 5 ½ mile stretch of U.S. Hwy 22 to honor the men and women of the Armed Services. The New Jersey Legislature approved a Joint Resolution on January 22, 1945, designating the highways as "Blue Star Drive."
Soon the Blue Star Memorial Highway became a national trend. In time, the members of Eddy County's Original Garden Club, sought out a designation for U.S. Highway 281.
On Sunday, July 18, 1971, the Blue Star Memorial Highway marker was installed and dedicated. The marker still resides at the southeast corner of Riverside Park in New Rockford.
