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Mary Riley Styles Public Library
Mary Riley Styles Public Library2022 ( CC0 1.0 )
Processed by: Mary Riley Styles Public Library
The collection is open for research use.
Files were donated June 7, 1979 as shown in the attached Deed of Gift.
The first meeting of Falls Church Garden Club was held in Madison School Auditorium on Friday, April 21, 1950 with 20 people in attendance. A planning committee was appointed, met within days, and presented a “standard garden club constitution with a few alterations” to the May membership meeting. According to Article II of the Constitution the objective of the Club is to “stimulate knowledge and interest in gardening and horticulture and to promote horticultural improvements in the vicinity.” Records show that the Executive Committee and Club each met monthly and presented a Fall Garden and Flower Show annually. From 44 club members in 1950, the club membership rose to 161 in December 1951 and waxed and waned through the years. In memory of past presidents, books on garden-related subjects were purchased and presented to Mary Riley Styles Public Library. Annual dinners and picnics were always a part of the club’s activities. Tours of member’s gardens and regional gardens occurred regularly.
Most records are from 1950-1970 except The Seedling which is complete through 2006 and a few issues each year from 2008 to 2011. The Yearbooks are through 2003 but many years are missing. There is an additional and more complete set of Yearbooks on the shelf at VaC 635.06 F but note that there is no Yearbook from 1984 nor 2005. The yearbooks contain lists of officers, membership contact information, a calendar of club events and more. There are no photographs in the yearbook.
The most informative view of the Club can be found in the three scrapbooks that cover the organization from 1946, before the club was officially formed in 1950, until 1975. In the scrapbooks there are annual reports of subcommittees, club flyers, photos, news clippings and more. While helpful in some regards, the many files of meeting minutes are vague and dry and do not provide the intimate view of the organization that is found in the scrapbooks. The Seedling , the Club’s monthly publication helps to provide information on club activities and the personality of the Club through the years.
The order and division of the files are essentially the same as when the files were donated to Mary Riley Styles Public Library. Files are in chronological order.
A box and envelope of Falls Church Garden Club Yearbooks (Series 9) can be found in FCHR compact shelving at VaC 635.06 F. This grouping is in generally better condition and more complete than the Yearbooks in Box 3 but is missing Yearbooks from 1984 and 2005. It is quite possible that Yearbooks were not assembled those years.
There are two subject file folders on Falls Church Garden Club containing flyers and booklets for various Annual Flower & Garden Shows, newspaper clippings, and other miscellaneous items generally all dated from 1950-1999.