Above: Enjoying beautiful bouquets has been a West End Garden Club tradition for 80 years. Inset: Debby Rebischke and Mary Jo Roche, members of the West End Garden Club, pause to reflect on the garden club’s 80-year history.
The year 1935 saw the depths of the Great Depression and we began to hear “sword-rattling” from Europe as countries there drifted toward what was to be World War II. In 1935 women were kept on the back burner of society, but were expected to carry their burdens successfully. Planting vegetable gardens in the thin rocky North Shore soil was a most important task if the family was to have enough food for winter.
Wildflowers grew, and still grow profusely, in the West End. Women dug up some of these to decorate their yards. They also packed seeds into their satchels; thus a bit of the “old countries” grew and still survive in the county.
The West End Garden Club developed from informal gatherings over coffee. Food and gardens were leading topics for conversations. Eventually, meetings were organized so that the ladies could exchange ideas for gardening, cooking and many other topics.
The first flower show was held in the 1940s and there has been a show almost every year since then. The club, unlike many others, does not invite a jury to pick “the best.” Instead the ladies are encouraged to use their imagination to follow the theme, or not to choose to follow it.
This year’s show will take place on Saturday, July 18 in the Schroeder Town Hall from 1 to 5 p.m. Tea and treats will be offered and the Cook County Master Gardeners will have a display. There will be scrapbooks showing a very interesting collection of old photos and memorabilia.
Come join us and see how time has gone by at the West End Garden Club Flower Show.
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