General Information
Center piece from 2021 May Luncheon.
The Naperville Garden Club, Inc. is an active member of our parent organizations: National Garden Clubs, Inc., Central Region Garden Clubs, Inc., and The Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc. We share their mission to provide education, resources and networking opportunities for members, to promote the love of gardening, floral design, civic and environmental responsibility. The love of gardening is fostered by club trips, annual plant sale and member plant exchange, along with monthly meetings where sharing ideas and information among members is included. The Club stresses education, through our innovative programs, workshops, and design classes.
National Garden Clubs, Inc. is proud of its scholarship program which offers financial aid to students and promotes study in Agriculture Education, Horticulture, Floriculture, Landscape Design, Botany, Biology, Plant Pathology/Science, Forestry, Agronomy, Environmental Concerns, Economics, Environmental Conservation, City Planning, Wildlife Science, Habitat or Forest/Systems Ecology, Land Management and/or other related or allied subjects. The Club is proud to have invested over $200,000 back into the community in this way.
National Garden Clubs, Inc. and The Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc. provide outstanding educational opportunities for its members and other interested individuals. Classes in four formal schools of study (Environmental, Flower Show, Landscape Design and Gardening) are offered along with special workshops, symposia, and conferences. We encourage you to click on their links above to find class schedules and applications.
National Garden Clubs, Inc. is proud of its scholarship program which offers financial aid to students and promotes study in Agriculture Education, Horticulture, Floriculture, Landscape Design, Botany, Biology, Plant Pathology/Science, Forestry, Agronomy, Environmental Concerns, Economics, Environmental Conservation, City Planning, Wildlife Science, Habitat or Forest/Systems Ecology, Land Management and/or other related or allied subjects. The Club is proud to have invested over $200,000 back into the community in this way.
National Garden Clubs, Inc. and The Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc. provide outstanding educational opportunities for its members and other interested individuals. Classes in four formal schools of study (Environmental, Flower Show, Landscape Design and Gardening) are offered along with special workshops, symposia, and conferences. We encourage you to click on their links above to find class schedules and applications.
Scholarships and Cup of Cheer™ Fundraiser
It's never too early to start thinking about Cup of Cheer™! Here's a sample from 2018. (Photograph © 2018 by Marilyn L. Schweitzer)
The Naperville Garden Club offers Scholarships to high school students in Naperville school districts 203, 204, and private schools, who are interested in studying horticulture, earth science, botany or conservation. The scholarships and all of the programs, activities and projects of the Naperville Garden Club are funded by our highly successful Cup of Cheer™, the club's premier fundraising event. This annual event is held on the first Friday of December, and consists of a House Tour, Holiday Market and Tea. It is the responsibility of each club member to assist in some way with the Cup of Cheer™, according to his/her own interests and talents. A full collection of all commemorative cups and saucers can be seen at the Cup of Cheer™ Cup/Saucer Collection.
Naperville Garden Club History (1927 – 2021)
In July 1927, a “special interest group” within the Naperville Woman’s Club known as the “Garden Committee” met in members’ homes and Woman’s Club rooms to determine the interest of the community “in the necessity for the establishment of a GardenClub”1 .The first meeting was attended by “nearly forty ladies” and the speaker of the day was Mr. James Young of Young’s Aurora Nursery. He prefaced his remarks with an earnest plea not to run the Garden Club along “pink tea lines,” but with an “ardent desire for the good of individual and municipal gardening.”2 Young further stressed “no moral good is ever accomplished by Garden Clubs for a town unless Club members are activated by a real love of gardening for itself.”3 They continued to meet through October 1927 as a Garden Committee within the Woman’s Club and sold iris rhizomes for spring planting. Meetings were suspended for the winter. In April 1928, the Garden Committee met and decided to carry on through the summer months. A Flower Show open to the public was presented in May. February 19, 1929, saw the election of officers for an independent Garden Club and on May 21, 1929, the first program was on the iris. The meeting place was changed to the Legion Hall and Mrs. J. H .Clancy was elected President.4 One of the first official actions was the organization of the Junior Garden Club. This was the first initiative with young people of Naperville and the beginning of a long, growing relationship. In June, the first flower show was held as an independent Garden Club. The iris having been formally selected as the Garden Club’s flower and Club logo, the Civic Planning Chairman in October 1929 was authorized to give a gift of several hundred rhizomesto Burlington Square Park and elsewhere, where desirable. This reaffirmed the Club’s purpose clearly stated in its founding “to carry out a definite program of landscaping so our city may always be a credit to those who live here and own property. We hope it also will be an inspiration to those who visit us.”5 In November, membership had grown to over 100 in six months, and despite civic planting expenses, the Treasurer proudly announced a balance of $129.00. December was declared the month to campaign for new members. Membership dues were fifty cents a year. Emphasis in those early days was on flowers, flower arranging, and related social activities. Expert instruction on all phases of gardening and commitment to civic projects were important 1. TheNaperville Sun,July 21, 1927 2. The Naperville Sun,August 4, 1927 3. Ibid. 4. NapervilleWoman’sClub Yearbook, 1928-29 5. TheNaperville Sun,May 23, 1929 2 Club purposes and remain so to this day. The general format was an afternoon meeting including a business session, a talk about some phase of gardening, and a few social minutes over the tea table. Music was always included as part of the program.The Spring Luncheons were held at the beautiful SpanishTeaRoominNaperville. Handwritten notes of Mrs. Carrie Rariden, President of the Club (1931- 1934), reveal interesting details of Club activities. The Club Juniors were issued individual packets of seed to sow; the best plants were to be exhibited at the yearly Flower Show. Many prizes were won by the young people at the show held on August 24, 1930. A lawn and garden fete was held at the home of Mrs. E. E. Miller on August 30, 1930. Garden accessories were for sale at a booth set up on the lawn and iris and peony experts were available to answer questions. A local school of dance gave a program, roses were sold, and all proceeds went for payment of civic planting done by the Club that year. Over 500 people attended. The Naperville Garden Club was admitted to membership in the Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc. on November 14, 1932. Subsequently, the Club became affiliated with District II in Illinois, Central Region in the Midwest, and National Garden Clubs, Inc. Plans were discussed in 1936 for the erection and financing of a cabin to be built in the Goodrich Forest Preserve at a site selected by the Forest Preserve Commissioners. The Club paid for all the materials and the W.P.A. of the U.S. Government furnished the labor. The cabin was screened, painted, and furnished because of monetary contributions, card parties, and gifts of furniture. A rental schedule was established, and youth organizations could rent the facility for a reasonable sum. It was officially known as the Naperville Garden Club Cabin and became a popular place for group meetings, picnics, and parties. Subsequently, the structure was completely renovated by the Cabin Chairman, Mrs. Paul Watson, and her committee for a cost of $212.00.The Naperville Sun on February 7, 1952, described the renovated cabin as: “A charming place it is, with its log exterior, its huge stone fireplace, and its Pennsylvania Dutch decor. Red calico curtains brighten the windows, flounces adorn the old church pews, and the turquoise of the cupboards and the bright yellow of the love seats set off the quaint Dutch designs stenciled on them. This has been a favorite picnic spot for Naperville people for years and a definite asset to the city.” (It was thought that Mrs. Watson did most of the hand painted decorations herself.) The Garden Club Cabin grounds were beautified as well as the interior. The gravel path was finished. A planting of small evergreens was made along the woodland trail near the cabin and a bird feeding station was erected in the woods nearthe Goodrich School.Agood friend of theClub, Professor Himmel,was kind enough to take care ofthese projects and the children of the Goodrich School assisted in caring forthe feeding station. Recorded minutes of meetingsfor the 1940s apparently did notsurvive. An unsigned typed sheet written by a 1st Vice President related, with a strong feeling for history, the important events that took place. The sheet was found tucked in the back of minutes recorded during the 1950s. Quoted directly, it reads: PREFACE Less than 3 weeks after I was elected 1st Vice President, on Nov. 18, 1941, came Pearl Harbor and the war years were on and difficult years they were. Many of the Club women took positions for the war effort and our President, Mrs. Arthur Kline, took a teaching position and at times was unable to be 3 present which meant that the Vice President presides. So, it was necessary for me to conduct the annual meeting in Nov. 1942 and due to the resignations of 2 Presidents early in the year 1943, and having myself, declined the nomination for President, I found myself, nevertheless, Acting President for most of the year 1943. During1942,manymemberstookpositionsforthewar effort,soitwas decided to try evening meetings. Mrs. May Theilgaard Watts of the Morton Arboretumgave a series of talksin keeping with the GovernmentVictory Program. It was also decided that refreshments would only be served at the opening and closing meetings of the year. The Club sponsored Victory Gardens on part of the Martin Mitchell farmland which had been bequeathed to the city by Caroline Martin Mitchell. The city offered to plow and harrow the ground and laid it out in plots measuring 50' x 50' with paths between the plots. The Club took charge of assigning those plotsto residents and the gardens successfully yielded abundant crops. These gardens were supported for two years. The Club contributed to the Victory Book campaign, War Bond drive, purchased a $50.00 war bond, USO Christmas work, sponsored the Servicemen’s Canteen on October 24, did landscape planting at Martin Mitchell Museum, gave $35.00 to the landscape plantings at Nichols Library and gave $10.00 to the War Fund. There was an innovation in the table settings at the Flower Show in June 1942. They were set by various organizations as follows: Naperville Woman’sClub,tea table;RepublicanWoman’sClub, luncheon tablewith a patriotic note; Girl Reserves, picnic table; American Legion Auxiliary, patriotic luncheon table; Girl Scouts, breakfast table; and Boy Scouts, campfire picnic arrangement. Another innovation at the Flower Show was the display of hanging wall shelves with their decorations of glass, pottery, figurines, antiques, and other treasures. The west wall of the YMCA gym was a thing of interest and beauty — one of the outstanding features of the show. The Naperville Garden Club contributed to and helped with other worthwhile projects despite the difficult war years. The Club slogan, “Just Holding Our Own,” was mentioned in the November 1944 report of Mrs. Ralph E. Beebe, the newly elected President of the Club. The Club became even more conservation conscious, studied first aid, and helped with war work, such as the Red Cross and canteen services. A June potluck meeting was held at the cabin in 1944. Annual Flower Shows were omitted during the World WarII years, but in the fall of 1946, they resumed, replacing the Victory Gardens which had absorbed much of the members’ time. The last years of the 1940s were all about getting back to the normal functions of the Club. Without the additional time spent on wartime activities, considerable attention was given to the hardworking Civic Committee. Plans to extend its scope were discussed. Guest nights, where members and their guests were entertained by a speaker with slides of interesting travel and beautiful gardens, became a tradition and were anxiously looked forward to and attended. A subcommittee within the Civic Committee collected jams and jellies for the Winfield Nursing Home.In addition, theClub sponsored eventssuch assmall Easter gifts for the trays at the Edward Sanitarium. The programs continued along the lines of educating the membership to all phases of gardening, flowers, and flower arranging. A Spring Flower Show was given on June 30, 1950, with over 400 people in attendance. Reporting on the story, the Naperville Sun stated, “the Junior Division was exceptionally well received and gives promise that the gardens of this city will be as well loved and tended in the years ahead as they have been cared for today.” The April 1950 minutes indicate the commencement of a “Memory 4 Bookshelf” at the Nichols Library. Upon the death of a Club member, the Book Chairman selected a memorial book for the library and notified the family of the deceased of its purchase. The Club continued the Memorial Shelf donation to the public library of fine books about gardening, landscape design, and other pertinentsubjectsthrough, at least, the 1980s. In the 1950s, a special committee within the Civic Committee was formalized into the Plant, Flower and Fruit Guild. It was charged with providing plants, flowers, fruit, toys, and gifts or other helpful activities for shut ins. This allowed the Civic Committee to concentrate on their responsibility to encourage efforts to increase the landscape beauty of Naperville by working with theCityCouncil’sCivicCommittee.TheWays and Means Committee was struggling to raise money for repairs to the Naperville Garden Club Cabin. This was becoming a yearly problem if the cabin was to be rented. It was a busy time for all members. The President’s reports reveal facts such as making twelve hundred gifts, collecting them, and sending them off in a Christmas box for shut ins. Bake sales were tried as a means of revenue. Card parties earned enough to buy a maple tree that the Club planted on the High School grounds. Flower Shows continued as annual events. The financial turning point of the Club came in June 1960 when it contracted an entire railroad boxcar full of buckwheat hulls (600 bags weighing 50 lbs. each.)TheClub’sTreasury became solvent and healthy when these bags were sold to the gardening public of Naperville. Mrs. H.W.Hauser was President of the Club in 1961. She presented the idea of a Christmas Tea hosted at the Woman’s Club building giving eachmember and guest a teacup and saucer as a memento of the party. Tickets sold for $1.25. Handmade decorations, wreaths, and gift items were displayed for sale. This successful event started “Cup O’ Cheer” as an annual fundraising event. This event each year made it possible to fulfill the Club’s mission for the betterment of the Naperville area. One of the most active committees in the 1960s and 1970s was the CivicCommittee. Projects included plantings at the train station, Nichols Library,school grounds, the Barn, Martin Mitchell Museum (long before it became known asthe cornerstone of Naper Settlement),Central Park, River’s Edge,PostOffice,MartinManor,YMCA,EdwardHospital,andthe Chapel and Halfway House at Naper Settlement. Park benches were placed throughout the city for people to rest, and trees were sold for a nominal cost to residents to plant on Arbor Day. Workingwithyouth hasbeen very deartothe heartsof NapervilleGarden Club members, beginning with sponsoring the Junior Garden Club in 1929.It expanded to summer conservation scholarships for high school juniors and seniors. This was followed by college, graduate school, and vocational scholarships to students interested in the horticulture field. Donations of books about gardens and related fields to schools and public libraries have also been central to the Club’s purpose. The Club has always been proud of its work with senior citizens and with special needs children. As Naperville grew, each subdivision formed a garden club. With this growth, the Naperville Garden Club found it could not do all of the many civic projectsitwas called to do.The ideaof a councilwas conceived and, in 1974, the Council of Naperville Area Garden Clubs was established. Saybrook Garden Club and Naperville Garden Club helped to start it and soon there were 13 clubs with a total membership of over 900. The object of the Council was to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening among amateurs; to share the effort to find programs, speakers, and field trips; and to help with Club 5 issues. Some of the many projectstheCouncil did were landscaping the Naperville Humane Society Shelter, purchasing a sundial for Nichols Library, and donating to the Heritage Society to landscape the Memorial Chapel at Naper Settlement. The Council received a Certificate of Appreciation. Each club served as officers on a rotating basis.TheCouncil existed until the late 1990s when only three clubs were left. Other garden clubs had disbanded or changed to women’s clubs. In 1976 a decorative water fountain was donated to the Naperville Municipal Center and was located at the Council Chamber entrance on Webster Street. The fountain’s title was “Journal of Growth”, given to it by its creator Matthew J. Kramer of Elmhurst. The funding was made possible through the annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser which continues to be held on the first Friday in December. (A new Naperville Municipal Center opened on Eagle Street in 1992.) The Naperville Garden Club celebrated its 50th Anniversary on April 11, 1979.Reflectingbackto 1929atthe celebrationofitsgoldenanniversary, the Club held fast to its original purpose “to carry out a definite program of landscaping so our city may always be a credit to those who live here and to our property. We hope it also will be an inspiration to those who visit us.” A luncheon and fashion show, “Fashions of Yesteryear,” was presented at the Carlisle in Lombard. It showed fashions dating from 1831, the founding of Naperville, to the present day. Special emphasis was on 1929, the yeartheClub wasfounded.Many heirloomsloaned by members and friends were used in the show. The sum of $1,500.00 was given to the Naperville Park District to start a tree nursery in one of the fast growth years of Naperville. The Club’s Civic Committee annually planted and maintained flower, herb, and cutting gardens at Naper Settlement’s Martin Mitchell Museum. Plans also went forward at Naper Settlement (working with the Naperville Council of Garden Clubs) to plant a grove of trees. The Naperville Garden Club worked with the City of Naperville as it carved out the River Walk along the DuPage River that runs through town. A contribution of $3,000.00 over a period of three years was pledged by theClub to assist in purchasing lighting and help with other expenses as this charming park along the river took shape. A Medicinal and Cooking Herb Garden was planted at the Halfway House at Naper Settlement. Twenty-nine herbs were planted and carefully labeled. A printed booklet described each herb and gave its use such as cooking, healing, or housekeeping. Guests visiting the Settlement received a booklet. In the late 1970s and 1980s, four conservation scholarships were given to Illinois college students during the summer for one-week programs. Students had to be sixteen years old.One outstanding programinvolved four students who took a white-water raft trip in Missouri. They learned about acid rain and the greenhouse effect and other conservation topics. This program was discontinued when it became increasingly difficult to find available students withoutsummer jobs. The Club continues to support the state scholarship fund, but in 1978 it decided to give scholarships to local high school and college students after an intensive review of their applications.Two scholarships are also given to North Central College with the recipients left to the college’s determination. The Club furthermore decided to offer two $25 awards on the state levelsince the GardenClubs of Illinois had no special award encouraging member clubs to support scholarships. The $25 awards plus a certificate are presented to the clubs that give the most money per member to scholarshipsin conservation or horticulture related areas of study.Thisis one of the major goals of the Naperville Garden Club. 6 The 1980s were busy years for the Club. For many years during the summer, the Civic Committee made floral arrangements (tussie mussies) for Joe Naper Day at Naper Settlement. The committee had a booth, demonstrated the floral arrangements, and sold them along with Indian feather headbands. The Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation under the General Not for Profit Corporation Act were voted on and passed by Club members on November 19, 1980. We are now recognized as a 501(c) (3) by the IRS. In the early 1980s, Honorary status was granted to members who had given extraordinary service. The roster of the Club may include up to five honorary members who reside in Naperville or surrounding areas. Starting in 2001, Life status was given to members who have given 35 years of service to the Club. The 100th Anniversary of Arbor Day was celebrated in 1982. The Club planted trees as usual and took pictures of past trees that had been planted in town. The history of the Club was printed in 1983 and given to members at the Annual meeting. Subsequently, new members were given a copy. The “Cup O’ Cheer” Cookie Cookbook went to press in 1984. 3000 copies were printed containing 267 recipes and 11 dividers. It was a greatsuccess and brought in revenue for years. Six bencheswere placed throughoutthe city during thistime so that pedestrians could rest.Due to lack of interest,the January potluck dinner with husbands and guests of the Men’s Garden Club was discontinued. The Garden TherapyCommittee started wheelchair gardening at Martin Manor and other nursing homes. Birthday projects also started. The junior members were busy learning floral design and horticulture and had their own mini flower show which was judged by adult members of the Club. The New Home Plant Study Group, to meet only in the winter months, was formed by the Horticulture Chairman. In 1985, the Cup of Cheer™ HouseWalkandArborDay projectwonNational awardsfromtheNational Garden Clubs,Inc.The Naperville Garden Club handled the registration and credentials for the National Garden Clubs’ National Convention held in May 1986. After many years, the Yard of the Month project was discontinuedbecause somanyyardswerenowbeingdone professionally. The Nichols Library atrium was planted and maintained for a year in 1986. The cost was $3,048.10 and the monthly maintenance fee was $86. The Club’s 50-book collection was donated to the library for the general public’s use. Book plates designated the books as a gift from the Naperville Garden Club. A lending library of videos was also started in the 1980s.TheClub Historian was added as a Board position in 1987. A Club idea box for suggestions and comments was started in 1988 with good results. The idea of a big sister for each new member was introduced. A nursery for young children was started so that young mothers could attendmonthlymeetings.These ideas helped to increase membership.The gasoline crisisstartedcarpoolingefforts.TheTraveling Trophy was given to the member who drove the most members to a General meeting. The June meeting had become a Garden Walk with a picnic or box lunch.The Horticulture Chairman took fall bulb orders and spring flower ordersforthePlantExchangeDay.Plantsales increasedeachyear asthe chairman found excellent plantsfor members. The 1990s proved to be as busy as the 1980s. When Mary Quilty, a retired schoolteacher and Scholarship Chairman died, a scholarship was established at North Central College in her name. Member Marie Mackenzie died a few years later and an additional scholarship was established in 7 her name at North Central College. Marie had devoted many yearsto the civic project at Naper Settlement where she served as chairman and worked tirelessly in the gardens. The juniorswere busy,as always, clearing two lotsfor “Make aDifference Day.” One of their members died and the Club established the Jeanine Nicarico Garden at Elmwood School. The garden continues to be maintained. The Field and Tour Committee planned two tours a year with many interesting trips. To name a few: Covered Bridge Festival in Indiana, an Amish farm and winery in Indiana, Tulip Festival in Michigan, gardensin Iowa and Wisconsin, and plenty of toursto placesin Illinois. The April 1999 Annual meeting was the Club’s 70th Anniversary. Members put on an interesting skit with period dress highlighting each decade. Club members served as models. The Club has always been extremely proud of the success of its Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser and the money given for scholarships. Scholarships in the amount of $306,600 were given from 1993 to 2019. The Club participated in the city’s Millennium Celebration in 2000. Eleven Christmas trees were decorated in the Meeting House at Naper Settlement. A tree for each decade of the 1900s was presented in a tableau along with a nine-foot tree having a collection of ornaments spanning the century. The National Garden Clubs’ National Convention returned to Chicago in 2001 and the Naperville Garden Club oversaw credentials and hosting. The Flower Show of 2002, “What is so rare as a Day in June,” was well received. A new civic project was making centerpieces for a DuPage Family Shelter fundraiser. The shelter provided materials and the Club made the arrangements. The Club provided funds for plants and landscaping material for the Freedom Garden at the Daniel Shanower 9/11 Memorial. Club members provided centerpieces for the GCI Annual Convention, “ABurst of Color,” in April 2002.The same year, after much research into feasibility and design, the Club’s website was unveiled. October 2003 showed the Club’s Cup of Cheer™ productsforsale.That year’s Cup of Cheer™ had products to sell totaling $30,000. This marked a turning point as the Club committed to entering the resale market. Nine Club members participated in the “Flowers in Harmony” floral display at the Annual meeting in May 2003. Each member gave a brief description of their floral arrangement.The first Club Photographer was appointed to the Board. The Club received a Plaque of appreciation from the city of Naperville. It was presented by Tim Carmella from the city. As part of the DuPage county’s breast cancer awareness initiative, “Plant It Pink”, the Club planted tulip bulbs in downtown Naperville. The Club’s Cup of Cheer™ House Walk had eight pages written about it in the Country Sampler magazine. Chicago Home and Garden magazine published an article covering the event for their 2004 Christmas issue. The Club had not held a Flower Show for many years, preferring to concentrate on other garden related activities. But in the late 1990s interest in a show revived. To prepare members, floral design classes were offered for a nominal fee and advice was given on the presentation of horticultural specimens. The first show, titled “I Do, I Do”, took place in May 1998 at Naper Settlement’s Meeting House. The title reflected a wedding theme that was interpreted in the design exhibits and decorations for the show. It was decided that a Standard Flower Show would 8 be held every two years. Due to the extensive planning involved, chairing the show became a Board position in 2004. The location was moved to one of the high schools when the Meeting House was under renovation and later to the Municipal Center where it remains. The gardens at Naper Settlement had been planted and maintained by the Club since 1967, but in 2004 the project was discontinued. Peggy Frank, Director of Naper Settlement, appeared at a General meeting in the spring of 2005 to thank the Club for many years of service. She invited Club representatives to attend a ceremony in Century Memorial Chapel during Joe Naper days to be formally recognized. A brass plate engraved with theClub’s name was placed on the wall ofthe Preemption House. Civic projects continued with regularspring and fall plantings at the Municipal Center. The Club’s 75th year culminated with a special anniversary luncheon entitled “Perennial Splendor” on May 16, 2004. A video highlighting activities past and present, tables of memorabilia, and posters featuring a timeline of major events were presented. Special guests from the Garden Clubs of Illinois, District II, other Naperville organizations, and community representatives were invited to attend. Members and guests received an etched glass box as a memento. Garden Therapy expanded to include working with mentally challenged children and adults in the “We Grow Dreams” program. Projects at the Ecumenical Adult Care Center and Martin Manor continued. Other ongoing projects included an Arbor Day tree planting; collecting food, groceries, and money for Loaves and Fishes at General meetings; collecting stamps for the Audubon Society’s Sanctuary Program; and placing exhibits at the Nichols Library. Field and Tour delighted members with well-planned tours to the new Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL,Country GardenCuisine in St.Charles,IL, and to Hornbaker Gardens in Princeton,IL, to name a few. The Club decided to rent a unit that would combine work and storage space to produce designs for the Cup of Cheer™ Holiday Market. A two-year lease was signed, and the workshop continues to meet weekly on the premises.The facility has also been used for design classes and Board meetings. A new cookbook, “Thru the Garden Gate,” with recipes running the gamut from appetizers to desserts supplied by members, was published in time for the 2008 Cup of Cheer™.It won 1st place at the National Garden Clubs’ National Convention. Amajor civic project of 2008 wasthe placement and dedication of aBlue Star Memorial Markerin Burlington Square Park.TheMemorial includes a garden planted around the base. Funds to purchase the marker were collected from members wishing to honor family and friends who served in the armed forces. The GCI Blue Star Committee Chairman attended the dedication as well as members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. All who have served, are serving, or will serve in the defense of the United States are honored by the marker. Preservation of Club records and a place to store them had long posed a problem.Membersfelt the recordswere an important part of Naperville’s history. Upon learning Naper Settlement had become a repository for records of other Naperville organizations, their curator was contacted. In the spring of 2009, the Club presented the Club’s records through 1990 to Naper Settlement and signed a deed of gift. Additional records will be turned over at 10-year intervals with the Club retaining the most recent 10 years. Naper Settlement expressed an interest in adding an oral history from older Club members. Thewebsite successfully expanded to reach a wide audience.Toreduce the Club’s “carbon footprint”, members who have email are sent the newsletter electronically. 9 Scholarship recipients continue to be honored at the May Annual meeting and luncheon as the Club encourages the study of environmental science, conservation, landscape design, and horticulture. A business partnership was formed in 2009 with the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 to promote the Club’sscholarships and provide volunteer opportunitiesforstudentsthrough Community Outreach. In March 2010,fourteams ofstudentssuccessfully completed a marketing project for the Club. Students from School District 203 began in 2010 to provide centerpieces for the Annual meeting and luncheons with the cost of flowers covered by the Club. Other Community Outreach efforts included participation in the St. Patrick’sDay Paradewhere theClubwon a trophy formost colorful entry. In keeping with the mission statement, the Club also participated in the Naperville for Clean Energy and Conservation 2010 Earth Day Fair. For Arbor Day, the Club continuesto purchase a tree for a selected school. In 2009, the Club joined the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce. Benefits included greater recognition of the Club and its activities as well as networking to enhance the underwriting of some charitable expenses.Approval of the initial financial commitment was voted by the Club and representativesregularly began to attend Chamber events The Club also obtained its own state resale tax ID number to assist with fundraising efforts. Trademark registration was completed for the name of the Club’s fundraiser, the Cup of Cheer™, as well as a copyright registration for the event ticket. An on-going community project began with the local community television channel. Members are featured to promote Club events. The Club also providesfloral arrangementsto enhance the studio set for the taping of monthly “Spotlight on Naperville” segments. Evening hours were added to the Cup of Cheer™ event. Naperville North High School Dance Team students earned community service hours in 2010 by working as hostessesin the homes and at the Holiday Market andTea. Several revisions of the Club’s Constitution and By-Laws were made between 2009 and 2011 to clarify wording and introduce changes to reflect current procedures in the Club. The more gender friendly term of “chairperson” replaced that of “chairman.” As always, after approval by the Board, the revisions were brought before the membership at a General meeting and ratified. The biennial flowershows held at the Municipal Center drew increasing interest and were viewed by many members of the public. Garden Walks, generally a June feature in alternate years, had been confined to members only. But in June 2011, the Garden Walk was opened to the public for a fee and featured five gardens of varying habitats. Outside vendorswerestationedatthevarious gardens as anadditional attraction. 2010 and 2011 saw continued efforts by the Membership Chairpersons to recruit new members into the Club. Frequent coffees were held to help familiarize new members with Club activities and current members were asked to help make new and prospective members feel welcome. The Club continues to grow and evolve with the times. In 2010 it became evident that the Club’s customer base for the annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraising event needed to be broadened. In keeping with the times, the Club created a Facebook page and included PayPal for on-line ticket purchases. Tickets continued to be sold through local merchants aswell. Club representatives continued to work with the Chamber of Commerce by attending meetings and a fundraising class to facilitate locating sponsors for Club expenses. The Club was recognized by the 10 Chamber in March 2011 with a nomination for the 2011 Small Business of the Year Award in the Not-for-Profit category. (Subsequently, the Club discontinued the membership due to the time and financial commitment.) Members also manned a booth at the Naperville Art League’s Art Fair and The Growing Place included a Club table at their summer events. Instead of marking Arbor Day with a tree planting at a local school, the 2012 Arbor Day budget was given to the Naperville library. Five trees were purchased from the Naperville Park District for planting at the 95th Street Library. Recordsfromtheyears1991-2000weredonatedtotheNaperSettlement archives. The donation included several items from previous years recently acquired. Naper Settlement expressed an interest in recording an oral history of the Club and received a list of members willing to participate in the project. Interviews were begun in late May 2012 by the Curator of Research. The plant sale and plant exchange were held in May 2012. The biennial flower show titled “Connections” was held in June 2012. The show was free to the public. In December 2012, credit cards were accepted for the first time at the Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser’s Holiday Market. Sales increasedappreciably.Ticketsweresoldon-lineaswellasatlocalretailers. Naperville Bank and Trust took over the downtown post office building and commissioned the Club to decorate the renovated facility for Christmas. To coordinate with the Cup of Cheer™, Naper Settlement presented a beautiful retrospective exhibit of cups from previous years in several cases in the bank lobby. As the Club year progressed into 2013, the Membership Committee continued to hold “Connection Coffee” mornings to make new members aware of the Club’s activities and explore other ways to make new members feel at home. Arbor Day funds were given to the Naperville library to purchase six trees from the Naperville Park District. One tree was planted at the Nichols Library and the rest at the 95th Street Library. Field and Tour offered a trip to Orchids by Hausermann in March 2013 and to the Trudi Temple Farm in May 2013. Trudi had delighted members the previous year with her talk at a monthly General meeting. Also in May, a volunteer planting project was successfully completed at the Nichols Library entrance. In the fall, a planting was made on the south side of the building. A garden walk, “Through the Garden Gate,” featuring seven gardens and open to the public took place in June 2013. Tickets were available on-line and featured advertising paid for by local businesses. The newsletter also began to accept advertising copy in 2013. Another first for 2013 was having one of the four homes on the Cup of Cheer™ House Walk decorated by a professional decorating firm. The same decorating guidelines were applied to all house committees. A proposal was made at the June 2013 Board meeting to participate in a project that would connect the Club’s Blue Star Marker in Burlington Square Park with a new statue honoring the “Spirit of the Navy”. The Club voted to contribute $500.00 to the project. The statue was dedicated on October 13, 2013. 11 The Club received the concession right for the band concert honoring Independence Day. The program titled “Prelude to a Celebration — featuring the 1812 Overture” was held on the last Thursday in June. During 2014 and 2015 an emphasis was placed on the importance of introducing native plants to home landscapes and creating habitat for pollinators such as native mason bees. The National Garden Clubs and the Garden Clubs of Illinois declared this a priority in view of declining honeybee populations and the effects of climate change. The Naperville Garden Club encouraged members further by offering a selection of several “well behaved” native plants to members at cost. Members were also encouraged to take advantage of the various schools offered by the Garden Clubs of Illinois and to attend a seminar on conservation hosted by Wild Things. Each year the Club reviews expenditures and looks at ways to reduce expenses that are increasing for the annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser. Due to rising costs for bone china teacups from England, the Club evaluated other options for cups. As a result, the Club switched vendors in favor of a west coast wholesale distributor who deals with bone china and porcelain manufactured in China. This change decreased cup expenses for the Cup of Cheer™ while providing quality teacups for the event. Declining membership over the last few years made filling board and committee positions difficult. Supporting fundraising efforts, such as Cup of Cheer™, also became harder. Increasing membership has become a priority for the Club to fulfill its mission more easily. The Club hosted a summer Ice Cream Social for the Naperville Municipal band concert. A new state law required that all baked goods be made commercially.(The law was rescinded by the passage of the “cupcake” bill the week after we hosted.) The law did not, however, affect the homemade cookies served at the Cup of Cheer™ Tea. In 2014, Naperville Central High School in Naperville Community Unit School District 203 provided the centerpieces for the May luncheon. In 2016,District 204’sWaubonsieValleyHigh School began providing them. A revision of the by-laws affected the structure of the Board. Books and Supply Shop were removed from the list of Standing Committees. Awards and Flower Show were also removed but were included in the Special Committees and specific duties section of the Standing Rules. The Advisor position was redefined to act as a Club liaison and attend Board meetings. The Education Committee would offer an instructional series that may include floral design, horticulture, and landscape design. In 2014, the community “Spirit of the Navy” project received a tree in honor of Arbor Day from the Civic Committee. Members were also given an opportunity to honor a family member(s) or friend who had served in the military by donating toward a memorial bench. In 2016 the Civic Committee, in honor of Arbor Day, provided funds to the Conservation Foundation for planting native trees and shrubs at McDonald Farm in Naperville. Stamp collecting for the Illinois Audubon Society continued, along with donations of crayons to SCARCE and grocery and financial donations to the Loaves and Fishes Community Pantry. In keeping with the emphasis of the National Garden Clubs and the Garden Clubs of Illinois, the Naperville Garden Club’s theme for 2015- 2016 was “Be Inspired to Protect Our Environment”. The goal was to encourage gardeners to plant milkweed for butterflies, to share the seeds with the GCI Milkweed for Monarchs Project, and to incorporate native plants into the landscape for pollinators (e.g., honeybees, native mason bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds). Avoidance of 12 pesticides was also important for this effort to succeed. Members received information on cleaning milkweed seeds for inclusion in the state project. Additional swamp milkweed seeds were purchased for distribution at member and community events. To further the education of members, a Membership Scholarship Program began to provide partial reimbursement for attending a GCI School. Adding new members continued as a priority with the addition of ten new members by the end of the year. The Club website added a password protected Members Only section that included the member directory, meeting minutes, newsletter, and other Club information. The Home page was revised to include current Club activities. In 2016, the Club’s By-Laws were revised. The name of the Website Committee was changed to Social Media. The number of board members was brought down to a more realistic number relative to the size of the general membership. The position of Advisor would be held by a past president and Nominating was incorporated as a Special Committee. Other Standing Committees changed to Special Committees included Budget, Civics, Garden Therapy, Historian, Yearbook, and Youth Activities. Field and Tour offered an all-day summer trip to see the private gardens of Chef Rick Bayless and other gardens. This field trip, “Chicago: Green City”, included bus transportation and lunch. Other garden related events included a trip to Cantigny for the GCI summer meeting, a tour of the Gardens at Ball Seed, and a Club Garden Walk. Bulbs were sold at the September meeting and the Horticulture Chairperson added a September Plant Exchange .The spring Plant Exchange was offered in May. Members were encouraged to participate, work as hostesses, and attend the GCI State Flower Show held in 2016 at the Naperville Municipal Center. The annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser featured four homes: two chaired by Club members, one by the homeowners, and the fourth by a design shop in Naperville. Promoting the event through other clubs, subdivision newsletters, and paid ads was stressed. The Cup of Cheer™ raffle items were increased at the Holiday Market, and the cookie contest was held the day before the walk. A hands-on design workshop held at the January General meeting proved to be very popular. Attendance included many non-members. Awards given at the District II luncheon were a “Special Mention” for our yearbook, a Silver Seal for Horticulture, and a Gold Rosette for Club Achievement. Awards were presented at the GCI Annual Luncheon: First Place Yearbook, Best Club History, First Place Historic Preservation (Martin Mitchell Mansion, Naper Settlement - 2015 Cup of Cheer™), Second Place Club website, Second Place Club Publications Newsletter, and Special VIP Award for a member who has been active in many projects over her years in the Club. Our yearbook received a Central Region Award at the GCI Summer meeting. The May luncheon, with a reduced price as a gift to the members from the Club, concluded a successful year. Centerpieces were done by Waubonsie Valley High School students. The 2016-2017 theme, “Protecting the Environment”, echoed the themes of the National Garden Clubs and the Garden Clubs of Illinois. In partnership with the Conservation Foundation, the Naperville Garden Club helped establish a pollinator garden on the east side of the Naperville Municipal Center. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony by the mayor officially unveiled 13 the garden to the public on April 22, 2017, for “Earth Week Naperville”. Our Club logo was included in the garden sign encouraging residents to “go native”. Other related efforts included advice on a prairie plot project for North Central College; support of the DuPage Monarch Project and GCI Milkweed for Monarchs project; and encouragement to members to accept the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge by planting native and pollinator-friendly plants in our own gardens. A fall plant exchange and bulb sale were held in September. Emphasis on increasing membership continued with special attention towards guiding and encouraging new members to participate in Club activities. Two “Lunch and Learn” sessions were organized to familiarize new members with Cup of Cheer™ opportunities. The member who sold the most tickets to Cup of Cheer™ would have her Club dues paid for the next year. The Cookie Contest, now a regular feature of Cup of Cheer™, offered a first-place prize of a free lunch at the December Holiday Luncheon meeting. Sets of winning cookie recipes printed on cards were offered for sale. The window of Russell Cleaner’s In downtown Naperville was again decorated by the Club for Christmas providing a good downtown promotion of Cup of Cheer™. The curator of Naper Settlement requested help preparing the Martin Mitchell Mansion for Christmas tours. Committee members who decorated the mansion the previous year for Cup of Cheer™ did the decorating along with members of the museum staff. A $200 Arbor Day donation was given to the Patterson Elementary School in the Ashbury subdivision to help develop a new garden. Five oak trees were purchased for the grounds. A choice of native plants was again offered to members at wholesale prices.The Members’ Plant Exchange took place in May. The Club added many activities in the year to further members’ enjoyment. Offerings included hands-on workshops, Field and Tour trips, and car-pooling trips organized by the Horticulture Chairperson to Garden Conservancy sites, the Flower and Garden Show, and commercial horticulture locations. The May luncheon again provided a learning experience for Waubonsie Valley High School Horticulture/Floral Design students who produced beautiful centerpieces. The Club won a number of awards at the GCI Annual Convention: Best Club Yearbook, Best Club History, Membership Distinction (greatest number of new members in 2016 – First Place), Flower Show Award – Second Place, Historic Preservation – First Place and $50, Club Publication for “History of Cup of Cheer™ Teacups” – First Place, Cookbooks for “Cup of Cheer™ Winning Cookie Contest Recipes” – First Place, Website – Second Place, Newsletter – Second Place, and two members received VIP Awards. The “History of the Cup of Cheer™ Teacups” and “Cup of Cheer™ Winning Cookie Contest Recipes” went on to win First Place awards from the National Garden Clubs. Our yearbook went on to win a Second Place award from the Central Region. District II awards were an Honorable Mention for our yearbook, Club Horticulture Award with a Silver Seal, and Club Achievement Award with a Gold Rosette. The Garden Walk, “Through the Garden Gate”, included five gardens and was held on June 10, 2017. The event was open to the public and members for a $10 fee. The theme for the 2017-2018 Club year was “Remember the ecology of place as we Plant America”, in harmony with the theme of the National Garden Clubs and Garden Clubs of 14 Illinois. Programs for the year included one on using native plants to support wildlife and create environmentally friendly gardens. Another explained the increasing presence of coyotes in urban areas. Representatives of the Club provided an educational booth at the Monarch Festival held at Knoch Knolls Nature Center. A Monarch chrysalis and plastic blocks of various insects were available for the public to examine. The Club was also made aware of the 2018 DuPage Environmental Summit hosted by the Conservation Foundation. Several members attended. Centered on the theme “Nature Rx”, the presentation focused on the benefits of nature to human health. Purple bookmarks listing meeting dates and programs, red bookmarks with Cup of Cheer™ information ,and posters advertising Cup of Cheer™ were available for members to distribute to friends and businesses. Lunch and Learn sessions continued for the benefit of new members. Membership offered a casual get-together at the Connections Coffee. To help put a face to a name, at their discretion, members photos will be included in the directory. Members were encouraged to prepare for the Cup of Cheer™ cookie contest. The winner enjoyed a free meal at the Holiday Luncheon. The House Walk included two homes each decorated by a Garden Club committee and two by the homeowners. The Holiday Market was held again at the White Activities Center of North Central College. Loaves and Fishes continued to receive donations (in kind or monetary) from members. Receipts were available. A new location for the weekly floral displays was found at Edward Hospital’s Ronald McDonald Room. Floral arrangements were also provided for Naperville NCTV17 which promotes the Club and Cup of Cheer™ on “Spotlight on Naperville.” A segment was also taped for “630 Naperville.” Members were treated to cupcakes at the February meeting celebrating the Club’s 89th birthday .Ideas for our 90th year in 2019 were encouraged. A fairy garden workshop utilizing artificial plants was held in April. More workshops are planned to make greater use of our rental facility. A plant sale was scheduled for the month of May featuring a selection of plants ordered by the Club. Members helping with the set-up had first choice. The sale was open to all members the following day and then to the public until all plants were sold. Members were also asked to offer perennials from their yards for sale. This project raised additional funds for scholarships. The Club continues to carefully evaluate applications. Recipients are honored at the May luncheon where all attending are impressed by the dedication of our young people. The yearly offering of three native plants for sale to members continued as a separate event. Members participated in the YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day on April 21st at the Kroehler Family YMCA. The project involved helping children to plant a seed to take home. Dixie cups, soil, and zinnia seeds were provided along with instructions for care. Giant Steps special education school in Lisle for individuals with autism offered an opportunity for members to plan, plant, and maintain a garden that would provide vocational and therapeutic experiences for students. Vegetables for use in cooking classes, as well as flowers and herbs, were planted in the ground, raised beds, and in table height beds for students in wheelchairs. Weekly visits by 15 members to weed and water the beds provided an opportunity to interact with the students who range in age from 5 years to 22 and come from as far away as Chicago. The garden offers students important sensory experiences — touch, smell, and visual (watching the plants grow.) They may also help with watering and, best of all, do the harvesting and eating of their vegetable crops. Beyond providing satisfaction, the experience enables them to make connections as to where food comes from. It was decided to place this new project under Youth Activities. Members were encouraged to invite young people to submit a poster, essay, poem, or sculpture for National Garden Clubs’ Youth Contests. These contests sow the seeds to inspire youth to cherish the land by planting a garden to fight hunger, building sculptures of recycled materials, and making the public aware through posters of the need to be involved. With the focus on improving the environment, Earth Day gave members a chance to evaluate their commitment to the 5R rule: Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Recycle, and Remove. We were reminded of the threat non-biodegradable plastic poses to life. The annual GCI Convention, “Plant America: Conserve, Protect, Restore” emphasized the importance of these three words to our landscapes. The Beautiful Garden project was announced at the May meeting and its “Thank You” cards distributed. Members were encouraged to leave a card wherever they noticed a beautifully planted and well-kept yard. Centerpieces were provided by Waubonsie Valley High School. On July 19th the Club had a field trip to John Richter’s garden in Warrenville. His garden featured perennials such as hostas and daylilies. While a Flower Show has not been held for several years, two of our Club members, who are National Garden Clubs Flower Show Judges, achieved Life Certificates during the Club year. Awards presented at the GCI Annual Meeting were: Table Design in a Standard Flower Show for Exhibition Table, Best Club Yearbook – Second Place, Club Achievement, Club Horticulture, Garden Club of the Year – Third Place, Certificate of Merit for District and Club Publications for Newsletter – Second Place, and one member received a VIP Award. The Garden Club year of 2018-2019 ushered in preparation for our 90th anniversary year beginning in 2019. Our annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser, now with almost all the houses decorated by the homeowners, required members’ usual concentration. This would be our last year for the Holiday Market to be held at North Central College. A switch to a semester calendar would make the White Activities Center unavailable for rental. A new location for 2019 had been found at the Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873.In the meantime, a bow-making class was held at the workshop and raffle baskets assembled for the Market. In addition to the raffles, the African Safari trip would again be offered. Emphasis was placed on planning for special events to celebrate 90 years, looking forward especially to a members’ only garden walk in June. This would include renting the trolley to provide transportation and arranging for a lunch. Horticulture offered a variety of spring bulbs for sale at the fall meetings, including daffodils, allium, and muscari. Collections continued at every meeting for Loaves and Fishes. Exhibits offered weekly arrangements at the Ronald McDonald Room at Edward Hospital. 16 The Club announced that it would donate a tree to be planted by the Park District in honor of our 90th year. Members submitted ideas about the tree species, the message to be written on the plaque, and the park. A Swamp White Oak was chosen to be planted at Central Park in spring. Participation was encouraged in the Garden Clubs of Illinois initiatives, Plant America, and Milkweed of Monarchs. The Jeanine Nicarico Memorial Garden continues to be planted and maintained at the Elmwood Elementary School she attended. Members were offered origami workshops in the fall at the Club’s facility. An acrylic painting class was planned for March. The Club again participated in Health Kids Day at the Kroehler Family YMCA. Publicity for Cup of Cheer™ included mention in West Suburban Living andanNCTV17feature.A ticket selling contest was available to members as well as a cookie contest. The winning cookies could be viewed at the Market along with the recipes. The homes each contained three items that were available for sale at the Market. Conservation offered three native plants for sale in the spring — Carex rosea (a woodland sedge), Dalea candida (White Prairie Clover), and Actaea racemosa (Black Cohosh.) A plant sale was held in May for members and the public. Annuals, herbs, hanging baskets, and perennials from members’ gardens were offered. Garden Therapy had a successful year at Giant Steps. The garden enjoyed more student participation and proved beneficial to the autistic children and young adults. An award application was submitted and won first place at both the state and national levels. The success of this venture prompted another school, Turning Pointe, to ask for the Garden Club’s help in planning a garden. In addition to inviting scholarship recipients to attend the May luncheon, former members were issued invitations and contributed to the “full house” success of the day. Members had been encouraged to wear hats as their mothers and grandmothers may have when attending a meeting and many created a vintage look. Previous presidents were honored. A display of historical memorabilia was provided with the emphasis on the past and the changes that have happened over the years. Each attendee received a small painting of an iris, the Club’s flower. A design program followed the luncheon. Table center pieces were again provided by Waubonsie Valley High School. Many photographs were taken including a group photo outside. Members were encouraged to contribute additional items for our archive at Naper Settlement. The year ended with the garden walk in June and lunch at a local restaurant. The four gardens on display illustrated a “hands on” love of gardening by their owners and a diversity of gardening styles. NCTV17 arranged for filming at the gardens. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, general in-person meetings were canceled from March 2020 through April 2021. Our fundraiser event, Cup of Cheer, was canceled in December 2020.Two General meetings (March and February) with program presentations were held in 2021 by the Zoom format and hosted by President, Diane Greenawalt. The May 2021 luncheon was held as the first in-person General meeting and included officer installations, box lunch, and a floral design program. Board meetings (during August and October 2020) were held outside in a park during warm weather and by Zoom in the first few months in 2021. The June board meeting was held as usual in a member's home and included lunch. 17 Two field trips were arranged in 2021; one to SCARCE, the environmental recycling education center; another to the Darien Garden Club's Garden Walk in honor of their 20th Anniversary celebration. The September 2021 in-person General meeting started the Club's scheduled meeting season with a program about herbs. Editorial Credits 1982: Compiled by Jean Wood with special appreciation to Kay Williams for a pamphlet titled “History of the Naperville Garden Club 1927 - 1982.” 1982–2007: Compiled by Mary Ann Wright with grateful help from Bonnie Bula, Diane Greenawalt and Rosemary Vance. 2007-2015: Compiled by Bonnie Bula with grateful help from Diane Greenawalt, Mary Ann Wright and Gwenn Lloyd. 2016-2017: Compiled by Bonnie Bula. 2018: Compiled and edited by Bonnie Bula with additional edits by Gwenn Lloyd and Marilyn Schweitzer 2019-2021: Compiled and edited by Bonnie Bula Unless otherwise noted all information used is from the minutes of Naperville Garden Club
In July 1927, a “special interest group” within the Naperville Woman’s Club known as the “Garden Committee” met in members’ homes and Woman’s Club rooms to determine the interest of the community “in the necessity for the establishment of a GardenClub”1 .The first meeting was attended by “nearly forty ladies” and the speaker of the day was Mr. James Young of Young’s Aurora Nursery. He prefaced his remarks with an earnest plea not to run the Garden Club along “pink tea lines,” but with an “ardent desire for the good of individual and municipal gardening.”2 Young further stressed “no moral good is ever accomplished by Garden Clubs for a town unless Club members are activated by a real love of gardening for itself.”3 They continued to meet through October 1927 as a Garden Committee within the Woman’s Club and sold iris rhizomes for spring planting. Meetings were suspended for the winter. In April 1928, the Garden Committee met and decided to carry on through the summer months. A Flower Show open to the public was presented in May. February 19, 1929, saw the election of officers for an independent Garden Club and on May 21, 1929, the first program was on the iris. The meeting place was changed to the Legion Hall and Mrs. J. H .Clancy was elected President.4 One of the first official actions was the organization of the Junior Garden Club. This was the first initiative with young people of Naperville and the beginning of a long, growing relationship. In June, the first flower show was held as an independent Garden Club. The iris having been formally selected as the Garden Club’s flower and Club logo, the Civic Planning Chairman in October 1929 was authorized to give a gift of several hundred rhizomesto Burlington Square Park and elsewhere, where desirable. This reaffirmed the Club’s purpose clearly stated in its founding “to carry out a definite program of landscaping so our city may always be a credit to those who live here and own property. We hope it also will be an inspiration to those who visit us.”5 In November, membership had grown to over 100 in six months, and despite civic planting expenses, the Treasurer proudly announced a balance of $129.00. December was declared the month to campaign for new members. Membership dues were fifty cents a year. Emphasis in those early days was on flowers, flower arranging, and related social activities. Expert instruction on all phases of gardening and commitment to civic projects were important 1. TheNaperville Sun,July 21, 1927 2. The Naperville Sun,August 4, 1927 3. Ibid. 4. NapervilleWoman’sClub Yearbook, 1928-29 5. TheNaperville Sun,May 23, 1929 2 Club purposes and remain so to this day. The general format was an afternoon meeting including a business session, a talk about some phase of gardening, and a few social minutes over the tea table. Music was always included as part of the program.The Spring Luncheons were held at the beautiful SpanishTeaRoominNaperville. Handwritten notes of Mrs. Carrie Rariden, President of the Club (1931- 1934), reveal interesting details of Club activities. The Club Juniors were issued individual packets of seed to sow; the best plants were to be exhibited at the yearly Flower Show. Many prizes were won by the young people at the show held on August 24, 1930. A lawn and garden fete was held at the home of Mrs. E. E. Miller on August 30, 1930. Garden accessories were for sale at a booth set up on the lawn and iris and peony experts were available to answer questions. A local school of dance gave a program, roses were sold, and all proceeds went for payment of civic planting done by the Club that year. Over 500 people attended. The Naperville Garden Club was admitted to membership in the Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc. on November 14, 1932. Subsequently, the Club became affiliated with District II in Illinois, Central Region in the Midwest, and National Garden Clubs, Inc. Plans were discussed in 1936 for the erection and financing of a cabin to be built in the Goodrich Forest Preserve at a site selected by the Forest Preserve Commissioners. The Club paid for all the materials and the W.P.A. of the U.S. Government furnished the labor. The cabin was screened, painted, and furnished because of monetary contributions, card parties, and gifts of furniture. A rental schedule was established, and youth organizations could rent the facility for a reasonable sum. It was officially known as the Naperville Garden Club Cabin and became a popular place for group meetings, picnics, and parties. Subsequently, the structure was completely renovated by the Cabin Chairman, Mrs. Paul Watson, and her committee for a cost of $212.00.The Naperville Sun on February 7, 1952, described the renovated cabin as: “A charming place it is, with its log exterior, its huge stone fireplace, and its Pennsylvania Dutch decor. Red calico curtains brighten the windows, flounces adorn the old church pews, and the turquoise of the cupboards and the bright yellow of the love seats set off the quaint Dutch designs stenciled on them. This has been a favorite picnic spot for Naperville people for years and a definite asset to the city.” (It was thought that Mrs. Watson did most of the hand painted decorations herself.) The Garden Club Cabin grounds were beautified as well as the interior. The gravel path was finished. A planting of small evergreens was made along the woodland trail near the cabin and a bird feeding station was erected in the woods nearthe Goodrich School.Agood friend of theClub, Professor Himmel,was kind enough to take care ofthese projects and the children of the Goodrich School assisted in caring forthe feeding station. Recorded minutes of meetingsfor the 1940s apparently did notsurvive. An unsigned typed sheet written by a 1st Vice President related, with a strong feeling for history, the important events that took place. The sheet was found tucked in the back of minutes recorded during the 1950s. Quoted directly, it reads: PREFACE Less than 3 weeks after I was elected 1st Vice President, on Nov. 18, 1941, came Pearl Harbor and the war years were on and difficult years they were. Many of the Club women took positions for the war effort and our President, Mrs. Arthur Kline, took a teaching position and at times was unable to be 3 present which meant that the Vice President presides. So, it was necessary for me to conduct the annual meeting in Nov. 1942 and due to the resignations of 2 Presidents early in the year 1943, and having myself, declined the nomination for President, I found myself, nevertheless, Acting President for most of the year 1943. During1942,manymemberstookpositionsforthewar effort,soitwas decided to try evening meetings. Mrs. May Theilgaard Watts of the Morton Arboretumgave a series of talksin keeping with the GovernmentVictory Program. It was also decided that refreshments would only be served at the opening and closing meetings of the year. The Club sponsored Victory Gardens on part of the Martin Mitchell farmland which had been bequeathed to the city by Caroline Martin Mitchell. The city offered to plow and harrow the ground and laid it out in plots measuring 50' x 50' with paths between the plots. The Club took charge of assigning those plotsto residents and the gardens successfully yielded abundant crops. These gardens were supported for two years. The Club contributed to the Victory Book campaign, War Bond drive, purchased a $50.00 war bond, USO Christmas work, sponsored the Servicemen’s Canteen on October 24, did landscape planting at Martin Mitchell Museum, gave $35.00 to the landscape plantings at Nichols Library and gave $10.00 to the War Fund. There was an innovation in the table settings at the Flower Show in June 1942. They were set by various organizations as follows: Naperville Woman’sClub,tea table;RepublicanWoman’sClub, luncheon tablewith a patriotic note; Girl Reserves, picnic table; American Legion Auxiliary, patriotic luncheon table; Girl Scouts, breakfast table; and Boy Scouts, campfire picnic arrangement. Another innovation at the Flower Show was the display of hanging wall shelves with their decorations of glass, pottery, figurines, antiques, and other treasures. The west wall of the YMCA gym was a thing of interest and beauty — one of the outstanding features of the show. The Naperville Garden Club contributed to and helped with other worthwhile projects despite the difficult war years. The Club slogan, “Just Holding Our Own,” was mentioned in the November 1944 report of Mrs. Ralph E. Beebe, the newly elected President of the Club. The Club became even more conservation conscious, studied first aid, and helped with war work, such as the Red Cross and canteen services. A June potluck meeting was held at the cabin in 1944. Annual Flower Shows were omitted during the World WarII years, but in the fall of 1946, they resumed, replacing the Victory Gardens which had absorbed much of the members’ time. The last years of the 1940s were all about getting back to the normal functions of the Club. Without the additional time spent on wartime activities, considerable attention was given to the hardworking Civic Committee. Plans to extend its scope were discussed. Guest nights, where members and their guests were entertained by a speaker with slides of interesting travel and beautiful gardens, became a tradition and were anxiously looked forward to and attended. A subcommittee within the Civic Committee collected jams and jellies for the Winfield Nursing Home.In addition, theClub sponsored eventssuch assmall Easter gifts for the trays at the Edward Sanitarium. The programs continued along the lines of educating the membership to all phases of gardening, flowers, and flower arranging. A Spring Flower Show was given on June 30, 1950, with over 400 people in attendance. Reporting on the story, the Naperville Sun stated, “the Junior Division was exceptionally well received and gives promise that the gardens of this city will be as well loved and tended in the years ahead as they have been cared for today.” The April 1950 minutes indicate the commencement of a “Memory 4 Bookshelf” at the Nichols Library. Upon the death of a Club member, the Book Chairman selected a memorial book for the library and notified the family of the deceased of its purchase. The Club continued the Memorial Shelf donation to the public library of fine books about gardening, landscape design, and other pertinentsubjectsthrough, at least, the 1980s. In the 1950s, a special committee within the Civic Committee was formalized into the Plant, Flower and Fruit Guild. It was charged with providing plants, flowers, fruit, toys, and gifts or other helpful activities for shut ins. This allowed the Civic Committee to concentrate on their responsibility to encourage efforts to increase the landscape beauty of Naperville by working with theCityCouncil’sCivicCommittee.TheWays and Means Committee was struggling to raise money for repairs to the Naperville Garden Club Cabin. This was becoming a yearly problem if the cabin was to be rented. It was a busy time for all members. The President’s reports reveal facts such as making twelve hundred gifts, collecting them, and sending them off in a Christmas box for shut ins. Bake sales were tried as a means of revenue. Card parties earned enough to buy a maple tree that the Club planted on the High School grounds. Flower Shows continued as annual events. The financial turning point of the Club came in June 1960 when it contracted an entire railroad boxcar full of buckwheat hulls (600 bags weighing 50 lbs. each.)TheClub’sTreasury became solvent and healthy when these bags were sold to the gardening public of Naperville. Mrs. H.W.Hauser was President of the Club in 1961. She presented the idea of a Christmas Tea hosted at the Woman’s Club building giving eachmember and guest a teacup and saucer as a memento of the party. Tickets sold for $1.25. Handmade decorations, wreaths, and gift items were displayed for sale. This successful event started “Cup O’ Cheer” as an annual fundraising event. This event each year made it possible to fulfill the Club’s mission for the betterment of the Naperville area. One of the most active committees in the 1960s and 1970s was the CivicCommittee. Projects included plantings at the train station, Nichols Library,school grounds, the Barn, Martin Mitchell Museum (long before it became known asthe cornerstone of Naper Settlement),Central Park, River’s Edge,PostOffice,MartinManor,YMCA,EdwardHospital,andthe Chapel and Halfway House at Naper Settlement. Park benches were placed throughout the city for people to rest, and trees were sold for a nominal cost to residents to plant on Arbor Day. Workingwithyouth hasbeen very deartothe heartsof NapervilleGarden Club members, beginning with sponsoring the Junior Garden Club in 1929.It expanded to summer conservation scholarships for high school juniors and seniors. This was followed by college, graduate school, and vocational scholarships to students interested in the horticulture field. Donations of books about gardens and related fields to schools and public libraries have also been central to the Club’s purpose. The Club has always been proud of its work with senior citizens and with special needs children. As Naperville grew, each subdivision formed a garden club. With this growth, the Naperville Garden Club found it could not do all of the many civic projectsitwas called to do.The ideaof a councilwas conceived and, in 1974, the Council of Naperville Area Garden Clubs was established. Saybrook Garden Club and Naperville Garden Club helped to start it and soon there were 13 clubs with a total membership of over 900. The object of the Council was to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening among amateurs; to share the effort to find programs, speakers, and field trips; and to help with Club 5 issues. Some of the many projectstheCouncil did were landscaping the Naperville Humane Society Shelter, purchasing a sundial for Nichols Library, and donating to the Heritage Society to landscape the Memorial Chapel at Naper Settlement. The Council received a Certificate of Appreciation. Each club served as officers on a rotating basis.TheCouncil existed until the late 1990s when only three clubs were left. Other garden clubs had disbanded or changed to women’s clubs. In 1976 a decorative water fountain was donated to the Naperville Municipal Center and was located at the Council Chamber entrance on Webster Street. The fountain’s title was “Journal of Growth”, given to it by its creator Matthew J. Kramer of Elmhurst. The funding was made possible through the annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser which continues to be held on the first Friday in December. (A new Naperville Municipal Center opened on Eagle Street in 1992.) The Naperville Garden Club celebrated its 50th Anniversary on April 11, 1979.Reflectingbackto 1929atthe celebrationofitsgoldenanniversary, the Club held fast to its original purpose “to carry out a definite program of landscaping so our city may always be a credit to those who live here and to our property. We hope it also will be an inspiration to those who visit us.” A luncheon and fashion show, “Fashions of Yesteryear,” was presented at the Carlisle in Lombard. It showed fashions dating from 1831, the founding of Naperville, to the present day. Special emphasis was on 1929, the yeartheClub wasfounded.Many heirloomsloaned by members and friends were used in the show. The sum of $1,500.00 was given to the Naperville Park District to start a tree nursery in one of the fast growth years of Naperville. The Club’s Civic Committee annually planted and maintained flower, herb, and cutting gardens at Naper Settlement’s Martin Mitchell Museum. Plans also went forward at Naper Settlement (working with the Naperville Council of Garden Clubs) to plant a grove of trees. The Naperville Garden Club worked with the City of Naperville as it carved out the River Walk along the DuPage River that runs through town. A contribution of $3,000.00 over a period of three years was pledged by theClub to assist in purchasing lighting and help with other expenses as this charming park along the river took shape. A Medicinal and Cooking Herb Garden was planted at the Halfway House at Naper Settlement. Twenty-nine herbs were planted and carefully labeled. A printed booklet described each herb and gave its use such as cooking, healing, or housekeeping. Guests visiting the Settlement received a booklet. In the late 1970s and 1980s, four conservation scholarships were given to Illinois college students during the summer for one-week programs. Students had to be sixteen years old.One outstanding programinvolved four students who took a white-water raft trip in Missouri. They learned about acid rain and the greenhouse effect and other conservation topics. This program was discontinued when it became increasingly difficult to find available students withoutsummer jobs. The Club continues to support the state scholarship fund, but in 1978 it decided to give scholarships to local high school and college students after an intensive review of their applications.Two scholarships are also given to North Central College with the recipients left to the college’s determination. The Club furthermore decided to offer two $25 awards on the state levelsince the GardenClubs of Illinois had no special award encouraging member clubs to support scholarships. The $25 awards plus a certificate are presented to the clubs that give the most money per member to scholarshipsin conservation or horticulture related areas of study.Thisis one of the major goals of the Naperville Garden Club. 6 The 1980s were busy years for the Club. For many years during the summer, the Civic Committee made floral arrangements (tussie mussies) for Joe Naper Day at Naper Settlement. The committee had a booth, demonstrated the floral arrangements, and sold them along with Indian feather headbands. The Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation under the General Not for Profit Corporation Act were voted on and passed by Club members on November 19, 1980. We are now recognized as a 501(c) (3) by the IRS. In the early 1980s, Honorary status was granted to members who had given extraordinary service. The roster of the Club may include up to five honorary members who reside in Naperville or surrounding areas. Starting in 2001, Life status was given to members who have given 35 years of service to the Club. The 100th Anniversary of Arbor Day was celebrated in 1982. The Club planted trees as usual and took pictures of past trees that had been planted in town. The history of the Club was printed in 1983 and given to members at the Annual meeting. Subsequently, new members were given a copy. The “Cup O’ Cheer” Cookie Cookbook went to press in 1984. 3000 copies were printed containing 267 recipes and 11 dividers. It was a greatsuccess and brought in revenue for years. Six bencheswere placed throughoutthe city during thistime so that pedestrians could rest.Due to lack of interest,the January potluck dinner with husbands and guests of the Men’s Garden Club was discontinued. The Garden TherapyCommittee started wheelchair gardening at Martin Manor and other nursing homes. Birthday projects also started. The junior members were busy learning floral design and horticulture and had their own mini flower show which was judged by adult members of the Club. The New Home Plant Study Group, to meet only in the winter months, was formed by the Horticulture Chairman. In 1985, the Cup of Cheer™ HouseWalkandArborDay projectwonNational awardsfromtheNational Garden Clubs,Inc.The Naperville Garden Club handled the registration and credentials for the National Garden Clubs’ National Convention held in May 1986. After many years, the Yard of the Month project was discontinuedbecause somanyyardswerenowbeingdone professionally. The Nichols Library atrium was planted and maintained for a year in 1986. The cost was $3,048.10 and the monthly maintenance fee was $86. The Club’s 50-book collection was donated to the library for the general public’s use. Book plates designated the books as a gift from the Naperville Garden Club. A lending library of videos was also started in the 1980s.TheClub Historian was added as a Board position in 1987. A Club idea box for suggestions and comments was started in 1988 with good results. The idea of a big sister for each new member was introduced. A nursery for young children was started so that young mothers could attendmonthlymeetings.These ideas helped to increase membership.The gasoline crisisstartedcarpoolingefforts.TheTraveling Trophy was given to the member who drove the most members to a General meeting. The June meeting had become a Garden Walk with a picnic or box lunch.The Horticulture Chairman took fall bulb orders and spring flower ordersforthePlantExchangeDay.Plantsales increasedeachyear asthe chairman found excellent plantsfor members. The 1990s proved to be as busy as the 1980s. When Mary Quilty, a retired schoolteacher and Scholarship Chairman died, a scholarship was established at North Central College in her name. Member Marie Mackenzie died a few years later and an additional scholarship was established in 7 her name at North Central College. Marie had devoted many yearsto the civic project at Naper Settlement where she served as chairman and worked tirelessly in the gardens. The juniorswere busy,as always, clearing two lotsfor “Make aDifference Day.” One of their members died and the Club established the Jeanine Nicarico Garden at Elmwood School. The garden continues to be maintained. The Field and Tour Committee planned two tours a year with many interesting trips. To name a few: Covered Bridge Festival in Indiana, an Amish farm and winery in Indiana, Tulip Festival in Michigan, gardensin Iowa and Wisconsin, and plenty of toursto placesin Illinois. The April 1999 Annual meeting was the Club’s 70th Anniversary. Members put on an interesting skit with period dress highlighting each decade. Club members served as models. The Club has always been extremely proud of the success of its Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser and the money given for scholarships. Scholarships in the amount of $306,600 were given from 1993 to 2019. The Club participated in the city’s Millennium Celebration in 2000. Eleven Christmas trees were decorated in the Meeting House at Naper Settlement. A tree for each decade of the 1900s was presented in a tableau along with a nine-foot tree having a collection of ornaments spanning the century. The National Garden Clubs’ National Convention returned to Chicago in 2001 and the Naperville Garden Club oversaw credentials and hosting. The Flower Show of 2002, “What is so rare as a Day in June,” was well received. A new civic project was making centerpieces for a DuPage Family Shelter fundraiser. The shelter provided materials and the Club made the arrangements. The Club provided funds for plants and landscaping material for the Freedom Garden at the Daniel Shanower 9/11 Memorial. Club members provided centerpieces for the GCI Annual Convention, “ABurst of Color,” in April 2002.The same year, after much research into feasibility and design, the Club’s website was unveiled. October 2003 showed the Club’s Cup of Cheer™ productsforsale.That year’s Cup of Cheer™ had products to sell totaling $30,000. This marked a turning point as the Club committed to entering the resale market. Nine Club members participated in the “Flowers in Harmony” floral display at the Annual meeting in May 2003. Each member gave a brief description of their floral arrangement.The first Club Photographer was appointed to the Board. The Club received a Plaque of appreciation from the city of Naperville. It was presented by Tim Carmella from the city. As part of the DuPage county’s breast cancer awareness initiative, “Plant It Pink”, the Club planted tulip bulbs in downtown Naperville. The Club’s Cup of Cheer™ House Walk had eight pages written about it in the Country Sampler magazine. Chicago Home and Garden magazine published an article covering the event for their 2004 Christmas issue. The Club had not held a Flower Show for many years, preferring to concentrate on other garden related activities. But in the late 1990s interest in a show revived. To prepare members, floral design classes were offered for a nominal fee and advice was given on the presentation of horticultural specimens. The first show, titled “I Do, I Do”, took place in May 1998 at Naper Settlement’s Meeting House. The title reflected a wedding theme that was interpreted in the design exhibits and decorations for the show. It was decided that a Standard Flower Show would 8 be held every two years. Due to the extensive planning involved, chairing the show became a Board position in 2004. The location was moved to one of the high schools when the Meeting House was under renovation and later to the Municipal Center where it remains. The gardens at Naper Settlement had been planted and maintained by the Club since 1967, but in 2004 the project was discontinued. Peggy Frank, Director of Naper Settlement, appeared at a General meeting in the spring of 2005 to thank the Club for many years of service. She invited Club representatives to attend a ceremony in Century Memorial Chapel during Joe Naper days to be formally recognized. A brass plate engraved with theClub’s name was placed on the wall ofthe Preemption House. Civic projects continued with regularspring and fall plantings at the Municipal Center. The Club’s 75th year culminated with a special anniversary luncheon entitled “Perennial Splendor” on May 16, 2004. A video highlighting activities past and present, tables of memorabilia, and posters featuring a timeline of major events were presented. Special guests from the Garden Clubs of Illinois, District II, other Naperville organizations, and community representatives were invited to attend. Members and guests received an etched glass box as a memento. Garden Therapy expanded to include working with mentally challenged children and adults in the “We Grow Dreams” program. Projects at the Ecumenical Adult Care Center and Martin Manor continued. Other ongoing projects included an Arbor Day tree planting; collecting food, groceries, and money for Loaves and Fishes at General meetings; collecting stamps for the Audubon Society’s Sanctuary Program; and placing exhibits at the Nichols Library. Field and Tour delighted members with well-planned tours to the new Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL,Country GardenCuisine in St.Charles,IL, and to Hornbaker Gardens in Princeton,IL, to name a few. The Club decided to rent a unit that would combine work and storage space to produce designs for the Cup of Cheer™ Holiday Market. A two-year lease was signed, and the workshop continues to meet weekly on the premises.The facility has also been used for design classes and Board meetings. A new cookbook, “Thru the Garden Gate,” with recipes running the gamut from appetizers to desserts supplied by members, was published in time for the 2008 Cup of Cheer™.It won 1st place at the National Garden Clubs’ National Convention. Amajor civic project of 2008 wasthe placement and dedication of aBlue Star Memorial Markerin Burlington Square Park.TheMemorial includes a garden planted around the base. Funds to purchase the marker were collected from members wishing to honor family and friends who served in the armed forces. The GCI Blue Star Committee Chairman attended the dedication as well as members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. All who have served, are serving, or will serve in the defense of the United States are honored by the marker. Preservation of Club records and a place to store them had long posed a problem.Membersfelt the recordswere an important part of Naperville’s history. Upon learning Naper Settlement had become a repository for records of other Naperville organizations, their curator was contacted. In the spring of 2009, the Club presented the Club’s records through 1990 to Naper Settlement and signed a deed of gift. Additional records will be turned over at 10-year intervals with the Club retaining the most recent 10 years. Naper Settlement expressed an interest in adding an oral history from older Club members. Thewebsite successfully expanded to reach a wide audience.Toreduce the Club’s “carbon footprint”, members who have email are sent the newsletter electronically. 9 Scholarship recipients continue to be honored at the May Annual meeting and luncheon as the Club encourages the study of environmental science, conservation, landscape design, and horticulture. A business partnership was formed in 2009 with the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 to promote the Club’sscholarships and provide volunteer opportunitiesforstudentsthrough Community Outreach. In March 2010,fourteams ofstudentssuccessfully completed a marketing project for the Club. Students from School District 203 began in 2010 to provide centerpieces for the Annual meeting and luncheons with the cost of flowers covered by the Club. Other Community Outreach efforts included participation in the St. Patrick’sDay Paradewhere theClubwon a trophy formost colorful entry. In keeping with the mission statement, the Club also participated in the Naperville for Clean Energy and Conservation 2010 Earth Day Fair. For Arbor Day, the Club continuesto purchase a tree for a selected school. In 2009, the Club joined the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce. Benefits included greater recognition of the Club and its activities as well as networking to enhance the underwriting of some charitable expenses.Approval of the initial financial commitment was voted by the Club and representativesregularly began to attend Chamber events The Club also obtained its own state resale tax ID number to assist with fundraising efforts. Trademark registration was completed for the name of the Club’s fundraiser, the Cup of Cheer™, as well as a copyright registration for the event ticket. An on-going community project began with the local community television channel. Members are featured to promote Club events. The Club also providesfloral arrangementsto enhance the studio set for the taping of monthly “Spotlight on Naperville” segments. Evening hours were added to the Cup of Cheer™ event. Naperville North High School Dance Team students earned community service hours in 2010 by working as hostessesin the homes and at the Holiday Market andTea. Several revisions of the Club’s Constitution and By-Laws were made between 2009 and 2011 to clarify wording and introduce changes to reflect current procedures in the Club. The more gender friendly term of “chairperson” replaced that of “chairman.” As always, after approval by the Board, the revisions were brought before the membership at a General meeting and ratified. The biennial flowershows held at the Municipal Center drew increasing interest and were viewed by many members of the public. Garden Walks, generally a June feature in alternate years, had been confined to members only. But in June 2011, the Garden Walk was opened to the public for a fee and featured five gardens of varying habitats. Outside vendorswerestationedatthevarious gardens as anadditional attraction. 2010 and 2011 saw continued efforts by the Membership Chairpersons to recruit new members into the Club. Frequent coffees were held to help familiarize new members with Club activities and current members were asked to help make new and prospective members feel welcome. The Club continues to grow and evolve with the times. In 2010 it became evident that the Club’s customer base for the annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraising event needed to be broadened. In keeping with the times, the Club created a Facebook page and included PayPal for on-line ticket purchases. Tickets continued to be sold through local merchants aswell. Club representatives continued to work with the Chamber of Commerce by attending meetings and a fundraising class to facilitate locating sponsors for Club expenses. The Club was recognized by the 10 Chamber in March 2011 with a nomination for the 2011 Small Business of the Year Award in the Not-for-Profit category. (Subsequently, the Club discontinued the membership due to the time and financial commitment.) Members also manned a booth at the Naperville Art League’s Art Fair and The Growing Place included a Club table at their summer events. Instead of marking Arbor Day with a tree planting at a local school, the 2012 Arbor Day budget was given to the Naperville library. Five trees were purchased from the Naperville Park District for planting at the 95th Street Library. Recordsfromtheyears1991-2000weredonatedtotheNaperSettlement archives. The donation included several items from previous years recently acquired. Naper Settlement expressed an interest in recording an oral history of the Club and received a list of members willing to participate in the project. Interviews were begun in late May 2012 by the Curator of Research. The plant sale and plant exchange were held in May 2012. The biennial flower show titled “Connections” was held in June 2012. The show was free to the public. In December 2012, credit cards were accepted for the first time at the Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser’s Holiday Market. Sales increasedappreciably.Ticketsweresoldon-lineaswellasatlocalretailers. Naperville Bank and Trust took over the downtown post office building and commissioned the Club to decorate the renovated facility for Christmas. To coordinate with the Cup of Cheer™, Naper Settlement presented a beautiful retrospective exhibit of cups from previous years in several cases in the bank lobby. As the Club year progressed into 2013, the Membership Committee continued to hold “Connection Coffee” mornings to make new members aware of the Club’s activities and explore other ways to make new members feel at home. Arbor Day funds were given to the Naperville library to purchase six trees from the Naperville Park District. One tree was planted at the Nichols Library and the rest at the 95th Street Library. Field and Tour offered a trip to Orchids by Hausermann in March 2013 and to the Trudi Temple Farm in May 2013. Trudi had delighted members the previous year with her talk at a monthly General meeting. Also in May, a volunteer planting project was successfully completed at the Nichols Library entrance. In the fall, a planting was made on the south side of the building. A garden walk, “Through the Garden Gate,” featuring seven gardens and open to the public took place in June 2013. Tickets were available on-line and featured advertising paid for by local businesses. The newsletter also began to accept advertising copy in 2013. Another first for 2013 was having one of the four homes on the Cup of Cheer™ House Walk decorated by a professional decorating firm. The same decorating guidelines were applied to all house committees. A proposal was made at the June 2013 Board meeting to participate in a project that would connect the Club’s Blue Star Marker in Burlington Square Park with a new statue honoring the “Spirit of the Navy”. The Club voted to contribute $500.00 to the project. The statue was dedicated on October 13, 2013. 11 The Club received the concession right for the band concert honoring Independence Day. The program titled “Prelude to a Celebration — featuring the 1812 Overture” was held on the last Thursday in June. During 2014 and 2015 an emphasis was placed on the importance of introducing native plants to home landscapes and creating habitat for pollinators such as native mason bees. The National Garden Clubs and the Garden Clubs of Illinois declared this a priority in view of declining honeybee populations and the effects of climate change. The Naperville Garden Club encouraged members further by offering a selection of several “well behaved” native plants to members at cost. Members were also encouraged to take advantage of the various schools offered by the Garden Clubs of Illinois and to attend a seminar on conservation hosted by Wild Things. Each year the Club reviews expenditures and looks at ways to reduce expenses that are increasing for the annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser. Due to rising costs for bone china teacups from England, the Club evaluated other options for cups. As a result, the Club switched vendors in favor of a west coast wholesale distributor who deals with bone china and porcelain manufactured in China. This change decreased cup expenses for the Cup of Cheer™ while providing quality teacups for the event. Declining membership over the last few years made filling board and committee positions difficult. Supporting fundraising efforts, such as Cup of Cheer™, also became harder. Increasing membership has become a priority for the Club to fulfill its mission more easily. The Club hosted a summer Ice Cream Social for the Naperville Municipal band concert. A new state law required that all baked goods be made commercially.(The law was rescinded by the passage of the “cupcake” bill the week after we hosted.) The law did not, however, affect the homemade cookies served at the Cup of Cheer™ Tea. In 2014, Naperville Central High School in Naperville Community Unit School District 203 provided the centerpieces for the May luncheon. In 2016,District 204’sWaubonsieValleyHigh School began providing them. A revision of the by-laws affected the structure of the Board. Books and Supply Shop were removed from the list of Standing Committees. Awards and Flower Show were also removed but were included in the Special Committees and specific duties section of the Standing Rules. The Advisor position was redefined to act as a Club liaison and attend Board meetings. The Education Committee would offer an instructional series that may include floral design, horticulture, and landscape design. In 2014, the community “Spirit of the Navy” project received a tree in honor of Arbor Day from the Civic Committee. Members were also given an opportunity to honor a family member(s) or friend who had served in the military by donating toward a memorial bench. In 2016 the Civic Committee, in honor of Arbor Day, provided funds to the Conservation Foundation for planting native trees and shrubs at McDonald Farm in Naperville. Stamp collecting for the Illinois Audubon Society continued, along with donations of crayons to SCARCE and grocery and financial donations to the Loaves and Fishes Community Pantry. In keeping with the emphasis of the National Garden Clubs and the Garden Clubs of Illinois, the Naperville Garden Club’s theme for 2015- 2016 was “Be Inspired to Protect Our Environment”. The goal was to encourage gardeners to plant milkweed for butterflies, to share the seeds with the GCI Milkweed for Monarchs Project, and to incorporate native plants into the landscape for pollinators (e.g., honeybees, native mason bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds). Avoidance of 12 pesticides was also important for this effort to succeed. Members received information on cleaning milkweed seeds for inclusion in the state project. Additional swamp milkweed seeds were purchased for distribution at member and community events. To further the education of members, a Membership Scholarship Program began to provide partial reimbursement for attending a GCI School. Adding new members continued as a priority with the addition of ten new members by the end of the year. The Club website added a password protected Members Only section that included the member directory, meeting minutes, newsletter, and other Club information. The Home page was revised to include current Club activities. In 2016, the Club’s By-Laws were revised. The name of the Website Committee was changed to Social Media. The number of board members was brought down to a more realistic number relative to the size of the general membership. The position of Advisor would be held by a past president and Nominating was incorporated as a Special Committee. Other Standing Committees changed to Special Committees included Budget, Civics, Garden Therapy, Historian, Yearbook, and Youth Activities. Field and Tour offered an all-day summer trip to see the private gardens of Chef Rick Bayless and other gardens. This field trip, “Chicago: Green City”, included bus transportation and lunch. Other garden related events included a trip to Cantigny for the GCI summer meeting, a tour of the Gardens at Ball Seed, and a Club Garden Walk. Bulbs were sold at the September meeting and the Horticulture Chairperson added a September Plant Exchange .The spring Plant Exchange was offered in May. Members were encouraged to participate, work as hostesses, and attend the GCI State Flower Show held in 2016 at the Naperville Municipal Center. The annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser featured four homes: two chaired by Club members, one by the homeowners, and the fourth by a design shop in Naperville. Promoting the event through other clubs, subdivision newsletters, and paid ads was stressed. The Cup of Cheer™ raffle items were increased at the Holiday Market, and the cookie contest was held the day before the walk. A hands-on design workshop held at the January General meeting proved to be very popular. Attendance included many non-members. Awards given at the District II luncheon were a “Special Mention” for our yearbook, a Silver Seal for Horticulture, and a Gold Rosette for Club Achievement. Awards were presented at the GCI Annual Luncheon: First Place Yearbook, Best Club History, First Place Historic Preservation (Martin Mitchell Mansion, Naper Settlement - 2015 Cup of Cheer™), Second Place Club website, Second Place Club Publications Newsletter, and Special VIP Award for a member who has been active in many projects over her years in the Club. Our yearbook received a Central Region Award at the GCI Summer meeting. The May luncheon, with a reduced price as a gift to the members from the Club, concluded a successful year. Centerpieces were done by Waubonsie Valley High School students. The 2016-2017 theme, “Protecting the Environment”, echoed the themes of the National Garden Clubs and the Garden Clubs of Illinois. In partnership with the Conservation Foundation, the Naperville Garden Club helped establish a pollinator garden on the east side of the Naperville Municipal Center. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony by the mayor officially unveiled 13 the garden to the public on April 22, 2017, for “Earth Week Naperville”. Our Club logo was included in the garden sign encouraging residents to “go native”. Other related efforts included advice on a prairie plot project for North Central College; support of the DuPage Monarch Project and GCI Milkweed for Monarchs project; and encouragement to members to accept the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge by planting native and pollinator-friendly plants in our own gardens. A fall plant exchange and bulb sale were held in September. Emphasis on increasing membership continued with special attention towards guiding and encouraging new members to participate in Club activities. Two “Lunch and Learn” sessions were organized to familiarize new members with Cup of Cheer™ opportunities. The member who sold the most tickets to Cup of Cheer™ would have her Club dues paid for the next year. The Cookie Contest, now a regular feature of Cup of Cheer™, offered a first-place prize of a free lunch at the December Holiday Luncheon meeting. Sets of winning cookie recipes printed on cards were offered for sale. The window of Russell Cleaner’s In downtown Naperville was again decorated by the Club for Christmas providing a good downtown promotion of Cup of Cheer™. The curator of Naper Settlement requested help preparing the Martin Mitchell Mansion for Christmas tours. Committee members who decorated the mansion the previous year for Cup of Cheer™ did the decorating along with members of the museum staff. A $200 Arbor Day donation was given to the Patterson Elementary School in the Ashbury subdivision to help develop a new garden. Five oak trees were purchased for the grounds. A choice of native plants was again offered to members at wholesale prices.The Members’ Plant Exchange took place in May. The Club added many activities in the year to further members’ enjoyment. Offerings included hands-on workshops, Field and Tour trips, and car-pooling trips organized by the Horticulture Chairperson to Garden Conservancy sites, the Flower and Garden Show, and commercial horticulture locations. The May luncheon again provided a learning experience for Waubonsie Valley High School Horticulture/Floral Design students who produced beautiful centerpieces. The Club won a number of awards at the GCI Annual Convention: Best Club Yearbook, Best Club History, Membership Distinction (greatest number of new members in 2016 – First Place), Flower Show Award – Second Place, Historic Preservation – First Place and $50, Club Publication for “History of Cup of Cheer™ Teacups” – First Place, Cookbooks for “Cup of Cheer™ Winning Cookie Contest Recipes” – First Place, Website – Second Place, Newsletter – Second Place, and two members received VIP Awards. The “History of the Cup of Cheer™ Teacups” and “Cup of Cheer™ Winning Cookie Contest Recipes” went on to win First Place awards from the National Garden Clubs. Our yearbook went on to win a Second Place award from the Central Region. District II awards were an Honorable Mention for our yearbook, Club Horticulture Award with a Silver Seal, and Club Achievement Award with a Gold Rosette. The Garden Walk, “Through the Garden Gate”, included five gardens and was held on June 10, 2017. The event was open to the public and members for a $10 fee. The theme for the 2017-2018 Club year was “Remember the ecology of place as we Plant America”, in harmony with the theme of the National Garden Clubs and Garden Clubs of 14 Illinois. Programs for the year included one on using native plants to support wildlife and create environmentally friendly gardens. Another explained the increasing presence of coyotes in urban areas. Representatives of the Club provided an educational booth at the Monarch Festival held at Knoch Knolls Nature Center. A Monarch chrysalis and plastic blocks of various insects were available for the public to examine. The Club was also made aware of the 2018 DuPage Environmental Summit hosted by the Conservation Foundation. Several members attended. Centered on the theme “Nature Rx”, the presentation focused on the benefits of nature to human health. Purple bookmarks listing meeting dates and programs, red bookmarks with Cup of Cheer™ information ,and posters advertising Cup of Cheer™ were available for members to distribute to friends and businesses. Lunch and Learn sessions continued for the benefit of new members. Membership offered a casual get-together at the Connections Coffee. To help put a face to a name, at their discretion, members photos will be included in the directory. Members were encouraged to prepare for the Cup of Cheer™ cookie contest. The winner enjoyed a free meal at the Holiday Luncheon. The House Walk included two homes each decorated by a Garden Club committee and two by the homeowners. The Holiday Market was held again at the White Activities Center of North Central College. Loaves and Fishes continued to receive donations (in kind or monetary) from members. Receipts were available. A new location for the weekly floral displays was found at Edward Hospital’s Ronald McDonald Room. Floral arrangements were also provided for Naperville NCTV17 which promotes the Club and Cup of Cheer™ on “Spotlight on Naperville.” A segment was also taped for “630 Naperville.” Members were treated to cupcakes at the February meeting celebrating the Club’s 89th birthday .Ideas for our 90th year in 2019 were encouraged. A fairy garden workshop utilizing artificial plants was held in April. More workshops are planned to make greater use of our rental facility. A plant sale was scheduled for the month of May featuring a selection of plants ordered by the Club. Members helping with the set-up had first choice. The sale was open to all members the following day and then to the public until all plants were sold. Members were also asked to offer perennials from their yards for sale. This project raised additional funds for scholarships. The Club continues to carefully evaluate applications. Recipients are honored at the May luncheon where all attending are impressed by the dedication of our young people. The yearly offering of three native plants for sale to members continued as a separate event. Members participated in the YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day on April 21st at the Kroehler Family YMCA. The project involved helping children to plant a seed to take home. Dixie cups, soil, and zinnia seeds were provided along with instructions for care. Giant Steps special education school in Lisle for individuals with autism offered an opportunity for members to plan, plant, and maintain a garden that would provide vocational and therapeutic experiences for students. Vegetables for use in cooking classes, as well as flowers and herbs, were planted in the ground, raised beds, and in table height beds for students in wheelchairs. Weekly visits by 15 members to weed and water the beds provided an opportunity to interact with the students who range in age from 5 years to 22 and come from as far away as Chicago. The garden offers students important sensory experiences — touch, smell, and visual (watching the plants grow.) They may also help with watering and, best of all, do the harvesting and eating of their vegetable crops. Beyond providing satisfaction, the experience enables them to make connections as to where food comes from. It was decided to place this new project under Youth Activities. Members were encouraged to invite young people to submit a poster, essay, poem, or sculpture for National Garden Clubs’ Youth Contests. These contests sow the seeds to inspire youth to cherish the land by planting a garden to fight hunger, building sculptures of recycled materials, and making the public aware through posters of the need to be involved. With the focus on improving the environment, Earth Day gave members a chance to evaluate their commitment to the 5R rule: Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Recycle, and Remove. We were reminded of the threat non-biodegradable plastic poses to life. The annual GCI Convention, “Plant America: Conserve, Protect, Restore” emphasized the importance of these three words to our landscapes. The Beautiful Garden project was announced at the May meeting and its “Thank You” cards distributed. Members were encouraged to leave a card wherever they noticed a beautifully planted and well-kept yard. Centerpieces were provided by Waubonsie Valley High School. On July 19th the Club had a field trip to John Richter’s garden in Warrenville. His garden featured perennials such as hostas and daylilies. While a Flower Show has not been held for several years, two of our Club members, who are National Garden Clubs Flower Show Judges, achieved Life Certificates during the Club year. Awards presented at the GCI Annual Meeting were: Table Design in a Standard Flower Show for Exhibition Table, Best Club Yearbook – Second Place, Club Achievement, Club Horticulture, Garden Club of the Year – Third Place, Certificate of Merit for District and Club Publications for Newsletter – Second Place, and one member received a VIP Award. The Garden Club year of 2018-2019 ushered in preparation for our 90th anniversary year beginning in 2019. Our annual Cup of Cheer™ fundraiser, now with almost all the houses decorated by the homeowners, required members’ usual concentration. This would be our last year for the Holiday Market to be held at North Central College. A switch to a semester calendar would make the White Activities Center unavailable for rental. A new location for 2019 had been found at the Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873.In the meantime, a bow-making class was held at the workshop and raffle baskets assembled for the Market. In addition to the raffles, the African Safari trip would again be offered. Emphasis was placed on planning for special events to celebrate 90 years, looking forward especially to a members’ only garden walk in June. This would include renting the trolley to provide transportation and arranging for a lunch. Horticulture offered a variety of spring bulbs for sale at the fall meetings, including daffodils, allium, and muscari. Collections continued at every meeting for Loaves and Fishes. Exhibits offered weekly arrangements at the Ronald McDonald Room at Edward Hospital. 16 The Club announced that it would donate a tree to be planted by the Park District in honor of our 90th year. Members submitted ideas about the tree species, the message to be written on the plaque, and the park. A Swamp White Oak was chosen to be planted at Central Park in spring. Participation was encouraged in the Garden Clubs of Illinois initiatives, Plant America, and Milkweed of Monarchs. The Jeanine Nicarico Memorial Garden continues to be planted and maintained at the Elmwood Elementary School she attended. Members were offered origami workshops in the fall at the Club’s facility. An acrylic painting class was planned for March. The Club again participated in Health Kids Day at the Kroehler Family YMCA. Publicity for Cup of Cheer™ included mention in West Suburban Living andanNCTV17feature.A ticket selling contest was available to members as well as a cookie contest. The winning cookies could be viewed at the Market along with the recipes. The homes each contained three items that were available for sale at the Market. Conservation offered three native plants for sale in the spring — Carex rosea (a woodland sedge), Dalea candida (White Prairie Clover), and Actaea racemosa (Black Cohosh.) A plant sale was held in May for members and the public. Annuals, herbs, hanging baskets, and perennials from members’ gardens were offered. Garden Therapy had a successful year at Giant Steps. The garden enjoyed more student participation and proved beneficial to the autistic children and young adults. An award application was submitted and won first place at both the state and national levels. The success of this venture prompted another school, Turning Pointe, to ask for the Garden Club’s help in planning a garden. In addition to inviting scholarship recipients to attend the May luncheon, former members were issued invitations and contributed to the “full house” success of the day. Members had been encouraged to wear hats as their mothers and grandmothers may have when attending a meeting and many created a vintage look. Previous presidents were honored. A display of historical memorabilia was provided with the emphasis on the past and the changes that have happened over the years. Each attendee received a small painting of an iris, the Club’s flower. A design program followed the luncheon. Table center pieces were again provided by Waubonsie Valley High School. Many photographs were taken including a group photo outside. Members were encouraged to contribute additional items for our archive at Naper Settlement. The year ended with the garden walk in June and lunch at a local restaurant. The four gardens on display illustrated a “hands on” love of gardening by their owners and a diversity of gardening styles. NCTV17 arranged for filming at the gardens. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, general in-person meetings were canceled from March 2020 through April 2021. Our fundraiser event, Cup of Cheer, was canceled in December 2020.Two General meetings (March and February) with program presentations were held in 2021 by the Zoom format and hosted by President, Diane Greenawalt. The May 2021 luncheon was held as the first in-person General meeting and included officer installations, box lunch, and a floral design program. Board meetings (during August and October 2020) were held outside in a park during warm weather and by Zoom in the first few months in 2021. The June board meeting was held as usual in a member's home and included lunch. 17 Two field trips were arranged in 2021; one to SCARCE, the environmental recycling education center; another to the Darien Garden Club's Garden Walk in honor of their 20th Anniversary celebration. The September 2021 in-person General meeting started the Club's scheduled meeting season with a program about herbs. Editorial Credits 1982: Compiled by Jean Wood with special appreciation to Kay Williams for a pamphlet titled “History of the Naperville Garden Club 1927 - 1982.” 1982–2007: Compiled by Mary Ann Wright with grateful help from Bonnie Bula, Diane Greenawalt and Rosemary Vance. 2007-2015: Compiled by Bonnie Bula with grateful help from Diane Greenawalt, Mary Ann Wright and Gwenn Lloyd. 2016-2017: Compiled by Bonnie Bula. 2018: Compiled and edited by Bonnie Bula with additional edits by Gwenn Lloyd and Marilyn Schweitzer 2019-2021: Compiled and edited by Bonnie Bula Unless otherwise noted all information used is from the minutes of Naperville Garden Club
Committees, Projects and Awards
There are over 25 committees and projects for members to participate! Please read about our Community Projects.
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Mission
The mission of the Naperville Garden Club is to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening among amateurs; to encourage civic interest; to provide scholarships to those students pursuing degrees which reflect the interests of the Club; to enhance the environment in which we live by donating trees, plants and service to beautify public buildings and other public places.
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