15 Years of Membership Books (1932-1947)

RIGHT:

Tallawanda Garden Club

Membership Books

- from 1932 to 1947

This collection was the property of Mrs. Jean (Bradbury) Witherby. The collection originally belonged to Jean's mother, Naomi Bradbury.

Jean's daughter, Naomi (Witherby) Fea shared this collection with the Darrtown website, in August 2009.

Tallawanda Garden Club Membership (1932-1947)

The following list of club members was compiled from the membership books that are displayed in the photograph above.

PLEASE NOTE that some duplication is probable, as the record-keeping varied through the years. Some years the member were listed by their personal (first) names and other years they were listed by their married names. Also, nicknames may have been used (for example, Martha and Mattie Booth may be the same person).

Allstatter, Mrs. Nelle

Alstatter, Mrs. Harry

Booth, Miss Martha

Booth, Miss Mattie

Bradbury, Mabel

Bradbury, Miss Minnie

Bradbury, Mrs. Harry

Bradbury, Mrs. Naomi

Brooks, Audrey

Bryant, Clara

Bryant, Mrs. Howard

Bufler, Mrs. Bess

Bufler, Mrs. Wm.

Buhi, Mrs. Bertha

Buhi, Mrs. Wm.

Clark, Mrs. Dean

Clark, Thelma

Decker, Florence

Decker, Mary

Decker, Mrs. Fred

Gongales, Mrs. Louise

Graf, Josephine

Graf, Joyce

Hansel, Minva

Harris, Clara

Harris, Mrs. Arthur

Harris, Mrs. James

Harris, Mrs. Nelle

Jewell, Myrtle

Kolb, Miss Ella

Kramer, Mrs. Bertha

Laughlin, Mrs. Luella

Marshall, Mrs. Della

Marshall, Mrs. Frank

Mathews, Allene

Mathews, Mrs. Allene

McVicker, Mrs. C.D.

McVicker, Mrs. Edith

McVicker, Mrs. Kathryn

McVicker, Mrs. Mary Hansel

Mee, Mrs. Bette

Mee, Mrs. Helen

Mee, Mrs. R. K.

Mendenhall, Irene

Mendenhall, Mrs. C.E.

Mendenhall, Mrs. Hattie

Ramsey, Mrs. Anna

Ramsey, Mrs. Wm.

Sebald, Shirley

Shaw, Mrs. Abigail

Shaw, Mrs. John

Smith, Lexie

Smith, Mrs. Johnson

Smith, Mrs. Lucie

Smith, Mrs. Nettie

Steele, Margaret

Stork, Mrs. Edna

Teckman, Mabel

Teckman, Nelle

Wheeler, Mrs. Emar

Wheeler, Mrs. J.B.

Wiley, Mrs. Hazel

Wiley, Mrs. Louis

Tallawanda Garden Club "Roll Call Responses"

and "Program Topics" (1932-1947)

Each membership book included specific roll call responses and program topics. The majority of items addressed by the club included the typical gardening subjects. However, some items (selected and listed below) warrant special emphasis, as they provide insight to the life and times of Darrtown, in the 1930's and 1940's.

ABOVE:  Garden Club's 25th Anniversary

SEATED (L-R): The first three ladies are unidentified; then, Kate McVicker and Maria Davis. The last three are unidentified. 

STANDING (L-R): Anne Ramsey (some people think this may be Nelle Davis), unknown, Helen Mee. The next two are unknown; then Martha Booth (perhaps). Number eight is unknown. Then, Abigail Shaw, Irene Mendenhall, Clara Bryant, Florence Decker, and Margaret Steele.

The image and the information above appeared in the July 6-12, 2007 edition of the Oxford Press. Mrs. Melvin (Jean Steele) Derickson contributed this newspaper article, when she attended the Darrtown Gathering at the Hitching Post on April 18, 2009. If you can identify any of those shown above or if you can offer additional information about this group, please contact the Darrtown.com webmaster.

Note: March 11, 2014: Sue Clark reported that the second woman from the left, in the front row, is Bertha Buhi - who was the mother of Thelma (Buhi) Clark - who was Sue's mother.

Tallawanda Garden Club celebrates 25th anniversary

Contents of the 1946-47 Garden Club brochure

The following two images show the contents of a 1946-47 tri-fold brochure printed by the Tallawanda Garden Club.

Contents of the 1952 Talawanda Garden Club membership book

The following slide show contains 19 images that show the contents of the 1952-53 membership book. Kirk Mee III donated this book to the Darrtown website on May 16, 2015. Kirk found the membership book among artifacts that belonged to his mother, Mrs. Kirk (Bette) Mee II.

Contents of the 1952 Talawanda Garden Club membership book

ABOVE: Shown above - left to right:

FRONT ROW (seated): Nellie Teckman, Kathryn (Kyger) McVicker, Anna Ramsey, and Ella Kolb.

SECOND ROW: Bette Mee, Myrtle Jewell, Allene Matthews, Josephine Graf, Mary Cory, and Luella Bohlander.

THIRD ROW: Virginia Skidmore, Emma Rowekamp, Gladys Keller, Jean (Bradbury) Witherby, and Florence Decker.

The above photo was contributed in late July 2009 by Naomi (Witherby) Fea, daughter of Mrs. Charles (Jean) Witherby. Persons in the above photograph were identified by handwritten notes on the back of the original photograph - which presumably were written by Jean Witherby.

The notes on the back of the photo also included the date (1953) and the phrase "Grey Gables," which may be a reference to the location of the meeting. If you can provide information about the "Grey Gables," please contact the Darrtown.com webmaster.

Talawanda Garden Club conducts meeting

ABOVE: left to right:

Front Row: Carrie Bowers, Mabel Beiser, Kathryn McVicker, and Florence Decker

Back Row: Myrtle Jewell, Mary Beal, Mabel Teckman, Emma Rowekamp, Grace Alexander, Hazel Abbott, Allene Mathews, Audrey Brooks, Pearl Howald, Irene Mendenhall, Mary Decker, JoAnn Coombs, and Thelma Clark.

The above photo was contributed in May, 2012 by Donna Gallagher, daughter of Mrs. Paul (Mrytle) Jewell.

Persons in the above photograph were identified by handwritten notes on the back of the original photograph.

The photograph was dated June 13, 1963.

The image at the right shows eight Tallawanda Garden Club membership books that were the property of Mrs. Myrtle Jewell. The books were contributed by Myrtle's daugher, Donna (Jewell) Gallagher, in May 2012. These books are from the years:

1968-69

1969-70

1970-71

1972

1973

1984

1986

1987

More Talawanda Garden Club membership books...

The books have a similar format; the officers of the year are listed and then each monthly meeting is listed on a separate page with the names of persons who served as the hostesses and persons who were in charge of the program.

The membership list includes the following names:

Update to this page; February 19, 2018:

According to the following email that was received today from Valerie Elliot, the Smith HIstory manager at the Oxford branch of the Lane Public Library, the Progressive Club used two "L's" when spelling the word Tallawanda. Hence, the spelling of said word has been changed on this page.