Submitted by NORTH BALTIMORE GARDEN CLUB
NORTH BALTIMORE—The North Baltimore Garden Club will host a community party on Aug. 11 to celebrate its 90th birthday.
The club was established in 1934 with Mae Fleckner as the first club president. A lot has changed over the last nine decades; however, the love the members have for gardening has remained consistent.
Initially, members were required to wear hats and dresses. The meetings were held in a fairly formal setting, and members were listed by their husbands’ names on the members list.
Today, members might attend meetings wearing jeans and flip-flops. They aren’t afraid to get dirty. They can often be found digging in the dirt and tossing around compost, but they still have as much fun as past members.
Throughout its history, the organization has been very active in the village of North Baltimore, where they hold monthly meetings, garden tours and flower shows. For many years, the club participated in the Wood County Fair and entered floats in the North Baltimore Halloween Parade. Times have changed, but the members still use their gardening knowledge to maintain gardens for the village and select gardeners of the month to honor keeping the village looking nice.
The birthday celebration in downtown North Baltimore between the historical society and the library will be from noon to 3 p.m. The event will include a Car Cruise In, face painting, free children’s crafts, food trucks (available 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), select vendors, a farmer’s market and music. The garden club will also be giving away plants to the first 100 adults who are present.
The library will host a cooling station in the library’s community room and the North Baltimore Historical Center will be available or tours, including a special display of the garden club through the years.
For information about becoming a member, or more information about the Aug. 11 event, such as becoming a vendor or registering for the car show, visit the club’s Facebook page or email nbohiogardenclub@gmail.com.
Like many clubs, the North Baltimore Garden Club almost folded about six years ago, but there has been a resurgence in members and events in the last few years. The club will hold its annual Guest Night on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in the North Baltimore Public Library. In addition to recruiting new members, the event will provide educational information and gardening ideas for members, other clubs’ members and guests.
