Stony Brook Garden Club of Princeton

Question 1

Marie Hemphill looks back on 25 years as a member of Stony Brook

Answer

It all began in the Spring of 1939 when four gals were having tea at Sukie Williams' house on Library Place. Besides Sukie, they were Maggie Donoho, Mary Jane Paynter and Charlotte Schluter.... Read more of Marie's reminiscences of 25 years as a member of the club here.

Question 2

Past Presidents

2019 - 2021 Louise Wellemeyer

2017 - 2019 Sue Plambeck

2015 - 2017 Olive Coughlan

2013 - 2015 Linda Gecha

2011 - 2013 Andrea Meyercord

2009 - 2011 B.J. Booth

2007 - 2009 Laura Hanson

2005 - 2007 Tracey Gates

2003 - 2005 Anne Gates

2001 - 2003 Meg Gorrie

1999 - 2001 Lockie Proctor

1997 - 1999 Vicky Wildmerding

1995 - 1997 Susan Levy

1993 - 1995 Suzanne Dyckman

1991 - 1993 Wendy Hopper

1989 - 1991 Katie Heins

1988 - 1989 Adela Wilmerding

1986 - 1988 Barby Delafield

1984 - 1986 Nancy Robins

1982 - 1984 Lynn Dawes

1980 - 1982 Janet Haring

1978 - 1980 Alice Carter

1976 - 1978 Audrey Gates

1974 - 1976 Lenkie Adamson

1972 - 1974 Angie Austin

1970 - 1972 Barbara Lawrence

1968 - 1970 Adra Fairman

1967 - 1968 Debbie Carey

1966 - 1967 Sara Sikes

1964 - 1966 Kay Dana

1963 -1964 Peggy Miller

1961 - 1963 Nancy Kirkpatrick

1959 - 1961 Nancy Genung

1957 - 1959 Peggy Milholland

1955 - 1957 Charlotte Schluter

1953 - 1955 Margaret Donoho

1951 - 1953 Sukie Williams

1949 - 1951 Alice Lindabury

1947 - 1949 Marion Leon

1945 - 1947 Helen Griffin

1943 - 1945 Sue Steele

1941 - 1943 Dorothy Fleming

1939 - 1941 Charlotte Schluter

Question 3

Club Highlights 1939 to 1994

1939

Four women having tea decided to start a garden club.

June 7 - twelve women met to organize a garden club and named it Greenfingers.

In December the name was changed to the Gardeners.

1941

Club did a garden in the community flower show. It was a before and after garden and won a special award. A picture of the garden was published in the New York Sun.

1942-1944

......................WAR YEARS............................

1940

Year spent in organization and planning

1945

Club became a member of the G.C.A. and changed its name to Stony Brook.

1946

Club entered the international flower show in new York city with a bay window planted with begonias.

1947

Stony brook and the G.C. of Princeton cooperated in a garden at the international flower show in New York city and won second prize. Flower show at McCarter Theater.

1948

Club trip to gardens in Ambler PA. One club member copied a solar heated pit garden seen on the trip - Fleming

1949

Club involved in the Princeton community flower show. Also acted as hostesses at New York flower show.

1950

Visiting house day -3 members' homes decorated for Christmas. Members made Christmas decorations and jellies. Club involved in community flower show and served as hostesses at New York show. G.C. of Princeton our guests at flower arranging program with Mitsou Arai. Club became a member of the Federated Garden Club of New Jersey.

1951

Sue Steele member of the schedule committee of the Philadelphia flower show.

1952

Club entered the New York International Flower Show with the Irvington, N.Y. G.C. and G.C. of Somerset Hills, NJ. Entry was a north european garden and won 3rd prize.

1953

Club entered the New York International Flower Show with the same two clubs as 1952. This year the entry was a spring garden with a dry stone wall which the clubs constructed. We won a 2nd prize and also served as hostesses at the show.

Club had a fall garden tour and flower show..

1955

Two members won 2nd and 3rd at the federated zone meeting - Fleming and Schluter.

Evelyn Alyea's Christmas program outstanding.

1954

Member awarded the tr-color at the Hopewell Valley show/ Schluter.

Club held a fall flower show and house tour.

Sue Steele gave a class in flower arranging at the adult school.

1956

Member won 1st prize at Rumson flower show - Steele

1957

Members served as hostesses at the New York Flower Show.

1958

Club entered the Philadelphia flower show. Entry was a garden planted to attract birds. It won 2nd prize.

Members served as hostesses at the New York Flower Show.

1959

Club invited by Philadelphia clubs to join them at a judging forum held in the Philadelphia art museum. Club went by bus.

Fund-raising committee was to hold an annual spring plant sale at a member's home.

1960

...........MAY MARKET WAS BORN..............

Outstanding speaker, Madeline Leuthardt, on dwarf and espaliered fruit trees,

1961

Mrs. Colie lectured on flower arranging. Club entered a garden at the Philadelphia flower show. Member received 3rd prize in arrangement class at Hopewell Valley Flower Show - Schluter.

1962

Suggested study of trees for zone, club started our tree box, which was later given to a local school, club entered a garden in the Philadelphia flower show. Members also served as hostesses at the NY show.

1963

Club program with Lois Poiner talking on how to garden without a gardener.

May market featuring unusual and hard to find plant material grown by members held at Helen Woodward’s. Sale becoming very popular by fellow serious gardeners.

1964

.*********25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CLUB**********

**********GARDEN AT ROCKINGHAM BORN**********

Herb garden designed by Helen Griffin and executed by members planted at Washington’s headquarters in rocky hill. This garden won the sears roebuck award.

1965

Flower arranging course by Mrs. Reynolds held on four wednesdays. 2 members entered the NY flower show and won 3rd in an arrangement class - Schluter and Campbell. Members served as hostesses at NY show. Club had spring and fall flower show.

1966

GCA Zone IV meeting held in Princeton with Adra Fairman our chairman. Meeting was co-hosted with the G.C. of Princeton. Some meetings held in Princeton university's newly opened art museum. Keynote speaker, Ian Mcharg, spoke at Lowery House,

1967

Fall, joint flower show with the G.C. of Princeton. Members slide show as a program.

1968

First scheduled work meeting at Rockingham. Club entered a window box at Philadelphia flower show. There was a club bus trip to the show. Joint flower show with the G.C. of Princeton.

1969

Joint meeting with the university league garden club. Club bus trip to Rutgers greenhouses and to the duke gardens.

1970

Bus trip to Bryant Park flower show in New York. Members served as hostesses at the show.

1971

Bus trip and meeting at the Brooklyn botanical gardens

1972

Member appointed zone iv chairman - Patton. First second-generation club president. Angie Austin, daughter of Dorothy Fleming, president 1941-1943

1973

Member appointed director of G.C.A. - Patton.

1974

Trip to New Hope for a program at the Rosade Bonsai Studio.

1975

Mini G.C.A. sone iv meeting. 1st prize and 2 second prizes in arrangements. Members served as hostesses at Bryant Park show.

1976

Club started project of planting chambers walk in Princeton. Members cared for beds. Member entered Bryant Park show and won first in arrangement class - Delafield. Morristown flower show - two 1st prizes in horticulture.

1977

Two members worked together on an arrangement at the Philadelphia flower show and won third place - Delafield and deckman. One member served as an aide at the show. Member entered the Bryant Park flower show in NYC and won second place in the decoupage class - Fairman.

1978

Club held workshops on artistic arrangements and vegetable gardens. Contribution was made to American Land Trust whose project in NJ is the Pine Barrens.

1979

Autumn in the air - a joint community flower show with the G.C. of Princeton. Club invited guests to an evening meeting with Ralph Snodsmith as our speaker.

1980

Club won a first prize at the Philadelphia flower show in the new challenge garden class. The chairmen of our entry were Austin and Flemer. GCA Autumn in the Atrium Flower Show invited Austin and Flemer to run the horticulture classes. Member appointed G.C.A. Zone IV chairman, two year term - Fleming.

1981

Two members invited to be chairmen of challenge garden class at the Philadelphia flower show for next 2 years - Austin and Fleming

1982

Club voted to incorporate.

Member appointed G.C.A. Zone IV chairman for two year term - Austin,

Two members asked to be in charge of staging for G.C.A. autumn in the atrium flower show in NYC - Austin and haring.

1983

Tax exempt status for club approved in April.

1984

Club entered Philadelphia flower show room class Shangri-La, a place of your dreams. The title of our room was a slow boat to china. Won 1st prize and the Delaware valley florists' trophy - arrangers - bever and Rulon-miller.

GCA Zone IV meeting in town with the G.C.. of Princeton. Our chairman - Audrey gates.

1985

GCA zone meeting hosted by the G.C. of Trenton. 1st prize in abstract arrangement class - Austin.

1986

Joint meeting with g. Clubs of Princeton and Trenton for lecture by betty brown on art in bloom. Flower show staged in the Boston art museum.

Club bus trip to longwood gardens at Christmastime,

1987

**********GCA ANNUAL MEETING IN ZONE IV ************

One of 3 co-chairmen of meeting - Austin, joint meeting with g. Clubs of Princeton and Trenton to hear and see Herb Plankinton in the subject of arranging flowers.

1988

Club entry in Philadelphia flower show garden class, won 1st prize and PHS Silver Bowl with our Australian garden, chairmen of entry - Austin and Henkel.

1989

**********HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY TO CLUB**********

Member invited to be vice chairman of all artistic classes at the Philadelphia flower show for 2 year term - Austin

1990

Club entry in the room class at the Philadelphia flower show - theme of class was music. Our title - Flamenco, won 2nd prize and the Delaware valley florists' trophy and the G.C.A. certificate of excellence. Entry chairmen - Dawes and Hopper. Arrangers - Delafield, Dyckman and Haring.

Member asked to be G.C.A. flower show area vice chairman - Austin, area - NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA.

Member elected chairman of NJ Committee of the G.C.A. - Austin.

1991

Joint meeting with the G.C. of Princeton. G.C. of Trenton held a G.C.A. small flower show in state museum, 1st in arrangement - delafield.1sts in horticulture - Austin and Haring. Member asked to be co-chairman of arrangement workshops for Philadelphia flower show - Austin. Club became involved in isles Trenton inner city improvement program.

1992

Member was one of 18 ladies from across the country to create an exhibit in class America Discovered at the Philadelphia Flower Show invitational class - Austin. Entry was on CBS Good Morning America tv show and written up in NY Times - Austin.

Two members entered defined space class in Philadelphia - title size and shape. Entry won 1st prize and the GCA certificate of excellence - Austin and Delafield.

GCA Zone IV meeting in Englewood - flower show results : arrangement 1sts Austin and Delafield. Delafield also won best arrangement in show. Horticulture 1sts - Austin and Pontius. Club won the zone award for the most points earned in the flower show. Barbara Spaulding Cramer zone flower arrangement award - Austin.

1993

Member invited to be advisor for open and defined space class at Philadelphia flower show - Delafield.

May flea and flower market fund raiser,

1994

GCA zone iv meeting in town with co-hostess G.C. of Princeton. Co-chairman - Hayes

Stony Brook Garden Club of Princeton

founded in 1939

About Us

Our Mission

Club History

Marie Hemphill looks back on 25 years as a member of Stony Brook

Past Presidents

Club Highlights 1939 to 1994

SBGC Awards

Zone IV Awards

GCA Awards