Illinois Valley Garden Club celebrates 100 years

Story by Shannon Serpette

When a group of ladies began the Illinois Valley Garden Club in 1923, they gave birth to a long legacy of civic projects, beautification, knowledge shared, and friendships. This year, the club celebrates its 100th anniversary, and it’s still going strong. To celebrate the milestone, the club will have a formal luncheon in May, and the State President and District Director have been invited to attend.

“Throughout the years, there have been many projects,” Beverly Malooley of Spring Valley, who has been a club member since 1990, said.

Cynthia Carus, who has been a member since 1989, fondly recalls many projects she and her fellow members have enjoyed.

“Tree planting, community flower planting, the Giving Garden, which supplied fresh produce to area food pantries, and the Blue Star Memorial marker in Hegeler Park have been favorite projects,” Carus said. “Since its inception in 1923, the club has seen to it that literally thousands of trees have been planted in parks and private yards, on school and hospital grounds, and along city streets in the Illinois Valley and even in several cemeteries. These trees beautify our community and provide important attributes for our environment, and for many years provided an opportunity to engage schoolchildren in learning about the importance of trees.”

Every member has their favorite project, and for Malooley, the Arbor Day tree project stands out.

“The club distributed tree saplings to fourth-grade students in all the area schools. We would meet at the home of Jane Duncan to package the saplings. If you ask around, there are trees all over the Illinois Valley that were started with this project,” she said.

Current club president Vicki Henson of Peru, who has been a member since 1996, said her favorite civic project she’s worked on is the Giving Garden.

“With some of our club funds and those of various organizations in the community, we were able to plant a sizable vegetable garden in the vacant lot next to the LaSalle Fire Department. The purpose of this community garden was to raise and gift the entirety of its production to both the LaSalle and the Spring Valley food pantries. Over a threeyear period, we were able to donate a total of at least two thousand pounds of food,” Henson said.

“When we disbanded the project, the remainder of our funds was divided evenly between the two pantries in an amount that enabled one of them to purchase a badly needed freezer. It was hard work, but it yielded fresh food for area residents in need and gave us a feeling of great satisfaction for being able to help in this way,” she added.

For Nancy Sitterly of Spring Valley, who has been a member since 1986, performing a roadside cleanup on Shooting Park Road West stands out in her mind as her favorite project.

“I liked it because I felt our club would be a good example to others to follow and hopefully encourage the public not to litter our roads and community spaces and be aware of how beautiful the open spaces are,” she said.

Unlike many other clubs, membership in the Illinois Valley Garden Club is allowed by invitation only. Currently, the club has 28 members, and the maximum it will allow is 30, according to Malooley.

“From its founding one hundred years ago, the membership has been limited to thirty women because we meet in the homes of our members, which makes larger numbers impossible,” Henson said. While the club is exclusive, its territory is widespread because the founders wanted to include women from more than one community.

“The club’s name was intentionally broad to include ladies from the cities and the countryside. The roll call to date lists more than 150 members over the years,” Carus said.

While some things have changed over the years, Henson loves that the monthly meetings have retained some of their old-school charm.

“In 1923 and farther into the century, the ladies met twice a month and donned hats, gloves, and heels. Those practices are behind us now, as we have become much more casual in our attire and meet only once a month with a winter hiatus in January and February because so many of us travel to warmer climates during those months,” she said. “What has remained, however, is a ‘ladies at tea’ tradition. We serve coffee and tea, and very nice desserts with accompanying items such as candies and nuts.”

The meetings are structured so the women can build a sense of camaraderie and friendship.

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“Socializing time at the end of our meetings offers members opportunities for conversation and getting to know one another better. This kind of graciousness has been disappearing from our fast-paced lives, and the women seem to very much appreciate having a somewhat more formal type of gathering than most others,” Henson said. “I feel it has given our meetings an added ‘something’ to look forward to every month and has contributed to our being a more cohesive group.”

The chance to widen social circles and create lasting friendships is a large part of the club’s appeal. Malooley said she has formed wonderful friendships with the other club members, which is a sentiment

Illinois Valley Garden Club’s Mission Statement:

echoed by the other women.

“After raising our two children and leaving my fulltime teaching job as a French teacher at Morris Community High School in 1995, there was time to belong to organizations such as the Illinois Valley Garden Club,” Henson said. “We were surrounded by garden club members in our neighborhood, and several of my friends belonged to the group, so when, in 1996, I received an invitation to join, I was delighted to do so. As for the benefits of belonging to IVGC, there are friendships to be made with people of all ages who live in various area communities, people that I might never have met otherwise.”

“I have learned a lot about the beauty of the Illinois Valley through our club and so appreciate what it offers us,” Sitterly said. “I have been exposed to years of interesting presentations and tours, but, most of all, I have met wonderful, like-minded people that I would never have met before. I have made many friends in Illinois Valley Garden Club through the years and enjoy seeing them once a month at our meetings.”