Mountain View Garden Club Celebrates 70 Years of Service to Community

By Pam Blair

On March 8, 2023, the Mountain View Garden Club celebrated its 70th anniversary at the Blackthorn Club at the Ridges with a luncheon and program highlighting the club’s long and productive history. Dr. Todd Fowler, Mayor of Johnson City, was a special guest who delivered a proclamation honoring the club and its contributions to the city. On March 6, State Representative Rebecca Alexander recognized the club with a proclamation at the Tennessee House of Representatives in Nashville.

Mary Gordon Herndon founded the Mountain View Garden Club of Johnson City in 1953, with gardening friends and neighbors living in the Gump Addition. As Johnson City has grown, the club’s membership has also grown to more than 60 members living in the city and surrounding area. The club was one of 12 federated garden clubs from 1956–1984, with membership in the National Council of State Garden Clubs, the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, and the Johnson City Council of Garden Clubs. Today, it is the only non-federated club still in existence in Johnson City.

Since 1984, the club has contributed numerous projects and donations that have enhanced Johnson City and the community, such as beautification of the entrance to the Washington County-Johnson City Veterans Memorial and the Washington County Animal Shelter, matching donation and planting at One Acre Café, and establishment of a garden plot on the Tweetsie Trail that is maintained by the club.

For the past 70 years and for the future, the objectives of the Mountain View Garden Club are “to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening, to study and help preserve the natural beauty of the area, and to enjoy fellowship with one another.” Clearly, this club has a long history of enjoying the friendship of neighbors while working to make Johnson City a more beautiful place in which to live.