The following information was taken from the records of the club historians
and the club newsletters. Highlights of each year are presented.
Club members may obtain additional details and view photos about the items listed here by
contacting the club historian.
The aims of
the club are to promote interest in and
develop skills in gardening through cooperation, joint efforts and good
fellowship. The policy is to stimulate interest and share knowledge on
gardening, and to serve the Bowie-Crofton area through community service
projects which will enhance the beauty of our environment.
1984
A brief history of the formation of the Bowie-Crofton
Garden Club -- by Jonas Bassen, past editor of the B-C Gardener newsletter.
A Bowie woman's amazement that Bowie didn't have a garden club, compared to
Crofton, with two, prompted her in 1984 to place a notice in the Bowie
Blade-News to gardeners interested in forming a club. Mrs. Peggy Wheelock
thus was the individual most responsible for the founding of the club. The
first meeting was on Tuesday evening, March 27,1984 at the Bowie library.
Sixteen persons attended this meeting and became charter members of the
Bowie-Crofton Garden Club. Three women were elected to serve as officers —
Margaret Bond, President; Elaine Overton, V.P. Programs; and Suzanne Butler,
Secretary. Charles Bender served as Publicity Chairman.
In June 1986 at a board meeting, the three original officers resigned. To
avoid dissolution of the club, three charter members
in attendance, Yvonne Williams, Jonas Bassen, and Harriet Feldman, agreed to
serve as President, V.P. Programs, and Secretary-Treasurer, respectively. They
were elected to serve two-year terms. The new officers encouraged greater
participation by increasing the number of officers from three to seven.
By-laws were adopted by the membership, which rose to 31 in July 1987.
Publication of a monthly newsletter began in April, 1987. Subsequent
administrations have continued the emphasis on membership participation
through special projects and our annual plant sale
Some of the original members of the BCGC were: Margaret Bond (organizer) who
is a master gardener with the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension
Office, Elaine Overton, Susan Butler, Yvonne Williams, Harriet Feldman, Charles Bender,
Jonas Bassen, Harriet Feldman, Charles Hanners, Harold Moline, Peggy Wheelock,
Jessie Smith and Pat Scheirer.
The BCGC meetings were later held at the Bowie Community Center and
at Bowie City Hall on the last Tuesday of each month (except December)
at 7:30 PM. Each meeting
included a discussion time, a speaker on gardening topics, plant
exchange and
garden type door prizes.
Some of the speakers for 1984 were:
| - 4/24: Margaret Bond -- Vegetable Gardening
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| - 6/24: Greg Lewis, Director of Watkins Regional Park -- Wild Flowers
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| - 7/31: Harold Moline -- Plant Clinic
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| - 10/30: Tim Warman -- Wild Flowers, Attracting Birds to Your Garden
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1985
The records are slim for this year and no newsletters were yet published.
Some of the meeting speakers were:
| - 3/26: Rich De Feo -- Plant Propagation
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| - 4/30: Charles Hanners -- Azaleas
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| - 8/20: Robert Stewart, County Agent -- Lawns
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| - 9/24: Hildreth Morton, Bittersweet Nursery -- Herbs
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| - 10/29: Anne Brooks -- Perennials
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| - 11/19: Ross McKay -- Greenhouse Tips
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1986
First Newsletter: The first one-page newsletter appeared in February. It listed the date for the
March meeting, door prize donators and several garden events for March..
Garden Tour Video: Several members prepared a 30-minute video tape, A Summer Garden Tour,
which featured an educational tour of Dr. Harold Moline's garden. The video
first aired on Bowie Community TV on 8/25.
Community
Projects Committee: At the August meeting, the club began work on establishing a Community
Projects Committee.
Japanese Beetle Eradication Project: A committee was formed to develop an educational campaign to encourage area
gardeners to use milky spore powder to destroy Japanese beetle larvae. Reuter
Labys, the largest manufacturer of milky spore, was solicited to help in the
campaign.
Some of the speakers for 1986 were:
| - 1/28: Charles Thomson -- Bulbs; Margaret Bond -- Vegetable Gardening
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| - 2/25: Charles Hanners -- Seed Germination
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| - 4/29: Audrey Whitney -- Pruning
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| - 6/24: Tour of Gardens of Harold Moline and Hans Hirschmann
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| - 8/26: Clayton Werner, Horticulturist -- Basic Principles of Landscape
Design
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| - 9/30: Robert Howell -- Chrysanthemums
|
1987
Japanese Beetle Campaign: In January, the Blitz the Beetle campaign was in full swing.
Kent Winterson prepared a challenging poster to publicize the meeting. The Bowie
Blade and Bowie Times newspapers carried a story about the campaign - Blitz
the Beetle in 1987. Bowie Community TV aired the garden club meeting and
the Bowie City Council agreed to issue a proclamation declaring April, "Blitz
the Beetle Month. The members were encouraged to persuade their
neighbors to put down milky spore and to distribute a Univ. of MD pamphlet on Japanese
beetle control.
New Club By-Laws: The new by-laws were adopted at the April meeting.
In May the following
officers were elected:
President: |
Jonas L. Bassen |
|
1st V.P. , Programs: |
John E. McKenna |
2nd V.P., Membership: |
Michael Parvis |
|
3rd V.P., Plant Exchange: |
Stephen Hall |
4th V.P., Publicity: |
Winnie Carrigan |
|
Treasurer: |
Harriet Feldman |
Secretary: |
Barbara Perkins |
|
|
|

Membership List, 1987-1988
Ayres, Fran |
Bassen, Jonas |
Bender, Charles |
Bernstein, Allan |
Brust, Evelyn |
Carrigan, Winnie |
Feldman, Harriet |
Hall, Steven |
Hanners, Charles |
Harris, Aurora |
Hirschman, Hans |
Holding, Rita |
Leshinsky, Eleanor |
Lucas, Pat |
McKenna, John |
Miller, Linda |
Moline, Harold |
Murphy, Theresa |
Ohman, Billie |
Parvis, Mike |
Pelletier, Joyce |
Perkins, Baraba |
Potash, Neil |
Roeder, Bob |
Sandleman, Dorothy |
Sandleman, Marc |
Sundquist, Majorie |
Weiss, Saul |
Wendehack, Mary |
Williams, Doug |
Williams, Yvonne |
Winterson, Kent |
A Name the Newsletter Contest was initiated at the July
meeting.
Club Finances: Membership dues was: Individual --- $5.00, Family -- $7.50, Junior -- $0.50.
There were now 32 members in the club. Steve Hall designed a membership drive
poster which was placed around the community. The treasury balance in November
was $203.16.
Leaf-Shredder: The club purchased a leaf-shredding machine which was made available for rent
from the garden club. A 3--4" application of shredded leaves makes an
excellent mulch for gardens.
Field Trip: Six members took a tour of Homestead Gardens to see the poinsettias and
decorated fir trees.
Holiday Party: The first holiday party was held on December 18th.
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Some of the speakers for this year were:
| - 2/24: Pat Kenny -- Herbs and How To Use Them
|
| - 3/31: Michael Briese, Japanese Beetle Specialist Co. -- Milky Spore to Eliminate
the Japanese Beetle
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| - 7/28: Robert Stewart, County Agent -- Plant Clinic
|
| - 10/27: James San Antonio, Mycologist, Dept. of Agriculture-- Mushrooms in
the Garden
|
1988
Leaf Shredder: The club leaf shredder was defective and was returned and the money refunded
by Hardware City.
First Club Community Project
The first community project of the club, The YMCA Memorial Garden project,
headed by Neil Potash, was completed on June 30. Seven nurseries and commercial
farms donated plants. Joyce Pelletier did the landscape design, and many other
members contributed their efforts. The garden, located at the entrance to the
YMCA, honors the memory of the former principal of the Meadowbrook Elementary
School, Duane Franskoviak. Duane and his wife were killed in an automobile
accident in 1972. A drunk driver was responsible for their deaths.The couple
left five children.
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Plant Sale: The first money-raising plant sale was held at the Grace Lutheran Church on
Belair Drive, on April 29. Steve Hall was in charge of the sale.
Club Dues: As of July 1, dues were raised to $7.50 for individuals, $10 for families,
and $1 for juniors.
Garden Tour: Garden club members visited Charles Hanners' Azalea Acres in Huntingtown,
Calvert County.
New Officers: Yvonne Williams, past President installed the following new officers for a
two-year term: 4th V.P., Public Relations -- Charles Bender; Secretary -- Martha
Workman. Neil Potash was also appointed to be the club's first Historian.
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|
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Picnic: The Club's first picnic was held on August 20 at the home of
Dorothy and Mark
Sandleman in Bowie. Twenty-six people (including members, spouses and children)
attended. It was decided to make the picnic an annual affair. |
|
Holiday Party: The first Christmas Holiday party was held at the home of Yvonne and Doug Williams.
Thirty-five members and their spouses.
|
First Honorary Member: Charles Hanners was made the first honorary member of the club at the meeting
on August 30. Charles was so honored because of his many contributions to the
club.
Meeting Location Change: In August, the meeting location was changed to the Bowie City Hall,, Room 14,
opposite the Senior Citizens Center.
Some of the speakers in 1988 were:
| - 2/23: Erik Neumann, National Arboretum -- Flowering Shrubs
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| - 3/28: Robert Alde, President of the Potomac Rose Society -- Roses
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| - 7/26: Clayton Werner -- Ornamentals
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| - 10/25: Robert Howell -- Mums
|
1989
The YMCA Memorial Garden was dedicated on June 22.

Membership: Joe Walsh and Jeanne Ballinger joined the club in March. Barbara Henriksen,
Marilyn McKee, Duane and Patti Stewart joined the club in April. Their are now
about 50 members in the club.
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Library Display: The club provided a gardening exhibit at the Bowie Public Library during the
month of April. The exhibit was created by Jonas Bassen, Harriet Feldman, Steve
Hall, Jessie Smith, and Kent Winterson.
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|
Picnic: In lieu of the August meeting, the 2nd annual family picnic was held on
August 20 at the home of Barbara Henriksen in Mitchellville. About 50 members
and their families attended. |
Plant Sale: The annual plant sale was held on April 29. The club's profit was $270.
Workshops for Members: The club began conducting workshops for members on different phases of
gardening. The first workshop, on Plant Propagation, was conducted by Harold
Moline on June 10. Twelve members attended the two-hour workshop.
Garden Tour: On May 6, 11 members made a field trip to Chuck Hanner's Azalea Acres in
Calvert County.
Field Trips:
On September 15, several members went on a field trip to two unique wholesale
nurseries, Bluemel and Bluemont in Monkton, Baltimore County.
 |
Field Trip
Members
visited the National Arboretum on October 21. John McKenna acted as tour guide
for the following members (L to R): Helen and Bob Roeder, Jonas Bassen, Steve
Hall, Jessie Smith, John McKenna, Charlie Bender and Bob Beringer.
|
On November 17, several members
went on a field trip to Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, to see an indoor
chrysanthemum display and to listen to music by the Washington Toho Koto
Society.
Several members went on a field trip to the Mormon Temple on December 9. Snow
added to the beauty of the Nativity Pageantry and display of millions of white
lights. The Festival of Trees was educational and beautiful. Twelve trees were
decorated by different Mormon churches.
Holiday Party: The Annual BCGC Holiday Party was held on December 17 at the home of Yvone and
Doug Williams.
Here are the new officers for 1989--90:
President: |
John E. McKenna |
|
1st V.P. , Programs: |
Jonas L. Bassen |
2nd V.P., Membership: |
Kent Winterson |
|
3rd V.P., Plant Exchange: |
Stephen Hall |
4th V.P., Publicity: |
Evelyn Svoboda |
|
Treasurer: |
Harriet Feldman |
Secretary: |
Jeanne Ballinger |
|
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Some of the speakers during 1989 were:
| - 1/31: Jessie Smith -- Dry Flower Arrangements
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| - 3/28: Charles Hanners -- Plant Propagation
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| - 4/25: Thomas DeHaven, National Park Service -- Effectiveness of Landscape
Planning in Public Areas
|
| - 5/30: Dr. Bruces James, Professor of Soil Chemestry at Univ. of MD --
Gardening Basics, Soil Conditioning for Bowie
|
| - 6/27: Paul Jung -- How to Attract Birds to Your Garden
|
| - 7/25: Lynn Batdorf, Curator of Perennials at the National Arborteum -- Low
Maintenance Perennials
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| - 9/26: Tom Turner, Ph.D. Professor of Agronomy, Univ. of MD -- How to Have
a Perfect Lawn
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| - 10/31: Robert Roe, President of the Potomac Lily Society -- What You Need
to Know to Grow Lillies Successfully in the Wash. Area
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| - 11/28: Scott Redlin, Plant Pathologist, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture --
Diseases of Woody Plants and Their Control
| |