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Consult repository for information
Rocky Run Garden Club Scrapbooks, MSS 05-70, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library
Donated by Regena Pratt in May 2019.
Chris Barbuschak, May 2019
EAD generated by Ross Landis, 2023
In the spring of 1950, Mount Gilead in Centreville, Virginia hosted the Virginia Garden Club Tour. The occasion inspired some of the hostesses to form their own local garden club, and under the leadership of Founder and First President Betty Kirkley, they formed a club in April 1950. The club called themselves the Rocky Run Garden Club, named after the Rocky Run stream which ran through most of the charter members’ properties. The club’s mission was “to stimulate interest and enjoyment in gardening; to encourage civic planning and beautification; to aid in the care and protection of native trees, plants, and wildlife; [and] to aid in the conservation of the soil.”
The club had 14 charter members: Mrs. L.W. Alves, Sr.; Mrs. McRae Banks; Mrs. Ann P. Bergeron; Mrs. Thomas Clore; Mrs. Stuart DeBell; Mrs. Jan Dyer, Mrs. E.T. Jenkinson; Mrs. George Kirkley; Mrs. Ellanor C. Lawrence; Mrs. Margaret McNeil; Mrs. B.F. Salsbury; Mrs. Ann Turberville; Mrs. R.B. Winfield; and Mrs. O.D. Yarbrough.
The Rocky Run Garden Club was a member of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs’ Piedmont District. The club was very involved with the needs in the Centreville area. Members carried out countless civic projects at local schools, the Fairfax County Red Cross Chapter house, aided with landscaping, purchased trees and shrubbery, cleaned-up highways, proposed roads, and promoted health, sanitation, beautification and preservation. The club also gave assistance to numerous nursing homes, nature camps, families in need.
Members have mostly been recruited from the western area of Fairfax County, and they meet once a month, usually in private homes. The club holds horticulture competitions, hosts speakers on a variety of topics, go on nature walks, and conduct an annual flower show. The club celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 27, 2000, with 40 members and guests in attendance including two original charter members, Mildred Jenkinson and Mildred DeBell. As of 2019, the Rocky Run Garden Club is still active.
The Rocky Run Garden Club Scrapbooks collection spans the years 1950-2000 and includes 5 scrapbooks; a series of loose pages; and two loose folders. The scrapbooks contain photographs of flowers, members, and events; programs; invitations; constitution and by-laws; yearbooks; correspondence; certificates; newspaper clippings; points and ribbons award statistics; and annual reports documenting the activities of the Rocky Run Garden Club in Centreville, Virginia.
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45th Anniversary Celebration pages removed from original binder and rehoused in envelope.