Center for Archival Collections

Introduction | Agency History | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The records of the Findlay Garden Club of Findlay, Ohio (1934-1982) were donated to the Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University, on November 30, 1982. The collection was transferred by Ann Bowers, Curator of Manuscripts, Center for Archival Collections, with the cooperation of the Findlay Garden Club, Mrs. Walter Light, President.

The records of this organization consist of minutes, attendance and guest books, and scrapbooks. Literary and property rights have been dedicated to the public. The collection was processed and the register written by Lee N. McLaird, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections in January 2007.

Agency History

The Findlay Garden Club organized at its first meeting on January 17, 1934, with the goal of encouraging gardening, local beautification, and conservation. The club is a member of Region II of the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs.

From the first year, the club has been active in educational programs and community beautification projects. Beginning in 1936, the club has sponsored an annual flower show. Programs feature topics on plant and garden care. Beautification projects are selected at public sites around the city of Findlay, with the club purchasing and installing plantings at libraries, museums, and the downtown area.

Scope and Content

The activities of the Findlay Garden Club are recorded in detail through the minutes, which cover a period of some twenty-five years, from 1934-1962. Minutes include the date, time, and place of each meeting, club activities and program. Treasurer's reports are summarized here. The minutes are supplemented by notes of the social chair and club correspondence, dating from the 1970s. Membership can be documented in part by attendance and guest registers and occasional rosters.

An excellent source of information about club activities is the series of scrapbooks prepared from the 1960s to 1970s, documenting beautification projects and competitions sponsored by the club members. Complete garden plans, lists of plantings, newsclippings, correspondence, and photographs record each project, sometimes requiring more than one scrapbook volume to document.

There are only scattered examples of other club records in the collection. The annual Flower Show is documented from 1936-1944 through the judge's book, which records the names of members, their entries, and classification. A series of club and event programs beginning in the late 1940s, covering to the mid-1960s gives greater detail on the educational topics of meetings and on the type of public programming the club participated in. A small number of certificates, newsclippings, and photographs complete the collection.

Series Description

PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES
1936-1962
Arranged chronologically
Includes date, time, and place of meeting, business conducted and program presented. Attendance and financial records may also be included.

MEMBERSHIP RECORDS
1946-1970s
Arranged chronologically
Attendance registers listing member name and date of meeting attendance; one volume guest register, listing meeting date and name of guest; also includes lists of member names

CORRESPONDENCE

CORRESPONDENCE
1962-1979 (scattered dates)
Arranged chronologically
Includes business correspondence of the club

SUBJECT/CASE FILES

NOTES
Ca. 1970-1979
Arranged chronologically
Notes by social secretary and other members about event meetings and general business meetings; may include written tributes to members

FLOWER SHOW JUDGE'S BOOK
1936-1944
Arranged chronologically
Lists entrant name, entry, section and class for several years of flower shows

SCRAPBOOKS AND SCRAPBOOK MATERIAL

SCRAPBOOKS
1962-1979 (scattered dates)
Arranged chronologically
Includes newspaper clippings, photographs, garden plans, printed material and miscellaneous items documenting club projects and activities

PRINTED MATERIAL

CERTIFICATES
1960s-1970s
No arrangement
Membership and award certificates presented to the club

PROGRAMS
1940s-1970s
Arranged chronologically
Includes annual program booklets of the club as well as event programs sponsored by the club or attended by members

BOOKLETS
1964, 1969
No arrangement
Includes "The Role of the Garden Club in Community Beautification" and a list of clubs and organizations in Findlay.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

PHOTOGRAPHS
1964-1969
No arrangement
Black and white and color photographs of club projects, including planters in downtown Findlay.

Inventory

Box 1

1. Minutes (photocopy), January 1934-November 1938
2. Minutes, February 1939-November 1946; February 1947-March 1955
3. Minutes, April 1955-1962
4. Attendance Registers, 1961-1967
5. Guest Register, 1949-1962
6. Membership Rosters, 1946-1960s (scattered)
7. Membership Lists, scattered dates

Box 2

Folders

1. Correspondence, 1962-1979 (scattered)
2. Notes, 1970-1979
3. Flower Show Judge's Book, 1936-1944
4. Scrapbook, 1962-1963
5. Scrapbook, 1964-1965
6. Scrapbook, 1964-1965
7. Scrapbook (Findlay College Project), 1964-1965
8. Scrapbook, 1965-1966
9. Scrapbook (Flower Show), 1965-1966
10. Scrapbook, 1967-1968

Box 3

Folders

1. Scrapbook, 1968-1969
2. Scrapbook, 1970-1971
3. Scrapbook, 1971-1972, 1973
4. Scrapbook, 1978-1979
5. Newsclippings, scattered dates
6. Certificates, 1960s-1970s
7. Programs (Garden Club), 1949-1960s (scattered dates)
8. Programs (events), 1950s-1960s
9. Booklets, 1964, 1969
10. Photographs, 1964-1969

Manuscripts by Subject | Miscellaneous Collections