Members of the Pickens Garden Club celebrated the club’s 90th birthday on Feb. 2. Pictured, front row, from left, are Donna Garrett, Cyndi Banks, Ann Bowen, Anne Hall, Pam Jones and Pam Martin. Back row: Ann Day, Katherine Gitto, Helen Ruth Thibodeaux, Cindy Wood, Dyanna Wise, Lucy Ward and Mary Hardin.

By Pamela Dodson
Staff Reporter

pdodson@thepccourier.com

PICKENS — For nearly a century, the Pickens Garden Club has helped beautify Pickens County.

On Feb. 2, the club celebrated its 90th birthday at the Pickens Library with a rose-themed party.

The club maintains the rose garden of the Hagood-Mauldin House and over the years has sponsored fundraising events for the Village Library, Cannon Memorial Hospital and the Hagood-Mauldin House and Museum. The club also sponsors a youth’s attendance at Camp Wildwood, Holly Springs Elementary School’s Youth Garden Club and participates in the Pickens Azalea Festival, with a plant and bake sale.

In 1926, a group of eight ladies met in Miss Elinor Knight’s music room under the bell tower of Pickens High School to organize a Pickens Garden Club. Knight served as president for 20 years, until her death in 1946. Under her supervision, the garden club did much work, beautifying not only the town, but also the highway into Pickens.

Sixteen years later, the club was divided into two groups, and Pickens has had two active clubs since that time — the Better Homes and Garden Club and the Pickens Garden Club. The Pickens Garden Club was federated in 1951. It actually existed before there was a state garden club.

Throughout the years, magnolia trees have been planted to commemorate the birth of a child to a club member. In memory of deceased members, a book is presented to the local library on either birds or horticulture. On Arbor Day, the club plants trees at a local school or community building in Pickens County.

During the celebration, 13 of the club’s 19 current members enjoyed a program on roses and watched a special PowerPoint presentation about the history of the club. Each lady was presented a long-stemmed red rose during the event.

For more information on becoming a member of the Pickens Garden Club, visit the club’s booth at the Pickens Azalea Festival in April.