Vital Volunteers – March 2025

ON APRIL 14, 1939, fifteen civic-minded ladies gathered at the Fellowship Hall of the Jacksonville Presbyterian Church to start a Jacksonville Garden Club, and 85 years later this organization is thriving and proving that the past is simply prologue. As the oldest continuous service organization in Jacksonville, the club continues to be a vital part of what makes Jacksonville a special place to live.

Operating on a budget reflecting the twenty-five cents annual dues, the club’s early efforts were directed at WWII. As such, the ladies appropriately sponsored Victory Gardens throughout town, staffed observation posts to help alleviate the very real fear of a Japanese invasion and rolled bandages to be sent to the front. In addition, they furnished flowers, shrubs and floral arrangements for Camp White in White City, Oregon.

The Jacksonville Garden Club also became a sounding board for civic projects. For example, the club lobbied for an ordinance to keep dogs confined during the garden growing season, promoted the installation of the first street signs in Jacksonville and even worked with the county government to establish a site for the disposal of rubbish. To the approval of Jacksonville citizens, they even sponsored a program to eradicate poison oak at the Jacksonville Cemetery.

Susan Casaleggio, a past President of the Jacksonville Garden Club, provides some historical perspective. “When the organization was formed in 1939 and, for many years after, it was composed of women who did not work, so they had plenty of time to work on projects. That all changed when women started their own careers and with work and family duties did not have the time to commit many hours to the club. Fast forward to today where we are fortunate to have a cadre of retired women who are able and willing to do the work.”

The list of the “work” that Susan refers to is long and impressive. It includes the dedication of a Blue Star marker at the Jacksonville Veteran’s Park to honor all veterans, pavers in Scheffel-Thurston Park, the renovation of the area known as the “mound” between the Information Center and the Post Office and working with the Jacksonville Boosters Club to restore the Peter Britt Gardens to its former glory.

The Garden Club has two major fundraising events during the year. The annual Spring Flower and Bake Sale was started in 1984, and the recently completed Christmas Greens Sale was launched in 1996. While part of the funds raised from these sales goes to support the club obligations to the District Garden Club, most of the money goes to their Scholarship Program.Current Garden Club President, Pam Smith, is especially proud of the clubs’ efforts to provide scholarships. “We sponsor scholarships through the Oregon Stewardship program where students work on hands-on projects that focus on watershed and ecosystem issues. We provide scholarship funds and Oregon Stewardship chooses the recipients. Scholarships can be used for either college or vocational school.”

The Jacksonville Garden Club is part of the Siskiyou District which includes six clubs, the Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, the Pacific Regional District and the National Garden Clubs, Inc. The first garden club was established in Athens, Georgia in 1891. A Jacksonville Garden Club claim to fame is that Claire Hanley, of the famed Hanley Farm family, served as the President of the Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs from 1954-56.

While the Covid years were a challenge for the club, they did not give up. Now with sixty members, members are continuing to work on programs to beautify our city and enhance the livability of Jacksonville. If you are interested in joining the Jacksonville Garden Club or would like more information, contact Pam Smith at 702-767-6424. And as Susan Casaleggio reminds us, “We are an equal opportunity organization….men are always welcome.”

Featured Image: Front 3–Left to right: Kary Demarest, Pam Smith, Beverly Helvie. Back–Left to right: Jeff Blake, Anne Plummer, Judy Krogh, Lisa Blake, Carolyn Camp, Heidi Elliot, Kurt Elliot. Photo by Connie Bishop.