On March 12,1923, Mrs Frank Cherry of 422 Abbotsford Rd, Kenilworth, together with a group of close friends and neighbors, formed the Home and Garden Club of Kenilworth. The organization appointed officers and elected Mrs Cherry as President, and Miss. Erwin, secretary and treasurer.
They were all interested in gardening and improving their general knowledge by study and discussion and decided to provide their own programs, occasionally calling in outside speakers. The meetings were held every other Monday until 1930, when the meetings were changed to once a month.
In 1928 the name was changed to Kenilworth Home and Garden Club and the membership was limited at that time to 25 members, with no inactive members.
In 1924, Mrs Erwin, encouraged the members to enter local flower shows which in turn led to an expanding interest in flower arranging. By 1927, the club was entering all of the flower shows run by the Garden Clubs of Illinois throughout the region, often winning first place. They entered table settings and arrangements, shadow boxes, gardens and many other exhibits. They actually pioneered the use of herbs and won a gold medal for a herb garden at a show in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago in 1931.
A lucky penny was discovered in a gourd in a Garden Show in April, 1934 and was included in every Garden show thereafter.
The club has always taken a great interest in the civic affairs of Kenilworth and has constantly been alert to consider suggestions for the beautification of our public properties. One of the first projects was to plant Elm trees along Railroad Avenue, what is now Green Bay Road, from the Wilmette limits to the Northwestern freight house. They also campaigned fiercely to have all of the billboards removed along Green Bay Road, as well as Sheridan Road, with some success.
When the golf club was subdivided in 1932, our club became very active in the development of Park Drive, and with the help of Mr.Ward Sterrett, who was President of the Park Board, worked out the present plantings. The club secured the plans of Mr. Palmgern and donated $175.00, which was used to plant crab trees, hawthorns and other ornamental trees as well as a great many shrubs.
The village had intended to put cement posts down the centre of the parkway, to prevent cars from driving down the middle of the parkway in winter. The clubs committee, headed by Mrs. Chery and Mrs. Nason thankfully persuaded them to use the money to maintain the plantings instead.
The Club is really the mother of the community gardening idea, since in 1932 they had plowed enough gardens 25x 30 feet on the west side of Kenilworth for 12 families. These Kenilworth families were very hard hit by the depression and were out of work, and in several cases, widows with small children to support.
Beets, potatoes, beans and other vegetables were planted. Mrs. Wilds was in charge of this project and was untiring in her effort to help with seeds, fertilizer and information in the planting and care of these gardens. All tools and labor were provided by the club, taxing each member $1.00.
Every week the club distributed 24 dozen oranges, a half crate of vegetables and two large boxes of flowers to charitable agencies and hospitals in Chicago. This was a joint project with the Kenilworth Garden Club.
In 1922, 34 of the 40 acres were sold to McGuire and Orr for development. In the early 1930's, the Club became interested in the Mahoey Park Project for the remaining 6 acres. In 1931 the property was willed to the village for a park by Miss Mary Mahoney with the stipulation that unless certain improvements were made within a stated period, the property would revert to the Catholic Church to use as they saw fit.The village finances had been nicked by the depression and the village fathers were a little slow in getting started. The final day was fast approaching.
The Club became involved when Mrs. Hodge, the current club president, met with a committee consisting of the Village Board, Kenilworth Neighbors, Historical Society, Kenilworth Garden Club and the Superintendent of the Joseph Sears school. Mrs Hodge recommended that the land be developed as a wild flower preserve and bird sanctuary.
Kenilworth Home and Garden Club secured the services of a local Wilmette resident, a noted naturalist and landscape architect, Jens Jensen. A beautiful plan was developed and during the process, the opportunity to obtain free labor through the Works Commission made it possible to clear and drain the land in 1932.
The cost to develop the park was to be $9,150 of which $6,700 was labor done by unemployed Kenilworth men, and $2,450 was for material and equipment. The U.S. government offered to pay for the labor and one half of the costs of the materials to complete the project. This was a wonderful opportunity and the members of the committee quickly raised the extra money needed.
Kenilworth Home and Garden Club donated $450.00 and other organizations donated $400, a sum adequate to install a water system, enclose the entire place with a strong fence, and build three stone benches, a beautiful stone fireplace and tan bark paths.
By 1934 the planting of the tress and shrubs was completed, as well as trimming and conditioning of many of the original century old trees. Mrs. Lindsley presented a beautiful pool and Mrs. Nason a large Martin house, and Mr & Mrs. Marx a bronze marker giving a brief history of the property.
Club members donated and planted wildflowers.
The Kenilworth Clippers, composed originally as a group of daughters or our members, was sponsored by our club in 1940, and has grown into a very active organization. The "MOTHER CLUB" feels very proud to have had a small part in their upbringing.
During the war, every woman in the club was moved to do her utmost to ease the burdens which relatives and friends faced as their loved ones went into service. Even three years after the war ended, women in the Club were visiting hospital wards weekly with words of cheer and flowers for the boys who were afraid they'd been forgotten.
Mrs McAllister visited Great Lakes and Mrs. Marx visited Fort Sheridan Hospitals from 1941 and were both faithful representatives on the War Activities Committee of the Illinois Garden Club. They collected flowers, tended plants, distributed magazines and books and made the lives of the hospitalized fighting men so much brighter.
The very first Anniversary of the Club was celebrated with a buffet luncheon, held at the home of the Present Mrs. Cherry, on March 31, 1924. The next three subsequent anniversaries were celebrated in similar fashion at Mrs. Cherry's home. In 1928, the fifth anniversary was celebrated at the home of Mrs. Erwin, with members bringing baby photos of themselves for everyone to try and identify them.
The tenth Anniversary in 1933 seems to pass with no special observation but was held at the home of Mrs. Howe. Husbands were invited for a buffet supper and also very special guests Mr & Mrs Jens Jensen, the landscape architect who helped in the development of Mahoney Park. Mr Jensen amused everyone with tales of incidents concerning the history and plans of the Mahoney Farm which he had just completed.
The programs prepared by members were well planned and instructive and showed a great amount of study. Mrs.Holmes' paper on "Evergreens", Mrs. Osgood's on "Ferns", Mrs. Marx's on "Lawns" and Mrs. Erwin's on "Planting and Forcing Bulbs" were gems that we hope have been preserved.
Music was a featured part of the earlier programs. Miss Isabel Cline, accompanied by her mother sang many delightful selections on several occasions and the very accomplished Mrs Edwin Bluthardt, a very fine vocalist, also sang at several programs. In addition two other members, Mrs. Wilds and Mrs. Dilke, both very talented pianists entertained the club om several occasions with their beautiful music. Many other professional musicians and amateur performers also performed, but none were so enjoyed as the Club's own four very talented members.
Mrs Barton gave a delightful Christmas tea in honor of the husbands of the members of the Club, during the holidays in 1942.
A tea and talk on flower arranging by Mrs. McAllister was given at Mrs. Barton's home in June 1942. At this time the club had raised a total of $179.99 and with this money as a nucleus, Mrs. Barton established a special fund as a permanent feature of the Club. This fund was to be added to by individual gifts, etc. and used for unusual expenditures, such as the war work and other responsibilities. It has been a policy of the club not to access our members for funds, using the yearly dues for ordinary expenses.
We all owe a deep debt of gratitude to the foresight of Mrs. Cherry and her friends for laying such a good foundation on which to build our Club, and also to the members and officers for their untiring work throughout the years in keeping this foundation and organization intact and our aims and ideas high.
By : Charlotte Hayes