The January 13th meeting of the Hammond Garden Club opened at Oak Knoll Country Club not with a bang which is our usual way, but kind of solemn because we have so many unable to attend. Not because we have that many out with the COVID virus but because they may be quarantined from being around someone that may have it, or someone in their family is ill or they are ill. I guess it’s all just the winter doldrums!
But those of us that did attend, (17), were a right jolly old bunch, (haven’t gotten my fill of Santa yet!) and tried to keep things together and thriving until our whole crowd can be back together again, we miss you!
Our meeting was supposed to be on General Business, things to be attended or accomplished in this coming year, but with speakers (also) out, and awards such as the Link Award, other cancellations like the Joint Meeting of all area garden clubs hosted this year by Stem and Stamens Club that has been cancelled, the Apache Group that usually gives the city a huge amount of trees to plant has cancelled also.
The last bit of sadness is with the schools not completely open our Executive Director of Keep Tangipahoa Beautiful and Litter Coordinator Ginger Tastet who used to go into the classrooms teaching the children about litter control, with the public schools almost shut down the only classrooms she can get into are the private and Catholic schools. The children and the city are losing her expertise…..and it just seems like it goes on and on.
But there is a little happiness in all the sadness I have mentioned. Usually January and February are the worse months for seeking out beautiful gardens in the greatest of shape, but we had the winners of Garden of the Month in January! It has been awarded to the Potts family on North Linden Street as seen in an earlier edition of the Daily Star.
Glenda Nelson also reported from a meeting with Keep Hammond Beautiful there will be another city clean-up on January 30; they will be assembling at the Fire Station on University Blvd. And not to be outdone by the lack of trees Linda Ryan is donating a six foot Red Oak tree for our use on Arbor Day, location to be announced at a later date.
The other things that caused us some happiness are the decorations by Mary Monteleone at the OKCC for Mardi Gras. Maybe the parades have been cancelled and all the brouhaha won’t be around this year but Mary didn’t let us miss out! The fireplace and mantel were beautifully embellished with purple, green and gold everything as well as the tables we feasted on, ordered by each whatever we wanted on the menu. I don’t know about other tables, but all empty plates went back at mine!
Since we, meaning the general public, haven’t been in the best of moods lately with all the cancellations and things we can’t do, I’d like to leave you with a list of things a friend of mine recently sent me over the internet titled, “May We Never Again Take For Granted”
Dinner Night With Friends, Birthday Gatherings, Packed Dance Floors, Coffee With A Friend, Crowded Church Pews, Sitting With Grandchildren, The Roar of a Stadium, Hugging the Ones We Love, Laughing With Friends, Visiting Loved Ones in the Hospital…Life Itself!
The Hammond Garden Club is a proud member of District VI, Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc., and The Deep South Garden Clubs, Inc. doing our best to unify and beautify our homes, gardens, our city and our nation every day to the best of our ability. God Bless America and God Bless the City of Hammond!
by Linda Broussard
she is a member of the Hammond Garden Club
But those of us that did attend, (17), were a right jolly old bunch, (haven’t gotten my fill of Santa yet!) and tried to keep things together and thriving until our whole crowd can be back together again, we miss you!
Our meeting was supposed to be on General Business, things to be attended or accomplished in this coming year, but with speakers (also) out, and awards such as the Link Award, other cancellations like the Joint Meeting of all area garden clubs hosted this year by Stem and Stamens Club that has been cancelled, the Apache Group that usually gives the city a huge amount of trees to plant has cancelled also.
The last bit of sadness is with the schools not completely open our Executive Director of Keep Tangipahoa Beautiful and Litter Coordinator Ginger Tastet who used to go into the classrooms teaching the children about litter control, with the public schools almost shut down the only classrooms she can get into are the private and Catholic schools. The children and the city are losing her expertise…..and it just seems like it goes on and on.
But there is a little happiness in all the sadness I have mentioned. Usually January and February are the worse months for seeking out beautiful gardens in the greatest of shape, but we had the winners of Garden of the Month in January! It has been awarded to the Potts family on North Linden Street as seen in an earlier edition of the Daily Star.
Glenda Nelson also reported from a meeting with Keep Hammond Beautiful there will be another city clean-up on January 30; they will be assembling at the Fire Station on University Blvd. And not to be outdone by the lack of trees Linda Ryan is donating a six foot Red Oak tree for our use on Arbor Day, location to be announced at a later date.
The other things that caused us some happiness are the decorations by Mary Monteleone at the OKCC for Mardi Gras. Maybe the parades have been cancelled and all the brouhaha won’t be around this year but Mary didn’t let us miss out! The fireplace and mantel were beautifully embellished with purple, green and gold everything as well as the tables we feasted on, ordered by each whatever we wanted on the menu. I don’t know about other tables, but all empty plates went back at mine!
Since we, meaning the general public, haven’t been in the best of moods lately with all the cancellations and things we can’t do, I’d like to leave you with a list of things a friend of mine recently sent me over the internet titled, “May We Never Again Take For Granted”
Dinner Night With Friends, Birthday Gatherings, Packed Dance Floors, Coffee With A Friend, Crowded Church Pews, Sitting With Grandchildren, The Roar of a Stadium, Hugging the Ones We Love, Laughing With Friends, Visiting Loved Ones in the Hospital…Life Itself!
The Hammond Garden Club is a proud member of District VI, Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc., and The Deep South Garden Clubs, Inc. doing our best to unify and beautify our homes, gardens, our city and our nation every day to the best of our ability. God Bless America and God Bless the City of Hammond!
by Linda Broussard
she is a member of the Hammond Garden Club