Once again the Hammond Garden Club is on a roll with our first meeting of the new year! We met at the LSU Ag Center Hammond Research Station where our President Carolyn Schwebel called all members to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and for our Chaplain Mary Thornhill to open with a prayer.
For time constraints of some members needing to leave early she asked Linda Ryan to introduce our speaker Dr. Allen Owings, Professor/LSU Ag Center, who showed film and delivered some wonderful advice on having insect and disease free lawns, which kind of grass does well in the sometimes soggy wet and sometimes desert, parched dry weather of Louisiana. What does well in full sun, filtered sun and shade.....which is almost none of the grasses! There are also the best heights to mow each kind of grass, soapy water that kills chinch bugs in your St. Augustine, what to do for sedge and nut grass weeds, just a wealth of information for our turf.....i.e. grass!
Carolyn announced that we should start a lunch line for the shrimp and Caesar salad provided by Marilyn's Catering Service as she gives out some of the news while we were eating. "Don't forget to get your dessert", she said, "yummy homemade pound cake with an even yummier strawberry topping, all of it is delicious"!
The Garden of the Month of September was awarded to David and Eloise Cottrell at 906 Western Avenue and inadvertently the picture for our August Garden of the Month was missed in the paper but it was given to Amy Barrios at 506 West Robert both having beautiful lawns and gardens. Congratulations!
The Link Award was given to the new apartment and business building, 71 Square at the corner of Railroad Avenue and West Morris. There isn't any landscaping as yet but we are in hopes that there will be soon as the Link Award that was set up many years ago with the Hammond Chamber of Commerce and the Hammond Garden Club was to award the new or most improved business with landscaping or planted pots.
The next information was from the LGCF and the Gardenettes that are having the District VI Fall Meeting and Luncheon on Tuesday October 25, 9:30 AM at Juliana's Wedding and Event Center in Ponchatoula. State Representative Steve Pugh will be the guest speaker; there will be a Silent Auction and a 50/50 and more. The HGC's contribution for the auction is a silver necklace made by our member Phyllis Mire called "The Southern Belle". It is made from the top of a silver knife handle and the tine of a silver fork, quite unique and really beautiful. The cost of registration including the luncheon is $32.00. Deadline for registration is October 11. Registration forms will be given out.
The next, and most important news that I touched on in last month's column is info about our fundraiser which this year is a Fish Fry. The dinners will be supplied by Buie's Magnolia Fundraising and will consist of 5 pieces of fried catfish, (yes I said 5), french fries, coleslaw and hushpuppies for the nominal fee of $8.00! (Yes.....again I said only $8.00). What restaurant could you go to and get 5 pieces of catfish with all the accompaniments for only $8.00! If you are a bank, school or any business where there are 5 or more orders we will deliver to you. Individuals can pick up their dinners at Cate Square Park between 11:00 and 1:00 PM on Friday October 14. There won't be tables provided but we encourage you to bring blankets and have a picnic.....bring a friend, the kids can play on the swings and slides while y'all devour that wonderful catfish dinner. Again that's October 14 but tickets must be purchased by October 11 (that's so Buie's will know how many to prepare for). Remember a portion of this fundraiser goes toward a scholarship for a deserving student at SLU so be generous, purchase extras for a neighbor, a mother-in-law, your priest or pastor!!! Call any member of the garden club for tickets and if you don't know anyone but me the number is 985-345-7154.....I'll deliver the tickets to you!
If you did not see it in Saturday's Daily Star Keep Hammond Beautiful is having a pickup day on September 24 from 8:00 to 10:00 AM. Pickup sticks, plastic bags and gloves will be provided. And.....before you leave or when you return from your given route there will be coffee and donuts to refresh your hunger and keep up your stamina and water provided all during the two hour pickup. Don't you want to be part of the award that keeps our city beautiful? .....were you part of the last 10 years that we received the "Cleanest City Award"? If not, get on the bandwagon and be part of this year's win! Com'n out.....see you there!
This last bit of information is near and dear to my heart as well as all the members of the garden club. A long time ago a Blue Star Marker was purchased in honor of our veterans and placed in Cate Square Park. It was very heavy as the sign was inlaid on a large piece of marble. However that didn't stop the thieves.....can't imagine how long or how hard it was for it to be removed and can't imagine why they would have wanted it. And so we have ever since wanted to replace it only not in Cate Square. This time we have gotten a sign that stands alone on a 7' post, it will be put at the entrance to Zemurray Park in the middle of the butterfly garden.
For your information, something I'll bet most Hammondnites don't know, Zemurray Park was donated to the City of Hammond for the exclusive use as a Memorial Public Park in memory of the entire crew of the U.S. Army plane commanded by Samuel Zemurray, Jr. You can't imagine how happy I was to know that the park was already in memory of veterans and we were going to memorialize the entrance to that park also to the veterans! Kinda makes the hair stand up on your arms huh!
And now the rest of the story......we have decided that an American flag should be in sight of the sign we were getting ready to install! I have gotten the flag donated by Representative Chris Broadwater that has flown over the Capitol in Baton Rouge but we are in need of a flag pole. So now you know where I'm going with this story.....we of course need money to purchase said pole. Presently I am pricing them on the internet so I can't say yet what it will be to purchase.....I know they are not cheap. But it is such an awesome thing to do for our veterans that I'm sure if someone comes around asking for a donation you will be overjoyed to give with all your heart! I will let you know in the next column what it will cost us or when you are approached the HGC member will already have the price. And remember we, the HGC is a 501C3 organization so it can be a charitable donation for your taxes!
In closing on this subject there will be a celebration on Veteran's Day, Friday, November 11 at the park, hopefully with much fanfare, with many veterans, firemen and police men and women attending. More info in my October column. Hope to see you there.
The Hammond Garden Club is a proud member of the District VI Garden Club Federation and the Deep South Region of the National Garden Clubs 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!
by Linda Broussard is a member of the Hammond Garden Club