Lombard Garden Club Celebrates 90th Anniversary
Organized on May 28, 1926, the Lombard Garden Club was known by the name, Lombard Flower and Garden Club. Mrs. Nora Wegner was the first president elected at the first meeting in the home of Mrs. Jacob Brecke.
In 1927, the Garden Clubs of Illinois was formed and the Lombard Garden Club became an early member. After moving several times in the first thirty years of the club's history, the monthly meetings were eventually held at the Community Building at the Lombard Commons. The club still meets at this location in 2016, on the 4th Friday of the month, at 1:00 PM.
Throughout the early years of the organization, the women raised money for civic improvements and supported the Lincoln Memorial Garden project in Springfield, Illinois. Among the civic projects they completed are supplying and caring for plantings in Lilacia Park, at the Plum Library, at the two railroad stations in Lombard, beautifying the Village Hall Grounds with a flag pole with name plate and a drinking fountain, sponsoring successful Lilac Bush Sales every May, and money donated to the Lincoln Memorial Garden that paid for the erection of a bridge as well as wild flower plantings. All that work was completed by 1939.
Along with these fund raising activities the Lombard Garden Club members entered the National Flower Show in Chicago and other local and state shows. Summer garden walks, winter house walks, craft projects and speakers have been part of their annual activities.
The Lombard schools have benefited from the garden club's attention. Cash donations were given to the Lombard Historical Society, the Plum Library, Lombard Park District, Maple Street Chapel, as well as scholarships to Glenbard East High School.
In recent years the club has donated hundreds of daffodils to outline the Lombard Cemetery in town and contributed to the landscaping the Peck Homestead and Maple Street Chapel. A Butterfly Garden is maintained in Lilacia Park as well as Monarch Way Stations in other parks. Prairie Days was a great event for the Park Dist. and the Garden Club through the years.
During this anniversary year, the garden club will recognize outstanding front yard landscaping of Lombard residents and a celebratory luncheon will be held on Friday, April 22. The location is the Cantigny LeJardin Room, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton. The Social Time begins at 11:30 AM followed by Lunch at 12:00 PM and a program by Mike Nowak, gardener, environmentalist, book talker and host of hist own radio show on GDGD Radio Network. Nowak's show comes on daily at 1:00 PM. An Anniversary Proclamation will be read at the Lombard Village Board Meeting on April 7. For information contact the anniversary chairman at 630-620-7517 or cbward200@gmail.com.