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Club prepares for busy season

The Inter-Mountain file photo by Kristi Groves Members of the Fred Brooks Garden Club and fourth-grade students from Buckhannon Academy Elementary School plant a tree in Fred Brooks Park last year in Buckhannon. The club members often involve students with a variety of gardening and environmental activities.

BUCKHANNON — The Fred Brooks Garden Club is preparing for the upcoming spring and summer months with plans of fundraisers, planting flowers around town and the Yard of the Month awards.

Organized in 1937, the Fred Brooks Garden Club currently has 38 members who have a dedication to civic beautification.

Patty McComas, president for four years, said the purpose of the garden club is to encourage community members to take care of their lawns, gardens and flowers.

Throughout the year, garden club members offer their help with several projects and provide environmental information throughout the county, including maintaining the flower bed in front of the Blue Star Memorial, located along Route 33.

Last year, the club’s members worked with a group of local home-schooled students on a program called Frightened Frog, an environmental education project focusing on frogs. The project landed the garden club a state and national award.

The group also tries to involve public school students with gardening activities and environmental projects.

“Last year … we had an Arbor Day program, and we invited a class from (Buckhannon) Academy, and we planted a tree,” explained McComas, adding the club won a state award for this activity, as well.

She noted the garden club plans to have a program on National Arbor Day this year.

In October, the group participates in Breast Cancer Awareness programs, where members deliver pink roses to cancer survivors. The club also organizes Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day programs for patients at nursing homes and St. Joseph’s Hospital.

And though the members stay busy throughout the year, McComas said members are especially active in the spring and summer months.

Last fall, garden club members planted tulips in front of the Upshur County Courthouse and the Health Department. McComas said once the tulips die in May, members will plant salmon-colored geraniums as replacements.

Next month will kick off the club’s annual citywide Yard of the Month program, where a resident’s lawn is recognized each month — May through September.

“We have five different regions that the city’s broken into, and we select one house in each of the those regions,” she explained. “We put the sign in their yard and give them a certificate, and then we send in to the newspaper.”

What’s the criteria for a lawn to be selected as Yard of the Month?

“It doesn’t have to be a huge amount of work. Just an attractive, clean, neat yard,” McComas said.

In June when Festival Fridays returns to Buckhannon, the garden club will have a table set up, where members will sell flowers and a variety of plants.

“We answer questions that the community might have about plants,” she said. “We try to recruit new members and encourage the community to become members of the club.”

As for a future improvement project, club members are looking for funds to revitalize the Fred Brooks Park.

“We’ve been working with the city to replace trees and some shrubbery,” McComas said, adding the club members would like to plant more flowers and install benches.

She said five or six trees were cut down at the park because they were dying and were considered a danger to the community.

“We have to thank Mr. (Jerry) Arnold. He’s been outstanding with working with us to maintain the park,” she commented.

Because trees are expensive, McComas said the club members hope to raise funds through plant sales at Festival Fridays, the annual pancake breakfast at CJ Maggie’s, the annual plant auction in May and other activities.

“We’re very proud of our club,” McComas said. “We’ve been recognized at the state and national level, which for a small club in Buckhannon, we’re very proud of that.”

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