Wayne Woods Garden Club was started soon after the Wayne Woods development of contemporary ranch homes on Sharon Drive, Woodhill, Croton, and Fletcher Roads was completed. Treva Scherrer and her family bought a home at the crest of the circle of Woodhill and Sharon Drive. She frequently visited the building site as their house was being built and noticed that the builders were bulldozing the lovely wildflowers and natural state of her property, so she camped out on her property for a week to keep the bulldozer away. She was successful!
Mrs. J. Leonard Starkey, a former businesswoman, moved in across the street form Treva and noticed her gardening expertise. One afternoon over refreshments, they decided to start a garden club. With Treva’s arranging and gardening abilities and Mrs. Starkey’s organizational talents, Wayne Woods Garden Club was originated. The date of the organization was March 19, 1955 with Mrs. Starkey as the first president.
The first meeting was held at Treva’s home with about 14 members present, all from the Wayne Woods development. They met once a month in the evenings at a different member’s homes. The meetings we informal as the members shared their gardening and arranging knowledge. The members were encouraged to enter outside flower shows even before they has their own. The club’s first flower show was “Garden Melodies” held in 1958 in the Kern family’s garage.
Eva Gillen was the first member outside the development to join and Jo Madracchia joined soon after. By the time the membership grew to 20 or 25, the group was too large to meet in their homes, so the meetings were moved to Roberts School, where the club still meets. Although much has changed over the years, some cherished thins remain the same: sharing love and knowledge of gardening and enjoying the warm fellowship between members.