Call Number:

3555

Repository:

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Extent:

9.7 linear feet (; 22 boxes )

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], The Weeders records (Collection 3555), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1907-2006, undated; bulk 1920-1995

Creator:

The Weeders (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Abstract:

The Weeders, a non-profit garden society and member of the Garden Club of America, was founded in the early 1900s under the motto "Learn to labor and to wait." Since then, its membership has included many notable local women, such as Mrs. Nathan Hayward, Mrs. John Cadwalader, Mrs. C. Jared Ingersoll, Mrs. Stacy B. Lloyd and Mrs. Charles J. Biddle. In 1965, The Weeders joined the Garden Club of Philadelphia, the Planters Garden Club, and other local garden societies to form the Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America. The Weeders' mission was to provide "a community which offers friendship and the opportunity to participate in horticultural, artistic, environmental, and civic endeavors." This collection contains the organizational records of the Weeders, a ladies' gardening club. The records include admission committee records, 1934-2004; committee minutes and treasurer's reports, 1914-2004; flower show records, 1932-1989; horticultural essays presented by members; programs, photographs, albums, and scrapbooks; documentation on the club's history; and VHS tapes of the cable television program "You and Your Environment."

The Weeders, a non-profit garden society and member of the Garden Club of America, was founded in May 1907 by five young women wishing a garden club uniquely their own. The group’s mission was to provide “a community which offers friendship and the opportunity to participate in horticultural, artistic, environmental, and civic endeavors.” By 1913, the club had grown to 20 members. Early Weeders were expected to present papers on topics; and by 1915, more than 100 papers had been prepared by members. The group’s motto “Learn to labor and to wait” was taken from a Longfellow poem and adopted in 1915. During World War I, the group trained and led a unit of the Land Army Farmerettes; during World War II, they helped build local victory gardens. In 1965, under the leadership of Lalite P. Lewis, the Weeders joined the Garden Club of Philadelphia, the Planters Garden Club, and other local garden societies to form the Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America, allowing the member groups to work jointly on larger projects. During the summer of 2006, the Weeders’ Centennial Celebration Committee was formed to find ways to celebrate 100th anniversary and worked on such local projects as The Gazebo Garden in Bryn Mawr and the Fairmount Park Christmas House. The group’s membership has included many notable local women, such as Mrs. Nathan Hayward, Mrs. John Cadwalader, Mrs. C. Jared Ingersoll, Mrs. Stacy B. Lloyd and Mrs. Charles J. Biddle.

This collection contains the organizational records of the Weeders, a ladies’ gardening club. The records include admission committee records, 1934-2004; committee minutes and treasurer’s reports, 1914-2004; flower show records, 1932-1989; horticultural essays presented by members; programs, photographs, albums, and scrapbooks; and documentation on the club’s history.

The collection has been organized into four series. Series I, Administrative Records, contains minutes, 1914-1990; executive committee minutes, 1942-1990; minutes of committee reports, 1993-2004; admissions materials, 1947-1959 and 1960-2005; attendance records, 1962-1965; and treasurer’s records 1920-1929 and 1970-1995. Series II, Programs, houses records from the Philadelphia Flower Shows, 1937-1968; various scrapbooks, 1971-1989; yearly programs, 1920-1999; Weeders’ papers organized by authors’ last names, 1907-1916; and a box of VCR tapes for the cable television program “You and Your Environment.” Series III, Photographs, Certificates, and Awards, contains three boxes of memorabilia spanning the group’s 100 year history. There is a scrapbook, 1937-1961; miscellaneous awards, 1902-1939; the Esther Lloyd Morton awards, 1944-1976; and a GCA annual meeting scrapbook, 1982. Series IV collects miscellaneous materials into two boxes, including the Weeders’ by-laws, 1934-1987; correspondences, 1928-1964; “The Garden Club of America: President’s Handbook,” 1929-1977; and the Weeders’ horticultural committee binder, 1953-1973.