September Meeting. Welcome Back! All Members Calendars

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1 September 2012 Calendar of Events September 6, 2012: Cassina Board Meeting at Cabins 10:00 a.m. September 10, 2012: Open House Coffee: Saint Simons Council of Garden Clubs at Cabins, 10 a.m. September 13, 2012: Cassina Garden Club Meeting at the American Legion Hall, Hospitality at 9:30 a.m. Meeting starts at10:00 a.m. October 19, 2012: O l e a n d e r D i s t r i c t Meeting in Vidalia October 23, 2012: Field Trip to CoastScapes in Brunswick. Program and Tour at 9:30 a.m. Sign up at the September meeting. September Meeting Welcome Back! All Members Thursday, September 13, 2012 Note location: American Legion Hall 9:30 a.m. Hospitality ~ 10:00 a.m. Meeting Hostesses: Julie Rochelle, Brenda Davis, Beverly Nash, Yolanda O Hern Please join us as we celebrate the beginning of our 85th year. New Yearbooks will be distributed to all members, and the September Birthday Drawing will be made Calendars Our September meeting will be the "last call" for orders for the Garden Club of Georgia's 2013 "Expressions" Calendar for Scholarships. You can make a difference in the life of a Georgia student majoring in a garden or historic preservation-related field by purchasing the calendar. The calendar is 5.5 x 8.5 (the same size as our Yearbook) and easily fits into a generous purse. The photographs of winning floral arrangements throughout the calendar are both educational and inspiring. Mary Lynch will be accepting your check for $8.56 payable to "THE GARDEN CLUB OF GEORGIA, INC." at the September meeting. Calendars will be delivered at our November meeting.

2 Cassina Newsletter / 2 September 2012 National and State Awards The Cassina Garden Club s Newsletter won First Place at the National Garden Club Convention after also winning first place at the Garden Club of Georgia Convention. Janis Rodriguez, editor of Cassina s newsletter, also credits Kay Harrell, Joanne Scott and Leslie Carlton for helping Cassina win these awards. Cassina also received the National Award for Historic Preservation. Well done indeed! 1st Place Newsletter Pictured l-r.: Joanne Scott, Janis Rodriguez Kay Harrell, Leslie Carlton Certificate of Commendation Historic Preservation Pictured l.r.: Anne Aspinwall Ruth Kolumber, Janis Rodriguez Oleander District Board Meeting Sharon Flores, Liz Demato and Sue Cansler, joined by Sandra Johanek of Live Oaks Garden Club, went to Savannah on August 1st for the biannual Board meeting of the Oleander District of the Garden Club of Georgia. Sharon is serving her second year as District Director, Liz monitors legislative affairs for the District and Sue was recently recruited to fill the unexpired term of District Treasurer. The Plantation Club at The Landings on Skidaway Island provided a beautiful venue for the meeting, and much of the discussion centered around two major upcoming events: the Annual District Meeting that will be held in Vidalia on October 19 and the Deep South Regional meeting that will be held in Savannah, March 24-26, 2013, drawing garden enthusiasts from Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Pictured, l-r: Sue Cansler, Liz DeMato and Sharon Flores Board Notes To keep the membership better informed about Board actions, a report from the most recent Board meeting is included in the monthly newsletter. The Board did not hold a meeting in August. Cassina Garden Club applied for and was accepted by The Garden Club of Georgia to be a Garden Center. We will be identified as such in the next Garden Club of Georgia "Guide.

3 Cassina Newsletter / 3 September 2012 Cassina Members Attend Important Workshop Several Cassina members attended a workshop on May 23rd that was developed and conducted by Oleander district officers. Held at the Brunswick Country Club, the theme was Great Programs Lead to Increased Membership. Eighty Oleander club members representing twenty-seven clubs participated. Presentations and break-out sessions focused on getting new members, keeping existing members, planning exciting and informative programs, developing community projects that are easy and fun, and scheduling field trips that encourage club and guest participation. Anne Aspinwall and Janis Rodriguez gave presentations representing Cassina. St. Simons Council - Installation of New Officers The St. Simons Council of Garden Clubs held their final meeting and luncheon at the home of Anne Aspinwall. Sharon Flores, Oleander District Director, installed the officers for : President, Anne Aspinwall, Secretary, Ruth Kolumber and Treasurer, Kay Clarke. The purpose of the Council, federated in 1974, is to coordinate the interests and unite the efforts of the four participating garden clubs (Cassina, Cherokee, Hamilton Plantation and Live Oaks) on St. Simons Island. The Council received a First Place Award from the GCG for the Rose Garden they planted and maintain on Demere Road. Pictured: Brunswick Workshop Pictured l-r: Ruth Kolumber, Anne Aspinwall Kay Clarke and Sharon Flores The Garden Club of GA - Oleander District Cordially Invites All Garden Club Members to the Fifty-Fourth Annual Fall District Meeting Friday, October 19, 2012 Hawks Point Golf Club Vidalia 9:00 a.m. Coffee & Registration 10:00 a.m. Meeting begins Program: The Art of Bonsai Trees by Merv Greenburg of Bonsai Potensai Emporium Registration form on page eight of this Newsletter Member Concerns Former president of Cassina, Mamie Abernathy (1985) passed away on July 17th in Pensacola, Florida. An Invitation from The St. Simons Council of Garden Clubs All members of St. Simons Garden Clubs are invited to an Open House Coffee Monday, Sept. 10, 10 am At Cassina s TabbyCabins The St. Simons Garden Club Council invites all Cassina members to this opening gathering to chat informally, to share gardening and project ideas and to learn of the Council s role in supporting what our clubs do. We look forward to having many members join us.

4 Cassina Newsletter / 4 September 2012 Membership It s September and we re ready to kick off another great year for Cassina Garden Club. We are happy to welcome our four new members to help us make our Club even stronger. They are Dianne Abernethy, Dale Anderson, Anne Brown and Yolanda O Hern. Each is very talented and an asset to the Club. They ve already begun their involvement through working in the cabins and gardens this summer. Sponsors should be ready to introduce their new members at the September meeting. To all members - if you would like to sponsor a prospective member this year, please contact June Brown, Membership Chair, for details. News from the Docent Committee During the summer months, the cabins were open every Wednesday morning from 10:00 12:00 for visitors. Through August 8, we welcomed a total of 173 visitors. We collected $53 in donations and $177 in cabin sales. It was hot but 24 members as well as our new members graciously served as docents. We opened the cabins on two Saturdays this summer. On Saturday, June 16, the cabins were open for the Sea Island Festival at Gascoigne Bluff. On Saturday, August 18 we opened the cabins for the Sea Islands Black Heritage Festival also at Gascoigne Bluff. While we are still hoping for more events to put on our calendar, we do have a group from Epworth coming in October. Recent improvements at the cabins have included the re-hanging of the display cabinets in the Meeting Cabin with sturdier hooks and chains, making them more secure. New member Dale Anderson has improved the way the signs are placed outside using PVC pipes in the ground as anchors at the sites where the cabin signs are placed No more hammering! Thanks to all the members who served as docents this summer. Docents ready to welcome visitors to the Tea Cabin Pictured l-r: Martha Armstrong, Docent Committee Chair, Anne Brown and Anne Caswell New members. Pictured (l-r): Dianne Abernethy, Dale Anderson, Anne Brown, and Yolanda O Hern. October Field Trip to "CoastScapes The first Field Trip of the season is scheduled for Tuesday October 23 to University of Georgia Marine Extension Service CoastScapes - Sustainable Native Plant Landscapes for People, Wildlife and Georgia s Coast. Meet at the Cabins at 9:30 a.m. to carpool to CoastScapes, located at 715 Bay Street in Brunswick. Karen Giovengo, Program Manager, will speak about native plants and the CoastScapes Conservation Landscaping Program. Following her presentation, we will have a guided tour of the beautiful gardens. Donations appreciated. Plan to have lunch at Coastal Kitchen on the way back.

5 Cassina Newsletter / 5 September 2012 Cookbooks and Cassina Products News With cabin tours continuing and with enthusiastic participation from our docents, summer sales of our Coastal Cookery and Native Flora books, plus other Cassina products, were brisk. Since reprinting both books last Spring, retailers are responding positively to include both in greater quantities in their inventories. We added three new retail venues Dutchman s, Ace Garden Center and Fort Frederica to help sell our two wonderful publications. We now sell Cassina books at 15 locations on St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island and the mainland. Because of the outstanding efforts of our chairmen of the 2011 Christmas Tour of Homes and 2012 Garden Walk, which featured commemorative Coastal Cookery and Native Flora books, our sales almost doubled this year, currently showing over $4,000 in Cassina Product sales for fiscal year ending in August. Since the sale of Cassina products is such an important revenue stream directed to covering the cost of improvements to our cabins, we will continue to take a more aggressive approach to product sales in the year ahead. Every month, the newsletter is going to feature horticulture articles of various subjects. Below is the first, which is adapted from the Golden Isles Rose Society, to which several Cassina members belong. The Martha s Vineyard Rose Shrubs are back! Increasingly, gardeners are turning away from high maintenance roses such as the Hybrid Teas, and embracing the tough and beautiful no-spray shrub roses. If you went on the Garden Walk, hopefully you did not miss the absolute gem of a rose at Garden Two, the Martha s Vineyard Rose. Martha's Vineyard is a modern shrub rose released in Its rich, dainty, multiple pink flowers are small, only one inch in diameter. The smallness of its flowers in no way lessens its impact in the garden. Flowers are borne in tight 6-8 inch clusters throughout the summer and fall. Use Martha s Vineyard to line a sunny walk, pool or patio. It also is a great rose to tuck into borders. Like Therese Bugnet and Knock Out, Martha s Vineyard is drought tolerant and highly disease resistant. Go to Tulsa Garden Center for some great photos and more information. To order, try contacting Angel Gardens of Alachua Florida. Check the Golden Isles Rose Society Blog for more information on roses. So rather than clutter up your garden with the ordinary, i.e. Knock Outs, stretch your imagination a bit and explore the world of modern shrub roses. Coastal WildScapes Open the Garden Gate Native Plant Sale October 13, 2012 Location: Richmond Hill City Center www. coastalwildscapes.org Pull Tabs Reminder Cassina is still participating in the Garden Club of Georgia Project to collect aluminum pull tabs to donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities. Please start saving any pull tabs and remember to bring them with you to each meeting throughout the year.

6 Cassina Newsletter / 6 September th Annual Christmas Tour and Bake Sale A Sea Island Christmas December 8, 2012 In celebration of Cassina's 85th Anniversary, the Christmas Tour Home Selection Committee is pleased to offer five outstanding Sea Island homes for the upcoming A Sea Island Christmas Tour and Bake Sale on Saturday, December 8, All the beautiful, interesting homes have been designed, or redesigned, by the talented Island architect, John P. Shackelford, Jr. Two grand oceanfront homes connected by a neighborly garden gate, a Spanish Colonial hacienda overlooking the Marshes of Glynn and two strikingly different North Island mansions make a tour list that will delight Tour Guests and Members alike. The new Cloister Hotel will be our wonderful Special Interest Stop. The Hotel will boast lovely Holiday floral lobby arrangements and a legendary Sea Island Gingerbread House. Guests and Members are invited to have lunch and dinner at the Cloister. A special lodging rate for tour goers and members wanting to be pampered post-tour will be announced in the near future. Plans are being developed for a Will Call system for Bake Sale items and Tea Cabin merchandise. Prior to boarding buses to Sea Island, items may be purchased, placed in Will Call and picked up after touring on return to the Cabins. This system will be useful for those wishing to buy yummy Bake Sale items and cookbook gift packages before dashing off to the Tour! Please sign up at the September meeting to harvest greenery and for the Tour's new feature, Arranging Christmas. Cassina members will work together to make arrangements for each tour home using our Island greens and natural resources. Instructions on how to duplicate the arrangements will be available for those interested in making the designs at their own homes. This will be a fun activity that will fill you with the Christmas spirit! Committee Chairmen and Head Hostesses have been making plans to make this a festive, organized Tour. Please say yes when you are called to help. Do not fear! There will be time for you to be a hostess and to see the homes and Hotel. This is your Tour and you do not want to miss it! Contact your friends and mark your calendars. This is going to be a very merry and memorable Christmas celebration! Tour Chairs: Bake Sale: Treasurer: Tour Committees Lee Dillard Bobbie Mohlman Sue Chambless Leslie Carlton Cabin Docents, Decorations, Refreshments: Martha Armstrong Fresh Greens, Jennifer Broadus Arranging Christmas: Graphics, Printing Home Descriptions Home Selection: Publicity: Kay Harrell Beth Thrift, Ann Marie Dalis, Ruth Kolumber Anne Aspinwall, Lee Dillard, Mary Lynch, Bobbie Mohlman Denise Trethaway, Sue Cansler, Susie Salvatore, Neile Weis Retail Tickets,Posters, & Rack Cards Distr. Ann Worthington, Becky Stephenson, Sandy Storino Signs: Libby Hogan, Laura de Martino Special Consultants: Pam Davis, John Shackelford, Nancy Stoddard Website Kay Harrell Transportation, Buses: Bobbie Mohlman Hostesses: Day Support Team: Lee Dillard Anne Aspinwall, MJ Choate, Lee Dillard, Claire Jorgensen, Mary Lynch, Bobbie Mohlman, Janis Rodriguez Special Stop Representative: Marcie Maddox, Sea Island Membership Manager

7 Cassina Newsletter / 7 September 2012 As Cassina Garden Club is beginning its 85th year, there will be a short history story about Cassina in the newsletter each month. This first article, written by Elizabeth Freyer, is a fascinating history of the women and events surrounding the start of Cassina. In the interest of space, this is an edited version. The full story may be seen on the Cassina website at cassinagardenclub.org The Beginning Years - Cassina Garden Club, The era prior to the beginning of Cassina Garden Club holds a lot of fascination related to women s issues and perhaps gives a window on the women who were Cassina s first leaders. These ladies in their hats, gloves, and corsets were very determined. They had survived the worst and lived to tell about it: the Civil War, loss of livelihood, economic revival through the timber industry, the purchase by wealthy tycoons of Jekyll Island, World War I, the influenza epidemic of , women s right to vote and the purchase and development of Sea Island by Howard Coffin. In 1928, a group of nine women decided to form the Cassina Garden Club, the first in Glynn County and in less than four years got the county to renovate the Hamilton Plantation Slave Cabins. The first President was Mrs. W. H. Shadman (Emma Postell), a direct descendent of the Cater and Postell families who owned Kelvin Grove Plantation. The second president was Mrs. W. N. Gramling, a no-nonsense, tough business woman who, with her family, owned and rented out many of the rental cottages on St Simons Island. The third president, Miss Annie James Postell, nickname Birdie, was Emma Postell Shadman s sister. She was the tenth child and never officially named, so she named herself after her parents. When Cassina shut down during World War II, several Cassina members began a new garden club and named it the Annie J. Postell Garden Club. Miss Ethel McKee was the fifth president whose house was bought by Millie Wilcox and her husband in Mrs Edwin Fendig (Emmwynn Neal) was the seventh president and was so passionate about the live oak trees that the Glynn County Commission gave her sole discretionary power to decide if a live oak should be felled. At a meeting shortly after Cassina was founded, Howard Coffin spoke to the club and gave permission to plant azaleas here and there. One of their first projects was to plant azaleas at Christ Church cemetery followed by planting oleanders on Ocean Boulevard. The first civic project was to paint discarded ice drums for trash containers for picnic spots on the Island. There were no dues the first year, but the second year charged seven cents and the next year ten cents. Meanwhile, the Great Depression began in 1929, but the ladies soldiered on. In 1931, Cassina joined the Brunswick garden clubs to hold a spring flower show at the Court House. In 1932, Cassina held its own show and at this time the ladies persuaded the County Commissioners to renovate the slave cabins. In November of that year the cabins were entrusted to Cassina for its meetings. A profit of almost $30 from the flower show was used to beautify Neptune Park. In 1933, Christ Church was adopted as a permanent project and the ladies sent an azalea for every funeral. The foundation plantings of azaleas and camellias along the wall of the cemetery along Frederica Road were given by Cassina. In 1937, the ladies organized the first Boy Scout Troop on St. Simons and helped to build the Boy Scout Hut. Also in 1937, the St. Simons Library was started in a room at the Casino Building. Mrs. Edwin Fendig was president during this time and it was her suggestion that Cassina compile a cookbook to help fund its many civic and beautification projects. Our award-winning Coastal Cookery is still going strong and helps to fund the repair and maintenance of the cabins. This outstanding legacy is alive and well and going strong! So gird up your loins, girls we still have work to do. And, don t forget the hats and gloves!

8 Cassina Newsletter / 8 September 2012