History
Flotsam and Jetsam Garden Club History
By Barbara Neff -- October 9, 2007
I'm amazed and delighted to be here for the 40th anniversary meeting of Flotsam and
Jetsam Garden Club. Amazed because it doesn't seem possible that it's been 40 years
since a dozen or so women gathered in my living room for the first meeting. And delighted
to see what a vital, vibrant organization the club has turned into.
In order to give you a little background on the group's early days, I have to go back further
than its beginning.
In the late '50's a group of women met occasionally. They called themselves the Darn It and
Blab Society. That is, until my father re-christened the group Stitch 'n Bitch. It was a very
loosely organized group. No dues, no rules, no guilt if you didn't show up. Their purpose
was to visit, work on their current personal projects, share skills they owned and learn new
techniques. They mended, they knit, they tooled leather, poured candles and etched
aluminum. One day my mother, Mabel Wallis and Lynn Peterson's mother, Margit
Fredericks, expressed an interest in learning how to do silk screening. Enter Bertha
Hoovan who knew how to do that, and she taught a workshop on it.
For some reason which I don't remember now, a need arose to raise money for a
community project. The women in that group decided to stage a driftwood show. They
enlisted Bertha's help because she'd been involved with flower shows. She shepherded
them through a successful show (with silk screened programs) called "Driftwood Daze."
Members of the community, summer people and anyone with an interesting piece of
driftwood that "looked like something" or was just pretty was invited to enter. Prizes were
awarded in the form of colored ribbons attached to sand dollars backed with felt. I think
those were Patty Evans-Endresen's mother's idea. Bernice Endresen was a "goin'
concern" and was involved in making a success of whatever project the community was
currently working on.
By Barbara Neff -- October 9, 2007
I'm amazed and delighted to be here for the 40th anniversary meeting of Flotsam and
Jetsam Garden Club. Amazed because it doesn't seem possible that it's been 40 years
since a dozen or so women gathered in my living room for the first meeting. And delighted
to see what a vital, vibrant organization the club has turned into.
In order to give you a little background on the group's early days, I have to go back further
than its beginning.
In the late '50's a group of women met occasionally. They called themselves the Darn It and
Blab Society. That is, until my father re-christened the group Stitch 'n Bitch. It was a very
loosely organized group. No dues, no rules, no guilt if you didn't show up. Their purpose
was to visit, work on their current personal projects, share skills they owned and learn new
techniques. They mended, they knit, they tooled leather, poured candles and etched
aluminum. One day my mother, Mabel Wallis and Lynn Peterson's mother, Margit
Fredericks, expressed an interest in learning how to do silk screening. Enter Bertha
Hoovan who knew how to do that, and she taught a workshop on it.
For some reason which I don't remember now, a need arose to raise money for a
community project. The women in that group decided to stage a driftwood show. They
enlisted Bertha's help because she'd been involved with flower shows. She shepherded
them through a successful show (with silk screened programs) called "Driftwood Daze."
Members of the community, summer people and anyone with an interesting piece of
driftwood that "looked like something" or was just pretty was invited to enter. Prizes were
awarded in the form of colored ribbons attached to sand dollars backed with felt. I think
those were Patty Evans-Endresen's mother's idea. Bernice Endresen was a "goin'
concern" and was involved in making a success of whatever project the community was
currently working on.
| FLOTSAM AND JETSAM GARDEN CLUB Post Office Box 14 Hansville, WA 98340 For questions or comments about this website, please contact: webmistress@flotsamandjetsamgardenclub.com |
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Bertha Hoovan Marilyn Jones Florence Parnell Mary Johnson Janet Mietzner Barbara Neff --- Marie Wickwire Lydia Hufnagle Sheila Ludewig Donna Partridge Ruth Bennett Dorothy Lentz Gayle Kroll Mae Stubbs Verby Ereth Louise Larson Millie Fowler Judy Jurgen Katie Mattson |
| A Name Filled With Tradition, Humor and Uniqueness “When the Flotsam and Jetsam Garden Club was formed, it evolved from a group of young mothers who had already been meeting as a crafts club. These approximately twelve women had presented a crafts show and one or two driftwood shows, for which they achieved some acclaim. Looking for more, they decided to become a garden club. Bertha Hooven was asked for advice. Due to commitments she had, she asked they wait until spring and she would join them. Bertha was the guiding light of the endeavor, and it was her suggestion (according to Barbara Neff) that the fledgling club be called the Flotsam and Jetsam Garden Club. It was a whimsy that grew out of all the members living on or near the beach, their success with driftwood, and their belief that the name appropriately described the area. Flotsam and Jetsam Garden Club is a name with years of tradition. It still has a lovely sense of whimsy. Everyone smiles when they hear it. It lets everyone know that we garden in a coastal environment.” (excerpt from a letter written by Susan E. Claeys, Sept., 1998) |
| 1967-68 Marilyn Williams 1987-88 Lois Eakin 1988-89 Lois Eakin 1989-90 Edith Grimshaw 1990-91 Rosie Farnsworth 1991-92 Carol Meredith 1992-93 Frances Baker 1993-94 Bobby Pedersen 1994-95 Bobby Pedersen 1995-96 Mary Booth 1996-97 Sue Claeys 1997-98 Gretchen Lee 1998-99 Karen Miller 1999-00 Sara Nawrot 2000-01 EmmaJean Hemingway 2001-02 Shirlee Jelcick & JoAnn Goodspeed 2002-03 Pat Fredericks 2003-04 Ann Terry 2004-05 Nancy Garing 2005-06 Nancy Garing 2006-07 Mary Booth 2007-08 Dody Solaas 2009-10 Cathy Stemen |
| Flotsam & Jetsam Garden Club P A S T P R E S I D E N T S |
Go a few years forward - not a whole
generation - to a group of young women
whose children were just entering school
and who wanted something new to do with
their time - something that would give them
a social outlet as well as an opportunity to
do something that would "matter."
Enter Bertha Hoovan again. She had been
elected President of the Washington State
Federation of Garden Clubs and one of the
responsibilities of her term was to assist in
the formation of a new Garden Club. "We"
of course were impatient and wanted to do
something "now". But Bertha's term didn't
begin until 1968. So while we started
meeting in the fall of '67, we did not get our
charter until the spring of '68. I remember
the installation of officers ceremony. It was
held at The Last Resort, which was Verby
Ereth's home. There were candles and
scarves and it was very sweet, Orange,
which was Bertha's favorite color, figured
prominently in the activities.
Did you ever wonder why your meetings
occur at nine in the morning? It's because
several of the charter members - Janet
generation - to a group of young women
whose children were just entering school
and who wanted something new to do with
their time - something that would give them
a social outlet as well as an opportunity to
do something that would "matter."
Enter Bertha Hoovan again. She had been
elected President of the Washington State
Federation of Garden Clubs and one of the
responsibilities of her term was to assist in
the formation of a new Garden Club. "We"
of course were impatient and wanted to do
something "now". But Bertha's term didn't
begin until 1968. So while we started
meeting in the fall of '67, we did not get our
charter until the spring of '68. I remember
the installation of officers ceremony. It was
held at The Last Resort, which was Verby
Ereth's home. There were candles and
scarves and it was very sweet, Orange,
which was Bertha's favorite color, figured
prominently in the activities.
Did you ever wonder why your meetings
occur at nine in the morning? It's because
several of the charter members - Janet
Meitzner, Carolyn Parnell and I - had little boys in morning kindergarten. We put those kids
on the school bus, attended the meeting and were home by noon when the bus brought
them back. Three hours of freedom!
Bertha guided us through our first year. One of our important actions was to choose a name
for the group. The suggestions I remember both came from Bertha. One, which I think she
favored, was The Toredos. She told us it was the name for worms which bored into
driftwood, but I haven't been able to find it in the dictionary. Her other suggestion was
Flotsam and Jetsam. The former means floating debris and the latter is material thrown
overboard from a ship to lighten its load. Those terms seemed appropriate to those of us
who beachcombed and used material we gathered there in our decorating. The group
favored Flotsam and Jetsam over Toredos, I think to Bertha's disappointment.
The Federation was far more involved with flower arranging than with horticulture then.
Usually at flower shows, the tables displaying arrangements outnumbered the tables
displaying blossoms by about 20 to 1.
Federation requirements mandated certain accomplishments during a year, according to
the size of the group. We decided to keep our membership under 25 or 35 - I don't
remember which now - so that we could get by with staging a flower show every two years
rather than annually.
Over the years the membership became more interested in "growing" than in "arranging"
and the decision to drop out of the Federation came in the late '80's.
I loved the time I spent in garden club prior to going to work full time, and I look forward to
participating again now that I'm retired and back in the community.
Barbara Neff
on the school bus, attended the meeting and were home by noon when the bus brought
them back. Three hours of freedom!
Bertha guided us through our first year. One of our important actions was to choose a name
for the group. The suggestions I remember both came from Bertha. One, which I think she
favored, was The Toredos. She told us it was the name for worms which bored into
driftwood, but I haven't been able to find it in the dictionary. Her other suggestion was
Flotsam and Jetsam. The former means floating debris and the latter is material thrown
overboard from a ship to lighten its load. Those terms seemed appropriate to those of us
who beachcombed and used material we gathered there in our decorating. The group
favored Flotsam and Jetsam over Toredos, I think to Bertha's disappointment.
The Federation was far more involved with flower arranging than with horticulture then.
Usually at flower shows, the tables displaying arrangements outnumbered the tables
displaying blossoms by about 20 to 1.
Federation requirements mandated certain accomplishments during a year, according to
the size of the group. We decided to keep our membership under 25 or 35 - I don't
remember which now - so that we could get by with staging a flower show every two years
rather than annually.
Over the years the membership became more interested in "growing" than in "arranging"
and the decision to drop out of the Federation came in the late '80's.
I loved the time I spent in garden club prior to going to work full time, and I look forward to
participating again now that I'm retired and back in the community.
Barbara Neff
| The original charter members: |