December 2020 Newsletter

A Garden Club wreath at Fowler Library

Dear Members,

In your trips or walks around town, I hope you have had a chance to notice the beautiful, festive wreaths created by Pat Lescalleet-Lashley and her merry band of elves: Joan Campbell, Lesley Cheney, Georgine Feldt, Jen Lannan, Ellen Matheson, Wendy McNally and Kate Wharton.

Each season, the club creates and distributes 20 wreaths to town offices and buildings, including, but not limited to: Police and Fire Departments, the Town House, both libraries, the Visitor Center, and more.

The wreaths are always welcomed and especially so in this trying season with so many concerns about public well-being. The bright bow brings a ray of hope and cheer to all.

A special note of thanks to Lauren Huyett, who made her barn available for the committee to safely assemble the wreaths.

Please be sure to look for more photos in the Committee News section below. 

Can you find the Minute Man in the wreath?

The Spirit of Christmas Past: Four Centuries of Christmas in New England 

Please join us for a seasonal holiday program  on Wednesday, December 16th at 1 p.m. via Zoom.

Our speaker will be Ken Turino, Manager of Community Engagement and Exhibitions for Historic New England, the oldest and most comprehensive preservation organization in the country.

Ken will talk about the history of Christmas celebrations from the the time of the Puritans, who outlawed Christmas, to its transformation into the holiday we know today.

The program will also include mention of how Concordians have celebrated the holiday. There are some garden club members who well remember an “Olde Concord Christmas” at the Antiquarian Society, the predecessor of today’s Concord Museum.

If you have not already done so, please sign up here by Monday, December 14th:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aacaa29a31-december

Committee News

Community Outreach

This is one of the busiest times of year for this committee. So many members contribute to bringing holiday cheer to the community.

Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature at the Concord Museum, November 25-January 3, 2021

This year the committee faced the challenge of collaborating via Zoom. However,  the challenge was more than met by Chair Julia Farwell-Clay and her creative team: Liz Berk, Joan Campbell, Leslie Cheney, Jane Coutre, Mary Pope, and Chandler Woodland.

The book so wonderfully brought to life was “Up the Mountain Path,” by Marianne Dubuc.

Here are a few photos of the imaginative result;

 

Town Gardens

The granite stone installed last week at the West Concord garden at the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail marks the completion of this new garden that in its first season was enjoyed by many.

Thanks go to the original committee for seeing this project through: Mary Ann Ferrell, Kathy Kobos, Pam Hixon, Jane Rupley, Cris Van Dyke, and Co-Chairs, Sandra Conrad and Dorrie Kehoe.

Thanks also to Community Outreach Chair, Ellen Whitney, for securing the stone.

Wreaths

As mentioned above, here are more photos of the wreaths and their creators as well as an appreciative recipient:

Grants

Maryrose Sykes and her committee: Joan Campbell, Jane Deering, Bean Nardi, Holly Salemy, Sally Savelle, Kathy Venne, and Patricia Waters recently completed their work on reviewing six applications for community grants. Our thanks to them all for conducting the reviews under challenging circumstances.

The following organizations have been recommended as grant recipients this year: Gaining Ground, Friends of Minute Man National Historic Park, Minuteman ARC, Trustees of Reservations (The Old Manse), Walden Pond State Reservation, and the Town of Concord Visitor Center.

Normally, these grants are presented and voted on at our Holiday Luncheon. This year,  a membership vote will be taken by email.

Please note: a separate post describing each grant application will be sent to all club members followed by an email requesting a vote that will be recorded in our January minutes.

Horticulture

New club member Jeanne Hamilton not only did a stunning floral arrangement for us, but she also prepared a wonderful how-to on creating a beautiful wreath. Please see Jeanne’s step-by-step instructions here:

https://gardenclubofconcord.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Wreath-Making.pdf

The Winter Solstice this year occurs on Monday, December 21st. As we all know, this is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Since ancient times, the astronomical event has been celebrated with customary symbols of fire and light to welcome the return of lengthening days.

Thoreau called winter “the harvest of thought,” a time to reflect and consider.

At the end of this dreadful year, the search is on for some release and hope, if not a miracle.

A miracle of sorts does happen on the Solstice this year: Jupiter and Saturn will form a Great Conjunction on the longest night of the year. They will be closer together than they have been in centuries.

Look skyward after sunset on the 21st toward the southwest horizon.

For more information on this extraordinary celestial event:

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/great-jupiter-saturn-conjunction-dec-21-2020

Another miracle and a balm for gardeners to contemplate is the brave new world of botany captured in a recent article in the Boston Globe, “Plants Will Save Us.”

This startling article relates ongoing research that is uncovering ways that plants can “save us” including spinach that can sense explosives, houseplants as motion sensors, walls made from runner beans and more.

Please read this article for hope and inspiration for the new year.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/29/opinion/plants-will-save-us-if-we-help-them-do-it/

Let us hope that these are portents for an annus mirabilis in 2021!

My best wishes to you all  for a peaceful, healthy holiday season.

Sandra Conrad