CityView Magazine

den club sneezed, the paper was there to cover the event," Spires said. Flipping through the collection of articles, you would be hard pressed to find a corner of Fayetteville that wasn't planted, tended or otherwise affected by a garden club. Letters from local establishments, like one from Fayetteville's VA Hospital dat- ed March 20, 1975, express the commu- nity's appreciation. The ribbon cutting of the Fayetteville Garden Club Center in March of 1975, located on the sec- ond floor of the new Sears store in Cross Creek Mall was well-attended. Within the pages, fashions and gardening trends change alongside each other — from bouffant hairdos and full bouquets to slick locks and stemmy arrangements. As for photos, black and white squares give way to muted palettes and rounded corners, but they all tell the same story. "When we pull together and get all the "It used to be that every time a gar- clubs moving on something, it's amazing what can happen," Spires said. The ladies all look lovely and content, their frustrations leſt behind in the dirt. Contrary to some beliefs, they are not limited to azaleas, camellias and the oc- casional gardenia. In the 1990s, Polaroid frames brandish typed labels of Kurume azaleas and bamboo shoots. Mandavilla vine is wrapped around roses, ferns and Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. In an- other snapshot, an exotic Protea bloom is placed beside tubing so bold that it's practically scandalous. "We have a lot of talent in this town," Spires said, adding "A lot," again for ex- tra emphasis. Alongside the luncheons and social events, an enormous capacity for crea- tivity has always resided in Fayetteville's garden clubs. On February 24, 1968, the Friendly Acres Garden Club held a con- test where Mrs. Jack Rogers won Best in Show for an abstracted magnolia branch creation in which, as reported in The Fayetteville Observer, "fresh broccoli was used in an unusual manner to give a massive point of interest." New Growth Now in their 50th year, The Pines Gar- den Club's activities range from monthly meetings to hands-on programs, and the "What's nice is that the women who acquired the more proper, formal training are eager to teach the younger women. We pair a more experienced person with a younger amateur and they learn from each other. " Accepting New Patients • Walk-Ins Welcome • Accepts Most Insurance Hope Mills Urgent Care & Medical Clinic Toby B. Okons, M.D. FAAC Board Certified Internal Medicine Esther Oduche-Okons, FNP Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Women's Wellness 2D Echocardiogram Sleep Study ENG-VAT (Vertigo, Dizziness) MVA (Motor Vehicle Accident) CV-ANST (chronic leg pain, physical & mental stress) Physical Examinations Bone Density Test In-House Laboratory X-Rays 3758 South Main Street | Hope Mills, NC 28348 Phone: (910) 429-0647 | Fax: (910) 429-0791 CityViewNC.com | 61

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