In Memoriam
It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of our fellow SGC member Tish Will. Tish has been a very active member of the Somerset Garden Club since 2009, and her friendship and quiet presence will be dearly missed.
Our condolences and heartfelt sympathies go out to all of Tish’s family. May our dear friend Tish now rest in eternal peace and may perpetual and loving light shine upon her.
Obituary
Tish Will, 81, of Fairhope, died peacefully on Saturday, July 1, 2023. Beloved wife of the late Joe Will. Loving mother of Bridget (Marc) Pascal of Pittsburgh, Katie (Dan) Wolfe of Springfield, VA; loving grandmother of Gianna, Mary Margaret, and Paige Pascal; her sister, Mamie (late Jody) Gallagher; and many nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Tish is preceded in death by her parents, John and Mary Pursehouse as well as her siblings, Colin, David, and Clive Pursehouse, Peg Martino, Chuck Aaron, and Betty Long.
Tish loved her Scottie dogs and she spent many of her later years rescuing her beloved fur friends. Tish worked for many years as a Pharmacy Technician for CVS. She was a proud member of the Pius Springs Woman's Club as well as the Somerset Garden Club.
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CAR-SGC Conference—Seven Springs, PA
November 2—3, 2022
This year’s CAR-SGC conference was held at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, and had the very fitting theme of “Seven Super Blooms That Changed Our World”. Participants were able to choose from a variety of interesting and educational courses over the two days of the conference, and were treated to an excellent (and very amusing) presentation during dinner on the final evening by speaker Tom Huston. Tom’s theme for his presentation and for the beautiful displays that he put together (and later raffled for our lucky attendees) was “Roses and Tulips and Sunflowers—Oh, My!”
In addition to the courses being offered on-site, participants could also opt for a tour of the awe-inspiring Falling Water and/or the hauntingly sad Flight 93 memorial.
Congratulations to SGC member Nerita Brant who worked so diligently to make the conference a success, and to all our members who showed up to assist and/or attend. A special mention to Lois Shuster who extended her hospitality and hosted an event for CAR-SGC leadership in her home on Seven Springs, ably assisted by her daughter and fellow SGC member Lorraine Dupre.
Uptown Greening 2022
Not only did club member Linda Musser head up the SGC committee responsible for uptown greening (with a little help from her handsome helper Cole), she donated the tree that will stand at the courthouse as Somerset's Community Tree. Thank you, Linda, for your generosity and leadership, and thank you to all our members who cleaned up and participated in greening our town.
Sharing the responsibility equally for making Somerset so beautiful this year were Mary Ann Riggs and Connie Miller. Connie headed up the "clean up" day (even providing little gifts in the planters to make it more fun), while Mary Ann has been working diligently with the Borough to increase working coordination and plans for spraying for weeds, watering, etc.
SGC Fall Luncheon
The annual SGC October luncheon was once again held at the Somerset Country Club. And, once again, it was very well attended, probably in anticipation of the presentation by John Lichleiter, AIFD, Floral Design Manager at Lea's Floral Shop and an Educator for Teleflora's Western PA Unit. Of course, John did not disappoint! He is an expert floral designer who showed us some of the seasonal and professional trends and techniques to enhance our skills.
In addition, we had the pleasure of seeing a considerable number of entries from our members for the Amanda E. Dowie Dried Flower Memorial Award. The winner this year was Andrea Falchek, second place went to Ann Brooks, with our new member Elizabeth Miller taking third place. Well done, ladies!
SGC Club Meeting
September 12, 2022
Patricia Flowers Jacobina of the Weeders & Seeders garden club treated SGC to an informative and passionate lesson. She educated members about the ubiquitous problem of plastics in the environment, the hazards that our planet faces, and what actions we might take to start being part of the solution to this problem.
Plastics in the Environment - Patricia Flowers Jacobina
September 12, 2022
GCFP Division VI Annual Meeting
Friday, September 9, 2022
Thank you to all District VI members and guests who attended the District VI Annual Meeting at The Heritage in Rockwood, PA. After the business meeting and a delicious lunch, we were treated to a program on New and Interesting Plants by Ron McIntosh, former WJAC Green Grower.
Thank you to all who helped, baked, supported, and attended, especially Betty Lou and Dave Svonavec, who hosted and decorated, and Connie Marteeney and Jill Gary, who made the site so beautiful for our event! A special shout-out to SGC member Nerita Brant and her committee who hand-made the table runners and the napkins as party favors for our guests. They also set up an amazing raffle an extremely pretty jewelry.
GCFP Division 6 Annual Mtg - 09-22
What an amazing presentation SGC was treated to on North American Horticulture to 1492 at the August, 2022 meeting. Prof. Paul Newman, PhD of the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown kept everyone enthralled with his stories of the indigenous people of the Americas, and this area in particular.
If you weren’t able to be there, don’t worry … we got you covered! Check out our Resources page and, under the heading Club Presentations, you’ll find this amazing and informational presentation by Prof. Newman. Trust me, it’s not to be missed!!
SGC - Garden Club of Johnstown Picnic - July 2022
Uptown Planting, 2022
Children’s Aid Home Benefits from Sponsorship
Thanks to a very generous sponsorship from GardeningKnowHow.com, Somerset Garden Club members and Friends have been working hard to weed and clean the Children's Aid Home garden so that they can proceed with some improvements to return it to its Pollinator Garden status.
The hard-working members of the Youth Gardening Committe and their chair Sharon Howard-Frieri (right), were unable to spend time in the garden and with the children in 2020 due to Covid restrictions. However, great progress has been made in cleaning and clearing, and plans are afoot to upgrade the soil and improve drainage, as well as add bee habitats, native plants, vegetables, and herbs.
Thank you to everyone who turned up to help, and thank you to Caroline Bloomfield of GardeningKnowHow for an excellent article.
GCFP State Board Meeting
The GCFP bi-annual state board meeting in Boalsburg, PA on June 7-8, 2021 featured a horticulture specialty flower show with over 200 specimens from the 55 board members in attendance.
Congratulations to GCFP president and SGC member Sheila Croushore on an outstanding job in presiding over the meeting - her first board meeting since becoming president ... the meeting (and Sheila) was even featured on the evening news
Uptown Planting, 2021
Earth Day 2021!
A great time was had by all at Saturday April 24th's Earth Day event in Somerset organized by Somerset Inc. and Regina Coughenour. The Somerset Garden Club were on hand with useful information about protecting our environment as well as a fun scavenger hunt for the younger attendees. GC members Andrea Falchek, Sharon Howard Frieri, Judy Rach, and Jan Szych were able to help point them in the right direction to find the painted rocks spread throughout Trinity Park in uptown Somerset. Participants not only gained information about the insects and plants that will help the environment, but we're awarded with an Earth Day prize and wildflower seeds to plant at the end of it.
Somerset GC Member Sheila Croushore Installed as GCFP President 2021-2023
For those of us who were lucky enough to participate in the 91st GCFP Annual Convention from April 18-20, 2021, I think the general consensus was that it was an outstanding event. The highlight for Somerset Garden Club members, of course, was being able to watch our very own Sheila Croushore being installed as GCFP president for 2021-2023 by National Garden Clubs president Gay L. Austin.
The whole event was hosted entirely on Zoom and hosted by District IV. What an outstanding job by everyone involved!
Congratulations again to Sheila! SGC members know she will make an outstanding president, and look forward to supporting her during her tenure.
Happy Holidays!
Just before Christmas, there was a wonderful effort by Somerset Garden Club member (and GCFP First Vice-President) Sheila Croushore to bring cheer to some of our older residents. Sheila certainly brought smiles to many faces when she delivered 43 beautifully decorated mugs containing succulent plants to The Patriot, and another 48 to Siemons Lakeview Manor, both of which are located in Somerset.
Summer Season Comes To An End
We were sorry to see all the beautiful blooms uptown come to an end, but sadly it’s that time of year. So, on October 13 and 14, Somerset Garden Club members and volunteers cleaned out the planters and lampost hayracks as well as various areas throughout town which had been featured with outstanding floral displays this year.
Uptown had blossomed throughout the summer and the town received many compliments. Areas such as the County Courthouse, the public library, the Welcome sign, the turnpike entrance/exit, and the planters in the Diamond were just some of the areas that had looked lovely all spring and summer long!
Special thanks must go to the Somerset Borough employees for their hard work in ensuring that the plants stayed well hydrated throughout the summer, as well as to those Club members who helped to weed the plant containers and flower beds to keep them looking beautiful all season. Of course, a huge thank you must also go to the Somerset County Tourism Grant Program as it was thanks to a generous grant from this program that Somerset was blooming lovely this year.
Somerset Annual Beautification 2020
Last week, the members of the Somerset Garden Club came together (while still practicing safe social distancing) to undertake their annual beautification project for Somerset with the planting of seasonal flowers throughout the uptown area.
While this is an ongoing annual project for the SGC, the members felt that it was particularly important to the town this year. “We wanted to come up for our town,” SGC president Andrea Falchek said. Club members hoped that seeing the plants as they do every year would provide a sense of normalcy for residents, and some hope for businesses who have been dealing with the current health crisis.
This year, the SGC was the recipient of a $2,939 Somerset County Tourism Grant which, in addition to generous funding from the Fraternal Order of Eagles, has allowed the enhancement of many of the uptown areas, such as the County Courthouse, the public library, flower hayracks for the light standards in town, the garden around the Welcome sign and cannon, the uptown “Diamond”, and the turnpike exit among other areas.
SGC March, 2020 Meeting
On Monday, March 9, 2020 the Somerset Garden Club held its monthly meeting at the Laurel Arts Center in Somerset. Aimee Steele, District Resource Specialist for Somerset Conservation District, gave a presentation on Water Conservation for Gardeners with an emphasis on rain barrels and rain gardens.
In addition, Club member Barbara Landis - assisted by the beautiful Ali (a Service Dog in Training) - gave an informative talk on Garden Safety for Pets. She also distributed a list of plants toxic to pets, which I am sure will prove most helpful.
Finally, 4-H member Hannah Gaibor talked about the pollinator garden she is working on at the Penn State Agricultural Extension in Somerset as part of her 4-H Diamond Clover project. In appreciation of her efforts, the Club awarded Hannah a cash award in support of this project.
Aimee Steele, District Resource Specialist for Somerset Conservation District
Barbara Landis, assisted by Service Dog in Training Ali.
4-H member Hannah Gaibor receiving an award from Club President Andrea Falchek.
A total of $585,384 was awarded to nonprofits, destinations, and other tourism-related groups, and thanks to a growing Somerset County Tax Lodging Tax fund, every single grant applicant received a check.
The Somerset Garden Club would like to express its grateful thanks to the Somerset County Commissioners and the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau. In addition we would like to thank all our Club members who work hard every year to beautify Somerset, and the Somerset Borough workers who help to keep it looking beautiful when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.
Here's to a blooming lovely 2020, Somerset!
Somerset Garden Club Awarded Somerset County Tourism Grant
On Thursday, February 13, Somerset Garden Club President Andrea Falchek and Assistant Treasurer Jan Szych attended an awards luncheon at Seven Springs Mountain Resort where the Club was extremely pleased to receive a $2,939 Somerset County Tourism Grant. This award was presented to the Garden Club to assist with the Uptown Beautification program which is undertaken each year by Club members in order to beautify the business and commercial area of Somerset.
SGC President Andrea Falchek
