It was a beautiful day for The Old Settlers' Reunion on Saturday, October 25th! Alpine Groves County Park is the perfect place for this annual event. The blue skies and the swaying Spanish Moss under the huge old live oaks put everyone in a festive mood. The event had the largest turnout that I know of in all my years of attending.
Shorty Watkins opened the day with the history of the Park. Thanks to Claire and her volunteers, our butterfly garden was looking sharp and sporting new timbers to keep the brick walkway clean. There were musicians, raffles and vendors of every kind. Many of the Ladies were dressed in period dress costumes they'd sewn themselves, so fun!
We appreciate the Friends of Alpine Groves for letting us participate in their raffle fundraiser! The Garden Club of Switzerland's own Dianne Battle (sporting a homemade straw bonnet circa the Civil War) made and donated a beautiful green large hypertufa leaf for our raffle (read about her hypertufa classes at her Master Gardener website).
The Friends also were kind enough to allow us a table to promote the Garden Club of Switzerland (GCOS). Mickey, Sarah, Dianne, and I represented the club and passed out information on Amendment One: The Water and Land Legacy amendment to protect funds in our state budget for conservation. Many people were unaware of this proposal even though it was on the current ballot. When they understood what it was about, they were very enthusiastic and said that they would indeed vote for it. It felt great to play a part in Amendment One's passage! Yay!
We also told people about our Club and handed out our cards and brochures. As a result of this we added a new club member. Welcome to the club, Laura! What a great day!