Hoe ‘n’ Hope honors 50 years, charter member

By Sage Merritt

Published: May 12, 2008

When Anne Stogdale arrived at the 50th anniversary flower show of the Hoe ‘n’ Hope Garden Club, she was met with a big surprise.
The entrance to the show, held in the lower level of the Waynesboro Public Library on Monday, welcomed visitors with two big signs — one that announced the golden anniversary of the club, and another that said, “Thank you to our mentor, Anne Stogdale.”
Inside the room where the flower show was held, there were more surprises for the Hoe ‘n’ Hope Garden Club’s charter member. A scrapbook of Stogdale’s accomplishments since she helped found the garden club sat on one table. A “timeline” of flower arrangements, interpreting Anne and her evolving floral designs through the years, included an arrangement replicated from a newspaper photo a floral composition Stogdale did shortly after the club was first established in 1958. A cake thanking Stogdale for 50 years of service sat among the refreshments.
“I knew that we were going to have a show, but I didn’t know about all this,” Stogdale said with a laugh. “It’s a great group of girls we have here. It’s a lot of work to put one of these shows together.”
Stogdale, a life-long Waynesboro resident and a 40-year employee of Waynesboro Landscape, is the remaining charter member of Hoe ‘n’ Hope. The club was founded to give beginners a place to learn about horticulture and floral arrangement, according to Stogdale. Hoe ‘n’ Hope, which currently has 16 members, meets once a month for programs and workshops.
“We’re in it to learn,” Stogdale said. “It is fun. We will get down on the floor and do the dirty work if we have to. It’s a lot of work. You really have to have the heart and want to do this.”
Jewel Giles, the club’s vice-president and co-chairwoman of Monday’s flower show, spoke in honor of Stogdale during the flower show, reading a poem about the club’s charter member.
“We have had a difficult time keeping it a surprise,” Giles said. “Anne is the backbone of the club. She is our mentor and she is involved in everything that we do. She keeps us motivated and going.
“We all love her,” Giles added. “We knew that on the 50th anniversary of this club, she would want us to have a flower show, a good flower show. So we decided to make it an interpretation of her.”
The invitational show included displays from other garden clubs, as well as flowers and arrangements by Hoe ‘n’ Hope’s members and an exhibit of Stogdale’s own collections of arrangement containers and antique glass frogs.
“When we invited the other garden clubs to come in, they were all delighted to do it because many of them have worked with Anne over the years,” Giles said. “She has done so many things over 50 years, to express her love of flowers and contribute to the community. The flower show was to honor her and all that’s she’s done.”
To learn more about the Hoe ‘n’ Hope Garden Club or become a member, call 943-4446.
To see more photos from Hoe ‘n’ Hope Garden Club’s 50th anniversary flower show, check out Sage Merritt’s blog, “With Merritt,” on the News Virginian Web site. Click here to see the photo extras.