LOVELAND GARDEN CLUB CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORICAL SUMMARY 1983­1984 – Seven enthusiastic gardeners, Fran Dowd, Sue Feagler, Judy Gacek, Marge Gardner, Gail Klauschie, Paula Howard and Joan Wolfgram founded the Loveland Garden Club. A steering committee created a mission statement and bylaws and nominated officers. The first meeting was held on September 27, 1983. Loveland Garden Club’s mission statement reads, “The objective of the club shall be to stimulate the love of gardening, encourage home and community beautification, promote horticultural practices and encourage all forms of conservation.” 1984­1985 – The club launched its first civic project, the renovation and maintenance of the grounds and landscaping of the annual Omaha Symphony Designer Showhouse. The club participated in this project through 1994. Members traveled to Pella, Iowa to visit the annual tulip festival. 1985­1986 – LGC members dedicated the year to educational outreach. Club programs focused on the development of basic knowledge of gardening, exploring topics ranging from starting a bulb garden, learning about plant life that attracts birds and wildlife, planting summer pots and planters, creating fall decorations and learning about the fundamentals of landscaping. The club traveled in 1986, 1987 and 1988 to Kansas City to view the Kansas City Showhouse and gardens. Members visited the Omaha City Greenhouse and Neale Woods Nature Center for programs on butterfly gardens and prairie flowers. Meyer Rehabilitation Institute’s Garden Walk featured several Loveland members’ gardens. 1986­1987 – The club established its first annual fund raising project, “Loveland Luminaria Night”. The soft glow of the “little lights” lined the Loveland neighborhood streets and entrances to homes on the Sunday before the holidays. 1988­1989 – Members participated in environmental recycling by collecting and transporting aluminum cans to a local recycling center. This effort ​ preceded the development and establishment of Omaha’s recycling program. The club developed an extensive landscape design for an enclosed courtyard at the King Science Center, located in an impoverished area of Omaha. The following vision was adopted for the design: “The garden at the King Science Center would be aesthetically pleasing; provide students with a ‘hands on’ gardening experience; contribute materials for art projects, cooking classes, woodworking, bird and butterfly study and conversation; instill students with a sense of pride and stewardship about their environment and make available opportunities for the surrounding community to experience the garden.” 1989­1990 – Club members toured the Bluebird Nursery in Clarkson, Nebraska. Members also participated in educational classes on ornamental horticultural at Metropolitan Technical College. The club approved a $100 donation and administrative support to be given for the development of the Omaha Botanical Gardens. The membership provided an additional $100 donation in both 1992 and 1993 for this purpose. Loveland Garden Club members continue to serve on the Board of Directors. 1990­1991 – LGC members created and implemented a new landscape design for the front entry of Loveland Elementary School in District 66. ​ The club began an alliance with the Omaha Habitat for Humanity, Inc., whose goal is to eliminate poverty housing. Members approved $4000 in financial aid and provided countless hours of volunteer labor in renovating and planting the landscapes of twelve houses. Members traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to visit the Des Moines Botanical Garden and the hosta gardens of Russ O’Harra, retired editor of Better Homes ​ and Gardens. The group also toured the nationally recognized gardens of Karen Strohbeen and Bill Luchsinger, which have been featured in Midwest ​ ​ Gardens and public television programs. The club sponsored a trip to Kansas City, Missouri, to participate in the Wellesley Garden Tour and visit the Powell Gardens. Additional visits to the Strohbeen/Luchsingerr gardens happened in 1991 and 1999. Members approved a $200 donation to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo for the purchase of plants for the Lied Jungle. 1991­1992 – Club members attended the “Great Gardeners in Symposium” in Kansas City, Missouri to be educated by such well­known gardeners as Rosemary Verey, Penelope Hobhouse, Ken Miller, Marco Polo Destefanio, Rachael Snyder and Allen Lacey. Club members organized and attended tours of the Memorial Iris Gardens, sponsored by the Omaha Iris Society, the Kansas City Wellesley Gardens and Jan Riggenbach’s garden in the Loess Hills of Iowa. LGC members participated in a flower arranging seminar sponsored by a local florist. 1992­1993 – The club focused on educational programs and opportunities for members. Programs included landscape design, dried floral arrangements and wreaths, and the care and growing of orchids. Members visited the Boys Town Biblical Garden and the Kansas City Wellesley Garden Tour. Members approved a $1000 gift to the on­going development and establishment of the Omaha Botanical Gardens. In addition, the club voted to fund landscape design and plants for three Habitat for Humanity homes. 1994­1995 – Loveland Garden Club hosted a luncheon to promote camaraderie for members and guests, featuring “A Garden Talk” by Mary Maxwell and concentrated on club unity by providing educational experiences and maintaining on­going projects: Habitat for Humanity, Loveland Luminaria Night and the Omaha Botanical Gardens. Members attended “Spring Affair” sponsored by Nebraska Statewide Arboretum in Lincoln, Nebraska. This event featured a variety of horticultural speakers. 1995­1997 – The club focused on evaluating and restructuring the Loveland Garden Club. Special committees reviewed and recommended bylaw changes, revised officer and committee job descriptions and developed a written history of the club’s projects. Members initiated, planned and conducted the first annual membership drive for the Omaha Botanical Gardens generating over $15,000. The 28th Annual Meyer Rehabilitation Institute Garden Walk featured several Loveland Garden Club members’ gardens; the Omaha World­Herald ​ ​ newspaper provided coverage of the event. The club continued an ongoing affiliation with Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods Nature Center. The private, non­profit organization includes over 2,000 acres of hardwood forest, rolling prairies and marshlands along the Missouri River and provides year­around nature programs. Club members serve on the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Guild Board. The centers provide the Club with diverse educational programs. LGC’s association dates back to 1990. Members voted to develop, fund and implement a landscape for the entrance to Sacred Heart School, located in an impoverished and blighted area of Omaha. The Club also provided educational experiences for the students regarding horticultural priorities. The objectives were as follows: to provide and install plantings on the school grounds to beautify the area; to show the students, parents, and staff of the school that people in the community care about them and want to invest in their mission; to donate financial support to help accomplish these goals; to provide an educational experience to the students to help them learn about the needs of plants and to educate the students about the new plantings so that they will maintain and protect them. The club organized the second and third annual membership drives for the Omaha Botanical Gardens. The newly developed Omaha Botanical Gardens requested Loveland Garden Club to plan the first friend and fund raising event held at the garden. “Our Secret Garden”, an evening reminiscent of an old­fashion garden party included a treasure hunt for the “secrets” of the garden, a silent auction, dinner and entertainment. The club created fresh floral arrangements for the auction tables. The event generated $16,000. Members funded and planted a landscape for the club’s sixteenth Habitat for Humanity home. The club designed and planted a Victorian garden at the Kierle House, a home site listed on the Nebraska Register of Historic Places. Members prepared the garden beds, rescued on­site plants and donated appropriate plantings. The club groomed existing plant material, cleaned flower beds and planted new flowers at Sacred Heart School. Members donated and planted hostas from their gardens and from local nurseries at the front entry gate shade garden of the Omaha Botanical Gardens. The club focused on completing the admittance process into The Garden Club of America. Loveland Garden Club became the 192nd member club of the ​ Garden Club of America. The President and a delegate attended the Annual Meeting of the GCA. 1997­1999 – The club redesigned its structure to conform to committee requirements for the Garden Club of America. In addition, the club applied for 501­C3 tax exempt status. A committee revised the admissions process and set forth requirements for a Provisional member’s first year of membership. Club members directed efforts to establish a Guild for the Omaha Botanical Gardens and assisted in planting 5,000 tulip bulbs in the garden. Members continued maintenance of the Victorian gardens at the Keirle House and the garden at Sacred Heart School. The club funded and planted the 17th and 18th Habitat for Humanity homes. Club members also designed and installed a landscape for Safe Haven, a shelter for victims of domestic abuse ​ ​ administered by Heartland Family Service. Loveland Garden Club distributed 3,500