Question: In the old days (1800s), buildings that were in good shape were frequently moved to another spot. This happened to many buildings in Baldwinsville. That is what happened to the house pictured here. Do you know where it was located before its move and where it is now?
Last week’s answer: The ladies in last week’s photo were members of the Baldwinsville Women’s Garden Club. Those attending a picnic were (front row, from left) Nitta Harrison, Marge Trojanowski, Jo Anselment, Liz Martin, Cookie Toennies, (second row, from left) Mary Neufang, Bonnie Kisselstein, Marilyn Martin, (top row, from left) Sue McManus, Helme Meyers, Joy Ryder, Margaret Masters and Marilyn Millard.
This year the club is celebrating its 60th anniversary. In the summer of 1958 a notice was posted at a hardware store in the village asking if there were any ladies interested in forming a group to learn gardening skills from each other. On Nov. 25, an organizational meeting was held at the home of Emily Triggs, the writer of the notice. Emily, club founder and first president, was joined by 21 charter members.
The first 20 years began a history of beautification projects that the club continues today: in 1963 the club began tree plantings in parks, schools and in the village. In 1965 they became a member of the NYS Federated Garden Clubs and in 1967, they began their annual geranium and perennial sales. In 1969, they created the Barge Canal Park along the east side of Lock 24. It has since had several expansions over the years and continues to be maintained by the club.
In 1979 club members Pat Tappan, Marilyn Millard, JoAnn Weston and Liz Elliott worked with the Chamber of Commerce to plant and maintain 20 whiskey barrels that were purchased by the chamber. Originally the ladies went around town watering the barrels with water that they hauled in the trunks of their cars. Today the barrels have been replaced by the current wooden planters built by the DPW, but the garden club still does the planting. In 2013 they planted two trees at the 9/11 Memorial. The watering is made easier by a vehicle with the water and a long watering hose on the back. There is also a Blue Star Memorial, which includes a millstone that was found in the river. This was started as a club project but has since been expanded with help from several members of the community.
This summer there will be a display at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse Museum with memorabilia from the past 60 years of the Women’s Garden Club of Baldwinsville.
The only reader to correctly identify the group in the photo was Elsie Grant Mowins, who submitted her guess on our Facebook page.
Contact Editor Sarah Hall at [email protected] or leave a message at 434-8889 ext. 310 with your guess by 5 p.m. Friday (please leave the information in the message; we are not generally able to return calls regarding History Mystery responses). If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo before the deadline, your name and guess will appear in next week’s Messenger, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
