Warren

Garden Club rings in holidays with wreath fundraiser

By Brian Louwers
C & G Staff Writer

WARREN — As they have for decades, members of the Warren Garden Club will meet Nov. 14 to assemble the holiday wreaths they’ll sell as one of the group’s two annual fundraisers.

Proceeds from the sale of the wreaths and roping will enable the club to offer two $500 scholarships for high school students in Warren.

Garden Club member Jean DeDecker, who chairs the Green Sale program, said the practice of assembling the wreaths could date back as far as the club’s founding in 1937.

“My mother used to do it. I’m only in the Garden Club because my mother dragged me into it,” DeDecker said. “I said, ‘When you die, I’m out of this.’ She died 16 years ago, and I’m still here.”

DeDecker said she could remember painting pinecones used to decorate the wreaths, and racks of wreaths hanging in her mother’s home long ago.

Members work for days on the project at DeDecker’s home, beginning with the group’s November meeting, until all of their orders are filled.

The Green Sale is even more important this year, members said, because attendance at the annual Garden Walk fundraiser was down for some reason.

Shelia Stateler, a member of the Warren Garden Club and chair of the scholarship program, said scholarships have been offered for at least the last 40 years, and they’re supported by the annual fundraisers.

“If we can tell people that we’re doing something now, and the scholarships are coming up at the end of the year, it will help,” Stateler said.

The most popular 10-inch wreaths are $18, but larger ones, up to 36 inches for $55, are available.

Anyone interested in ordering a wreath through the Warren Garden Club can do so by calling Jean DeDecker at (586) 264-2319.

Time is running out to order wreaths, however, as supplies need to be obtained in advance of the club’s Nov. 14 gathering.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brian Louwers at brianlouwers@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1089.