About the
Men's Garden Club of Minneapolis

This page is intended to provide a short description of the Men’s Garden Club of Minneapolis (MGCM). Its aim is to encourage web page visitors to learn about and, perhaps, join MGCM, but also to encourage them to garden and to volunteer their efforts to make this earth a better and more beautiful place to live.

Chuck Carlson, past editor, The Garden Spray

Contents

1. History
2. Organization
3. National Affiliation
4. Newsletter
5. Community Involvement
6. Interesting Facts
7. A Year in the Life of MGCM
8. Postscript

History

MGCM was chartered in October 1, 1942 with an original membership of 20 men. They were all businessmen who enjoyed gardening and wanted to socialize together, learn from each other, whet peoples’ appetites for gardening, and provide service to the community. These founders first met in the Minneapolis Athletic Club.

Membership in MGCM provides the option of membership in the Minnesota State Horticultural Society (MSHS). There are about 100 members of MGCM. Contrary to the name, members are not all men, nor are they all from the city of Minneapolis. The membership includes people from the whole Twin Cities metropolitan area, greater Minnesota and even a few that have left the state but retained their allegiance to MGCM. Women have become a sizable (nearly 40%) and welcomed part of the membership.

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Organization

MGCM has an approved set of Bylaws which requires the day to day operation of the club to be conducted by a board of directors elected by the membership at the annual meeting in November. The board is made up of the president, past president, vice president, treasurer, recording secretary, membership secretary and three directors. Some 21 committees do the bulk of the work of the club. Members are asked to actively serve on at least two committees.

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National Affiliation

The Men's Garden Club of Minneapolis was chartered by TGOA/MGCA in 1942. TGOA/MGCA president Fred Rockwell, a distinguished horticultural writer, signed the charter. We currently have two active members who joined shortly after the club was chartered; Lloyd Bachman in 1950 and Roger Koopmans in 1958.

MGCM has provided the TGOA/MGCA with two national presidents; Herb Kahlert in 1956 and Bill Hull in 1966. Regional directors have been Ev Haedecke, Edgar Graupman (Minnetonka) and Russell Smith. Russell Smith was regional director from 1984 until 2002. Bill Hull was instrumental in establishing TGOA/MGCM’s national publication called The Gardener.

MGCM voted to disaffiliate from TGOA/MGCA in June 2002. The Men's Garden Club of Minneapolis is now an independent not-for-profit corporationn under Minnesota law.

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Newsletter

A newsletter was started almost immediately after the club was chartered. Jack Cohen was the first editor. It was called The Garden Spray, which is still the name today. The second editor was Vic Lowrie, followed by Bill Hull, Ed Culbert, Andy Marlow, Chuck Carlson and, today, co-editors Mary Maynard and Jason Rathe. The late Ed Culbert held the editor’s job for 22 years. The MGCM newsletter has always been a trendsetter, winning many national awards. In 2000, the newsletter went digital. It is being sent to more than half the members via email. The rest still receive paper copies. In 2001, it won the blue award from TGOA/MGCA as best newsletter for clubs of over 100 members.

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Community Involvement

There are a number of interfaces with the community. These include:

• A key role in the creation of the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The idea grew out of MGCM’s community gardening efforts in the early 1950s. Many of our members have been and are members of the Arboretum and have served as volunteers for the organization. The founding Director of the Arboretum, Dr. Leon Snyder, was a member of MGCM and recipient of the Men’s Garden Clubs of America (MGCA) Gold Medal award.
• A perennial trial garden in cooperation with the University of Minnesota Department of Horticulture and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
• Arbor Day plantings have been done for many years, mostly in cooperation with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Plantings consisted of hardwood and apple trees, magnolias, river birch, snowberry shrubs, pagoda dogwoods, shrub roses, ferns and miscellaneous perennials
• Biennial garden tours that generate funds to provide scholarships for students in horticulture. To date over $40,000 in scholarships have been awarded.
• Hundreds of musical slide shows have been presented to seniors groups, churches and garden clubs within the metropolitan area.
• The annual Food, Flower and Foto Show at the University of Minnesota landscape Arboretum

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Interesting Facts

• The club designed, built, planted and maintained a neighborhood fragrance garden from 1970 to 1997 adjacent to the Minneapolis Society for the Blind near downtown Minneapolis.
• Over 75% of our members are on an MGCM e-mail network and we have a web site.
• During MGCM’s existence, over 800 different people have been members, 65 members have served as president, and about 60 different members have received the Outstanding Service Medal (formerly the Bronze Medal), emblematic of service to MGCM and to the community.

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A Year in the Life of MGCM

Monthly dinner meetings are held January through April, June, and September through November on the second Tuesday of the month. Traditionally, March has meant an excursion to the Marshal Fields’-Bachman’s Flower Show. In May we hold our annual dinner, plant sale and auction. July features a week night tour of members’ gardens. August is a double header month, including both a garden tour and a flower, vegetable and photo show fondly known as the FFF—Flower, Food and Foto Show. The year is completed with a gala holiday party. The sit-down, catered dinner includes entertainment and presentation of the year’s awards.

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Postscript

As you can see MGCM has a full plate of opportunities. We view gardening is a way to bring people together and to promote a better life and a better community. As one of our members once said, "Gardeners are a hell of a nice bunch of people." Perhaps you’ll consider becoming one of them. Just click on join below.

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