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West Chicago Garden Club
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| The West Chicago Garden Club invites you to share an historic look at leisure living during their A Century of Garden & Porches garden walk on June 24, 2006. A variety of nineteenth and early twentieth century porches will demonstrate where our ancestors relaxed and watched the world go by while a series of gardens with their accompanying decks and patios illustrate our gradual change to a backyard living style. Five porches and five gardens in and around the historic railroad town of West Chicago are included in this tour. This includes an "idea" garden which features various aids used by club members to enhance their gardening and a suburban garden with its own railroad tribute to our heritage. All of the gardens were planned, planted and maintained by their owners. |  |
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The tour begins at the historic train station (now the Fox Community
Center) on Main Street where visitors will receive their
Garden Walk program. This booklet includes details about each porch
and garden along with maps and directions to each location. The starting point of our walk will be the Fox Community Center (306 Main Street, West Chicago) This link will show the Fox Community Center's location on a MapQuest map. |
| Tickets may be purchased prior to June 22nd for $14 each for both Gardens and Porches and $9 each for just Gardens or just Porches. They will also be available June 24th at the Fox Community Center for $14 or $9 each. Tickets are now available at local garden centers (Heinz Greenhouse - St. Charles, Prosek's Greenhouse - Winfield, Planter's Pallette - Winfield). You may also purchase tickets by mail. |  |
The West Chicago Press published a nice article about the upcoming walk - it has a few typos but a lot of nice detail about the gardens and porches.
Press Releases
West Chicago Garden Club - A Century of Gardens & Porches
June 24, 2006
10:00am-4:00pm
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For their upcoming Garden Walk, the West Chicago Garden
Club and the Warrenville Folklore Society are joining together to highlight
We Grow Dreams. We Grow Dreams is a not-for-profit organization created to
provide training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities
through the operation of the We Grow Dreams Greenhouse & Garden Center. A
portion of the profits from the Garden Walk will go to help them! Did you grow up playing on a front porch or on a backyard patio or deck? What about your parents or grandparents? Where did they relax and play? Trace the history of Midwest leisure from the front porch to the backyard garden patio on the West Chicago Garden Club's garden walk, "A Century of Gardens & Porches". The tour begins June 24th at the Fox Center in historic downtown West Chicago where you can buy tickets in the old railway depot before visiting 5 gardens and/or 5 historically interesting porches. |
| West Chicago is the site of Illinois’ oldest railroad
junction and was settled by immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Mexico and the
eastern parts of the United States. Expanding during the second half of the
nineteenth century, it saw the development of the front porch as a center
for visiting and relaxation. After the turn of the century, many of the
residents became interested in gardening and an active garden club was
formed. Gardens covering a century of development include one designated the “idea” garden, featuring various aids used by club members to enhance their gardening. Another garden has a nineteenth century garden railroad in the middle of a modern suburban development. All of the gardens were planned, planted and maintained by their owners. "A Century of Gardens & Porches" will be presented on June 24, 2006 from 10:00 to 4:00. More information can be found on the club's website at www.bwdarrah.com/wcgarden or by calling 630-585-4005. Tickets are available at the Fox Center on the day of the walk for $15 for both Gardens and Porches or $10 for either Gardens or Porches. Tickets may also be purchased before June 22 for $14 or $9 at Heinz Greenhouse, Planters Palette and Prosek's Greenhouse or by contacting the club directly. |
Some photographs that could be used with an article are available. Click on the photo for a higher-resolution version.
West Chicago Garden Club announces their Garden Walk: A Century of Gardens & Porches.
A Century of Gardens & Porches: A Garden Walk in historic West Chicago on Saturday, June 24th, 2006. Join the West Chicago Garden Club from 10:00am to 4:00pm as we open 5 gardens and 5 porches illustrating the changing ways we have spent our leisure time during the past century. Tickets: $14 or $9 by June 22nd, $15 or $10 after June 22nd. Tickets will be available on the day of the walk at the Fox Community Center, 306 Main Street. (630) 585-4005 or http://www.bwdarrah.com/wcgarden
Information about the West Chicago Garden Club
The West Chicago Garden Club is a community organization that brings together gardeners from West Chicago and many other surrounding communities. We meet at 7:00 on the 4th Thursday of every month at the First Congregational Church in West Chicago. Our meetings are informal and we use them as an opportunity to share our gardening knowledge. We have guest speakers, a monthly newsletter, occasional field trips & workshops, and enroll our members in the Garden Clubs of Illinois so that they can find out about gardening related opportunities that are available throughout the region. Our volunteers are involved in restoring the Kruse House garden. All of our meetings are held in the evening. No expertise is required. (Our members range from beginners to master gardeners...) We hold a Plant Sale every May to help fund the club and will be hosting our Garden Walk in June. An Individual membership is $15.00 per year per person and a Family membership is $25 per year for individuals that are at the same address.