Educating The Public
Horticulture education was and still is important to the Bedford Garden Club. In 1938, the Club purchased books on various gardening topics for the Bedford Public Library. The Library then was on the second floor of Bedford High School located at Columbus and Washington Street. In 1940, a club speaker spoke on Hydroponics years before the first commercial application of the process.
In 1953, one hundred twenty-five people attended a flower-arranging demonstration by Nela Florist a the Bedford High School gym. At that time Nela Florist was Cleveland’s premier floral designer. Irene Jones presented a unique demonstration and raffled off one arrangement. People eagerly purchased the remaining samples at cost.
Speakers came from all over northeast Ohio, as well as New York state. Garden Club editor of Popular Gardening magazine, author, and lecturer, Dorothy Biddle of Pleasantville, New York spoke to a group of 225 people at Bedford High School in November, 1957. Her topic was “Gateway To Christmas.”
Our resident apiarist, Walter Robeson, much loved and appreciated, was both an enthusiastic member and lecturer. His talks on bees and honey delighted Garden Club and Central Elementary School children.
An individual holding the most requested speaker status, was Bedford’s own, Warren C. Miller. Mr. Miller, another active Garden Club member, was named principal of Bedford High School in 1927. As a devoted educator, highly respected entomologist, gardener, musician and poet, he could give a talk at a moment’s notice. He would step to the podium without hesitation, when the scheduled speaker canceled at the last minute.
In the 1980’s, the “Vern & Vi Show” became an educational road-show. Vern Cooper took photos of flower specimens, member gardens, city plantings and historic places. A slide presentation was assembled with Vi Saunders providing the narration. Subject matter ranged from horticulture to homesites, offering an interesting, economical program to a variety of organizations, in and out of Cuyahoga County.
Today programs on plant propagation, care and feeding of perennials, soil conditioning, landscaping and more are offered by speakers, expert in their field, at the monthly meetings. These meetings are open to the public. To insure the continuation of these programs, our benefactor, the late Bertine Southworth, left a handsome endowment to the Bedford Garden Club to perpetuate its goals and ideals into the future.