Celebrating 90 years of beautifying Port

Before 2022 ended, the Port Washington Garden Club celebrated nine decades of helping to beautify the community during a 90th anniversary celebration at the Moonlight Tavern in the Port Hotel. Gathered around a cake fittingly decorated with frosting flowers and flanked by real roses were current and former club members (front row, from right) Barbara McGinnis,  Maggie Barr,  Pru Palecek,  Missy Gonzales,  Kathy Lemley, (second row) Paige Wilder,  Leila Wilder,  Nancy Haacke,  Kathy O’Sullivan-Feilen,  Nancy Santee,  Ruth Lorge, (back row) Geri Zehren,  Glenyss Gilliam,  Jon Westphal,  Kathy Westphal,  Bruce Barr,  Jacky Swenson,  Bret Hockerman,  Charlotte Little,  Dan Santee and Kathy Popp-Pfleger. Dedicated to promoting gardening and beautifying Port, the club held flower shows and gardening classes in its early years and has planted gardens and done landscaping at such notable places as Rotary Park, the Judge Eghart House, Niederkorn Library and Port Senior Center. It purchased and planted apple trees at the Light Station, established a fund to purchase trees for city parks and donates books and magazines to the library annually. It also has awarded $32,000 in scholarships to college students pursuing degrees in horticulture and related fields.          Photo by Sam Arendt