Award-winning garden

This past week, a certificate of appreciation was awarded to the Anderson Historical Society by Maryanne Lucas of the California Garden Clubs for a unique garden that the Anderson Valley Club has developed at the Museum.

The garden was developed through many hard hours of work over several years.

Ann Capes, Cascade District Director of California Garden Clubs of California spoke of how they developed the award-winning garden from a weed- and trash-covered gravely backyard.

Rowena Goodner, a landscape design consultant of the Garden Club and member of our society stated the garden was an "example of good land use."

Lucas mentioned that while attending meetings in southern California, people there sometimes complain about the amount of water the North State has that should be sent to the south. Lucas said she has informed them that here in the North State we are well ahead of some southern areas in our water conservation.

She uses as an example the xeriscaping done for our garden planted with native plants of our ancestors. The garden is a very restful, cool setting with flowers, shrubs and trees enjoyed by many.

Marge Dial oversees the garden and also mentioned the Anderson Garden Club also overseas the Joe Speer Memorial Garden at the Shasta District and that the VFW Garden received a Blue Star Marker. We appreciate all the efforts these Garden Club members give to our community,

This particular parcel of ground was owned by J. H. Girdner in the 1880s. The first prune orchard was planted in this area by H.K. Pettygrove in 1884.

According to Dewey Casebeer, who resided near this location in the 1930s, the area where the museum is located was planted to alfalfa even though the ground was very gravelly and hard. He remembers a large barn where they stored the hay harvested from the fields irrigated by the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District.

Casebeer's grandfather also owned a slunk farm in the area. The area northwest of North Street was once very swampy. It was where they hunted ducks and peasants.