�Volume 28, Number 2 The Newsletter of the Cassina Garden Club St. Simons Island, GA September 2015

Coastal Vision 205o September 10th Meeting

Presented by Kelly Patton

Ms. Patton is Program Associate for One Hundred Miles, an organization committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing the thriving communities, beautiful landscapes and diverse wildlife of Georgia’s 100 mile coast. Come hear their conservation plans which are driving local action.

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Calendar

September 3 10:00 am Cassina Board Meeting The Meeting Cabin

September 10 10:00 am Cassina Meeting Hospitality 9:30 am AW Jones Historical Center

Open to Guests

September 17 10:00 am Field Trip Bluffton, SC Farmers Market

September 18 1:00-4:00 pm Sip and Shop at J McLaughlin

October 20 9:00 am Oleander District Meeting Rincon, GA

October 23-25 The Georgia Trust Fall Ramble The Golden Isles

December 5 9:00-2:00 Jingle Bells & Seashells Annual Christmas Bake Sale & Emporium

February 11 9:45 am Brunch - Open to Guests AW Jones Historical Center

May 14 10:00–5:00 Tabby & Tillandsia Garden Walk “One More Thyme”

Volume 28, Number 2 The Newsletter of the Cassina Garden Club St. Simons Island, GA September 2015

Open Meeting Reminder September 10, 2015

The first Cassina Garden Club meeting of the year will be open to guests which is a change from past years. This is a great opportunity to bring friends who are interested in joining Cassina to meet our members and see how our club operates.

Dutch Treat Lunch at Palmer’s after the Meeting

Kelly Patton

�Volume 28, Number 2 The Newsletter of the Cassina Garden Club St. Simons Island, GA September 2015

Garden Walk “One More Thyme”

Our 10th anniversary theme of “One More Thyme” (slogan courtesy of Elizabeth Powell) reflects the decision to select feature gardens shown in prior Garden Walks.Whereas last year’s selection process was rife with setbacks, this year’s selection process could not have been a more pleasant experience thanks to a combination of volunteers and a broad acceptance by those who were asked to open their gardens once again. The six gardens on the 2016 GW belong to the Eisens, Mauches, Harrells, Dennises, Mohlmans and Henrys.This early selection has enabled us to complete the photography phase showing the gardens at their summer best -- many thanks to Joanne Scott. The majority of GW committee chairs have been filled, many by those who chaired last year. Our perennial (pun intended) major sponsor, ACE Garden Center, has committed to sponsor us for 2016, and is now augmented by a surprise new major sponsor. In addition, it is our intention to find sub-sponsors for each garden for a lesser contribution. In order to create plenty of time for administrative/publicity purposes, we will be asking the Cassina Board to adopt the suggestion put forward last year by Anne Aspinwall that ALL tickets be priced at $25 (no discounts). The tickler feature will be a different Refreshment Stand in each garden hosted by a Cassina docent. No specific activities or distractions are planned for the cabins other than viewing our cabins and gardens. A recent call confirmed the Hamilton Garden Club plant sale will be staged as it was last year.Submitted by Neil Henry

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Image from blufftontoday.com

Early Field Trip!

Thursday, September 17thThe Farmers Market inOld Bluffton, SC

We will meet at 9:45 am for a 10:00 am departure to Old Bluffton. Lunch will be at noon at The Cottage.

There will be time to browse the shops and galleries and enjoy all that the Farmer's Market has to offer: fresh produce, homemade breads, flowers/plants, organic beef, soaps and numerous homemade products. There is even hot food to bring home for dinner. Bring a small cooler. There is no limit to the number of participants who can join this fun afternoon. The Cottage is limited to 20 for lunch but there are several other nice restaurants located within walking distance.

No charge for the field trip.

Contact Becky Yelverton to sign up: rcyelverton@gmail.com or 912-638-0991. Please consider be ing a ca rpoo l dr i ver i f possible.

RONALD McDONALD HOUSE

Please remember to bring your pull tabs and small toiletry items to the meeting for donation to the Ronald McDonald House.

�Volume 28, Number 2 The Newsletter of the Cassina Garden Club St. Simons Island, GA September 2015

Members’ Birthdays!

Throughout the year the Cassina Thymes will list Cassina members who are celebrating birthdays along with information about their birth flowers. Similar to Zodiac signs and birthstones, birth flowers are unique to their assigned months and symbolize good fortune, virtues or special qualities. Please join the Membership Committee in wishing our birthday members a happy day and a year filled with flowers!

Information for each month is gleaned from the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Teleflora website, the Hallmark website and other sites such as flower-specific societies and organizations, gardening guideline sites and sites pertaining to meanings and legends of flowers.

The Georgia Trust 2015 Fall

Ramble The Golden Isles,

October 23-25

The Georgia Trust has planned its 2015 Fall Ramble for the Golden Isles during the weekend of October 23-25. Friday and Saturday will be full of events and visits to historic properties throughout Jekyll Island, St. Mary’s and Brunswick. On Sunday, St. Simons will shine with a brunch at the

Lighthouse, a tour of Cannon’s Point, the Harrington Graded School and our very own Cassina Tabby Slave Cabins!

To view the complete itinerary or purchase tickets, visit www.georgiatrust.org

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Aster - the Birth Flower for September

Based on its pointed petals and yellow center, the aster derived its name from the Ancient Greek word for “star.” It was believed that the aster had magical powers, could ward off evil spirits and symbolized patience. In 1918, the Hungarian Revolution became known as the Aster Revolution as protesters wore asters to show solidarity for their cause. In full bloom in late summer and early fall, asters can be found in sunny gardens throughout the world.

September Birthdays:

Deana Davis 1st

Martha Armstrong 9th

Virginia Ellis 18th

Sandy Fitzgerald 18th

Diane Abernethy 20th

Sue Cansler 25th

Bobbie Mohlman 25th

Martha Banister 26th

Neile Weis 27th

Carolyn Lovell 29th

�Volume 28, Number 2 The Newsletter of the Cassina Garden Club St. Simons Island, GA September 2015

Do You Know Anyone to Help Us Raise Funds? After a very successful first year of fundraising for the restoration of our cabins, the Capital Campaign Committee would like your help. Ruth Kolumber and her committee have been researching Foundations and Organizations to which Cassina can apply for funds to help with our restoration. Many Foundations are program-oriented and are not interested in helping with brick and mortar projects. We would like to know if you personally know of a Foundation or Family Fund that might be interested in our project. Please let Anne Aspinwall or Ruth Kolumber know if you have any ideas.Capital Campaign Committee

Jingle Bells & SeashellsCassina’s Annual Christmas Bake Sale & EmporiumSaturday, December 5th at our Historic Tabby Cabins

Cassina’s traditional Christmas Bake Sale will continue to open the holiday season 1n 2015. As always, we ask every member to contribute some kind of baked goods, homemade jams or jellies, fresh citrus fruit, nuts or some other “Christmassy” confection. A schedule for delivery of the goods will be announced later. June Brown and Martha Martin will work their bake sale magic again for this year’s sale.

This year we have added an Emporium to market the many permanent trees and decorations from previous years’ Sea Island Tour of Homes. The Christmas Emporium will include decorative pots, bows and fresh cut local greenery. Gee Gee Adams and Jane Bangert will serve as co-chairs for the Emporium.

In addition to the Bake Sale and Emporium, the restored Tea Cabin exterior will be decorated and displayed to the public as our special “gift to the community.” Commemorative gifts can be purchased on that day to benefit the restoration.

We all look forward to a fun and successful holiday event!

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THE CASSINA THYMES The Cassina Thymes is published 10 times a year and is distributed to members around the 1st of the month via email and also by regular mail for those who request it.

Articles must be submitted by the 20th of the month preceding the publication month. Please submit photos

and articles to the Newsletter Editor: Carol Cudahy cwcdesign@me.com Bake Sale

�Volume 28, Number 2 The Newsletter of the Cassina Garden Club St. Simons Island, GA September 2015

From the President

Welcome back to a new Cassina year! I am excited about our ten new members who are already contributing to the work of the club. Let’s make them feel included from the beginning; we all remember what it was like to get to the meetings and try to remember who was who and what the protocol was.

Let’s plan to gather for lunch again after the September 10th meeting. Last April about 25 of us met at Mullet Bay for a scrumptious lunch and lively conversation. This time, I’ll ask Palmer’s Village Café on Mallery Street to be prepared to accommodate a bunch of hungry gardeners après meeting.

The Christmas Tour of Homes has been put in cold storage, but on the traditional first Saturday in December our cabins will be decorated in finery to welcome visitors and shoppers to the “Best Bake Sale in the South” plus a Christmas Emporium where you can purchase many of those gorgeous decorations which were used in the Sea Island homes. Thanks go to Gee Gee Adams, Jane Bangert, June Brown and Martha Martin for volunteering to return as chairmen of “Jingle Bells and Seashells!”

Neil Henry is joined by Elizabeth Powell in leading the Tenth Annual Tabby & Tillandsia Garden Walk on May 14th. Amazingly they have already secured the six private gardens, all of which are returning from Garden Walks in the previous nine years of the tour. What a way to celebrate an important milestone of the fundraising event “birthed” by Cassina member Sharon Flores in 2007!

News from the Docent Committee If you restore it, they will come! And come they did this summer to the cabins! Visitors came by the busload and carload from all across the country, from Massachusetts to California and from New Jersey to Arizona. Fifteen states were represented and two foreign countries, Germany and New Zealand. During the months of June, July, and August, we had a total of 624 visitors. This far exceeds last summer’s count of 232. August alone topped out with 320 visitors! The B.A.M. girls, a social support group for African-American ladies from Savannah, scheduled a private tour that was the most fun!

At times, it was busy, hectic and hot, but the faithful and dedicated Cassina docents (along with a couple of the new members) did a fabulous job of welcoming and educating all these visitors.

Bookings are already coming in for 2015-16. To schedule a tour or to serve as a docent, contact Leslie Carlton or Martha Armstrong.Martha Armstrong - Docent Committee

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Dottie & Pike

The B.A.M. Girls at the Cabins

�Volume 28, Number 2 The Newsletter of the Cassina Garden Club St. Simons Island, GA September 2015

Boys and Girls Club Visit Cabins July was an exciting month when Cassina was asked to host the Boys and Girls Club archaeology program at the cabins. The Coastal Georgia Historical Society received a grant to set up an educational program for children to teach them about archaeology. Cassina was asked to participate in their one day a week, six-week-long program which included learning about the lighthouse, Cannon’s Point and the Hamilton Plantation tabby slave cabins.Myrna Crook and Janis Rodriguez presented the history of the plantation with activities which included learning about archaeology. The children watched the restoration work being done on the interior walls

and chimney in the Tea Cabin. They measured the distance between the cabins and tried to find other cabin ruins using the measurements. Week Five ended with a mock “dig” at the Coast Guard Station where the children found many artifacts.We hope that Cassina will continue to be part of the archaeological programs that the Historical Society will present in the future. You may see the poster the children made during Week Six of all the activities when you visit the Historical Society. Using our cabins and children’s garden, we hope to have other educational programs for school children in the future.

Cassina Yearbook The 2015 - 2016 Cassina Yearbook will be available at the September Membership Meeting. Because of the expense, the Yearbooks cannot be mailed to members. You may have a friend pick up your copy for you if you are unable to attend the meeting.

Should you have any questions regarding the Yearbook, please contact Janis Rodriguez at 638-9455 or email Janisemr@aol.com

CORRECTION: Please make a note that Alice Barlow has returned to Active membership. Her information is listed in the Associate membership section.

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Cassina Garden Club St. Simons Island, Georgia

2015 - 2016

YEARBOOK

Boys and Girls Club at the Tea Cabin