Finding aid for the Better Gardens Club Records

History of the Better Gardens Club

The Better Gardens Club was a Jewish women's gardening organization originally affiliated with The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Cleveland, Ohio. The Better Gardens Club was established in November 1926 by 12 members of the Temple Women's Association as The Temple Garden Club. Providing the congregation of The Temple with fresh altar flowers and participating in local flower shows were among the group's activities. In 1931 the group became part of the Garden Club of Greater Cleveland and the Garden Club of Ohio. By 1938 the group had changed its name to Better Gardens Club. The Better Gardens Club sponsored garden and flower shows, winning several awards. The group also contributed to the community by designing, creating, and distributing displays of flowers for many local agencies, including Menorah Park Center for the Aging. Fundraisers helped to raise money for state and national organizations and for scholarships for students in horticulture or forestry. In addition, some of the club's members entered the field of floral therapy, providing stress relief for senior citizens. The group's membership grew throughout the twentieth century, but by 2003 the group had declined to 21 members.

Scope and Content

The Better Gardens Club Records, 1926-2005 and undated, consist of agendas, applications, ledgers, lists, minutes, newspaper clippings, programs, rosters, scrapbooks, and speech texts.

This collection is of value to researchers interested in Jewish women's organizations in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and in gardening and environmental activism. The collection includes references to the group's work for the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, including the Hebrew Cultural Garden. Of special interest are the minutes and speech texts documenting the group's early history. The collection reveals an especially interesting aspect of the voluntarism and leisure activities of Jewish women in the mid-twentieth century.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

All photographs have been removed to the WRHS photograph and print collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5159 Better Gardens Club Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Shirley Stein Aaron in 2012.

Processing Information

Processed by Marlene Siegal in 2013.

Detailed Description of The Collection