Published in JFA Newsletter No. 16, Summer 2008
The Old York Garden Club, established in 1932, presented its most coveted "Edith Burbank Junkins Bowl" to Alan Junkins at one of their meetings this past year. The bowl has been placed in the Junkins Family Scottish Heritage Room at The Old York Historical Society - Museums of York.
The sterling silver bowl was given to the garden club by Edith Burbank Junkins, the first president and one of the founders of the club. Recognizing "Excellence in Horticulture", it contains the names of thirty-eight members who have been voted worthy of the award over a period of 44 years from 1959 through 2003.
The November 11, 1932, York Transcript noted the club was formed that fall because of the "growing interest in gardens… Mrs. S. H. Junkins has been chosen as president. The first meeting was held on Thursday evening at the home of Mrs. Francis Paul."
The early goals of the club were to stimulate knowledge of gardening among amateurs; to aid in the protection of trees, plants and birds; to encourage civic planting, and to participate in such activities as may be voted by the club. Over these 75 years, these objectives have been fulfilled by the organization in many different ways.
One of the most noticeable activities of the Old York Garden Club is the planting, care and maintenance of the 21 island gardens and tubs located throughout York.
It seems evident that through the decades, the Old York Garden Club, in its search for excellence in gardening and its related fields, has become a microcosm of societal values.