MORGAN PARK — When the Garden Club of Morgan Park started a century ago, annual dues were 30 cents and the group was limited to 20 women who just went by “Mrs.” and their husbands’ last names. No men were allowed.
The members focused on beautifying the triangular parks created by the winding roads of Morgan Park.
But like the gardens the group has planted over the years, the club — which launched in 1926 and was officially chartered the following year — hasn’t stopped growing.
Now with over 100 members, the club has expanded to include Beverly — the club gardens at the Beverly Arts Center — and members have been maintaining green spaces in both neighborhoods for decades.
Over the years, the club members have participated in flower shows across the state. In the 1950s, the club won flower shows at Navy Pier, including taking home first place at the Modern Living Exposition in 1957. It has overseen gardens at many public spaces, including the Walker Branch of the Chicago Public Library, the 91st Street Metra Station in Beverly and Hurley Park.
Members of the Garden Club of Morgan Park/Beverly Hills pose for a photo as they garden at the Beverly Arts Center on May 13, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Chris Lamb and Gael Mennecke photographed ahead of a plant auction at a garden club member’s home in Morgan Park on May 6, 2026. Credit: Jim Lynch/Block Club Chicago
To honor the centennial, the club has held a plant auction, a public presentation looking back on its history and a program on prairies, and members visited the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences — the last farm in the city of Chicago. Next week, the group will participate in the 100th Beverly Hills/Morgan Park Memorial Day Parade.
Club President Gael Mennecke said the anniversary is not just a chance to celebrate but also “an opportunity for us to reach back 100 years and look at what it was like to be interested in gardening then.”
What Mennecke’s found has left her in awe of previous members.
“I was thinking our garden club is so cool, we do this, and we do that,” she said. Then she realized “here is this garden club that in 1926 was doing exhibits at Navy Pier and winning prizes. It humbled me a lot to know we have had a garden club that has been very, very active for 100 years.”
Members of the Garden Club of Morgan Park photographed in 1957 with a floral display. Credit: Provided by P.J. Pistek
In the early years of the club, meetings were held at members’ homes, and new membership was approved by a nominating committee after a visit to the candidate’s home garden.
“Things change but stay the same,” said P.J. Pistek, recording secretary of the garden club, who put together a public presentation looking at the group’s history with help from the Ridge Historical Society. “Women — and men too — have always gardened in their yards, grew roses, flowers, plants and vegetable beds. Gardeners tend to share plants and information with each other.”
During World War II, the garden club members would send flower bouquets and fresh vegetables to hospitals across the city using the Rock Island train line. The club organizers also assisted residents in planting “victory gardens” so they could grow their own vegetables in their yards and free up larger agricultural resources for the war effort.
P.J. Pistek trims branches as members of the Garden Club of Morgan Park/Beverly Hills garden at the Beverly Arts Center on May 13, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
By 2004, the group had grown to 80 members, yearly dues had gone up to $15 and the club changed its name to the Morgan Park/Beverly Hills Garden Club.
Pistek joined the club in 2021 after retiring from her job as a special education teacher.
“It’s just something I really like to do,” Pistek said. “Through the club, I have met a lot of people in the neighborhood I would have never known. … We all have a commonality of the same passion for gardening.”
Chris Lamb holds a rake as members of the Garden Club of Morgan Park/Beverly Hills garden at the Beverly Arts Center on May 13, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Today, members no longer need to be approved to join; all are welcome. The group has over a dozen men in the club, and dues are $25.
Mennecke points to the tight-knit bond that has formed between members.
“I have never been involved in an organization where there are so many people who just get along and are willing to help others,” she said.
In 2012, the club adopted the Beverly Arts Center as its civic project. Twice a month, some 20 group members can be found at the local arts center working to beautify the grounds, including a courtyard garden, a section of native plants and a Garden of Living Art in honor of Roy Diblik, a renowned landscape designer.
as members of the Garden Club of Morgan Park/Beverly Hills garden at the Beverly Arts Center on May 13, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The Beverly Arts Center honored the garden club with a community partner award in 2025.
David Perry, who was among the club members working on the Beverly Arts Center’s grounds last week, is the club’s treasurer and was the first man to join the group in 2013.
Perry said gardening has been a passion since he started as a child helping his father.
“I guess I have just always stuck with it,” he said.
When Perry moved to his home in Beverly over 30 years ago, he thought it would take about five years to get his garden exactly how he wanted.
“I am still messing around,” Perry said with a laugh. “I don’t know if it is improved, but, you know, it’s different every year. I think gardening is a process, not a result.”
For gardeners looking to pick up tips and tricks, the club always has something to offer, Perry said. A variety of topics — including types of flowers, ecology or presentations on planting native plants — are covered during monthly meetings.
“I am a master gardener, but I know about 10 percent as some of the other people in the club,” Perry said.
Eileen Quirk Rowan plants hostas as members of the Garden Club of Morgan Park/Beverly Hills garden at the Beverly Arts Center on May 13, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
June Brown trims branches as members of the Garden Club of Morgan Park/Beverly Hills garden at the Beverly Arts Center on May 13, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
When Julia McSweeney retired from her job teaching at Morgan Park High School in 2016, she knew she wanted to get involved with the garden club.
“I was already gardening. I had a perennial garden that was kind of a hobby of mine. The garden club made a lot of sense,” she said.
Joining the club has allowed McSweeney to meet neighbors she might not have crossed paths with otherwise and help her improve her green thumb.
“I have acquired an interest in plants from other garden club members that I would have never put in my garden,” McSweeney said.
For more information on the club and to get involved, email gardenclubofmorganparkbeverly@gmail.com.
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