Alix Horticultural Club
February 15th 2021
From “Alix Horticultural Club – by A. Nielsen”
Pioneers and Progress, Alix Clive Horticultural Club, 1974
In the spring of 1947 Mrs. Minn Thorp, an ardent gardener, thought it would be a good thing to have a Horticulture Club in Alix. So on the afternoon of April 12, 1947, about forty people gathered in the U.F.A. Hall. Mr. Gordon Sterling, District Agriculturalist from Lacombe, was present, and after showing an interesting film he gave some very helpful advice on organizing a horticulture club.
The newly elected officers were: Honorary President, Mrs. Irene Parlby; President, Mrs. C. Thorp; Vice President, Mrs. Ashley; Secretary-Treasurer, Mrs. O. Lundberg; Directors, Mrs. Ed Jennings, Mrs. M. Schnepf, Mrs. M. Nielsen, Mrs. W.D. Clarke and Mrs. A. Mann.
The membership started at $1.00 per year…. They took over the Flower show from the U.F.W.A. as it was pretty much the same women who were active in both groups…. then the children’s garden project….
They oversee the landscaping of the Alix Cemetery… all through the years they have tried to demonstrate and teach better ways of gardening. Therefore, experienced persons were asked to demonstrate pruning, grafting, flower arranging, dividing roots, informative slides and films….
In 1947 the Flower Show was put on by the U.F.W.A. and the Horticulture Society under the convenorship of Mrs. Olive Allan and Mrs. Thorp. There were forty-six classes…. A new feature was the presentation by the Royal Bank of an engraved silver tray to the exhibitor from the Alix district who won the largest number of points. It was won by a large margin by Mrs. M.V. (Anne) Schnepf….
That fall was fabulous for vegetables, mammoth varieties, as we didn’t have a killing frost until October 3rd, so they decided to have a Vegetable Heavy-weight Championship Contest and Display, everyone to bring in large or odd vegetables…. The prize list had forty classes, all kinds of vegetables, sheaves of grain and grass, canned fruit, vegetables, pickles, and jellies, several classes for dahlias and gladioli, winter bouquets, and herbs….
Lacombe held the Provincial Show in 1961, and Alix Club assisted…. Then Alix held a Flower Tea in the U.F.A. Hall with 14 classes….
Alix Horticulture Club affiliated with the Alix Athletic Association to be able to take advantage of the grant by the Government for fairs, so it became the Alix Athletic and Agriculture Association….
Mrs. C. Mansbridge and Mrs. D. Hayes were on the Board of the Provincial Horticulture Society for several years….
Pioneers and Progress, Alix Clive Horticultural Club, 1974
In the spring of 1947 Mrs. Minn Thorp, an ardent gardener, thought it would be a good thing to have a Horticulture Club in Alix. So on the afternoon of April 12, 1947, about forty people gathered in the U.F.A. Hall. Mr. Gordon Sterling, District Agriculturalist from Lacombe, was present, and after showing an interesting film he gave some very helpful advice on organizing a horticulture club.
The newly elected officers were: Honorary President, Mrs. Irene Parlby; President, Mrs. C. Thorp; Vice President, Mrs. Ashley; Secretary-Treasurer, Mrs. O. Lundberg; Directors, Mrs. Ed Jennings, Mrs. M. Schnepf, Mrs. M. Nielsen, Mrs. W.D. Clarke and Mrs. A. Mann.
The membership started at $1.00 per year…. They took over the Flower show from the U.F.W.A. as it was pretty much the same women who were active in both groups…. then the children’s garden project….
They oversee the landscaping of the Alix Cemetery… all through the years they have tried to demonstrate and teach better ways of gardening. Therefore, experienced persons were asked to demonstrate pruning, grafting, flower arranging, dividing roots, informative slides and films….
In 1947 the Flower Show was put on by the U.F.W.A. and the Horticulture Society under the convenorship of Mrs. Olive Allan and Mrs. Thorp. There were forty-six classes…. A new feature was the presentation by the Royal Bank of an engraved silver tray to the exhibitor from the Alix district who won the largest number of points. It was won by a large margin by Mrs. M.V. (Anne) Schnepf….
That fall was fabulous for vegetables, mammoth varieties, as we didn’t have a killing frost until October 3rd, so they decided to have a Vegetable Heavy-weight Championship Contest and Display, everyone to bring in large or odd vegetables…. The prize list had forty classes, all kinds of vegetables, sheaves of grain and grass, canned fruit, vegetables, pickles, and jellies, several classes for dahlias and gladioli, winter bouquets, and herbs….
Lacombe held the Provincial Show in 1961, and Alix Club assisted…. Then Alix held a Flower Tea in the U.F.A. Hall with 14 classes….
Alix Horticulture Club affiliated with the Alix Athletic Association to be able to take advantage of the grant by the Government for fairs, so it became the Alix Athletic and Agriculture Association….
Mrs. C. Mansbridge and Mrs. D. Hayes were on the Board of the Provincial Horticulture Society for several years….