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they were changed to the second^thursdays at 3 P.M. except for the June, July, and August meetings, and in 1963 they were changed to	^
thursdays at 2 P.M., the present time.
The first meeting was held at Hotel Reed, Oct 18, 1938 at 8 P.M.,
Mrs. D. G. Rafferty of Pass Christian, Chairman of the Gulf Coast
Council of Garden Clubs spoke on "Organization" with 41 member attend-
tf
ing. Present membership is limited to 99.
"The OBJECTIVE of this club shall be the advancement of gardening, the development of home gardensj the furthering of City beautification and the pretection of native trees, shrubs, plants and birds".
The MOTTO, "He who makes a Garden works Hand in Hand with God". The club FLOWER, Wisteriaj the club COLORS, Lavendar and white. ^
Hotel Reed continued to be the meeting place, together with the homes of members and various commercial houses until the club was granted custody by the City of Bay St. Louis in April 1961 of the old Taylor School on Leonhard Avenue, our present home known as the Garden Center. During the hurricane, Camille (1969) meetings were temporarily held in the Baptist and Methodist churches.
The young club was "Federated", March 1939* becoming a member of the National Council of State Garden Clubs of America, having already participated with the Gulf Coast Council of Garden Clubs.
Dues as reported by the first published Constitution and By-Laws in 19^5 were 1 19^5-$1.50 per yearj 1950-$3.00j 1959-$7.50» 197^-$8.10» 1978-$10j 1980-$12.50» 1987-$15. **
The first fledgling effort of the club in publicizing the floral beauty, the balmy climate with its smell pf pines, the spas, unique tours and places of historic interest as contrasted with the Natchez, Miss, tours and the Miami and Palm Beach, Fla., glitz, was the participation in the annual Pilgrimage and Gulf Coast Historical Pageant, March 17 & 18, 1939^ The home of Mrs. H. A. Singreen on the Waveland Beach (known as the Pirate LaFitte's house) with scenes of pirates gold, and, club members dressed in antebellum days, served refreshments and breakfast to the guests. From 1939» each year the Club has participated in the "Pilgrimage", opening their homes, showing off their local interest and socially entertaining with lunch at the Bay Waveland Yacht Club. There are from 350 to 500 visitors to this area at that time. In 1939 club members were advised to remove their "For Sale" signs from premises	^
during the Pageant festival. ^
**