10 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



cliei-i.sbfd by Mr. Keating, but wbieb has not yet materialized in Muske- 

 gon county. 



According to the recollection of one of the original members tlie So- 

 ciety bad been in existence about eleven years before its incorporation 

 in 1887. It is believed tbat the first meeting was beld in 187(5. Charles 

 W. Garfield, of Grand I{ai)ids, assisted in founding the Society, and H. 

 S. Tyler of Dalton township, Avas the first president. C L. Whitney 

 was the first secretary. 



It Avonld ap])ear from the records that the membership of the Society 

 has never been large. The treasury seems never to have held more than 

 a very modest amount althongh I find no record showing that a deficit 

 ever occurred. In the comparatively short experience of the writer as 

 a member of the Societ3^ lack of funds lias always been a handicap in 

 attempts to 'do educational work. That this has been a chronic condi- 

 tion is suggested by an entry in the minutes of a meeting in 1891, when 

 the Society was popular and the meetings were often attended by many 

 peojde. In the discussion of the varieties of strawberries, then popular 

 with growers, the Fillmore sfi'awberry was mentioned, at which point 

 Mr. Robert Pett renmrked : "Speaking of Fillmore reminds me that the 

 treasury needs filling a little more." The secretary's record adds that 

 this reumrk was met with no response. 



It is notable that many of the names found in the records of this 

 Society are those of men and women Avho b.ave been prominent in the 

 affairs of the community, and that a considerable number of these have 

 been known politically and in other relations far beyond the limits of 

 the county. This was especially true of the early years of the Society 

 and indicates that the foresighted ]jeoi)le who were pioneers realized the 

 importance of developing the productivity of the land after the first 

 great crop of Inmber should be gathered and exhausted. 



It is not only the services of the local Horticultural Society in develop- 

 ing the nuiterial interests of th ecommunity that entitles it to a distinc- 

 tive place in local annals. Its social service to the community must not 

 be overlooked. Its meetings have always been open to all. These meet- 

 ings and occasional fairs were great social events to the rural popula- 

 tion in the years from about 1880 to 1900. In the summer season and 

 sometimes in winter these meetings were held at homes of members 

 far and near. These meetings were characterized by hearty good-fellow- 

 ship. Occasionally the attendance ran as high as 400. The basket din- 

 ner that has always featured at -the meetings since 1889, whether held 

 at homes of mend)ers, at picnic centers or at Society headquarters, in- 

 tensified the democratic character of the meetings. A faithful few still 

 sit at the connnon table on the date of each monthly meeting and enjoy 

 the social honr as in years past, but when a few more of the older mem- 

 bers shall have fallen out it seems doubtful that the custom will con- 

 tinue. The grange and \arious other organizations among the country 

 population seem to have ])rovide<l for the social requirements of tln^ 

 people. ]\roreo\ei-, the Society lias never been organized or conducted 

 in such manner that it has been of service to people remote from Muske- 

 gon, except at the snmller population centers connected with the city 



