AUGLAIZE GARDENS 
VAN WERT, OHIO 
EIaRLY in June Van Wert will have 
its third annual Peony Festival. The 
exact date, which is set for the time 
the peony blooms usually look their 
best, has this year been set for June 
6th. 
The Van Wert Garden Club orig¬ 
inated the event in 1932 and the mem¬ 
bers first got their idea from Win¬ 
chester, Virginia’s apple blossom fes¬ 
tival. 
Van Wert people have grown fine 
peonies for the past 20 years. They 
were grown first in pretty back-yard 
gardens. Later large commercial gar¬ 
dens were developed where now hun¬ 
dreds of thousands of bright blooms 
wave in the breezes. 
Years ago people from miles 
around came to Van Wert to visit the 
gardens and see the peonies. The num¬ 
ber increased from year to year. So 
the Garden Club originated the Peony 
Festival to help entertain the visitors. 
This year the festival program will 
be confined to one day. There will be 
a mammoth parade of flower-covered 
floats. Several uniformed bands will 
play. 
Miss Thelma Scheldt, 17-year-old 
blonde, senior from one of the high 
