Our History
Mount Paran Woods Garden Club is a non-profit community service organization dedicated to the landscaping and maintenance of three Mount Paran- Northside Neighborhood‘s City of Atlanta-owned pocket parks. These parks are located at Northside Drive and Mt. Paran Road, at West Conway Drive and Broadland Road, and at Cave Road and Mt. Paran Road. Since its inception this Garden Club committed itself to its mission statement: “Stimulate among amateurs the knowledge and love of gardening and the protection of native trees, plants, and birds, to promote fellowship among our neighbors and good will in the Mt. Paran- Northside Community, and to support civic planting projects the club deems appropriate.”
The Club was founded in 1955 by a group of women who wished to beautify their neighborhood. Early members raised funds through dues and by hosting elaborate fall meet-your-neighbor parties. A 1966 party hosted by Opal Jennings (President, 1962-63) had 500 attendees!
From 1955 until 1969 the Garden Club maintained only the Park at Northside Dive-Mt. Paran Road. A local newspaper described this triangle as an “eyesore” until the Garden Club landscaped and planted it.
Under the Presidency of Coc Henson, in 1961 this Park acquired its iconic redwood log bearing the inscription, Mount Paran Woods Garden Club. This log was a gift from Elvin Settles and Chuck Ford, husbands of members. Although vandals destroyed this log in 1965, it was restored by husbands of members, including Ted Stultz, husband of Sallie Stultz.
In 1969 under Sallie Stultz’s Presidency (1968-69) the Club began its care of the West Conway-Broadland Park, another neglected triangle that the club turned into “park-like beauty,” according to the Northside Neighbor.
In 1970 under the tenure of Ellen Scoles (President, 1970-71) the Garden Club initiated its care of the privately-owned Cave Road triangle at the intersection of Cave and Mount Paran Roads, a main entryway into the Mount Paran-Northside neighborhood.
In 1995 the owner terminated permission for the Garden Club to maintain this Cave Road triangle and allowed the property to become an overgrown dumping site. In 1997 Janie and Randy Merrill funded acquisition of this pocket park by Park Pride and the City of Atlanta and returned the triangle to Garden Club care. Janie (President, 1996-97) spearheaded the landscaping design, leading the Garden Club’s transformation of the triangle into the beauty it is today.
In 2000-01 the Club became a tax-exempt 501-C- 3 charitable organization, making all contributions tax deductible. This initiative began under the tenure of Pat Daly’s Presidency (2000-01) and was led by Mary Dodson (President, 1997-98). Mary Dodson’s husband Bill lent his time and legal expertise in rewriting the club’s bylaws into IRS-required format.
Catastrophe struck the West Conway-Broadland Park in late May 2002 when a microburst destroyed its shade trees and landscaping. Mary Louise Floyd (President, 2002-03) immediately sent an email to membership and published an article in the neighborhood’s newsletter explaining why the Park was denuded. On Memorial Day she, Olivia Evans (President 2005-06), Pat Daly, Janie Merrill, and landscape chairmen Louise McDermott and Roberta Foley consulted with Cal Cormier, City of Atlanta Parks designer. Cal drew a plan and offered species suggestions.
This 2002-03 Garden Club group met with a horticulturist at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to gain inspiration from full-grown versions of species suggestions. In the full-sun, hot summer meantime, Louise and Roberta planted a vegetable garden in this Park and donated the harvests to the Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry Program.
After we determined that we could expect no financial support from the City’s Parks Department, Trees Atlanta, nor the Tree Conservation’s Trust Fund, we knew our Club would have to finance this West Conway Park restoration approved by membership. At this meeting Mary Louise explained that at $17,000, we anticipated that it would be at least five years before completion. Immediately thereafter, Susan Smith, Ruth Anthony, and Janie Merrill made magnanimous donations toward this project. Susan’s donation in honor of her son funded the magnificent white oak that commands the center of the Park today.
These three members ignited Club enthusiasm that led to further member donations bringing the Club’s total to over $6,000. Karen Sturm committed to financing the stacked stone, curved retaining wall. Contributions from neighbors and our neighborhood association totaled nearly $7,000. This funding enabled us to go ahead with the wall permit, get the city of Atlanta Park’s Department approval, contact the Before-You-Dig utilities department, install irrigation, and plant Susan Smith’s oak. But we were still short on funding for the rest of the West Conway Park plantings.
Two meetings later Sallie Stultz suggested we have a major fundraiser, which became a Treasures Sale held in Holy Spirit’s gymnasium chaired by Marty Gillin (President, 1980-81), Olivia Evans, and Brenda DiCristina. Held all day April 25 and 26, 2003, members participated by donating, sorting, pricing, selling and cleaning up. Marty’s husband John had huge garage sale banners made and posted them strategically at intersections. Pat Daly attached helium balloons on estate sale signs Krist Voyles (President, 2003-04) made. Olivia’s husband Bill delivered celebratory wine for all of us still working late the final day. From this Treasures Sale we raised over $7,000 assuring the replanting of the West Conway-Broadland Park within a year after it had been destroyed.
Concurrent with this West Conway Park project was another extraordinary Club accomplishment: our Garden Club member Charlotte Day’s chairmanship of the February 2003 Southeastern Flower Show and our 36 Club members’ commitment to volunteering. Historically our Garden Club had submitted botanicals for competition and volunteered at the Southeastern Flower Show, but this year it was held in its new venue, the World Congress Center, and was the culmination of many years of planning for Charlotte. Chaired by Janie Merrill and Mary Dodson, a committee of Sally Hanna, Louise McDermott, and Susan Martindale recruited and trained 150 volunteers from all over the Southeast to clerk for exhibit judges. In honor of Charlotte, individual members donated $1000 for a class sponsorship.
In recognition of our participation, Mount Paran Woods Garden Club was awarded the 2003 Day Company Trophy for most hours volunteered by an organization. Indirectly, our Club contributed further to the Flower Show’s success: Carol Ann Noyes’ husband Phil, who owned and operated MGR Foods for the Congress Center and Philips Arena, was responsible for the exciting culinary presentations at the Opening Night Party.
Another way our Club contributed to the community in 2002-3 was the initiative of Krist Voyles in donating our historical records to the Atlanta History Center. There they are preserved and accessible to anyone researching the history of our Club.
In 2002-03 our Club continued to fulfill our goal of building rapport with the community. For this purpose the executive board created the Public Relations position and filled it with Pat Daly, who wrote our first Web page for the Mount Paran-Northside Community Website and collaborated on writing articles about our Garden Club for the Northside Neighbor and the Citizens Review.
This was also the year that our Garden Club made the leap into email communication from what historically had been accomplished by post cards and telephone. Mary Jane Piazza’s (President, 1999-00) proficiency with Excel empowered her to create a membership database which was used as a communication tool by Penny Saunders (President, 2007-08) as recording secretary who emailed meeting minutes for the first time.
Because we had become a nonprofit accepting donations from non-members for the restoration of the West Conway Park, 2002-3 was the year our Club acquired a post office box. Letters of gratitude to donors were written on stationary with the letterhead design and Club logo of the oak leaf designed by Deedra Hughes, corresponding secretary.
The tradition of a luncheon honoring new members was begun by Sally Hanna as Membership Chairman in 2007 (Penny Saunders, President 2007-08). Sally hosted this luncheon in her home.
Because our Garden Club’s Mission Statement commits members “to promote fellowship among our neighbors and good will in the Mt. Paran- Northside Community, and to support civic planting projects the club deems appropriate,” our Club supported many projects throughout its history beyond its three neighborhood parks. On behalf of the Garden Club, gardens were installed on Beechwood Drive and at Swims Valley Drive-Garmon Road gratis by Landscape Architect Al Goodgame, son of a member. The Garden Club contributed and maintained a planter at the Tuxedo School (now Warren Jackson Elementary). The Club donated to the Garden Therapy Program at Milledgeville State Hospital and to the VA Hospital Floral Program.
In 1964 Club members gave out 4000 donated dogwood trees honoring our Dogwood City during April’s Make Georgia Beautiful Week (Janet Martin, President 1963-64). The Club also contributed to the Shepherd Center Horticulture Program, the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, and the Oakhurst Community Garden Project.
In recent history the Mount Paran Woods Garden Club contributed to three neighborhood projects. The first was a contribution to the Warren T. Jackson Elementary School’s Garden Project made under Krist Voyle’s presidency in 2004.
The second was the choosing of our Cave Road Park as the site to honor Lynne Moscow in April 2008 when she moved away from the Mount Paran-Northside Community she served for 43 years. Lynne had been a founder and president of the Mount Paran-Northside Citizens Association. She established our neighborhood security patrol, compiled our first neighborhood directory, and organized annual Christmas luncheons for the firemen at Fire Station 27, the First Responders for our neighborhood and adjacent communities. As Secretary of NPU-A, she helped to establish variance and zoning policies. Without Lynne’s leadership, our Cave Road Park would look into a hotel and conference center instead of the Paran Point residential development. A concrete bench inlaid with a plaque honors Lynne Moscow in this Park.
The third was a unanimously approved commitment to the landscaping of Fire Station 27’s front yard made under Cecilia Wright (President, 2008-09) at our April 2009 meeting. By late summer Janie Merrill made a generous monetary donation toward this community project to improve the interior and exterior of our neighborhood Fire Station. Her contribution is acknowledged by the inscription in a brick at the Fire Station’s entrance: “In Honor of Mount Paran Woods Garden Club.”
When one of our Club’s founders, past President, and long-time Cave Road resident, Sallie Stultz died in 2010, Janie Merrill initiated the purchase and installation of a pink dogwood tree for the left side of the Cave Road Park (Elizabeth Morris, President 2009-10). This dogwood was intended to balance the one on the right side of this symmetrical landscaping. Twenty-two members contributed funds totally covering the cost of the tree, its installation, and its plaque memorializing Sallie Stultz. The dogwood was replaced with a maple in 2018.
In 2013 (Mara Morrison, President, 2013-14) the Buckhead Coalition gave the Mount Paran-Northside Community a park bench commemorating the Coalition’s 25 years of civic service. Jennifer Moyers, who was President of our Neighborhood Association and chairman of our Garden Club’s Landscaping Committee at the time, placed the bench in the West Conway Park.
Our current Club Calendar, Bylaws, Directory, Executive Board, Mission Statement and memorable photographs are located on or Club’s Website, an initiative of Sarah Campbell under the tenure of President Elaine Carlos (2017-2018). This Abbreviated History of our Club was initiated by Virginia Keating as Webmaster during the Presidency of Phyllis Smith (2018-19). Virginia posted this illustrated history on the Mount Paran Woods Garden Club Website.
Until 2017-18 hands-on spring and fall flower bed cleaning, mulching, planting, and shrub pruning in the Club’s Parks was a requirement of Active Membership under the leadership of the Landscaping Committee. Now it is accomplished by a paid professional landscaper under the direction of the Landscaping Committee. In October 1971, however, the Club began hiring labor to cut the three Parks’ grass and reseed the fescue.
From September through May, Mount Paran Woods Garden Club continues to meet monthly at members’ homes. Luncheons honoring new members are now held annually in restaurants. Culminating every year’s accomplishments is the Club’s traditional celebratory annual party generously hosted at a member’s home and planned by the annual party committee.
Please visit the Atlanta History Center’s Library for the complete history of Mount Paran Woods Garden Club found in the Club’s scrapbooks, presidents’ notebooks, monthly meeting minutes, and annual budgets.
Mary Louise Floyd
With Marty Gillin, Krist Voyles, Sally Hanna, and Atlanta History Center’s Kenan Research Center
January 2019
