A CLUB that has been running for 65 years has a vast amount of history.
Welshpool and District Horticultural Society (W&DHS) life club member and horticulturist Rob Gyles has voluntarily taken on the huge task of collecting and compiling the club’s history.
It has been amazing to see what people have had stored in various places.
Members have donated from the back of the cupboards more than 2000 documents and 800 photos.
Rob spent so much time at the Foster Mirror office reading through back copies of the paper from 1960 to find articles about the club, that then owner of the Mirror, Rob Best, thought of Rob as a staff member.
The club started in 1960 and had 40 members by 1961.
Currently, there are around 80 members.
The club has run an Autumn and Spring Show since 1960 and the popular Plant Stall started in 1994 in the Welshpool Hall lobby, then shifted to the old supper room in 2003, and into the current purpose-built nursery at the back of the hall in 2017.
Rob has now organised the various items into sections and files at his home.
Included in the collection are photos, newsletters, show schedules, meeting minutes, treasurers’ reports, officer bearers, club trips and excursions, and press articles.
Rob is also going to include ‘mini biographies’ of current members telling how and why they became part of the club.
Members have helped with gardens at the Welshpool Maritime Museum, Toora Nursing Home, and Welshpool and Foster Primary Schools’ vegetable gardens.
Turning the collection into a book was certainly not Rob’s intention when he started the task, but well-known local author Mary Ellis recently contacted Rob offering to help him do just that.
The club is very excited about the suggestion and very grateful to Rob for taking on this mammoth task.
If anyone has anything about the club they think Rob might be interested in, he is happy to be contacted on 0419 544 514 or via email at rob.gyles@gmail.com.
The club is delighted that Rob is going to officially open the Spring Show on Friday, October 31, at 2pm at the Welshpool Memorial Hall.
The theme of this show is Halloween, which should inspire some amazing and quirky entries.
This year’s show will run on Friday, October 31, from 1.30pm to 5pm and Saturday, November 1, from 10am to 4pm.
The club is looking forward to seeing all its regular and new garden lovers at the show.
