Magnolia Garden Club reviews plans for 2014

On January 13, the Magnolia Garden Club held its monthly meeting at the home of Lynn Landreneau with President Hazel Fontenot presiding. The opening ceremony included the Pledge of Allegiance led by Landreneau and the Club Collect read by Theresa Attales.
The old business discussed by the club included the nomination of another member to the Louisiana Garden Club Federation Circle of Roses. Paula Landreneau and Lola Fontenot were thanked for the successful and enjoyable Christmas social they hosted. The Christmas lighting was discussed and plans were made for an Arbor Day celebration. The Cajunettes club had given the garden club money for the purchase of a tree for Arbor Day.
Dalayne Veillon explained about the Relay for Life event to be held Saturday, April 12, at Ville Platte High School. The Magnolia Garden Club will buy a memorial light at the Relay for Life event to honor deceased members or someone in their families who had cancer.
Several places were discussed for the club’s field trip in the spring. A decision will be made at the February meeting hosted by Lola Fontenot.
A program on coffee was presented by Lynn Landreneau. In 850 A.D., a goat herder noticed his goats became hyper after eating some red berries. He ate some and got a caffeine high. He passed the berries to some monks who could stay up all night for prayers after eating the berries. Coffee was first roasted and brewed around the year 1,000 on the Arabian Penninsula. It became popular in the Islamic culture because it was non-alcoholic. They would not let the seeds leave the country, but some were smuggled in to Europe. The stimulating drink had its enemies who took the case to Pope Clement VIII to decide. Before condemning the “bitter invention of Satan,” His Holiness took a sip and liked it. He then declared, “it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.” This statement created church-approved coffee drinking throughout Europe.
The Dutch cultivated coffee in Java. A French naval officer took some of King Louis XIV’s coffee seedlings to Martinique. A romantic tryst introduced coffee to Brazil when the governor’s wife sent her lover away with a bouquet of flowers with coffee seeds tucked inside. Captain John Smith brought coffee to the American colonies and people in New Orleans used roasted and ground chicory as an extender and later a substitute during the American Civil War.
Today, coffee is second only to oil in world trading markets. The United States imports two billion pounds of coffee annually, with 25 percent of the coffee entering throught the Port of New Orleans.
When spring arrives, everyone is encouraged to clean up their yards and places of business.