Magnolia Garden Club holds monthly meeting

The Magnolia Garden Club met at the home of Joyce Coreil on Monday, April 6, with President Mable Foreman presiding. Coreil was the hostess and a quorum of members was in attendance.
Foreman made two announcements to the members. She said the Arbor Day tree planting at the new ball park has been postponed until after the baseball season in autumn. She also noted that Mayor Jennifer Vidrine told her the illegal signs had been removed from the utility poles. However, after only a few days, new signs were placed on the poles. Placing signs on the poles is illegal and they will continue to be removed.
A scrapbook workshop was held at the home of Hazel Fontenot on Wednesday, April 8. A new historian will be chosen to replace Coreil, who asked for someone to take over for her.
The spring social will be held at the home of Haidee Floyed on Monday, May 4. Members should let club officers know if they will attend by April 28. They should also ask what dish they could bring to the gathering. Members will meet at Hazel Fontenot’s home at 5 p.m. in order to car pool to Floyed’s home.
Two summer projects were discussed, a brown bag lunch at the Native Plant Heritage Garden in June and a work social of flower arrangements or related gardening ideas to be held at Floyed’s home at a later date.
Foreman gave the program titled the Legend of the Dogwood. Two thousand years ago, there were few trees in the Middle East big enough to construct anything. However, the dogwood was prized for its thick trunk and strong wood. This tree is believed to have been used by the Roman soldiers in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ because the wood was thick and heavy. Jesus sensed the distress of the tree used for such a cruel purpose and promised it would never grow large enough to used as a cross again. The tree would be slender, bent and twisted; and its blossoms would be in the form of a cross, with two long and two short petals. Each petal would have a nail print along the outer edge, brown with rust and stained with red and in the center of the flower would be a crown of thorns.
The North American Indians used the wood of the dogwood to make arrows; others used the hard, strong wood to make tool handles, fruit presses, loom shuttles, mallets and knitting needles. The American Dogwood is extremely beautiful in its short blooming season. In recent years, the dogwood forests have been declining because of a disease called Dogwood Anthracnose.