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PRINCETON AREA: Celebrating 60 years of friendship through violets

Garden State African Violet Club’s Show and Sale May 2 and 3 at MCCC

    The sepia tint was not the only clue that the photo was from a bygone era. The women were dressed primly in skirts, pumps, gloves and hats as they milled around the long tables of plants that filled the ballroom of the Trenton War Memorial. It was 1949 and the photo was of the first Show and Sale of the African Violet Club of Trenton. Founded in November 1948, the group changed its name in the early 1990s to the Garden State African Violet Club (GSAVC) to reflect the broader demographics of its membership. As they celebrated their club’s 60th Anniversary Season by perusing the archives of their organization, today’s GSAVC members could not imagine attending meetings or putting on their annual African Violet Show and Sale today dressed that formally.
    A lot has changed in those 60 years, besides the club’s dress code and the name. For one thing, the club is not nearly as large as it was then. Back in the early post-WW II era, most women were homemakers and had time to indulge themselves in afternoon violet club meetings while the kids were in school and the men were at work. Today, with two-income families and hectic household schedules the norm, the club now attracts more single and retired women, and the meetings are held in the evenings. And there are now many more men active in the club as society’s stereotypes of what is considered “masculine” have changed.
    Over the years the club has moved its meeting site from Trenton to Hamilton, and now to Robbinsville, where it holds its monthly evening meetings at the Washington Township Library.
    Despite all the changes, the one thing that has remained constant throughout the years is the club members’ devotion to the cultivation and enjoyment of genus Saintpaulia, the botanical name for African Violets, as well as other related plants of the Gesneriad family. Club members swap leaves of unusual hybrids and seek out specific plants for particular attributes, such has variegated leaves or iridescent blooms. The Garden State African Violet Club also continues to strive to uphold its motto, “Friendship through Violets,” by welcoming anyone interested in learning about the care and culture of African Violets to its monthly meetings and the annual Show & Sale held each May.
    The theme of this year’s Annual Show & Sale is “Violets by Land, Sea & Air.” It will be held at the Mercer County Community College Student Center on Saturday, May 2, from noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday, May 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone wishing to learn more about cultivating African Violets and about starting or expanding their collection should plan to attend. All are welcome. Admission is free.
    For the Show, GSAVC members will exhibit their carefully grown and groomed plants and compete for prizes in more than 30 horticulture classes and several interpretive design categories. Non-members are also invited to exhibit their plants in a special Non- Member category. Additionally, an educational display with literature and demonstrations on the care and cultivation of African Violets will be presented, and club members will be on hand to answer questions.
    The Sale will include an assortment of unusual African Violet plants and leaves, as well as other Gesneriads. The public is urged to come early for the best selection.
    For more information about the Garden State African Violet Club, its meeting schedule, tips on growing African Violets, and to view pictures from past shows, se visit their web site at www.princetonol.com/ groups/gsavc. For more information about the Show & Sale, write to the club at [email protected] or call 609-259-7095.