Legacy of growth
On a spring day in March 1896, in the earliest days of Spokane history, a group of women gathered. As befitted a city that was thriving after recovering from a devastating fire less than a decade earlier, the women formed a formal floral association. With a mission of beautifying the Spokane landscape and engaging in philanthropic projects, the group was also a social outlet. Today, more than 100 years later, the group is still active and engaged in its original missions. With a legacy of community involvement, with
projects that include furnishing rooms at St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital, the Hutton Settlement and Edgecliff Tuberculosis Sanitarium, the Spokane Floral Association joined the Associated Garden Clubs of Spokane in 1933 and in 1938 was instrumental in the creation of the first Lilac Festival.
Spokane Floral Association, once again an independent organization, is still active in the community. The group’s current philanthropic project is the Crosswalk Center.
Crosswalk, which is operated by Volunteers of America, provides counseling, medical care and substance-abuse intervention, in addition to basic needs for homeless and at-risk children and youths.
Club President Karen Kearney says the real value of the club is in its history.
“You don’t find much that has lasted 110 years,” Kearney says. “But this is a group that is dedicated to keeping Spokane’s history alive.”
The floral association’s legacy is evident in trees, shrubs and flowers blooming in gardens all over Spokane. A recent project was the beautification of the area surrounding a wheelchair ramp at The Academy senior housing.
“We painted a cherry tree on the wall and added a pagoda,” Kearney says. “By the time we were finished, it looked like a Japanese garden.”
Past President Casey Korkus has been a member of Spokane Floral Association since she moved to Spokane in 1995.
“I realized that gardening here was different that it was in California,” Korkus says, “so I joined, and the instruction was marvelous.”
Korkus benefited from another side of the group.
“The friendship became so important,” Korkus says. “When my husband went through a horrendous illness, and we spent two months in Seattle, I was so touched by the support of the women.”
At a recent tea, celebrating more than a century of service, photographer Jed Conklin captured the ladies of the club at one of Spokane’s other historical landmarks, the E.J. Roberts mansion in Browne’s Addition.
Wearing elaborate hats and being served by the mansion’s resident butler, “Chadwick,” the Spokane Floral Association celebrated their part in the history of the community.
“Like Spokane, we’re a true treasure,” Kearney says, “To be able to look back at the history of this group, and at everything we’ve accomplished, is an honor.”