A Historical Garden Party

This article is by Betty Holmes

Saturday was a perfect late  summer afternoon and early evening for the Swampscott Historical Society Garden Party. Molly Conner, President of the Swampscott Historical Society, and her husband Ryan Conner were our hosts. Doug and Duncan Maitland greeted the guests as they arrived.

Allison Grimes made sure each table was decorated with blossoms of Black-eyed Susans. The hors d’oeuvres table held crackers and cheeses and several fruits. Members and friends gathered and visited.

The Swampscott Garden Club tended the gardens and the flowers were in tip-top condition.  Mary Cassidy told the group about the restoration of the Andrews Chapel. The Chapel is in the cemetery. The outside restoration is complete. The Andrews Chapel Restoration Committee is now seeking donations to restore the inside of the Chapel, which is on the National Register of Historic Buildings.

Molly Conner reminded us that this was the day of the drawing of the raffle. Our youngest guest, Finn Conner, age almost nine, pulled out the name, and the raffle prize winner was Ann Marie Rossman. The prize was two Swampscott historic display plates and local historic plaques.   One plate has pictures of Swampscott historic buildings that no longer exist, and the other plate has pictures of historic buildings that do still exist. These are rare plates. The prizes were from Ruth Connell’s estate.

Many years ago, Adele Hanoosh was the hostess for the Garden Party. This time, she was the oldest member attending. Adele recently celebrated her 95th birthday.

Most everyone enjoyed the lobster rolls and chips.  A few persons preferred their roast beef sandwiches.

Lou Gallo made his famous pizzelles and there were assorted cookies, and brownies, too.

It was the first anyone had seen of the Historic Society’s 2014 calendar of historic Swampscott pictures. Betty Holmes said, “People were delighted with the calendar and sales were brisk.”

All in all it was a lovely party for thirty people on a glorious afternoon and evening.