History

The Thames River Garden Club began in 1954 with the assistance of the New London Garden Club, which had a full membership, but recognized that there were more women interested in the initiatives and activities that garden clubs accomplish.  Elizabeth Wagner, a member of the New London Garden Club, was a driving force in the establishment of the new club; her niece, Betty Starbuck, was its first president.  The original membership comprised fifteen women. The club organized according to The Federated Garden Club of Connecticut rules, and Evelyn (Lefty) MacDougall proposed the name, The Thames River Garden Club. Lefty remained a member of the club until her death in April 2018. 

Club membership is now fifty-two active members, six privileged members, and three life members, who come from throughout eastern Connecticut.  Monthly meetings are held at the Waterford Public Library.

The club has been active in the community over the years. They once purchased a lion for the Bates Woods Zoo and planted trees in Bates Woods Park and on Captains’ Walk in New London.  The club maintains the Terry Wilmot Herb Garden at the historic 1838 Beebe-Phillips House on Waterford’s Jordan Green since 1972.  The club has an active garden therapy program at York Correctional Institution in Niantic and at New London Acute Rehabilitation and Care. Annually, the club makes philanthropic contributions to numerous local organizations, primarily those involved in horticultural or environmental endeavors. For over two decades, the club has held a very successful plant sale each spring at the Waterford Town Hall.

Past Presidents Over Seven Decades

Betty Starbuck1954-55
Doris Kimball1955-56
Ginny Cole1956-57
Goodrich & Gager1957-58
Claudia Nielsen1958-61
Isabella Hartman1961-63
Sally Castanza1964-65
Betty Peterson1965-67
Jeanne Lena1967-69
Elnor Imlay1969-71
Ann Loiacono1971-72
Terry Wilmot1972-73
Terry Pfeil1973-76
Karen Brown1976-78
Dorothy Leib1978-79
Virginia Dallin1979-80
Fitzie Lusk1980-82
Ginny Roessler1982-84
Joan Brent1984-86
Rosina Longo1986-88
Carol Gathy1988-90
Mary Homolka1990-92
Josephine Esposito1992-94
Helen Benoit1994-96
Regina Kowenhoven1996-98
Christine Crawford1998-00
Sandy Kelly2000-02
Juanita Toledo2002-04
Phyllis Teeson2004-06
Linda English2006-07
Norma Fleishell2007-08
Ann Calanquin2008
Christine Crawford2008-09
Josephine Esposito2008-09
Nancy Clark2009-11
Linda Chapman2011-13
Dorothy Nauer2013-15
Everett Munro2015-17
Brenda Kramer2017-19
Elaine Lombardi2019-22
Karen Neilan2022-24