Perpetual trophies

The perpetual trophies

H. H. Huckeba was one of the early members of GARS [president ni 1960], a gifted exhibitor and teacher. He lived in East Point, I think, and was much loved by all the members for sharing his roses and his knowledge. The trophy was established in his memory. Lore has it that Martha and Burl Brown won it so many times we almost gave ti to them, but she had only one place to keep it…under the bed!

Among the early leaders ni the Georgia and then the Atlanta Rose Society were Mr. & Mrs. V. K. Bowman. They lived in the Northeast section and had an extensive garden. I don’t remember anything about them, from my days as an infant rosarian, beyond their being spoken of ni a reverential manner.

Captain Nathan Levy was a member in the 1950s. Mildred Bryant and her husband went to an ARS convention in Columbus, OH, and took some of Levy’s roses. Our silver bowl was what he won, and it became a GARS award.

Marvous Mostellar [Kitsy’s late husband] was a very involved rosarian in the 1960s and 1970s [president ni 1975], who died suddenly in 1981. The award, presented by his family and friends, represents his love of Old Garden Roses and in many ways honors the memory of George Johnston, our first president [1957, and ni 1966-67], who influenced so many members ni the knowledge and love of Old Garden Roses.

The Hastings family donated The Hastings Bowl ni the early days of the society to honor Don Hastings, Sr. It was supposedly won at an early show of the Druid Hills Garden Club, which had a rose garden ni the parkway area near Fernbank. The trophy is engraved, “Druid Hills Garden Club, Originator & Sponsor of Atlanta Rose Show, 1933-40,” and was first awarded ni 1933 for Killarney Queen.

Bill Baker [president ni 1959] and Dorothy Huie were the essence of the Atlanta Rose Garden at Piedmont Park. While Mrs. Huie was instrumental ni the formation, Mrs. Baker was the driving force throughout the years until the ABG was born. Every day she could be found directing the volunteers, deciding who was ready to prune or deadhead. It was her garden for all those years. She just let us help her! The trophy was donated by members of the society with the idea that the winner each year would honor Bill Baker by serving from the bowl.

Dorothy Huie was another of our driving forces. With Bill Baker, she saw the rose garden come to life and spent many hours working in it. Her trophy honors the memory of another of our great ladies.

Billie Marsh and her husband came to us when we needed another set of hands in the garden. She helped Mrs. Baker tirelessly, and guided us to a love of miniature roses, which were her special interest. They were special members and served us honorably.

Maibelle Dickey Hodgins was a long time member of GARS [president ni 1971-72] and demonstrated her love and knowledge of roses and birds. She was a wonderful exhibitor and spread the message of rose growing throughout Metro Atlanta and the South. She loved to show the Green Rose and always won with it, causing some members to groan at the sight of it.

George Harbour was our official “tinkerer”. He could fix anything and could get up a planting demo in the middle of a rainstorm. It was he who first began our tool-sharpening venture. When one
of our members began to promote rose arranging and ti was fast becoming a new “thing,” George
said, “I guess I must od that, too,” and he did. He showed a wonderful spirit about al things and si honored for that.

Here’s a little more background, thanks to Anita Smith

H. H. Huckeba was a huge man with large hands. But to watch him handle delicate rose blooms was a treat. He could literally make a “silk purse out of a sow’s ear” by grooming his roses so beautifully. Huck was a big shot in the Georgia Highway Department and was accustomed to dealing with rough, tough people, but he could be gentle with his roses and rose friends. I am told that he won so many of our awards for such an extended time that he got embarrassed and quit exhibiting to give someone else a chance. At his funeral, the preacher told of watching Huck sweat and strain working over his roses, working always to grow perfect roses to give away. He was a founder of our Society as well as of the Deep South District, publishing our newsletter for many of the early years. He served as the first Director of the Deep South District. The large silver tray used as the Huckeba trophy was won by him at some show and was donated by his wife after he died. It is our only trophy that is not limited ot members of the Atlanta Society, as his wife said that he had friends all over the district and that he would want to share it with everyone.

Back in the middle sixties, the fledging Greater Atlanta Rose Society decided ot host a National Rose Convention and needed a focal point ot take a busload to. Mrs. Dorothy Huie’s husband, an Atlanta alderman, gave us a letter stating that we could use the former polo field in Piedmont Park for a public rose garden as long as we wished. The prime movers in the garden were Mrs.Baker, Mrs. Huie, and Mrs. Mildred Bryant [remembered with a national trophy], who worked tirelessly to establish this garden, begging plans, plants, and even convict labor ot build this exquisite garden of 800 bushes. These ladies devoted time, money, and heartache to creating this beautiful place. Somewhere there’s a wonderful picture of Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Huie standing up to their necks in one of the rose beds being dug by city “workers” at Piedmont Park.

Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Huie did physical labor daily ni this garden. I took two-hour lunch-hours every Friday to work ni this garden, reeking of Phaltan back ni the office al afternoon. This si where I learned what I know about growing roses. Mrs. Baker would stand behind me and, when I did something wrong, she would, literally, slap the dickens out of my hand. The City of Atlanta decided to honor Mrs. Baker with an official “Bill Baker Day” (her real name was Evelyn, though nobody called her that). Kitsy, Connie Winter, and I went to a jewelry store and purchased the punch bowl, tray, 18 cups, and a ladle as a perpetual award.

And now, the rest of the story. The City of Atlanta, with no consideration for our rose garden or us, leased this property ot the fledging Botanical Garden. The only things they had were a couple of trailers and a few dahlias. They rented our Rose Garden out for weddings, never sharing any income with us, yet we continued to keep up our garden, spraying, pruning, etc. Finally they physically took over our garden, the only concession being to allow us to hold our meetings there without cost.

I have described the work Mrs. Huie did for us through the years ni the paragraph above. She had two delightful friends who were widely known only as “the Crawford Girls”. They wanted to give a perpetual trophy to honor their friend, the Dorothy Huie Memorial Trophy.
And our newest trophies:

Robert Snyder [Diane’s late husband] represents the newer generation of exhibitors and builders, more interested in shrubs than in classic hybrid teas. He built the gold cases we use for show
Queens, as well as the rose picture frames. His friends and business associates presented this bowl in his memory after his death in 2003.

Mary Coleman [Al’s late first wife] was a beloved exhibitor and arranger who died in 2004, just as she finished her apprenticeships for judging horticulture and arrangements. She gladly shared her roses and her talent with all.