Velma Blocker moved to Oktoc in the 1920s. Coming from Greenville, she felt isolated in the small community and sought to make a connection with others in the community.
This led to Blocker and other women forming the Oktoc Garden Club in 1923, and 100 years later, the group is still going strong. Now the membership, which is about 35 members, consists of the granddaughters of the founding members, keeping the family legacy alive.
“Oktoc Garden Club, like other aspects of the community, is multi-generational,” Anna Marie Rasberry said.
Rasberry is the granddaughter of Blocker and is proud to keep her grandmother’s organization going.
“It has maintained its integrity through the years and is a place where community women really like to come together,” she said. “We really have a good time and we like to visit and catch up on community news, just like the women 100 years ago did. It’s very comforting to know that you are a part of something that has been going on this long, that your parents and grandparents participated in.”
The club is celebrating its 100th birthday from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday at the Oktoc Community Center, 2740 Oktoc Road, Starkville. The celebration will honor the traditions held by the group, while encouraging the community to get involved.
One such tradition is the annual raffling of a quilt made by community members.
“To honor that tradition, we are raffling off a quilt this weekend that was actually made in 1975,” Rasberry said. “This is a vintage quilt that’s almost 50 years old.”
Tickets for the raffle are $1 each, and that is the only cost associated with the celebration.
There will also be cakes, made by women from the community, served at the event.
“The women in the community are famous for their cakes, and we have about 15 or 20 cakes that various women have made and we will be serving those free of charge,” Rasberry said.
While celebrating the traditions is important, members acknowledge that the club is not the exact same as it was when founded.
Like any organization that has lasted as long as this one, it has had to adapt and change over the years.
“It has changed a good bit,” Florence Box, another multigenerational member, said. “It’s not as formal now as it was at one time. The ladies used to meet for an entire day. They would bring lunch and usually have a business meeting and a couple of programs on things like basket making or rug weaving, then educational programs on health, farming practices, gardening, that type of activity.”
The club now meets once a month, except for during the summer months when it does not meet at all.
The programs remain largely the same, however.
“When you read through the minutes of some of the older club meetings, they would have international bits of information or programs, and this was in the 1930s and 40s,” Box said. “… They were branching out to other parts of the United States and the world even, learning about different societies. We still do that.”
The change in meeting length can largely be attributed to improved road conditions.
“Back when it started, the roads were terrible, muddy dirt roads,” Rasberry said. “There were few cars and no telephones, so when women went somewhere for the day, they stayed. They would take lunch and take the kids and go to a neighbor’s house, wherever the meeting happened to be that month.”
Now the club meets in the afternoons for a few hours.
Growing membership
Another aspect of any successful club is a strong membership. In order for a club to survive, it must have members.
“We are so thankful that there are some younger women involved in the club now,” Rasberry said. “It’s a really special time for the ladies of the community who have a common background to be together.”
Box added that the group prefers the members to be connected with the community.
“We do kind of like for people to have a connection with the community, but once you’ve been a member of the community, you’re always a member,” she said. “You’re welcome to join our various activities, even if you live (away) and happen to be in Starkville.”
How to go
■ WHAT: Oktoc Garden Club 100th birthday celebration
■ WHEN: Sunday from 2-4 p.m.
■ WHERE: Oktoc Community Center, 2740 Oktoc Road, Starkville.
■ HOW: Free to attend, $1 raffle tickets available for vintage quilt raffle.
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