WHAT ’ S NEWS IN WEST COUNTY
information at fairviewtownship . com , and you can watch a livestream of Avonia Beach at fishusa . com / avonia-webcam .
Be sure to visit the Fairview Area Historical Society website for an indepth story of the Avonia Beach House ( where this information was gathered ) at fairviewhistory . org .
ELK VALLEY GARDEN CLUB GARDEN MART
The Elk Valley Garden Club will be holding its annual Garden Mart Friday , May 17 , from 9 a . m . to 5 p . m ., and May 18 , from 9 a . m . to 3 p . m . at the Girard Borough Building . The sale will be held regardless of the weather !
It ’ s a great place to purchase lovely plants from knowledgeable gardeners . There will be club-grown perennials , locally grown annuals , trees and shrubs . All proceeds from the sale benefit the garden club ’ s scholarship for seniors entering an environment-related field , and also the local fire department , EMS , library and food pantry .
The Elk Valley Garden Club was founded in 1929 and is the oldest National Garden Club affiliate in Erie County . It has many wonderful local projects , including the maintaining of Wells Park and the veterans monuments in Girard and Lake City . Members also conduct an annual cleanup of the Lake City Borough Building property .
The goal of the club is to preserve native plants and flowers , the promotion of home gardening , and the enhancement of gardens and public greenspaces in the West County area . Meetings are held once a month , March through November , with interesting guest speakers . Anyone who would like to join can contact the garden club through its Facebook page .
AVONIA BEACH HOUSE
The Avonia Beach House has an interesting history . It was built in 1910 by five families as a summer home , and was called The Netherland Club . It had a kitchen that was equipped with five stoves and five ice boxes !
The children enjoyed tennis , badminton , boating and swimming in the lake . It must have been fun for the families , but there was no electricity and no indoor plumbing !
By 1938 , the families were losing interest in the property as the children grew up , and two of the families sold their shares . The home was eventually sold to a man named Leo Brugger in 1950 , and he upgraded it , installing a bathroom and adding utilities . In 2006 , Fairview Township purchased the lakefront property and created Avonia Beach Park .
Your family can enjoy the home now , just as the families did in 1910 , and the house and grounds may be rented . Visit the Fairview Township website for more
COMMUNITY DAY AT HAGEN HISTORY CENTER
The community is invited to tour the Hagen History Center ’ s three exhibit buildings to learn more about the unique history of Erie County . This invitation is for Sunday , March 10 , from noon to 5 p . m ., and admission is free !
The history center has added three new galleries and a new exhibit building where the reconstructed San Francisco office of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright is featured . Be sure to visit the new children ’ s exhibit and several temporary exhibits in the beautiful Watson-Curtze Mansion . The Wood-Morrison House includes the Weschler Gallery of Military Service .
For more information on upcoming events at the center , visit eriehistory . org .
PICTURE THIS !
Picture yourself at the historic Warner Theatre on a Saturday evening , taking a musical journey through possibly the greatest concerto for virtuoso pianists .
Join the Erie Philharmonic on March 23 for “ Pictures at an Exhibition ,” when Simone Dinnerstein will give a captivating performance of one of the most famous pieces of classical
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