Du Quoin Garden Club named best small club in Illinois for third year

When she got the call, Jean Bullock nearly fell out of her chair for the third straight year.

It was the Garden Clubs of Illinois Inc., the state organization, telling her that Du Quoin had been named the 2020 Garden Club of the Year among small clubs. It was the third year the local club had won the state's highest honor, but this year Bullock really didn't expect it.

2020 had been disappointing by Du Quoin club standards, given the restrictions the pandemic put on the club members, who like to get together and brainstorm fun projects. After the February 2020 meeting, the club did not get back together until September.

"We did not do as much as we normally do," Bullock said Monday. "There were projects we were going to do but because of the pandemic, we couldn't do them."

Despite the lack of face time and having to rely on Facebook, texts and emails to communicate, the Du Quoin club did plenty. Their list of 2020 awards, of which Garden Club of the Year is the most prominent, is impressive:

The landscaping marker project at the Blue Star Memorial on the state fairgrounds brought Du Quoin a tie for second place.

In the Civic Concern category, for a continuing civic project, the club was awarded the first place Violet Rosette.

The club won first place for their fall decorations of Croessman Square, under the category of Historic Preservation/Holiday Decorations, for outstanding effort to beautify the community during a holiday season.

Club Achievement: The Du Quoin club won a Blue Seal.

Club Horticulture: The club won a Silver Seal.

The club's work on Croessman Square and the Blue Star marker has been nominated for a national award as well.

Bullock made the announcement at the District VII meeting hosted by the Du Quoin club at the state fairgrounds.

"Everyone (in the Du Quoin club) was excited, just the looks on their faces was phenomenal," Bullock said.

It's that kind of high quality beautification that the garden club brings to Du Quoin, that keeps the standards high year after year, Bullock said.

The awards are wonderful, but club members are mostly gratified by the chance to make Du Quoin beautiful.

"We are proud to be part of it," Bullock said. "It's the end product" that keep members interested, she added, "the beauty of the thing. Even strangers who drive through Du Quoin will say something to somebody about the Welcome Sign on Route 51, or the parks.

That praise trickles back to the club, and membership has stayed reasonably steady.